Author Archives: Jedadiah Leland

Music Video of the Day: With or Without You by U2 (1987, directed by Meiert Avis and Matt Mahurin)

Posted on by Jedadiah Leland

Today, it’s easy to make fun of the world’s most self-important band, U2.  It’s not that their music has really gotten bad or that Bono doesn’t do commendable work when he’s not touring.  It’s just that most people still associate them primarily with the debacle surrounding the release of Songs of Innocence.  Forcing a lukewarm album on people who may not even be fans of the band is never a good look.

But, in the band’s early days and before they got so openly pretentious, U2 was one of the top groups around.  The Joshua Tree still stands as one of the best musical accomplishments of the previous century and With Or Without You is one of the signature songs from that album.

As is always the case with U2, it helps if you don’t know what the song was actually about.  I’ve always assumed that this was meant to be a sad love song but then I did some research and I discovered that it was just Bono singing about his conflict about whether he wanted to be a touring musician or a family man.  Bono can’t live without or without … himself.

It’s better not to think about that and to just bring your own interpretation to the lyrics and the song.  The video is simple but it captures the feel of the song.

Enjoy!

Music Video of the Day: Worried About You by The Rolling Stones (1981, directed by Michael Lindsay-Hogg)

Posted on by Jedadiah Leland

The Rolling Stones keep things simple in this music video for Worried About You.  Worried About You was first recorded in 1975 but was not released until 1981, when it was included on Tattoo You, an album that was largely made up of outtakes from previous recording sessions.

When Worried About You was first recorded, Billy Preston played the piano and the guitar solo was performed by Woody Perkins, who was then under consideration for the lead guitarist spot that had been vacated by Mick Taylor.  By the time the song was finally released and this video was filmed, Ron Wood had joined the band and, in the video, he’s the one who performs Perkins’s solo.  Jagger, meanwhile, stands in for Billy Preston.

This video one of many Tattoo You videos to be directed by Michael Lindsay-Hogg.  Lindsay-Hogg is probably best known for directing Let It Be.

Enjoy!

Music Video of the Day: Things Can Only Get Better by Howard Jones (1985, directed by Nigel Dick)

Posted on by Jedadiah Leland

Without a doubt one of the best pop songs ever written, Things Can Only Get Better was meant to be a gift of positive energy for the people who had purchased Howard Jones’s first album.  There’s no irony or sarcasm in this song, which is one of the thing that makes it so effective.  Howard Jones is telling his fans that things can only get better.  It’s not just humans that Jones’s song has helped through the years.  He also recorded a version in the language of the Sims for The Sims 2.

This video was directed by the prolific Nigel Dick.  The video features Jones trying to get ready for a concert, while Charlie Chaplin and … I guess that’s supposed to be Daniel LaRusso from The Karate Kid, hang out backstage.  Chaplin was played by Jed Hoile, who was a mime who regularly performed as a part of Jones’s stage act.  It was the 80s.  It didn’t have to make sense.

The video was popular on MTV and helped make the song into a hit, though I’d like to think that a song this upbeat and catchy would have been a hit even without the video.  This is another song that I have fond memories of listening to while driving around Vice City.

 

Music Video of the Day: Let Me In By Eddie Money (1989, directed by Nigel Dick)

Posted on by Jedadiah Leland

“You’re listening to the man with no control who loves his rock ‘n roll, the Money Man!”

Let Me In is from Eddie Money’s seventh studio album, Nothing To Lose.  It was the third single released from that album and made it up to number 60 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and number 30 on Billboard′s Album Rock Tracks chart.  The song was later covered by Laura Branigan.

The video was directed by Nigel Dick, who directed music videos for just about everyone.  According to the comments that Dick left under the video on YouTube, this was a one day shoot.  The woman at the typewriter is played by French actress Borovnisa Blervaque, who is also known as both Blair Valk and Blueberry Blervaque.  She also appeared in the videos for Money’s Walk on Water and Richard Marx’s Endless Summer Nights.

Enjoy!

 

Music Video of the Day: Baggy Trousers by Madness (1980, directed by Dave Robinson)

Posted on by Jedadiah Leland

“I remember thinking that Pink Floyd’s Another Brick in the Wall showed a very different school experience to ours. In my school, I generally felt sorry for the teachers who were given a hard time because we were all up to no good. So I tried to redress the balance a little bit with this song. The title refers to the high-waisted Oxford bags we used to wear with Kevin Keegan perms – the worst fashion known to humankind. It became so popular with primary school kids that it resulted in us doing a matinée tour.”

— Suggs, in an interview with Daily Mirror

“‘Baggy Trousers’ was sort of an answer to Pink Floyd, even at that age I thought the line ‘teacher leave the kids, alone’ was a bit strange, sinister – though I think Floyd are a great band. It sounded self-indulgent to be going on how terrible schooldays had been; there was an inverted snobbery about it too. ‘You went to a posh public school? You wanna try going to my school.'”

— Suggs, in an interview with Uncut magazine

This is the video in which saxophonist Lee Thompson “flies” while performing a solo.  The flying, of course, was done through the use of wires and a crane.  It was one of Madness’s early trademark moments and it was also one that was frequently recreated in later performances.

This video was important in the history of Madness.  Filmed at a time when music videos were still considered to be a novelty and most band’s music videos were just clips of the band performing in concert, the video for Baggy Trousers was viewed as being something very different indeed.  It premiered on Top of the Pops and was so popular that the British public started to eagerly anticipate future videos from the band.  Madness proved themselves to be more than capable of delivering what their fans wanted.

Enjoy!

