“The Real World” debuted on MTV back in 1992. And that, folks, was essentially the end of MTV as we knew it. If you came of age after 1992, you probably don’t even remember a time when the music video network was (gasp!) dominated by music videos. We got MTV in Arkansas in 1987. I was 12. And I watched that damn network at least a couple of hours every day. When a new video debuted on the network, it was a huge goddamn deal, tantamount to debuting the new trailer for Sherlock Holmes today. Granted, during the day, heavy rotation was largely full of crap (the day we got MTV, I remember seeing Def Leppard’s “Pour Some Sugar on Me,” at least 7 times), but if you hung around after midnight, they’d play the really good stuff.
Anyway: Putting together this list was a lot more fun than I’d anticipated. The production values weren’t nearly what they are today, when it isn’t unusual for an artist to drop $1 million on a video no one will ever see. But some of those 80s videos were glorious; teenagers during that time would often sit for hours waiting for their favorite video to air. And now: You can just go to YouTube to see it.
Crazy goddamn world. At any rate, here’s the 10 Best Videos of the 80s (my version, anyway). I realize that Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” has no business not being on this list, but I never really liked it that much. Plus, it took half an hour out of your day whenever they decided to air it.
Prison Sex, or Sober. One of those needs to be on there.
Posted by: Eep at June 3, 2009 12:09 PM
Our little town had MTV from it's inception and godtopus knows, being stranded in that desolate wasteland, we desperately needed it.
I spent hours per day watching it or just having it on while I did other things so I could not only see the videos but revel in the music that our crappy local radio stations wouldn't play.
Oh. I gotta put Duran Duran's videos up against any on the list.
I take exception only to #4 and #1. I HATE "Money for Nothing" and the vid had nothing going for it beyond some new technology used to create it. And "Land of Confusion" is from far into the period when music videos had become standardized and corporatized and therefore tired and stale.
"Once in a Lifetime" is art. And "Sledgehammer" is probably the finest ever combination of a great pop song with animation which is perfectly attuned to the music.
My personal favorite is Let Forever Be by the Chemical Bros...Art, y'all.
Wait, why is the Thriller video where Night of the Living Baseheads should be?
Posted by: gelis at June 3, 2009 12:24 PM
Agreed, BWeaves, that is inexcusable.
Have to disagree with Jerce. Besides the fact that Money for Nothing is a brilliantly accessible and catchy commercial success that was a snide attack on accessible and catchy commercial successes, its video really captures what the '80s were all about: crude and raw attempts to integrate a bunch of new technologies and formats that were still in their infancy. The worst and best kind of gallimaufry all at the same time.
Posted by: Eep at June 3, 2009 12:24 PM
What happened to the Public Enemy video? MJ instead?
Posted by: chrisanthemama at June 3, 2009 12:29 PM
New Order - True Faith.
Posted by: kc at June 3, 2009 12:30 PM
You Might Think by The Cars.
Posted by: Eep at June 3, 2009 12:30 PM
I agree with #1. I love that song in the face, even Disturb's cover of it. I think I Ran should be on here for being the best-awfulest video.
Posted by: admin at June 3, 2009 12:30 PM
Every Breath You Take
Posted by: Eep at June 3, 2009 12:31 PM
I'm gonna second the aha comment. Also- no heavy metal?- I loved the Ratt "Round and Round" video when I was a kid. I miss videos. Good list though.
Posted by: carlcarlson at June 3, 2009 12:33 PM
'Ashes to Ashes'? I used to like that one for some reason.
Posted by: tarn at June 3, 2009 12:38 PM
What! No Duran Duran, Madonna or Janet Jackson? I lived for those videos back in the day.
Posted by: Candy at June 3, 2009 12:38 PM
Wait! Why is "Take on me" by Aha not here?
Posted by: Four Eyes at June 3, 2009 12:41 PM
FACT - Everything They Might Be Giants does is made of awesome.
Posted by: Tammy at June 3, 2009 12:41 PM
Oh. Sorry. Didn't read the other posts before I posted my complaint. I'll hush now.
