91/100 Video - "Whip It" - Devo (1981)

Filmed on the set of a ranch, "Whip It" by Devo is among the weirdest videos ever made.

The band members sport sleeveless black turtlenecks, black shorts and black boots, topped off by flowerpot hats.

 

The weirdness is only beginning. While one woman is seduced by a cowboy, another has her clothes expertly removed by the band's bullwhip-wielding lead singer as he and his colleagues tell their audience to: 

Whip it
Into shape
Shape it up
Get straight
Go forward
Move ahead
Try to detect it
It's not too late
To whip it
Whip it good

And only recently had I learned that the video has political undertones. 

Partially a reaction to President Ronald Reagan's previous career as a Hollywood actor, Devo wanted to create a video that satirized both the cowboy mythos and "right-wing racist values".

92/100 Video - "Mama" - Genesis (1983)

 

If we judge his work solely based on the mid-80s era, it's easy to forget that Phil Collins had a bit of a dark side.

And "Mama" by Genesis may be the trippiest single Phil Collins has ever produced. 

Shot in black and white, the video is on the creepy end of the spectrum. Dark and powerful. But also beautiful and poetic. 

The song's slow menacing buildup is spectacular and Phil's vocals are among his finest.

And Phil is downright terrifying when does his little laugh grunts, as the camera shifts perspective and slides his huge mug closeup, staring, glaring back at us.

The song itself is about a young man obsessed with a prostitute who is not interested in him. Based on a book Phil Collins had read called The Moon's A Balloon, by David Niven, in which a young man falls in love with an older prostitute who does not return his affections.

93/100 Video - "Torture" – The Jacksons (1984)

"Torture" by The Jacksons isn't just a music video. It's also a mini horror movie.

It's so bad, it's good.

Musically, the brothers remind us that there was a lot of talent in the family tree to go around.

But all the brothers didn't make it into the video. MJ had other commitments and Jermaine refused.

Although MJ sings a verse, he doesn't appear in the clip. Edit: there's a wax mannequin of him instead.

Now the video itself is a delicious slice of 80s swagger.

The overuse of cheesy special effects and tropes typically reserved for science-fiction and fantasy movies reflects one helluva budget.

The eye in the middle of the hand. The elaborate costumes. The dancing babe. Giant spiders. Demonic symbolism.

For the grand finale, a group of dancing skeletons steal the show. There's even a moonwalking skeleton.

94/100 Video - "Yellow" – Coldplay (2000)

The original concept for the video "Yellow" by Coldplay was a party involving the entire band, however the funeral of the drummer's mother was held on the day of the video shoot. So, instead of all four members appearing, just singer Chris Martin went to the shoot.

There were apparently a ton of extras kicking around, but Chris grabbed the cameraman and said "let’s just walk down the beach".

The video was shot on a windy, drizzly day on an empty beach in Dorset, England, and shows Chris walking along the shoreline singing to the camera. The clip was taken in one continuous shot, and in slow motion.

The final clip ended up becoming a poignant alternative, and somehow even works better than the original plan.

95/100 Video - "500 Up" – Sloan (1992)

Early Sloan songs from their debut album are often forgotten, sometimes lost with the success of albums that followed.

In "500 Up", the guys sound and look like they're having such a blast, showing us hints of what to come in the years ahead: alternating vocals, amazing harmonies, tight playing. 

A summer tune about baseball, boys and girls, the band shots are complimented by clips of a yellow chick dressed in a track suit riding a pink convertible.     

I love the breezy innocence of the video with its minimal budget, apparently filmed in the backstreets of New York City. At times the facades of several buildings (I swear I see Park Victoria Apartments in there) remind me of their and my old stomping grounds in Halifax.