Category Archives: Music Review

Music Video of the Day: Somewhere Down The Crazy River by Robbie Robertson (1988, directed by Martin Scorsese)

Posted on by Jedadiah Leland

Rest in Peace, Robbie Robertson.

This video was directed by Martin Scorsese, who was frequently described as being one of 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.

Music Video of the Day: (Flesh & Blood) Sacrifice by Poison (1991, directed by Marty Callner)

Posted on by Jedadiah Leland

There some videos that you pick for video of the day because you really like the song or the band or even the director.  There are other videos that you pick because it’s midnight and you suddenly realize that you still haven’t picked one yet.  The videos that fall into the latter category usually feature competent bands in relatively simple performance clips.

(Flesh & Blood) Sacrifice was one of the singles come off of Poison’s third studio album, Flesh & Blood.  This album was the first part of Poison’s attempt to move away from their hair metal image and embrace more serious themes.  It turned out to be one of their best-selling albums, even though the band itself still found itself soon replaced on MTV by groups like Nirvana and Pearl Jam.

This music video was directed by Marty Callner, who was one of those directors who worked with just about everyone.  If you were famous, you worked with Marty Callner.

Enjoy!

Music Video of the Day: Inertia by Bruce Dickinson (1996, directed by Bruce Dickinson)

Posted on by Jedadiah Leland

Today is Bruce Dickinson’s birthday so today’s music video of the day is not only for a song that Dickinson wrote and recorded but also for a video that Dickinson himself directed.  Inertia appears on Dickinson’s third solo album, 1996’s Skunkworks.  Though Inertia was not released as a single, it did get its very own music video.

Enjoy!

Music Video of the Day: Baby, You’re So Strange by Icehouse (1986, directed by ????)

Posted on by Jedadiah Leland

And there’s nothing wrong with that!  The song is about a man trying to figure out what is going on in his girlfriend’s head.  Sometimes, she seems like he wants him to come right over and sometimes, she acts like she doesn’t even know him.  Could it be another man?  Or could the lead singer be the other man?  It’s so strange.

Baby, You’re So Strange was the second single and video to be released off of Icehouse’s fourth studio album, Measure by Measure.  Icehouse was originally a band called Flowers but they were forced to change their name after a U.S. band with the same name threatened legal action.  They went with Icehouse because it was also the name of their second album.

Enjoy!

Music Video of the Day: Ain’t Nothing But A House Party by Phil Fearon (1986, directed by ????)

Posted on by Jedadiah Leland

Originally recorded by The Showstoppers in 1967, Ain’t Nothing But A House Party has been covered by many artists, from the J. Geils Band to Cliff Richard.  Phil Fearon released his take on the song in 1986 and promoted it with today’s energetic music video of the day.

Unfortunately, Fearon’s cover of the song did not reach the heights of popularity as the version done by the J. Geils Band.  Fearon’s version peaked at number 60 on the UK charts while reaching number 80 on the US charts.  I still prefer what Phil Fearon did with the song.

Enjoy!

Music Video of the Day: War Ensemble by Slayer (1990, directed by ????)

Posted on by Jedadiah Leland

The video for Slayer’s War Ensemble, which was meant to be the band’s first ever music video, was shot at Wembley Stadium on October 14th, 1990.  At first, the plan was for Slayer to mime playing the song along to the studio track.  When the 12,000 fans who had shown up for the shoot started to boo the plan, Slayer instead decided to play the song live but to try to stick as close to the studio version as possible.  The band did just that.

Ironically, just a few months later, this fiercely anti-war song would reportedly be a favorite of soldiers fighting in Operation Desert Storm.

Enjoy!

Music Video of the Day: The Devil You Know by Anthrax (2012, directed by ????)

Posted on by Jedadiah Leland

I remember that, when this single was first released, there was an assumption that the song was about the supernatural but Anthrax themselves have said that the song is actually about World War II and sung from the point of view of a veteran, hence the lyric that “My kind won’t be seen again.”

The music video provides a view of both the band’s fans and Anthrax behind-the-scenes, promoting their tenth studio album, Worship Songs, preparing to perform, and performing on stage.  As with many heavy metal videos, this video puts the emphasis on the work that goes into the performance.

Enjoy!

Music Video of the Day: Run To You by Bryan Adams (1984, directed by Steve Barron)

Posted on by Jedadiah Leland

In this video, Bryan Adams promises “the other woman” that he will never stop running to her even though he loves his wife and knows that she deserves better.  Run To You is one of the best “obsession” songs of the 80s.

The video, which was shot in London and Los Angeles, features Adams singing in both the rain and on the beach and as the seasons changed, haunted by his obsession with his mistress.  Also appearing in the video is actress Lysette Anthony, who has previous starred in Krull before appearing as the subject of Adams’s obsession.

This video was directed by Steve Barron, who is another one of those directors who worked with everyone who was anyone.

Enjoy!