Posted by: Four Eyes at June 3, 2009 12:42 PM
No Lawyers in Love by Jackson Browne?
No Blinded me With Science by Thomas Dolby?!?!?!
No TOTAL ECLIPSE of THE. MOTHERFUCKIN.' HEART!?!?!? by Bonnie Tyler.
NO ZZ TOP
THIS LIST IS BULLSHIT!
Posted by: BarbadoSlim at June 3, 2009 12:43 PM
Billy Idol- White Wedding
Posted by: carlcarlson at June 3, 2009 12:44 PM
Dustin FORGOT "Take On Me." There is simply no way he thought about it and decided that video wasn't good enough.
Posted by: Todd at June 3, 2009 12:48 PM
I was always a little partial to Tom Petty And The Heartbreaker's "Don't Come Around Here No More." Great ending.
I like "Land Of Confusion" quite a bit, but "Sledgehammer" rightfully should be the undisputed number one.
Posted by: DarthCorleone at June 3, 2009 12:49 PM
In the metal category:
Cum on Feel the Noise
and
We're Not Gonna Take It
I also feel like "Fight For Your Right" should be on the list.
Posted by: Eep at June 3, 2009 12:50 PM
An honorable mention should go to Whitesnake- "Here I go Again"... Iconic, wouldn't you say?
Posted by: logar at June 3, 2009 12:50 PM
BWeaves, I'm with you. I've never been as riveted by a video as I was with Take On Me. I still love that video, and not for its artistic value, but just because I dig it.
Whether or not Take On Me should be #1 (my vote would go to Sledgehammer, which stands up to anything done before or after), its omission from a Top 10 list calls the entire list into question in my mind.
Posted by: Che Grovera at June 3, 2009 12:58 PM
I was always a little partial to Tom Petty And The Heartbreaker's "Don't Come Around Here No More." Great ending.
Posted by: DarthCorleone at June 3, 2009 12:49 PM
Before that there was "You Got Lucky" which had a sorta post-nuclear theme going on. It was a quintessential 80's video IMHO. If remember correctly they wwould play it during HBO's "Video Jukebox" segments. This preceded MTV's takeover of music videos.
Aaaanyway, its non-inclusion is further proof of Rowles' BLATANT asshattery. And to think, that poor George was almost tarred and feathered for for lesser offenses just yesterday.
Posted by: BarbadoSlim at June 3, 2009 1:00 PM
She Blinded Me With Science????? Thomas Dolby
I do agre w/ the others...no Duran Duran is an impossibility. I mean, Hungry Like the Wolf? The totally erotic Girls On Film?? RIO??? And Take On Me being omitted is a disgrace.
Gotta also agree with the Cars' You Might Think (Andy Warhol was producer--you can't get cooler than that!).
I'll have to add INXS' The One Thing (prompted my sex fantasies w/ the delicious Michael Hutchence).
Also, Tom Petty's Last Dance with Mary Jane--creepy, beautiful, with Kim Basinger as a dead object of beauty--as well as the acid-trippy Alice in Wonderland themed video for Don't Come Around Here No More.
There.
Posted by: artgal1990 at June 3, 2009 1:07 PM
And to think, that poor George was almost tarred and feathered for for lesser offenses just yesterday.
Posted by: BarbadoSlim at June 3, 2009 1:00 PM
I thought -- and very nearly wrote -- the same thing.
Posted by: Che Grovera at June 3, 2009 1:07 PM
No Van Halen or Culture Club. It's obvious that you cannot narrow down vidoes of the 80s by ten. Its impossible. The 80s defined video culture.
Posted by: Candy at June 3, 2009 1:13 PM
1. sing blue silver - duran duran
2. i want to break free- queen
3. were not gona take it- twisted sister
4. she blinded me w/science- thomas dolby
5. let me go- heaven 17
6. no more words- berlin
7. i want candy- bow wow wow
8. friend or foe- adam ant
9. living on the ceiling-blamache
10. bela legousi dead- bauhaus
I know that this borders on heresy, but I've been tivo-ing the morning blocks of videos on MTV and...it's kind of dull. I'd much rather watch guilty-pleasure reality shows than a constant stream of videos, only about 40% I actually like.
