Video Killed The Radio Stars

“Blackstreet - No Diggity” (1996) Friday is a day...

Fri, 27 Nov 2009 18:21:00 +0100

“Blackstreet - No Diggity” (1996)

Friday is a day for the jams, you know it, I know it, everybody does, and what better jam than this? Unparalleled funkyness, yeah, i made that up, i know, but it’s undeniable. The clip was directed by Hype Williams, and it’s pretty standard fare for 90s r&b, but there are a couple of oddball moments.

First and foremost there’s the bobblehead dolls inserts: that was totally uncalled for, not to mention slightly creepy, and ugly. Second of all, the band wears overalls like 90 percent of the screen time, there’s the classic blue denim with wifebeaters and also a white on black variant. Seriously, this may be the only clip ever with a wardrobe change between different sets of overalls. Third, you know this video is pretty old when Dre makes a cameo rapping in an Emmitt Smith cowboys jersey. That’s the 90s for ya.

Tina Turner - “What’s Love Got to Do with It”...

Thu, 26 Nov 2009 21:42:00 +0100

Tina Turner - “What’s Love Got to Do with It” (1984)

Embodying sexyfierceness from the sixties to the oughties. Can you believe this woman is 70 today?

Singer, actress and true soul survivor (and I won’t re-tell her lifestory, you can watch the energetic biopic with Angela Bassett instead), she came back triumphally in the 80s with this mellow but infectious single. The video simply shows her walking around NYC in a leather miniskirt and stiletto heels, proudly showing off her famous legs.

As Beyonce would say: Long Live the (Acid) Queen.

“Whitesnake - Here I Go Again” (1987) Originally...

Tue, 24 Nov 2009 17:58:13 +0100

“Whitesnake - Here I Go Again” (1987)

Originally recorded in a much more conservative way in 1982, this ‘87 glam power metal version is just the right song to play to if you ever need to ride alone into the sunset, it will put that spring in your step even if you’re sad. The clip is equally amazing, and while the intro is all keyboards and brooding silhouetted band members as soon as the whitesnake starts putting the power into this power ballad thing everything changes for the better. Guitars get shredding, gigantic hair gets waved around like a flag and the beautiful Tawny Kitaen drops down into David Coverdale’s Jaguar, clearly up to no good. And make no mistake, she owns this video, purring at the poor dude while he’s driving, sexily sliding down that hood, practicing impossible yoga splits that leave little to the imagination. I mean, dude just might have the bigger and better hair, but she’s the one that wears the pants in that home, and only there thankfully.

Peter Gabriel & Kate Bush - “Don’t Give...

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 19:24:00 +0100

Peter Gabriel & Kate Bush - “Don’t Give Up” (1986)

Oh well, this is probably the most romantic video of all time. Filmed in one take by Godley & Creme, it featured Peter and Kate hugging and snuggling all the time while singing this touching tale of a man’s despair and consolation by someone close.

They were together for a while in the eighties, you can feel that. *Aww*

Run DMC & Aerosmith - Walk This Way (1986) The best musical...

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 20:29:00 +0100

Run DMC & Aerosmith - Walk This Way (1986)

The best musical duel of all time. Aerosmith vs Run DMC. Rock vs Rap. It was a tie, I guess. Everybody wins.
Still in the aftermath of Steven Tyler leaving the group after 20 years (maybe, or maybe it’s just rehab time. Poor Steven), I look back at this ‘rock marrying rap’ - often replicated, never quite recaptured - and I’m amazed at the pure energy and easiness of this song.
It was groundbreaking, and it’s easy to see why.

Simply Red - “Infidelity” (1987) In my opinion...

Mon, 26 Oct 2009 19:39:00 +0100

Simply Red - “Infidelity” (1987)

In my opinion Simply Red were blue eyed soul at its best. Even in this underrated single, Hucknall & mates channel a cool classic soul vibe: the song is a sort of “Wherever I Lay My Hat: The Sequel”, written with famed Motown songwriter Lamont Dozier.

The video portraits Mick as a ladies man who can’t help his philandering ways being constantly surrounded by gorgeous models. Mick recently said it captured his life in the 80s, bless him.

“Paul Hardcastle - 19” (1985) Unlikely as it may...

Fri, 23 Oct 2009 18:01:00 +0200

“Paul Hardcastle - 19” (1985)

Unlikely as it may sound, Paul Hardcastle’s 19 is a funky dance song about Vietnam war vets suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. It’s good to breakdance to but at the same time it teaches us something. Not an easy feat.

