20 Best Motley Crue Videos Ranked Cleanest to ‘The Dirt’-iest
The Dirt is almost upon us. In honor of Motley Crue's highly anticipated Netflix film adaptation of "The Dirt" memoir, we're looking back at their career in music videos. As you can see, there's typically at least some "dirt" related to their clips, though some will be considerably dirtier than others. Take a look below as we revisit the 20 Best Motley Crue Videos Ranked by "The Dirt" Level.
20. "Misunderstood"
Dirt Level: Squeaky clean. From the John Corabi era of Motley Crue, there's not much in terms of excess here. It doesn't get more wholesome than the Crue members hanging on a front porch jamming, while a family awaits the return of a father figure. The only pills we see here are a prescription for a grandparent, with the narrative centering on a young kid, his laundry washing mother, his military vet grandfather and his grandmother.
19. "Without You"
Dirt Level: General ancient temple dusty. The video for Motley Crue's Dr. Feelgood power ballad "Without You" may be visually interesting, but you might want to look elsewhere for dirt. The clip is more abstract, with an old opera house in Galveston, Texas doubling as an ancient temple. The only dirt here comes in a dusty rain that Vince Neil reaches for in the clip. The video does feature a seductive looking woman, snake like statue and a goblet presented by a young girl containing who knows what, but the hints of sin here are more metaphorical.
18. "Same Ol' Situation"
Dirt Level: Performance sweat. "Same Ol' Situation" is the first of several performance-based clips in this countdown, with the band dedicating the clip to the fans that attended their 1989 and 1990 tours. It's a pretty straight forward performance clip, with the usual attractive young women attending their shows and scantily clad, hip-shaking female backing singers and dancers. As far as the band's performance clips go, this is one of their tamer ones.
17. "Primal Scream"
Dirt Level: Mildly dusty. Much like "Without You" before, this clip is primarily left with abstract imagery. Most of the band members are shot in the darkness of shadows or completely silhouetted, with the occasional snake, crow, monkey or black panther making appearances as well, providing a nod to the band's darker side. The clip also makes solid use of fire and being on the precipice of getting too close. "Primal Scream" would be one of the final videos from Motley Crue's first generation, with Vince Neil and Tommy Lee both spending time away in future years. This song was the primary single from their Decade of Decadence hits collection.
16. "White Trash Circus"
Dirt level: Eye-catching dirt. Things are still a little tame at this point, but Motley Crue start to turn the corner a bit. The video for "White Trash Circus" offers an endless series of close-ups of band members brought to the forefront of the screen, but mixed in with that, we get some ladies dressed in lingerie slinkily walking and slyly looking at the camera.
15. "Anarchy in the U.K."
Dirt Level: General snottiness. The second performance clip on this countdown belongs to the band's cover of the Sex Pistols' "Anarchy in the U.K." Mirroring the brash nature of the band that originated the track, there's the occasional middle finger, security breaking up a fight, stage diving, smashed instruments, a crowd reference to Vince Neil's feud with Axl Rose and general backstage shenanigans. It's a lively performance clip showing their more raucous side.
14. "Too Young to Fall in Love"
Dirt Level: Dirty manners. You gotta love the early '80s videos, as this clip finds the members of Motley Crue walking darkened Asian back alleys and finding themselves fending off attackers who show serious sword and nunchuck skills. In terms of dirt, this clip is fairly clean. You do spot a young woman in the distance being bathed, but the real party foul here is touching someone else's food with your bare hands and almost getting attacked over it. When it was pretty gross and you spit it out anyway, was it worth the trouble?
13. "Kickstart My Heart"
Dirt Level: The home sweet home of dirt. Welcome to the famous Los Angeles haunt, the Whisky-a-go-go. As Tommy Lee states in the clip, "We're back home sweet home." This clip finds the band at the peak of Motley mania, with legendary comedian Sam Kinison driving them to the venue and a crowd of Sunset Strip music lovers lined up out the door. This video gives us Motley Crue at a "10," not only onstage but with adrenaline-fueled antics such as drag racing, motorcycle riding, power boating, sky diving and more.
12. "Smokin' in the Boys Room"
Dirt Level: Needs some extra elbow grease. Motley Crue took on the Brownsville station classic and for their video, transported us all back to the horrors of high school. It was fortunate for this way old looking 21 Jumpstreet-esque teen that the alternate dimension of a bathroom could transform his day. That being said, the alternate dimension looks a little grimy and seems to be lacking in a janitor. Time to break out the Ajax while our teen learns a lesson or two from the Crue.
11. "You're All I Need"
Dirt Level: Dirt in pure form. The opening of the "You're All I Need" video offers a warning that the material has been banned by certain networks, as this "based on a true story" tale centers on a couple whose passion and anger turns deadly. Mirroring a 6 o'clock newscast, this video has an early reality TV, pre-COPS vibe to it. Harsh words spoken, thrown dinner plates, tossed furniture and a knife wielding incident go wrong, all while being ironically soundtracked by the Crue's heartfelt rock ballad. One part of this young couple leaves with a perp walk, the other in a body bag.