Posted by: Claire at June 3, 2009 1:23 PM
Did I miss the part where you disqualified MJ's Thriller somewhere? Because, really, even if ya hate him, ya gotta admit that video was tha SHIT. Especially for coming of age time.
Greg Kihn's 'Jeopardy', Golden Earring with 'Twilight Zone', and one called 'Fine Fine Day' by Tony Someone.
Posted by: jenks at June 3, 2009 1:33 PM
MTV is in theory a great idea. It could start new trends, give a boost to new bands, play the greats, show concerts, underground movies. All sorts of shit. It could be the driver of the counterculture. It's a pity it's just part of the corporate system. There's still some good stuff and MTV has had its highs and lows over the years but it seems to sink deeper and deeper and as far as music goes it has practically become irrelevant.
Maybe the days when bands spent more money on having a great album cover than creating a video were better.
No November Rain by Guns n Roses? I love that video.
Posted by: barf at June 3, 2009 1:34 PM
November Rain was released in 1992, therefore not making the 80's cut.
I went through the list a second time just to make sure I hadn't missed it. But no Michael Jackson? Especially Thriller?!
FAIL!
ERROR!
Posted by: Gnaius at June 3, 2009 2:03 PM
Despite my love for Peter Gabriel, I hated that video for Sledgehammer; at least the ending where he lights up and steps out into the stars. I would cover my face and turn away.
Take on Me should definitely be up here.
Posted by: Brie at June 3, 2009 2:03 PM
Okay, fine - you mentioned Thriller in the write-up. But still - that's all kinds of wrong to exclude it :-)
Posted by: Gnaius at June 3, 2009 2:04 PM
I'm with BSlim - no video says "80s" to me more than the delightful Ms. Tyler being chased around an abandoned boarding school by homoerotic gymnasts and the Midwich Choirboys. "TURN AROOOUUUUNNNDD!"
Posted by: Shay at June 3, 2009 2:22 PM
Argh! QUEEN. RADIO GAGA.
Posted by: masha at June 3, 2009 2:27 PM
Not to mention the fact that the "Take on Me" video became a thousand times more awesome with that literal version that came out a while ago.
You young 'uns forgot the first dude who saw the potential in MTV and made it his bitch for all of 1983...DAVID BOWIE.
Every video from Let's Dance is a classic. He shot them in Australia for $100K each. At the time, people thought he was wasting time and money.
Posted by: brouhaha at June 3, 2009 2:33 PM
Your #3 is my #1. I'll still search out Sledgehammer and watch the video. It is just that good and its impact is still that fresh...all these years later.
Posted by: Warren J at June 3, 2009 2:44 PM
"Devo "Whip It""
I don't know if this video is good, per se, but it's creepy and hell and has always stayed with me. I love the song, too. Gotta agree with the outrage at the omission of Petty's "Don't Come Around Here No More". Disturbing as shit, but so cool.
Also noticed a paucity of the ladies there. C'mon - Cyndi Lauper's "Time After Time" and Pat Benatar's "Love Is a Battlefield"? Not to mention the Sugarcubes's "Deus", if only because Bjork is as crazy/brilliant at that age as she is now. "Squeaky clean....really clean."
Posted by: samantha t at June 3, 2009 2:50 PM
I would just like to add:
"Yeah, fuckin' every now and then I fall apart".
Posted by: admin at June 3, 2009 2:54 PM
Dustin--
Just re-read your post, and I must beg to differ on one point re: getting MTV in 1987 (?). I grew up in Fayetteville, Arkansas, and I remember eagerly awaiting and watching MTV's debut in 1981--The Buggles' Video Killed the Radio Star--I just turned 13. You can't imagine what an impact that made on a new teenager at the time.
Surely the northwest corner of the state wasn't always THAT progressive!
Posted by: Courtney (artgal1990) at June 3, 2009 2:58 PM
"Land of Confusion" is a good song with a good video, but no way is it better than "Sledgehammer". That was a terrific pop song combined with cutting edge animation. That video was fantastic. And there is no excuse for completely omitting Aha. "Take on Me" was awesome.