Music Video of the Day: Everything In My Heart by Corey Hart (1985, directed by Rob Quartly)

Posted on by Jedadiah Leland

Yes, this song is from the man who gave us Sunglasses at Night.  Though Everything In My Heart may not be as well-known (or, at the vey least, it has yet to be included on a Grand Theft Auto soundtrack), the song was still a hit in Corey Hart’s native Canada.  It spent a week in the number one spot.

This video was directed by Rob Quartly, who did several videos for a number of acts.  (He also did the video for Sunglasses at Night.)  The performance clips were filmed over two nights at the Orpheum Theater in Boston.  The first night’s clip are in black-an-white while the second night’s clips are in color.  As for the outdoor scenes, they were filmed in the Boston Common.

Enjoy!

Music Video of the Day: Another One Bites The Dust by Queen (1980, directed by Daniella Green)

Posted on by Jedadiah Leland

“And not a minute too soon, baby.”

— Dr. Johnny Fever, American radio personality

Queen wrote two songs that are perfect for any championship sporting event.  We Are The Champions, of course, is what the winners get to hear.  Meanwhile, the losers get Another One Bites The Dust.  

The song was written by Queen’s bassist, John Deacon.  Deacon also ended up playing most of the instruments on the track.  The band was initially reluctant to release the song as a single but changed their mind after Michael Jackson approached them after a show and told them that Another One Bites The Dust was their best song and that they had to release it as a single.  They took Jackson’s advice and the rest is history.

This song came very close to appearing in Rocky III but when the band and the film’s producers couldn’t come to terms, Eye of the Tiger was instead used as the film’s theme song.  It’s interesting to imagine how the scenes of Apollo training Rocky would have played out with Queen playing on the soundtrack.

If you play this song backwards, “another one bite the dust” sounds exactly like “You must smoke marijuana.”  Apparently, this is just a coincidence.  Fortunately, in the 80s, Tipper Gore was too busy going after hair metal to check Queen’s discography for hidden messages.

Enjoy!

Congratulations To The Super Bowl Champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers!

Posted on by Jedadiah Leland

The Super Bowl just ended and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers have won their 2nd Super Bowl!  Tom Brady has won his seventh.  Though the Chiefs scored first with a field goal, there was never really any doubt as to who was going to win the Lombardi Trophy.  As soon as I saw Tom Brady’s face after the Chiefs got those three points, I knew he was going to be unstoppable.

The final score was 31 to 9.  Though the Chiefs may have fallen short, Patrick Mahomes showed that he is the quarterback of the future.  He’s scary good.  He may not have won tonight but he’ll definitely get another chance to win his second super bowl.

For now, though, the Buccaneers are your Super Bowl champions and Tom Brady has added another chapter to an already amazing career.  Congratulations, Tampa Bay!

My Super Bowl Predictions

Posted on by Jedadiah Leland

Since the game is just a few hours away, I guess I should make my prediction as to who is going to win the Super Bowl.

This is exactly the type of Super Bowl that I’ve always wanted to see.  Tom Brady is the best quarterback of his generation and probably the best quarterback of all time.  Patrick Mahomes is the best quarterback of the next generation.  This season, Brady proved that he can lead more than one team to the Super Bowl.  Mahomes seems like he has the same type of talent.  This is the best vs. the best.

I think the Buccaneers are going to win.  I think the Chiefs are going to give them a good game.  It’s not going to be easy for either team.  But I think Tampa Bay is going to win in the end.  The Buccaneers are playing at home, which is going to be a huge advantage.  And I just have an unquestioning faith in the ability of Tom Brady to win Super Bowls.  I know that’s not a very scientific analysis but Tom Brady has a talent that sometimes seems to defy everything that we’ve been led to assume about football.  Tom Brady went from being nearly undrafted to winning 6 Super Bowls.  At an age when most football players have already retired, Brady is still playing like a man in his early 30s.  The rest of the team is going to have to do their part but I still see Tom Brady and the Buccaneers winning this game.

Final prediction:

Buccaneers — 24

Chiefs — 21

The game will be won by a last minute field goal that Tom Brady will probably volunteer to kick himself.  Having won his 7th Super Bowl and led two separate teams to victory, Tom Brady will then win a Nobel Peace Prize and write a memoir that will be turned into an Oscar-winning film.  Brady will then be elected governor of whatever state he decides to run in.  Eventually, President Tom Brady will bring about world peace along with ending climate change and personally overseeing the first manned mission to Mars.  After you win seven Super Bowls, there’s nothing you can’t do.

If the Buccaneers somehow lose, it will mean the winter is coming.

Enjoy the game!

Music Video of the Day: Hold The Line by Toto (1978, directed by Michael Collins)

Posted on by Jedadiah Leland

I used to think that this song was called Borderline.  I thought the chorus was “Borderline!  Love isn’t always unkind!”  Of course, the song actually goes, “Hold the line!  Love isn’t always on time!,” which makes more sense.

When this song was recorded, “Hold the line” meant to stay in place.  In this case, the lyrics were directed at a girl who was waiting for the lead singer to commit.  Back in the days of landline phones, it was also something that you said to someone before putting them on hold so you could take another call.  This song became Toto’s first hits and remains one of the band’s signature songs.  When guitarist Steve Lukather finally disbanded Toto in 2009, he said it was because he no longer felt that he could continue to sing Hold the Line with a straight face.

Even before MTV actually became a thing, Toto was doing music videos.  Their video for Hold the Line is a simple performance piece.  It may not have cost much money but it still helped to bring the song to an audience that might have otherwise missed it.

Enjoy!