Conceived and performed by Andy Summers, the guitarist for the Police, 2010 was a re-imagining of Also Sprach Zarathustra and was included as part of the soundtrack of the 1984 film, 2010: The Year We Make Contact. Though the song itself did not appear in the film, a music video featuring scenes from 2010 was put together for the song and was occasionally played on MTV.
Enjoy!
Today’s music video of the day is an early one from Van Halen. Coming from 1981, this video was a product of the time when videos were usually performance clips that focused on showing off the skills of the musicians.
As with all of the early Van Halen videos, this one balances the technical skills and talent of Eddie Van Halen with David Lee Roth’s sense of showmanship. David Lee Roth and Van Halen had their conflicts but they were always at their best when they were performing together.
Enjoy!
Today’s music video of the day was directed by the late, great William Friedkin, who was born 91 years ago today.
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This video was directed by Martin Scorsese, who was frequently described as being one of Robbie Robertson’s best friends. (Robertson is also credited as having been the music supervisor for many of Scorsese’s films.) This was Scorsese’s second music video to direct, following Michael Jackson’s Bad.
Appearing with Robertson in the video is Maria McKee, the singer who may best known for “If Love Is A Red Dress (Hang Me In Rags),” which appeared on the Pulp Fiction soundtrack.
Tim Curry, RIP.
RIP, Dolly Parton.
The video for this fan favorite was shot around what was then West Berlin. (This was before the wall came down.) Clive Richardson had also directed the video for Just Can’t Get Enough and the band turned to him, after previously working with Julian Temple, because they felt that Richardson could visually toughen up their image and help the band move away from the more self-consciously artsy style that Julian Temple had attempted to go with. The end result was a video that quickly went into regular rotation on MTV and a song that proved to be one of Depeche Mode’s most enduring hits.
Enjoy!
Today, we give a shoutout to Wales with the music video for Spirit of 76, which was written and performed by the Welsh band, The Alarm. In the 80s, The Alarm earned an international fanbase by opening for U2 and, later, Bob Dylan. Just as U2 will always be associated with Ireland, The Alarm will always be associated with Wales. The band is still together and still proudly Wlesh.
This video was directed by Nick Morris, who was one of the busiest music directors of the 80s and the 90s. He also did music videos for Cinderalla, Toto, The Rainmakers, Jennifer Rush, Europe, Eddie Money, Cliff Richard, Warren, and Radiohead among others.
Enjoy!
Lightning Strikes was one of Aerosmith’s first videos to be created for MTV. (It was also their only single to chart during the Jimmy Crespo years.) The video switches back and forth from Aerosmith performing in a club and Aerosmith in a hallway, about to go to battle with a bunch melons.
Director Arnold Levine also directed the video for Aerosmith’s Chiquita, as well as videos for Cheap Trick and REO Speedwagon.
Enjoy!
Twist and Shout is a song that has been a hit for a lot of artists. Rodney Dangerfield took a swing at it 1987, performing the song for the Back to School soundtrack. The video is largely made up of scenes from Back to School and introduced a whole generation of MTV viewers to not only Rodney Dangerfield but also Sally Kellerman, Burt Young, and Ned Beatty. They probably already knew Sam Kinison.
Enjoy!
Through the Shattered Lens 