12/100 Video - "Rio" - Duran Duran (1982)

Those of us in junior high at the time will remember the playful decadence in this cutting edge video. 

Some watched for the girls. Some watched for the boys. Some for both. We all came for the fantasy and breath-taking scenery.

What sometimes gets lost in the shuffle is that the fab five played the instruments and wrote the songs. "Rio" sports one of the catchiest bass lines of all time.

"Rio" hooks us in with the grandiose intro before giving way to a bouncy, maniacal John Taylor bass line and Andy Taylor's timely guitar riffs, setting up the iconic singalong chorus about the mystical Rio dancing on the sand. The song changes gears a few times, including an amazing sax climb before the last chorus.

Back to Rio: does she really exist? 

Well, yes...as a metaphor. 

According to SongFacts, Duran Duran explained on the VH1 show True Spin that Rio is a metaphor for America, and the song expressed their desire to succeed there, which they of course did.

I'd always thought LeBon said "...evidently run you down... in the lyrics during the bridge : "Hey now (wow) look at that did he nearly run you down. Before Google we experienced dozens of similar examples. 

"Rio" is still a favourite at Duran concerts, and often during an extended version when Simon LeBon introduces band members to the audience. I was fortunate to have seen it played in the encore of their 2011 gig at Montreal's Bell Centre.

13/100 Video - "West End Girls" - Pet Shop Boys (1986)

 

Recorded in one take, "West End Girls" by the Pet Shop Boys originally missed the UK Top 40 in 1984 until re-recorded with producer Stephen Hague. Once slowed down and the story told a little clearer, the single vaulted to #1.

"West End Girls" isn't just another synth-pop song: it's intellectual pop. For me, the song creates a cityscape in your mind. 

The music was inspired by hip-hop artist Grandmaster Flash's "The Message" while the lyrics inspired by TS Eliot's poem 'The Waste Land'. The lyrics recount the class tensions and inner-city pressure in London, specifically how the boys from the East End of London pine for rich girls from the West End.

The street chatter and car horns intro followed by hypnotic synths before Neil Tennant's dead-pan vocals immediately grab our attention. But it's that unforgettable bass-synth hook and cryptic lyrics that keeps bringing me back to live vicariously in the "dead-end world". 

Watching the video as a 17-year-old verified that a much bigger world laid out there waiting to be explored.

When Joelle and I visited London in 2012, I couldn't help but point out the many famous London landmarks shown in the iconic video:

• Waterloo Station
• a No 42 red double-decker bus to Aldgate
• Tower Bridge
• Westminster Palace Clock Tower
• the South Bank
• Leicester Square

14/100 Video - "Thriller" - Michael Jackson (1984)

Best way to handle a zombie apocalypse?

Guns: Nope. Nuclear bombs: Naw. Dancing: YES!

"Thriller" by Michael Jackson doesn't really need any introduction. I realize this video should be higher on the list but I'm suffering from a bit of zombie fatigue.

The storyline. The twist. Then the dancing. And the choreography.

A clip that was equally frightening as exciting for those of us who were kids when this came out.

15/100 Video - "Personal Jesus" - Depeche Mode (1989)

 

I'll always remember 1989. The holy trinity of alternative rock, The Cure, New Order and Depeche Mode, all released amazing albums.

Think back to the early 80s for minute. Hands up if you thought back these guys would be making videos sporting cowboy hats and playing guitars at the end of the decade?

The evolution of Depeche Mode from a quirky synth-pop act to filling stadiums in North America was impressive. Like U2 with the The Joshua Tree, Depeche Mode stormed North America with an amped up, somewhat industrial form of dance music typifying the Violator album in 1989.

"Personal Jesus" is a club classic with an unstoppable beat, atmospheric guitars and menacing vocals. The badass video is a bonus. Well done boys, you've come a long way.

16/100 Video - "Material Girl" - Madonna (1984)

The classic video branded Madonna with a her "Material Girl" nickname, a track that is so quintessential 80s. 

Inspired by Madonna's fascination with Marilyn Monroe, this video is an homage to Marilyn singing "Diamonds are a Girl's Best Friend" from the movie Gentlemen prefer Blondes.

The first part of the video shows illustrates the assumption that guys think women are all materialistic and will want lavish and expensive gifts, thinking they can buy her love. 

But in reality, as the end of the video demonstrates, the real way to her heart is as simple as a bouquet of flowers and a realistic happy love with guys who are down to earth.

The irony was often lost and/or ignored by journalists, so the name and the image stuck.