26/100 Video - "You Spin Me Round" - Dead Or Alive (1985)

 

Back when I was a 16-year-old and glued to Video Hits every weekday at 5 pm, my mom would often cruise into the living room to catch a glimpse of the latest hits.

"Geez, Boy George is looking kinda rugged these days!"

"Yeah, Mom. He's a pirate now. Pretty cool, huh?"

This video demands your attention with its vibrant colours, the disco ball, rotating band members and Pete Wagg wagging fingers and swaying hips across the screen.

And what a track! From the opening beats, "You Spin Me Round" by Dead or Alive is a relentless assault on the senses. The dance inferno didn't sound like anything else charting in the spring of '85. 

The "You spin me round like a record, baby" chorus is equally inane and brilliant, the groove catchy and cheesy, and the whole production over the top. No wonder The Wedding Singer embraced it. 

I'll also always think of Corey Mock from our Dartmouth High days when I hear this iconic dance track. Corey absolutely loved this tune, the only guy I knew who enjoyed it more than I did! I can still see him grooving on the dance floor to it. RIP buddy.

27/100 Video - "Wicked Game" - Chris Izaak (1989)

The sensual video "Wicked Game" by Chris Izaak is a dreamy classic. 

Like all great melancholy numbers, the song is hauntingly beautiful.

And like with every song and video, we will all have our own interpretations.

A dream? Fantasy? A break-up? 

Some of us will see a fantasy world: an extended Calvin Klein commercial.

Others will view it as a heartbreaking break up. 

Pop culture fans will associate this song with Rachel and Ross's date in the museum. And the track is a bit of foreshadowing... if you look at it from Ross's perspective.

Chris Izaak said during an interview that the song is about a strong attraction to somebody that is not necessarily good for you.

28/100 Video - "Sabotage" - The Beastie Boys (1994)

A fusion of rap, rock, punk and metal, "Sabotage" by The Beastie Boys is one powerful tune.

The video is worthy of the overused 'epic' descriptor.

More of movie trailer of a long lost cop show from the 70s, the video reels you with its colourful characters, non-stop action and chase scenes. 

Like many viewers, Beavis and Butt-Head were also confused by the whole thing: 

"This is gonna be cool when this video finally comes out," Beavis says. 

The slightly smarter Butt-Head tries to correct him: "This is the real video, dumb-ass."

29/100 Video - "Money For Nothing" - Dire Straits (1985)

The innovative video for "Money For Nothing" by Dire Straits was one of the first to feature computer-generated animation.

Apparently the characters were supposed to have more detail, like buttons on their shirts, but they used up the budget and had to leave it as is. 

The video was directed by Steve Barron, who describes below how it was an ironic video for MTV.

"The song is damning to MTV in a way. The characters we created were made of televisions, and they were slagging off television. 

Videos were getting a bit boring, they needed some waking up. And MTV went nuts for it. It was like a big advertisement for them."

This clip won Best Video at the 1986 MTV Video Music Awards.

30/100 Video - "Stylo" - Gorillaz (2010)

The video for "Stylo" by Gorillaz is a post-apocalyptic masterpiece.

A band known for musical cameos gives us Bruce Willis this time, playing the role as a badass bounty hunter pursuing the animated Gorillaz characters in a high-speed chase down a desert highway. 

Damon Albarn’s 2D character is wearing the clown mask that the Joker wore in the opening bank robbery scene from The Dark Knight.

After Noodle takes out a cruiser with a shotgun, Willis picks up their scent leading to a furious ride down the highway paced by the bass-heavy electro beat of the song.