4 Low-Budget 90s Music Videos That Turned Out Massively Successful
· Vice
In the 1990s, music video production became much more defined compared to the previous decade. MTV continued to grow and featured many of the nation’s top acts. These four 90s music videos turned out to be massively successful, filmed on a notably low-budget.
“buddy holly” by weezer
Directed by Spike Jonze, this music video featured Weezer performing on the 1970s television show Happy Days. Clearly, Weezer wasn’t a band back when the show originally aired. Brilliantly, they utilized archival footage of the show. They transformed the members of Weezer into a 1950s group performing at Arnold’s, a local restaurant featured on the sitcom.
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This was a successful low-budget concept, winning four MTV Video Music Awards. Additionally, the video’s success helped boost Weezer’s debut album’s performance.
“nothing compares 2 u” by Sinéad O’Connor
Aside from the track being written by Prince, this song’s minimalist music video helped propel the single into a worldwide No. 1 hit. The video features a close-up of Sinéad O’Connor’s face as she sings.
Aside from that, O’Connor’s brief walk through a park in Paris is seen towards the end of the video. And that’s about it. It was an extremely low-budget video that turned into a No. 1 hit.
“sabotage” by beastie boys
Also directed by Spike Jonze, this low-budget 1994 music video was shot with cheap 16mm film. The premise was a 1970s gritty cop show opening credit sequence that featured the band members playing fictional characters.
The cheap film, mixed with homemade stunts, made for a successful 90s music video that took MTV by storm. As alternative music invaded the mainstream, low-budget and low-quality videos paired well with the genre.
“smells like teen spirit” by nirvana
Filmed on a budget of less than $50,000, Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit” became one of the most iconic music videos of the decade. Notably, the track served as the breakthrough of grunge into the mainstream. Particularly, it was the music video on MTV that propelled the track into national stardom.
The budget of less than $50,000 was notably modest for a major label music video at the time. Nirvana personally selected director Samuel Bayer, as they hoped the video would be a low-quality production.
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