Red Hot Chili Peppers - Give It Away

What this video is

Released September 1991 as the lead single from Blood Sugar Sex Magik, 'Give It Away' arrived at the precise inflection point when MTV's alternative programming block was displacing the hair-metal era. The video's desert surrealism and silver body-paint aesthetic were categorically unlike prevailing music video conventions, representing a visual argument that alternative rock's rejection of…

Why it matters

A canonical artifact of early-1990s alternative rock's visual identity, 'Give It Away' redefined what a performance-concept hybrid music video could accomplish aesthetically and commercially. It demonstrated that high-contrast, near-monochromatic, film-grain surrealism shot in extreme editing pace…

The director

French director, photographer, film producer, and actor (born 1963). Self-taught; shaped early career under mentors William Klein and Jean-Paul Gaultier. Began as casting director and model before transitioning to music video direction. Broke through in…