40/100 video - "Go" - The Chemical Brothers (2015)

I love videos directed by Michael Gondry.

"Go" by The Chemical Brothers is the first of two of his innovative videos to appear on my list.

Filmed in Paris, the concept behind the video was beautifully simple.

Michel focused on the music for his visual interpretation.

The power of the bass line reminded him of a moving train.

The crossing of the single long iron bar by the six girls symbolizes a steam engine's side rods.

For a more detailed look behind the scenes of the making of "Go", check out this clip:

41/100 Video - "Right Here, Right Now" - Fatboy Slim (1999)

 

The video for "Right Here, Right Now" by Fatboy Slim, both provocative and educational, has been shown in some biology classrooms.

Although scientifically inaccurate, this fast-paced animated video is an entertaining and somewhat educational way to learn about the big picture of human evolution in less than four minutes.

The end of the clip shows a man walking through a city while eating a hamburger (taken from a cardboard cutout of Fatboy Slim himself). 

Then he pulls off the beard and morphs into the obese character depicted on the cover of the album.

42/100 Video - "Der Kommissar" - Falco (1982)

A few years before "Rock Me Amadeus" topped the charts, Falco scored a hit with "Der Kommissar". 

I think the first time I heard this Falco classic was at a junior high dance. 

Not sure if it was the original version of "Der Kommissar" or the American knock-off by After The Fire, but I've always preferred Falco's.

Now about the video.  

Somehow this low budget video is one of the best and worst at the same time. 

But the cheese oozes with authority. 

As nighttime clips from some sort of German version of Cops play in the background, our hero sings verses with a rap-like vocal and wears dark shades with confidence. 

The video is all about Falco superimposed on a screen. He spends almost four minutes running, dancing, looking behind him at a video showing menacing police cars "chasing" him. 

All while rapping a tale in German a story about running from the law.

43/100 Video - "Love is a Battlefield" – Pat Benatar (1983)

 

Pat Benatar has such a powerful stage presence in the video for "Love is a Battlefield".

The cinematic video that acts like a mini-movie evokes full-on girl power and a rebuttal of sorts against men using women as their possessions.

The 90s have often been cited as the decade of the emergence of female artists.

But much of the groundwork had been laid in the 80s, thanks in part to the proliferation of music videos.

44/100 Video - "Frozen" - Madonna (1998)

From the opening frames showing a black-haired Madonna cladded in black levitating above a bleak desert landscape, I knew the video the "Frozen" would be a good one.

 

The song, a mid-tempo electronica ballad, is hypnotic. 

 

The dark imagery showcases Madonna as a Gothic, shape-sifting witch mourning a broken heart and a lost love. 

The visuals are astounding, especially as Madonna transforms into a raven then later as a dog. 

"Frozen" won an MTV Video Music Award in 1998 for Best Special Effects.