10/100 Video - "White & Nerdy" - Weird Al Yankovic (2006)

I enjoyed Weird Al's work in the 80s (especially "Eat It"), but "White & Nerdy" is by far my favourite.

"White & Nerdy" by Weird Al Yankovic is a parody of Chamillionaire's "Ridin", a gangsta rap song.

The song pokes fun at the white guys who want to be black and gangster, even though they are actually geeks and nerds.

The video is bloody brilliant.

For me, the funniest part of this parody and video is that Weird Al is actually a pretty good rapper. Although his subject material comprises ridiculous things, his delivery is quite serious.

There are several high-profile cameos in the video:

- The first pair of gangsters in the video are comedians Keegan-Michael Key and Jordan Peele.

- Seth Green, in the action figures bit.

- Donny Osmond dancing in the background, and behind Weird Al.

For cool trivia about the video, visit this webpage.

11/100 Video - "Everything You Do Is A Balloon" – Boards of Canada (1996)

The two brothers that make up this enigmatic group have said the name for "Boards of Canada" originates from educational videos made by the Canadian National Film Board in the 1960s and 70s. We Gen-X-ers will recall these films were once shown to us on a real projector in the elementary school AV room.

These short films tend to feature a lot of analog synth sounds, another core foundation of the BOC sound.

Although there are no lyrics for "Everything You Do Is A Balloon", the ambiguous title itself makes you think of endless interpretations.

The video makes me think of my carefree childhood, despite the ominous fates of most of the kids riding bicycles in a nameless suburb of Middle America. 

The clip fits so perfectly with the epic progressive of the synths and percussion. 

And the retro animation is super haunting and nostalgic. Like a twisted, after-hours episode of Sesame Street.

I was blown away to learn that the video was not originally made by the artist, but rather sampled from a 1963 bicycle safety movie called "One Got Fat".

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.