New Frontier by Donald Fagen.
Somebody beat me to “You Might Think”! That was a great one.
Anybody else ever see the video to Psychotherapy by the Ramones? I only saw it once but it freaked me out to no end.
For the cheese factor, I love “I Ran” by A Flock of Seagulls and “You Spin Me Round” by Dead or Alive.
As for stuff that’s genuinely good, most of it’s already been mentioned: “Take On Me”, “Sledgehammer”, “Thriller”, plus “Where The Streets Have No Name” and “With or Without You” by U2 and I really like the video for “The One I Love” by REM.
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I Ran - A Flock of Seagulls
A-ha - Take on Me
Heaven 17 - Let Me Go
The Buggles - Video Killed the Radio Star
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Oh, and my all-time favourite, Gary Numan - Cars
Check this out:
I’ve often wished that someone would take a random 3 or 4 hour slice of MTV from, say, 1986, put it on a DVD, and sell it. I’d pay a LOT for a real bit of 80s MTV. Can someone please arrange this and tell me where to send the check?
I also have to agree with Gabriel - Sledgehammer, Collins - Land of Confusion, A-Ha - Take On Me, etc. Here are some others I recall vividly:
Duran Duran - The Reflex. There was something about the huge columns, red draped background, screen with the shadow outline of the woman with the chain, and that excessively bad “tidal wave” at the end.
Duran Duran - The Union of the Snake. Dark underground societies, desert influenced garb, an adverturer type vibe.
Um… forgot the band name! - Obsession. I just wanted her, in a very strong raging puberty kind of way.
I always wonder if the guy from Men Without Hats looks back on the Safety Dance video and thinks “Poet shirt, midget, renaissance fair thing… what the F-CK was I thinking?!?”
I also would buy DVD’s loaded with 80’s era MTv - assuming it was all videos.
I also have to agree with Gabriel - Sledgehammer, Collins - Land of Confusion, A-Ha - Take On Me, etc. Here are some others I recall vividly:
Duran Duran - The Reflex. There was something about the huge columns, red draped background, screen with the shadow outline of the woman with the chain, and that excessively bad “tidal wave” at the end.
Duran Duran - The Union of the Snake. Dark underground societies, desert influenced garb, an adverturer type vibe.
Um… forgot the band name! - Obsession. I just wanted her, in a very strong raging puberty kind of way.
I always wonder if the guy from Men Without Hats looks back on the Safety Dance video and thinks “Poet shirt, midget, renaissance fair thing… what the F-CK was I thinking?!?”
I also would buy DVD’s loaded with 80’s era MTv - assuming it was all videos.
Is it my imagination, or nowadays music videos have not the peak and fashion that had in the 80’s? What would be the reason for?
I may be a grouchy old thirtysomething (yes), but I think 80s videos were a load more original and interesting than vids these days, which seem to consist of either
- Girls in bikinis covered in lipgloss and glittertan trying to look sultry (RnB) or
- Moody teenagers wandering on a beach (Britrock).
In the old days vids were more inventive, more camp, had more of a storyline and were more visually interesting. IMHO.
The band was named “Animotion.” I’m very upset that I know that.
Thank you!! I’ve been trying to remember what that video was so I could post it on this thread without having to say “You know, that one video, with the legs in it?” Definitely an awesome video.
Of course, I still love “White Wedding,” where the girl’s dancing in the kitchen and stuff’s blowing up. And Cyndi Lauper videos. And most things that were on MTV in the eighties, that have now disappeared forever.
I’ve never been a Madonna fan, but few things bring back memories of the 80s more vividly than the video for Material Girl.
SolGrundy - Thank you! I’m very upset that I could not remember that.
Robert Palmer - Addicted to Love. Those Stepford Chicks are freaky!
Are you sure? Spitting Image was a British show. There was an American show that was similar (produced by Sid & Marty Krofft of Land of the Lost and H.R. Pufnstuf fame) called DC Follies, which was set in a bar in Washington. Fred Willard was the bartender and in addition to the expected crowd of muppetlike politicians, had celebrity puppets as well.
Of course everyone loves Dolby’s “She blinded me with science”, but his other one “Hyperactive” was also one of my favorites, him with a box on his head as he peels off photos of his face from the box.
ZZ Top’s “Legs” had everything a teenage boy could ever want in a video.
Siouxie and the Banshees “Peekaboo” was brilliantly weird.