Category Archives: music video

Music Video of the Day: Addicted To Love by Robert Palmer (1986, dir. Terence Donovan)

Posted on by Valerie Troutman

It’s obligatory to do legendary music videos like this one. The problem is finding something to write about when it comes to them.

We like things that look alike moving in unison. It’s as old as entertainment in general. You can swap them out for guys, or even toothbrushes, and it works just as well.

What seems to have some people slightly miffed is that they were stripped down to form rather than shown as a living breathing human being. According to Wikipedia, this is similar to what artist Patrick Nagel would do in his artwork. He happened to design the cover for Duran Duran’s album Rio.

duranrio

What I can do is a where-are-they-now on this music video because we actually know who all these girls are in the video.

The women go like this: Julie Pankhurst (keyboard), Patty Kelly (guitar), Mak Gilchrist (bass guitar), Julia Bolino (guitar), Kathy Davies (drums).

You can find some of them on Twitter. You can also find numerous articles on them since they appear to have been tracked down fairly recently.

Mak Gilchrist posted a reunion of four of the five girls.

There’s also an interesting video where some of the girls are interviewed. I wish I could embed said video, but it’s on Yahoo!, and WordPress.com does not allow that for security reasons, so you’ll have to follow the link. It’s worth it because it provides background information on what has happened to them since the music video.

https://uk.screen.yahoo.com/robert-palmer-girls-today-173805406.html?format=embed&player_autoplay=false

I particularly like Kathy Davies’ story about mostly watching Robert Palmer’s butt off-camera.

There’s also a humorous quote from Mak Gilchrist over on Wikipedia from Q magazine:

“I was 21 and got the part on the strength of my modeling book. We were meant to look and ‘act’ like showroom mannequins. Director Terence Donovan got us tipsy on a bottle of wine but as we were having our make-up retouched, I lost balance on my heels and knocked the top of my guitar into the back of Robert’s head, and his face then hit the microphone.”

The girls were miming five musicians that were off-camera. I agree with Mak Gilchrist in the video that they should be tracked down too because they probably have interesting stories to add about the shoot.

Enjoy!

Music Video of the Day: (Rock/Rap) Superstar by Cypress Hill (2000, dir. Dean Karr)

Posted on by Valerie Troutman

Prior to finding this one, I really only knew Cypress Hill from the early 90s with songs like Insane In The Brain. I picked this up later on. This is the first time I really watched the music video, and somebody is a fan of the music video for The Tubes’ She’s A Beauty, complete with including the rollercoaster entrance. Actually this song reminds me of The Tubes in general. In particular, the song What Do You Want From Life?

The video is what you would expect from a song about musicians getting launched into the stratosphere, then the next minute thrown back to Earth without any regard to what happened or happens to them. You might have been the creative one, but you are just a small person surrounded by the big people who are going to make or break you. The part where he is tiny and with big desks around him made me think of The Crowd (1928) that has inspired countless films over the years.

My favorite part is easily when he climbs the pyramid of televisions. That’s where the biggest difference between (Rock) Superstar and (Rap) Superstar is located in the music videos.

During that part, we get a different set of commentaries than we do in (Rock) Superstar. There are obviously other differences between the two since (Rap) Superstar comes in 24 seconds shorter than (Rock) Superstar. One of them is that in (Rock) Superstar, the kid is flung out and the music video stops with him mid-air, while in (Rap) Superstar we seem him land and smiling. We also get some commentary from Eminem at the beginning of the video as well.

Between the two, I prefer (Rock) Superstar. It feels like the more polished version of the two, but it’s definitely worth watching both of them.

Director Dean Karr seems to have done about 60-80 music videos and other music related films.

Dermott Downs shot the music video. He’s done about 10 music videos. He’s also done numerous other things including directing episodes of Arrow, Supergirl, and The Flash. It’s funny that he worked on the third Texas Chainsaw Massacre movie considering that the person who shot The Tubes’ music video for She’s A Beauty also shot the original and 2003 remake of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre.

Arthur Gorson produced the music video. He produced around 20 music videos. He’s also worked on various other films including producing Cronos (1993) for Guillermo del Toro.

