R.E.M. - Star 69 ( Parallel Video Version )

What this video is

Released in 1995 to promote R.E.M.'s ninth album Monster, 'Star 69' represents the band at the apex of their commercial power while deliberately returning to a rawer, glam-punk sonority. The song's title references the *69 last-call-return telephone feature, then a culturally novel technology reshaping ideas of surveillance, anonymity, and accountability in everyday American life. The video's Parallel Version…

Why it matters

Represents the mid-90s alternative rock video aesthetic: performance-centric, high-contrast, fast-cut, and deliberately unglamorous. As a Dayton/Faris production, it belongs to a canonical body of 90s music video work that bridged indie credibility and mainstream MTV exposure, and stands as a…

The director

Jonathan Dayton (b. July 7, 1957) and Valerie Faris (b. October 20, 1958) are a married husband-and-wife directing team. They began their careers directing the MTV documentary show 'The Cutting Edge' and music videos for R.E.M., Red Hot Chili Peppers, and…