I can vaguely remember when it didn’t matter what time of day you turned on MTV, you’d see music videos. Similar to pop radio, you could count on seeing a hot video every hour on the hour. Now, it seems like the only time I see music videos on MTV or VH1 is when I wake up at 4am and flip on the TV until I fall back to sleep.
I miss music videos. They used to be the best part of enjoying music. So while I was flipping channels last night at 3am, I started getting a little nostalgic and started thinking about all of the music videos that made me want to watch MTV when I was growing up.
I could go on and on about all of the videos that I loved, but I decided to make it a little more personal. So here is my top 10.
Van Halen – Jump
“Ah ha!”
“Hey You!”
“Who said that?”
While Van Halen may have not started the hair band trend of the 80’s, they were a big part of it. The video for “Jump” was like watching the party that your older cousin was always talking about. David Lee Roth was on fire in his neon spandex glory and it was hard not to find yourself smiling after the video was over.
Cake – the Distance
This is one of those videos that on the surface, it doesn’t really make sense. You have a guy that is running an endless race. There are large animal costumes, awesome guitar riffs, and that weird keyboard flute thing. Put it all together, it’s just fun. Hidden in the visuals is the metaphor of the song. It’s a testament to tenacity and endurance. It also happens to be my motto when I feel like giving up.
Duran Duran – Hungry Like the Wolf
This was the first video that I could remember that felt like a movie to me. It was an adventure that played out over the course of 4 minutes. Honestly, when I watched it as a kid of 5 years old, I thought it was a movie trailer. I was incredibly upset when I found out that there wasn’t a feature length movie to see. So I had to settle for Romancing the Stone, what a turd.
Fatboy Slim – Weapon of Choice
I’ve got three words for this one: Christopher Walken dancing. Nuff Sed!
Jamiroquai – Virtual Insanity
Up until OK GO released the video for “Here it Goes Again”, this video was the king of treadmill videos. This video was so cool, that nobody seemed to noticed that lead singer Jay Kay was wearing a top hat made out of a black poodle. On top of releasing a great video for a good song, they followed it up with the best video to feature super exotic sports cars, “Cosmic Girl”.
Radiohead – Just
Radiohead has always been just a little more cool that I will ever be. Maybe that’s why I don’t “get” about 99% of what they put out. “Just” may have not been the biggest single off of their 1995 album, The Bends, but the video was amazingly powerful. It is so simple that it borders on being pure genius. I just wish I knew what the guy told everybody.
Michael Jackson – Billy Jean
This may have not been the biggest video off the Thriller album, but it was one of the most dynamic. The way that the ground and other things would light up as MJ stepped on them was brilliant. Then when you couple that with music video breakthroughs, it makes it legendary. Sure the video for “Thriller” will arguably be considered the best video ever, but this one was the one that I would run home from school to see.
Peter Gabriel – Sledgehammer
I don’t really care for Peter Gabriel’s music. It has always seemed a little too preachy for my taste. It’s probably the same reason I don’t really care for Genesis either. However, the videos from the 1986 album, So, really helped define what a music video could be. They at least reminded me to eat my fruit and veggies.
Spike Jonze’ Body of Work
This is where it gets tough for me. I know I already put one of director Spike Jonze’ videos in my list, but what can I say? The guy makes amazing videos. They are always cutting edge. Just like the way that U2 and Madonna have a way of changing music every time they put out a new album, Jonze changed the face of MTV with each video he directed in the 90’s and 00’s. The following are my all-time favorite videos ever.
Beastie Boys – Sabotage
This is another video that made me wish that there was a movie that I could go see. It was the first single off of my least favorite Beastie Boys album, but it was a new era of cool for the B-Boys. The previous statement about U2 and Madonna also applies to the Beastie Boys.
Weezer – Buddy Holly
It’s the video that let a whole generation know just how cool Happy Days is. I can fondly remember twisting my ankle trying to do the dance that Fonzie performs in the video.
“Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaye”
