Happy 4th Of July!

Top 30 All Time Video Countdown - Number 23 "High Hopes" by Pink Floyd

This is probably the only video on this list where none of the band appears. It's a good thing though as it would completely ruin the mood of the song itself. Pink Floyd was one of those bands that became famous before the dawn of music videos so when they reunited (minus Roger Waters of course) in the late 80's and 90's their videos were either a concert type video or this one..."High Hopes".

"High Hopes" is a perfect song. You have church bells, thick sounding acoustic guitars, a drumline rhythm pattern, and one of the best slide guitar solos ever.

I'm not going to comment on this video as it goes along...this is a video you just let breath. The best natural scenery and images made for a video (guitars floating down stream, rolling fruit, men on stilts, glowing balls being thrown around a circle, balloons rolling down a dirt road, and giant head statues)....it makes want to visit the English countryside.

Top 30 All Time Video Countdown - Number 24 "Wrapped Around Your Finger" by The Police

I have a soft spot for number 24. I am a HUGE fan of the Police, can play a few of their songs on bass, and am a big fan of Sting's ego. Yes, Sting had one of the largest egos of just about anybody back in the early 80's. It's the main reason why the Police broke up in the first place. Anyway, after becoming more and more popular album by album, the Police were the biggest band in the world when their Synchronicity album dropped in 1983.

Just about every song on the record (except for one of their worst songs, "Mother") is a classic. Of course there's "Every Breath You Take" but you also have "King Of Pain", "Synchronicity II", "O My God", and my favorite Police song, "Wrapped Around Your Finger".

The video for "Every Breath You Take" is probably the most famous Police video due to its cool look and being in black and white. I just love the mood and atmosphere of "Wrapped Around Your Finger" better. Its shot in half speed and I'm a sucker for super slow motion. The candles add a unique look and Sting rocks the sunglasses as well as probably some kind of cocaine ingestion as his dancing gets more frantic as the video progresses.

Let's take a look.



0:00 What starts as a single candle being lit shows you a huge room of candles. Love the beginning of this song too. I think its just some synthesizers but the sounds and mood they set are amazing.

0:17 - Sting was a bit of a ham on stage but instead of making poses and guitar faces, he loved to jump around. Hence, the first time you see him here he's just doing that....in fact he never stops moving the entire video.

0:34 - Once of the best drummers ever, Stuart Copeland. What makes this video even more special is that when they shot it, the band had to play and lip sync to it double time so when they slow it down, it looks normal. That's hard to pull off on the drums here.

0:41 - Andy Summers...he was 10 years older than Sting and Stuart but fit in perfectly. Love his little jumping move here too.

1:19 - Another move I will attempt at the next wedding I go to. I will look completely stupid.

1:40 - Love the face Stuart makes when he hits the cymbals.

1:42 - I'm not sure what Sting is waving around in his hand but its probably not a good idea with all of those candles around.

1:58 - Love the slight stumble when he comes out of his jump here. That would be a 5.6 if it was a gymnastics competition landing. "Good technique but you HAVE to stick that landing!".

2:03 - Sting's dancing gets more spastic as the video progresses.

3:06 - Just a neat shot to show how big the room is. Chances are they used mirrors but I didn't care about this when I was 7 years old.

3:14 - The cocaine must be kicking in as Sting starts getting more hyped up running around.

3:39 - The famous "whacking the candles" shot. Notice how Sting knocks one over with his backswing.

3:55 - If only I could dance around playing the guitar in half time...

4:18 - One last look of the room....

4:37 - ...before Sting starts running around and dismantling the place.

4:43 - More of a music thing than anything else...I love that little bass slap Sting throws in here.

This is definitely a video where the song matches the mood of it perfectly.

Top 30 All Time Video Countdown - Number 25 "Making Love Out Of Nothing At All" by Air Supply

A questionable choice for number 25 today, I agree. In fact, I had never seen the video for this song growing up until recently when I purchased "Air Supply - A Video History" on Amazon.com for $2.99 a few months ago...I love buying things used. Sure they had some of the corniest songs ever created and yes some of those same songs were the background to many conceptions...but to say Air Supply has a surprisingly decent video? The answer is a resounding YES.

