‘Vous Avez Dit Bizarre’ N°331 – Vintage 2000s Music Videos

1 . Morrissey – I’m Throwing My Arms Around Paris

On “I’m Throwing My Arms Around Paris,” Morrissey distills the ache of unreciprocated affection into the embrace of an indifferent cityscape, a motif that feels both grandiose and strangely intimate.

The 2009 track, part of the album “Years of Refusal,” is quintessentially Morrissey in its union of poetic alienation and melodic simplicity. With verses that tiptoe toward despondence and a chorus that loops insistently like a broken heart’s refrain, the structure mirrors the circularity of longing itself. The metaphor of Paris, reduced here to “stone and steel,” is as cold and unmoved as the love Morrissey pines for, rendering the song’s romantic gestures both poignant and futile.

Written in collaboration with late producer Jerry Finn, whose contributions were cut short following his passing, the single exudes a polished yet raw quality, perhaps reflecting the stop-start release schedule of “Years of Refusal.” Initially slated for September 2008, the album was delayed until February 2009, straddling personal grief and commercial readjustments, including the hunt for an American label. Such disruptions lend an air of unresolved tension to the album, crystallized in the defeated optimism of this song.

Chart-wise, the album secured its footing at number 3 in the UK and 11 on the US “Billboard” 200. The accompanying “Years of Refusal” tour stretched across Russia, Ireland, the UK, and the US, a testament to the global reach of Morrissey’s loyal fan base. Yet, in the shadow of these logistical triumphs, “I’m Throwing My Arms Around Paris” remains elegantly bittersweet, a cry for connection that echoes unanswered through the streets of an indifferent city.

Featured on the 2009 album “Years of Refusal”.

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2 . Mark Ronson – Just (w/ Phantom Planet)

“Just,” Mark Ronson’s 2006 reconfiguration of Radiohead’s bruising standout from *The Bends*, trades the original’s jagged claustrophobia for something sharper yet surprisingly buoyant. Enlisting Alex Greenwald of Phantom Planet, Ronson veers toward soulful reassembly, layering the infamous guitar riff over a tightly wound rhythm section. The track sits comfortably on his album *Version*, a project that indulges his penchant for genre-melding reinventions.

Greenwald’s vocal delivery feels purpose-built for this effort, maintaining an air of emotive vulnerability without entirely receding into the shadow of Thom Yorke’s spectral tenor. His voice, familiar to fans of Phantom Planet’s “California,” now strides confidently through Ronson’s meticulously constructed funk-lite production. Yet, it’s impossible not to contrast the frenzied urgency of the original with this polished smoothness—a cover that amplifies everything while subtracting the tension that made its predecessor pulse with unease.

The song peaked at 48 on the UK Singles Chart, its modest four-week tenure emblematic of an era where such mash-ups struggled to cut through a saturated pop culture landscape. More successful, perhaps, is its function within *Version*, the critically lauded record that climbed to number 2 on the UK Albums Chart and lingered there for 72 weeks. As part of the broader album experiment, “Just” illustrates Ronson’s knack for reshaping sacred alt-rock into something accessible, if not quite transformative.

Ronson’s production—always exacting, sometimes to its detriment—leaves little space for the rawness that Radiohead weaponized. What emerges, then, is less a dialogue with the source material and more an exercise in aesthetic hybridity. Whether this works hinges on whether you hear reinvention or simply hear a safer, radio-readied echo.

Featured on the 2006 album “Exit Music: Songs with Radio Heads”.

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3 . Cold War Kids – Hang Me Up To Dry

“Hang Me Up to Dry,” the breakout single from Cold War Kids’ debut album “Robbers & Cowards,” is a study in tension, with a melodic pull as unrelenting as its ironic title.

Released on January 29, 2007, and revisited with a re-release later that year, the track has roots tracing back to the band’s 2006 EP “Up in Rags.”

Structurally, it’s anchored in 4/4 time at a deliberate 92 beats per minute, with an E minor key that injects a persistent unease.

Nathan Willett’s vocals stretch between E3 and B4, crackling with both desperation and resignation, as if carrying the weight of the titular metaphor.

Co-produced by the full band alongside Matt Wignall, the song mirrors the stylistic restraint of its creators, where every bass pluck and drum hit feels more like punctuation than embellishment.

The lyrics teem with a kind of elastic ambiguity, wavering between confession and confrontation, as though communicating directly with the laundry line the title evokes.

