‘Vous Avez Dit Bizarre’ N°326 – Vintage 2000s Music Videos

1 . The Hoosiers – Worst Case Scenario

“Worst Case Scenario” throws open the door to The Hoosiers’ slightly offbeat world with sharp wit and indie-pop sensibility.

Pitched as the third single off their debut album *The Trick to Life*, this two-and-a-half-minute track isn’t here to rewrite the punk rock playbook but to riff on its idiosyncrasies.

Sonically, the song resides in a curious zone between frenetic energy and melodic quirk, tailor-made for a generation that thrives on defiance packaged with hooks.

The 2007 recording’s peaks may not be as stratospheric as its predecessors “Worried About Ray” or “Goodbye Mr A,” but it still pushes its way into the cultural ether, evidenced by a respectable placement at No. 33 on the Scottish charts.

The accompanying music video, set within a twistedly atmospheric cabin, amplifies its jittery charm, as the visuals revel in unexplained oddities and surreal fragments of imagined paranoia.

Thematically, the song pokes at human tendencies to catastrophize but does so with a smirk rather than a scowl, making its low-charting status feel like an ironic footnote rather than a full stop.

If some tracks aim to color outside the lines, “Worst Case Scenario” scribbles furiously within them—its imperfections designed to entice rather than erase.

Featured on the 2007 album “The Trick to Life”.

Lyrics >> Review >> More by the same : Official Site

2 . The Zutons – Pressure Point

“Pressure Point” opens up as a tightly wound coil of indie rock energy, hailing from The Zutons’ 2004 debut album “Who Killed The Zutons?”

The track brims with jitters and urgency, perfectly encapsulating its titular tension, propelled by taut riffs and a nervy rhythm section.

Its chart climb to number 19 in the UK feels as much a feat of its quirk as its catchy punch, and its brief detour onto U.S. charts adds an ironic twist to its transatlantic trajectory—it was their sole moment of Stateside visibility.

The music video leans into surreal chaos, with collapsing billboards and errant clothing forming a visual tableau that makes the tension onscreen palpable if bizarrely humorous.

And then there’s Levi’s, that unintentional mid-2000s tastemaker, elevating the song through commercial placement, stapling its jagged edge into the cultural psyche.

The B-sides like “Beggars & Choosers” and the acoustic flavors of “Zuton Fever” present an intriguing counterpoint, adding shots of variety to the single’s release formats.

From a musical standpoint, the song oscillates between optimism and dread—a balancing act of indie rock restlessness that neither wallows nor fully erupts, leaving its pressure intact.

In many ways, it’s a moment caught in flux, much like the band itself, toeing the line between breakthrough promise and fleeting, ephemeral presence.

Featured on the 2004 album “Who Killed…… The Zutons?”.

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3 . Brand New – Sic Transit Gloria…Glory Fades

“Sic Transit Gloria… Glory Fades” occupies a curious space in the landscape of early 2000s alternative rock: it’s melodramatic enough to resonate with the troubled emo set but restrained enough to eschew outright theatrics.

The title, borrowed from a Latin phrase about fleeting glory, hints at the song’s cynical core—an unflinching gaze at the predators lurking in adolescent rites of passage.

The plot revolves around a teenage boy caught in a coercive experience with an older woman, stripping any illusion of romantic grandeur from this weighty topic.

Sonically, it straddles a tension between sinister, hypnotic basslines and moments of cathartic anguish from Jesse Lacey’s vocal delivery.

Its accompanying music video, crafted by Marc Webb, shrewdly literalizes the theme, depicting Lacey as a voodoo puppetmaster orchestrating others’ movements, a metaphor for control and exploitation.

The stark imagery, like the unsettling lamb motif, adds layers of creepiness that linger well past its runtime.

One might question how such a distressing subject is paired with such an irresistibly catchy chorus, but this dissonance is part of its grim charm.

The track didn’t dominate charts but instead carved a niche as a formative emo anthem, a mix of irony, discomfort, and introspection that ensured its longevity over fleeting mainstream hits from the era.

Its inclusion in a list of the best emo songs underscores its resonance within a genre often preoccupied with virginal heartbreak but rarely tackling it with such dark honesty.

Sardonic, sharp, and sometimes stomach-churning, “Sic Transit Gloria… Glory Fades” exemplifies Brand New’s knack for wrapping thorny, taboo subjects in deceptively accessible alt-rock packaging.

Featured on the 2003 album “Deja Entendu”.

