Music Video of the Day: Nothing To Believe In by Cracker (1996, dir. Samuel Bayer)

Posted on September 18, 2017 by Valerie Troutman

Today’s Harry Dean Stanton video is doubly-sad. That’s because we not only have the recently departed Stanton.

We also have Justin Pierce four years before his suicide. You would know him from Kids (1995).

Talia Shire shows up in the video as well.

I don’t know anyone else in the video other than lead-singer David Lowry. Thank goodness for Wikipedia. I knew of Cracker because of the song Low. I knew of Camper Van Beethoven because of the song Take The Skinheads Bowling. But I would have never noticed that Lowry fronted both bands even though it’s obvious to me now listening to this song and Take The Skinheads Bowling.

I wish I could at least find out who this lady is…

that is doing her best Rob Halford.

Heading Out To The Highway by Judas Priest (1981)

She is prominently featured, but all I could find is that Harry Dean Stanton did two more music videos than I originally thought. It never fails. I’ll do them as well.

The video was directed by Samuel Bayer of…

Smells Like Teen Spirit by Nirvana fame. Did Lowry ask for the Cobain treatment? In addition, I know Bayer directed Bullet With Butterfly Wings one year prior to this one. Still, was Goth-Stanton something people were clamoring for?

I mean he looks like Lars Ulrich in Until It Sleeps.

Until It Sleeps by Metallica (1996)

Yes, that one was also directed by Bayer. And if you are thinking he probably directed some videos for Garbage and Hole based on the woman I couldn’t identify, then you’d be right.

The casting director on this one was Crystal Lujan. Her music video credits alone are close to 100. She has done some acting too. I guess she was one of the cult members in that unfortunate Clive Barker movie with Scott Bakula, Lord Of Illusions (1995).

Enjoy!

Harry Dean Stanton Retrospective:

Music Video of the Day: Sorry You Asked? by Dwight Yoakam (1996, dir. Dwight Yoakam)

Posted on September 17, 2017 by Valerie Troutman

It’s time to pick up with Harry Dean Stanton’s character from Heart Of Stone. This time we find out his name is Bobby Watkins. The video plays the same till about one minute and fifty seconds. That’s where the videos split.

We see Bobby go into the skating rink with two sets of skates, but we’ll soon see that he has no partner for the couples-only skating period.

Bobby starts skating on his own when we get my favorite bit with Stanton. Am I smoking? How did that get there? Let me just toss it like I have no idea where it came from. He also tells him he can’t be out there during couples-only.

Office-guy sits down with Bobby, and he asks what happen to Carolyn. I assume she’s the lady from Heart Of Stone.

That’s when the video launches into the song at close to four minutes into the video. I wonder how much this was edited when it was aired. That’s a lot of build-up regardless of the fact that music plays during it.

This is the better video between this and Heart Of Stone. Not only do we get to see Stanton onstage with Yoakam, but…

we also get a more playful Dwight Yoakam.

It works well in contrast to Stanton.

This works especially well when Yoakam fades his own vocals out at the end before you would expect, and then drops you off emotionally by cutting to Stanton singing the chorus in black-and-white.

This might be my favorite of the Harry Dean Stanton videos. He was a good choice for this even if his age makes Heart Of Stone seem a little ridiculous. That’s assuming I put these in the correct order and that she was supposed to be Carolyn. Enjoy!

Harry Dean Stanton Retrospective:

Heart Of Stone by Dwight Yoakam (1996, dir. Dwight Yoakam)

Music Video of the Day: Heart Of Stone by Dwight Yoakam (1996, dir. Dwight Yoakam)

Posted on September 16, 2017 by Valerie Troutman

A lot of the time somebody famous, who isn’t associated with music, passes away, I can find one or maybe two music videos they helmed or were in. Harry Dean Stanton did more than just one or two music videos. I can find a record of 7 of them. I can find 5 of them. Let’s do them all. They’re all worth spotlighting.

Edit: I found 2 more for a total of 9 that I know of, and 7 of them that I can find.

The earliest I can find is one he did for Dwight Yoakam’s song Heart Of Stone. He did another one for Yoakam the same year.

I must admit that the extent of my knowledge about Dwight Yoakam is that their is a country musician named Dwight Yoakam. He helmed up to possibly 13 music videos. There are a couple where he was a co-director, but the majority of them have him listed as being the solo director. He even directed a movie called South Of Heaven, West Of Hell in 2000.

