Hot take: ‘Human Nature’ is Madonna’s best video of the 90s, and one of the decade’s best overall.

Posted by ArtaxWasRight@reddit | Xennials | View on Reddit | 38 comments

It expresses the spirit of the age better than more obvious 90s standard-bearers. It’s stunning, sexy, silly, stylish. It has the best ‘beeped-curse’ censor sound ever. It’s from ‘94, so she still has that creamy pre-Evita voice that I loved so much as kid. Everything about her here screams ‘I’m a gay man trapped in the sick body of a straight woman.’ And this LOOK! Jesus. Remember when Madonna was smart and relevant and regularly scaring the pants off everyone’s parents? This video is drop dead DELIGHTFUL.

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AlwaysFlanAhead@reddit

FANTASTIC track and album. But also, this is me realizing that i was far too young to have unsupervised cable tv when this came out... also that this video pretty much imprinted on me permanently.

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ArtaxWasRight@reddit (OP)

Agreed re:imprint. Re-watching this, I was astonished at the number of little moves (the punching outtake thing at the end, the chair dance, spanking the dog, the shibari rope toss) that apparently have become little algorithms running unconsciously in the back of my mind. It’s weird.

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phreak4privacy@reddit

I would have to say the best 90's video is far and away Cryin' by Aerosmith. Featuring a young Alicia Silverstone it is incredibly sexy but in a way that screams 90's....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qfNmyxV2Ncw

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ArtaxWasRight@reddit (OP)

Honestly, the oversaturation wore a hole in my brain that has yet to fully heal. How many mindless 6th grade arguments did that last scene spawn about whether the bunjee was attached to the belly ring?!

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Lazy_Squash_8423@reddit

Crazy is my favorite. Both Alicia and Liv. I remember watching the video with my jaw on the floor. To this day both ladies still make my jaw drop. It’s a great song as well.

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Adrasteia-One@reddit

My then 14-year-old heart always beat faster when that video came on!

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muhredditone@reddit

That George Michael video with all the models. That was the best and it had someone for everyone. I'm gonna watch it now. :p

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ArtaxWasRight@reddit (OP)

The second one, ‘Too Funky,’ 100% You are correct. That is the best.

Linda Evangelista, Julie Newmar in leathers, Lipsynka, Joey Arias, and Almodovar-muse Rossy de Palma in a music video directed (contentiously) by Thierry Mugler and George Michael himself. Has anything gayer ever taken place? One wonders how the very Earth did not incinerate from the blaze of such concentrated fa66otry.

Tyra Banks and some other models were in it too.

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FabergeEggnog@reddit

Respect the choice, but for me it's Bedtime Story.

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spaceace321@reddit

Another great one! For me it was Frozen. To me it was a signal we were stylistically in a way different place and I loved it

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Stop_Already@reddit

Yes!

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FabergeEggnog@reddit

Frozen was amazing. It has some great subtle visual effects. It was a crazy talented director who sadly kinda disappeared. And it's crazy to me that Madonna watched Aphex Twin's Come to Daddy and thought "that's the guy for this".

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Beginning_Vehicle_16@reddit

Same director made the Nine Inch Nails video for Closer.

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FabergeEggnog@reddit

Yeah, Romanek was cooking in the 90s.

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adx@reddit

Bjork was a writer on Bedtime Story and it really shows.

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nonexistentnight@reddit

My number one lost media item I want to hear is Björk's demo of Bedtime Story.

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polaroid@reddit

I’ve never heard this song before and I was coming back here to say she was ripping off bjork. Interesting that they worked together back then.

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draculasbloodtype@reddit

Written by Bjork, once I learned that I can hear her voice in it too (not literally), in that it sounds like a Bjork song. I love it.

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anOvenofWitches@reddit

Bedtime Story was the most expensive music video to date (CG effects were not cheap)… until Michael & Janet’s Scream debuted a week or so later. God, what a time to be alive sigh.

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Top-Telephone9013@reddit

Bjork wrote that. So if you like it, check out Bjork

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TransCapybara@reddit

Bjork's a genius. Big fan.

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BritOnTheRocks@reddit

gif

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proudmaryjane@reddit

This video/song had such an influence on me, I quoted it in my senior yearbook.

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ObieUno@reddit

LOL

Every 3 seconds some moron is vogueing to another side of the sequel cube with sharp rigid bodily movements.

This video sucks ass.

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zoominzacks@reddit

Also in the running for decades best. George Michael-Freedom 90

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=diYAc7gB-0A&pp=ygUZZ2VvcmdlIG1pY2hhZWwgZnJlZWRvbSA5MA%3D%3D

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jambr380@reddit

This is literally the first Madonna song I think of when I try to think of Madonna songs (which is not often). I think it must be because of the video because she obviously has much bigger hits

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Fragrant_Ad5647@reddit

Ray of Light-era Madonna was the end of her culture-defining run, everything after was trying to hold on to what she had already accomplished. Not bad at all, but not as incredible as before.

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sthef2020@reddit

I’ve always thought Bedtime Stories is Madonna’s secret best album.

It’s more sentimental in its production than Erotica, but still more adventurous than Ray of Light. And the sounds on it are so diverse, from the Dr. Dre style west coast beat of Human Nature, to the dreamy Bjork written Bedtime Story, to the radio ready acoustic Secret.

It’s a low key album that doesn’t necessarily feel like a big statement piece. But it’s rock solid front to back, and feels like an artist maturing.

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