By Chris Cummins

Given the cinematic nature of the music video as an artistic medium, it makes sense that bands would want to create interest in their songs by having their visuals be as unforgettable as possible. And what's more memorable than say, a giant spaceship or a dystopian future? Since MTV first killed the radio star back in 1981, artists have gone back to the sci-fi well again and again for their videos. But of the thousands of clips released over the years, which ones possess the sheer coolness that make them stand the test of time? Put on your radiation suit, grab yourself a Romulan Ale and find out in this list of the 10 most awesome science fiction-themed videos of all time.

10) Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, "You Got Lucky"

The old joke goes that Tom Petty has a face made for radio. Well, that's horseshit. He may not have pretty boy features, but the dude has consistently made amazing videos throughout his career--from his trippy reinterpretation of Alice in Wonderland in "Don't Come Around Here No More" to the Winsor McCay-inspired animated clip for "Running Down a Dream" and beyond. Petty's first attempt at pushing the limits of the visual format was this 1982 clip in which he and the Heartbreakers portray nomads in a Road Warrior-esque future. After arriving in the middle of nowhere via a hovercar and kit-bashed motorcycle (both of which put the ZZ Top Eliminator coupe to shame), the guys, well, get lucky by stumbling upon a hut containing such treasures as instruments, a TV that plays a brief clip of Galactica 1980 and slot machines. After rocking out for a bit, the lads bust the joint up before heading back out into the desolation that awaits them. As for Petty, he later had some asshole burn down his house and he co-starred in The Postman. So luck isn't always on his side.

9) Duran Duran, "The Wild Boys"

Inspired by William S. Burroughs' The Wild Boys: A Book of the Dead,  this video is a distillation of the stylish excess that made Duran Duran so beloved in the 1980s. Trapped in an industrial dystopia, the fellas pout and look handsome while fire-breathing robots, windmills and Cirque du Soleil mutants dance/torment them. There's a flying Easter Bunny-looking thing too that appears three and a half minutes in as well, and I'm pretty sure that the aquatic monster that attacks Simon Le Bon was later used as the Polymorph in Red Dwarf. Director Russell Mulcahy was hoping that the completion of this video would help get a feature version of The Wild Boys novel made. While that never came to fruition, this clip's visuals do make it one of the group's most memorable videos, if not their oddest. And the footage from Barbarella (from which the band got their name) is a nice touch too.

8) Rick Springfield, "Human Touch"

"Ricky Springfield, he's a buddy of mine!" Back in the 1980s, Rick Springfield--General Hospital's once and future Dr. Noah Drake--was a fixture on the pop charts thanks to such hits as "Jessie's Girl" and this plea for human interaction in a technology-driven age. The captain of a space station circa 2016 (in which Commodore 64 computers are still in use), he laments about having to sit "so snug and isolated alone in the modern world." Fortunately, his solitude is interrupted when his fellow crewmates are revived from stasis. As everybody knows, being in suspended animation makes you want to dance your ass off, so Springfield happily leads them in some intergalactic hoofing as a four-eyed alien saxophonist wails away. In the video's tense final moments, Rick stumbles as he tries to escape from a radiation leak. But just as death's icy nothingness is to envelop him, he is saved by the, wait for it, human touch of a co-worker.

7) The Postal Service, "We Will Become Silhouettes"

Ignoring the clichés that plague most post-apocalyptic music videos (ex-Tupac's "California Love"), this clip from Napoleon Dynamite director Jared Hess instead sees life after the end of the world as having a Logan's Run kinda vibe. There's no sexually ambivalent leathermen biking around blowing shit up here, just a family who is making the most of nuclear annihilation by taking bike rides and eating jarred peaches. Intentionally looking like a 1970s version of the future, the video's visuals perfectly compliment the bouncy tune's dark lyrical content. This one gets bonus points for the hilarity that ensues from seeing Postal Service (and Death Cab for Cutie) frontman Ben Gibbard wearing acid-washed jeans.  

6) The Strokes, "12:51"

In the early '00s, The Strokes were overhyped to the point of annoyance. So it's okay if you wrote them off as a band who strictly appeals to stinky hipsters in Williamsburg. But despite your thoughts on their relevance, you have to admit that seeing them thrust into the world of Tron is damn cool. Director Roman Coppola (how many of them are there anyway?) approaches the proceedings as if they were a private concert for the Master Control Program, making vocalist Julian Casablancas' emotionless performance seem right at home in the video's cold computerized landscape.