6 Memorable music videos: Herbie Hancock, Billy Joel, OK Go, Beastie Boys, Cyndi Lauper and The Who

I was never a huge MTV fan ("oh please, you're QUITE huge") but here's six memorable videos...

-Herbie Hancock, "Rockit": As a kid, I was convinced this was shot in the same house as "Our House" by Madness. Which today makes no sense whatsoever.  Hancock, by the way, is classically trained and spent most of his career before this video recording legendary jazz albums (either as leader or behind people like Miles Davis).


-Billy Joel, "Tell Her About It": a catchy slice of 60s pop -- audibly and visually -- featuring a nice cameo at the end by Rodney Dangerfield.  Ed Sullivan is played by Will Jordan, probably the most accomplished Sullivan impressionist ever ("Can't Buy Me Love," "The Doors").


-Cyndi Lauper, "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun": A fun song and video (though a bit long) with some wonderfully cheesy early 1980s effects.  This was produced by Broadway Video (Lorne Michaels' company). At 2:50, that's Michaels' attorney joining in the fun. And of course, there's a Conehead dancing in the party at the end. The whole second half is an homage to the Marx Brothers' "A Night at the Opera."


-The Who, "My Generation": this is the version from the Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour, complete with a literally explosive ending (apparently a stagehand upped the dynamite count after rehearsal... and so did Keith Moon, because he assumed the stagehand hadn't put in enough). This is from a TV documentary; a cleaner version opens "The Kids Are Alright." And for good measure, here's The Who's performance of "I Can See For Miles" from the same episode, ending just as the clip below picks up.


-While finding the above clip, I stumbled onto this brilliant BBC Radio commercial featuring Keith Moon, Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye and Elvis (among others)...

-Beastie Boys, "Sabotage": an absolute classic from 1994. Nothing more to say unless you want to watch Beavis & Butthead's reaction.


-OK Go, "This Too Shall Pass": Videos aren't really a thing anymore, but this one is another classic.  When they encapsulate the greatest pop culture of the 21st century, this needs to be on the list.