Author Archives: Jedadiah Leland

Music Video of the Day: Brass in Pocket by The Pretenders (1980, directed by ????)

Posted on by Jedadiah Leland

The sixth music video to air on MTV on August 1st, 1981 was Cliff Richard’s We Don’t Talk Anymore.

The seventh was Brass in Pocket, by the Pretenders.  Up to that date, Brass in Pocket was the band’s biggest hit and the video — which featured a narrative theme with Chrissie Hynde as a waitress — also represented the future of direction of music videos.  Today, it can be surprising to see how many of the first music videos were simple performance clips.  In the days before MTV, videos were viewed as a novelty as opposed to a necessity.  Due to the popularity of MTV, future music videos would have more in common with Brass in Pocket and Video Killed The Radio Star, designed to generate buzz as well as to show off the music.

When the song was first recorded, Hynde hated it and said that listening to her voice made her cringe.  The song was released over her objections and went on to become one of the Pretenders’s first and biggest hits.  For the record, Hynde says that her feelings on the song have since mellowed and she enjoys it now because “it’s served me well.”

Enjoy!

Film Review: Macho: The Hector Camacho Story (directed by Eric Drath)

Posted on by Jedadiah Leland

It has been nearly ten years since Hector “Macho” Camacho was murdered in Puerto Rico.

He was shot while sitting in a parked car, by several gunmen who fired from a passing SUV.  The driver of the car, Camacho’s childhood friend Adrian Mojica Moreno, was also shot.  Moreno died at the scene.  Camacho died four days later.

Since then, there’s been a lot of speculation about who may have ordered a hit on Camacho.  At one time, Camacho was one of the world’s biggest celebrity athletes, a boxer who was both loved and hated by boxing fans.  He was also well-known for his struggles with addiction and his self-destructive behavior.  After he was shot, nine bags of cocaine were found in his car, leading many to suspect that the hit was the result of drug deal gone wrong.

However,  not even the details surrounding his death could overshadow Camacho’s accomplishments inside the ring.  His flamboyant antics and costumes may have driven purists crazy but Camacho was a fighter who could usually be trusted to back up his bluster once the fight began. From 1980 to 2010, he fought 88 professional fights and compiled a 79-6-3 record.  Along the way he won and lost multiple titles, went from being viewed as a scrappy underdog to a villain, and he fought everyone from Oscar De La Hoya to Julio Cesar Chavez to Sugar Ray Leonard, Roberto Duran, and Vinny Paziena.

The documentary Macho: The Hector Camacho Story takes a look back at Camacho’s career in the ring and his life outside of it.  While it doesn’t shy away from discussing his struggles (and the final thirty minutes are dominated by his murder), the best part of the documentary is the footage of Camacho in his prime, throwing punches and defeating opponent after opponent.  The film shows why Camacho was one of the best boxers of his era while also acknowledging why his success drove so many fight fans crazy.  This is a documentary that will be appreciated by those who remember what the sport of boxing once was, when the fighters could not only play to the stands but could throw a punch as well.  It’s both an exciting boxing film and a study of a fighter who could beat almost any opponent but not his own demons.

Music Video of the Day: Little Suzi’s On The Up by PhD (1981, directed by ????)

Posted on by Jedadiah Leland

Over this past week, I’ve been sharing the first music videos that played on MTV on August 1s,t 1981.  Little Suzi’s On The Up was the fifth music video to be shown on that day, following The Who’s You Better You Bet.  Unlike many of the music videos that played that day, Little Suzi’s on the Up was not just a performance clip but instead used the type of camera trickery and bizarre humor that would become the signature of many subsequent music videos.

I don’t know much about Ph.D, beyond that they were a British new wave group.  The name of the band was play on the last names of the members — Phillips, Hymas, and Diamond.  Their biggest hit was I Won’t Let You Down in 1982.  Unfortunately, around the same time, Jim Diamond contracted hepatitis and could no longer tour, which led to the dissolvent of the band.  Watching this video, I’m reminded a bit of Madness.

Enjoy!

Music Video of the Day: You Better You Bet by The Who (1981, directed by John Crome)

Posted on by Jedadiah Leland

This week, I’ve been counting down the first videos played on MTV when it premiered 40 years ago.  Today’s music video is the fourth video to be played on MTV, following Video Killed The Radio Star, You Better Run, and She Won’t Dance With Me.

The video for The Who’s You Better You Bet was filmed at Shepperton Studios in March of 1981 and it provided a look at the new Who as this was the first video to feature Kenney Jones on drums.  Jones, of course, replaced Keith Moon after the latter’s tragic death.

Enjoy!

Music Video of the Day: You Better Run by Pat Benatar (1980, directed by ????)

Posted on by Jedadiah Leland

Yesterday’s music video was the first ever video to air on MTV.

The video for Pat Benatar’s You Better Run was the second.  As opposed to the video for Video Killed The Radio Star, You Better Run is a performance clip.  There’s no special effects but there’s a lot of Pat Benatar, which is just as good.