Lyrics >> Review >> More by the same : Wikipedia

4 . Liberty X – Everybody Cries

Released in early 2004, “Everybody Cries” from Liberty X finds its place as the last single from their sophomore album, “Being Somebody.”

With its pop/R&B foundation, the track leans into an emotional landscape, layering heartfelt lyrics over a polished production that feels somewhat calculated but undeniably earnest.

Chart performance for the single proves respectable if not spectacular, climbing to number 13 on the UK Singles Chart and number 24 in Ireland, though it falls short of the band’s chart-topping glory days.

The accompanying music video opts for a melancholic visual narrative, showing the group trudging through abandoned railway tracks as if signaling the end of a journey, both literal and metaphorical.

While “Everybody Cries” doesn’t pack the raw appeal of earlier hits like “Just a Little,” it serves as a reminder of Liberty X’s knack for creating tracks that are at once radio-friendly and emotionally tinged.

Interestingly, the song’s co-writer, Kelli Young, adds a personal touch to the material, though it lacks the spark necessary to make it an enduring classic.

For all its well-crafted melancholia, the song is a competent closer to an era for Liberty X, even if it doesn’t fully achieve the catharsis its title promises.

Featured on the 2003 album “Being Somebody”.

Lyrics >> Review >> More by the same : Wikipedia

5 . Good Charlotte – Lifestyles of the Rich & Famous

Released in 2002 as the lead single from “The Young and the Hopeless,” Good Charlotte’s “Lifestyles of the Rich & Famous” cleverly skewers celebrity culture with biting humor and sharp observations.

The track critiques the unearned privileges of fame and the hypocrisy of wealthy complaints, all wrapped in a catchy pop-punk package that resonates with rebellious energy.

Referencing public figures like Johnnie Cochran and Marion Barry, the lyrics offer a pointed critique without losing their tongue-in-cheek charm.

The accompanying music video amplifies this satire, staging a mock trial featuring cameos from figures like Kyle Gass and Chris Kirkpatrick, adding layers of absurdity to the song’s critique.

The track’s brisk tempo and vibrant instrumentation balance its biting message, making it a standout anthem of early-2000s punk-flavored discontent.

Charting in the top 40 across various countries and peaking at No. 20 on the Billboard Hot 100, the song achieved both critical and commercial success, earning certifications like Gold in Australia and Germany and Platinum in the UK.

Its relevance extended beyond the charts, appearing in films like “Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star” and making its way into TV soundtracks, ensuring its cultural footprint remained unmistakable.

The accolades, including the MTV Video Music Award for “Viewer’s Choice” in 2003 and a Kerrang Award for Best Single, stand as a testament to its impact on both fans and critics alike.

With a sound that embodies the disillusionment of a generation, the song remains a vital critique of the blurred lines between affluence and adversity in the world of fame.

Featured on the 2002 album “The Young and the Hopeless”.

Lyrics >> Review >> More by the same : Official Site

6 . Yael Naim – New Soul

“New Soul” is a track that straddles the line between infectious simplicity and calculated pop charm.

Its breezy melody, anchored by a cheerful piano riff and Naim’s lilting vocals, feels deceptively effortless, masking an underlying precision in its construction.

The recurring “la la la” hook plays like a self-aware nod to the song’s unpretentious aspirations, wrapping listeners in a cocoon of feel-good nostalgia.

Despite its air of spontaneity, it’s difficult to shake the sense that the song was engineered for maximum mass appeal — a notion underscored by its pivotal role in Apple’s 2008 MacBook Air commercial, which catapulted the track into the cultural zeitgeist.

Its lyrics — an exploration of starting fresh in a complex world — tread familiar ground without veering into profundity, their charm lying in their universality rather than their depth.

From a technical standpoint, the use of the key of C major and a steady tempo of 100 beats per minute lends the song a grounded accessibility, making it an easy listen for even the most casual music fan.

Visually, the accompanying music video mirrors the track’s quirky optimism, with its surreal blend of animated photographs and an evolving apartment-raft scenario, adding a layer of whimsy that complements the sonic palette.

Credit should be given to producer David Donatien and mixer S. Husky Höskulds, whose contributions subtly elevate the song’s polished aesthetic without stripping it of its laid-back vibe.

While Naim’s decision to sing in English might seem like a calculated move for broader market penetration, it also aligns with the song’s intent to cross borders and connect globally, even if her folk-pop roots remain tethered to her French-Israeli identity.

