Music Video of the Day: Broken Wings by Mr. Mister (1985, directed by Oley Sassone)

Posted on September 29, 2018 by Jedadiah Leland

A man drives through the desert in a Thunderbird. A hawk perches in a church. An unknown couple dance the tango. The beach awaits. Yes, this is the video for Mr. Mister’s Broken Wings.

The video was directed by Oley Sassone, who later directed episodes of Hercules and Xena.. According to Sassone, “The subtext of the story and what I wanted the audience to feel was our hero’s own backstory in his mind. The tango dancers, juxtaposed with the images of him getting lost while driving, tossing a map and instead following the hawk overhead was, symbolically, his own soul, his own voice deep inside telling him to carry on – to lead him to a new path, a new beginning.” Personally, I have always thought this song was about someone struggling to recover from a bad breakup.

Broken Wings is a song that epitomizes the mid-1980s so it’s not surprising that it’s also included on the Vice City: Grand Theft Auto soundtrack. Getting chased the a police helicopter while listening to Mr. Mister is a surreal experience.

Music Video of the Day: Life’s What You Make It by Talk Talk (1985, directed by Tim Pope)

Posted on September 28, 2018 by Jedadiah Leland

Today’s music video of the day is for another song that I discovered while driving around Vice City in a stolen car.

(Several stolen cars, actually.)

Talk Talk’s Life’s What You Make It is one of the most popular songs on Grand Theft Auto: Vice City‘s FLASH FM. It’s the perfect song to listen to when you’re heading out to take down some drug dealers or if you just want to drive along the beach and wonder why Tommy Vercetti never learned how to swim.

The song was a hit both when it was originally released in 1985 and when it re-released in 1990. The video was filmed in Wimbledon Common, London, during the early hours of the day. The video was directed by Tim Pope, who directed videos for almost everyone in the 80s and 90s but is probably best-regarded for his work with The Cure.

Pope also directed the film, The Crow” City of Angels and was the original director for The Last King of Scotland. Though Pope eventually left and was replaced on that project, he was responsible for casting Forest Whitaker as Idi Amin, the role that would eventually win Whitaker an Oscar.

Music Video of the Day: Smuggler’s Blues by Glenn Frey (1985, directed by Duncan Gibbins)

Posted on September 27, 2018 by Jedadiah Leland

Contrary to popular belief, Smuggler’s Blues was not inspired by Miami Vice. Instead, the exact opposite was true.

As Glenn Frey explained in the book, Behind The Hits, he based the song on some of the dealers and smugglers that he met while both a member of the Eagles and during his solo career. “You don’t spend 15 years in rock and roll without coming in contact with entrepreneurs. I’ve wanted to write a song about drug smuggling for a long time, but I’m glad I waited for this one. It says everything I wanted to say on the subject. I’m proud of the lyrics – it’s good journalism.”

The song appeared on Frey’s second solo album and was heard by Miami Vice‘s executive producer, Michael Mann. Mann requested that one of the show’s writers, Miguel Pinero, adapt the song into an episode. That episode, which was named after the song, premiered on February 1st, 1985. The song was played throughout the episode and some of the lyrics were even included in the dialogue. Glenn Frey himself appeared as a pilot. As a result, the episode not only helped to make Smuggler’s Blues a hit but it also launched Frey’s acting career as well.

The video, which was cinematic at a time when many bands were still releasing simple performance clips, was directed by Duncan Gibbins. Gibbins went on to direct a handful of thrillers before his tragic death in 1993. Gibbins was staying in Southern California when a wildfire engulfed the house that he was renting. Gibbins narrowly managed to escape from the house but then saw that a cat had been trapped inside. He went back in and, while he did rescue the cat, he suffered severe burns at a result. Gibbins jumped into house’s swimming pool. not realizing that the burns would allow the chlorine to enter his bloodstream. Gibbins died later that day at Sherman Oaks Hospital, still asking if the cat had survived. (Other than a few minor burns, the cat was unharmed.)

Gibbins work on Smuggler’s Blues is impressive and still influential. The video was honored as “Best Concept Video” at the 1985 MTV Music Video Awards.

