Classical music lovers also love pop-rock videos. This is why the austere British online magazine BBC Classical Music has decided to compile a ranking of the (twenty-one) best clips of all time, presenting it like this: “From the Beatles' promos to Peter Gabriel's stop-motion masterpiece, these 21 unforgettable videos have revolutionized the way we watch music. Before the launch of MTV in 1981 – recalls the magazine – music videos were often just promotional clips shot quickly to avoid continuous television appearances. But when the channel dedicated to music videos hit the airwaves, the format exploded, radically changing the way artists presented themselves and the way fans experienced music. Rock bands, in particular, seized the opportunity: the best videos didn't just showcase a song, they turned it into an event, establishing unforgettable images in popular culture. The Beatles had already laid the foundations with playful promotional shorts, but by the early 1980s artists were already thinking in cinematic terms Eccentric performances by Talking Heads, from Duran Duran's cosmopolitan blockbusters to Genesis's puppet satire, rock videos became short films. They could be political, comedic, disturbing or simply astonishingly inventive. This list reviews 21 of the greatest rock videos ever made, from the pioneering promos of the 1960s to the classics of the MTV era and beyond – clips that changed the way we see music forever.
Here then is the ranking of the best pop-rock videos of all time, according to BBC Classical Music (here is the complete service with all the videos, we offer you some at the end of the ranking)
21. Ac/Dc – “It's a Long Way to the Top (If You Wanna Rock 'n' Roll)” (1976)
20. Prince – “When Doves Cry” (1984)
19. Ultravox – “Vienna” (1981)
18. Unkle – “Rabbit in Your Headlights” (1998)
17. Talking Heads – “Once in a Lifetime” (1981)
16. The Beatles – “Paperback Writer”http://ondarock.it/”Rain” (1966)
15. Queen – “I Want to Break Free” (1984)
14. Michael Jackson – “Beat It” (1983)
13. Duran Duran – “Hungry Like the Wolf” (1982)
12. David Bowie – “Ashes to Ashes” (1980)
11. Nirvana – “Smells Like Teen Spirit” (1991)
10. Genesis – “Land of Confusion” (1986)
9. Queen – “Bohemian Rhapsody” (1975)
8. The Police – “Every Breath You Take” (1983)
7. Frankie Goes to Hollywood – “Two Tribes” (1984)
6. Dire Straits – “Money for Nothing” (1985)
5. Talking Heads – “Road to Nowhere” (1985)
4. Pink Floyd – “Another Brick in the Wall (Part II)” (1979)
3. a-ha – “Take On Me” (1985)
2. Michael Jackson – “Thriller” (1983)
1. Peter Gabriel – “Sledgehammer” (1986)
Daniel D`Amico for SANREMO.FM
