’80s Music Video Thursday returns, and it will return next week. Leave suggestions in the comments after you’ve taken some time to view these fascinating relics.

“Spirit in the Sky” by Doctor & The Medics, submitted by QuoteMan.

You see, the singer is climbing up…to the sky…where the spirit is. So dense with opaque symbolism!!!

“Little China Girl” by David Bowie, submitted by Peter Griffin.

Though elements of this video are quite cheesy, the repeating 360-degree pan around the kissing couple, during which the shot slowly turns from sepia to full color is pretty cool. The video was widely banned, but fared well on MTV; it won the first ever Best Male Video award.

“It’s My Life” by Talk Talk, submitted by bdwilcox.

It is a sad fact that if you took a poll today, most people would identify this song as a No Doubt single. But the original reigns supreme. And the video, in all of its wild kingdom glory, is pretty neat, too.

“The Last in Line” by Dio, submitted by CosmykDolfyn.

Well, I certainly am not looking forward to taking the elevator down when I leave from work tonight. Thanks, Dio! Not!

A few more from the past:
’80s Music Video Thursday For Tender
’80s Music Video Thursday: Yeah, We Really Want To
’80s Music Video Thursday: It Will Compute

Submitted by Chris M, horologist.

Not just a watch. Not just a video game console. It’s both! That’s right, BOTH! Because when you combine the power of knowing what time it is with the power of Mario jumping down a tube…You become an unstoppable force. Or at least that’s what I imagine the promotional copy for the Nintendo Game Watch sounded like.

Submitted by Stephen G, in the mood for everything…like Al.

Because when I think of delicious fast food, I think of salad bars! I particularly enjoy the alliteration employed in this advertisement: Selena’s salad, Frank’s fettucini…I mean, WOW! However, I hope selecting food to match your first initial wasn’t a strictly enforced rule when eating at the Superbar. Otherwise, I might have just skipped the whole thing and ordered a hamburger (they didn’t offer the spicy chicken sandwich then, unfortunately).

Submitted by Nikki Z, who’s currently enjoying a milkshake at the Peach Pit.

In case you hadn’t noticed, today’s date is 9/02/10 (written as 2/09/10 in the United States, but that doesn’t exactly serve our purposes here). With a special date like that, it would be a crime NOT to reminisce over everyone’s favorite ’90s television series about spoiled brats living (and loving…and drinking…and overdosing) in ritzy Beverly Hills. And who could forget that theme song?!

Let us know about your favorite episodes, quotes, betrayals, twists, tender moments, or characters (oh, Shannen Doherty, TV misses you!) in the comments. And nothing should be spoken about the CW remake of the show lest you be severely judged.

Once, again: Happy 9/02/10 Day!!!

Submitted by Stephen G, hot shot.

Much like real basketball, the point of Hot Shot Basketball was to get the ball through the hoop. The difference was that, in the Hot Shot version, you were using a miniscule “launcher” to flick the ball through a tiny little plastic net. So much less effort than throwing a heavy orange ball toward a really high net! As a side note, the game pictured above is advertised as a “travel” game. I have to wonder how many little basketballs were lost under the bucket seats in minivans around the world…