68/100 Video - "Venus" - Bananarama (1986)

A long, long time ago, more than a decade before The Spice Girls, there was Bananarama.

"Venus" by Bananarama was immediately catchy, easily among the best cover songs of the decade.

Released when I was seventeen years old, I tuned in primarily to see the three girls dance and flail about.

There appeared to be choreography for the dance moves, but the girls preferred tomfoolery.

Siobhan, the shorter blonde, was always my favourite.

69/100 Video - "Helena Beats" - Foster the People (2011)

 

"Helena Beats" by Foster the People is my top pick in the category of post-apocalypse videos. 

Our musical hero plays a sort of Mad Max character while the gang of kids he encounters are straight out of Lord of the Flies.

You'll either find the video kind of creepy or super cool. 

70/100 Video - "Sour Girl" - Stone Temple Pilots (1999)

There's lots to unpack here.

Giant evil Teletubbies. A gyrating Scott Weiland. 

And a dark Sarah Michelle Gellar, who was a huge fan of the band. At the time, Gellar was a rising star with her TV series Buffy the Vampire Slayer and movies.

The clip features little people in costumes that look like the Teletubbies, which were big at the time. Scott claimed this was just a coincidence, and that the creatures are based on a dream he had.

Apparently the teletubby thingies represent an unhealthy addiction that doesn't seem as bad as it is.

Storax Sedan (YouTube comments) offers these great insights below which seem to be spot on:

The lighting is bright and warm which signifies the band members thinking they're happy. But when the lighting gets cold and dark, Sara shows Scott that those teletubby things are truly vile, evil, that they're not a true path to happiness and that he doesn't need them anymore. Then after, when the lighting goes back to the bright and warm, Scott is shown with Sarah dancing showing that he is truly happy with her and doesn't need the teletubbies to be happy, until she leaves him. Then the lighting goes back to the cold and dark and he relapses and caves back into his addiction as he walks away with the teletubbies hands in his.

71/100 Video - "Would I Lie to You?" - Eurythmics (1985)

 

The Eurythmics had already produced a number of synth-pop records and hit singles before the release of their 4th album Be Yourself Tonight.

The album also showcased the amazing range of vocalist Annie Lennox, like in the angelic "There Must Be An Angel" and the soulful "It's Alright". 

The first single (and video) "Would I Lie to You?" was a veritable head-turner: the track features a large horn section and Motown backup singers. 

But most of all, the single illustrated the queen of new wave could also rock. Feisty, even. And if you watch the clip, you'll see she's a pretty good actress, too.

In the video, Lennox sings from the perspective of an angry girlfriend who walks out on her cheating lover. 

However her anger was not directed at Stewart, although they were a romantic couple before forming Eurythmics, but inspired by the breakup of her first marriage, to a Hare Krishna named Radha Raman.

At the beginning of the clip before the band hit the stage, I love how David offers Annie a piece of advice that was the title of their current album: "Be Yourself Tonight."

You may have most recently heard "Would I Lie to You?" on TV, as it's the theme song for Border Security: Canada's Front Line. 

72/100 Video - "Running Up That Hill" - Kate Bush (1985)

"Running Up That Hill" by Kate Bush was one song I missed during my top 100 fave 1980 songs countdown from two years ago.

In fact, I should have switched "Cloudbusting" to the videos list, rather than including it in the songs. Okay, I'm done with the crying.

"Running Up That Hill", my introduction to Kate Bush in 1985, gave us a memorable and epic video in itself. 

Kate wanted the video to be more of a classical performance, compared to in her mind, the more trivial videos of the era.

She certainly delivered the goods.

The choreography of the video's interpretive dance is outstanding between Kate and dancer Michael Hervieu. 

The haunting synth and the hypnotic drum beat go along perfectly with the moving visuals. The beat also makes this a great running track.

There are a couple of bizarre scenes near the end when Kate and Michael's intimate dance is interrupted by the masked extras in the tunnel, but they do fit in with the lyrics.