Tom Petty was an unlikely music video pioneer

Wired

From the Alice in Wonderland-esque "Don't Come Around Here No More" to the animated homage in "Runnin’ Down a Dream," Petty — who died Monday night at age 66 — was “an unlikely music-video star, pumping out a series of vibrant, innovative clips that helped redefine the medium just as it was getting underway,” says Brian Raftery. “Petty, who was in his late thirties by the time MTV came around, lacked the art-school backgrounds and big-screen aspirations of many of the musicians who'd make the network famous. So he treated it as just another part of the gig, albeit one he clearly enjoyed, using the medium to play up his love of detailed storytelling and southern-weirdo charms.”

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