And, even more unlikely, charted in the top ten all over the world. Amazing. 19 was also one of the first songs to use obsessively repeated documentary soundbite samples in place of vocals, a trend that started and thankfully (mostly) ended in the eighties.

The video itself is a collage of vietnam-era footage stolen from somewhere, chopped up and repeated in a similar fashion. One of the most disturbing dance tunes ever. Inspired a c64 videogame.

Grace Jones - “I’m Not Perfect (But I’m...

Wed, 21 Oct 2009 16:48:00 +0200

Grace Jones - “I’m Not Perfect (But I’m Perfect For You)”(1986)

Grace Jones & Keith Haring were definitely a match made in heaven. This song and video reference to race, class and re-defining standards of beauty in our world. A message even more relevant today considering the ‘photoshopping/hairbrushing an already perfect woman’ habit.

For the video Keith painted Grace body, as well as a huge piece of fabric she later dons as a skirt/tent. And there’s a cameo from Andy Warhol too.

Martika - “Toy Soldiers” (1989)This is the power...

Sat, 10 Oct 2009 14:59:00 +0200

Martika - “Toy Soldiers” (1989)
This is the power ballad that made Martika famous for a while. Heavy in subject - an older boyfriend who is drug dealer/heroine addict (he eventually dies) - it was really easy on the ears and a huge success. Some years later Eminem sampled a large part of it for one of his “comeback” singles.

I really liked Martika’s bob and her nice persona, she looked very pretty but not too sexed up. Nevertheless she went on to have a collaboration with Prince on that fine sensual song “Love Thy Will Be Done”.

Bell Biv DeVoe - “Poison”...

Fri, 02 Oct 2009 18:25:22 +0200

Bell Biv DeVoe - “Poison” (1990)

Ta-ra-ta-ta-ta-Poison! Dance your ass off, it’s friday, for fucks sake! Man, I can’t wait for the new jack swing revival to start, I just can’t. The flat top needs to come back, as do those ridiculous pants and toon print silk blouses. Well, not really. This clip is kinda painful to watch actually, the song is still holding it down though, really smooth. But the band is frankly unwatchable, at least until it gets to the ball playground sequence, featuring a nice classic rapping-on-top-of-the-hoop shot. Milestone, i’m telling you, milestone.

Suzanne Vega - “Luka” (1987) Everything is blue in...

Thu, 01 Oct 2009 16:00:31 +0200

Suzanne Vega - “Luka” (1987)

Everything is blue in this video, tinted blue like a bad day for night shot. Suzanne Vega sings all moody and concerned with her little hat, her little bangs and that striped sweater. By the way, 20 years later and all those things are fashionable again, and williamsburg is full of girls looking just like her. Eerie.

Luka, the troubled youth, is none other than actor Jason Cerbone, whose other notable credit is playing Jackie Aprile Jr in The Sopranos. Yes, Vega lays it on pretty thick: bad things happen to you as a kid and you end up with the mafia, simple as that, so watch out kids!

The Cure - “The Lovecats” (1983) The epic battle...

Fri, 28 Aug 2009 10:59:00 +0200

The Cure - “The Lovecats” (1983)

The epic battle between sharks and cats is finally coming to an end. If you still haven’t pledged your allegiance to either side, let us entice you with this humble offering. It’s an 1983 clip from the Cure, featuring a lot of cats and a lot of sickness-inducing cat-pov handheld shots. Yeah, it may not sound all that, but it’s good, trust us.

Tears For Fears - “Mad World” (1982) I can’t...

Thu, 27 Aug 2009 15:53:00 +0200

Tears For Fears - “Mad World” (1982)

I can’t believe we haven’t posted Tears For Fears yet! Who doesn’t love a little TFF in his life? Mildly socially conscious/always very glum lyrics set to a new wave sound? Soo UK 80s.
Some argue that the song’s cover by Gary Jules & Michael Andrews is much better than the original. I dunno, but the new video by Michel Gondry surely is.
Still this vid is worthy of note, besides the funny haircuts and the teenage angst, for the peculiar *dancing* by Roland Orzabal, part tai-chi, part dementia: he was probably vogueing.

Paula Abdul - “Straight Up” (1988) Probably a few...