There are two interesting things about this video for me–aside from Stanton

The look. I love the grainy footage and the lighting.

The fact that it takes one minute and fifty seconds to even get to the song.

Otherwise, I like the other one Stanton did with Yoakam better. Particularly because you get to hear Stanton sing. However, you do need to watch them both since this one leads into the other. I’ll do that one tomorrow. Think of this as the introduction to the set and character that will be followed up on in the next video.

Music Video of the Day: The Winner Takes It All by ABBA (1980, dir. Lasse Hallström)

Posted on September 15, 2017 by Valerie Troutman

If Lasse Hallström’s intent was to make Agnetha look the opposite of the way she did in the music video for The Name Of The Game, then he succeeded.

The Name Of The Game by ABBA (1977)

Come to think of it, I bet that was his intention. If The Name Of The Game is the start of a relationship, then The Winner Takes It All is when it falls apart. We even get a reverse of the table scene.

Together

The Name Of The Game by ABBA (1977)

Agnetha together, but alone.

This was the same year that Agnetha and Björn got divorced. There’s been talk of whether the song was written specifically about their divorce. Wikipedia says that Björn claims that the song wasn’t written about their divorce. Songfacts says it was 90% or entirely about it. They can’t seem to make up their mind. I also question the accuracy of their “facts”.

Like Fleetwood Mac’s “Go Your Own Way,” this evokes some very Behind The Music moments as the male band member wrote deeply personal lyrics about a female bandmate. At least Stevie Nicks didn’t have to sing lead on Lindsey Buckingham’s lyrics like Agnetha did with Bjorn’s.

I don’t think it was written specifically about their divorce. The reason being that this is hardly the first song Benny and Björn wrote that covered this area: SOS; Knowing Me, Knowing You; Thank You For The Music; and their career kicked off with that little song called Waterloo. Relationships, defeat, and ends were a thing for ABBA in general. I believe that this one was born out of Björn’s personal experience that hit very close to home–not a musical document of their actual divorce.

At the start of the video, we are greeted with still shots of the band looking happy and glamorous before we cut to Agnetha looking like she was just run through a dryer. Those shots are the centerpiece of the video. Sometimes she is shown on her own, and other times we see her shot through Benny’s out of focus hands playing the piano.

In between, we get some flashback shots and others that were filmed on the island of Marstrand along the coast of Sweden.

While you watch, keep looking for Björn in the present part of the video. He barely shows up. Neither does the rest of the band, but considering the material of the song, and Agnetha being the one singing it, you notice.

Also, notice that Agnetha is wearing the same outfit whether she is laughing at the bar…

or sad at the bar.

Maybe that was done because those were the outfits they had on at the time, and they simply used them in the video. I don’t think so seeing as ABBA is well-known for their costumes. Regardless of whether it was done on purpose or not, it draws our attention away from everything else in the frame, and puts the focus solely on her face, since it’s the only thing that has noticeably changed.

Finally, you’ll see that the last photo at the beginning of the video is of Björn, before they go to Agnetha.

The last photo at the end before cutting to the final shot of Agnetha is of the group all-together.

A split from Björn, but not from the group–yet. I find it interesting that Hallström chose a shot of the band where only Agnetha looks happy before going to the solitary, sad shot at the end of this post.

I mentioned before that I don’t think Björn intended this to be a biographical song of his and Agnetha’s divorce. Lyrics from Knowing Me, Knowing You are “walking through an empty house/tears in my eyes/here is where the story ends/this is goodbye.” That was back in 1976. Take that however you want.

ABBA retrospective:

Music Video of the Day: I Have A Dream by ABBA (1980, dir. Urban Lasson)

Posted on September 14, 2017 by Valerie Troutman

It’s official. I’ve reached the really confusing part of ABBA’s career in music videos–the last couple years before they broke up in 1982.

If I went by mvdbase, then the next video is a television appearance ABBA did to perform Hovas Vittne for Stig Anderson’s 50th birthday. However, that birthday would have been in 1981, not 1980.

The next video that is listed is one for I Have A Dream. You can find a listing for this video on both mvdbase and IMDb. It looks like someone may have just copied it over from mvdbase without actually looking into it. I say that because I can’t find one that stands out as an obvious music video. Also, the release dates match exactly: February 1980.

