48/100 Video -"Income Tax" - P'tit Belliveau (2020)

 

The 'feel-good' psychedelia of both song and video for "Income Tax" by P'tit Belliveau are throwbacks to the late 70s.  

The glowing strobes, jewels and bills in the catchy chorus highlight dreams of extreme shopping upon receiving a sizeable income tax return.

And the 70s style sub-title text help non-Acadian viewers decipher the Franglais lyrics.

The track is more proof of the legendary creativity of musicians from Clare, a small buy mighty rural municipality in SW Nova Scotia with a population of 8000 residents, mainly French Acadians. 

49/100 Video - "Raspberry Beret" – Prince (1985)

"Raspberry Beret" by Prince is easily of Prince's best singles. 

It's also one of his most creative videos. 

Wearing a blue suit with white fluffy clouds reminiscent of the intro from The Simpsons, Prince's outfits flashes and glows throughout this catchy slice of psychedelia. 

It's a goofy video with a gaggle of backup dancers clapping and grooving along with Prince and the Revolution. 

Prince seemed to always be surrounded by women, and this video is no exception. 

Some of them played in his band which was rare for the 80s. 

50/100 Video - "Land of Confusion" - Genesis (1986)

 

Phil Collins has done in all in the video arena.

As a solo artist, he invented air instruments.

Along with Philip Bailey, he made the first documentary style video about the making of a video.

And here with Genesis, he helped create one of the most elaborate and expensive videos ever made, during the heyday of the video era.

"Land of Confusion" by Genesis is also one of the most creative music videos ever made. 

The popular video was made using puppets created by the British TV series called The Spitting Image. The show would often make fun of Genesis, and by hiring their tormentors, the band proved that they could take a joke.

The video was directed by Jim Yukich, an American, who would watch The Spitting Image on his trips to England and loved the show. 

He got the idea to use the puppets in this video when he saw a Phil Collins parody on the show that made fun of his angst-ridden solo work.

Released during the President Reagan years, the video is an important part of the Cold War cultural time capsule. 

At the end of the video, the Ronald Reagan puppet accidentally launches a nuclear missile.

The video was very expensive to make; each puppet of which there are many, cost about $10,000.

51/100 Video - "Steve McQueen" - M83 (2011)

 

Much of M83's music is inspired by 80s synth-pop and John Hughes' films. 

From the initial "doop, doop, doop, doops", I knew "Steve McQueen" was going to be a spiritual song. 

The song's instant euphoria is equally matched by a super imaginative video, starring a 'Young Sheldon' boy with special powers.

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The chorus "there's a magic inside, just waiting to burst out" while the toy animals fly by in unison is super nostalgic, and perfectly recalls the magic of childhood. 

The lyrics are an homage to Steve McQueen's carefree attitude in his years leading up to his battle with terminal cancer. 

52/100 Video - "Imitation of Life" - REM (2001)

The making of this video is truly imaginative, taking only 20 seconds to shoot.

What you're watching is a loop that goes forwards for 20 seconds, backwards for 20 seconds, forwards for 20 seconds, backwards for 20 seconds, with one static camera.

The technique is called 'pan and scan', often used when they go from a widescreen format and reformat to fit your television or DVD, moving in on certain parts of the entire picture.