Lifter - The Rich, Dark, Sultry Red Of Hate

APR 09 1996 · 12:00

Lifter - The Rich, Dark, Sultry Red Of Hate (1996) Director: Jonathan Craven Era: Mid-90s Alternative/Post-Grunge (1996) - Peak era of Interscope-backed alt-rock, MTV 120 Minutes rotation, Los Angeles grunge scene, and major-label investment in underground-rooted acts A rare surviving artifact of the mid-90s Los Angeles post-grunge underground and its uneasy transit through the major-label system. The video's confirmed directorial credit (Jonathan Craven), documented MTV airplay, and quantitative production profile, rapid editing, warm-toned saturation, early-digital 4:3 format, make it a valuable specimen for both cultural and technical archival study. Its obscurity amplifies rather than diminishes its research value: it represents the large class of critically acknowledged but commercially invisible alt-rock productions that defined the margins of the 1990s MTV era. Context: Released in 1996 as part of Lifter's Interscope debut 'Melinda (Everything Was Beautiful and Nothing Hurt),' this video exists at the intersection of the post-grunge major-label gold rush and the waning commercial viability of raw, guitar-driven alternative rock. Lifter, a Los Angeles band with roots in the Silverlake scene, were signed to Interscope after a stint on indie labels Fingerpaint and Triple X. Despite critical praise and a climb to #3 on CMJ's Top 75 Alternative Airplay chart, the album failed commercially, emblematic of a market saturated with post-Nirvana alternative acts. The video's MTV 120 Minutes placement marks it as part of the late-night underground alt-rock ecosystem that served as a last refuge for left-of-center major-label signings in the mid-90s. Director notes: Jonathan Craven directed both of Lifter's music videos from their 1996 Interscope debut album, 'Headshot' (also released as a single) and 'The Rich, Dark, Sultry Red of Hate.' 'The Rich, Dark, Sultry Red of Hate' received rotation airplay on MTV's 120 Minutes program. This video represents one of Craven's earliest known directorial credits in music video, predating his later high-profile work with major pop and R&B artists by nearly two decades. The Lifter commission was likely facilitated through Interscope's promotional apparatus for the album 'Melinda (Everything Was Beautiful and Nothing Hurt)' (1996).