What I can find are two different live performances ABBA gave of I Have A Dream. In 1979, ABBA was on tour, and it was released the next year as ABBA In Concert. One of the places they performed was at Wembley Arena in London. That is the one I have included above. That seems to be what these listings are referring to since the description on the video says it is on the DVD collection of ABBA music videos. It would appear they took that segment of the concert and released it as a music video. There is an edited one. This is one that is complete. The edited version is the one on the DVD. It looks like this one aired on VH1 at some point.

The other performance I can find is also from 1979. It is from the Spanish TV show, 300 millones. I have no reason to believe this is the one. Regardless, I thought I would stick it here anyways.

Enjoy!

ABBA retrospective:

Music Video of the Day: Frontier Psychiatrist by The Avalanches (2000, dir. Geoff McFetridge)

Posted on September 13, 2017 by Valerie Troutman

Like so many music videos, Frontier Psychiatrist has multiple versions. There’s the well-known one that’s been talked about so much that I no longer feel special for noticing the use of the song from a Silvana Mangano movie–she’s best-known for the film, Bitter Rice (1949). And then there’s this version. If for some reason, it is no longer up, then you can follow this link to see it.

It’s a more realistic interpretation since we are seeing events from the outside. You could argue that the other video takes place in this kid’s head. This one is what is happening in the real world. Or at least as real as a world can be that has a mother holding up a book with this cover…

and pages like these in it:

While this video did help me to understand a storyline for the song, it has a problem I can’t get past.

One of the things that makes the well-known video so great, is the tight connection between the audio samples and their visual recreations. It’s a visualization of the way everything from a John Waters film to instructional tapes were combined by having those things performed on one big stage. The storyline is the journey through the components of the song.

Here, the audio and visuals do sync-up on occasion, but there is still such a disconnect that it’s off-putting. Perhaps I’m spoiled by the only version I knew of before I sat down to write this post. I keep expecting movement and cuts at each audio sample, and it doesn’t happen.

I wouldn’t say it’s a bad version though. The parts with the kid who plays Dexter are good.

The kid makes this video. He turns something fun, into something disturbing. On the other hand, I’m not sure I like thinking of Jeremy by Pearl Jam while I’m listening to Frontier Psychiatrist by The Avalanches.

I’m up in the air about this one. Watch it, and make up your own mind about it. Rorschach tests or Turtle-Man? You decide. Enjoy!

Music Video of the Day: (No More) Love At Your Convenience by Alice Cooper (1977, dir. ???)

Posted on September 12, 2017 by Valerie Troutman

Oh. Apparently this isn’t the most well-liked Alice Cooper song out there with comments on YouTube saying things like “Pure crap!!!” and “Didn’t Alice claim he was too drunk to even recall recording this song?” I wouldn’t be surprised about the second one seeing as, according to Wikipedia, he hospitalized himself for alcoholism himself after the album tour.

I guess for a short period in the late-70s, Alice Cooper decided to take a break from the usual persona, and try out a character named Maurice Escargot–a drinking PI you can see at the start of the video.

The song may not be good, but I like that it exists. It’s a reminder to me that behind the band named Alice Cooper is a guy who also goes by the name Alice Cooper who plays a persona while in real life he is a golfer and was friends with Glen Campbell. About a month ago, after Campbell passed away, Alice gave a short interview about his relationship with him.

The video is a different matter. I love it.

While two totally different songs, it has that same grainy 1970s looking insanity that makes the video for Elected so good.

Talking about the video in detail would be like talking about the cover of Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band–yes, he was in that movie. I’m just gonna show a few thing that caught my eye.

You’ve got The Man Who Laughs (1928).

A very judgmental James Cagney.

Little Red Riding Hood.

Alice Cooper getting flashed.

I have no idea what to make of this guy.

Ah, honey. You didn’t have to bring home a Funkadelic music video with you.

Cosmic Slop by Funkadelic (1973)

I wonder how many more of these every-thing-and-the-kitchen-sink-pre-MTV music videos are out there? I ask since those were popular at the start of MTV. Yet, most of the videos from the 1960s and 1970s that I’ve spotlighted so far, aren’t that type of video.

If you’re interested in the album this song is from, Lace And Whiskey, then there’s an article over on Ultimate Classic Rock.

Enjoy!

