New Wave Outpost Forum

I know this could go in the music videos forum, but most probably don't bother scrolling down for that. And there's nothing worse than thinking out a long post and nobody even reads it.

Most of the best music videos were arguably from the 80s and from Britain, but I think some have been overrated by being put on best ever music video lists. No video is great without having decent music in it as well.

Human League - Don't You Want Me. The only reason people rate this must be on nostalgia and the fact that they have seen it a few times. It's nowhere near their best video. Musically I've always found the chorus a bit annoying as well.

Ultravox - Vienna. Again not their best but well known so people say it is. The song's good but watching people looking moody and standing around isn't thrilling.

Police - Every Breath You Take. Good song again, but basically standing around playing a cello is too much of it.

Dire Straits - Money For Nothing. Song ok but no more. The two main characters are funny looking but watching them carry refridgerators around isn't that exciting.

Madonna - Like A Prayer. Not one of her best songs, more in the easy listening American style than in the melodic pop that made her name. So however good the visuals may or may not be can't be a classic.

Talking Heads - Once In A Lifetime. Not a song that appeals to me that much. Funny movements don't make a great video.

Duran Duran - Hungry Like The Wolf. Not up there with their best videos, though I've always liked the song. An exotic location doesn't make a great video in itself. The highlight is turning over the table in slow motion near the start.

Peter Gabriel - Sledgehammer. Boring song, I think he went more easy listening on this. Don't remember too much about the video but the music isn't up to it.

Don Henley - Boys of Summer. It starts really well but then slows up badly in the invention. Lovely song but not a truly great video.

Billy Idol - not a great fan of his music, maybe it's an American thing.

Godley & Creme - Cry. Ok they morph the faces, it gets boring. Good song.

I'm sure I can add some others, but that's probably enough to chew on for now.

Maybe the reason some of these are considered 'great' (by whoever compiles these best-of lists) is that they were innovative AT THE TIME.

The only two you listed that I personally would argue are 'Hungry Like the Wolf' and 'Sledgehammer'. I agree the Gabriel song is not too exciting but the video was a feast for the eyes at the time; there was nothing else like it (now it looks pretty boring to me).
I like all the videos Duran did for the Rio album and Wolf is a Russel Mulcahey tour-de-force: location, overturned tables, exotic women, the band looks great -- I can't see that one enough. There wasn't anything else like it when it first came out.

I don't have too much bad to say about those early to mid-80's videos because no matter how crummy they were, they did put a face/image to the sound and sometimes were even wonderful in their crumminess. I mean, was that aluminum foil in the background of 'I Ran'?

Now that I've picked up his DVD, I find that my reactions to Anton Corbijn's videos range from "freaking awesome" to "not this shit again". I like all the Echo ones, most of the DMode ones, and even stuff up to the Killers' "All These Things That I've Done".

Frankly however - and here comes the blasphemy - the Joy Division "Atmosphere" video is absolutely HORRID!!! It's taken me awhile to come to this conclusion but it's totally hokey, celebrates only Ian, and just reeks of lame throughout. Anton's similar love for medieval hokiness is also illustrated in Propaganda's "Dr Mabuse" and to a lesser extent DMode's "Enjoy the Silence", a real injustice to one of their better songs.

good topic!

I somewhat agree w/st arry on the "Sledgehammer" video. In one sense, it was awesome. But I remember feeling at the time, "well, okay, after a while, it kinda drags." Maybe that's just my mixing up feelings about the song (which was my least fave single of his) and the video itself. Still, I think a-ha's "Take On Me" blows it right out of the water as far as innovative for its time is concerned.

I'll stick up for "Hungry Like the Wolf." It's the cinematic feel of the video that did it for me. I love that. I think that's why I liked the 'til tuesday video "Voices Carry" too.

"Money For Nothing." Good call, st arry. It's like, "ok, good trick, but is that all?" Technology alone doesn't make a good video. I need some composition and flow, and maybe some interesting narrative.

"Once In A Lifetime." I agree again, it's not great."Road To Nowhere" was far more interesting.

Wow, I disagree with you on almost that entire list.

And dismissing a video because you don't like the song, or because the band has done other, better ones, really doesn't make any sense.

[quote][i]Originally posted by Berserker[/i]
<br>Wow, I disagree with you on almost that entire list.

