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

Aaliyah, "We Need a Resolution"

This marks Timbaland's second appearance on our list, and alludes to the late '90s penchant for darker, more dramatic videos. Almost any of Aaliyah's vids work, but the sleep pod and the &qout;cyber-space&qout; chair made this a shoo-in. In sterile surroundings, a tribal, earthy Aaliyah dances with a snake to chunky and clipped beats, machine-like but groovy. Call us biased and old, but they don't make 'em like Aaliyah anymore.

Michael Jackson, "Scream"

Michael Jackson was never one to pinch pennies when it came to music videos. But with "Scream," the King of Pop took things to a whole new level. Set on a spaceship in a galaxy far, far away from Neverland Ranch, the 1995(!) clip features Michael and Janet dancing on walls, playing zero-gravity racquetball, and -- screaming. Following his early '90s courtroom drama, "Scream" was MJ's bombastic - and costly - studio return; at just over $7 million, it's still the most expensive video ever made.

Moby, "We Are All Made of Stars"

Vegan tea-monger Moby used to have a fairly decent underground reputation until he went mainstream. "We Are All Made of Stars" appeared on the follow-up album to his immensely popular 'Play,' and the video features a less poignant version of the singing montage of Aimee Mann's "Save Me" from 'Magnolia.' Moby's alternate universe figures him in a spacesuit playing 'Frogger' across L.A. boulevards while Verne Troyer tosses dollar bills at strippers. For everyone's sake, we hope this isn't our future.

The Darkness, "I Believe In A Thing Called Love"

Mix a bit of Tarkovsky's epic sci-fi classic 'Solaris,' 'Clash of the Titans,' and Kubrick's '2001,' and you're sure to get a decent vision of the future for the small screen. Cock rockers The Darkness blast into a '70s-inspired, giant-rotating-bed-equipped future for their 'I Believe in a Thing Called Love' video.

The Specials, "Ghost Town"

This classic ska anthem features a car packed with The Specials driving frenetically around a deserted London, speaking to the fears of middle-class workers during Thatcherite Britain. The city is desolate, the boys peek out unaffected, and the lyrics speak of a jobless London in which there is no city anymore and no future to mention, other than empty buildings and streets.

Kanye West, "Stronger"

Believe it or not, there was once a time when Kanye West was known more for his rhymes than he was for his Hennessy-fueled awards show antics; look no further than 2007's "Stronger" for proof. Overlaid with that infectious Daft Punk hook, the clip features a genetically engineered Kanye evading Japanese police while waxing poetic about his "black Kate Moss." The video's both an homage to Japan as a futuristic flag bearer, and yet another reminder of Kanye's superhuman amazingness.

The Police, "Synchronicity II"

The Police saw the future as post-apocalyptic in their 1983 hit, "Synchronicity II." Predating and predicting the costume design of 'Hook' and Kevin Costner's 'The Postman' by nearly a decade, Sting and company were warning us way back in '83 about the horrors of global warming. Fortunately, music survives and guitarist Andy Summers can still wail away through the gloomy atmosphere in the future-tribal wasteland.

Spice Girls, "Spice Up Your Life"

For those not familiar with the Spice Girl's trajectory, "Spice Up Your Life" was one of the all-girl supergroup's latter hits. The video imagines a weird dystopia where the Girls have been uber-branded; Starbucks, Burger King, 'Star Wars,' virtually every franchise now comes with "Spice." The quintet fly around, somehow find some hovering boards, and sing vaguely racist lyrics about "yellow man in Timbuktu" and "Kung Fu-fighting, dancing queens." Indeed, 1997 was a dark time.

Sigur Ros, "Untitled"

These Icelandic musicians famous for their atmospheric melodies came to popularity in the States after appearing on the 'Vanilla Sky' soundtrack. "Untitled" includes some vocals that we can't differentiate between Icelandic and Hopelandic, the made-up language sung by frontman Jónsi Birgisson. The video features children playing among the falling ash of a dystopian wasteland, destroying derelict cars while playing Ring Around the Rosie. An ash snowman and a fallen child feature in the denouement, and we are sad.

Missy Elliot, "(Supa Dupa Fly) I Can't Stand the Rain"

Early in the career of the Virginia-based rapper, Missy (then Miss E.) weirded out mainstream culture with her bizarre meditation on a strange world where her face warps to unusual sizes and people wear garbage bags for clothes. Fish eye lenses, sped up dance moves, and Missy lounging between two clock gears show a minimalist vision. But, perhaps her most futuristic and forward-thinking statement was that Missy, a larger woman, didn't try to be "sexy" or attractive -- just fun to watch.

TLC, "No Scrubs"

The similarity of "No Scrubs" to "Scream" is purposeful; the girls dancing in front of the large TLC sign was directly inspired by the siblings Jackson. Another example of pop's fascination with silver makeup, pretty girl Chili swings angelically, while leader T-Boz does the robot with fuchsia hair and Lefteye may actually be from the future. She has a cerulean metal suit, complicated hair, and an orbital helmet that even Lady Gaga would envy. Bad news ladies: scrubs do exist in the year 3000.