Ever notice how ’80s music videos–especially those from the earlier part of the decade–featured band members performing in front of a stark white background? Why plain white? Perhaps it was the low cost, the futuristic look, or the chic simplicity of a musician putting it all out there with no distractions. But there was room for variation… Check out the many shades of white featured above in our mid-week match-up.

As we look back at Mirror80’s first year in the blogosphere, we’re revisiting some of our favorite posts. Today the focus is Friday Video Picks, those ’80s music videos that have captured our attention. We’ve blogged about many of them over the past year. Here are our five all-time favorites.

Geometry and color highlight this 1984 video for Howard Jones’ hit single “Like to Get to Know You Well.” The sleeve of the single featured the phrase “Dedicated to the original spirit of the Olympic Games,” although the song was not officially affiliated with the Olympics. Throughout the ’80s, Jones combined optimistic lyrics with synthpop to form a unique style that garnered him a string of hits.

For today’s Friday Video Pick, we bring you this classic from glam metal band Ratt. The video for this 1984 hit was just as memorable as the song, featuring a wealthy family enjoying a dinner party while band members disrupt the flow of the evening by performing in the family’s attic. A subversive metal head butler, a dinner serving of live rodents and a young woman’s transformation from a dutiful dinner party-goer to a rodent-like punk are highlights of this piece.

“Pack your bags, and leave tonight…” Yeah, you’ll be singing it too in a few minutes! To tell you the truth, I’ve been waiting months to share this video as a Friday Video Pick.

During a week when Vivienne Westwood designs took center stage at Mirror80, we had to keep the fun going with this video pick by Adam & The Ants. Westwood and partner Malcolm McLaren conceptualized the “Pirate” look embraced by early ’80s musical acts like Bow Wow Wow and the band at the center of this post!

The ’80s teen scene rules this week at Mirror80, so we couldn’t resist posting this gem of a video by the Wolfgramm siblings, who together formed The Jets, an ’80s pop band whose hit “Crush on You” is now a staple at hipster parties.

This music video from 1982 features a fictional wedding in which Human League vocalist Joanne Catherall weds her groom while lead singer Philip Oakey pines over her from the upper balcony. Yes, just like Dustin Hoffman in The Graduate. Only this is a New Wave Dustin Hoffman with killer cheekbones and a beauty mark (which seems to be a requirement for band members, as mirrored by Catherall and her blonde counterpart Susan Ann Sulley).