David Fincher's 11 Best Music Videos

Most people think of David Fincher as the man behind several of today's biggest films: the upcoming 'Girl With the Dragon Tattoo,' 'Fight Club,' 'Zodiac,' 'The Curious Case of Benjamin Button' and his Oscar-winning 'The Social Network,' just to name a few. However, it is a lesser-known fact that he began his career directing music videos for several high-profile artists. He got his start helming Rick Springfield's 'Bop 'Til You Drop' in 1984 and went on to work with superstars like Madonna, Aerosmith, the Rolling Stones and Billy Idol. The rest, as they say, is history. Check out our favorite Fincher-helmed music videos below!

Nine Inch Nails, 'Only'
If nothing else, Fincher's video for 'Only' reminded us that desk tchotchkes are far more than ordinary playthings to be relegated to therapists offices and waiting rooms. It also reminded us that we had no idea what thing is called (it's Pin Art -- thanks, Wikipedia).



The Wallflowers, '6th Avenue Heartache'
Fincher's music video for this Wallflowers hit makes us feel like he might be a painfully thorough scrapbooker. Creating an almost stop-motion effect through a series of consecutive photographs, the director takes us through a day in the life of a wallflower.


Billy Idol, 'Cradle of Love'
Oh man, what a life it would be if some Lolita-ish ingenue barged into your apartment to dance to her cassette tapes while an Andy Warhol portrait of Billy Idol came to life in the background. We just would prefer that she not destroy our bed.


Madonna, 'Bad Girl'
Any world in which Christopher Walken is some sort of guardian angel is the best world. This video features the cadence-defying actor perched in several high places and sometimes just straight-up floating. It's not entirely clear what's going on in this video, but it is clear that Christopher Walken is in it, and thus it rules.


Aerosmith, 'Janie's Got A Gun'
What could suit the Fincher sensibility better than a noirish murder mystery? That's right -- nothing. This relatively straightforward narrative video is the type of stuff that Fincher just knocks clean out of the park.


Iggy Pop, 'Home'
In addition to Iggy Pop being his usual weird self and strobe-lit black-and-white photography, this video also features what is quite possibly the largest shopping cart in the world.


Rolling Stones, 'Love Is Strong'
The Rolling Stones have always been larger than life, so when Fincher made them giants who roam the streets of New York City, it made a weird amount of sense. Also, there's almost nothing better than watching Charlie Watts play drums with a bunch of water towers.


Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross and Karen O, 'Immigrant Song'
The video for their creepy Zeppelin cover is what we imagine it's like when a computer goes on a hallucinogen-aided vision quest.


Rick Springfield, 'Bop 'Til You Drop'
Fincher's first music video looks like some weird operation on the desert planet of Tatooine. Kudos to Rick for working the room, considering the very hostile environs.


Paula Abdul, 'Straight Up'
It seems the Finch took Paula Abdul's title for this one pretty literally, as the video is pretty much just her straight-up dancing to her own song.


George Michael, 'Freedom '90'
Back in the days when he wasn't hanging around in bathrooms, Michael had the clout to get such models as Cindy Crawford, Naomi Campbell and Linda Evangelista to appear in this video. Making this a pretty dude-friendly clip, Fincher opted to add some explosions on top of the hotness. Well played, Dave.