The Web’s Best Video Clips: Videos With A Brain

Brian and his very hot orchestra lay down an energetic version of the Glenn Miller classic (the Miller version charted at #1 in 1940). Recorded in Tokyo in 2001.

Armless guitarist performs the big Tom Petty hit. More about Mark and his band, Big Toe, here: myspace.com/bigtoerocks

He looks like a bum and sounds like a stoner from Boston, but he’s obviously a very thoughtful and incisive guy. His droll delivery has been the signature of his act for at least 20 years.

Remember the guy who played Biff Tannen in the Back to the Future movies? Of course you do. The big dumb bully whose best line was delivered to Marty McFly: “So, why don’t you make like a tree and…get out of here?” The actor’s name is Tom Wilson, and these days, he’s doing standup comedy. [...]

If so, that would really be saying something, wouldn’t it? There have been a lot of great shots over the years. Certainly many more important than this in the larger scheme of things…but it deserves just about every superlative you can throw at it. Details: The date was January 31, 2005, the place was Ashland, [...]

Part of this is very hard to see, but a huge man-hole cover is blown off the top of a drainage access point. If you watch very carefully, through the ensuring geyser, you can see a truck that runs into the cover and is stopped DEAD. The water pressure here is pretty amazing!

Video game designed to put someone into a trance. After he zonks out, he is transported to a life-size replica of the game environment. Part of this is very intense…so if you’re looking for a good laugh…or if intense things freak you out, don’t watch.
WARNING: PROFANITY

Very cool segment on how the mind can be manipulated into believing that someone who is clearly visible is, in fact, quite invisible.

Forgetting numbers, changing first names, stuttering, speak a foreign language, lose their belly buttons and getting dragged all over by a large, invisible dog. More about him at TommyVee.com

You’ve seen this kind of thing in the movies, but this appears to be an actual, functional product. We’ll all probably be working with interfaces like this in a few years, but for now…it’s quite impressive! More info at http://cs.nyu.edu/~jhan/ftirtouch/index.html

You may find guitarists that you like better than Tommy Emmanuel, but you will never find a more passionate or skilled player. Many believe the Aussie is the best performance guitarist in the world today. He certainly gives his all with every show. Here he knocks the Mason Williams classic right out of the park. [...]

A wonderful retro video from the Sixties. Mason Williams’ classical guitar piece accompanied by orchestra was a monster radio hit, and it’s quite a hoot to see him all dressed up and with full orchestra.

Fascinating instrumental/vocal music from the Dutch band Focus, appearing on the BBC in 1972. A medley of a couple of their biggest hits worldwide.Thijs Van Leer played the keyboards, yodelled, whistled, sang, etc. Jan Akkerman, a guitarist to whom the tag “amazing” actually applies, handles rhythm and lead guitar. Interestingly, after Focus, Van Leer moved [...]

A powerful rendition of the Beatles classic as performed on solo acoustic guitar by Doyle Dykes. He’s an incredible player who came out of the Nashville scene and blends a lot of influences into his style…including country, jazz, folk, rockabillly and more. A seasoned performer, he’s well worth the price of admission if you catch [...]

One of the stronger pop/rock singers of the last few decades, John Waite, was the leader of The Babys. This infectious pop single was a Top 20 hit in the US in 1977. Obviously a lip-sync job (watch between 2:40 and 2:50 if you’re not sure), but still a good look at the early days [...]

A very solid overall beatboxing performance by a contestant on this French knockoff of American Idol. The judges clearly can’t get over how creative he is.

Three days of sunlight, clouds, rain and moonlight…even a rainbow are filmed over the jagged granite ridges and spires of the mountains in a national park in Chilean Patagonia. The musical track is supplied by Angelika. More about her at AngelikaHealingMusic.com, and more about the filmmaker at TorresFilm.com.

A young Japanese woman shows off her head drop skills, but takes it all the way to the floor, and back up.

While talking with members of the cast of NBC’s soap opera (daytime drama) Passions, this illusionist pulls off the head drop trick (using a cough as a trigger) and completely freaks some people out.

A very funny piece about how Apple sells with style, while Microsoft buries their products in details no one really cares about…to the point that it has become their own sense of (sad) style. Very witty.

This kid hits the deck, but somehow recovers and correctly spells the word.

Who needs John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John? Who needs Billy Bush and some big NBC series? What we got here is an amazing dog and his dancing lady-friend performing “You’re the One That I Want”.

One would think that there must be a better angle for this.

Creative instrumentation and editing make for some interesting rhythms while the owners are out walking the dog.

Andres hails from San Antonio, Chile. At the age of 14, he lost his entire right arm in an accident. So what does he decide to do with himself? Well, of course, he becomes an acoustic guitarist! Since he has no right hand with which to strike or strum the strings, he has developed a [...]