Joe Oz was the 1st assistant director. He seems to have worked on about 140 music videos.

Trish Summerville was the stylist on the video. She seems to have done at least 25 music videos. She has also worked on films like The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011), The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (2013), and Gone Girl (2014).

Music Video of the Day: Shake It Off by Taylor Swift (2014, dir. Mark Romanek)

Posted on by Valerie Troutman

Since I did Beck yesterday, I was obligated to do a Taylor Swift music video today since the two were brought together through the power of Kayne West.

This is the first music video from the current decade that I have done so far. I wish I was more familiar with recent music videos, but the first thing that came to mind was Limp Bizkit’s My Way except not stupid because it was directed by Mark Romanek rather than Fred Durst. My Way is that music video where they seemed to have no idea what they were going to do, so they had the band in a bunch of generic music videos that could have been done, and mixed it with a version that had the band in a simple fashion at the center of it all. In Shake It Off, that would be when she appears in a black top and bottoms.

Since it is off the 1989 album, I also thought that the different sections of the video tie-in to things that have struck Swift’s interest during her lifetime.

I also picked up that instead of it being Taylor Swift’s way or the highway, they were trying to bring the spirit of the song to a playful music video, and nothing more.

According to Wikipedia, a whole bunch of people reviewed the music video like it was the latest movie to premiere during the weekend. Romanek seems to largely agree with me by saying that “we simply chose styles of dance that we thought would be popular and amusing, and cast the best dancers that were presented to us without much regard or ethnicity” and that “if you look carefully, it’s a massively inclusive piece, it’s very, very innocently and positively intentioned. And–let’s remember–it’s a satirical piece. It’s playing with a whole range of music video tropes and cliches and stereotypes.” In other words, he made a better version of Limp Bizkit’s My Way.

Tyce Diorio was the choreographer. He has also worked as an actor, appearing in movies like Robin Hood: Men In Tights (1993) and Showgirls (1995).

Paul Martinez edited this music video.

John Emmons was the medic. There’s a credit first for me on a music video.

Samantha Abrams, Marisa Hood, and Katherine Way were backup dancers.

Music Video of the Day: Loser by Beck (1994, dir. Steve Hanft)

Posted on by Valerie Troutman

I’m not gonna lie. I really have no idea what they were going for by simply by watching the music video. I spot the reference to Django (1966). The coffin moving on its own reminds me of Vampyr (1932). A lot of the religious imagery makes me think of Dreyer. That, and the holiday–Day of the Dead. I’m also pretty sure Beck is wearing a Saturday Night Fever (1977) outfit at one point.

According to Wikipedia, director Steve Hanft was inspired by Stan Brakhage, Maya Deren, and 1920’s surrealist films for the moving coffin. Beck apparently said they were “fucking around” when they made the video. That sounds about right. According to IMDb, the line “I’m a driver. I’m a winner. Things are gonna change. I can feel it” was sampled from Steve Hanft’s own film called Kill the Moonlight (1994). They also used clips from the film.

Also according to Wikipedia, there is one clip in the video that was not shot by Steve Hanft. It’s the one where Jesco White dances on a bench in a white satin shirt. It is also the one part of the music video that was shot on video rather than film. It was shot by Julian Nitzberg.

There’s some more background information on the music video over on Wikipedia.

Director Steve Hanft appears to have done somewhere between 50 to 60 music videos along with other films.

Enjoy!

Music Video of the Day: Short Skirt/Long Jacket by Cake (2001, dir. John McCrea)

Posted on by Valerie Troutman

Sometimes I wind up on a music video that there really isn’t much to say about. This is one of them.

It’s a very simple idea. Just round up a bunch of different people to see how the react to the song. Of course, that’s a little oversimplifying things. The title of the song itself is a contradiction. You’ll notice that several times they put two different opinions of the song side-by-side that are opposites of each other. The best example is at the end when the German tourist gives some pointers, but generally likes the song. Then it cuts to the lady who thinks Cake is going to be a one-hit wonder. You’ll notice that kind of juxtaposition throughout the video.

