While films had been made to promote music dating back to at least the 1960s, the music video became a fixture of pop culture in the 1980s. Accelerated by the birth of MTV, MuchMusic, and VH1, music videos in the 80s experienced extraordinary growth in both popularity and artistic creativity. The decade would produce countless iconic music videos, giving renowned artists a second shot at relevancy, launching a whole new wave of aesthetically minded pop stars, and providing unlikely artists a shot at ubiquity with wild conceptual videos. So join the Great Pop Culture Debate as we attempt to name the Best 1980s Music Video!

Videos discussed: “Take On Me” by A-HA!; “Thriller” by Michael Jackson; “Like a Prayer” by Madonna”; “Sledgehammer” by Peter Gabriel; “Love Shack” by The B-52s; “Addicted to Love” by Robert Palmer; “Girls Just Want to Have Fun” by Cyndi Lauper; “You Can Call Me Al” by Paul Simon; “Money for Nothing” by Dire Straits; “Hungry Like the Wolf” by Duran Duran; “When Doves Cry” by Prince; “Video Killed the Radio Star” by The Buggles; “(You Gotta) Fight for Your Right (To Party)” by Beastie Boys; “Faith” by George Michael; “I Wanna Dance With Somebody” by Whitey Houston; “Total Eclipse of the Heart” by Bonnie Tyler

Join host Eric Rezsnyak and panelists Derek Mekita, John Higgins, and Kate Racculia as they discuss and debate 16 of the most iconic music videos that defined 80s airwaves.

For the warm-up to this episode, in which we discuss additional 1980s videos that didn’t make the bracket, become a Patreon supporter of the podcast today.

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EPISODE CREDITS

Host: Eric Rezsnyak

Panelists: Derek Mekita, John Higgins, Kate Racculia

Producer: Bob Erlenback

Editor: Bob Erlenback

Intro & Outro Music: "Dance to My Tune" by Marc Torch

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