Category Archives: Music

Music Video of the Day: You Think You’re Tough by Ratt (1983, directed by ????)

Posted on by Jedadiah Leland

Before Tawny Kitaen became famous for appearing in Whitesnake videos, she dated Robbin Crosby, the lead guitarist of Ratt.  Those are Kitaen’s legs on the cover of Ratt’s first self-titled album.  Decorating those amazing legs with high heels and rats results in a classic 80s music image.

The video below is for one of the songs from that album, You Think You’re Tough.  You Think You’re Tough was Ratt’s first single and was released with a cover version of Rufus Thomas’s Walking The Dog.  The video keeps things simple, highlighting the band’s musicianship and saying, “These guys can really play!”

Enjoy!

Music Video of the Day: Atlas, Rise! by Metallica (2013, directed by Clark Eddy)

Posted on by Jedadiah Leland

In Atlas, Rise!, Metallica sings about having the weight of the world on your shoulders and refusing to let it hold you down.  No matter how much Atlas has to carry, he will always rise and so will Metallica.

The video keeps things simple, focusing on the band’s skill.  The video was directed by Clark Eddy, who has also directed videos for Sublime, Crash Test Dummies, and Kid Rock.  Most of Eddy’s credits, though, are as an editor.  As an editor, he has worked on videos for Dua Lipa, Rihanna, Destiny’s Child, Iggy Pop, and Pitbull.  That is quite a collection.

Enjoy!

Music Video of the Day: The Wicker Man by Iron Maiden (2012, directed by ????)

Posted on by Jedadiah Leland

In the year 2000, Iron Maiden proved that they still had it with a song based on the movie The Wicker Man.  The song became one of their late career hits, earning the band another Grammy nomination.  This was the first song that the band rehearsed after the return of Bruce Dickinson and Adrian Smith.  Dickinson later said the song was an attempt to capture the feeling of being on stage and watching the audience chant along to what you’re singing.

This video features the band performing the song live in 2012, in Santiago, Chile.  An earlier video, which was released at the same time as the song and which was directed by Dean Karr, featured the band performing the song on a stage while a fire raged behind them.

Enjoy!

Music Video of the Day: Seasons In The Abyss by Slayer (1990, directed by Di Puglia Gerard)

Posted on by Jedadiah Leland

Yes, that is Slayer rocking out at the base of the Sphinx.

For their very first music video, Slayer traveled to Egypt.  At the time the video was shot, Iraq had just invaded Kuwait and the world was on the verge of war.  Despite all of the tension in the region, the members of Slayer said that they were warmly received by both the citizens of Egypt and the American soldiers who were preparing for Operation Desert Storm.  The Egyptian government was so eager to show that it wasn’t anti-American that it allowed Slayer access that the band might not have otherwise been given.  At the same time, back in the United States, the Satanic moral panic was still in force and Slayer was being accused of leading its fans into lives of sin and decadence.  Slayer was promoting diplomacy while Tipper Gore was still playing records backwards.

Enjoy!

Music Video of the Day: Everything Counts by Depeche Mode (1983, directed by Clive Richardson)

Posted on by Jedadiah Leland

The video for this fan favorite was shot around what was then West Berlin.  (This was before the wall came down.)  Clive Richardson had also directed the video for Just Can’t Get Enough and the band turned to him, after previously working with Julian Temple, because they felt that Richardson could visually toughen up their image and help the band move away from the more self-consciously artsy style that Julian Temple had attempted to go with.  The end result was a video that quickly went into regular rotation on MTV and a song that proved to be one of Depeche Mode’s most enduring hits.

Enjoy!

Music Video of the Day: What We’re All About by Sum 41 (2002, directed by Marc Klasfeld)

Posted on by Jedadiah Leland

In this song from the soundtrack of the 2002 Spider-Man film, Sum 41 plays upside down, in the best tradition of Spider-Man fans everywhere.  Along with keeping an eye out for clips from the film, also watch out for Slayer’s Kerry King, who shows up to remind everyone what rock is all about.  As someone who grew up with an MTV that played music, I miss the music videos that always used to be released to promote movies.  I always enjoyed the mix of performance footage with the most kinetic scenes from the movie.

This music video was directed by Marc Klasfeld, who has directed music videos for literally everyone.  Don’t even think about becoming a rock star if you can’t get Marc Klasfeld to direct at least one music video for you.

Enjoy!

Music Video of the Day: Big Brat by Phantom Planet (2003, directed by Spike Jonze)

Posted on by Jedadiah Leland

Big Brat, which appeared on Phantom Planet’s self-titled third album, has twice gotten a lot of attention.  The first time was when it was released as a single in 2003 and the Spike Jonze-directed music video went into regular rotation on MTV.  (This was when MTV still played videos and had some actual influence.)  The second time was in 2012, when it was included on the soundtrack of The Amazing Spider-Man.

The video features the band performing and shooting a low budget zombie film.  (Remember that 2003 was long before the current zombie boom, showing that both the band and director Spike Jonze were far ahead of the curve.)  This is yet another video in which Spike Jonze displays his love of media and pop culture.  Jonze, of course, has gone on to have a very successful career as a director of idiosyncratic feature films.

Enjoy!

Music Video of the Day: Signal Fire by Snow Patrol (2007, directed by Paul McGuigan)

Posted on by Jedadiah Leland

Tobey Maguire’s third outing of Spider-Man doesn’t get much respect, despite the worthy efforts of Maguire, Kirsten Dunst, and Sam Raimi.  Spider-Man 3 has always felt overstuffed and, when compared to Maguire’s other two outings, it’s easy to see that Spider-Man 3 is often just going through the motions.  I still like the soundtrack, though.

Snow Patrol’s Signal Fire was the only single to be released from the soundtrack.  The video not only advertises the film but it also pays homage to not only the previous two films but what they meant to those of us who viewed them.  I remember when this video came out, some people felt that the school play concept was saying that the movies were meant for kids but I think, instead, the concept shows that the movies reminded viewers of what it was like to be young, hopeful, confused, and sad all at the same time.  The Maguire Spider-Man films comprised a coming-of-age trilogy and that’s what this video is all about.

Enjoy!

Music Video of the Day: We Are by Ana Johnsson (2004, directed by Antti Jokinen)

Posted on by Jedadiah Leland

Today’s music video of the day comes from the soundtrack of Spider-Man 2.

While Ana Johnsson and her band wake up with the neighbors and move the furniture across the floor, clips from Spider-Man 2 are shown.  This video highlights that, even more than as an action or comic book movie, Spider-Man 2 was originally advertised as being a love story.  Doctor Octopus was driven made by love while Spider-Man got a chance to show his love for Mary Jane Watson.  That might seem pretty simple and obvious today but, in 2004, a comic book movie trying to deal with actual human emotions was a big deal.

This music video was directed by Antti Jokinen, who has gone on to find great success as a feature film director in his native Finland.

Enjoy!