Songlist Help Flash IV: cars, motorcycles and music videos

After three editions, we've decided to make this playlist different. For starters, it's not about songs, but about videos. So it's not meant to keep you company while you're behind the wheel. But since you can't drive 24/7 (remember, you have to take a break every two hours), you're sure to find time to watch this collection of car and motorcycle music videos. We hope you like it, that it surprises you... and that it might even stir up some controversy ( spoiler alert: probably with number 2).

Our top 10 car (and motorcycle) music videos

Although this list is different, it maintains the traditional Help Flash rules: you can't repeat a band or artist; it has to be as varied as possible, covering different styles and eras. In this case, we even considered including a prior disclaimer like " these scenes were filmed by professionals ," but we prefer, rather than stating something so obvious, to trust your good judgment. We're convinced that when you feel like imitating the singer of Coldplay or The Cardigans , you just do it at karaoke. Let's go with the list.

10. IRONIC, ALANIS MORISSETTE (1996)

If you're over 40 and you read "car music videos," one of the first that probably comes to mind is " Ironic ": Alanis multiplying herself in layers and layers of wool, directed by Stéphane Sednaoui (he's spent two decades directing videos for U2, Madonna, Björk, Massive Attack, and Depeche Mode, among others). Okay, so getting invited to a trip after you've already paid, getting stuck in a traffic jam when you're already running late, and none of the situations in the song are truly ironic; 25 years later, even Alanis herself laughs about it, in the updated version she sang with James Corden . But who needs semantic arguments when you can sing at the top of your lungs " It's like raaaaaiinnn in your wedding day... "? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jne9t8sHpUc

9. ALL GOOD?, DE LA SOUL feat. CHAKA KHAN (2000)

Some people use videos to make childhood dreams come true, like being really cool driving expensive luxury cars , and others prefer to be filmed working at an automatic car wash; you know, there are two kinds of people. Half homage to a minor classic ( Car Wash ), half dig at all the fans and media who stopped paying attention after the first two albums (“ We were certified hot, then dropped to lukewarm / Now we back up in the spot, claiming never been gone ”), “ All Good?” is a fun joke that maintains/subverts/updates the genre’s big tropes. And it also features Chaka Khan. And everything is way better with Chaka Khan. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KRIc_EjwMp8

8. OTIS, JAY-Z & KANYE WEST (2011)

Five seconds in, seeing Jay and Kanye's intentions as they approach the Maybach, some might think this isn't a music video; it's a horror movie. We could say it's all special effects and nothing happened to the car, but it did. A perfect example of (there's a word to impress at talk shows) braggadoccio with distinctive class, style, and talent, the song included Otis Redding's legendary " Try a Little Tenderness " sampled (hence the title). The video was directed by Spike Jonze, whom we'll talk about again later, who said he had a movie in mind: " The Expendables ," only with only two protagonists, who are also rappers and don't fight. It's exactly the same. It was video of the year at the BET Awards and, we confess, it made our top list in a fierce competition with another video we'd also like to introduce to you: " Let a Bitch Know " by Kiddy Smile. The mistreatment of cars is greater, but we like voguing more than boasting. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BoEKWtgJQAU

7. BAD GIRLS, MIA (2012)

Another illustrious name for the top list: Romain Gavras. His father has been making the best political films for over 50 years (“ State of Siege ,” “ Missing ,” “ Arcadia ”). It only took him a couple of years to forge his own path: Justice’s “ Stress ” in 2008 and MIA’s own “ Born Free ” in 2010 established that signature blend of realism and nightmare, as if Michael Haneke had switched to music videos. Two years later, he collaborated again with Mathangi “Maya” Arulpragasam on “ Bad Girls ”; the idea is better understood when you consider that it was still six years before women were allowed to drive in Saudi Arabia. MIA’s message is clear from the start: “ Bad girls do it well .” To paraphrase Mae West: good girls go to heaven, bad girls go (driving) everywhere. If you like it, get in the back seat. If not, you know... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2uYs0gJD-LE

6. BEHIND THE WHEEL , DEPECHE MODE (1987)

If the debate over who the "fifth Beatle" is has been going on for decades, there's no doubt about who the fifth member of Depeche Mode would be: Anton Corbijn. Inseparable since 1987, their relationship has earned the highest honor an artist can receive: a Taschen book dedicated to you , of course. Anton's personal and highly imitated aesthetic (those extreme contrasts, those grainy images) has changed the way we see stars; it's not so much about bringing them closer as it is about knocking them off their pedestal. " Behind the Wheel " continued the story told in the band's previous video and single, " Never Let Me Down Again ." We have a Vespa, a seductive Dave Gahan, a glamorous unknown (Ippolita Santarelli), a beautiful Italian village, and even roadside assistance. What more could we ask for from a video to include it on a Help Flash list? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VEAuMiKqP-4

