LOG IN  |  SIGN UP
116
Aug 4th, 2008

50 Greatest Comedy Sketches  

 

 

Ever since the birth of the medium, there have been sex-drenched music videos. But truly sexy videos that don't devolve into corniness or porniness are much trickier to pull off. As such, there have been only a handful of truly sexy videos. Many have been lost to time; others aren't publicly available due to copyright enforcement. But we found fifty we've long loved to love. As always, we encourage a brawl in the Feedback section over our selections — go Altamont on our asses. Give it to us Woodstock II style. We'll keep swinging.

 

50. Jennifer Lopez, "I'm Glad" (2003)

This Jennifer Beals/Jennifer Lopez hybrid proves to be music-video alchemy. J. Lo's third single may be long forgotten by top-forty radio, but fans won't forget the video, which features choreography by Jeffrey Hornaday, who reprises his work from Flashdance.


49. Rilo Kiley, "The Frug" (1999)


Rilo Kiley were unknown at the time of this song's release. It was only through this video, and the song's inclusion in a long-forgotten Christina Ricci film, that they were signed to a record label. Jenny Lewis can sing to us from her bedroom anytime.

48. Tim Deluxe, "It Just Won't Do" (2001)


We'd never heard of Tim Deluxe until we saw this video. Turns out, he's a British dance producer, as well as the dude in the lawn chair reading a copy of The Origin of Species. But there's something strangely hypnotic about this video, and it's not just the panty-less ass in the leopard-print loincloth. Is it the never-ending slow-motion struts across the stadium floor? The athleticism? Or the fact that the video remains strangely fixated on the referee's calls: Sorry, missy, that ball was outside the line!
47. U2, "All I Want is You" (1989)


Possibly the most romantic video on this list, this rarely seen but essential early-MTV staple features a climax (not the sexual kind, unfortunately) in which a little person (played by a not-yet-famous Peter Dinklage) working as a circus freak appears to kill himself over his impossible love for a trapeze artist. Does she strip for him? Or for her boyfriend, the Strong Man?


46. God-des & She, "Lick It" (2007)


God-des & She are lesbian hip-hoppers from New York who have yet to make it really big, but this song kills and the video is off the hook. Featuring the prolific drag king Murray Hill as the sex instructor, it makes us want to laugh out loud and take a cold shower at the same time. The game of "pin the g-spot on the vagina" is just one of many things that got this banned from MTV.

45. Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers, "Into the Great Wide Open" (1991)


This is an essential inclusion for, if nothing else, the presence of Johnny Depp and Burn Notice's Gabrielle Anwar. But there's also a barrage of fun cameos, including by Terence Trent D'Arby, Faye Dunaway, Chynna Phillips of Wilson Phillips, and Matt LeBlanc.


44. Justin Timberlake, "What Goes Around . . . Comes Around" (2007)


An epically pretentious production, but Justin and Scarlett seducing each other has got to count for something. Directed by the same guy who did "Smells Like Teen Spirit" and co-written with Nick Cassavetes, this is actually more a short film in the vein of old Michael Jackson videos with big-name directors like Martin Scorsese.


43. Björk, "Pagan Poetry" (2001)


Björk's personal brand of abstract sexuality is slathered all over this video. We're also big fans of "All Is Full of Love" and "It's Oh So Quiet," each one showcasing the ultimate in lovelorn, weird-girl hotness.


42. MSTRKRFT, "Easy Love" (2006)


MSTRKRFT's video for Easy Love is sure to color your next trip to Jamba Juice in erotic overtones. A clever half-ironic take on videos that employ the sexy buttoned-up-secretary cliché, the straw-between-the-lips closeup and the superfluous use of allegedly alluring fluids. And yet, we're still turned on.


41. Beastie Boys, "No Sleep Till Brooklyn" (1987)

They were never conventional sex symbols, but when we were in high school, the Beasties gave all the cocky, goofball, do-anything-for-a-laugh class clowns that we were attracted to a serious run for their money.