According to Wikipedia, it was felt that the music video wouldn’t hold up over multiple viewings. That’s why they went and shot one in New York, Mexico, and Toronto. I could only find the New York and Canadian ones, which I have included below.

Both the original and New York ones were directed by John McCrea, who is the lead singer of the band. He directed a few other ones for his band.

The Mexican one was directed by Alejandro Romero who apparently used a fake name called los Hermanos Ponderosa that is also used by director Gustavo Hernandez. Jo Ann Thrailkill produced that version of the music video. She has produced about 130 music videos. Wikipedia also adds that it was edited by Alejandro Davalos Cantu.

Enjoy!

In Case You Missed It…

Posted on by gary loggins

gary loggins's avatarcracked rear viewer

toni-basil

Remember Toni Basil? She had a mega-hit record back in the 80’s with the infectious pop song “Mickey”. The multi-talented Miss Basil’s been around forever, known for her choreography on TV’s SHINDIG, the films THE TAMI SHOW and The Monkees’ HEAD (where she shared the spotlight with Davy Jones). She choreographed two David Bowie tours (Diamond Dogs and Glass Spider), directed videos with Talking Heads’ David Byrne (“Once in a Lifetime”), and has appeared as an actress in VILLAGE OF THE GIANTS, PAJAMA PARTY, EASY RIDER, and FIVE EASY PIECES, among others.

Recently the 72 year old, who co-founded the street dance group The Lockers way back in 1971, strutted her stuff at a Los Angeles dance workshop, and the crowd of young kids went nuts! The video has gone viral and in case you missed it, I’d like to share it with you now:

Yeah! You’ve still got the…

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Music Video of the Day: Silent All These Years by Tori Amos (1991, dir. Cindy Palmano)

Posted on by Valerie Troutman

Funny enough–I am pretty much at a loss for words to talk about this music video even though I’ve been a big fan of Tori Amos for more than decade and a half at least. You have the child that emerges from behind the piano to connect her childhood to her adulthood, which represents the years of silence. Then we see the child run past her adult-self that is in a box–whether by choice or not. It doesn’t matter. There are other similar framings of Tori that emphasize height and face. You also have the inclusion of the old-lady outfit and breast implants. They are all pressures and conformity that she is walking away from with this song, the album, and literally by getting out of the box in the music video. It’s clever to have her stop lip-syncing at the part of the song where you would do that if you were going to do it anywhere. Then it ends with an uncomfortably long shot of Tori’s face where she looks like she is going to tear-up. There are some other things going on such as the innocent child popping in and chasing her during the video at the right times lyric-wise. You could do more analysis of this music video if you wanted to.

Considering this was Tori’s debut solo album, you would think this would be the first song on that album, but it isn’t. It’s the third one after Crucify and Girl. It all builds to the last song on the album about when she was raped, which is sung a capppella. The music videos seem to have started with this song, then were followed by Winter before getting to Crucify.

It’s a powerful music video, but it’s also a little misleading. I can’t recall the program where I saw it. It was probably a Behind The Music type thing. Regardless, I remember Tori saying that they started off trying to sell her like she was the new Carole King. The girl and the piano thing, which is exactly how she is shown in this music video at the beginning.

It’s funny to think of that in retrospect seeing as I remember being introduced to Tori Amos via the video for Spark. You know, the one where she is bound, blindfolded, and left with rats in the woods. I remember when I fell in love with her music. It was with her album of covers called Strange Little Girls. That’s the one where she took Eminem’s ’97 Bonnie and Clyde and made it particularly disturbing.

All in all, the music video is well-made, and a decent introduction to Tori Amos. You have to start somewhere, and the song is there even if I don’t think the video quite captures the musician you are getting. Plus, take a look at Madonna’s video for her early song Burning Up. You’d swear they thought they were selling a solo female Duran Duran.

Cindy Palmano directed five music videos for Tori Amos. From what I can tell, she hasn’t done anything else in the area of film since that time. Wikipedia says she was a photographer at the time. She’s obviously still around since you can find stuff about her with a simple Google search.

