73/100 Video - "A Criminal Mind" - Gowan (1985)

The debut single Canada's Gowan certainly grabbed my attention when I first watched it on Video Hits. 

Set in the fictional School of Reform for Budding Arch Criminals, the video is part animated comic strip and part dark musical. 

While the song was a slow burner for me, the video was bold and mind-blowing. The imagery paces well with the piano bits and other instrumentation. 

For the next few years, the vivid imagination of Gowan never failed to take us on a cool trip, with amazing singles such as "Strange Animal;", "Cosmetics" and Moonlight Desires".

74/100 Video - "Summer of '69" - Bryan Adams (1985)

Yeah, this one is overplayed a tad. But for us Gen-X-ers who grew up with it, when we replace '69 with '89, it now hits us a little deeper.

One of the ultimate nostalgia anthems, "Summer of '69" by Bryan Adams is a tune I've grown to appreciate more as time passes. 

I wasn't much into wistful reflection as a 16 year-old, preferring more adventurous tunes about ruling the world, or dancing into the fire than a generic tune about bygone summer days at a drive-in I'd never seen.

The song is just a straight ahead rock and roller peppered with clichés about "summer's that last forever", back when we were "young and restless" during the "best days of our lives". 

But those are also the same reasons why we love it. 

Iconic tunes bring us all together at a party or on a road trip and a few are essential for any top 100 list.

75/100 Video - "Sandstorm" - Darude (2000)

The video starts off harmlessly enough. 

During the brief intro, DJ Darude is peacefully enjoying a sunny day on the steps of an historic building in Helsinki, chillin' with headphones.

Then as the techno kicks in, a woman carrying a briefcase blows by the DJ down the steps, followed closely by two security guards, a man and a woman.

The rest of the video is dedicated to one helluva epic chase! 

There is a plot twist at the end, but I won't spoil it for you.

76/100 Video - "Living on Video" - Trans-X (1983)

In the early 80s, "Living on Video" by Montreal's Trans-X had all the fixings for a teenage boy.

Video games. Check.

Synth laser beams. Check.

Robots. Check.

Thrashing Keytar. Check.

Cute girl dancing. Check.

A French girl. Bonus Check.

"Living on Video" not only sounded like the future; the lyrics about surveillance predicted the future. 

The clip sounds and looks like some sort of backstreet video game arcade. Bring your quarters.

77/100 Video - "L'Affaire Dumoutier (Say To Me)" – The Box (1985)

I've always enjoyed the mini-movie video of a criminal investigation and trial in rural Quebec accompanying the descriptive narration-style vocals for "L' Affaire Dumoutier (Say To Me)" by The Box.

The scene forever burned in my brain: the man walking down a country road while balancing on the white line in an apparent state of amnesia while the lyric "Walking, walking... on the tightrope of insanity walking, walking on the verge of loosing mind".

The video doubled as an after-school lesson in Québecois French with dialogue scattered throughout the clip. I even learned a few new phrases including non-culpable (not guilty).