 

Comments ( 116 )

I'm surprised you even questioned the all-clear perfection of "Simply Irresistible." That is un-believably sexy!
sl commented on Aug 05 08 at 2:12 am
a little surprised not to see more nineties r&b here. tony toni tone or something. pleased as punch to see fiona apple, though, as i still love that video fiercely.
dcf commented on Aug 05 08 at 6:10 am
you forgot the video for "stacy's mom" by fountains of wayne. it rips off fast times pretty well.
ts commented on Aug 05 08 at 11:41 am
Um. Duran Duran's Girls on Film and Prince's Get It On should be in the top five. Otherwise excellent
jp commented on Aug 06 08 at 11:59 am
dirty by Christina? i became a man to that video
hk commented on Aug 07 08 at 12:30 am
Two big misses. 1. You can't include Britney's video without Christina Aguilera's "Dirrty". She was always way hotter and more talented and I can't count the number of friends who told me about their jaws (among other things) dropping the first time they saw it. 2. Nikka Costa - "Like a Feather", So ridiculously sexy it can't not be on this list.
BH commented on Aug 06 08 at 2:28 pm
Maaaaannnn, did you guys really miss one. Duran Duran "Girls on Film"! One of the sexiest videos ever, the uncensored version is white hot.
W.E. commented on Aug 06 08 at 3:35 pm
No Fountains of Wayne? For Shame.
S commented on Aug 06 08 at 3:37 pm
How does Girls, Girls, Girls, by Motley Crue not make it. It made in a strip club
BH commented on Aug 06 08 at 7:15 pm
a good list. very eclectic, even if it's a little prince-heavy. but not a single toni braxton video? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ggULcgl8V8w
AN commented on Aug 06 08 at 10:59 pm
Um.. you guys missed this one: http://nz.youtube.com/watch?v=fLRZ7-3fdMg John Cougar Mellancamp's 'let it all hang out' Shame, shame, shame. There's a few more, but I don't feel like schoolin' ya today.
BSH commented on Aug 07 08 at 1:01 am
In re: "All I Want Is You," the dwarf isn't Peter Dinklage. It's not in his IMDB profile or Wikipedia page, and Wikipedia's page on the song states the dwarf is the (presumably Italian, given the location) actor Paolo Risi.
cf commented on Aug 07 08 at 10:05 am
the people who made this list must not be fans of hip-hop
sk commented on Aug 07 08 at 2:32 pm
oh yessss.this was the hottest video....robert palmer-great singer lost to us way too soon-
dh commented on Aug 07 08 at 2:52 pm
Where is Alex Gaudino's "Destination Calabria" ????
sm commented on Aug 07 08 at 4:25 pm
no Girls on Film?
DLB commented on Aug 07 08 at 4:39 pm
It's understandable that this missed your radar, but this Thunderheist video, actually the winning pick of a video-making contest, is by far one of the actually sexist things I've ever seen attached to a song. http://pitchfork.tv/videos/thunderheist-jerk-it
MDH commented on Aug 07 08 at 6:02 pm
Fionaa Apple is #1
mda commented on Aug 07 08 at 9:02 pm
How can Whitesnake's "Here I Go Again" not be on this list?
mk commented on Aug 07 08 at 9:31 pm
You have got to be kidding with J.Geils Band as # 2 on any list of any kind. That ranks and Lenny Kravitz "Where Are We Running" or his "Black Velveteen" videos do not crack the top 50? You have put two Arrowsmith and one Bitch Spears videos ahead of anything George Michael put out. UNCOOL !!!
lt commented on Aug 08 08 at 3:22 am
The # 1 sexiest video is Bjork's "Alarm Call". Come on Nerve staff ~ go take a REALY good look and feel of the energy in that.
xzt commented on Aug 08 08 at 4:25 am
SPOT ON!! You got them all perfect. Nice to be on the same page. Robert Palmer was just so very yummy is soooo many ways. Thanks for the mood lifter. You rock!!
DAS commented on Aug 08 08 at 10:05 am
Everything But The Girl "The Future Of The Future " is sexier than anything a 80's hair metal band ever came up with.
xz commented on Aug 08 08 at 2:44 pm
George Michael didn't split from WHAM! just before that video/album was released - he split from WHAM! prior to Faith. He was having issues with his record label, and he wanted to break away from the image he created when he released Faith (hence the burning of the leather jacket). Also, no "Need You Tonight" by INXS? Bowie's "China Girl"?
DPW commented on Aug 08 08 at 6:23 pm
What about the divynils "I touch myself" It should be in the top ten.
lew commented on Aug 08 08 at 7:39 pm
What about "Taste It" by INXS? "Need You Tonight" was awesome, yes, but "Taste It" even managed to get BANNED. And damn if it wasn't freaking hot. But maybe I'm partial. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J8d-MpFziDE