To preface this video you need to know who Air Supply is. It's basically a two man band. There's the tall blond haired guy who wrote most of the songs and plays the guitar. The other guy is short and has an awesome afro. Not so awesome is his voice which is unique but not in the best way. Also keep in mind that this video was filmed in 1983 when cocaine use was peaking and its okay for your boyfriend to shag groupies on a regular basis as long as he plays a good guitar solo.

Let's take a look...



0:05- The video starts with one of those awesome extended intros with the blond haired guitar player saying goodbye to his girlfriend. "Time for another tour babe!", he says though it seems he wants to get her to go with him and she wants him to stay...isn't that the basis for 90% of all arguments in a relationship? Love the prop plane by the way.

0:22 - There he is...the VOICE.

0:27 - Love the jarring cut here. This guy is a natural for waking up suddenly in the middle of the night after shagging another groupie.

0:37 - Love how the groupie sleeps with her legs and arms spread apart. Even better is the guitar player's reaction to waking up to her. What's most disturbing is that he keeps a picture of his girlfriend on the nightstand next to him.

0:49 - 1983 special effects alert! The "picture" comes to life to show you a "memory" the guitar player is having. Somewhere Peter Gabriel was watching this and it he began writing the video for "Sledgehammer".

1:03 - That's a man's man right there. The girlfriend won't kiss you so you just turn, walk away, and not look back to get into your personal private plane. That's friggin awesome.

1:12 - Another great special effect. The "airplane window" opens up into another video showing the band "performing"...on a barren sound stage.

1:21 - He must have been taking off from JFK because it was broad daylight when he got in the plane and now its nearly pitch black by the time the plane takes off.

1:29 - My second favorite part of the video. What is the rest of the band jamming to in the background? More syrupy love songs? Even better is when the lead singer starts to serenade the guitar player while he takes out a picture which turns into another Stan Winston Oscar winning effect.

1:52 - Love the dirty old street vendor ruining a tender moment by giving them a disease infested flower. Even better, he kisses the old lady. You can see the moment when her lady parts start to moisten up.

2:06 - Time to hit the stage and HEY, its the backup singers in the song getting crammed into a quick cameo. The one on the left makes the most of it.

2:19 - Another 1983ish special effect. Director: "Alright, let's put the girl on a merry go round and just hold the camera on her". I will take a moment to admit this girl is smoking hot for 1983....probably for 2011 as well.

2:40 - For a guy who seems to have no problem cheating on his girlfriend, he sure lives a boring life on the road and doesn't seem much fun to be around. He stares out the seat of the window on the airplane, doesn't interact muchwith the band, and now he just sits in a darkened room looking at a picture of his girlfriend that's about 30 feet away from him.

2:52 - The shot her smiling into a scowl was the basis of many nightmares for me as a kid. I hated those dreams where the happy looking picture got angry and came to life and started stalking me...yes, I might need therapy.

2:58 - Classic bad 80's video rock star posing.

3:09 - That is how I would pack my bags if I wasn't married...thankfully I am.

3:36 - Notice the fact that she's driving in a car while the boyfriend has left in an airplane. Also notice we're nearing the end of the song.

3:45 - Love the terrible acting. "Sure my boyfriend sleeps with other women on the road but gosh darn it his guitar sounds great on my AM radio. All is forgiven."

4:11 - After a completely illegal turn she's off to the airport.

4:19 - For the first time in the video, the guitar player is SMILING. He just realized "Hey now, I don't need this girl, I got my band, endless drugs, booze, and women, AND I just co-wrote a future number one song...F' her"

4:28 - Not so fast! I love his reaction when he sees her. He sort of makes a weird guitar face. Oh and by the way...HOW THE HELL DID SHE GET THERE SO FAST?!?!?

4:38 - One of the cheesiest shots in music video history. The guitar player mouthing "I love you"...over the singer's shoulder.

4:44 - My favorite part of the video. The reunited couple dance under the same strobe lighting that Michael Jackson used for his "Rock With You" video.

4:48 - That open mouthed kiss is awesome for 1983.

4:52 - Did he just stroke her breast? Is she wearing a bra? Where is her left hand? Damn!!!

There you have it folks...not a completely great video but very underrated storyline for 1983 and therefore a welcome edition to this countdown.