Capturing the Aura of the AIDS Era : A video of ‘I’ve Got You Under My Skin,’ part of a Cole Porter album project, is sexy . . . and ominous.

One of the most intriguing upshots of the “Red Hot and Blue” project--an album of Cole Porter songs reinterpreted by contemporary pop stars to benefit AIDS research--is that accompanying videos have been filmed for nearly all of its 20 tracks, many of them by respected directors. And most of them are well above-average video fare.

The bulk of the clips won’t be on public view until next Saturday, when ABC-TV will air a 90-minute “Red Hot and Blue” special. You can also get glimpses of the videos in a 30-minute special airing at 6 p.m. tonight on cable music channel VH-1. One of the videos--featuring Neneh Cherry--tops this month’s edition of Sound & Vision, where current pop clips are reviewed and rated on a 0-100 scale.

Vid Clip Pick to Click: Neneh Cherry’s “I’ve Got You Under My Skin.” (Director: Jean Baptiste Mondino.) The tone of Cherry’s sinuous groove is established with shots of pumping bass speakers, and the rest of the video has cool-blue imagery that pulsates ever-so-slightly to that bass line. This isn’t just another celebration of the beat, though. It’s a sort of warning about (and wake for) lost heartbeats.

Cherry has used the title and a couple of lines from Cole Porter’s original song, and little else, in turning his light romantic ditty into a heavy AIDS anthem. Porter buffs can’t be blamed for objecting, and even if you support Cherry’s thorough revisionism, you might wish she could have done it a little less literally than the public-service announcement it threatens to become.

Nonetheless, Cherry and Mondino--maybe the best video director in the business--capture the aura of the AIDS era in a spooky, dead-on way--very sexy, very ominous. And their video isn’t too caught up in being cautionary to not remember those victimized already, who are eulogized very lovingly. 88

Worth a Look & a Listen: George Michael’s “Freedom ’90.” (Director: David Fincher.) Michael’s anti-stardom trip continues. He isn’t participating in any of the videos for his new album, and this time--under the eye of Fincher, the most sought-after video director right now--the lyrics are all lip-synced by several well-known models who appear to be sharing an apartment together. About as close as we get to Michael himself are shots of his bomber jacket, jukebox and guitar--icons of videos representing his former persona, which he’s going out of his way to disavow--engulfed in flames or exploding.

This appears designed to work on at least two levels of irony. Michael is telling us that he’s been more like a model than an artist until now. Or perhaps Michael is a symbol of all pretty boys (and girls) who’ve been put upon and patronized, a la these models. Either way, it’s the don’t-hate-me-because-I’m-beautiful phenomenon.

Once more, the man simply doth protest too much--better to be deep than to talk about it so much--yet any video that’s so strong a comment on the depthlessness of videos is a worthwhile bit of self-referentialism. 77

Gamma Ray Rot: Janet Jackson’s “Love Will Never Do Without You.” (Director: Herb Ritts.) Nice Pebbles video. Wait! That’s erstwhile cherub Janet Jackson, sensually rubbing her bodice and bare torso, looking positively, well, underfed? (Not to mention suddenly blonde?) Famed photographer Ritts has made Jackson look terrific--and let’s give credit where credit is due and say Jackson has made Jackson look terrific, too--but at what cost?

With all the strategic close-ups of body parts here, Jackson is turned into Anytart U.S.A., and you have to wonder if Ritts, for his part, is a one-trick pony. His previous video of note, Madonna’s “Cherish,” was shot on the beach instead of the desert seen here, but the sexy, sun-bleached, black and white look of both clips is nearly identical. 48

Damn Yankees’ “High Enough.” (Director: Larry Jordan.) These veteran rockers--especially overeager Ted Nugent--look like they ought to give up the Peter Pan trip and go out and get real jobs. Still, you have to laugh at the lunacy of the juvenile concept here, about a pair of teen lovers on the lam. At the end, the remorseless girl is led from a Death Row cell to her execution wearing a very smart prison-issue mini-dress! Nice to know today’s young ‘uns continue to be indoctrinated early with the value of dying young and leaving a pretty corpse. 10