Today is John Lydon’s 64th birthday so today’s music video of the day features him at his best.
For the record, John Lydon (or Johnny Rotten, as he was known when he was the Sex Pistols’s lead singer) is not an anarchist. The famous lyrics that start off Anarchy in the U.K, came about because “I am an anarchiste” was the best rhyme that Lydon could come up with for “I am an Antichrist.” Lydon has described anarchism as being “mind games for the middle class.” Lydon’s right, of course.
Remarkable, John Lydon has gone from being regarded as a symbol of everything that was wrong with British youth (a representation of what the Daily Mail famously called “The Filth and the Fury” after drummer Paul Cook called Simon Grundy a “fucking rotter” on national television) to being a national treasure. Songs that once scandalized Britain are now unofficial anthems and, remarkably, Lydon’s gone from hated to beloved without changing a thing about his outlook or even his attitude. Listening to an interview with Lydon from the Sex Pistols-era is not that much different from listening to an interview that Lydon may have given last month. He may now be doing butter commercials and appearing on I’m A Celebrity! Get Me Out Of Here! but he remains that same Johnny Rotten who once scared the Hell out of anyone with a pension.
When these two fashionably-clad gangs had a disagreement in the 1980s, they didn’t settle things with violence. Well, okay — they probably did sometimes. In fact, things get a little bit heated in this video and I’m sure some people would argue that the only reason things didn’t get bad (I mean like, West Side Story bad) is because everyone knew that they were being filmed for prosperity.
Anyway, instead of having a rumble (which may sound silly but is still a lot of fun to say), they had a skate-off! And then they all jumped up into the air! Yay! Everyone’s a winner even though we know that can’t be true because, just by definition, no one can win unless someone else loses. That’s just the way it goes.
Anyway, this is a fun little video and all the gang members look crazy hot with their skateboards and their headbands and their whole neon attitude. This video was shot in Venice Beach and the director was Peter Falloon, who apparently directed a lot of skating videos back in the 80s. My favorite thing about this video is that it really does look like something that was taken off of a crappy VHS tape. You can even tell when the tape’s owner rewound certain scenes and then watched them over and over again.
Anyway, what more can I say about this one? It’s fun and really, for me, that’ the most important thing about any music video. Did I enjoy watching it? Did I actually force myself to concentrate on only doing one thing for three minute so that I could enjoy the video? In this case, the answer is yes.
Actually, I don’t know if that interpretation is correct or not. This seems to be a video that’s open to multiple interpretations. I guess a lot of how you react to it will depend on how you feel about casinos in general. I find casinos to be depressing places, where people inevitably gamble away their futures while the local Elvis impersonator begs someone to drop a quarter in his guitar case. Other people tend to see casinos as being a place where anyone can strike it big, if they just have the right combination of luck and skill. I’m not sure if this video depicts someone getting lucky or cheating. Maybe it’s a little of both.
Myself, I’ve never been much of a gambler. For instance, I would never be able to do well at poker because I would constantly be asking the person sitting next to me if I had a good hand or not. Blackjack is a lot more easier to play since all you have to do is just try not to go over 21. Actually, if I ever did go on a gambling spree, I’d probably just hit the slot machines. Or maybe the roulette wheel.
To be honest, whenever I hear the word “casino,” I think about Robert De Niro critiquing the blueberry muffins in the Martin Scorsese film of the same name. The Ace Rothstein Dancers were my favorite part of that movie and I think they would appreciate this song because you can dance to it.
This video has a 70s-version-of-the-future feel to it, which I like. If Logan’s Run had taken place in a casino, it probably would have looked a lot like Casino Queen.
The year was 1995 and, in the opinion of many, American rock had gone from being about celebrating having a good time to whining about everything. Among those who felt that way was David Wyndorf, the lead vocalist of Monster Magnet. Negasonic Teenage Warhead was Wyndorf’s answer to Nirvana and all of the grunge bands that Wyndorf felt had made rock “whiny.”
The song’s lyrics not only attacked negative rock stars but it also satirized the purposefully obscure lyrics of many grunge groups. The song even ends with a chorus of “yeahs,” which is about as obvious a dig at Nirvana as you could hope to find. What’s interesting is that Wyndorf’s lyrics remind me of some of the songs that Bush would eventually release. The only difference in David Wyndorf was being satirical whereas Bush actually expected you to take their act seriously.
Saw your face last night on the tube Strong fine snake in a sucker’s vacuum 15 clicks and it’s time to say bye 15 trips and a love that won’t die
Me and myself killed a world today Me and myself got a world to save Broadcast dead revolution don’t pay Strapped up freaks on the Lazarus plane
I can tell just by the climate, and I can tell just by the style I was born and raised on Venus and I may be here a while Cause every supersonic jerk off who plugs into the game Is just like every subatomic genius who just invented pain
I will deny you I will deny you baby I will deny you I will deny you baby I will deny you I will deny you baby I will deny you I will deny you baby Yeah yeah, yeah, wow
Oh baby, I’m lazy Oh baby, introduce me to God Oh baby, I’m lady Oh baby, set a place for the dog, for the dog
Yeah, Oh
Shut me off ’cause I go crazy with this planet in my hands Shut me off ’cause I go crazy with this planet in my hands Shut me off ’cause I go crazy with this planet in my hands Shut me off ’cause I go crazy with this planet in my hands
I can tell just by the climate, and I can tell just by the style I was born and raised on Venus and I may be here a while Cause every supersonic jerk off who plugs into the game Is just like every subatomic genius who just invented pain
I will deny you I will deny you baby I will deny you I will deny you baby I will deny you I will deny you baby I will deny you I will deny you baby
The video was directed by a very familiar name. Today, Gore Verbinski is probably best known for directing the first three Pirates of the Caribbean films, The Ring, and Rango. Like many feature directors, he got his start doing music videos. The music video for Negasonic Teenage Warhead finds each member of Monster Magnet on their very own asteroid. Eventually, in a scene that reminds me of something from Heavy Metal, they all end up in a car, driving through space.