The accompanying music video by The Malloys amplifies this mood, styled as an avant-garde film trailer complete with faux critical acclaim and festival nominations—a tongue-in-cheek nod to the band’s burgeoning indie status.

Despite the song charting only at number 57 in the UK and peaking at 26 on the “Billboard” Alternative Songs chart, its impact extended beyond numbers, thanks in part to notable live performances.

From their U.S. television debut on the “Late Show with David Letterman” on December 21, 2006, to stamping their mark on the UK scene with “Later… with Jools Holland” on May 18, 2007, the band wielded the track as both calling card and declaration of intent.

While its deliberate pacing and sparse instrumentation may alienate listeners seeking immediate melodic gratification, its brooding tone rewards those willing to engage with its unpolished intimacy.

Ultimately, “Hang Me Up to Dry” wages no war for perfection, preferring instead to hang, drip, and linger—a soaked canvas waiting for the air to clear.

Featured on the 2006 album “Robbers & Cowards”.

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

4 . Papa Roach – Last Resort

“Last Resort,” the inaugural single from Papa Roach’s 2000 album “Infest,” establishes itself as a raw confessional by intertwining unflinching subject matter with an unforgettable hook.

Crafted by Jacoby Shaddix and Tobin Esperance, the song’s genesis in mid-’90s Sacramento rehearsals culminated in an iconic riff, born improbably from Esperance’s piano. But the heart of the track lies in its lyrics. Described by Shaddix as a “cry for help,” they directly address the specter of suicide, a topic inspired by personal tragedy yet resonant enough to bridge the gap between isolated despair and collective catharsis.

Jay Baumgardner’s production teeters between jagged aggression and an almost pop-like accessibility, which might explain its crossover success. Topping the *Billboard* Modern Rock Tracks chart for seven weeks, the song clawed its way to number 57 on the *Billboard* Hot 100 while reaching a striking number 3 peak in the UK. Its global reception—top-10 status in countries like Austria, Germany, and Portugal—demonstrates not just appeal but universality in its message.

That said, its formula of relentless repetition and sharp dynamics walks a tightrope. While the musical aggression mirrors the urgency of its themes, the unrelenting intensity risks alienating listeners seeking a sliver of nuance. Over time, this rawness becomes both its draw and its limitation.

With streams pushing a billion on Spotify and hundreds of millions of YouTube views, “Last Resort” cemented itself as a cultural touchpoint. Love it or not, its enduring influence in metal makes it impossible to ignore.

Featured on the 2000 album “Infest “.

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5 . Sum 41 – The Hell Song

“The Hell Song,” released by Canadian rock band Sum 41 in 2003, is a prime example of their knack for channeling personal anguish into high-energy pop-punk defiance.

Written by lead vocalist Deryck Whibley in the wake of learning a friend had contracted HIV, the track captures raw emotion without descending into overt sentimentality. Crafted in just half an hour, the urgency of its genesis bleeds into the tightly wound riff structure and Whibley’s vocal delivery, alternately biting and introspective. Yet, the song’s brisk pacing and infectious chorus almost mask its core somberness, creating a tension that’s both ironic and compelling.

The track didn’t merely skate by on thematic resonance, though—it resonated with audiences, charting in the top 40 in Ireland, Italy, and the UK, where it peaked at number 35. Its success was bolstered by a music video that juxtaposes emotional gravitas with absurdist humor. Directed by Marc Klasfeld, the video features action figures of pop culture icons like Eminem and Ozzy Osbourne staging a chaotic toy concert. The visual irreverence earned nominations at the 2003 MTV Video Music Awards, but Sum 41 lost both categories to Coldplay’s “The Scientist”—an outcome emblematic of the era’s leaning toward introspectively polished over brashly dynamic.

While “The Hell Song” ultimately achieved gold certification in the US and Italy and a silver in the UK, its real accomplishment lies in Sum 41’s ability to confront serious issues without abandoning their sardonic edge. As part of *Does This Look Infected?*, it underscores the band’s skill at merging genuine pathos with their signature punk bravado, though one could argue its juxtaposition of light and heavy veers close to tonal inconsistency. Still, Sum 41’s characteristic energy injects vitality into a narrative that might otherwise feel unbearably bleak.

Featured on the 2002 album “Does This Look Infected?”.

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

6 . The Beta Band – Squares

“Squares,” a track nestled deep in The Beta Band’s 2001 album “Hot Shots II,” feels like a disoriented stroll through a sonic funhouse, where the mirrors are warped and the footing uneasy.

