There is nothing about the Ghostbusters franchise that isn’t big, and both the music and the accompanying videos highlight that. From a Bobby Brown billboard takeover of New York to busting ghosts at a dive bar and with cameos ranging from Donald Trump to Bill Murray, John Candy, and Sigourney Weaver, the Ghostbusters videos have their own interesting history and deserve a little love as the world welcomes a new film to the series. With that in mind, we took a look and ranked the videos, though the rankings are a bit of a misdirect since everything about these feels fun and energetic. Because apparently singing about bustin’ makes people feel good.
Elle King, “Good Girls”
King’s rockabilly-inflected pop is some fairly infectious stuff, but we confess, much like the sexy billboard dancing in Bobby Brown’s “On Our Own” video, we’re not really sure what drinking while wearing a cowboy hat has to do with busting ghosts. On the other hand, we can also easily see Slimer hanging out at a laundromat in his off-hours.
Bobby Brown, “On Our Own”
One thing you have to give this video is that it is a perfect representation of Ghostbusters II. The celebrity cameos, the elaborate and impressive special effects, the tour of the glitzy side of New York, the high cheese factor that somehow makes it endearing instead of silly… it really is, in more ways than just the clips, a condensed version of Ghostbusters II in a few minutes.
Sadly, just like Batman, which came along a week after Ghostbusters II and broke the box office record Ghostbusters II had just set, “Prince’s Batdance” kept “On Our Own” at No. 2.
Run-DMC, “Ghostbusters Rap”
Run-DMC is clearly having a ball rapping about ghosts, and the video is hilarious in its sendup of ’80s concert excess, complete with Sigourney Weaver cameoing as a date to the premiere and the crew running around in Ghostbusters jumpsuits as if they were every bit as slick as their usual attire. Although to be fair, in many circles, being a Ghostbuster is almost, but not quite, as impressive as being in Run-DMC.
Tomochika, Oniyakko Tsubaki, Naomi Watanabe and Shizuyo Tamaski, “Ghostbusters”
While America is suffering through Sony trying to make Fall Out Boy happen, in Japan, they did it right. They hired four Japanese comedians to cover the classic theme with a J-pop twist, and had them fight breakdancing ghosts. The video is a nice tribute to the original, as you can see above, but come on. There are breakdancing ghosts. Is there a more perfect enemy for a Ghostbuster than a breakdancing ghost?
Ray Parker Jr., Ghostbusters
Come on, you knew this was going to be the champ. While everything about the video, including the neon-lined furniture, is vintage ’80s, the song was, and is, the star of the show. It’s not just that it’s the best song in the franchise, it’s the rare song that holds up on its own from an era where every movie had a would-be “hit song” tied to it. If you wanted to sum up the entire pop genre of the ’80s in one song, you could make a pretty credible bid for “Ghostbusters,” making it a timeless song, and our number one.
