The Bold and the Beautiful

In this month’s Sound & Vision, where we rate music videos on a scale from 0-100, shock rockers Marilyn Manson follow up a mechanized nightmare version of the Eurythmics’ “Sweet Dreams” with the equally sinister “The Beautiful People.” In the tradition of Alice Cooper, Manson tops its industrial-based torture rock with gory dramatics that are dungeon-like, but updated and technologically advanced enough for savvy audiences of the ‘90s.

The Florida quintet, whose album “Antichrist Superstar” is on Trent Reznor’s Nothing label, injects some camp and fantasy back into the largely earnest, reality-based rock world. Manson’s comic-book appeal is an alternative to the confessional, good-guy style of Pearl Jam, or the geek-rock of bands such as Weezer and the Eels. The music is totally escapist, the band ill-behaved and the results chillingly sensational if not slightly repulsive. Whether you like it or not, this is the reaction to grunge.

Another kind of dramatic style returns to rock, this time with its originator Patti Smith. The legendary singer comes back with the first video from her new album “Gone Again,” and though it doesn’t serve up any creepy-crawly images, it does capture the raw power of Smith herself. Her consciously dramatic movements and the video’s gutter-romantic imagery are as gorgeous as Manson’s “Beautiful People” is ugly.

Marilyn Manson, “The Beautiful People.” Directed by Floria Sigismondi, this video takes place in a Frankensteinian lab, where evil experiments (and scary video shoots) take place. When Mr. Marilyn Manson is not sitting on his throne--an electric chair--he sings into a contraption that looks like a cross between an old microphone, a scooter from “Quadrophenia” and a turn-of-the-century torture device. In other shots, he wears a complicated dental contraption that stretches his mouth wide enough to fit an entire KISS show--and we lucky viewers get the close-up shot! Pretty sick. The large cast of characters wear cumbersome metal body apparatuses, while people dance ritualistically outside the bleak stone walls of the Manson lab. The coolest effect: abnormally tall, distorted figures shrinking to fit under doorways, then shooting back up to awkward heights again in a matter of seconds. This video is as eerie as any seat-producing nightmare, yet as frightfully entertaining as a high-tech house of horrors. 95

Patti Smith, “Summer Cannibals.” In contrast to the Manson creep show, this black-and-white video by director and photographer Robert Frank is stark and simple. It takes place in the deteriorating basement of Frank’s apartment in East Manhattan, and shot on 16-millimeter film, everything has a grainy yet refined quality to it--from the room’s exposed pipes to its patchy ceiling and crumbling plaster. Camera shots sweep the room in a sort of spinning motion, occasionally focusing on the weathered Smith, whose matted braids and threadbare shirt make her look like a nomad from another time zone. Simple gestures--such as the singer splashing her face with water from an ancient bowl or unloading spare change and a rosary from her ratty jeans pocket onto a rotting wood table--look like major cinematic statements. The video, which also includes band members Lenny Kaye and Tom Verlaine, ends with an indelible shot of the bottom of Smith’s dirty, bare feet. This video’s a classic. 95

Iggy Pop, “Lust for Life.” Here, the very sinewy and shirtless Mr. Pop writhes around against a plain white backdrop, performing his ‘70s punk-rock anthem that was recently resurrected for the “Trainspotting” soundtrack. Scenes from the movie are strategically placed in between the singer’s contortions, which include hip gyrations that would make Salt-N-Pepa jealous and facial expressions that could stop a train. There’s a few dancing partners here too, including a cast of very average-looking men who clumsily ape Pop’s impossible moves, and “Trainspotting’s” Spud, who attempts to be as cool as the ex-Stooges leader. His performance is so ridiculous and spontaneous, it’s one of the few intentionally humorous videos that will make you laugh out loud. 80

The Roots, “Concerto of the Desperado.” The Roots’ first video off their new album, “Illadelph Halflife,” is beautiful to look at, though not a lot takes place inside the sweeping scenery. The black-and-white piece is set in an abandoned stone quarry, where the Philadelphia freestyle rap group performs against sheer, craggy cliffs and rocky, dry earth. A backup singer mysteriously appears, her hair and gown blowing in the wind, as anonymous rappers symbolically scramble to dig up old microphones and turntables from the crumbly earth. Though a good idea, there’s too much performance here and not enough action to keep the video captivating. 78

Lemonheads, “If I Could Talk I’d Tell You.” What is it with video directors and warped circus imagery? From Oasis to Alice in Chains, clowns, dwarfs and monkeys are as cliche to music television as mother-in-law jokes are to stand-up comedy. Here, singer Evan Dando is pushed around the rotting confines of Coney Island by a clown, a dwarf and a bearded lady--the only thing missing is the monkey. The most entertaining part of this colorful video is Dando’s defiantly unenthusiastic expression, but the theme is so played out that his efforts are undercut by the video’s mediocrity. 70

No Doubt, “Don’t Speak.” This usually rollicking Orange County band has made the grievous error of releasing a schlocky ballad and, even worse, an equally lame video to accompany it. This video intercuts slo-mo concert footage a la Poison with soft-focus shots of singer Gwen Stefani and her band in a faux Garden of Eden. The singer’s movements are embarrassingly Madonna-like, playing into early (and, until now, unfounded) criticisms that she was just a Material Girl wannabe. This is a major setback. 29