Friday Night Videos: Suicide
Pearl Jam: Jeremy (1992)
When I think about how music videos changed between the 1980s and the 1990s, this one plays prominently in my little mental timeline. Its imagery and subject matter is very striking, and how Jeremy’s parents and his classmates are represented intrigues me. The effect is blunted somewhat by this tiny pixellated version, but VH1 and MTV haven’t really aired this video since the shootings at Columbine.
Arctic Monkeys: Leave Before the Lights Come On (2006)
This is less about suicide and more about how we have trouble connecting to other people. Which, really, is one of the underlying causes of most suicides. It’s also bleakly funny, and has less blood than the previous video.
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