And dismissing a video because you don't like the song, or because the band has done other, better ones, really doesn't make any sense.
[/quote]I would have to agree with Berserker.
I like all of those videos, they are unique in their own special way. Even money for nothin which I'm not too crazy about can not be compared to anything else out there plus those are powerfull images that you will recognize and remember till your dying day, now that is some powerfull stuff I think.[;)]

The only videos I don't like are by bands I don't like. See, I haven't even seen a Propaganda video, but I can already tell I'd dislike it by mere fact that I find her voice grating and annoying[}:)] But, even then, the vid may be better than the song itself. I also dislike Peter Gabriel's music, but the vid for [i]Sledgehammer[/i] added a novelty which I don't get from the song itself. Same goes for Phil Collins and his use of the puppets[:D]

I LOVE all the DeMode vids, LOVE all the NewOrder vids, Duran Duran, Madonna (up until [i]Music[/i]), Tears For Fears, Ultravox, etc, etc, etc. Very little nowadays can match them because music vids are the standard and not something new as it was back then. Until there's a new medium to display your music, I don't think anything in the future will outdo the sons of pioneers[8D]

I agree on the following points made by other posters:

1. Great topic
2. Some of these videos were very innovative at the time.
3. Not liking the video because you don't like the band doesn't make any sense.

I disagree with you on the following videos because I think they are timeless:

1. The Police "Every Breath You Take"
2. Don Henley "Boys of Summer"
3. Godley & Creme "Cry" - I really don't care much for this song either.

A lot of the videos I see from back in the day make me cringe they are so horrible/cheesy. I still love watching them though.

[quote][i]Originally posted by Casey[/i]

3. Not liking the video because you don't like the band doesn't make any sense.[/quote]

It makes sense when that artist is Debbie Gibson or Menudo[:D]

[quote][i]Originally posted by XXX[/i]
<br>[quote][i]Originally posted by Casey[/i]

3. Not liking the video because you don't like the band doesn't make any sense.[/quote]

It makes sense when that artist is Debbie Gibson or Menudo[:D]
[/quote]

Or New Kids On The Block!

I don't agree with any of this at all. You may look at a video and find it boring but many of the ones you list were considered groundbreaking in their time. An example- Money For Nothing was created when computer graphics were in their infancy. "For it's time" that video was amazing. The creators weren't thinking "Hey let's create a computer animated video that will stand the test of time". That's impossible. They were doing the best with what they had at the time.

I know a kid who took a film class and didn't like Blade Runner or Citizen Kane because they were boring. I was trying to explain to him that even if they weren't his cup of tea he HAS to at least appreciate why those films were groundbreaking. The problem is they have both been so imitated over the years that the innovations become less evident to a modern audience. Mark my words in another few years people will wonder what the fuss was with The Matrix.

You can just dismiss these if you want but at least understand them in their context. Context that's what it's all about.

I think the gist of the topic is... what was played so much back then, that you got sick of seeing it after a while? Like [i]The Matrix[/i]. Man, I get sick and tired of seeing this thing on everyone's list. Sure, I do realise, just like everyone else and their mom, that this movie had sfx filmed in such a way that brought filming sfx to a new level. The same way [i]Star Wars[/i] did. Now, if you were to ask me, what music vids back then were played so much that you wouldn't have cared to see them again? Then, I'd have to agree with some of the ones mentioned above.

"Sledgehammer"
"Road To Nowhere"
"Like A Prayer"
"Every Breath You Take"
"Where The Streets Have No Name"
"Money For Nothing"
"Rio"

They were great the first 200 times we saw it, but the next 400 times of seeing the video it wasn't quite so awesome anymore. Then, after 800 more times it became readily apparent they were "overrated"[:D]

I love Blondie - but I'll be the first to admit that the bulk of their video output was fairly underwhelming - mostly performance or some strange star wars & giant goldfish concept (Tide is High).

What I do think is that although Blondie did not have innovative, intriguing videos - they were out there very early on & embraced the medium. For every Tide is High - there's the Dreaming video that's just jumping with energy, for every Island of Lost Souls there is Hanging on the Telephone - which is the classic Blondie I remember & love most of all.

I guess my post boils down to-
Blondie videos: concepts = bad, Deb & the guys playing = good.

What was overplayed and what was overrated are two different things. From St arry's critique I got the impression that he's looking at these at these videos and saying "I don't like these now". He never makes any mention of "back then this was played too much".

XXX, I'm glad you and your Mom already understand what I was explaining, that makes my job easier. But I was responding to the way in which I felt St arry was dismissing some very important pieces.

I didn't even read st arry's post[:D] But, yeah, OP is critiquing the actual qualities of the videos? In comparison to what? Videos were new back then, so it's not like you can look to the 70s and see something of superior quality in technology and technique. I see Human League videos as being there first, so they couldn't be over-rated. They can be over-played, but not over-rated.

Ma' is pretty smart. She caught on early that Tarantino is overrated while something like [i]The Matrix[/i] is overplayed[:D]