Duncan Gibbins, the director of Smuggler’s Blues

Music Video of the Day: Miami Vice Theme by Jan Hammer (1985, directed by ????)

Posted on September 26, 2018 by Jedadiah Leland

Since yesterday’s music video of the day was Crockett’s Theme, it seems only appropriate that today’s music video should be for the Miami Vice Theme.

Brandon Tartikoff revolutionized television when he requested a television show about “MTV cops.” Of course, before Crockett and Tubbs could take on the Miami underworld, they needed a soundtrack that was appropriate for their pastel-and-guns lifestyle. That’s where Jan Hammer and the show’s main instrumental theme came in. When you hear that music, you know it’s all about to go down.

When Miami Vice premiered on NBC in 1984, it was an immediate hit that spawned a successful soundtrack album. As soon as the Miami Vice Theme was released as a single in August of 1985, it shot to the top of the charts. The song’s popularity kept the Miami Vice soundtrack at the top of the album charts for 11 weeks, a record that would stand until 2006, when it was broken by the High School Musical soundtrack.

The video is mostly made up of footage from the show and Jan Hammer performing but it wins some points for being edited to make it appear as if Crockett and Tubbs are attempting to arrest Hammer. Just like the show itself, this video is pure 80s, complete with a close-up of a giant floppy desk and plenty of synthesizer action.

Music Video of the Day: Crockett’s Theme by Jan Hammer (1987, directed by ????)

Posted on September 25, 2018 by Jedadiah Leland

Crockett’s Theme was originally written for the hit NBC series, Miami Vice. As evidenced by the title, it was the theme music for everyone’s favorite cop without socks, Sonny Crockett. The song was released on both the second Miami Vice soundtrack and Jan Hammer’s 1987 album, Escape From Television.

The video has nothing to do with Miami Vice. Instead, it is about a man who cannot choose between his woman and his kaleidoscope. The woman eventually makes the decision for him, not only breaking his kaleidoscope but leaving him. Luckily, Jan Hammer is in the next room, playing a keytar.

Crockett’s Theme was not a hit in the United States but found greater success in Europe. It reached number two in Ireland. More recently, it can be heard on Emotion 98.3 in Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, which was itself heavily influenced by Miami Vice.

Tearing up Vice City while rocking out to Jan Hammer

Music Video of the Day: Our House by Madness (1982, directed by Dave Robinson)

Posted on September 24, 2018 by Jedadiah Leland

There are many houses featured in the music video for Madness’s Our House. While the song is about the day-to-day life of the British working class, the video still offers up glimpses of the Playboy Mansion and Buckingham Palace. However, most of the video was filmed at a terrace house in northwest London.

This song is often mistakenly referred to as being a one-hit wonder. While it may be the band’s best-known and most popular song in the United States, it’s just one of the many hits that Madness had in the UK. First formed in 1976 and still together (though they did temporarily break-up for 6 years, from 1986 to 1992), Madness has had 15 singles reach the UK top ten, one UK number one single, and two numbers ones in Ireland. Over the course of the 80s, Madness spent a record 214 weeks on the UK singles charts.

This video was directed by David Robinson, who directed several other videos for Madness. He also directed videos for Robert Plant, The Belle Stars, Robert Palmer, and Tracey Ullman.

Weekly Trailer Round-Up: Joker, Stan & Ollie, Ralph Breaks The Internet, The Oath, Solis, The Haunting of Hill House, The Twilight Zone

Posted on September 23, 2018 by Jedadiah Leland

Despite the success of Wonder Woman, DC Entertainment has still struggled when it comes to crafting a compelling cinematic universe. The upcoming Joker is not an official part of the DCEU but that could change if the film is a success. An origin story, Joker features Joaquin Phoenix taking on the role of the clown prince of crime. Though it will be over a year before we see the final results, director Todd Phillips has released a teaser, showing us Phoenix in his Joker makeup.

In Stan & Ollie, Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy finally get the biopic treatment, with John C. Reilly in the role of Hardy and Steve Coogan as Laurel.

Along with playing Oliver Hardy, John C. Reilly will also be returning to the role of Ralph in Ralph Breaks The Internet: Wreck-It Ralph 2. The mayhem continues on November 2nd.

