88/100 Video - "Crystal" – New Order (2001)

New Order had been dormant for almost a decade, its members off doing solo projects since they had split up circa 1993.

"Crystal" was a solid choice for their comeback single, showcasing the band's trademark dance-rock sound.

The concert style video doesn't show the actual band members, but rather a much younger indie group lip-synching to the track. 

Brandon Flowers of The Killers was so enamored with the tune's video that he stole the name painted on the drum kit for his own group.

89/100 Video - "Buffalo Stance" - Neneh Cherry (1988)

The video for "Buffalo Stance" by Neneh Cherry oozes energy and flow, colour and motion.

Everyone's a star in this catchy clip with the sick synth hook and fat chorus.

Starting with the foreground, sassy singer Neneh Cherry captures our attention with her cheeky prances and buffalo stances.

In charge of the synths and scratchin', there's Mushroom, who was part of the Wild Bunch DJ collective before joining Massive Attack.

And the two animated back-up female vocalists bob, dart and weave in and off the screen throughout the clip.

Although the song was released in 1988; it oozes an early 90s vibe to the style. 

The 80s are sometimes remembered as being all about image or excess. But here we have Neneh Cherry rhyming about how 'no money man can win her love'. 

The vocal line "Know what I mean" flashing down the screen in four languages is a cute scene. 

I'll always associate this track with clubbing at Secretaries in downtown Halifax. Good times.

90/100 Video - "Push It" - Garbage (1998)

Few bands epitomize the mid-90s post-grunge sound more than the rock-tronica of Garbage, the brainchild of producer Butch Vig.

On most of the group's songs, the vocals of Scotland's Shirley Manson howl while the guitars growl.

And "Push It" is no exception.

The video is trippy, full of bizarre imagery, with a Matrix-y vibe. 

The weirdness of the clip makes it feel like a distant cousin of 1981's "Whip It" by Devo. And the glowing jackets remind me of Nik Kershaw's "Wouldn't It be Good" video from 1984.

And if you were hoping to see the band, there's enough shots of Shirley Manson to keep our attention. 

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.