5. KARMA POLICE, RADIOHEAD (1997)

We continue with the big names: from Anton Corbijn to Jonathan Glazer, director of, among others, the magnificent “ Under the Skin .” A cold, minimalist video, influenced by David Lynch and the Cohen brothers . And also a complete failure, for its author: “ I tried to make something hypnotic and I feel like I didn't achieve it .” To reassure Jonathan, we could say that no other human being thinks like him; in fact, he was named Director of the Year by MTV. Let's go with a round of connections: “ Karma Police ,” the song, released in 1997, was premiered live a year earlier, when Radiohead supported… Alanis Morissette. And “ Karma Police ,” the video, is more than an inspiration for another classic of recent years: “ Wrong ,” by Depeche Mode. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1uYWYWPc9HU

4. SABOTAGE, BEASTIE BOYS (1994)

We promised to talk about Spike Jonze again. The author behind “ Being John Malkovich ,” “ The Orchid Thief ,” “ Her ,” and the work that will go down in history: “ Jackass ,” of course. And if we're talking about videos, take a deep breath, because here's the list: Sonic Youth, Weezer, The Breeders, REM, Björk, The Chemical Brothers… a quarter of a century directing music videos. It's hard to choose just one, but many of us would stick with the legendary “ Sabotage ,” a parody and homage to 1970s crime films. The music? Call it scratchy hardcore, punk metal, or rapcore; the label doesn't matter. The best thing to do is turn up the volume and enjoy the best rhyme of the 1990s: “ Oh my God, it's a mirage / I'm telling y'all, it's a sabotage .” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z5rRZdiu1UE

3. STRESSED OUT, TWENTY ONE PILOTS (2015)

At this point in the list, we were missing the typical music video of the band riding in a car, in one of its many varieties: taking a glamorous ride through the city , moving through neighborhoods their parents don't like , escaping from rough spots on deserted roads ... or riding a pair of tricycles. Luxury tricycles, yes , but tricycles nonetheless. For that alone, Twenty One Pilots already deserve a place in the top 10. The greeting they play from the 45-second mark already puts them directly on the podium. The video, created by Reel Bear Media , perfectly reflects the tone of the song, as idealistic as it is ironic, as demystifying as it is dreamy, which can be found in many other works of that new nostalgia so in vogue, from " Stranger Things " to " Super Empollonas ". https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pXRviuL6vMY

2. SAOKO, ROSALÍA (2021)

Judging by Twitter, a motomami is many, many things. Our contribution: a motomami is the first woman to perform two songs in Spanish in the 47 seasons of Saturday Night Live. Of course, follower, download, or Google search results aren't a criterion of quality, nor is having a lot of talk about you "abroad," but perhaps they are an indicator that we should look beyond our noses. The video, directed by Valentit Petit (who has worked on advertising campaigns for Peugeot, Renault, and Bentley), could be seen as an update of what we were saying earlier about MIA's video. Even " saoko " sounds similar to the British singer's " suki, suki, " although the meaning is very different . Fuck the style. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6o7bCAZSxsg

1. EVERYBODY HURTS, REM (1993)

Choosing a collection of short stories set in a traffic jam as the best car music video may seem like a joke, but four minutes in, when we finally see Michael Stipe sing, the feeling that comes over you is more liberating than any road movie can offer. “ That sad, yearning quality of the song, its tempo, suggested the slow build of a traffic jam, which is where you can find a true glimpse of humanity ,” explains Jake Scott, the director (and son of Ridley Scott, by the way). Jake admits to having been inspired by the first minutes of Fellini’s “8½,” but many more ideas resonate here (as simple as it may seem, something signed by REM will never be simple). The superimpositions, raw and direct, could have been by Palahniuk. And the performances, by Stanilavski: “ We cast local actors and people off the street. Then I sat down with each one and asked them what specifically “hurt” them, what that meant to them .” Maybe it's the instant recognition that we've all been there, maybe it's that voice that becomes the closest thing to a hug ever recorded, or maybe it's, as Rodrigo Fresán said, " one of those rare miracles, a song that works like tears and like a handkerchief ." In any case, everything hurts less after listening to, and watching, " Everybody Hurts ." https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5rOiW_xY-kc Time to turn our full attention back to the road. We hope we've made your trip more enjoyable. And if you've seen videos much better than those on this list—videos we wouldn't believe—please exercise your right of reply. We are willing to change the top, of course.