My Only in America Video Five

Memorial Day weekend is upon us! When did that happen? I thought it was a week away, and it snuck up on me. We all associate different things with the occasion, from beaches to barbecues to parades and more. In unconventional honor of everything that makes America great, I'm choosing my five videos that could not have come from anywhere else but this great nation. Take a look and relive horror or awesomeness or both, and let me know if you agree with my choices or if there are better candidates I may have missed....

5) Ice Ice Baby (Vanilla Ice):
They just don't make videos like this these days, and that's a tragedy. Seriously, look at those coordinated moves! And check out how the narrative structure of the song matches what's going on, for the most part. I never noticed that the girl who appears when he sings “less than bikinis” seems to be wearing more than a bikini. You see something different each time; each viewing is a gift.

Vanilla Ice-Ice Ice Baby

4) Love Shack (B52s):
I've never done drugs, but I imagine they're a lot like this video. It's a real trip. In a convertible. With colorful characters. And a love shack, or “shaque l'amour”, if you will.
I want to go to there.

B52's - Love Shack

3) No Rain (Blind Melon):
Rest in peace, Mr. Hoon. I don't think one could ask for a greater legacy than the chubby bee girl.(Who as of this writing is 26 years old--where does the time go?)


2) I Wanna Sex You Up (Color Me Badd):
Honestly, there's nothing I can say about this video that Beavis and Butthead didn't already say better. Just...look at these guys; did they seriously appeal to women??

Color Me Badd - I Wanna Sex You Up

1) Hooked on a Feeling (David Hasselhoff):
This and this alone is why I live in the greatest country in the world, a country in which a man with a talking car and a wristwatch communicator can go on to fly and dance in the air in a safari outfit, and be huge in Germany. Of all the videos I've chosen, this is the most indisputable.