Music Is the Future: 22 of the Greatest High-Tech Vids

Backstreet Boys, "Larger Than Life"

"Alright boys. Here's the idea for your new video. Advanced machinery, spaceships, and flying hoverboards. The crossover you guys need: all of that shiny 'techno' stuff will bring the male audience a-running, while your cute post-pubescent faces will draw the ladies. Imagine a world where the BSB are the only ones left, having outlasted those inferior N*Sync ninnies, and you're cruising through space dancing the robot, for real. It'll be out of this world!" This is how this video's concept happened. Trust us.

2Pac, "California Love"

Where do we start with this 'Mad Max'-inspired epic? It has desert wastelands, domes, leather, spikes, eye-patches, George Clinton -- everything you'd expect to find in a post-apocalyptic world. Oh, and its opening clearly announces that the video takes place in "Califonia... The Year 2095." This rare piece of music video perfection matches Hype Williams's mastery of the lens with Dr. Dre's most cinematic beat, 2Pac's pop appeal, and the brilliantly vocoded hook of Roger Troutman. Easily one of the greatest videos ever.

Aphex Twin, "Monkey Drummer"

In case you hadn't noticed, "Monkey Drummer" director Chris Cunningham has a robot fetish. His second entry on this list swaps robots getting with the get-down for a robot monkey with nine drum-pounding appendages -- our worst nightmare come to life. The track in the music video is actually "Mt Saint Michel + Saint Michaels Mount" from the chaotic and undeniably futuristic sounding Aphex Twin. The buzz-saw groan of synths and drum machine seizures perfectly capture the dread we feel every time we see the two greatest threats to human dominance team up.

Bjork, "All is Full of Love"

Bjork has always been something of a strange duck - or swan, as the case may be. But the Icelandic songstress has never failed to captivate, and her video for "All is Full of Love" does just that. Bjork's chilling tale of robot romance envisions a world where old paradigms of love and humanity have given way to cold, calibrated emotion.

KMFDM, "Ultra"

Kraut industrial outfit KMFDM helped to bring the niche techno of Skinny Puppy and Cabaret Voltaire to a 'Mortal Kombat: The Movie'-watching audience. Heavy, repetitive bass drum and chainsaw guitar riffs figure prominently in this amateur video, which was later included in KMFDM's official DVD. What's better: Legomania! Lego mad scientists performing Lego cyborg transplants, as well as a Lego monkey attack. Lego space cowboys confront a clay monster, which then destroys everything. Excellent.

Shania Twain, "I'm Gonna Get You Good"

Inexplicably setting the video for a pop country song in the far future, Shania steals a bit from the classic 1984 Apple ads, 'TRON,' 'The Matrix,' and countless other sci-fi films. While Shania's future seems to be marked by a lack of humanity, there are tons of badly rendered CG landscapes and cro-magnon robots for everyone still alive.

Air, "How Does It Make You Feel"

This French duo made a name for itself with catchy hooks and bizarrely thought-provoking videos. Its clip for the single "How Does It Make You Feel," from the album '10,000 Hz,' is certainly no exception. With a narrative revolving around a humanoid love interest and with a score featuring a forlorn MacInTalk-like voiceover, the video forces us to consider the ultimate nexus of technology and humanity -- and a future in which the line dividing the two completely dissolves.

Puff Daddy (Feat. Notorious B.I.G. and Busta Rhymes), "Victory"

Running from the cops is a common theme throughout many great hip-hop videos, but the clip for "Victory" is decidedly creepier than the norm. As Puff Daddy runs through stygian streets, and dodges explosions left and right, all we can think about is dystopia. Lest we forget, Busta Rhymes is there to scare the hell out of us (as he always does), reminding us of our impending doom.

Klaus Nomi, "Lightning Strikes"

Before Lady Gaga, there was Klaus Nomi. This German import made more than music, helping to bring the avant-garde to the mainstream with out-of-this-world operatic vocals and a resoundingly alien aesthetic. While Nomi's futurism never became the accepted norm, his visions of a new sound and bizarre manner of dress influenced taste-makers from Nina Hagen, Morrisey, and David Bowie to Gareth Pugh and John Paul Gaultier.

Kylie Minogue, "Can't Get You Outta My Head"

While the titular lyric of this petite Aussie's infernal earworm could be taken as a reflexive comment on the current and future state of pop music, we won't bother with that analysis. Instead, Minogue's video features an 'Aeon Flux'-like urban landscape replete with flashy sports cars and Kraftwerk-inspired dancers, pointing to some kind of sleek, Communist utopia where the pop-and-lock reigns. In the words of '30 Rock's' Liz Lemon, we want to go to there.

Fluke, "Atom Bomb"

Flying speeders, Tokyo, and purple-haired anime girls. Need we say more? Brit electronica group Fluke originally produced "Atom Bomb" for the 'Wipeout 2097' video game, and it later appeared on the soundtrack for "Enter the Matrix," which earns it enough futuro-geek cred alone for us to put on our list. But we're especially enamored of any video that brings together our loves of Japan, anime, and racing games into one psychedelic, screw-your-eyeballs vision of the new century.