Sofia Coppola, Video Star

A little while back in the city of San Francisco I found a $4 used copy of Teeth by Hugh Gallagher at some bookstore on Valencia and bought it because (a) I'd read nice things about Hugh Gallagher in Sassy, like, 15 years ago; and (b) Hugh Gallagher is the boy responsible for what I'd consider one of the most outstanding pieces of journalism Rolling Stone has ever published. It was this fun/terrifying first-person story in which the author locked himself in a hotel room and did nothing but watch MTV for an entire week, and I remembered it so fondly that I ended up scoring a copy of that issue (published on April 29, 1993; Eric Clapton on the cover) on eBay the day I got back from SF. Written diary-style, the article's as great as I remember and full of moments both beautiful (Hugh talking about riding around D.C. on the back of his big brother's motorcycle while listening to the Chili Peppers' "Breaking the Girl") and gross (Hugh vomiting up his coffee during an episode of Headbangers Ball).

Anyway, the whole reason I'm bringing it up now is there's this entry on the second day of his experiment (3:32 p.m. on December 30, 1992, just two days after my 15th birthday) in which he writes: "Something about the Black Crowes' anti-heroin song makes me want to try heroin." And then about an hour later, there's a much more lengthy rant about Madonna's video for "Deeper and Deeper" (excerpt: "My God, the woman is completely insane. She's a national security threat - you can see it in her eyes, howling orbs of vacant, heavy rotation. One of these days she's going to whip out a Cobray submachine gun and mow down a roomful of fashion freaks at a Jean-Paul Gaultier runway show"). What he doesn't mention is that both the Black Crowes video ("Sometimes Salvation") and "Deeper and Deeper" star a girl named Sofia Coppola, who would've been about 21 years of age back then. Those weren't her only video appearances; she was also in the one for "Mildred Pierce" by Sonic Youth, which probably came out in 1990, and then, in 1997 or so, the one for "Elektrobank" by The Chemical Brothers (directed by the ex, Spike Jonze).

The point it's taken me a thousand years to get to is that: It's kind of mondo bizarro that Sofia Coppola used to be in music videos, and those videos actually got played on MTV. And while I do recognize that maybe she works much better behind the camera, I do miss that moment in time when she turned up not just in videos but in fashion spreads and on her own short-lived TV show, largely just because her dad made lots of big, big movies. It's that whole famous-for-being-famous thing, but wouldn't it be nice if there were more such ladies out there today who leaned more toward dilettante than celubante? I think so.

Anyway, here's a little trip through Sofia's brief but bright career as a video actress. I can't decide which one is my favorite.

1. Sonic Youth, "Mildred Pierce"

Okay, this one probably never got played on MTV, except maybe during "120 Minutes," but it might even be too weird for that. It's Sofia as Joan Crawford, by far the most animated we've ever seen her. (In fact, I watched this about five times before realizing that was her - it's so surreal to see her making so many different facial expressions. I thought she just had the one, that endearing little almost-sneer.) The air-surfing by the Hollywood sign is lots of dorky fun and makes me wish Sonic Youth's L.A. phase had lasted a little longer. However: Thurston, please put your shirt back on!

2. Black Crowes, "Sometimes Salvation"

This makes me feel sad for my highly impressionable 14-year-old self, already subjected to so much heroin-chic imagery (Kurt, those Calvin Klein ads, etc.). But I do love Sofia's coat. Chris Robinson's too.

3. Madonna, "Deeper and Deeper"

Oh, this one's the most fun (though I don't get the whole "Sprockets" thing going on). Yes to the crimped hair; no to that foofy thing around Madonna's neck (Hugh Gallagher calls it "a Muppet frock"; Hugh Grant (in About a Boy) would call it "some kind of yeti costume"). The banana thing is cute but that long-haired boy in his skivvies: not so much. Sofia looks lovely and Debi Mazar = hot hot hot. The video makes me miss her despite the fact that I see her all the time on Entourage.

4. The Chemical Brothers, "Elektrobank"

Sofia as gymnast, and she's very good at the awkward-teenager thing. It really slugs my heart when she hurts her knee. And the scrunchie is just perfection.

Posted by Liz in Videos
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