Ten 80s videos I like - #1 UHF

I struggled to decide on a tenth video and looked at several options.  If I put in a typical 80s video it would lessen the value of the other nine.  I finally decided the appropriate way to finish this list of 10 was to include a Weird Al video.  Fortunately there is a video from 1989 where Al makes a parody of music videos.  It's a song and a movie, UHF.  I've never seen the movie.  I plan to watch it someday when I break a leg or get mononucleosis.  Until that day I can watch four minutes of it.

Ten 80s videos I like - #2 Free Fallin'

I'm a sucker for southern California and it's perpetual sunshine, sunsets, palm trees by the beach, and the mountains.  Initially I was going to include Randy Newman's I Love LA but I decided to include this one from Tom Petty.  I think the directing and editing suit this song perfectly and give you a view of the area that makes you want to go there.  You have the gritty LA streets at the start and close, the big modern mall, palm trees, the flashbacks to the 60s that morph into 1989, and the skateboarding out by the mountains among other imagery.  Some of it seems cheezy and dated but watching and listening to this one is more about getting into of a state of mind. 

Ten 80s videos I like - #3 Where the Streets Have No Name

U2 has sold-out countless stadium concerts and generated millions of revenue over the last 15 to 20 years.  However, tickets and money aside, the band reached it's peak in 1987 with the album The Joshua Tree, and this video shows them at the height of their powers.  I must acknowledge the purists in that the album version is dubbed over and some of the police issues were edited and exaggerated for greater effect.  Nevertheless, live music has a special power and you can see the Angelenos enjoying the free concert given by the Irish quartet.  It's three videos in one:  the band, the police, and the fans in the streets.

Ten 80s videos I like - #4 It's Raining Again

Some of the best music videos tell a story.  It's Raining Again tells a story that offers no surprises but is fun to watch because of the little details.  All five members of the band make a cameo.  Before the young man boards the bus to L.A. a tumbleweed blows by.  He wears the same clothes the whole video and has one bad break after another.  It all moves along at a nice pace until the end where he receives a charmed red umbrella and then dances with the beautiful woman in the same movie that he was watching at the drive-in. 

This is not as impressive as some of the others in this list of ten.  As the title goes, it's just a video that I like.

Ten 80s videos I like - #5 Under Pressure

Under Pressure was very original in two senses.  The artists did not appear in the video and they used various old footage to accompany the song.  This has always seemed underrated to me as a song and a video.  It is alternatively depressing, exciting, scary, and overwhelming.  The images match the words of the song up until the end with the call for hope at the end.

Ten 80s videos I like - #6 Just a Gigolo/I Ain't Got Nobody

There was a time in the mid-80s when it became almost necessary that every video must have some sort of twist or intro before the song.  This was fun for a time but then eventually led to one-upmanship and eventually diminishing returns.  At the forefront of this trend was David Lee Roth.  For him it started with Van Halen's Hot for Teacher and ran its course finally with Goin' Crazy.

One of his better efforts was Just a Gigolo/I Ain't Got Nobody.  This came from his original solo album Crazy from the Heat, a 14 minute album comprised of four cover tunes.  It was released in January 1985 and within months Van Halen and Roth parted ways.  Roth used his popularity and artistic license to create some entertaining videos but inferior music when compared to his Van Halen efforts.

The reason this makes the list is the opening sequence and all the wacky sight gags and video spoofs throughout.  Some examples are Michael Jackson, Cyndi Lauper, and Billy Idol.  There's also Dave dancing in front of a Censorship Bored that is a gem.

Now watch this video you can't help but love.

Ten 80s videos I like - #7 19

First of all I must express my disappointment that I cannot share the 1985 version of 19 that was shown in the US on MTV.  When I pull it up on YouTube I get the following message: 

This video contains content from EMI, who has blocked it in your country on copyright grounds. 

The show must go on.  It would be easier to omit this video from the list.  However this is one of the best ever regardless of decade as it was educational and entertaining.  By 1985 a group of kids like me was growing up with little real knowledge of Vietnam.  Maybe some saw movies like The Deer Hunter, Apocalypse Now, Uncommon Valor, Platoon, and Good Morning Vietnam.  While some of those movies had qualities, it could not carry the more realistic impact of a short music video like 19.  Later when I read more about Vietnam I came to appreciate this effort even more.  I oppose the US's empire building foreign policy, the military industrial complex, and useless, wasteful wars like Vietnam, Iraq, and now Afghanistan.  If my 12 year-old son ever asked me about Vietnam  I would show him the video.  Just a minute, this just in, I found the video on Dailymotion via a search on Yahoo!

Since Blogger (Google) won't allow anything but a YouTube video you'll have to click on the link I had shortened on bit.ly.

http://yhoo.it/RhQY9L

 

Ten 80s videos I like - #8 Tonight I'm Yours

Tonight I'm Yours was a surreal video that blew this 8 year old boy away.  I remember it always seeming like it was going too fast and that it was over before I'd even settled into watching it.  Could there possibly be a more happening place than that L.A. hotel?  And did grown women really act way?  Sadly I found the answer in my life to the latter was 'no'.  I suppose there are places in Las Vegas or L.A. where rock stars, rappers, or pro athletes could create a similar scene, but to me, this video will always be the high water mark for unabashed hedonism.  If I had a chance to meet Rod or the director I would ask them to tell me how it was created and pulled together, how much was planned versus spontaneous, and whether any of the ladies were paid to appear in the video.  Kudos to Rod.

Ten 80s Videos I like - #9 Let's Work

This is a song and video you've probably forgotten.  If you went on vacation or stopped watching MTV briefly in 1987 you might have never seen it.  As I recall this video was only on heavy rotation briefly.  It's also probably the last time Mick Jagger had creative freedom as a solo artist and MTV would play whatever he produced.  In light of all this you'd think the song was a failure, but I'd like to argue otherwise.  First of all it's Mick Jagger in all his glory, high energy and shimmying around.  Second, the song has a good message.  Third, I don't think there's ever been another video like this.  It seems they're running around Manhattan on FDR Drive.  There's so much to see here if you try not to watch Mick the whole time.  Take a look!

Ten 80s Videos I like - #10 One Night in Bangkok

I am going to do a series of ten posts with each dedicated to a different 80s video I enjoyed watching as a 6 to 16 year old (in no particular order).  Some are familiar, most are forgotten.  Many videos from this decade were creative and fun to watch and have passed the test of time on some level.

One Night in Bangkok by Murray Head was a song that originated from the musical Chess.  It struck me as an exotic video that flowed well with the spoken lyrics.  Here are some favorite lyrics:

"What do you mean?  You've seen one crowded polluted stinking town"
"I get my kicks above the waistline sunshine"
"This grips me more than would a muddy old river or a reclining Buddha"

Enjoy!