Violent Femmes - Machine

What this video is

Released in 1994 to support the Violent Femmes' sixth studio album New Times on Elektra Records, 'Machine' arrived during the peak commercial moment for alternative rock on MTV. The band had navigated a significant lineup change — the departure of founding drummer Victor DeLorenzo in 1993 — and New Times represented their first record under Elektra after years on Slash/Reprise, reflecting broader industry…

Why it matters

Violent Femmes occupy a foundational position in folk-punk and college-radio alternative, and the 'Machine' video documents the band's mid-career MTV-era promotional strategy. Its rapid-cut performance style is a period-accurate artifact of how alternative rock bands were packaged for MTV rotation…

The director

Sean Cameron Casey (born December 28, 1967) is an American filmmaker who graduated from UC Santa Barbara with a degree in film studies and pursued postgraduate work at the American Film Institute. He later became internationally known as an IMAX documentary…