Do you like 60s-era tunes? Do you like music videos? Do you enjoy things that are awesome? If you answered “yes” to any of these questions, you’ll need to head directly to Scopitones.com. For the uninitiated, Scopitones were the precursors to music videos—these short flicks were created in the 1960s to be played on specially made video jukeboxes in bars, restaurants, and amusement parks.
Too weird to live and too cool to die, Scopitone videos are packed with retro charm, amazing costumes, and beyond-odd plotlines. Though the last of these mini films were made in the late 70s and the jukeboxes are now incredibly hard to find, the videos weren’t lost to the sands of time, thank Jeebus. Spike Priggen, a veritable one-man Scopitone Smithsonian, has collected hundreds of these films and created DVD collections of some doozies, grouped by country of origin or musical style; we’re especially fans of the “Lovely Ladies of Scopitones” and “Ye Ye Girl” editions (obvs). It’s hard to play favorites with the individual flicks, but below are some standouts.
Vicki Carr’s violent and delightful “Everything I’ve Got”:
Jody Miller’s bonkers song “The Race Is On”:
And “Bons Baisers à Bientôt,” by the exceedingly weird Kessler Sisters:
Scopitones are an unending source of fashion inspiration and a rad way to check out some nearly forgotten musical moments. Even the infamous “person who has everything” on your holiday shopping list probably doesn’t own one of these DVD gems. So head here to pick up some truly odd, truly fun entertainment.
Images and video from Scopitones.com
