Sky One's Hitmix Viewers Vote - Top 20 videos
Dara O'Kearney
Sky One's "Hitmix" programme counted down numbers 20 through 1 of their
Viewers Vote for the Top 40 Videos of all-time last weekend.
20 PULP - Disco 2000 (1995)
Remarkably, the only Britpop video in this, a chart voted for by (mainly)
British viewers. No Oasis (who don't really make good videos anyway, he said
ducking), Blur (Damian Hirst will be sad) or Suede. Great video, this one.
19 DAVID BOWIE - Let's Dance (1983)
Bowie's second (of three) in the top 40. As I said in my comments on China
Girl, Bowie has undergone a remarkable artistic and critical renaissance
recently (in this part of the world at least). Two or three years back, he
would have been lucky to scrape one into the lower regions of a chart like
this. With everyone who is anyone in American music apparently scrambling to
get in on his big Birthday concert (Billy Corgan of the Smashing Pumpkins
being the latest to inveigle his way on) in New York, with BBC and ITV
devoting about 8 hours to him next week, and a new album in the can, the
future looks bright for this most enduring Brit icon. The future's bright -
the future's Bowie.
As for the video itself, this of course spawned the whole 'video as social
commentary' school of video making, and as such was very influential. And for
my money, nobody (not even Bowie in his subsequent additions to the genre)
ever bettered this, the original of the species.
18 MICHAEL JACKSON - Scream (1995)
This wouldn't be in my all-time top 40, but it is the best video Jackson has
come up with in the last ten years or so. Janet looks very well in this one
too.
17 U2 - Even Better Than The Real Thing (1992)
U2's only video in the chart. Not that surprising really: they always make
good videos, but how many of them really linger in the memory? Having said
that: I would rate a few of their efforts more highly than this one, such as
"All I Want Is You", "Stay (Faraway So Close)" or even the simple but
effective "One".
16 RADIOHEAD - Street Spirit (1996)
The first of two Radiohead videos in the top 20, indicating that Britain is
catching up with the US in acclaiming this great British band. Great song,
great video.
15 GEORGE MICHAEL - Fastlove (1996)
The second of two in the top 40 for George, no doubt helped by his recent
much-hyped (and very successful) comeback. I like a lot of George's stuff
(even if it sounds a tad dated) but I don't really care for this song or
video.
14 BJORK - So Quiet (1995)
Very untypical Bjork video (which are normally very dark and jerky) and
perversely enough the only one that made it into the chart.
13 WEEZER - Buddy Holly (1995)
A fine video from America's latest personification of the 'geek' band.
Somewhat reminiscent of Nirvana's "In Bloom", but very well done.
12 QUEEN - Bohemian Rhapsody (1975)
Somewhat surprisingly, this is the only Queen video on the countdown. This
band always made great videos, and this is just about the only video most of
us can remember from the 70's. By far the oldest video on the whole chart, and
doesn't it still look great after all these years?
11 RADIOHEAD - Just (1995)
The second of two from Radiohead. Great video - great song - great album -
great band: what more can I say?
10 NEW ORDER - True Faith (1987)
A real classic, this one, full of bouncing bodies and what have you.
9 CHEMICAL BROTHERS - Setting Sun (1996)
Another one from this year, and certainly memorable.
8 DURAN DURAN - Wild Boys (1984)
I was surprised this one was so high, but then in the late 80's Duran Duran
did become the (by then former) teeny band it was quite respectable to like.
We used to laugh at the over the top excess of videos like this at the time,
but nowadays we remember them as good clean fun, while so many 'right on
worthy' videos from that era have long since left our memory banks.
7 ROBERT PLANT - Addicted To Love (1986)
If there's a video that better sums up the all-flash-no-depth Greed-is-good
decade that was the mid 80's than this classic, I can't think of it.
6 MASSIVE ATTACK - Unfinished Sympathy (1995)
One of two videos from this incredibly influential band in the top 10. And
what absolute corkers of videos they make. This one features Tracey Thorn, who
might feel a little hard done by the fact that one of the Everything But The
Girl videos didn't at least scrape into the bottom of the top 40.
5 JAMIROQUAI - Virtual Insanity (1996)
Another one from this year, and a very good video from everybody's favourite
Acid Jazz man. Jamiroquai is another of those artists, like Bowie, Massive
Attack, Tricky and Everything But The Girl to name but a few, that you'd be
hard pressed to find many people with a lot of bad things to say about them.
For those of you not yet in the know and still wondering if it's the floor
that's moving, it's not. It's a three-sided room, and they kept moving the
walls.
4 MASSIVE ATTACK - Protection (1991)
Second one in the top 10 from Massive Attack, and a classic it is too. One of
those videos that should still be remembered in twenty years time (assuming
we're all still around).
3 MICHAEL JACKSON - Thriller (1983)
Back from the days when Michael still made good videos before he came to the
conclusion that he was God <G>. This is Jackson third video in the top 20. His
popularity may have slipped somewhat, but he still notches up the kind of
sales figures many would kill for.
