I’ve been on a nostalgic kick lately, relistening to my favorite hits from the 80’s when I was in high school. I still like most of the music from that period. In particular, the Cure, Depeche Mode, XTC, and my personal all-time favorite - Men Without Hats. Who also made some of the most pathetic videos of all time. The less said about Safety Dance the better.
Youtube is great for listening, but watching most of the videos makes me shudder and remember why I am so glad that decade is over and done with.
So to throw it out here, three questions with my own submissions.
1. What videos do you wish they would remake?
Depeche Mode - Master and Servant Okay for then, but has not aged well. I would love to see what Spike Jonze would come up with.
**2. **Which ones need to be remade, i.e. never should have been released the first time?
See Safety Dance reference above. Link if you must.
I disagree on this one, you have it all! Bonhomme (he’s the mascot of the Quebec Carnaval), Ivan’s 80’s hair, the crazy girl, and Midgets! Come on, this video will be bizarre in any era! Later they had a running gag that Bonhomme was supposedly being the band’s drummer… Maybe you just had to have been a Canadian teenager when that video came out - but I think that video is iconic!
One of my all time favorite videos is from the 80s–the Eurythmics’ “Sweet Dreams Are Made Of This.” I actually quite like many of the 80s videos, and find the few that I’ve seen that are far more recent aren’t nearly as good (admittedly I haven’t seen that many, but those I have seen are invariably just “arty shots of the band performing” type things. I prefer the more story-oriented videos.
I liked a-ha’s “Take On Me,” too, and Men at Work’s “Down Under.”
Was Van Halen’s “Right Now” from the 80s? Because that’s my favorite ever.
Joe Jackson - “Steppin’ Out”
Michael Jackson - “Billie Jean”
Dire Straits - “Money for Nothing”
a-ha - “Take on Me”
Thomas Dolby - “She Blinded Me with Science”
No two of them in remotely the same style, yet each so perfect for the song that the song is unimaginable today without the videos.
The 80s were the best time for videos because people could still experiment with the form without worrying about the weight of all that record company money on their shoulders if they failed.
*I’m serious. What better video could anybody conceive of for that song? You will always remember The Safety Dance because of that video, and there is no higher praise.
No rickroll here, but I would submit that most of the Police videos hold up well. Sorry, no links, but surely you remember:
Wrapped Around My Finger - Sting dancing around all the candles in slow motion - I still love this one! Every Breath You Take - Black & white, cigarette in ashtray, Sting playing bass Syncronicity II - Sting in his red leather suit…
I could never get into music videos. David Lee Roth once said something about how the images and music have nothing to do with one another. All too often, that was true. But okay, some faves…
Joe Jackson/Steppin’ Out (love this song)
uncensored, NSFW: Golden Earring/Twilight Zone
ABC/Look of Love—I don’t know if it’s a great viddy but it’s a great song
**NSFW? (babe in lingerie) ****Cars/You Might Think
Okay, I just pulled out an old VHS tape of MTV stuff. Cross my heart, I haven’t seen it for at least 10 years, and the only label is “Music Videos One”…
First song: Rebel Yell (ha!)
2: Love Me Two Times
3: Shock The Monkey
4: Middle of the Road
Big exception to that. When Def Leppard first released Hysteria it took awhile for it to catch on. They made an absolutely gawdawful video for Pour Some Sugar on Me (the one where they’re playing in the house being knocked down by the ugly fat woman). Pure 80s dreck.
But when the song became an enormous smash they very wisely made another video. And even though it was a concert footage video, IMO its probably the most perfect music video ever. Matched the song perfectly. Pure fun, pure sex, pure loud, booming 80s hard/pop rock stadium anthem!
Greatest video EVAH!: Tony Powers, Don’t Nobody Move (This Is A Heist)
Great song, great production, and cameos from (in order) the always orgasmic, with hot pants and no bra to make up for the lack of her “Kotter” glasses, Marcia Strassman, Steven Collins, John Goodman, Peter Riegert, and Treat Williams (and I could swear the hot dog vendor is Eliot Gould).
It was an award-winning video, back when they could be artistic and get awards, but is largely forgotten now, mostly because nobody who didn’t watch Night Flight saw it. More than makes up for Powers’ “Theme From the ‘Banana Splits.’”
Cool, thanks for the replies. Some bands are definitely timeless like the Police and the Eurythmics - you can tell there videos were made in the 80’s, but still hold up well. And “Money for Nothing” is still one of my favorite all-time videos. Talking Heads made some awesome videos as well. Once in a Lifetime
Others, not so much. I still enjoy the Cars and Ric Ocasek’s sense of humor, but their videos are definitely a product of that decade and will remain so.
Billy Idol … ah, junior high flashbacks. Too young and stupid to realize just how bad they were at the time. But damn he’s fun to listen to.
I agree that is was iconic, just not good. It seems to be a love it or hate it video. But really, Ivan was great in front of a mike, but dont let him in front of a camera. Check out the video for Pop Goes The World. I can listen to them forever, but I cant watch 'em.
On Edit: Hey!! dropzone - No dissing the Banana Splits!!! Children’s programming aint ever come close since. (It is a cool video though - never heard him before)