In The Oath, all Americans are required to sign a loyalty oath the day after Thanksgiving. A new red band trailer for this dark comedy was released this week.

In Solis, Steven Ogg plays an astronaut who is trapped on a spacecraft that is on a collision course with the sun. That’s not a good place to be.

Just in time for Halloween, Netflix will be reimagining The Haunting of Hill House as a ten-episode television series. The show drops on October 12th.

Finally, The Twilight Zone is returning once again, this time under the direction of Jordan Peele. The CBS All Access show will premiere in 2019.

Other trailers that were released this week:

Music Video of the Day: Jerry Was A Race Car Driver by Primus (1991, directed by ????)

Posted on September 23, 2018 by Jedadiah Leland

The song may be about a drunk race car driver named Jerry and a retired fireman named Captain Pearson but the video is exhibit one of why nachos shouldn’t be left on the sidewalk.

Jerry Was A Race Car Driver was the second single to be release by Primus and it was their first song to receive heavy radio airplay. It eventually peaked at number 23 on 1991’s Modern Rock Tracks. Listen closely and you can hear a sample of Bill Moseley saying, “Dog will hunt!” in Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2.

As for the video, the man buying the nachos is played by Adam Gates while the skateboarder who collides with him is Primus’s guitarist, Larry LaLonde. The performance footage was filmed at a Primus show at Phoenix Theater in Petaluma, California while the race car footage was filmed at the Petaluma speedway. As for the claymation figures in the nachos, they are all creatures who appeared on the cover of Primus’s Sailing the Seas of Cheese album.

Music Video Of The Day: Dr. Feelgood by Mötley Crüe (1989, directed by Wayne Isham)

Posted on September 22, 2018 by Jedadiah Leland

First released in 1989, the album Dr. Feelgood became and remains Mötley Crüe’s best-selling album to date. It was also their most critically acclaimed, in no doubt due to the band’s newly found sobriety. After years of drugs, sex, and debauchery, Dr. Feelgood was Mötley Crüe’s announcement that they could still rock even if they were sober.

Ironically, for an album that was recorded sober, the title track was about drugs. Dr. Feelgood was about a Los Angeles drug dealer. Nikki Sixx, who wrote the song, later told Rolling Stone that the song was based on several different drug dealers that he had done business with. Just two years before Dr. Feelgood became a hit, Sixx had been a notorious junkie who, after a heroin overdose, was actually legally dead for two minutes before a paramedic was able to revive him with two shots of adrenaline.

Along with being a slang term for heroin, Dr. Feelgood was also the nickname of several notorious doctors. Perhaps the most infamous Dr. Feelgood was Max Jacobson, who used to give “miracle tissue regenerator” shots to the rich and famous. His clients included everyone from JFK to Marilyn Monroe to Humphrey Bogart. Robert Freyman, the physician who is though to have inspired The Beatles’s Dr. Robert, was also sometimes called Dr. Feelgood.

Dr. Feelgood became Mötley Crüe’s first and, to date, only gold single in the United States. The video follows the song’s title character as he goes from working the streets to owning a mansion. In a repeat of what happened to Tony Montana, Dr. Feelgood’s own hubris eventually brings him down. As for why Mötley Crüe is performing in a revival tent, it probably just looked cool.

The song spent 109 weeks on the charts after its release and it remains Mötley Crüe’s most popular single.

Trailer Round-Up: Captive State, The Beach Bum, The Boat, Her Smell

Posted on September 16, 2018 by Jedadiah Leland

This week, we have already shared trailers for Fuck You All: The Uwe Boll Story, The Ballad of Buster Scruggs, and The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina.

Here’s the best of the rest:

Captive State is the latest science fiction epic from director Rupert Wyatt. Wyatt previously proved himself with Rise of the Planet of the Apes so I am looking forward to seeing what he can do with the story of an Earth that has been taken over by aliens. Captive State will be released in March of 2019.

Harmony Korine returns to the beach with The Beach Bum. Starring Matthew McConaughey, Zac Efron, and Snoop Dogg, this appears to be an unexpectedly light-hearted film from the mind behind Kids, Gummo, and Spring Breakers. The Beach Bum will be released on March 22nd.