Last week, a minor conflict erupted between me and a co-worker when he sent me a link to an online list of the Top 100 Greatest Music Videos of All Time.
I hate these kinds of lists to begin with, but New Music Express made some astounding omissions.
I’ve never been an MTV junkie, but certain videos are cultural touchstones everyone is familiar with. Of these, it’s hard to imagine one that left a deeper impression on pop culture than Michael Jackson’s “Thriller.” Shockingly, the 14-minute horror epic didn’t even make NME’s list, despite being the first music video included in the Library of Congress’ National Film Registry.
After tallying up further examples of oversight on NME’s list, I decided to make my own. Most of the following videos weren’t considered worthy of inclusion, and while I won’t argue they are the best videos ever made, they’ve certainly stuck with me.
Rick Astley’s “Never Gonna Give You Up” – This No. 1 by the most-famous ginger of ’80s pop music is the bane of online users who have fallen victim to a “Rickroll” bait-and-switch that tricked them into watching Astley sing while rocking a sweet blond trench coat. Call it worthy for its infamy.