Lonely Planet blog

If you have a look at my avatar pic you’ll realise that I’m not much of a goth. No black make-up, no frown and definitely none of those enormous block-a-boots that the kids who hang out at Camden Lock seem to love so much.

But there’s no denying that this video by goth illuminati the Sisters of Mercy is one of the best travel-themed music promos I’ve ever seen, with Petra in Jordan as the star of the show.

The site of two Goths getting up to no good in the desert while wearing, oddly, white clothes makes it worth a look too. It even raises the intriguing possibility that Steven Spielberg saw it and nicked the location for the home of the Holy Grail in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.

Look out for moody rockers from northern England

It got me thinking about other great travel-themed music videos. Kraftwerk’s Trans Europe Express is brilliant in a retro and slightly sinister kind of way, while Men at Work’s Down Under never fails to raise a smile or get my feet itching.

Any suggestions of your own favourites?

We might even get even enough for a Travelling Playlist.

- Tom Hall

Hide 5 comments

1. September 17, 2009 dave925 Report this comment

   Gary at Everything-Everywhere.com shared with me Death Cab For Cutie’s video for “I Will Possess Your Heart” which I became a fan of too.

   The song is 8 minutes long, and the first half of the video is without vocals, just following a young woman on a trip around the world – European cities like Paris, and then on to Asian spots like Angkor Wat.

   Not only did it remind me of those places I’d been, it reminded me of the pensive young women checking them out as well. :)

2. September 17, 2009 geofa Report this comment

   Hi Tom,

   I’m not the biggest INXS fan in the world, but their clip for “Never Tear Us Apart” is one of the most beautiful portrayals of Prague there is. I knew nothing of Prague until I set foot there and it is my favourite place I have been in my travels. This clip takes me back to a wintry morning on Charles Bridge. An unbelievable memory I will always have.

3. September 25, 2009 markbroadhead Report this comment

   Another Australia one is David Bowie’s Let’s Dance:
   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N4d7Wp9kKjA

4. September 25, 2009 markbroadhead Report this comment

   Antigua in the Duran Duran video for Rio:
   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q7VjrW5zgqQ&feature=related

5. September 25, 2009 markbroadhead Report this comment

   waxyjax [on Twitter suggests] 4 Provinces by The Walkmen shot in Nepal http://tinyurl.com/bnxjt2