100 Best Music Videos: 80 to 61

80. “River Below” (Billy Talent, 2004)

It opens with a quote by Robert Oppenheimer, and the video shows one very lonely looking man getting very annoyed by the punk rock band across the street disturbing the suburban peace. So the next logical step is to take the nuclear bomb in your garage and set it to “annihilate”. Yes, that makes perfect sense.

79.”Every Breath You Take” (the Police, 1983)

The menace in Sting’s voice is matched with the stark black and white footage, with very creepy lighting to set the mood. Yet everyone still believes it’s a love song. Silly masses.

78. “Personal Jesus” (Depeche Mode, 1989)

It’s a western style brothel, with our favorite 80s holdovers singing about televangelists taking advantage of their flocks. I could make an obvious statement about this, but I won’t. I will say the visuals and sepia toned photography are stunning.

77. “Waterfalls” ( TLC, 1995)

Groundbreaking for the era special effects teamed with a catchy pop song about choices and some pretty grim early 90s horror stories. All with pretty girls and lame ass hip hop dance moves!

76. “You Can Call Me Al” (Paul Simon, 1986)

Chevy Chase.

75. “Parklife” (Blur, 1994)

I love Blur almost as much as Pulp. This cheeky little video with Damon Albarn assisting Phil Daniels ( who supplies the spoken word vocals) as a couple of double glazing salesmen only to get slapped around by his band mates at the end is just so much fun.

74. “Wannabe” (Spice Girls, 1996)

Yeah, deny me this choice. I dare you. All the guys I went to school with watched this on mute. I guess it did it’s job, then. I never bothered to ask. I never really wanted to know, to tell the truth. And no one tell me now.

73. “Billie Jean” (Michael Jackson, 1983)

Paranoia done best. MJ did so much musically, and this little ditty about paternity and denial is matched with a dark vision of his future. They never did leave him alone. I never believed he wanted them to.

72. “Sleep Now In The Fire” (Rage Against the Machine, 2000)

Michael Moore directed this video, where our favorite radicals take to Wall Street and tear the roof of the mother, all the while trying to warn us of a future where the world would collapse if we allowed the financial district take advantage of our need to have everything.

71. “Rock The Casbah” (the Clash, 1982)

I don’t care. It’s a cheesy video, yes, but its humorous look at our reliance on the Middle East while eschewing their lifestyle is their video highpoint.

70. “Subterranean Homesick Blues” ( Bob Dylan, 1967)

The prototype, mocked and homaged to death.

69. “B Boy Stance” (k-os, 2004)

Canada’s favorite hiphop man giving us boys in their b boy stances.  I love me some b boys.

68. “Girls On Film” (Duran Duran, 1981)

Yes, it’s a teenage boys fantasy. It’s misogynistic and crude. But it made Duran Duran the stars they were ( and are). Plus the song still delights, even with all the unnecessary T&A.

67. “Let Forever Be” (the Chemical Brothers, 1999)

Enormously clever, a day in the life, with sudden segues into mirror image dance routines.

66. “How Soon Is Now” (the Smiths, 1985)

It’s the Smiths, it’s dark and mysterious, and it’s “How Soon Is Now”, the best song EVER by a band from Manchester. That in itself is a pretty big deal.

65. “Cars” (Gary Numan, 1979)

Gary Numan’s mechanical, futuristic  sounds were matched perfectly with a wacky video with dayglo lighting, weird set pieces, and his animatronic self.

64. “Strawberry Fields Forever” ( the Beatles, 1967)

Even if the Beatles didn’t make this gloriously trippy art film, I’d find a way to put them on the list. Even if it was “Love Me Do” on Sullivan.

63. “Smalltown Boy” (Bronski Beat, 1984)

I remember seeing this video as a child and having it go way over my naive little head.  It hit me harder when I was a teenager with a gay friend having his ass kicked every day. The song is a piece of 80s pop fluff on the surface, but the video centered the focus on the lyrics, which were quite sad.

62. “Concrete Angel” (Martina McBride, 2002)

I sob like a baby every single time I see it.

61. “Get Ur Freak On” (Missy “Misdemeanor” Elliot, 2001)

Missy Elliott is a genius. Her videos take effects and twist them into a surreal world where I’m not even sure I would want to visit if the music wasn’t so fabulous as well.