10 Most Bizarre Rock Videos

Bizarre imagery is no stranger to the world of rock. In fact, rock thrives on the shocking and bizarre, and it is the genre that is most expected to be more of an advocate of darkness. Obviously, musicians express creativity through music but since the age of MTV, and now YouTube, creativity can also be displayed visually through music videos. Itโs understandable and probably already assumed that most rock music videos will at some point be weird but here we show videos that are downright drippy, some also unsettling, so be warned: most of these videos are NSFW. Most even cross the borderline of what is considered in the civilized world as inappropriate. But as it is known in the world of rock, anything is possible. It shouldnโt come as a surprise now, however unusual, unsettling, and utterly bizarre these following music videos are.
1o.ย Nine Inch Nails – “Closer”
One of Nine Inch Nailsโ greatest hits from their second studio album The Downward Spiral released in 1994, โCloserโ featured a very disturbingly memorable music video. The video was directed by Mark Romanek from the imagery as told by front singer Trent Reznor. In the video, what will be etched in the viewerโs mind would be Reznor in bondage gear, some weird body modification, a severed pigโs head going in circles, and a poor little monkey hanging on a crucifix. Those alone would be enough to open a case on animal cruelty. The song basically describes primal sex, and has subsequently become dubbed as an anthem of lust, or so it has been misinterpreted as. The video was originally 4 minutes and 36 seconds long but was cut down to 3 minutes due to censorship. The disturbing imagery was allegedly inspired by the art of Joel-Peter Witkin, depicting elements such as religion, politics, sexuality, all into a general overtone of terror. Oddly enough, โCloserโ was also voted the number one video in VH1โs 2006 20 Greatest Music Videos of All Time.
9.ย ย Bjork – “Human Behavior”
This 1993 classic from Bjรถrk was her first UK Top 40 hit and the first of her many collaborations with directorย Michel Gondry who would also come to direct Bjรถrkโs memorable videos such as โHyperballadโ, โBachelloretteโ, โDeclare Independenceโ and โCrystallineโ. Bjรถrk came to explain the music videoโs imagery as a story of human behavior being told in the point of view of animals. Itโs very Goldilocks and the Three Bears in its narrative and was inspired by Yuri Norsteinโs animated film, โHedgehog in the Fogโ, except darker. The video featured Bjรถrk treading through a dark forest with a teddy bear and some dancing moths. One frame even shows a nest of creepy Bjรถrk-like humans. She then gets chased by the bear and ended up on the moon to plant a Soviet flag only to fall down in the bearโs throat and inside its stomach. Not quite your usual bedtime fairytale. Despite the bizarre visual narrative, the music video was actually critically acclaimed, even earning the 96th spot on Rolling Stone Magazineโs The Top 100 Music Video of all Timeย list.
8.ย Soundgarden โ “Black Hole Sun”
Soundgardenโs โBlack Hole Sunโ takes weird and bizarre to a whole new level. Written by the late Chris Cornell, โBlack Hole Sunโ was the third single from their hit album Superunknown released in 1994. The song was one of the bandโs biggest hit, topping the Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks chart and staying at number one for close to two months! The track is even included on Soundgardenโs greatest hits album. The popularity of the song is at the same level as the weirdness of its music video featuring a general apocalyptic theme with Barbie dolls charring on a Barbecue put there by some little girl who is not quite human and some of the creepiest fake smiles that will haunt your dreams for life. Seriously, you wouldnโt think of the act of smiling the same way again. Itโs basically a fake happy world falling apart and getting sucked into a black hole, but in a darker more bizarre way. Just watch and find out for yourself.
7.ย Pearl Jam – “Do The Evolution”
Donโt be fooled by the cute cartoons in Pearl Jamโs โDo the Evolutionโ music video. It isnโt cute for long. Directed by Kevin Altieri and animated by Todd McFarlane, the music video features violence and death as it follows the story of the evolution of life. It portrays the violent and abusive behavior of man throughout history in bizarre way that is through-provoking.
โDo the Evolutionโ, the seventh track on Pearl Jamโs fifth studio album Yield released in 1998. Itโs part of Pearl Jamโs Greatest Hits Album released in 2004. The music video was nominated for Best Music Video Short Form at the 1999 Grammy Awards.
Pearl Jamโs statement on the music video says,
“As artists we are challenged to expand the meaning of our work and by utilizing this visual medium and working with a visionary like Todd [McFarlane], we were able to further explore some of the themes we depicted in the song “Do the Evolution”. Basically we’ve tried to make a good stoner video.”
