Music Videos that leave the band out

November 1, 2009 1:04 PM

I am looking for music videos where the band is missing or does not appear in proper form.

What are some examples of videos in which the band does not appear either deliberately or in a form other than is standard such as lego figures in "Fell in Love With a Girl" in the White Stripes video? I am not too worried about your interpretation of what this constitutes so feel free to stretch the concept a bit if you have something you feel is relevant. Thanks!

posted by occidental to media & arts (27 comments total)

The Replacements' "Alex Chilton."
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x1wwko_the-replacements-alex-chilton_music
posted by mixer at 1:09 PM on November 1

Or even better, "Bastards of Young."
http://www.metacafe.com/watch/2973084/replacements_bastards_of_young/
posted by mixer at 1:11 PM on November 1 [1 favorite]

Da Funk - Daft Punk
Star Guitar - Chemical Brothers
Weapon of Choice - Fatboy Slim

Most videos for electronic music I can think of off the top of my head do not feature the artist(s). The 3 above are examples, there are a shit load more..
posted by jontyjago at 1:39 PM on November 1

Don't Shoot (I'm a Man) by DEVO - though the video is actually an animated backdrop used in concert.

A few of They Might Be Giants newer videos don't feature the band in person, especially With the Dark, I'm Impressed, and The Mesopotamians. Also, the video for Experimental Film is all Homestar Runner characters.
posted by SansPoint at 1:41 PM on November 1

oasis - Acquiesce features a japanese cover band
posted by mrmarley at 1:45 PM on November 1

There's The Cure - Boys Don't Cry
posted by merocet at 1:56 PM on November 1

Would you consider anything by Gorillaz?

And one of my favorites: Pearl Jam - Do the Evolution
posted by speeb at 2:10 PM on November 1 [1 favorite]

Genesis - Land of Confusion
posted by cali59 at 2:17 PM on November 1

Oooh Aphex Twin's Come To Daddy.

Pretty much any electronic musician's video will do, really.
posted by xmutex at 2:19 PM on November 1

Muse - Knights Of Cydonia (band appear only briefly as a hologram)
posted by EndsOfInvention at 2:35 PM on November 1

Anything with Gnarls Barkley.
posted by ManyNinjas at 2:39 PM on November 1

Yo La Tengo's "Nothing To Hide" video has a different band, Times New Viking, doing the actual performance.
posted by Gortuk at 2:50 PM on November 1

Garbage's Cherry Lips involves an invisible crossdressing Shirley Manson.
posted by WidgetAlley at 2:51 PM on November 1

How about New Order transformed into an eighties hair metal band?
posted by Crane Shot at 3:39 PM on November 1

Justice "D.A.N.C.E." on Jimmy Kimmel Live
posted by GPF at 4:16 PM on November 1

Milli Vanilli ;-)
posted by Feisty at 4:21 PM on November 1

Aphex Twin's "Rubber Johnny."
posted by ZenMasterThis at 4:29 PM on November 1

SHITDISCO's video for OK features a pop-up book of the band.
posted by carsonb at 4:52 PM on November 1

Thunderbirds Are Coming Out by TISM is a video of a whole lot of different bands all miming to the song. TISM are in the video right at the very end, but the music stops just as they are about to start miming.

I find this video strangely hypnotic. A list of the other bands in the video here
posted by goshling at 4:55 PM on November 1

I Don't Remember by Powderfinger

Regurgitator used to appear in several videos as cartoon animals or animated versions of themselves.
(see also Calypso by Spiderbait & Don't You Know Who I Am by Happyland)

How about Where's Your Head At by The Basement Jaxx
posted by goshling at 5:22 PM on November 1

Can't Tell Me Nothing - Kanye West
posted by medpt at 5:32 PM on November 1

'Man in the Mirror' by Michael Jackson and (unless I'm sorely mistaken) 'Everyday Is Like Sunday' by Morrissey. Also, a non-traditional enough video that might be worthy of mention is 'Bad Cover Version' by Pulp.
posted by Mael Oui at 8:42 PM on November 1

Like The Weather - 10,000 Maniacs, only shows Natalie.
posted by Riverine at 8:51 PM on November 1

In the video for Evil, Interpol appear as creepy puppets.
posted by transporter accident amy at 3:39 AM on November 2

I believe there was quite a bit of disappointment among Offspring fans that the first two videos off their most recent release (Hammerhead and You're Gonna Go Far, Kid) didn't feature the band.
posted by drlith at 6:25 AM on November 2

Here's a different interpretation: videos where people other than the band are "performing" the song.

Crush with Eyeliner by R.E.M. (featuring a band of Japanese teenagers)

Crystal by New Order (featuring "The Killers"...not to be confused with The Killers)

and special bonus Burning Down the House, which intersperses Talking Heads with impostors
posted by kittyprecious at 7:51 AM on November 2

Elton John's "I Want Love" video features Robert Downey Jr. lip-synching the song pretty realistically, but Elton John makes no appearance.

It makes the song much more appealing.

I also dig Aurélie by Wir Sind Helden, which is in German & French. The band members appear as paper cut-outs/cartoons. Rough story: French girl travels to Germany where inter-cultural flirting loses much in translation.
posted by moreandmoreso at 10:01 PM on November 2