February 2, 2012

Greg's Top Ten Favorite 80s Music Videos (1-5 today, 6-10 tomorrow):

1. "Take on Me" by A-ha: Even as I watch this video today I'm impressed by the incredible special effects. One can only imagine how blown away people were when it debuted on MTV in 1985. It's one of those videos that, in my opinion, is completely timeless. It won six awards at the 1986 MTV Music Video Awards including Video of the Year back when the MTV Music Video Awards actually meant something. Interesting side note to this video - A-ha used the same pencil sketch/live action rotoscoping in their follow-up video for "The Sun Always Shines on TV."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XPIVNrI7Kp0

2. "Land of Confusion" by Genesis: The British puppet show "Spitting Image" was the inspiration for this gem - a Cold War political nightmare that takes place in the mind of then-President Ronald Reagan. Pretty much everyone of us remembers this video for the funny looking caricatures used to represent the figments of Reagan's imagination. One of the coolest things about this video is that it really is a time-stamp for what was current when the video came out in 1986. The featured puppets in the video are plentiful and included 80s icons like Margaret Thatcher, Hulk Hogan, Mr. T, Johnny Carson, Bill Cosby, Cyndi Lauper and dozens more!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zU9lv_WqK6k

3. "Girls on Film (uncensored version)" by Duran Duran: While the videos for "Hungry Like the Wolf" and "Rio" might be far more well known, I find the video for "Girls on Film" to be far more memorable. The video was shot just weeks before MTV debuted in 1981 and raised quite a stir on both sides of the Atlantic. Two versions of the video were shot: one that was more PG-13 and one that was NC-17, the latter of which was banned by MTV. However, the ban generated a tremendous amount of publicity for the New Wave icons and helped propel their debut record to greater success on the Billboard charts. Keep in mind, this video is so explicit that it still cannot be played on MTV today, so you can imagine the buzz it created in 1981. Nothing says dirty like topless girls mud wrestling and girls having ice cubes rubbed on their nipples.

http://vimeo.com/18521738

4. "Need You Tonight/Mediate" by INXS: I love black and white videos, especially when they're done the right way. The combination of lead singer Michael Hutchence's sultry moves and the song's smooth lyrical content come across more brilliantly in black and white than I could ever imagine they would in color. I think most of us will admit that the song still sounds awesome nearly 25 years later. I think the video, like A-ha's "Take on Me" is timeless and will always be remembered as one of MTV's most enduring clips. The second half of the video, "Mediate", is a nod to Bob Dylan's "Subterranean Homesick Blues" and is equally awesome especially at the climax when Kirk Pengilly's sax solo fades the song to black.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Si2ZdcBz8Q

5. "Billie Jean" by Michael Jackson: You just had to know that there would be a Michael Jackson video on this list, right? Though "Thriller" is arguably the video most will argue should make the cut because it was the first longform video of the era and had what at the time was considered cutting edge special effects. Today, I think "Billie Jean" has stood up far better over time and was more enjoyable. It's so cryptic and mysterious, I still get mesmerized every time I watch it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zi_XLOBDo_Y&ob=av2n