George Tiffin worked as the cinematographer on the music video. He directed a couple of music videos for Morissey. He seems to have done some other work as well in film. He is related to the Fiennes family.

Music Video of the Day: Fell In Love With A Girl by The White Stripes (2002, dir. Michel Gondry)

Posted on by Valerie Troutman

First off–thank you so much for filling in for me this week, Lisa. I was really sick. I’m glad this daily post was kept up. Also, of course Downtown Sasquatch counts. If I said no, then Lisa might revoke my Degrassi fan card. I also have to agree since there are some music videos that will tread that line as well that I have in mind for the future. Onward!

I have mentioned before about the great musical apocalypse of the late 90s. In 2001, The Strokes released their album Is This It. They had bad and good timing. The bad timing was because it was released shortly before 9/11, which meant they had to remove a song that would have gone over like a lead balloon at the time. They had good timing because it meant that the late 90s era was dying. You did had Limp Bizkit trying to get clever with their music video parody for their song My Way. You actually had Sum 41 with their music video for Still Waiting that seemed to be trying desperately to make fun of bands like The Strokes. I even remember that my local Bay Area alt rock station played along and actually aired the song like it was breaking news that the band had indeed changed their name to The Sums. It felt kind of sad. A last gasp. At least in retrospect we can enjoy some of those songs now that we are out of that era.

But we are here to talk about the notorious The White Stripes. They had actually been around prior to The Strokes’ Is This It. They released their debut album in 1999. The Hives had also released their debut as early as 1997. I can’t speak for everyone, but once The Strokes album came out, then there just seemed to be untold numbers of these garage rock revival bands. So many so that The Killers went ahead revived new wave–post-punk depending where you look–while they were at it. I’d say their music is a little bit of both. Sadly, this period got so white hot that it seemed to largely fizzle itself out by the mid-to-late 2000s. Too bad.

In 2002 The White Stripes sort of decided to team up with Michel Gondry to make this music video. According to Wikipedia, Jack wanted to work with Mark Romanek because he directed Devil’s Haircut for Beck. However, the record company screwed up and hired Michel Gondry. Jack remembered he did Deadweight for Beck, which he also liked, so he was find with Gondry.

Aside from one short part that they did with CGI, it was all done with genuine LEGO bricks that they went out and bought to make the music video. The kid at the start of the music video is Gondry’s own kid.

For me, this is right up there with the music video that was done for The Alan Parsons Project’s song Don’t Answer Me. It’s an experimental music video rather than a regular short film music video.

Sébastien Fau did the special effects on the music video. I can find one other music video credit for him where he worked as the director for what appears to be a French music video. He does have a couple of other credits on IMDb, but that’s it.

Romain Segaud worked as an animator on this music video. He did a couple more music videos as a director, but that’s all I can find as far as music videos are concerned. Beyond that, he seems to have primarily done work for French television.

Enjoy!

Music Video Of The Day: Feel It By Jakalope (2004, dir by My Pet Skeleton and Lisa Mann)

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Today’s music video of the day is Feel It by Jakalope, one of my favorite Canadian bands!

I’m a huge fan of both this song and this video.  The song, which was co-written by Trent Reznor, first appeared on Jakalope’s debut album, It Dreams.  It Dreams was also co-produced by Reznor and perhaps it’s appropriate that the video itself is reminiscent of some of the videos that Mark Romanek directed by Nine Inch Nails.

(The video itself was directed by Lisa Mann and graphic artist Vincent Marcone, aka My Pet Skeleton.)

One of the great things about being a fan of Degrassi is that it’s exposed to me Canadian bands, like Jakalope.  In fact, from season 4 through 7, Jakalope performed the show’s famous theme song.  As for Feel It, it can be heard in Ghost In The Machine, the premiere episode of Degrassi’s fourth season.

In fact, the entire fourth season was full of great music!  In particular, Islands in the Stream, the season’s 6th episode, featured a beautiful song called Pretty People, which was performed by the Robber Who Robbed The Town.  I have searched and searched and I have yet to find Pretty People ANYWHERE!  Seriously, it is sooooo frustrating!

Oh well.  At least I have Feel It…