In most cases, these images of the past reassure us of our own adolescent inadequacies, but in the past few days, the web has provided proof of Kanye, Eminem and King Krule's early abilities, with some brilliant clips of the artists cropping up on YouTube.
That may be particularly true with relational art (check out this brilliant YouTube clip) when the boundaries between artist and audience have dissolved and the audience is a participant, and in some cases a collaborator.
Charles Hazlewood and Mick Jones hosted, chatting between tracks about the city and some brilliant archive clips.
His third, mind you, is brilliant, an exquisite clip to two feet.
It was first shown at last year's Cannes film festival and is now on release here: a brilliant mosaic of clips, images and moments chosen with masterly flair, and accompanied by Cousins' own gentle, ruminative, almost murmured voiceover.
Retro MBM - due to launch in 2011, but the Twitter feed ahead of this date (disclaimer: run by current and former guardian.co.uk sport members) already includes a plethora of brilliant football video clips of yore.
It was something far weirder and greater and more brilliant, with the clips somehow folding in on themselves, Inception-style, like some kind of It's Always Sunny version of Too Many Cooks.
Wintour described the duchess' choice of wedding gown and designer as "brilliant" in the video clip. .
Mark Cousins's personal cine-essay about children on film is entirely distinctive, sometimes eccentric, always brilliant: a mosaic of clips, images and moments chosen with flair and grace, both from familiar sources and from the neglected riches of cinema around the world.