10. "Don't Go Away Mad"
Dirt Level: Call the maid. We open the "Don't Go Away Mad" with Vince Neil's latest love fleeing his loft in what looks like a rather sketchy neighborhood of Los Angeles where trash litters the streets. A homeless man is outside waiting. Vince awakes with his place in quite a clutter, eventually gathering his bearings as he and the other band members make their way to the studio passing some Hollywood street walkers in the process. Given that we're also shown a private plane and a fancy hot rod vehicle, it might be time for Vince to upgrade his living arrangements.
9. "Looks That Kill"
Dirt Level: Dirty rotten scoundrels. The early era Crue video for "Looks That Kill" finds our rockers herding up a group of scantily clad women and taunting them while using them as bait to attract their amazonian leader. Once she arrives and shrinks down to size, she manages to evade their capture and turn the tables on them pulling the band under her spell.
8. "The Dirt (Est. 1981)"
Dirt Level: Meta dirt. Considering this video is for the title track for the band's film adaptation of their memoir, things are about to get a little meta, as both band members and actors playing them appear in this clip. You'll be doing a double take as both archival footage of the band mixes in with footage from the actual movie, giving you quick glimpses of mayhem on and offstage, the occasional middle finger, some simulated female flashing and general badassery.
7. "Saints of Los Angeles"
Dirt Level: Have dirt, will share. Motley Crue enjoyed a rejuvenation of sorts with their song "Saints of Los Angeles," and the video allowed them to share in the fun with a new generation of rockers. Papa Roach's Jacoby Shaddix, Buckcherry's Josh Todd, Trapt's Chris Brown and Sixx: A.M.'s James Michael all make cameos in this clip, but the Crue don't exactly play nice. The clip opens with some garden variety breaking and entering and taking over a venue. We also get a scantily clad woman riding an animal statue, women making out, a smashed liquor bottle, Tommy Lee getting slapped in slow motion and Nikki Sixx taking a drink to the face. Yep, sounds like a Motley Crue kind of a night.
6. "Hell on High Heels"
Dirt Level: Calling Dirt Devil. Throughout history, the lure of a sexy woman has led to the downfall of many powerful men. Motley Crue recount some of these incidents in the animated video for "Hell on High Heels," with the devilish siren dropping her loin cloth for an early caveman, but also managing to turn the head of a certain modern era politician. The animation may make it more cartoonish in nature, but the sinful message is not lost, especially when the bright red vixen starts snorting her victims.
5. "Dr. Feelgood"
Dirt Level: "Rat" trap dirt. Motley Crue offered one of their best story songs with the title track from the Dr. Feelgood album, and they paid it off with a solid video detailing the rise and fall of a drug dealer known as "Rat-tailed Jimmy." The opening of the video literally starts in the dust-filled desert, zooming in closer to a fire-filled tent before hopping into the story of how Jimmy went from smalltime dealer to mega-rich kingpin, but by the end of the clip everything's all shot to hell. It's Motley Crue at their grittiest.
4. "If I Die Tomorrow"
Dirt Level: Next level dirt. By 2004, the fearsome foursome were back intact, but not without a few war wounds along the way, as revisited in their video for "If I Die Tomorrow." This video mixes between live action and animation as a woman walks around an art gallery, getting lost in each image as it illustrates some of the band members' darker moments. Nikki Sixx's heroin overdose, Vince Neil's car crash that killed Razzle from Hanoi Rocks, Tommy Lee in prison and Mick Mars in a prison of his own, resigned to a hospital bed while dealing with Ankylosing Spondylitis are all represented in this clip. There's "dirt" on all four members.
3. "All Bad Things"
Dirt Level: A career of dirt. You may not realize how much dirt Motley Crue have created over the years, but to refresh your memory, the "All Bad Things" video takes care of that. This career-spanning clip was released to coincide with their touring farewell, showcasing older performance footage, snippets of past music videos, photos of past hedonism, multiple ladies flashing the camera and even some blacked out male nudity. It's a complete, encapsulating look at Motley Crue — dirt and all.
2. "Home Sweet Home"
Dirt Level: Pushing the boundaries of dirt. It may seem tame today, but in the fall of 1985, Motley Crue might have pushed the boundaries of what could be shown in a music video with "Home Sweet Home." This performance themed clip showcased one particular female fan coming very close to losing her shirt, with the camera cutting away to a bemused Tommy Lee just in time to fend off the censors. Between that and the endless amount of women throwing themselves at the Crue guys, it sure made it seem like a Motley Crue show was the place to be in 1985. This video proved so popular that MTV had to install the "Crue rule" on their daily request chart, forcing it to be retired after a certain period.
1. "Girls Girls Girls"
Dirt Level: Be careful what you touch. Motley Crue gave us a closer look at their late night Hollywood in the video for "Girls Girls Girls." There's a little danger in the form of a switchblade knife, and, yes, some motorcycle riding, too. But when it came to this video, you just need look at the title of the song to know what it's all about.
Motley Crue Albums Ranked