Alright, on with the actual top 40! There are going to be some shockers. Hell, some of these videos, you might not even expect me to like or as like as much as I do. Just sit back and enjoy my choices for the forty greatest videos of all time. And no, Bart, Billy Squier doesn't make my list, sadly, ruining the chances of my Top 40 being even worse than MTV's Top 25 Worst.
40) Nirvana - In Bloom
Video
i have said before that this is Nirvana's best song. Well, "In Bloom" also happens to inhabit Nirvana's best video as well. The only video Nirvana has done in complete black and white, "In Bloom" plays out like an Ed Sullivan performance. Random cuts to the audience, all three members of Nirvana in suits, the works. But it doesn't quite stay that way. Intersped with clips from Nirvana's Sullivan-like performance are clips of anarchy on the set with Nirvana just being themselves. A mini-battle of Nirvanas commences with the old trying to keep up with the new. You can guess which one wins out there. "Smells Like Teen Spirit" was only the calm before the storm, at least when you compare it to "In Bloom".
39) Tool - Sober
Video
I find it really hard to explain this video, just like most of Tool's videos. The first time I saw this video, I literally thought to myself, "Okay, what the ****?"..and, as you will see later on, believe me, this is not a bad thing. Very trippy, very creepy and, the most important thing, almost completely done with clay. Somebody must have lost a limb trying to make the clay work for this video. Tool would lose the clay later on, but I still quite enjoy "Sober" to this day.
38) Dire Straits - Money For Nothing
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Four simple words ushered in a new era in music: "I want my MTV." Those four words changed the way we look at music. Music videos became not just important, but mandatory. I'd argue that this song and video only got big because of that very line being used in the opening. However, you can't deny how much of an impact this video had on musicians and music video directors. New techniques were born and quite a few cliches were born with this video. If you take out the "state of the art" computer animation, this is a basic performance video containing pretty cool color visuals put into the performance. Put the computer animation in and it is an unusual masterpiece, far ahead of its time.
37) Eminem ft. Dr. Dre - Guilty Conscience
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The song alone was great. It was at this point for me that Eminem went from being a white boy rapper to a serious lyrical master. However, as we would soon learn, Eminem has quite the way with videos as well. "Guilty Conscience" is his greatest achievement. With a narrator leading the way, Eminem and Dr. Dre play bad conscience, good conscience, deciding the fate of three very normal people in situations that could be detrimental to their life. The first one is Eddie, who, at the age of 23, is fed up with his life and decides that he will rob a liquor store. The second person is Stan, aged 21, who is getting hot and heavy with an underaged girl he just met. The final person is a man named Grady, aged 29, who walks in on his wife having sex with another man. All three inspire Eminem and Dre to argue their points. Eddie is redeemed, Stan gets nookie. The third one inspires a hilarious argument that ends with Dre FINALLY agreeing with Mr. Mathers, telling Grady to off both his wife and the man she is having an affair with. It's such an entertaining video that I would be remiss if I didnt include it on my Top 40.
36) Janet Jackson - Rhythm Nation
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There are only a precious few videos that take dancing and make it something useful. There are some higher up on this list, but "Rhythm Nation" is CERTAINLY deserving of being on this list. You know that you have a special video when the dancing in the video becomes a nationwide phenomenon. This video is PROOF that Janet Jackson is the best female dancer in the music world. That or her choreography is absolutely top-notch. And the most amazing part: This video is just about ALL dancing! No inane plot, no crazy subplots, just Janet Jackson and her troops leading the revolution of the Rhythm Nation. It is Janet Jackson's opus. Anyone who tells you otherwise is blind. Or really ignorant. Either or is fine.
35-31 will be up later today, you best believe.