Today’s song of the day comes from Ennio Morricone’s score for Once Upon A Time In The West.
RIP, Claudia Cardinale.
Category Archives: Music Review
Music Video of the Year: Can’t Turn Back The Years by Phil Collins (1994, directed by Jim Yukich)
This music video was directed by Jim Yukich, who is one of those directors who seems to have directed a video for everyone. If you have ever had a hit song or top-selling album, Jim Yukich probably directed a music video for you. He directed a lot of videos for both Genesis and Phil Collins as a solo act. But Yukich also directed videos for everyone from Iron Maiden to David Bowie, Michael Jackson, Huey Lewis, and David Hasselhoff. Going for Maiden to Hasselhoff, that’s a journey!
This song received lukewarm reviews when it was first released but, as is this case with much of Collins’s work, it has since been favorably reevaluated.
Enjoy!
Song of the Day: Sweetly, Oh Sweetly by Riz Ortolani and Diana Corsini
Today’s song of the day comes from the soundtrack of Ruggeo Deodato’s The House On The Edge of the Park. Composed by Riz Ortolani and sung by Diana Corsini, Sweetly Oh Sweetly may sound like an innocent song but its use in Deodato’s controversial film is anything but that.
Music Video of the Day: Kickstart My Heart by Mötley Crüe (1989, directed by Wayne Isham)
Today’s music video of the day was filmed at Hollywood’s famed Whisky a Go Go, while Mötley Crüe was preparing to embark on their tour promoting Dr. Feelgood. In the 80s, you knew you had made it big if Sam Kinison was your chauffeur.
This video was directed by Wayne Isham, who directed videos for practically everyone. Everyone who was anyone in the music biz worked with Wayne Isham at least once.
Enjoy!
Song of the Day: Face On by John Powell
Since today is John Woo’s birthday, it only feels appropriate that today’s song of the day should come from John Powell’s score for Face/Off.
Music Video of the Day: Hold Me Now by Thompson Twins (1983, directed by Rupert James)
Today’s music video of the day is for a song that epitomizes the 80s for a lot of people. I don’t know how many John Hughes’s film featured Hold Me Now but it seems like everyone one of them should have. This was not only the group’s first big hit but the video was a popular one in the early years of MTV. This was one of those videos that proved that even a performance clip could be more than just a video of the band on stage.
Enjoy!
Music Video of the Day: Rock ‘N’ Roll Doctor by Black Sabbath (1976, directed by ????)
I have no idea who directed this or where it was filmed. The Black Sabbath YouTube channel lists this as being the official music video for Rock ‘N’ Roll Heaven and the IMDb says that the video was released in 1976 so that’s what I’m going with. I’m going to assume that this video was filmed at one of the American stops during the first part of the Technical Ecstasy Tour.
Like most 70s music videos, this is a pretty basic performance clip. The video lets the band do the talking, as it were.
Enjoy!
Music Video of the Day: So Alive by Love and Rockets (1989, directed by Howard Greenhalgh)
The music video for So Alive is appreciated by aficionados of long legs everywhere.
The video was the first to be directed by Howard Greenhalgh, who would later direct the video for Soundgarden’s Black Hole Sun.
Music Video of the Day: Send Me An Angel by Scorpions (1991, directed by Meiert Avis)
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.
Meiert Avis is one of those directors who has worked with everyone who is anyone. He directed many of U2’s early, acclaimed music videos. He later frequently worked with Chris Cornell and the Pretty Reckless and he directed the feature film Far From Home.
Enjoy!
Music Video Of The Day: Inside Out by XYZ (1989, directed by Craig Morse)
Today’s music video of the day features France’s XYZ rocking out in the desert, with the help of some hard-working models.
XYZ was formed in 1978 and, after ten years of playing Europe, New York, and Los Angeles, they finally got a record contract in 1989. The self-titled album was produced by Don Dokken who later said that the experience was difficult because the band’s lead singer had a thick French accent and the other members of the band was incapable of vocally harmonizing with him. This led to Dokken singing backing vocals for most the songs, including this one.
The video was directed by Craig Morse. On the IMDb, this is the only music video that he is credited with directing. Of course, the IMDb often lists music videos without crediting a director so it’s possible that Morse might have a few more videos to his name. Or he might just be a rare example of a one-and-done music video director.
This single was successful enough to XYZ went on tour with Ted Nugent. The band, however, broke up shortly afterwards.
Enjoy!
Through the Shattered Lens 