2 DAVID BOWIE - Ashes To Ashes (1980)
Like wow! Even though this would be my all-time #1, I was very pleasantly
surprised to see how high it was. Once Sky counted past about #10 or so, I
more or less gave up hope for this certifiable classic. There was a time, not
very long ago, when the main raison d'être of the Bowie fan seemed to be to
provide light relief for the rest of the music-loving public. They didn't
venture out of the closet very often, and when they did, all you had to do was
raise an eyebrow, and say those two words ("Tin Machine") to send them
scurrying back to the security of the closet. Now it seems that the world and
his Granny is going "Yeah, I like Bowie" again. Rod and Elton always sold more
records (and still do), but it seems Bowie is still more admired by critics
and the general public. After all, Elton has his 50th coming up in a few weeks
time too, but who are the media making the big "by Gum he's 50" fuss about.
As for the video itself, I'll leave the final word to journalist Michael
Bracewell who wrote:
"I know hardened merchant bankers who cannot resist the urge to weep when they
see the 'Ashes to ashes' video. To the depths of their index-linked souls they
feel that it is their youth that wanders off down that beach at the end, a
curious pierrot, a Peter Pan left behind in Never-Never Land to be lost and
frightened, bewildered and sad. If David Bowie is (or was) a genius (and I use
the term with caution), then it is the 'Ashes to ashes' pierrot that affirms
his status. If you ever get the chance to watch that video again, do - it is
as touching and poignant as anything any of our best young artists have ever
created."
It will be interesting to see what Bowie has in store for us in his
forthcoming "Little Wonder" video.
1 PETER GABRIEL - Sledgehammer (1986)
If there has to be a video to pip Bowie's classic for the top slot, then at
least it should be Gabriel's classic. The video that gobsmacked everyone who
saw it back in 1986. If there's one criticism I would make of Gabriel (and I
do respect him as a consummate artist), it's that from this point forward, it
almost seemed as if the song didn't matter any more - the video was more
important.
Some stats on the chart so far:
BY ARTIST TYPE: 23 groups, 5 solo female, 12 solo male (and the top three were
all solo males)
BY COUNTRY: 13 Americans, 24 British, 1 Irish, 1 Norwegian, 1 Icelandic
BY GENRE (IMO, many will disagree): 17 rock (of all types from grunge to
goth), 22 pop, 1 Prodigy <G>
BY YEAR: 1975 (1), 1980 (1), 1983 (3), 1984 (1), 1985 (2), 1986 (2), 1987 (1),
1989 (1) 1990 (3), 1991 (2), 1992 (2), 1994 (3), 1995 (9), 1996 (9) [Looks
like 1993 was an unusually bad year for videos]
Finally, BY ARTIST:
ARTISTS WITH 3:
- David Bowie (whom I hereby nominate as King of the Chart, by virtue of his
#2 edging ahead of Michael Jackson's best at #3. Jackson fans will no doubt
point out that Jackson's second highest is higher than Bowie's, and his third
is higher than Bowie's third also, but since I'm posting and they're not, I
get to decide the tie-break <G>).
- Michael Jackson
- Madonna (Queen of the Chart. None of her three were in the top 20 though)
ARTISTS WITH 2:
- Massive Attack (both in the top 10)
- Radiohead (both top 20)
- George Michael
AND THE ONE HIT WONDERS:
Peter Gabriel, Jamiroquai, Robert Plant, Duran Duran, Chemical Brothers, New
Order, Queen, Weezer, Bjork, U2, Pulp, Beastie Boys, Spice Girls, Aha, Rolling
Stones, Nirvana, The Cure, Bluetones, Smashing Pumpkins, TLC, Mark Morrison,
Red Hot Chili Peppers, The Prodigy, The Beatles, Whitney Houston.
AND FINALLY, THE NOTABLE ABSENTEES:
- Alanis Morrisette (16 million albums sold last year, her 'debut' album stuck
in the top 10 almost since release, but no video in the charts)
- Celine Dion (14 million....well, most of the same things as for Alanis)
- Bryan Adams (continuing the total absence of Canadians)
- Meatloaf (what, we've forgotten the comeback of the 90's already?)
- Prince (whose comeback with 'the album he was born to make' didn't quite go
to plan)
- Phil Collins (that 'Dance Into The Light' video might win a Worst Video Ever
award)
- REM (it's not all that long ago Losing My Religion used to be in the top 3
in this sort of chart. Please sirs, can we have our 80 million back)
- Pet Shop Boys
- Oasis
- Any number of other Britpop bands I thought would get one in (Blur, Suede
etc.)
- Any number of boy bands I thought the hormone brigade might flood the chart
with (Take That, East Seventeen, Boyzone, 3T, Peter Andre: Actually, I
wouldn't have minded too much if that last Take That video had made it in)
- Robson and Jerome (only kidding)
- Sting (hands up who remembers a good Sting video. Oh alright, Russians)
- Ace Of Base (Gone, but not , well, actually yes, forgotten)
- Cranberries
- Mariah Carey
- Tina Turner
- Pearl Jam (remember when Jeremy used to win anything that was going?)
- Bon Jovi, Guns 'n' Roses, Metallica
Slan libh,
Dara.