And by the way, disregarding a video like "Thriller" just because it took too long to watch it makes no sense. Maybe it's because you didn't get MTV until 1987, but those who came of age during MJ's heyday will have to admit that watching that video the first time was like watching screen magic. It was (and is) a great song and the video was damn good. The choreography was terrific and even Ola Ray's overacting couldn't ruin it.
Posted by: Carolina Girl at June 3, 2009 3:11 PM
When I think of 80s MTV, the first thing that pops into my head is "Walk Like an Egyptian" by the Bangles. My mom was a big believer in the tv-as-a-babysitter and I remember watching that video over and over again.
Posted by: Austin asking for trouble at June 3, 2009 3:13 PM
"I wanna be a Flintstone" by the Screaming Blue Messiahs was pretty cool.
Posted by: John W at June 3, 2009 3:17 PM
Nothing new here, but some hearty agreements.
I'm glad so many of you questioned the omission of "Take On Me." I thought, for a second, that the world had gone crazy.
Also seconding the Tom Petty "Last Dance With Mary Jane" vid. Creepy-fantastic.
And the second thing that came to mind to add (after A-Ha) was Cyndi Lauper's "Time After Time." It's possible that that video made me cry. Beautiful.
Posted by: elisamaza at June 3, 2009 3:42 PM
I think "Frankie" liked the boys.
Posted by: jpguy13 at June 3, 2009 3:43 PM
Wait a monkey-sodden minute here, Rowles: "money for Nothin'" and "Land of Confusion" make the list, but "Take me on", "Thriller", and "Fight Fire with Fire" are not in this list?
Clearly, you are from the tarnished nickel-plated age of MTV's downslide. You probably don't even know who Adam Curry and Mark Goodman are -- let alone Nina Blackwood.
Posted by: hater from siloam springs at June 3, 2009 3:54 PM
Although I admit: props for Safety Dance. Dwarves and Wenches are tools of the trade of the video kingdom.
Posted by: hater from siloam springs at June 3, 2009 3:59 PM
Seriously though...this is NOT my beautiful house.
Posted by: Flannery at June 3, 2009 4:08 PM
XTC's "Dear God" is such a kick-ass song.
Posted by: samantha t at June 3, 2009 4:12 PM
For some reason the video for "You Can Call Me Al" was always my favorite when I was a wee one. Paul Simon and a lip-synching Chevy Chase making with the funny.
Posted by: henchman for hire at June 3, 2009 4:27 PM
Yeah, "Take On Me" is supposed to be on here. No matter what you think of it these days, you know it fucking rocked your world back then.
i'd like to see a list of top 10 90's videos...soundgarden's black hole sun would have to be on there.
for the record-i HATE thriller. it always scared the shit out of me when his eyes would go all weird. still does, honestly.
Posted by: gem at June 3, 2009 4:32 PM
It's too bad that Freedom '90 JUST missed.
Posted by: Eep at June 3, 2009 4:45 PM
Aha! has to be there, anyone on the downside of 40 knows that. Them and The Motels "Only the Lonely" and Gary Numan's "Cars" played ALL THE TIME c. 1981-1982.
Billy Idol's "White Wedding"-hey litttle sister!
Duran Duran "Rio"-I remember that 20/20 did an entire segment on the music video revolution (how quaint it is now) and "Rio" was featured prominently..and DD was nothing without the videos, man!
For me personally, any Talking Heads video, but "And She Was" was a favorite. And The fabulous Pretenders "Brass in Pocket"
Posted by: lil_a at June 3, 2009 4:46 PM
One of the difficulties of this sort of list is separating the song from the video. Some great songs had awful videos and vice versa. The initial videos on MTV were odd and experimental things. Duran Duran (when they came along) were pretty and bouncy fun, but not exactly game-changing artistic statements.
For me, the world changed when I first encountered the face and voice (together) of Annie Lennox. "Sweet Dreams" - Eurythmics.
Posted by: Corvus at June 3, 2009 4:47 PM
Heh. Henchman, I was young enough in the 80's that I actually believed Chevy Chase SANG "You Can Call Me Al" based on the video.