Borrowing a string loop from The Gunter Kallmann Choir’s “Daydream,” the song stitches this sample into a patchwork of glitched hip-hop beats and pitch-twisted melodies, crafting a soundscape both nostalgic and unnerving. Its folktronica undercurrents, fused with streaks of trip hop and psychedelic rock, teeter on a cusp of the unsettling, a hallmark of The Beta Band’s experimental ethos.

Steve Mason’s vocals, almost detached in their delivery, cascade through lyrics that evoke isolation and displacement. This thematic thread complements the track’s nightmarish underbelly—seething yet subdued. While its sonic ambition is undeniable, the execution occasionally flirts with indulgence; the reliance on the central sample, though effective, risks wearing thin under repeated listens.

“Squares” managed a peak at number 42 on the UK Singles Chart, spending a modest two weeks in the Top 75. A respectable showing, though hardly a commercial triumph. Its parent album, “Hot Shots II,” fared better, reaching number 13 and landing a spot in the 2010 edition of “1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.” Yet, this accolade perhaps speaks more to the band’s singular vision than this track’s standalone merit.

The Beta Band’s brief yet impactful career culminated in their 2004 dissolution, marred by label conflicts and mounting debts. Their unique approach did, however, draw admiration from heavyweights such as Oasis and Radiohead, leading to high-profile opening tours in 2001. But “Squares” itself reflects the blurred line between entrancing and alienating, a microcosm of the band’s uneven—but bold—output.

Featured on the 2001 album “Hot Shots II”.

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7 . Red Hot Chili Peppers – Otherside

“Otherside” steps into the void carved by addiction, offering a sobering yet oddly melodic meditation on self-destruction from the Red Hot Chili Peppers’ *Californication*. Released in early 2000, the single plants itself firmly in the band’s shift from frenetic funk to a more reflective, alternative rock cadence—a sonic recalibration unmistakably influenced by the return of John Frusciante in 1998.

Thematically, the song reflects the scars shared by Frusciante and Anthony Kiedis, both haunted by their own struggles with substance abuse. Yet it also mourns Hillel Slovak, the band’s original guitarist, whose battle ended in a fatal overdose. The lyrics don’t romanticize; instead, they unravel the inevitability of addiction with lines that hover between despair and reluctant acceptance.

Musically, Frusciante’s return is palpable. His understated guitar work balances the melancholy, threading a fine line between tension and clarity that anchors the track. This is a quieter Chili Peppers—not neutered, but introspective, as though trying on vulnerability like an ill-fitting suit. The results aren’t always transformative, but they are undeniably affecting.

The music video, directed by Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris, amplifies the song’s surreal aura. Its black-and-white aesthetic and skewed, cartoonish architecture draw from *The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari*, creating a disjointed landscape that pairs well with the song’s narrative of inner turmoil. Band members wielding unusual props as instruments add an extra layer of absurdity, a nod perhaps to the sense of detachment addiction instills.

Commercially, “Otherside” didn’t spark fireworks on the UK charts, peaking at a modest number 33 and lingering only two weeks. But its placement on *Californication*—an album marking a crossroads in the band’s trajectory—cements its role in this transitional chapter. It trades the manic funk of their earlier works, like *Blood Sugar Sex Magik*, for a moodier, more grounded atmosphere that doesn’t always soar but invites a closer listen.

The song is neither a lamentation nor a redemption arc; it’s more of a long exhale. If there’s solace here, it’s in the honesty—quiet but unflinching—of confronting the other side of pain.

Featured on the 1999 album “Californication“.

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

8 . The Von Bondies – C’mon C’mon

The Von Bondies’ “C’mon C’mon,” released in 2004 as part of the *Pawn Shoppe Heart* album, is all the tension and rawness of Detroit’s garage rock scene bottled into two minutes and thirteen seconds.

Produced by Jerry Harrison of Talking Heads, with input from the band’s own Jason Stollsteimer, it has the sonic sheen of someone trying to tame chaos without muting it entirely. The track climbed to No. 25 on the Billboard Alternative Songs chart and No. 21 on the UK Singles Chart—a feat that likely reflects its ability to balance aggressive beats with radio-ready accessibility.

The song’s pounding rhythms courtesy of Don Blum, and the scuzzy guitars echo the band’s knack for melding dance-punk energy with garage rock messiness, but the polish arguably blunts some of the grit their genre thrives on. If its placement on the *House of Wax Soundtrack* didn’t already tip you off, this is music built to fill spaces: house parties, movie car chases, or the occasional TV spot, as their performances on *Late Show with David Letterman* and *Last Call with Carson Daly* suggest.

