Spice Girls: Mama

Spice Girls: Mama
Song released 3 March 1997
Music Video
VHS
C+

The double-A side with "Who Do You Think You Are," this is a musical tribute to the Girls' real mothers, who appear onscreen.  My VCR will now rest till we hit 1999.

Spice Girls: Who Do You Think You Are

Spice Girls: Who Do You Think You Are
Song released 3 March 1997
Music Video
VHS
C+

A bunch of middle-aged female celebrities, Lulu and Jennifer Saunders among them, dress as the Spices, and the whole thing comes across as the clumsy for-charity (Comic Relief) lark that it is.

John Lennon: Instant Karma

John Lennon: Instant Karma
VH1
Song released 6 February 1970
Music Video
VHS
B

This recording, originally aired on Top of the Pops, shouldn't work, with its strange mix of dancing teens, a blindfolded Yoko holding up cue cards with concepts like "peace" and "hope," and Lennon (definitely not coming across as lip-synching) snarling his way through this catchy but bittersweet tune.  But it does work and is perhaps more interesting now than at the time.

George Harrison: Blow Away

George Harrison: Blow Away
VH1
14 February 1979
Music Video
VHS
B-

This came out late enough in the '70s that it not only is pretty much a Music Video As We Know Them, but there are some not bad special effects.  It's not a very memorable song though.

Ringo Starr: Back Off Boogaloo

Ringo Starr: Back Off Boogaloo
VH1
Song released 17 March 1972
Music Video
VHS
B-

One of Ringo's Top Ten hits, this sort of has an actual video, although why he's befriending Frankenstein is lost in the mists of time.

Paul McCartney: Maybe I'm Amazed

Paul McCartney: Maybe I'm Amazed
VH1
Song released 17 April 1970
Music Video
VHS
B-

McCartney's early solo hit paired with pictures of him and his family from that time, airing on an 8-Track Flashback episode dedicated to the Beatles' independent careers in the '70s.

Spice Girls: 2 Become 1

Spice Girls: 2 Become 1
Song released 16 December 1996
Music Video
VHS
B-

The Spices sing about making love, including condoms.  ("Be a little bit wiser, Baby.  Put it on.  Put it on.")  A slower song, with the Girls green-screened against city scenes.

Spice Girls; Say You'll Be There

Spice Girls; Say You'll Be There
Song released 14 October 1996
Music Video
VHS
B-

Set in the Mojave Desert and taking the form of an action movie, this has one of the biggest disconnects between subject matter and visuals of any music videos we've looked at in this project.  I suppose you could argue that a man who's captured and tied to the roof of a car "will always be there."  I almost went with a C+, but the slick production values provide a nice contrast to the cheerful sloppiness of the "Wannabe" video.

Journey: When You Love a Woman

Journey: When You Love a Woman
Song released July 10, 1996
Music Video
DVD
C+

By '96, Journey was a band I dimly remembered from around fifteen years ago.  For the purposes of this blog, we haven't seen them in a decade.  The song and the video are OK, nice but forgettable.  Overall, the music videos on this DVD collection range from C to B, averaging out to a B-, which isn't bad for 18 videos in 18 years.

Spice Girls: Wannabe

Spice Girls: Wannabe
Song released 8 July 1996
Music Video
VHS
B-

So, my best friend in the mid- to late '90s was a male Spice Girls fan in his early 20s.  I found their music catchy so it was sort of a guilty pleasure for me as I pushed and then reached 30.  This video is on an hour-long "year-in-the-life" not exactly documentary that I couldn't find listed at IMDB.  So I'm just reviewing the music videos.  This debut is awkward and energetic, with weird imagery, from Baby stealing and then returning a homeless man's cap (I had to rewind to be sure, I mean Baby is the "sweet one"!) to the Girls serenading and mocking rich people.  And, yes, the song, their smash hit debut, is still catchy.

Swing Out Sister: Breakout

Swing Out Sister: Breakout
VH1
Song released 1986
Music Video
VHS
C+

This looks like a badly dated local commercial for a fabric supply warehouse.  The song isn't bad though.  And this is the 100th music video I've reviewed.

Abba: Take a Chance on Me

Abba: Take a Chance on Me
VH1
Song released January 1978
Music Video
VHS
B-

Some more silly photographic techniques and still somewhat clumsy dancing.  I should note that Agnetha Fältskog was one of the prettiest celebrities of the '70s, oddly enough a little like early Suzanne Somers.

Abba: Knowing Me, Knowing You

Abba: Knowing Me, Knowing You
VH1
Song released February 14, 1977
Music Video
VHS
B-

The two (then still intact) couples sing that "breaking up is never easy," in a snowy setting.

Abba: Dancing Queen

Abba: Dancing Queen
VH1
Song released August 15, 1976
Music Video
VHS
B-

The choreography on Top of the Pops two years later is still a little awkward, but the photography has improved, so we don't get things like close-ups of half a hand.

Abba: SOS

Abba: SOS
VH1
Song released June 1975 (Sweden)
Music Video
VHS
B

Wow, I'm sorry I said anything about the photography in the previous video!  I laughed my butt off at the use of a kaleidoscope and other presumably cutting-edge mid-'70s flourishes.  The funny thing is, this song would become an Oscar-worthy performance by Meryl Streep in the otherwise cheesy Mamma Mia! movie.

Abba: Waterloo

Abba: Waterloo
VH1
Song released March 4, 1974
Music Video
VHS
B-

The clumsy choreography and photography, not to mention a jarring perm, can't sink what's arguably the group's catchiest song.  (Originally aired on Top of the Pops, but the ex taped it off of 8-Track Flashback.)

Parliament: Give Up the Funk (Tear the Roof off the Sucker)

Parliament: Give Up the Funk (Tear the Roof off the Sucker)

VH1

Song released April 1976

Music Video

VHS

B

Although the kaleidoscope of stills, concert footage, and that '90s chalky title cards thing doesn't work per se, you can't sink this unsinkable classic, and the costumes did make me say, "Wow!"

Wild Cherry: Play That Funky Music

Wild Cherry: Play That Funky Music
VH1
Song released April 1976
Music Video
VHS
B-

The catchy, funky song not shot in a particularly interesting way.

Ace of Base: The Sign

Ace of Base: The Sign
Song released 29 October 1993 (Europe)
Music Video
VHS
B-

This was their big hit and it's still catchy, but the video is admittedly silly, with all those snogging couples and floating ankhs.

Ace of Base: All That She Wants

Ace of Base: All That She Wants
Song released in late 1992
Music Video
VHS
C+

The video implies that the "baby" she wants is another boyfriend, unless she's going to bars to meet someone to impregnate her.  The song itself is fine, although not their best.