I was watching VH1 Classic's Top 20 Videos Of The 80's and cannot believe that Herbie Hancock's "Rockit" video was voted better than Sweet dream Are Made Of This by the Eurtythmetics! Rockit is a cheap "walk cycle" of robots and computers! And in the background on a blue TV screen, Herbie hancock rubs his hand a few times and says, "Rockit" a few dozen times...... How is this cheap walk cycle better than the great SDAMOT video? That video actually looked innovatve............. Grrr!

I was watching VH1 Classic's Top 20 Videos Of The 80's and cannot believe that Herbie Hancock's "Rockit" video was voted better than Sweet dream Are Made Of This by the Eurtythmetics! Rockit is a cheap "walk cycle" of robots and computers! And in the background on a blue TV screen, Herbie hancock rubs his hand a few times and says, "Rockit" a few dozen times...... How is this cheap walk cycle better than the great SDAMOT video? That video actually looked innovatve............. Grrr!


I can't believe "Rockit" made the top 20, That has to be one of the dumbest videos from the 80's and If that's the best the voters can do, I'd hate to know what the rest of countdown looked like. I love SDAMOT but I prefer "Love is a Stranger" and "Here Comes the Rain Again". I guess it's safe to say that neither of those made the top 20.:(

If you knew the history of this video then maybe you will better understand why it was one of the best videos of its time.

At that time MTV had this supposed unwillingness to show black music artists and their videos. Michael Jackson was the first. So, if you look at the video, Herbie Hancock uses robots, non-humans to showcase dancing, breakdancing and the music showcases the first time "scratching" was introduced in a video that was shown on MTV. Herbie also "appears" in the video via a television screen since his appearance in the music video itself was considered a no-no...MTV's actions were to showcase "white" artists generally. So, for this reason, Herbie Hancock's video deserves to be considered one of the best videos, one of the top 20 videos of its time simply because he broke the barrier that MTV supposedly had established as to what it would or wouldn't show as far as videos.

If you knew the history of this video then maybe you will better understand why it was one of the best videos of its time.

At that time MTV had this supposed unwillingness to show black music artists and their videos. Michael Jackson was the first. So, if you look at the video, Herbie Hancock uses robots, non-humans to showcase dancing, breakdancing and the music showcases the first time "scratching" was introduced in a video that was shown on MTV. Herbie also "appears" in the video via a television screen since his appearance in the music video itself was considered a no-no...MTV's actions were to showcase "white" artists generally. So, for this reason, Herbie Hancock's video deserves to be considered one of the best videos, one of the top 20 videos of its time simply because he broke the barrier that MTV supposedly had established as to what it would or wouldn't show as far as videos.

Trust me, I probably know more about music videos than most anyone on this board. I've been collecting them for years and currently have several thousand. I was taping this stuff when MTV actually played videos. I started taping on a beta machine then to vhs and I'm in the process now of transferring all of them to Dvd.

I knew about the history of this video but that doesn't make it worthy of being in the top 20. I understand what you're saying & yes it did break barriers but that reason alone doesn't warrant it being among the top 20.

I'm certainly not trying to argue with you and I respect your opinion. It's just that I can name plenty of videos from the 80's that are far better than "Rockit"

If you knew the history of this video then maybe you will better understand why it was one of the best videos of its time.

..MTV's actions were to showcase "white" artists generally. So, for this reason, Herbie Hancock's video deserves to be considered one of the best videos, one of the top 20 videos of its time simply because he broke the barrier that MTV supposedly had established as to what it would or wouldn't show as far as videos.

did you actually see what you just wrote???
the history of music videos and the political pacing of the desegregation of MTV has no corellation to the quality of a video.
we, as viewers, had no control over the fact that they had to pair stevie wonder and michael jackson with paul mcartney to get the blacks on MTV. the fact is, that kind of music was not the genre that the early days of MTV captured. they pushed the genre they pushed because of the trendy cycles of the american music scene, not for the satisfaction of the ACLU and jesse jackson.
while we are talking about knowng the history of music video. let me teach you a thing or two..look at the way music changed from 1979-1981 (the time that MTV was being planned before it actually was)..music had just transitioned away for from disco and set it's new course on the cross breeding of pop and the cross over country fad of the time. sorry, but that time had most of the black artists on the "soul" charts, not the pop. some did come onto the pop, but not with the long lasting influence that the new pop stars and the aging veterans of rock era had. and there were next to none in the country, or the country crossover charts.
by 1983-85, the new transition came to be more influenced by the black singers...you know, the blacks that dressed like they were white.. you alluded that this change in the music/video timeframe was special because herbie hancock "broke the barrier" of colour....ever hear of the jacksons? they were big on MTV in 1984, coming off michael jackson's taking over MTV in 1983. ray parker,jr? rick james? jon butcher axis? these people had videos that were tons better than any herbie hancock mess. "life takes a life" by jon butcher axis is one of the best videos ever made by ANYBODY and nobody remembers it. i suggest you watch it sometime..and please don't tell me you don't think the songs by the jacksons, michael jackson, or one of the biggest songs of 1984, "ghostbusters", was less influential than "rockit". if you can say that...you must be kidding. or delusional.

I was 17 when MTV debuted. It certainly never dawned on me that MTV would have evolved into what it is now and spawned what we now know as REALITY TELEVISION. Kudos to MTV for a lot of what we see and watch now. However, the fact remains, that at that time, that era, the standards of videos were not anywhere what it was obviously now. Rockit stands out for the reasons that I stated above. It may not be one of the greatest videos when you compare it to the ones that have emerged since that time, but for it's time it did. It was different, innovative and it was a song that many could enjoy, not just the same audience that Herbie Hancock was used to making music for, those who loved Jazz. It appealed to those who loved the breakdancing styles and the "scratching" that was so popular in rap music...the kind of music that was not showcased on MTV until they developed the series YO MTV RAPS. Herbie's video was a chance for this kind of music to be seen/heard by the general audience.

it was innovative, no doubt. for those that like that kind of animation, i am sure it was great. i am not one of those. but i can think of many more of better quality than rockit from that timeframe.
i was 16 and got MTV in may of '82.

I hate the song and the video. I am not one of those who will defend something simply because I like it. However, it can't be denied what it was at that time and apparently, it left its mark in video history.