jsh commented on Aug 09 08 at 10:56 am
I'm glad you didn't include my personal number one, Turn It On Turn It Up Turn Me Loose by Dwight Yoakam. The look that the girl in red swinging on the saddle hanging from the ceiling...Or really just about anything by Allison Krauss...but the country erotic mystique comes from understatement, from knowing that you can insinuate far more than you can ever show...Bunuel and Almodovar both got more suggestive in mind as they got older, as they moderated the explicit sharp edges.
DF commented on Aug 10 08 at 1:30 am
I have no idea how in the Hell Iggy Pop's "Candy" is sexier than Whitesnake's "Here I Go Again" (and besides, I always thought Cindy Wilson was much hotter than Kate Pierson-in her prime, of course). Others left out here: The original version of Sophie B. Hawkins's "Damn I Wish I Was Your Lover" Alice Cooper-"Poison" Madonna-"Bad Girl" (she has never been hotter, in my opinion) Letters to Cleo-"Here and Now" (I just love pigtails on a fine young woman) New Order-"Round and Round" (similar to the "Freedom '90" video: sucky song yet the models are just yummy) Prince-"Cream"
BDR commented on Aug 10 08 at 5:18 am
Oh, and one more: LL Cool J's "Goin' Back to Cali"
BDR commented on Aug 10 08 at 6:02 am
Cow Cow Boogie, Dorothy Dandridge, 1942. Oooh Honey, shake it but don't break it, took mama nine long months to make it.
prt commented on Aug 11 08 at 12:57 am
Nice top 50 although Placebo's 'protect me from what i want' made by gaspard noe has to be the sexiest video of all time. It is not even available on youtube, but easy to DL
CD commented on Aug 11 08 at 11:14 am
Girls on Film - Duran Duran?
PSM commented on Aug 12 08 at 1:41 pm
What a classic list! I was not dissapointed at all. Thank for reminding me of Freedom
DRG commented on Aug 12 08 at 4:42 pm
I think you forgot about Toni Braxton's "Unbreak my Heart". That video is pretty much soft-core porn... VERY sexy...it deserved to be on your list!
ap commented on Aug 12 08 at 7:15 pm
man! you're too old. best sexies videos are being produced right now! (note: i'm 34 years old, i enjoy "videos of my generation", but this list is somo serious bul...t! serious man!
da commented on Aug 13 08 at 12:02 pm
The new number one sexiest video should be The Veronicas-Take Me On The Floor. Its comnig out soon. Watch out for this band. Just listen to the song, you can imagine how the video will be.
JH commented on Aug 13 08 at 12:18 pm
Janet Jackson's "Anytime, Anyplace" Bjork's "Cocoon"
nmb commented on Aug 13 08 at 10:55 am
This list does not include Bryan Adams "Cuts like a knife". Just having hot half nakd women doesn't make for sexy. The girl in the Adams video dressing in the leather bikini...
RAC commented on Aug 13 08 at 4:28 pm
Where's Maroon 5 - This Love?
commented on Aug 16 08 at 5:01 pm
My number one is DJ Shadow's "Six days". It was directed by Wong Kar-wai---Wikipedia lists it among his short films---and that guy knows sexy. To save you time with the search boxes: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iZKeSNZhm18
bk commented on Aug 16 08 at 7:55 pm
What?! You left off the Divinyl's "I Touch Myself." Hot!
VM commented on Aug 24 08 at 4:02 pm
Where is "I like it" from Narcotic trust? I think it is the sexiest clip ever!
JMM commented on Aug 26 08 at 3:24 pm
Janet Jackson's "IF" did not make the list, but Robert Palmer's bored (and boring) ladies pretending to play instruments did?! Please explain.
AE commented on Aug 28 08 at 10:37 pm
i cant believe you missed annie lennox "i need a man"
rjm commented on Aug 29 08 at 10:17 pm
Hmmm.... where's "Self Control" by Laura Branigan?
TTB commented on Aug 30 08 at 12:25 pm
Country music is "Sexy" but How could you leave of the Rodney Crowell/RoseAnne Cash video for"It's a Small World" Should have been in the top 3
CP commented on Aug 30 08 at 6:22 am
this is f*cking ridiculous. the whole thing seems to be an homage to cool as decided by a very select group of people. you can't tell me that addicted to love is number one? please! only if you're watching this with a paperbag over yr head. i am sorely disappointed
rj commented on Aug 31 08 at 1:07 am
I can't believe Duran Duran's Uncensored "Chauffeur" and "Girls on Film" were'nt included
SD commented on Sep 03 08 at 2:52 pm
Girls, Girls, Girls!
EB commented on Sep 04 08 at 3:56 pm
What? No Girls On Film? That video would be crazy even by todays standards...
RHR commented on Sep 06 08 at 7:07 pm

Leave a Comment