Before YouTube, there were music video countdowns on television. In the late 90s and early 2000s, millennials were glued to the television when TRL came on MTV. We’d leave school in a mad dash to get home so we could catch the newest music videos. You never knew what video was about to debut, or what interviews you were about to witness. You’d sling your backpack to the floor, and homework had to wait until TRL was over. This era of “appointment television” made music videos much more exciting, and here are the rock videos that we’d race home to watch.
“The Hardest Button To Button” by The White Stripes
This video is arguably the most memorable from The White Stripes, even though they released multiple iconic videos in the early 2000s. This one particularly stands out for its unique effects. They utilized 32 identical Ludwig drum sets and 32 identical amplifiers to move the duo frame-by-frame along to the beat.
This concept was so unique that The Simpsons created their own parody. Bart Simpson’s drum set creates a new identical drum set with each beat of the song, just like the music video. As he scoots through Springfield, he eventually encounters Jack and Meg White at an intersection, and they collide. The duo then threaten and chase Bart Simpson until they fall off a broken bridge and land on a floating trash barge. You just had to be there; it was amazing.
“No One Knows” by Queens Of The Stone Age
In the early 2000s, Dave Grohl had already proven that he can play the frontman role. Internally, the Foo Fighters were experiencing a dip in creative ambition, and things got tense while recording a new album. They weren’t happy with the way their new album was turning out, and they didn’t know what to do about it. Instead of fixing the issue immediately, Dave Grohl unexpectedly recorded a Queens Of The Stone Age album, making a grand return to the drums. He then toured with the band, shocking everyone, including his own bandmates in Foo Fighters.
Dave Grohl appeared on Queens Of The Stone Age’s 2002 rock masterpiece, Songs For The Deaf. Their single, “No One Knows”, showcased how Dave Grohl was still among the greatest rock drummers, returning to the kit with even heavier yet more concise chops. It was very exciting watching this music video on MTV, spotting Grohl behind the drum kit again.
“One Last Breath” by Creed
The combination of CGI and one of the most defining bands of the early 2000s generated this iconic music video. It doesn’t get more early-2000s than this. Younger generations will never fully understand how it blew our minds back then. There’s no denying Creed’s place at the forefront of early 2000s rock. They were at the top of the mountain, much like how the band stands high on their individual CGI pillars in this music video.
Photo by Tim Mosenfelder/Corbis via Getty Images
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