Sponge - ＂Molly (16 Candles)＂ - official video

What this video is

Released in 1995 as the third single from Sponge's debut album 'Rotting Piñata' (Columbia/Work Group, 1994), 'Molly (16 Candles)' arrived at the commercial zenith of the post-grunge alternative rock cycle. Detroit-based Sponge had already broken through with 'Plowed,' placing them squarely in the MTV Buzz Bin ecosystem alongside acts like Bush, Everclear, and the Verve Pipe. The 'Molly' video, co-directed by…

Why it matters

A canonical example of mid-90s post-grunge MTV production, 'Molly (16 Candles)' represents the bridge between grunge's raw visual grammar and the slightly more polished, director-driven music video form that characterized 1995–1996 alternative rock at its commercial peak. The involvement of Doug…

The director

Doug Aitken (born 1968, Redondo Beach, CA) is an American multidisciplinary artist and filmmaker who graduated in Fine Arts from the Art Center College of Design, Pasadena, in 1991. He moved to New York in 1994 for his first solo show at 303 Gallery.…