Richard Lloyd
In article <5abvrm$v9i$1...@nuacht.iol.ie>,
dar...@iol.ie (Dara O'Kearney) writes:
>Sky One's "Hitmix" programme counted down numbers 20 through 1 of their
>Viewers Vote for the Top 40 Videos of all-time last weekend.
>20 PULP - Disco 2000 (1995)
Was this ever shown in FULL on terrestrial TV ? Sure, I've seen the whole
thing on MTV Europe's "Hit List UK", but BBC and ITV didn't like to show
the woman in her underwear :-)
>18 MICHAEL JACKSON - Scream (1995)
Naff video and song if you ask me ! There are much better MJ songs and
videos (e.g. "Smooth Criminal" and "Bad" to name but two).
>14 BJORK - So Quiet (1995)
"Human Behaviour" was a brilliant video (and probably remains one of the
best Bjork songs, even if the CD single remixes were *appalling*). "So Quiet"
has a mild novelty factor of a song and dance number, but other than that
isn't really ground-breaking.
>7 ROBERT PLANT - Addicted To Love (1986)
>If there's a video that better sums up the all-flash-no-depth Greed-is-good
>decade that was the mid 80's than this classic, I can't think of it.
How about "Simply Irrestible" (more of the same) :-)
>1 PETER GABRIEL - Sledgehammer (1986)
>If there's one criticism I would make of Gabriel (and I
>do respect him as a consummate artist), it's that from this point forward, it
>almost seemed as if the song didn't matter any more - the video was more
>important.
Actually as a song and video, I'm one of the few people who preferred
"Big Time", but that's just me :-) Gabriel is now the ultimate video artist
and "Kissing The Frog" and "Big Time" really should have made the Top 40
as well.
>- Alanis Morrisette (16 million albums sold last year, her 'debut' album stuck
>in the top 10 almost since release, but no video in the charts)
Probably because her videos aren't that great ? Also, there was virtually
no airplay for the "You Learn" video (can YOU remember that one ??).
>- Celine Dion (14 million....well, most of the same things as for Alanis)
Horrendous songs and videos I'm afraid.
>- Sting (hands up who remembers a good Sting video. Oh alright, Russians)
"We'll Be Together", Sting's best poppy song and video to date, IMHO.
Sting was mega-embarrassing in his latest video for "I'm So Happy I Can't
Stop Crying" - Mohican/Lyle Lovett haircut and a goatee beard - I shudder
when I try to picture it.
Richard K. Lloyd, E-mail: r...@csc.liv.ac.uk
Computer Science Dept., WWW: http://www.csc.liv.ac.uk/~rkl/
Liverpool University,
Merseyside, England,
Great Britain.
Dara O'Kearney
In article <E3B0M...@csc.liv.ac.uk>,
rkl@.csc.liv.ac.uk (Richard Lloyd) wrote:
>In article <5abvrm$v9i$1...@nuacht.iol.ie>,
>dar...@iol.ie (Dara O'Kearney) writes:
>Was this ever shown in FULL on terrestrial TV ?
Don't know for sure, but I certainly never saw it on BBC or ITV.
>>18 MICHAEL JACKSON - Scream (1995)
>
>Naff video and song if you ask me ! There are much better MJ songs and
>videos (e.g. "Smooth Criminal" and "Bad" to name but two).
Jackson hasn't made any really good videos in the 90's, IMO, but this is the
best. Don't like the song though.
>>14 BJORK - So Quiet (1995)
>
>"Human Behaviour" was a brilliant video (and probably remains one of the
>best Bjork songs, even if the CD single remixes were *appalling*). "So Quiet"
>has a mild novelty factor of a song and dance number, but other than that
>isn't really ground-breaking.
I agree. In fact, I would prefer almost any other Bjork video.
>>- Alanis Morrisette (16 million albums sold last year, her 'debut' album
stuck
>>in the top 10 almost since release, but no video in the charts)
>
>Probably because her videos aren't that great ?
I wasn't suggesting that all the people I listed as Notable Absentees should
have been in the charts, just that I thought they probably would have, just by
virtue of them having enough fans that would vote for their better videos, no
matter how bad they were.
>>- Celine Dion (14 million....well, most of the same things as for Alanis)
>
>Horrendous songs and videos I'm afraid.
I agree, but 14 million obviously don't. Actually, I would nominate Celine as
the worst actress ever in a pop video, and that says a lot. Also, her videos
(like her music) tends to stick to a formula - we either get Celine rolling
around in a nightie, or (more recently) Celine looking moody (usually because
her guy left her or died).
Slan leat,
Dara.
Tim Ellis
In article <5abvrm$v9i$1...@nuacht.iol.ie>, Dara O'Kearney <dar...@iol.ie>
writes
>
>7 ROBERT PLANT - Addicted To Love (1986)
>
>If there's a video that better sums up the all-flash-no-depth Greed-is-good
>decade that was the mid 80's than this classic, I can't think of it.
>
Brooks)) rather than Robert Plant (ex Led Zeppelin). . .
+-------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Tim Ellis EMail t...@timellis.demon.co.uk |
| Sorted for E-Mails and WWW's....... |
+-------------------------------------------------------------------------+