Collective Soul - December

What this video is

Released in March 1995, 'December' arrived at the precise moment post-grunge was consolidating its hold on mainstream rock radio, displacing the rawer Seattle sound with polished, melody-forward alternative rock. Collective Soul, a Georgia-based band signed to Atlantic Records after 'Shine' broke nationally in 1994, exemplified the commercial alt-rock wave that gave rock radio a commercially viable identity as…

Why it matters

A defining artifact of mid-90s post-grunge's mainstream moment. 'December' reached #1 on Billboard Album Rock Tracks for nine weeks — the chart's top performer of 1995 — demonstrating the genre's commercial ceiling. The video's performance-only format, stripped of narrative or concept, was…

The director

Lynn Spinnato is a music video director and producer active in the early-to-mid 1990s. Confirmed credits include directing Collective Soul: December (1995) and Laura Branigan: Dim All the Lights (1995), and serving as producer on the Pantera: Cowboys from…