Detroit’s music scene often feels like a fight breaking out in a room full of amps, and “C’mon C’mon” carries traces of that energy, though not without restraint. Its status as a summer anthem for 2004 probably owes as much to its catchiness as to its role soundtracking The Von Bondies’ stints opening for luminaries like Sonic Youth and Iggy Pop. Still, it falls short of the primal ferocity that can make a track truly timeless. If “C’mon C’mon” is memorable, it’s largely because its hooks invite you in—and the volume makes it hard to say no—rather than for any deeper staying power. It’s speedily efficient, but in its brevity, you’re left wondering whether there’s something more burning beneath the surface that never gets to come up for air.

Featured on the 2004 album “Pawn Shoppe Heart”.

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9 . Mogwai – Friend Of The Night

“Friend of the Night,” released on January 30, 2006, sits comfortably as one of Mogwai’s more approachable tracks, though not without visible seams in its construction.

Anchored by a piano melody that gives the song a wistful softness uncommon in the band’s catalog, it offers a comparatively melodic detour from the abrasive tendencies often tied to post-rock’s louder moments. Despite this accessibility, the track stops short of becoming overly saccharine, maintaining a certain restraint in its emotional reach.

Recorded at Castle of Doom in Glasgow, the song owes much of its polished finish to producer Tony Doogan’s meticulous eye—or ear—during sessions spanning April to October 2005. Stuart Braithwaite described the recording process as laborious, suggesting that perfection came at a cost, though one deemed worthwhile. The final product hints at that struggle, with its polished layers belied by an undercurrent of tension that keeps the track engaging.

Chart-wise, “Friend of the Night” peaked modestly at number 38 on the UK Official Singles Chart and climbed a bit higher in the UK Official Physical Singles Chart, landing at number 25. These figures reflect a meeting ground between Mogwai’s core audience and new listeners drawn to the accessible soundscaping.

Though the band’s usual reliance on extreme dynamics—tense builds erupting into crashing resolutions—is less pronounced here, the song still manages to encapsulate their knack for intricate arrangements. Mogwai’s interplay of members—Braithwaite, Dominic Aitchison, John Cummings, Barry Burns, and Martin Bulloch—is as precise as ever, shaped here by their collaborative rehearsal techniques.

As part of their album *Mr Beast*, “Friend of the Night” might land on the milder side of post-rock experimentation. It doesn’t aim to overwhelm, and in sidestepping Mogwai’s more aggressive tendencies, the track risks being somewhat overshadowed by bolder moments in their discography. Still, it carves out a space as a quiet triumph of craft and rigor, albeit one that stays carefully within its lane.

Featured on the 2006 album “Mr Beast “.

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

10 . Grandaddy – The Crystal Lake

“The Crystal Lake” sidesteps the nostalgic clichés of small-town dreams gone awry and instead navigates its narrative with a wry touch of alienation.

Opening as a deceptively buoyant indie rock number, the song’s bright, jangling guitar lines disguise its darker undercurrent—a painful irony that Jason Lytle orchestrates with precision.

Lytle’s production, crafted during an intense solo recording stint in a remote farmhouse, lends the track an understated claustrophobia, as though the very walls of that rural isolation press into its mix.

Thematically, Lytle leans into a familiar trope—the wayward soul abandoning their small-town roots only to find regret in the cold sterility of urban life—but he injects the story with his unique lens on disillusionment, reflecting the album’s overarching preoccupation with technology and human detachment.

The contrast between the song’s upbeat tempo and the weighty subject matter feels intentional, mirroring the dizzying optimism of escape giving way to quiet despair.

Charting modestly on the UK Singles Chart—initially peaking at number 78 before climbing to 38 during its 2001 reissue—the song’s underwhelming commercial impact belies its critical longevity, as Pitchfork’s inclusion of it at number 295 in their best songs of the 2000s attests.

B-sides like “Our Dying Brains” and “She-Deleter” complement the release, though they orbit more as curiosities rather than essential listening.

As with much of *The Sophtware Slump*, this track thrives less on technical flash and more on atmosphere—a fragmented postcard from desolation that knows it can never find its way back home.

Featured on the 2000 album “The Sophtware Slump”.

