Category Archives: music video

Music Video of the Day: I Wish It Would Rain Down by Phil Collins (1990, directed by Jim Yukich)

Posted on by Jedadiah Leland

This lengthy music video finds Phil Collins playing a drummer-turned-singer in the 1930s. With the help of his friend, a guitar player named Eric (and played, of course, by Eric Clapton), Collins auditions for a demanding theater owner (Jeffrey Tambor). While he auditions, he imagines what his life would be like if he becomes a success. He might even win an Oscar, probably for writing a song for a Disney film.

In the scenes in which Collins is acting opposite of Humphrey Bogart, Bogart is played by Robert Sacchi. Sacchi built an entire career out of his resemblance to Humphrey Bogart. Whenever a sitcom in the 80s or the 90s needed Humphrey Bogart to appear in a dream sequence, the call went out to Sacchi.

This video was directed by Jim Yukich, who directed several videos for Collins. Yukich’s name can be spotted on a clapboard when Collins is imagining what it would be like to be a film star.

Enjoy!

Music Video of the Day: It’s Not Love by Dokken (1986, directed by ????)

Posted on by Jedadiah Leland

Back in the 1980s, you never knew when a glam metal band might suddenly drive by your home or your office, inviting you to rock out to the thundering beat of the band and the vibrato-laden lyrical stylings of a lead singer like Don Dokken.

This video for Dokken’s It’s Not Love has everything:

An opening shot of a hot blonde getting into a truck? Check!

A dancing homeliness man? Check!

The band rocking out as they’re driven through Los Angeles? Check!

Groupies? Check!

A shout-out to pioneering underground radio station KMET 94.7? Double check!

Thank you, Dokken, for doing it the 80s way!

Enjoy!

Music Video of the Day: Chelsea Girl by Simple Minds (1979, directed by ????)

Posted on by Jedadiah Leland

Today’s music video of the day is for Chelsea Girl by Simple Minds.  This video makes good use of animation and split screens.  Though the video actually pre-dates MTV by a year, it’s a good example of the type of videos that would eventually transform MTV into every teenager’s must-watch cable station in the 80s.

Enjoy!

Music Video of the Day: We Will Rock You by Warrant (1992, directed by Jeff Stein)

Posted on by Jedadiah Leland

Remember Gladiator?

No, I’m not talking about the Gladiator with Russell Crowe.  I’m talking about a film that came out in 1992 that starred James Marshall and Cuba Gooding, Jr. as two teenagers who get caught up in the lucrative world of street fighting.  Robert Loggia plays a trainer.

As was typical of films of the era, the soundtrack featured cover tunes by glam metal bands who were suddenly affordable due to the rise of Nirvana and grunge.  This video is for Warant’s cover of Queen’s We Will Rock You.  The video itself is split between footage of Warrant performing and footage taken from the movie.  So, if you’ve forgotten this version of Gladiator, consider this to be a refresher.

Enjoy!

Music Video of the Day: Problem Child by AC↯DC (1976, directed by Russell Mulcahy)

Posted on by Jedadiah Leland

Here’s the thing about AC/DC.

When it came to music videos, they’ve never needed to do anything fancy.  They’re not one of those bands that needs a bunch of bells and whistles to look impressive.  All they have to do is come out on stage and rock.  Their best music videos are usually very simple performance clips, like this one.

This video was filmed at the Sidney Myer Music Bowl in Melbourne, Australia.  If it looks rough, that’s because it was supposed to be a part of a large concert film but the film’s backers ran out of money before any major post-production work could be done.  The rough look, however, works for AC/DC.  They are a band that could handle looking rough.

Russell Mulchay, of course, went on to direct multiple videos for Duran Duran, along with Highlander.

Enjoy!

Music Video Of The Day: Funk Dat by Sagat (1994, directed by Kurt and Bart)

Posted on by Jedadiah Leland

Today’s music video of the day comes from the Baltimore-born rapper and producer, Sagat.

There’s actually two versions of this song.  The first one was called Fuk Dat and was a list of things that annoyed Sagat in ’93 and which are still annoying today.  That version became a club hit but, when it was time to release the song commercially, it was obvious that the song would need a title that wouldn’t get radio stations fined by the FCC.  Hence, Fuk Dat became the slightly cleaner Funk Dat.

The music video for Funk Dat was filmed on the streets of New York.  The video features not only Sagat but also a really cool kid who has it up to here with the radio playing the same five songs over and over again.  This video achieved perhaps its greatest exposure when it was featured on an episode of Beavis and Butthead.

Enjoy!

Music Video of the Day: Life’s What You Make It by Talk Talk (1985, directed by Tim Pope)

Posted on by Jedadiah Leland

Today’s music video of the day is for another song that I discovered while driving around Vice City in a stolen car.

(Several stolen cars, actually.)

Talk Talk’s Life’s What You Make It is one of the most popular songs on Grand Theft Auto: Vice City‘s FLASH FM.  It’s the perfect song to listen to when you’re heading out to take down some drug dealers or if you just want to drive along the beach and wonder why Tommy Vercetti never learned how to swim.

The song was a hit both when it was originally released in 1985 and when it re-released in 1990.  The video was filmed in Wimbledon Common, London, during the early hours of the day.  The video was directed by Tim Pope, who directed videos for almost everyone in the 80s and 90s but is probably best-regarded for his work with The Cure.

Pope also directed the film, The Crow” City of Angels and was the original director for The Last King of Scotland.  Though Pope eventually left and was replaced on that project, he was responsible for casting Forest Whitaker as Idi Amin, the role that would eventually win Whitaker an Oscar.

Enjoy!