Category Archives: Music Review

Music Video of the Day: St. Elmo’s Fire (Man in Motion) by John Parr (1986, directed by Kort Falkenberg III)

Posted on by Jedadiah Leland

Though the song was specifically written for the film, St. Elmo’s Fire, Man in Motion was actually inspired by a news report that singer John Parr and composer David Foster saw about Rick Hansen, a paralyzed Canadian athlete was who going around the world in his wheelchair and rising money and awareness for spinal injury charities.

The Canadian version of this video features footage of Rick Hansen.  However, the American version is devoted to promoting the film that the song was written for.  The cast of St. Elmo’s Fire looks through the windows at the burned out set of the St. Elmo’s Bar.  Because Parr only had a limited availability before he had to return to the UK, this video was shot in one night.

Enjoy!

Music Video of the Day: Outside by Staind (2001, directed by Nigel Dick)

Posted on by Jedadiah Leland

This is the version of Outside that does not feature Fred Durst providing “backup.”

I prefer the version without Durst but, in all fairness, they’re both good.  The version that Aaron Lewis performed during the Family Values tour was still a work in progress and Durst wasn’t lying when he said that he was feeling those lighters.  The version that Staind later released as a single is the final version of the song.  It’s the way the song was meant to be heard.

The music video was directed by Nigel Dick.  If you’re a successful musician, Nigel Dick is eventually going to direct a video for you.  That’s just the way it works.

Enjoy!

Music Video Of Day: Another Rainy Night With You by Queensryche (1993, directed by Mary Lambert)

Posted on by Jedadiah Leland

There are actually two music videos for this song by Queensryche.  The first one was a black-and-white version that featured a ghostly bride.  I shared that one last week.  The second one is the one that I’m sharing today, which features a woman floating space and the band performing in front of various city scenes.

This version of directed by Mary Lambert, of Pet Semetary fame.

Enjoy!

Music Video of the Day: Don’t Change by INXS (1982, directed by Scott Hicks)

Posted on by Jedadiah Leland

Today’s music video of the day is for INXS’s Don’t Change, from their third album, Shabooh Shoobah.  Though INXS had been around for a while and had released two previous albums before releasing Shabooh Shoobah, Don’t Change is often described as the song that introduced the band to the world outside of Australia.

The song’s video was originally envisioned as featuring the band performing on airport runway.  However, due a bad weather, the band was instead forced to film and perform the song in a nearby hangar.  The video was directed by Scott Hicks, who would later go on to direct Geoffrey Rush to his first Oscar in 1996’s Shine.

Enjoy!

Music Video of the Day: Room For One More by Anthrax (1993, directed by ????)

Posted on by Jedadiah Leland

The video below features flashing lights and similar visual effects that may be difficult for viewers with photosensitive epilepsy so, as always, watch it at your own discretion.

This music video features Anthrax doing what they did best, rocking it.  Like many of the older metal bands, Anthrax usually kept it simple when it came to their music videos.  Instead of going for gimmicks or a lot of bells and whistles, they just picked up their instruments and played as fast and as loud as they could.  It’s not a bad approach.  Though this video does feature clips of cattle and construction, it still puts the band front and center.

The song was recorded and this music video was shot during the time that John Bush was lead singer of the band, replacing Joey Belladonna after the latter was fired.  Belladonna, of course, would later rejoin the band.

Who directed this?  I have no idea.  Neither does the imdb or the imvdb.

Enjoy!

Music Video of the Day: Send Me An Angel by Scorpions (1991, directed by ????)

Posted on by Jedadiah Leland

This music video from the German group Scorpions has an old west theme that fits the song well.  Send Me An Angel is Scorpions at their most soulful and showed audiences outside of Germany that the band was capable of much more than just singing about being rocking you like a hurricane.

This song was included on Scorpions’s 11th studio album, Crazy World.  It was the 4th and final single to be released off the album and it went on to become one of Crazy World‘s signature tunes.  While the song peaked at #44 at the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and at #22 in the UK, it was a huge hit for the band in the rest of Europe.  It was especially popular in Belgium, proving once again that Belgians just have better taste in music than the rest of the world.

Enjoy!

Music Video of the Day: Playground Twist by Siouxsie and the Banshees (1979, directed by Clive Richardson)

Posted on by Jedadiah Leland

In this music video for Playground Twist, Siouxsie and the Banshees show that, despite it’s fearsome reputation, punk rock could be just as fun as any school playground song.  The children who appeared in this video probably had no idea that they were dancing with the woman who Bill Grundy was attempting to hit upon when Steve Jones of the Sex Pistol called him a “dirty sod” on live British television.  The British tabloids labeled this exchange and the entire interview between Grundy and the Sex Pistols as being “the filth and the fury.”

This was one of several videos that Clive Richardson did for Siouxsie and the Banshees.  He also directed videos for several other groups that were a prominent part of the New Wave scene, including Depeche Mode, Tears for Fears, and Adam and the Ants.

Enjoy!

Music Video of the Day: Take This Job And Shove It by Dead Kennedys (1984, directed by ????)

Posted on by Jedadiah Leland

If this song isn’t the unofficial anthem on Labor Day, it should be.

Of course, Take This Job And Shove It is best known as a country song.  The most popular version of the song was performed by Johnny Paycheck and it spoke to the frustrations of everyone who was stuck in a bad job and who dreamed of just telling the foreman or the shift manager to go to Hell.  The song was Paycheck’s biggest hit and it was subsequently performed by many artists, some country and some not.  Dead Kennedys covered the song and, as seen in this 1984 performance at Olympics Auditorium, they added their own spin to the song.

Enjoy!

Music Video of the Day: Bois Lie by Avril Lavigne, feat. Machine Gun Kelly (2022, dir by Nathan James)

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Yay!  Avril’s back!  The song is called Bois Lie and it’s about how boys lie.  But Machine Gun Kelly says that girls lie too.  One good thing about being a star is that you can still get away with singing songs like this even when you’re nearly 40.

As for this video, it was shot during Machine Gun Kelly’s Mainstream Sellout Tour.  This is one of those “look how much fun we have on tour” videos.  To be honest, both the song and the video have kind of a Degrassi feel to it.  So, if you ever wondered what it was like when Ashley and Craig went on tour together, this video is probably a good indication.  Of course, I imagine Ashley and Craig would end the performance by having a massive fight onstage and breaking up every night.

Enjoy!

Music Video of the Day: A Farewell to Kings by Rush (1977, directed by ????)

Posted on by Jedadiah Leland

To quote Neil Peart, this song “seems to encapsulate everything that we want Rush to represent.”  The song is about dealing with the hypocrisy and finding your own truth, away from the demands of the establishment and the so-called “kings” who think that it is their place to tell others how to live their lives and what to believe.

Both the song and the music video are filled with imagery that harkens back to the Middle Ages, a reminder that hypocrites have always been there and they always will be but that the people will always find a way to be free.

Enjoy!