For all its charm, “New Soul” risks polarizing listeners: some may embrace its jubilant simplicity, while others may find its overt polish too pristine to fully engage with emotionally.

Featured on the 2007 album “Yael Naim”.

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7 . Live – Dolphin’s Cry

“The Dolphin’s Cry” crashes into the late ’90s alt-rock landscape with melodious ferocity, riding waves of oceanic imagery that seem both literal and metaphorical.

Co-produced by Jerry Harrison of Talking Heads, the song’s production leans clean but muscular, a polished vessel for its surging emotions.

A highlight is the vocal interplay, where Ed Kowalczyk’s pleading verses are buoyed by Adam Duritz’s understated backing harmonies, creating an undercurrent of yearning.

The track balances anthemic hooks and introspective lyrics, invoking a weighty emotional tide without completely drowning in its own earnestness.

Chart performance was solid but not seismic, hitting respectable highs on U.S. rock charts and cracking the top ten in several international territories, including an Icelandic No. 1.

The accompanying music video, directed by Martin Weisz, literalizes the flood of feelings with an alley inexplicably filling with water, a visual that matches the song’s borderline melodramatic temperament.

While its earnestness feels rooted in its era, “The Dolphin’s Cry” prefers to straddle the line between catharsis and cliché rather than tip fully into either.

Featured on the 1999 album “The Distance to Here”.

Lyrics >> Review >> More by the same : Official Site

8 . The View – Shock Horror

Released in early 2009, “Shock Horror” by The View is a slice of chaotic indie rock that captures the band’s turbulent journey with fame and misadventure.

The track, part of their album *Which Bitch?*, walks the fine line between disarray and energy, clocking in at 4:08 on the 7” release while stretching to almost double that on the CD version for reasons that remain unclear.

The song opens with an urgency that leans into manic energy, supported by driving guitars, raw vocals from Kyle Falconer, and a rhythm section that feels like it’s teetering on the brink of collapse.

The music video mirrors the chaos, placing the band in frenzied scenarios that seem both self-aware and borderline self-destructive.

While it secured a modest No. 64 on the UK Singles Chart, its fall to No. 94 the following week hinted that it lacked the staying power of earlier hits like “5Rebbeccas.”

Lyrically, it recounts the band’s grappling with sudden recognition, a theme that feels both intimate and oddly removed from their audience.

There are hints of sharp introspection, but these are drowned out by a production style that favors messy dynamism over clarity.

In the end, “Shock Horror” encapsulates The View’s chaotic charm—unpolished, feverish, and restless—even if its impact feels more fleeting than profound.

Featured on the 2009 album “Which Bitch?”.

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9 . David Bowie – Survive

David Bowie’s “Survive,” from his 1999 album *Hours,* takes an intimate look at the quiet ache of lost love and the inexorable march of time.

Co-written with Reeves Gabrels, the track is a lyrical exercise in bittersweet resignation, cloaked in the familiarity of folk rock reminiscent of Bowie’s *Hunky Dory* days.

The song finds him retracing the threads of a failed relationship, contemplating missed chances with the reflective weight of hindsight but never fully indulging in melancholy.

Released as the third single from the album in January 2000, the track climbed to number 28 on the UK Singles Chart—neither a flop nor a victory, much like its introspective themes that refuse clean resolutions.

The accompanying music video, directed by Walter Stern, adds a touch of surrealism: Bowie, levitating at a kitchen table with an egg, echoes imagery from his “Ashes to Ashes” phase, a nod to his career’s cyclical self-referencing.

Musically, the piece is restrained and unflashy, its understated nature lending authenticity to the emotional turmoil at its core.

Released in an era dominated by more bombastic pop gestures, the song’s contemplative aura feels almost unfashionable—a quieter articulation of aging with grace and regret.

Yet “Survive” resonates most in its live renditions, where Bowie’s timeless charisma imbues it with an edge missing from its studio counterpart, as evidenced by his stripped-back performance on *Later… with Jools Holland* in 1999.

For longtime fans, it’s not the anthem of a bygone golden era but rather a mirror to life’s nuanced imperfections, drawing its power from its willingness to sit with discomfort rather than outrun it.

Understated and raw, “Survive” serves as a reminder that Bowie, even at his most world-weary, always knew how to make heartbreak sound strangely beautiful.

Featured on the 1999 album “Hours“.