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

11 . Korn – Falling Away from Me

“Falling Away from Me,” Korn’s lead single from their 1999 album “Issues,” presents itself as a grim meditation on domestic abuse, underscored by Jonathan Davis’s raw vocal delivery and the band’s characteristic blend of nu-metal chaos and eerie melodies.

The track leans heavily on Korn’s established playbook—haunting guitar textures from James “Munky” Shaffer and Brian “Head” Welch reel you into a suffocating atmosphere, while Reginald “Fieldy” Arvizu’s bass grinds low enough to register in your gut. Ray Luzier’s percussion provides a fractured heartbeat, skewering the sense of order rather than anchoring it. Simultaneously, Davis’s half-spoken, half-screamed vocals oscillate between frustration and eerie resignation, striking a nerve but stopping short of offering much sonic variety across the track.

Thematically, the song’s intent to spotlight domestic abuse and its repercussions is praiseworthy, with Davis vocalizing the need to seek help. Whether the words fully escape the fuzzy dissonance of the instrumental is debatable, though the effort feels sincere. In the accompanying music video, which ascended to the top of MTV’s Total Request Live for ten days, the use of anti-abuse imagery sharpens the message more directly than the audio alone might manage.

Chart-wise, “Falling Away from Me” finds Korn operating on firm ground. Peaking at number 7 on both the Mainstream Rock Songs and Modern Rock Tracks charts, and hovering for sixteen weeks on the Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles chart, the song exemplifies the uneasy pairing of their niche sound with broad, almost mainstream visibility. The album “Issues,” meanwhile, debuted as a blockbuster, clinching the number one spot on the Billboard 200 against competition as heavy as Dr. Dre’s and Celine Dion’s releases, selling 575,000 copies in its first week alone and ultimately reaching 3× platinum certification through 13 million global sales. It’s the kind of commercial success that ironically risks overshadowing the deeply internal struggles Korn often seeks to confront in their music.

The band’s appearance in a “South Park” episode, “Korn’s Groovy Pirate Ghost Mystery,” hints at their permeation into late-1990s pop culture, though such moments also lend an ironic detachment to their otherwise serious subject matter. Whether the juxtaposition of their heavy themes with quirky mainstream appearances dilutes or enhances Korn’s resonance depends on which side of the cultural fence you sit on.

In the end, “Falling Away from Me” is quintessential Korn: abrasive, unflinching, and thematically potent, but restrained by certain creative redundancies. It doesn’t reinvent their sonic wheel but remains a serviceable entry in their catalog, offering a space to confront pain without promising the resolution of it.

Featured on the 1999 album “Issues“.

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

12 . My Chemical Romance – Desolation Row

My Chemical Romance’s take on Bob Dylan’s “Desolation Row” shrinks Dylan’s 11-minute odyssey into a whirlwind 3:01 punk anthem, proving that brevity can still pack a punch, or at least a loud one.

Released on January 26, 2009, under the Reprise and Warner Sunset labels, this version trades Dylan’s sprawling poetry for a high-octane sound that feels less like wandering through a desolate cultural landscape and more like getting hurled into the fire of 2000s emo-punk aesthetics.

The cover lands on the soundtrack of the film *Watchmen*, a fitting match considering how the song lends a borrowed gravitas to the comic’s first chapter, “At Midnight All the Agents.” But where Dylan’s original walked the tightrope between surreal imagery and existential musings, My Chemical Romance opts for raw immediacy, boiling it all down to a concentrated, distorted scream to match Zack Snyder’s grim dystopia.

Chart-wise, the track did modestly well, peaking at number 20 on *Billboard*’s Modern Rock Tracks and hitting seven on the Bubbling Under Hot 100 chart by March 2009. Not exactly a meteoric rise, but a respectable blip in rock radio rotations at the time.

This cover is undeniably My Chemical Romance—Gerard Way’s urgent howl and Ray Toro’s punching guitar riffs dominate, as if they’re clashing in an alley rather than paying homage to Dylan’s layered subtlety. What’s lost in translation, though, might be the point of the original song: the sprawling absurdity of its characters and settings now gallop at a speed that leaves no time for reflection.

In trimming a classic to punk rock’s lean, muscular frame, My Chemical Romance excels at energy, if not precision. Dylan’s ambiguity becomes a blunt force weapon, tailor-made for the bleak streets of *Watchmen* but leaving little room for the introspection that made the original resonate longer than its runtime. C+

Featured on the 2009 album “Watchmen: Music from the Motion Picture”.

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