Pretty Noose - Music Videos

Music Videos

The music video for "Pretty Noose" was directed by Frank Kozik. Kozik had previously been known for his work on posters and album art. The video blends animation with various scenes of the band members in a bar, an exotic dancer, Cameron riding a motorcycle, an arrest, a tattoo parlor, and Cornell in a bedroom. In the original version of the video, Cornell is shown killing a woman. The video was released in May 1996.

Cornell on the music video:

It's unlike anything else we've ever done...In fact, I think it's unlike anything else anyone has ever done. Working with someone like Frank was really interesting because his approach was so fresh—he didn't know the rules that he's supposed to play under. He made the video what it is. It's really interesting and colorful. It's the kind of video that's still fun to look at after you've seen it a few times. That was very important to us. At this point in our lives, part of the challenge is to try new things, not to fall into the pattern of playing it safe. We did that on the video, and we did that on the album too.

MTV refused to air the full video, as it ends with an apparent murder. MuchMusic was given a revised version to air on its channel. Kozik said that the video was censored because it was "too heavy" for the "dipshits at MTV." He added, "They got a dead girl in that lame Stabbing Westward video so I don't understand their problem."

An alternate international version of the music video for "Pretty Noose" was released. This version was directed by Henry Shepherd (bassist Ben Shepherd's brother), who had previously co-directed the "My Wave" music video for the band. The video simply features the band performing the song live in a studio. The footage is taken from a pre-release European promotional kit for Down on the Upside. The video was released to areas outside of the United States, but began to be shown in the United States after Kozik's version debuted.