INXS: Need You Tonight/Mediate

INXS: Need You Tonight/Mediate
MTV
Song released September 23, 1987
Music Video
VHS
B

Another funny and sexy music video from INXS, although at least time the humor seems to be deliberate.  The song remains catchy and who else* would end a video with a bunch of words, some of them misspelled, on cue cards?

*Maybe Bob Roberts.  OK, and Bob Dylan.

Tony! Toni! Tone!: If I Had No Loot

Tony! Toni! Tone!: If I Had No Loot
Probably MTV
Song released June 1, 1993
Music Video
VHS
B

One of the catchiest trash-talking songs ever, the lyrics and captioned visuals tell the story of how so called friends want to cash in on the success of "the Tonys."  It's also a song that refers to its genre in the lyrics, in this case new jack swing.

Eric Clapton: Layla Unplugged

Eric Clapton: Layla Unplugged
16 January 1992
MTV (originally, although this is from VH1)
Music Video
VHS
B-

I think I like this slower, gentler, sadder version better than the original, but it's not shot in a particularly memorable way.

Jellyfish: That Is Why

Jellyfish: That Is Why
MTV
From the 1990 album Bellybutton
Music Video
VHS
B

This under-rated '60s-influenced band (at a time when grunge was the thing) released two wonderful albums (Spilt Milk is the other) and then broke up.  This is a good example, both melodic and melancholy.  My videocassette has the video followed by the band saying, "We're Jellyfish and you're watching MTV."

Deee-Lite: Power of Love

Deee-Lite: Power of Love
MTV
Song released 1990
Music Video
VHS
B

A dreamier, less populated video than "Groove Is In the Heart," this has Lady Miss Kier in a variety of outfits, including flower-alien and Vegas showgirl.  And DJ Dimitry's dancing and grinning still make me smile.

The Bingoboys featuring Princessa: How to Dance

The Bingoboys featuring Princessa: How to Dance
MTV
Song released the Spring of 1991
Music Video
VHS
B-

Disco meets rap, with some '60s mod clothing thrown in.

Deee-Lite: Groove Is In the Heart

Deee-Lite: Groove Is In the Heart
MTV
Song released August 1990
Music Video
VHS
B+

I know this has nothing to do with how good the video is, but let me say that watching this today took me back to that summer and fall, as we moved inexorably towards the first Gulf War and the economy crumbled and I was an unemployed newlywed living with my husband in Oregon.  And I kept saying, "You know that woman that can't sing?  Why can't I get enough of this awful song?  OK, maybe it's not awful."  And the video that surpassed "Love Shack" for its blending of decades (and I mean puree) that I couldn't stop watching, and I didn't know anything about rave culture then, so I thought this was really disco, after all there was Bootsy Collins himself, stars and all, just like on the kitschy record albums I'd buy at bookstores.

So that all came back to me, plus how can you not be charmed by faux-fur-wearing and faux-French-speaking Lady Miss Kier; DJ Dimitry, man-bun pioneer, grinning throughout; and Towa Tei, who I think I thought was a somber lesbian.  Then and now I want to get up and dance with them and all those colorfully dressed people, and, yes, I still own the cassette of World Clique.  Oh, and I know this is from MTV because Adam Curry says the video has climbed to #5 that week, whatever week that was.

Tears for Fears: Sowing the Seeds of Love

Tears for Fears: Sowing the Seeds of Love
MTV
Song released August 21, 1989
Music Video
VHS
B

OK, yes, it's a little overkill on the visuals, especially by the point that Buddhas are followed by Ankhs.  But this is still fascinating to watch, with its late '60s revival vibe and its kitchen-sink symbolism.  The song is lovely, too.  A harbinger of the '90s?  No, not really, but it was one of the first indications that the Bush I era of pop culture was going to be tangibly different than the Reagan era.  This understandably won Best Breakthrough Video and Best Special Effects at the MTV Music Video Awards, and we can forgive the misspelling of "Daily."