Lyrics >> Review >> More by the same : Official Site

10 . José González – Heartbeats

José González’s acoustic rendition of “Heartbeats” strips away the glossy synth layers of The Knife’s original, revealing a stark, intimate core that feels as fragile as it is powerful.

First released in 2003 as part of his debut album “Veneer,” González’s version emerged quietly before being thrust into the spotlight through an unforgettable Sony Bravia commercial featuring technicolor bouncy balls cascading down San Francisco streets.

The stark fingerpicked guitar and soft, melancholic vocals align seamlessly with the indie folk aesthetic, a sharp departure from the pulsating electronic heartbeat of the original.

While some listeners might miss the urgency of The Knife’s version, González brings his signature contemplative touch, creating something that feels raw yet universally accessible.

The track not only became a chart darling in the UK, spending 35 weeks in rotation, but also propelled González into a global conversation he hadn’t necessarily sought, with “Veneer” quietly cementing its legacy as a modern acoustic staple.

Ironically, the cover’s meteoric success also reignited interest in The Knife’s icy, enigmatic sound, bridging two seemingly divergent musical worlds in an era hungry for connection.

Featured on the 2003 album “Veneer “.

Lyrics >> Review >> More by the same : Official Site

11 . Emiliana Torrini – To Be Free

“To Be Free” by Emilíana Torrini stands as a sharp reflection of late ’90s pop experimentation, blending moody trip-hop textures with an ethereal vocal delivery that feels like it’s perpetually on the verge of floating away.

The track’s origins are almost cinematic—discovered singing in an Icelandic restaurant, Torrini was catapulted into the larger music world under the wing of One Little Independent Records.

On paper, the song doesn’t exactly scream ‘international breakout,’ its UK chart peak of 44 in 2001 hardly rewriting pop history.

But what it lacks in sheer numerical success, it makes up for in its haunting qualities and atmospheric resonance, which rightly earned its place in countless early-2000s playlists emphasizing mood over marketability.

Contextually, the track was released on her 1999 album *Love in the Time of Science*, a record that flirted with mainstream accessibility but insisted on retaining an experimental edge.

The arrangement, with its rippling electronic undercurrents, positions the song in the trip-hop/pop borderlands—a place occupied by artists like Portishead and Massive Attack—though Torrini’s melodies are decidedly more approachable.

The music video complements this mix of accessibility and quirk, dripping with surreal, dreamlike visuals that bubble up from the late-‘90s obsession with artistry wrapped in abstraction.

While “To Be Free” itself doesn’t boast any standalone pop-culture watermarks, Torrini’s unmistakable voice later found broader visibility when she performed “Gollum’s Song” for *The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers*, aligning her with a much larger orbit of listeners.

That said, “To Be Free” remains arguably her most quintessential offering—a perfectly imperfect snapshot of an artist daring to toe the line between the ethereal and the mainstream, long before those spaces blended into the formulaic streaming hits of today.

Featured on the 1999 album “Love in the Time of Science”.

Lyrics >> Review >> More by the same : Official Site

12 . R.E.M. – The Great Beyond

“The Great Beyond” manages to encapsulate the eccentric essence of comedian Andy Kaufman, for whom the song was written, while delivering a lush piece that leans into R.E.M.’s alternative rock pedigree.

Crafted for the 1999 film “Man on the Moon,” this track operates as a companion, circling Kaufman’s enigmatic humor with lyrics that feel equally elusive yet oddly profound.

Michael Stipe’s cryptic vocals and the band’s layered instrumentation lend the song a shimmering quality, simultaneously expansive and introspective.

Riding on a nostalgic riff borrowed from their 1992 single “Man on the Moon,” the track flirts with its predecessor without falling into repetition, sprinkling in lines that feel both homage and reinvention—”Here’s a little agit for the never-believer” comes to mind.

The chart success, notably hitting number three in the UK, reflects a moment where R.E.M.’s wistful spirit harmonized perfectly with pop sensibilities of the time.

Yet the song might hit differently depending on the listener’s tolerance for deliberate vagueness—its musings might come off as inspired or insubstantial.

The accompanying Liz Friedlander-directed video oscillates between quirky layers of R.E.M. performing and Kaufman’s iconic footage, toeing the line between playful and surreal.

The track peaks as a thoughtful highlight in their late-’90s discography, equal parts tribute and introspection wrapped in a satisfying alt-rock package.

Featured on the 1999 album “Man on the Moon : Soundtrack”.

Lyrics >> Review >> More by the same : Official Site