Melissa Etheridge - Let Me Go

What this video is

Released in 1989 from the album Brave and Crazy (Island Records), 'Let Me Go' arrived at a pivotal juncture for female rock artists on MTV. Melissa Etheridge represented a plainspoken, guitar-driven authenticity that stood apart from the glam-metal and synth-pop dominating the channel. The black-and-white performance aesthetic, directed by Julie Cypher, amplified a raw, unadorned identity that would become…

Why it matters

A canonical example of late-1980s rock performance video minimalism. The high editorial pace (131 cuts, 1.80s avg shot) within a visually austere black-and-white frame demonstrates how kinetic editing could substitute for production budget, a template widely adopted in early alternative rock video…

The director

Julie Cypher (born August 24, 1964, Wichita, Kansas) is an American film director and gay rights advocate. She studied television and film at the University of Texas at Austin. She began her industry career as a second unit and assistant director, with…