Tue, 25 Aug 2009 20:22:00 +0200

Paula Abdul - “Straight Up” (1988)

Probably a few remember Paula when she wasn’t a very weird emotional judge on American Idol. She taught Janet Jackson *all* her moves, people! (as well as having a great career as a choreographer for music videos and movies)

Here is her first vid, shot by David Fincher, and featuring a syncopated dancey r’n’b sound that was ‘new jack swing’ before it was called like that.

I still try some moves when I hear it on oldies radios and nobody can see me.

Duran Duran - “Rio” (1982) Shot by the usual Russell...

Thu, 13 Aug 2009 14:22:00 +0200

Duran Duran - “Rio” (1982)

Shot by the usual Russell Mulcahy in Antigua, this video is the epitome of the 80s ideal fantasy escape. Tropical island - check, exotic beauty - check, yacht and expensive clothes - check, fluo colours - check, of course.

Also a girl named Rio plays tricks on the boys and teases them, all in a skimpy swimming suit or just bodypaint. Duran Duran later said that she represented “their success in the US”. Whatever that means.

The New Radicals - “You Get What You Give”...

Sun, 09 Aug 2009 19:59:58 +0200

The New Radicals - “You Get What You Give” (1998)

Summer is made for one hit wonders, can’t deny it. The sun is shining high and bright and it’s time for you to stop with the jeff buckleys for a couple of weeks of high-fructose, disposable pop music. Like this classic from the new radicals. I mean, they really were radicals. A mall video with teenagers angsting all over and wreaking havoc? How greatly new, and radical of you. Look at that kid with the hair parted down the middle, doesn’t get more nineties than that. And the pop culture jabs to Beck, Hanson, Courtney Love and Marylin Manson: ten years later and they sound more dated than the song itself.

Face it, Gregg Alexander, you never were any better than them.

Ice Cube - “It Was A Good Day” (1993) Leave it to...

Tue, 04 Aug 2009 17:00:00 +0200

Ice Cube - “It Was A Good Day” (1993)

Leave it to Ice Cube to come up with the definitive chill-out, feel-good hip hop anthem of the 90s. I know right? Shocking. But you see, Cube is a man of the streets with a refined taste, he loves mugging hard while playing ball, banging chicks in seedy motel rooms, watching classic ninja movies on tv and eating mama’s nutritious breakfast among other equally amenable activities. Also he doesn’t even need to use his AK, for reals, man it really is a good day after all.

Except for the Swat team ambushing him at home. Well, you can’t really have it all now, can you?

If you absolutely need to know what happened nex to old Ice Cube just follow up here, but be careful because shit may get real.

Bananarama - “Cruel Summer” (1983) A big hit both in...

Mon, 03 Aug 2009 19:44:59 +0200

Bananarama - “Cruel Summer” (1983)

A big hit both in the UK and the US, the song depicts perfectly a summer in the city: as Bananarama’s Sara Dallin said, it “played on the darker side: it looked at the oppressive heat, the misery of wanting to be with someone as the summer ticked by. We’ve all been there”. Indeed.
Still the video is so funny/silly to watch even today. The girls play *mechanics* with teased hair, full makeup and baggy 80s clothes, rescued from their loneliness and misery by a truck driver, eventually. Ha.

Herb Alpert - “Rise” (1979) Sampled by everyone...

Fri, 31 Jul 2009 20:43:00 +0200

Herb Alpert - “Rise” (1979)

Sampled by *everyone* & Notorious B.I.G., this is the real deal. Perfect summer groove, that bassline is sick. I have to mention that Herb Alpert was the first - and only - artist to reach the top of the charts with an instrumental song (this one) and a vocal performance. Not bad eh.

Here you can see him chilling out with friends on a beach, kissing girls, basically having a good time, and yes, playing his trumpet.

The Beatnuts - “Watch Out Now” (1999) Now, mention...

Wed, 29 Jul 2009 19:19:00 +0200

The Beatnuts - “Watch Out Now” (1999)

Now, mention Jennifer Lopez and we can’t be friends anymore. Well ok, I don’t mean it literally, but let’s say our friendship is on shaky grounds. The problem you see is not that the J-Lo camp sampled the same record as the Nuts did (btw, it’s Enoch Light’s “Hi Jack”) it’s that she lifted the entire track off of them, right down to the general vibe. Hadn’t “Watch Out Now” become a true latino party classic, with bikini babes, tricked out impalas and all the cliches piled on, well, it just wouldn’t have been the right track to base the whole jenny-from-the-block persona on. Way to buy street cred, jenni!