Category Archives: music video

Music Video of the Day: Kids in America by Kim Wilde (1981, directed by Brian Grant)

Posted on by Jedadiah Leland

Happy Independence Day, America!

For today’s music video of the day, we have Kim Wilde performing Kids in America.  This was her first single and one of two of Wilde’s singles to chart in the United States, the other one being her cover of The Supremes’s You Keep Me Hangin’ On.   (Wilde found more success in her home country, with 25 singles charting on the UK charts.) The song was written by Wilde’s father and her older brother, both of whom were fascinated by American youth culture.

The video, which finds Kim Wilde literally looking out a “dirty old window,” was directed by Brian Grant, who was one of the busiest music video directors of the 1980s.  He also did videos for The Human League, Squeeze, Queen, and Tina Turner.

Myself, I will always associate this song with stealing cars in Vice City.

The only thing better than stealing a golf cart is stealing a golf cart while listening to Kim Wilde sing Kids in America!

Enjoy!

Music Video of the Day: Down by the Water by PJ Harvey (1995, directed by Maria Mochnacz)

Posted on by Jedadiah Leland

“It’s a song I didn’t want to put a label on too much, like this isn’t a song about some woman drowning her baby. To be quite honest, I don’t really know what it is for me, myself, yet – which I don’t mind because I’d much rather leave it for other people to do what they want with anyway.”

— PJ Harvey on Down By The Water

Despite the above quote, it is generally accepted that PJ Harvey’s Down By The Water is about a woman who drowned her baby and is now returning to the scene of the crime and asking for her baby to be returned.  According to Harvey, she has met both fans and critics who have assumed that the song must be autobiographical and that she’s singing about drowning her own child.

Speaking of drowning, that’s what came close to happening to PJ Harvey herself while she was shooting this video.  Made up to look like, as she herself put it, “Joan Crawford on acid,” Harvey was wearing a wig that proved to be so heavy that, when she went underwater, it was a struggle to resurface.

It proved to be worth the trouble, though.  The video was not only highly popular on MTV but it also helped to make a hit out of the song.  In fact, Down By The Water would prove to Harvey’s breakthrough hit in the United States.  Years after it’s initial release, the song continues to live on as a part of the soundtrack of countless investigative procedural crime dramas.

Enjoy!

Music Video of the Day: Magic by Mick Smiley (1984, directed by Greg Gold)

Posted on by Jedadiah Leland

Magic is probably best known for being used in the original Ghostbusters.  It’s the song that plays while the ghosts are being released from Ghostbusters HQ and subsequently haunting New York.  It’s been said that composer Elmer Bernstein, who did the score for Ghostbusters, hated the way that Magic was used in the film.  Then again, Bernstein also hated the film’s Oscar-nominated theme song.

The video has nothing to do with ghosts but instead, it’s about the magic of attraction.  It was directed by Greg Gold, who also directed videos for Michael Bolton and the Hollies.  Far better known than the video’s director is the video’s cinematographer.  Dominic Sena would go on to direct several music videos before eventually branching into directing feature films like Kalifornia, Gone In 60 Seconds, Swordfish, and Season of the Witch.

Enjoy!

Music Video of the Day: Walking Away by Information Society (1988, directed by ????)

Posted on by Jedadiah Leland

Information Society was formed, in Minneapolis, by Paul Robb in 1982.  Despite a small but devoted fan base, the band initially struggled to achieve mainstream success, which led to several lineup changes during the group’s early years.  It wouldn’t be until 1985 that Information Society would have their first minor hit and then it would be another three years before they released their two best known songs, What’s On Your Mind (Pure Energy) and Walking Away.

According to Paul Robb, Walking Away was written while he was thinking about all of the people who had recently left the band.  In Robb’s own words, “So if you listen to the lyrics of ‘Walking Away,‘ it’s basically just someone complaining about people who left. That’s because that’s exactly what it is.”  Though Walking Away was not as big a hit as What’s On Your Mind, it still charted at #9 and there’s a good chance of hearing it played at any 80s night.

Just as Pure Energy sampled Leonard Nimoy, Walking Away opens with William Shatner saying, “It is useless to resist us.”  Leonard’s son, Adam Nimoy, was a huge fan of the band and was instrumental in winning the band permission to use the audio samples in their songs.

Enjoy!

 

Music Video of the Day: I Dare You by The Regrettes (2019, dir by WATTS)

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

So, yesterday, I was in a terrible mood because I’d gotten a parking ticket and my pick for music video of the day reflected that.

Today, I’m in a great mood!  It turns out that my parking ticket was just a warning and I’m not going to have to pay a fine!  That makes me feel like dancing!  And hence, today’s music video of the day.

Seriously, this exuberance of this music video just makes me happy!

Enjoy!

Music Video of the Day: Blacklight by The Ting Tings (2018, dir by ????)

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

All of the darkness in this video goes along nicely with my current mood.

For instance, on Monday, we had company so, when I came home from work, there were already two cars sitting in the driveway.  So, in order to not to block anyone in, I parked in front of the house.  I then went inside and had a wonderful dinner and got caught up with some old friends.  Around 8:15, I got a call from our neighbor across the street, informing me that some guy had just put a piece of paper on my windshield.  I went outside to see what was going on and guess what I found?

A PARKING TICKET!

That’s right.  I parked in front of my own house and I got ticketed.  Officially, I was ticketed for “illegal parking — facing traffic.”  And now, apparently, I’m supposed to go down to our municipal court (which is located “right behind Walgreen’s,” to quote the court’s website) and pay $60 because I parked IN FRONT OF MY OWN HOUSE!

Needless to say, that ruined my entire Monday night and it ruined most of Tuesday as well.  And I’m still pretty mad even as I sit here typing this.  I mean, if you’ve ever wondered why I have issues of authority, it’s because of crap like this!

But this song and this video both helped to cheer me up.  The Ting Tings are a group that I tend to listen to whenever I’m feeling down.  They made me feel better about things and I hope they’ll do the same for you!

Enjoy!

Music Video of the Day: Shut Up by Madness (1981, directed by Chris Gabrin)

Posted on by Jedadiah Leland

In this video, the members of Madness start off as crooks and then they become cops before becoming crooks again.  But regardless of which side of the law that the band finds itself on, they’re all always chasing after the band’s lead singer, Suggs.  What crime has Suggs committed?  It has something to do with cars and a black mask.

In the song, Suggs attempts to convince the police that he’s innocent, even though it’s obvious that he’s guilty.  Despite the song’s title, the words “Shut Up” are never heard.  Originally, the song was meant to have a verse that would be told from the point of view of the cop, singing about how chasing after petty criminals is keeping him from spending time with his family.  At the end of the song, the cop would order Suggs to “Shut up!”  However, that verse was ultimately dropped, leaving the request to shut up merely implied.

Enjoy!