Update On Music Video of the Day Posts

Posted on September 11, 2017 by Valerie Troutman

I originally planned to do Overcome by Live since it’s one of the last two 9/11 themed videos I consider important enough to spotlight, but it doesn’t feel appropriate at the moment. It feels right to skip a day. I’ll be back tomorrow.

Since I did the Ryan Adams video for New York, New York last year on this day, I have embedded another one of my favorites of his that, to my knowledge, never got a video.

Music Video of the Day: I Only Want To Be With You by The Tourists (1979, dir. Brian Grant)

Posted on September 10, 2017 by Valerie Troutman

Did you ever want to see what Annie Lennox would look like if she wanted to join Jem and the Holograms? You can, and it’s in this video.

The Tourists was the group that both Dave Stewart and Annie Lennox were in prior to becoming Eurythmics.

I love Stewart’s mustache, and I’m so glad he grew out a full beard for Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of These) instead of keeping it.

Despite only being around for a couple of years, they released three albums and a bunch singles. This cover of Dusty Springfield’s I Only Want To Be With You being one of them.

According to Wikipedia, they broke up one year after this in 1980 after getting signed to RCA Records the same year. Apparently guitarist and bassist Peet Coombes and Eddie Chin, respectively, went off to do their own thing which fizzled out. Stewart and Lennox decided to keep their contract with RCA, and Eurythmics was born.

Aside from Stewart’s mustache and Annie looking like rainbow sherbet, my favorite part of this video is that it is directed by Brian Grant. If mvdbase is to be believed, then 9 years later he directed Samantha Fox’s cover of the same song.

I can believe it. The person who would randomly insert Eddie Chin with what looks like a whip…

seems like the kind of person who would have somebody popup out of a trash can to pull Samantha Fox in.

I Only Wanna Be With You by Samantha Fox

I’ll have to do that crazy video at some point. After playing her sexuality straight for so many videos, they decided to still put that at the forefront, but do it comically.

Enjoy!

Music Video of the Day: Let There Be Rock by AC/DC (1977, dir. ???)

Posted on September 9, 2017 by Valerie Troutman

How did I let it happen? I went through 421 of these posts, and it took till now to do one for a song on Jeff’s hit list.

You remember Jeff from Rock: It’s Your Decision (1982), right? He’s the kid who had decent taste in music, but was then red-pilled by reading The Big Beat: A Rock Blast by Frank Garlock, which turned him into a raving homophobic bigot with a persecution complex who treated his friends like trash and gave an insane sermon condemning rock music. During that sermon he finally named names of what songs and groups were evil. Of course AC/DC was specially mentioned with a list of some of their hits. This was one of them.

While I’m sure Jeff never saw this video, I like to pair the following images and think that he was just envious that he couldn’t pull this off as well as Scott did.

Rock: It’s Your Decision (1982, dir. John Taylor)

The video features Bon Scott as a preacher who delivers the lyrics like a sermon. We get occasional cutaways to members of the group who are choirboys, because what else would you expect members of AC/DC to be dressed like. Eventually, Scott decides to take off clerical clothing after a video effect.

Then Scott takes a flying leap that according to the Young Brothers, injured Scott.

I didn’t need Wikipedia to tell me that something went wrong. You can see that he missed the mark and fell offstage. Credit to Scott and the band for not only leaving that in, but not appearing to react to it happening.

I really like this video. If I had one complaint, it’s that it appears that Scott is screwing up his lip-syncing. You can see the difference when you watch him perform the song live. I noticed the same issue when I watched the officially posted version of Highway To Hell. I refuse to believe that Scott was this bad at lip-syncing. I think I know what happened. It’s the only explanation that I have.

The song is supposed to introduce light before sound in the pre-chorus. That is the way it was done on both the album and in the video. They fixed that in live performances, like the one below:

I have a feeling they overlayed a slightly different studio recording onto the video in order to make it sound better. You see this done on unofficially posted music videos all the time. I can see this throwing off Scott’s timing just enough that it’s noticeable. You can still see that he is reacting and making the right lip movements. They just seems to miss the mark.

This video is a perfect example of why I put AC/DC right alongside the other 1970s music-video pioneers like ABBA, Sweet, Golden Earring, Kate Bush, Hall & Oates, Funkadelic, Alice Cooper, and other musicians from that period that I haven’t covered.

Enjoy!