6.ย Fever Ray – ย “If I Had a Heart”
Hereโs something from your darkest nightmares. Swedish singer Fever Rayโs debut single โIf I Had a Heartโ is a song that is as haunting as its music video. The song itself is dark, slow, and on the spectrum of experimental. The lyrics were inspired by Fever Rayโs observation of her own children (which makes it creepier), and at the outset seems like an innocent song. While the music video do feature children, it couldnโt be more farther to innocence with its imagery of death and gore. The video suits the song, and the evocative visuals add to its haunting quality. With the children entering an eerie mansion with its floor soaked with blood and the swimming pool filled with dead bodies, all whilst a masked figure stands guard, itโs like a horror film inside a music video. โIf I Had a Heartโ was nominated for Best Indie/Alternative music video at the 2009 UK Music Video Awards.
5.ย Marilyn Manson – “The Beautiful People”
Do we expect anything less than disturbing from Marilyn Manson? He pulls through with your doze of bizarre every single time. One of Mansonโs most successful singles โThe Beautiful Peopleโ has a very dark sense of what beautiful means. Not only does it feature torture and violence, it also references torture experiments a la Nazi concentration camps. Manson himself appears to be constantly being disfigured with wires and contraptions throughout the video. Other disturbing imagery include wormsโฆand dolls. Kudos to the make-up department of this video though for making the cast in this video look very creepy and messed up. And because of those visual elements alone, โThe Beautiful Peopleโ received quite a number of accolades including Best Special Effects, Best Art Direction, and Best Rock Video nominations at the MTV Video Music Awards. So if youโre into watching music videos that leaves you feeling uncomfortable, Mansonโs โThe Beautiful Peopleโ is a must-watch.
4.ย System of a Down – “Aerials”
This 2002 single from System of a Downโs album Toxicity has a very interesting and mind-provoking music video. The song talks about mankind and lifeforms beyond itโฆaliens, in laymanโs terms. Directed by David Slade and Shavo Odadiian, the video features the band as they were being watch by a strange looking boy. An alien boy, set in various environments such as the Hollywood Walk of Fame and a circus tent. The songโs deeper meaning was meant to be shown in the video, human nature and manโs tendency to destroy their own planet, in the eyes of something extra-terrestrial.
โAerialsโ hit the number one position on the Billboard charts in 2003. IT also earned the band a Grammy nod for Best Hard Rock Performance also in 2003.
3.ย David Bowie – “Lazarus”
David Bowieโs final farewell to the world was made through his last music video, โLazarusโ. Whatโs bizarre about this video is that it depicts his ordeal with his battle with cancer and his impending death. The music video shows Bowie in a hospital bed, his eyes bandaged with two black buttons sewn over them, opening with the lyrics, “Look up here, I’m in Heaven!โ.
It then ends eerily with the Thin White Duke retreating into a dark closet, a parallel to his death and him going into the after life. It also features a skull motif, and we see skulls as elements in the video during his transition from his death bed into a diagonally striped suit referencing the back cover of the 1991ย Station to Station album. The video was released just less than a month after Bowieโs death.
It was also nominated for Best Direction, Best Cinematography and Best Editing, at theย 2016 MTV Video Music Awards.
2. ย Aphex Twin โ “Come To Daddy”
If youโre ready to follow a creepy old lady get terrorized and chased by a dozen creepier children all wearing the same mask of Aphex Twinโs face donning a hauntingly frozen smile, all dressed in the same littleโ girlsโ outfit, well this video will satisfy your horror hunger pangs. โCome to Daddyโ is the lead single from Irish electronic musician Richard D. James also known by his pseudonym Aphex Twin. Directed by Chris Cunningham, โCome to Daddyโ has become infamously known for its disturbing content. All from the singerโs distorted face to it being mounted on little childrenโs faces all while they wreak havoc in the dark neighborhood and chasing a man into his car. We havenโt even mentioned the demonic form of a creature that emerges and screamโs into the old ladyโs face. Fittingly enough, โCome to Daddyโ was voted into the Top 50 of Channel 4โs Top 100 Greatest Scary Moments in 2003, and the only music video of its own category to make it to the list.
1. ย Tool – “Sober”
โSoberโ is Toolโs first music video, their second single from their first studio album Undertow. You may think a stop-motion animation music video would be harmless, well, think again. โSoberโ was directed by Fred Stuhr and may have served as the first template for many following music videos that are just as disturbing. The video featured some sort of humanoid puppets, one looking like a horrifying man made of the human brain (of course, it wasnโt really made of brain, rather it was clay). The creature, which seems to appear as the protagonist of the video, is seen twitching and vibrating in a violent and disturbing manner as he levitates in his chair. Aside from the odd creepy creature, it also features elements of violence and torture. The video has an open ending, leaving the viewers desperately confused and creeped out. The visual creation is credited to Adam Jones who collaborated with Fred Stuhr for the production of the music video.