Enjoy!

Music Video of the Day: Video Killed The Radio Star by The Buggles (1979, directed by Russell Mulcahy)

Posted on by Jedadiah Leland

40 years ago, on August 1st, 1981, MTV premiered.

Back then, MTV was short for “Music Television” and it actually played music videos, something that you don’t see much of on the channel anymore. Today, MTV is best known for cheap reality programming and countless shows in which D-List celebs watch YouTube videos. But before MTV became the Rob Dyrdek network, it actually used to play music.

In fact, MTV revolutionized music and, along the way, it also provided a chance for several talented filmmakers to show off what they could do with just a few minutes of screen time. David Fincher started out directing music videos. So did Spike Jonze. But before Fincher and Jonze, there was Russell Mulcahy, who went from directing trippy music videos to directing Highlander.

Appropriately enough, the very first video to air on MTV was directed by Mulcahy and it was for a song that predicted what MTV would eventually do to the music industry. Video Killed The Radio Star was the perfect debut video for MTV. Produced on a budget of $50,000 and filmed over the course of just one day in South London, Video Killed the Radio Star featured actress Virginia Hey in a test tube and Hans Zimmer playing keyboards. Hey later went on to appear in several Australian films, including Mad Max 2 where she played the warrior woman. Hans Zimmer, of course, went on to find fame on his own as one of the busiest film composers around.

Even before it was featured on MTV, Video Killed The Radio Star was aired on British television and was considered to be controversial because of the exploding television, which was seen as encouraging violence. It was a much more innocent time.

Enjoy!

Music Video of the Day: Dirty Black Summer by Danzig (1992, directed by Anton Corbijn)

Posted on by Jedadiah Leland

Best known as one of the Danzig songs that is not a remake of Mother, Dirty Black Summer appeared on Danzig’s third album, How The Gods Kill.  It was one of the more popular songs to appear on that album (which, overall, is considered to be one of Danzig’s best) and the band continues to regularly perform it to this day.

The video is unique because it was directed by Anton Corbijn, the Dutch photographer who directed videos from Depeche Mode, U2, and Nirvana.  (He was the director behind the video for Heart–Shaped Box).  Corbijn has since gone on to direct feature films as well, Control, The American, and Most Wanted Man.

Long before Hugh Jackman got the role, Glenn Danzig was considered for the role of Wolverine in a potential X-Men feature film.  I think he would have rocked that roll.

Enjoy!

Music Video of the Day: Paper In Fire by John Mellencamp (1987, directed by ????)

Posted on by Jedadiah Leland

Depending on the source, the “paper in fire” that John Mellencamp sings about in this song either refers to the dreams of those looking to get out of living below the poverty line or a verse in the Bible in which Hell is called “paper in fire.”  One thing that everyone agrees on is that the line “we keep no check on our appetites” is a reference to Hud, which is one of Mellencamp’s favorite movies.

The video was shot outside of a house on a dirt road near Savannah, Georgia.  Mellencamp wanted to highlight the poverty that many Americans were living under.  This video was also shot at a time when Mellencamp was still trying to escape from the “Johnny Cougar” persona that was forced on him early on in his career.  (In fact, at the time this song was recorded, he was still officially known as John Cougar Mellencamp.)

Enjoy!

Music Video of the Day: Love House by Samantha Fox (1988, directed by ????)

Posted on by Jedadiah Leland

Ah, the Page 3 Girls.

The Page 3 Girls were a long-stranding tradition in the UK. In the often cut-throat world of British journalism, certain publishers realized that the best way to beat the competition was to not only offer important news, brilliant editorials, and attention-grabbing headlines but also to offer up naked models. Starting with the Sun in 1970, most British tabloids would include a topless centerfold on the third page of their newspaper. That way, men could discreetly buy the Sun at the newsstand (and perhaps chuckle at headlines like, “”If Neil Kinnock wins today will the last person to leave Britain please turn out the lights,”) and then turn to page 3 as soon as they were in the back of a taxi. As a teenager visiting family the UK in the 90s, I always made sure to pick up the new edition of the Sun, The Mirror, and News of the World. Today, of course, the Page 3 Girls are largely a thing of the past and it’s acknowledged that it was all a bit misogynistic. But, back in the day, it was just a part of daily life in the UK.

In the early and mid-80s, Samantha Fox was one of the top Page 3 Girls. She went from modeling to acting and singing. Love House was a single off of her third album. Today, it’s usually listed as being one of the first acid house single to appear on mainstream charts. As with many of Fox’s hits, the songs popularity was aided by a music video that made good use of Fox’s assets. The video for Love House contrasts Fox’s sex appeal with several images that appear to have been lifted from popular horror films.

The song is pretty good too. Because of her background, Samantha Fox was underrated as a singer and she’s never quite gotten the credit that she deserves. However, she is still a cultural icon in the UK, where she’s appeared on editions of Celebrity Big Brother and I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here, along with remaining an activist for LGBT rights.

Enjoy!