My cable package now includes vh1/mtv Classics, nothin but videos from the 70s - early 90s. Its pretty cool - no commercials, not many repeats. But man, some of these early vids are corrrrrrrrrrny. What are your nominations for cheesiest video?
I’ll go with Tuff Enuffby the Fabulous Thunderbirds.
(p.s. I’m sure this sort of thread has been done before but I couldn’t find it when I did my search, so I apologize for any duplicity).
Hello Again by the Cars.
California Girls by that guy that wasn’t in the Beach Boys.
I don’t think artistry in music videos was a priority until perhaps the mid-80s, so prior efforts should be given SOME slack due to non-cheesiness not being a requirement. Having said that, here’s a few off the top of my head:
Goodbye to You - Scandal
The Greg Khin video that’s not Jeopardy (Wizard of OZ themed), though Jeopardy is pretty cheesy, too.
Most of Hall & Oates’ videos
Yes - Leave it (they actually hyped that video like it was some new high tech standard in graphics or something!)
Any hair band video would qualify…
If you’re talking about David Lee Roth, I don’t think that counts. That was intentional cheese.
The '80s certainly did produce their share of cheesy videos, though I think much of that can be blamed on the fact that before that music videos hadn’t been common enough to develop their own traditions and expectations. You see lots of shots of women in fishnet stockings walking their black panthers with rhinestone collars past chainlink fences because every video director honestly believed he was being original :smack:
These two were on that “Worst Video” thing where Vanilla Ice went off with a baseball bat.
After the Fire by Nelson.
Rock Me Tonight by Billy Squier. This one is unbelievably funny in so many ways.
I meant “After the Rain.”
Stuck With You - Huey Lewis and the News
Opposites Attract - Paula Abdul
Wake Me Up Before You Go Go - Wham!
Those Robert Palmer videos with the overly made up clone girls in the background, pretending to play instruments.
I Wanna Be A Cowboy - Boys Don’t Cry (cheesy song, so I suppose it’s only fitting that the video is cheesy too.)
Rock you like a Hurricane - Scorpions
Cherry Pie - Warrant
Anything by White Snake
Jocko Homo by Devo. Even by 1976 standards.
Cheesiest Programming: Why does VH-1 Classic’s “Super 70s” show play so many recent videos of artists who were popular in the seventies? Weren’t shows like In Concert and Rock Concert on in the seventies? Does anyone really want to see Earth, Wind and Fire at some House of Blues in 1998?
Is that the one with the anthropomorphic cats? That has to be one of the most cringeworthy things ever committed to film…
Harvey the Heavy said
Right on! I hate that. Probably has something to do with degraded quality, broadcast rights, etc., but it’s still lame.
My vote goes to Dio for Rainbow in the Dark.
It’s not just cheesy, it’s extra cheesy.
In an amazing feat of synchronicity, I just finished going through my old VHS tapes, and lo and behold I taped MTV’s Top 10 Cheesy Videos!
Let me see if I can remember them:
[ul]
[li]Oh Sherry - Steve Perry[/li][li]Love is a Battlefied - Pat Benatar[/li][li]Sister Christian - Night Ranger[/li][li]Mickey - Toni Basil[/li][/ul]
Hmph.
Well, may I suggest “I Ran” by Flock of Seagulls and “Pop Music” by M?
Cringeworthy doesn’t even begin to describe it. That cat’s name was MC Skat Kat.
Yeah!
As much as I like them, ABBA has foisted some of the cheesiest videos ever on an unsuspecting public. Director Lasse Halstrom paid his dues in a big way with those four-minutes doozies. The whole zooming-into-spotlights and EXTREME closeups of Agnetha and Frida’s teeth will (hopefully) never be fully revived as video techniques.
Rock of Ages by Def Leppard.
Men in cowls, bad special effects and the skinny mullethead is the strong man. Plus a Joe Elliot crotch shot.
“V.O.A” by Sammy Hagar (solo - pre-Van Halen). Featured Sammy parachuting into the Reagan White House (complete with Reagan impersonater) to be rewarded for kicking commie butt. Jaw-droppingly awful.
“Party All the Time” by Eddie Murphy. Not humorous, not a spoof, but Eddie really trying to sing dance music. He’s in a recording studio and everyone else is just gazing at him with adulation.
How about
Hot For Teacher - Van Halen
or
ZZ Top - Legs ( or any of the whole series that feature that car with all the gorgeous woman pouring out of it)
“Every Rose Has it’s Thorn” by Poison.
The opening, a rainy night, and Bret Michaels is with a bored lingerie model in bed. Bret Michaels leaves the bed, and walks past the camera apparently nude, with a close up of his (on MTV awkwardly pixelated) privates - which - due to its blankl effect - may expalin why his partner looks so thuroughly bored. He has no friggin’ penis! Obviously, Michaels fancied himself the Alan Bates of the Aqua Net set.
Standard issue late 80’s concert footage (lot of slow-mo BW shots of the band slinging sweat from their hair, or autographing bimbo-breasts), interspersed with color footage of a lone Bret Michaels, with two days of stubble on hs face, strumming his guitar in all earnestness.
The cheesy “Rockabilly” voice Bret sings the song with…as if Gene Vincent had survived and went onto arena rock fame.
The repitition of the tiredest cliché in rock lyrics; “it cuts me like a knife”, in the song. How many songs have had that line? 1,800??
All in all, a tour de force of fromagité.