Music Video of the Day: Going Back To Cali by LL Cool J (1988, directed by Rick Menello)


Today is LL Cool J’s birthday.

Going Back to Cali was a song that originally appeared on the Less Than Zero soundtrack.  Supposedly, the song is as much about producer Rick Rubin’s ambivalence towards Los Angeles as it is about LL Cool J’s feelings towards the city.

The video was directed by Ric Menello, who best-known for his work with the Beastie Brothers and for his later collaborations with director James Gray.  One of the dancers is MTV VJ Martha Quinn, who was dating the video’s cinematographer at the time.

Enjoy!

Music Video of the Day: The Golden Path by The Chemical Brothers, featuring Wayne Coyne (2003, dir by Chris Milk)


Today, the Shattered Lens wishes a happy birthday to the Flaming Lips’s Wayne Coyne!  Our music video of the day is for The Golden Path, his classic collaboration with The Chemical Brothers.

That is Fran Kranz, who acted in The Cabin In The Woods and who directed the brilliant Mass, playing the lead character.

Enjoy!

Music Video of the Day: Touch of Grey by Grateful Dead (1987, directed by Gary Gutierrez)


Rest in Peace to Bob Weir.  A founding member of the Grateful Dead, Weir passed away yesterday at the age of 78.

Today’s music video of the day was also the Grateful Dead’s first.  Touch of Grey introduced the Dead to the MTV generation and caused a notable rise in the band’s popularity.  The shots of the audience were taken from a Dead show in Monterey, California.  The scenes with marionettes were filmed at Laguna Seca Raceway.  Director Gary Gutierrez was a longtime associate of the band who had previously created the animation sequences for The Grateful Dead Movie.

Enjoy!

Music Video of the Day: One More Time by Rod Stewart (2021, directed by ????)


Today is Rod Stewart’s 81st  birthday and today’s music video of the day is One More Time, taken from his 32nd studio album, The Tears of Hercules.  Appearing with Stewart in this video are his actual backup singers, Amanda Miller, Holly Brewer, and Becca Kotte.

Rod Stewart holds the record for being the artist featured most frequently during MTV’s first day of broadcast.  On August 1st, 1981, MTV featured eleven of his videos.

Enjoy!