I could never figure out who the little guy playing the trumpet might be.
Posted by: Meggrs at June 3, 2009 4:51 PM
Three words: David. Lee. Roth.
Regardless of what you feel about the man, "California Girls" was awesome and "I'm Just A Gigolo" was arguably the first parody video -- which 25 years later Eminem is still copying.
Oh and three more words: Weird. Al. Yankovic.
Posted by: Fredo at June 3, 2009 6:17 PM
TAKE ON ME BY AHA. THEY WERE ROBBED.
Posted by: J at June 3, 2009 6:46 PM
This is exactly the sort of topic where winnowing it down to TEN... is just sick and wrong. And self-defeating.
But right off the bat, I can tell you that you shot yourself in the foot by choosing "Safety Dance" and forgetting "Take on Me." As you know, by now.
And "Land of Confusion???" Yeah, okay. Puppets. Clever! No. Not clever. They're puppets. You want SEMINAL music videos -- and you didn't include the artists who MADE the channel the success it became? Who MADE music videos the ART FORM it became? That is to say... Madonna and Michael Jackson? Duuuuude.
Hell, I don't even like any of Michael Jackson's videos and I still know either "Thriller" or "Bad" belongs on the Top Ten list. As for Madonna? Fuck -- you could fill an entire Top Ten list with the videos she made in the 80s that absolutely belong on ANY list of seminal 80s videos.
(Yeah. I know that was totally incoherent. It's an off day. At least I'm not George.)
MSOC I agree that Jackson should be there, but the second option to Thriller should be Billie Jean.
Also, I can't believe I forgot Prince, what about Purple Rain or When Doves Cry?
Posted by: Eep at June 3, 2009 7:03 PM
Eep -- I think it should be "Bad," because of the Scorsese factor...
Jan -- "You Can Call Me Al," while diverting and nostalgic... is two and a half minutes of Paul Simon and Chevy Chase lip-syncing, doing the grapevine and kick-ball-changing. Would you honestly want that stuck in a time capsule to represent the 80s? Out of ALL the possible videos made in a decade, you get TEN... and that's one of the ones you choose? I'm thinking... no.
Okay. So. I admit I was born in 1979, missing the MTV hey-day. But I consider myself a pop-culture afficionado, and a friend of the gays. How did I miss how very, very gay this "Relax" video was?
Did the religious right not throw a hissy fit about all the leather daddies and the drag queens and the (what appears to be) golden showers?
Is this common knowledge? Okay. I'm off to wikipedia for the rest of the evening.
Posted by: marya at June 3, 2009 9:02 PM
To answer my own question - yes, apparently this is common knowledge. Fascinating.
We think we've come such a long way in the past 2 decades, but I wonder if an openly gay pop singer with an S&M-themed video would reach #1 these days. For fuck's sake, even the winner of American Idol has to play coy about his sexuality. And American Idol is about as gay as it gets.
Posted by: marya at June 3, 2009 9:13 PM
Hell, I don't even like any of Michael Jackson's videos and I still know either "Thriller" or "Bad" belongs on the Top Ten list.
Posted by: Maryscott O'Connor at June 3, 2009 6:50 PM
Hee (or in MJ's honor should that be, "ee-hee"?).
Dustin clearly lit a fire under "stuck in 1985" MO'C...
Aha should be there and Sledgehammer is second to no-one, NO-ONE! BAH!!!
Overlooking videos by the biggest artists from the era in which video killed the radio star casts a huge shadow over this list. Case in point: Prince, INXS, Talking Heads, Eurythmics, Duran Duran- I’ll nominate Wild Boys, but Wolf and Girls on Film deserve mention (although the latter is mainly noteworthy for the soft porn controversy it stirred). Michael Jackson fucking OWNED the early to mid 80’s, before loopiness took hold and much as I hated the hype, Thriller was the first clip to elevate music video from a 3 minute promotional amusement to a dog-damm event.