Among this song’s fans was Grant Morrison who has admitted that, when he needed a name for the newest member of the X-Men, he borrowed this song’s title.
When I first watched this video, it took me a while to figure what it was reminding me of. I finally realized that the film was making me think of an 80s zombie film called The Dead Pit, in which an amnesia victim finds herself locked up in a mental hospital that is so overrun by zombies.
Visually, the video really does have a retro feel to it. With the grainy cinematography and the relatively small group of patients, it’s easy to imagine that this video could be an old Italian or French horror film from the early 80s. One could easily imagine bits and pieces of the video appearing in one of Lucio Fulci’s post-Zombi, pre-Manhattan Baby films or perhaps one of the films that Jean Rollin did around the time that he directed The Night of the Hunted. For a while there, psych wards were a very popular film setting. I imagine that had something to do with the success of One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest.
Well, maybe not everything. This video, for instance, suggests that some things have changed but that it might not have been as easy a change as the lyrics suggest. The thing I like about this video is that, even though the subject matter is change, it still has this weird retro feel. So, it’s like, “Everything’s changed …. back!”
I do have to say, though, things have certainly changed for me over the past few years. I was just thinking about it earlier today. Way back in 2010, when I first started writing for this site, I was a neurotic and self-destructive and maybe just a little bit insecure. I was one of those people who would specifically start arguments and fights with people just so I could revel in the drama. It was my way of acting out at the world, largely because I was just in a really angry place at the time.
But the years have passed and the times have changed and I’m in a much better place today. A lot of it, I know, had to do with just growing up and discovering that being an immature brat wasn’t as fulfilling (or as cute) as I had been led to believe. A lot of it had to do with writing for this site and discovering that I didn’t have to act out to get attention. I could just state my opinions and make my arguments and people would actually respond. That was a big lesson for me and it played a big role in me gaining the confidence necessary to become a …. well, I wouldn’t say a grown-up. I still don’t consider myself to be a grown-up. I’ve still got a lot of maturing to do. But I’m definitely a much happier person today than I was in 2009.
So remember! Be supportive of the writers and film reviewers in your life because, in a way, you’re helping them become better people.
Let us all come together now to wish a happy 72nd birthday to John Carpenter!
John Carpenter is not only one of the greatest horror and sci-fi directors of all time, he’s also an acclaimed composer. We all know, of course, that he was responsible for the iconic theme song of Halloween. However, he’s also released two albums of his own original, non-soundtrack music, Lost Themes and Lost Themes II.Utopian Facade, today’s music video of the day, is the last track on Lost Themes II.
This video features a running android. As you might be able to guess, utopia isn’t quite as utopian as it has perhaps been advertised to have been. The android is played by Erika Angel while Stuart Morales is credited as playing “Avatar.”
It’s a very atmospheric piece of music and proof that John Carpenter is as brilliant a musician as he is a filmmaker.
Tuesday was a very, very long day and you’ll have to excuse me if my brain is a little bit flat right now.
Instead of my usual explanation about why I like the apocalyptic tone of this video, I’m just going to share it and wish a happy birthday to the one and only Skrillex. Sonny John Moore, the music genius who is also known as Skrillex and whose music has been a consistent soundtrack to every worthwhile event of the past 16 years, is 32 years old today!
I’m also going to point out that this song features the amazing Alvin Risk. Love you, Alvin!
I’m also going to wish all of you a good and happy Wednesday! I’m about to pass out here but hopefully, I will wake up in a few hours and I’ll be prepared to basically conquer Wednesday and use it as a base camp for the rest of the week. Sorry if my metaphors are lacking in coherence. I haven’t had much sleep.
And, finally, I’m going to invite all of you to …. enjoy!
In just a few hours, the Oscar nominations will be announced. Is that in any way connected to the fact that today’s music video of the day is for a song called Paid For The Award?
Gee, Lisa Marie — what are you saying about our beloved Oscars!?
Calm down. I’m not saying anything. Though I may not often agree with the Academy, I don’t think they’ve been bribed or anything like that. To be honest, this song — or at least the title of this song — is probably more applicable to the Golden Globes than to the Oscars. Seriously, everyone knows that you can, at the very least, buy a Golden Globe nomination. Remember when The Tourist picked up all those nominations a few years ago? And seriously, when was the last time you even remembered that movie existed?
(I’m not really sure what the going rate for a Golden Globe nomination would be. I imagine that it’s at least somewhat expensive. I mean, I guess if I sold all of Dazzling Erin’s antique cameras and maybe some of the old Madame Alexandra dolls that we have lying around here, I might be able to afford one but it would probably be for one of the minor ones, like Best Comedy or Musical Film. But, unfortunately, I already missed my chance to bribe the Hollywood Foreign Press into nominating Cats. I missed that opportunity and let that be a lesson to you all. You miss all of the shots that you don’t pay for. Or something. I don’t know. It’s a sports metaphor and sports is a metaphor for life or something like that.)
But anyway, I like this song. You can dance to it. The video’s pretty simple but that’s okay. Not every video needs to be a huge production. Sometimes, the only thing that I video needs to do is get you in the right mood and this video does that.
Through the Shattered Lens 