BTW if anyone finds a link to the Damn Yankees video Patton Oswalt talks about on his first album (the one with The Nuge deflecting bullets with the power of his rocking), it wins hands down on the strength of his description alone :-)
Posted by: RandyPanTheGoatboy at June 3, 2009 11:27 PM
i'm not seeing any wang chung on here.
and that disturbs me.
Posted by: gp at June 4, 2009 12:10 AM
With all the a-ha love flowing here, it seems like a good time to remind folks that Take On Me wasn't even the best song on that album:
This popped up on my iPod just tonight, so tracking down the video seemed only logical; see if you can pick out the chords U2 stole for Beautiful Day...
Posted by: Che Grovera at June 4, 2009 12:20 AM
I haven't anything to say about 80's videos, since I was the one of the few on the planet who happened to hate MTV , but its nice to see there are still those who remember the 'Placemats. Those guys raised fucking up to an art form, God bless 'em.
A-Ha. Oh yes. But also, I remember my WHOLE CATHOLIC SCHOOL being utterly scandalized by Nena's armpit hair in 99 Red Balloons (99 Luftballoons for purists). Cyndi Lauper got me through my life at the time. Her video featured the Goonies and Captain Lou Albano! Tight.
Also, just had to check out Sun Always Shines...heehee...penis!
Posted by: replica at June 4, 2009 1:55 AM
owner of a lonely heart
Posted by: Jo 'Mama' Besser at June 4, 2009 1:59 AM
And with that last post by replica, the Pajiba taste(y) trust has covered almost all the superior bases so shamelessly avoided by the lame initial list.
Duran Duran - Rio / Hungry or *Girls
Prince - Purple Rain
Twisted Sister - We're Not Gonna Take It
Aha - Take On Me
Devo - Whipit
Thomas Dolby - She Blinded Me With Science
Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers - Don't Come Round Here No More
Police - Every Breath You Take
Adam Ant - Stand and Deliver
Buggles - Video Killed the Radio Star
Bowie - Major Tom
Nena - 99 Luftballoons, the original German video
and must add ...
Michael Jackson - Billy Jean
B-52s? - Any
That's what - 14? Sledgehammer of course belongs there, as would The Talking Heads video if it were the right one - the concert version of Once In a Lifetime.
Shenanigans. Serious shenanigans.
Posted by: BierceAmbrose at June 4, 2009 4:40 AM
brass in pocket. remember it and I was 5 or so.
Posted by: bj at June 4, 2009 6:58 AM
MSOC
True, but which is more important in Bad, the Scorsese factor or the Snipes factor? If I were a complete hack I would follow with a joke about always betting on black, so it's a good thing I'm not. Anyway though, I love Scorsese, but Beat It was another perfect '80s video: cheesy freeze frames and wipes and stuff, obvious sets, and wtf effects like having the tiles light up when he stepped on them. Bad was basically a reasonably well-crafted (for the format) musical.
Posted by: Eep at June 4, 2009 10:29 AM
I know I am late but this had to be the toughest list and it could have been done
by our input and been safer for you Dustin. I do love the fact that you put The
Replacements in there with this representative.
I think REM with Don't Fall on Me should be around here somewhere but that is
okay, you have taken enough of a beating.
Posted by: richmac at June 4, 2009 1:10 PM
No Tom Petty? Who could forget the Alice in Wonderland video?!
No Cars?
How about ABC?
Posted by: jmflynny at June 4, 2009 9:58 PM
Any videos from Kate Bush
Wall of Voodoo, Mexican Radio
XTC, Senses Working Overtime
DEVO, Beautiful World
Peter Gabriel, Games Without Frontiers
Posted by: rationalista at June 4, 2009 10:07 PM
I definatly agree that Aha's "Take On Me" should've been on this list!
Kudo's on "Sledgehammer"
But where are Tears for Fears?? Their vids were awesome!
Posted by: Jeva at June 5, 2009 9:55 AM
Seconding a lot of the previous posts ... good stuff, you curious collection of whacked out 80s refugees. To that I'll add "I'm Still Standing" ... Elton's "coming out" party announcing he wasn't going away quietly. Lord Choc Ice Rules! Video is just about as cheekily great as the song!
Not one Duran Duran video? I call shenanigans, Rowles!