Category Archives: Music

Music Video of the Day: Southern Nights, covered by Barry Williams, Maureen McCormick, and Geri Reischl (1977, dir by ????)

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

This is from an episode of the Brady Bunch Variety Hour, which I have to admit has become a bit of an obsession of mine ever since I discovered that the majority of the episodes have been uploaded to YouTube.

For those keeping track, Barry Williams was Greg. Maureen McCormick was Marcia. For the Variety Hour, Geri Reischl was Jan, replacing Eve Plumb. Despite rumors to the contrary, Plumb did originally agree to return as Jan but she balked at singing a long-term contract so Geri was hired instead. Geri is actually a pretty good singer. Certainly, she’s dramatically better than any of the original Brady kids.

Barry was also reluctant to return to the role of Greg Brady but he did so after he was assured that he would be the centerpiece of the show and that he would be given several songs to sing in each episode. Actually, the show’s producers kept their word because Barry was probably the most heavily featured of the Brady kids. (Unfortunately, Barry really didn’t have much of a singing voice.) As for Maureen, she has since written that she was struggling with cocaine addiction at the time and, hence, she doesn’t remember much about The Brady Bunch Variety Hour.

Enjoy!

Music Video of the Day: Setting Sun by The Chemical Brothers, featuring Noel Gallager (1996, dir by Dom & Nick)

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Hey, do you remember when MTV used to show music videos and they were scary as Hell?

That’s certainly the case with Setting Sun, an early Chemical Brothers video that is either a celebration of dancing or a portrait of someone who has been possessed by a demon. Maybe it’s both. The video made me want to both go to a rave and go to Confession. So, all in all, I’d call this one a success.

The girl in the video is played Lexi Strauss. This video was one of many Chemical Brothers videos to be directed by Dom & Nick.

Enjoy!

Music Video of the Day: The Other Side by Public Service Broadcasting (2015, dir by Rafe Gibbons)

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Yes, I’m a little bit late in posting today’s music video of the day. Sorry, the Texas Office of Through the Shattered Lens got hit by some bad weather last night and this morning! Plus, yesterday, I was going on about 90 minutes of sleep so just the fact that I’m semi-coherent right now is probably something of a minor miracle.

Anyway, allow me to make up to you with this video for Public Service Broadcasting’s inspiring tribute to space exploration, The Other Side! Yes, those are the voices of actual NASA engineers and astronauts, experiencing the dark side of the moon for the very first time. This is from PSB’s album, Race for Space.

Enjoy!

Music Video of the Day: Dream On by Aerosmith (1993, directed by Marty Callner)

Posted on by Jedadiah Leland

Dream On has been one of Aerosmith’s signature tunes since the band’s early days in the 70s but it didn’t get its own music video until 1993, when it was included on the soundtrack for Last Action Hero.

You may remember Last Action Hero as being the notorious box office disappointment that forced Arnold Schwarzenegger to start thinking about what he might be interested in doing if his film career ever came to an end (like entering politics, perhaps). It was also one of the first films to show Hollywood that Aerosmith’s music can literally be plugged into almost any scene in any movie. Despite its reputation, Last Action Hero is not that bad. The F. Murray Abraham cameo alone is worth the price of admission.

This video is made up of footage that was shot for MTV’s 10-year anniversary celebration in 1991. It was directed by Marty Callner, who directed music videos for everyone in the 90s.

Enjoy!

Music Video of the Day: I Started A Joke by Bee Gees (1968, directed by Jean-Christophe Averty)

Posted on by Jedadiah Leland

“This is a very spiritual song. The listeners have to interpret it themselves – trying to explain it would detract from the song.”

— Robin Gibb on I Started A Joke

“When he passed away we went out, they took the equipment away and we came back in. I picked up my phone and found ‘I Started A Joke’ on YouTube and played it. I put the phone on his chest and that was the first time I broke down. I knew that song and its lyrics were perfect for that moment. That song will always have new meaning to me now.”

— Robin-Jon Gibb, son of Robin Gibb, discussing his father’s death

Of course, this song really isn’t about a joke. Instead, it’s told from the point of view of someone who has unintentionally said something so wrong and/or offensive that it has lost him all of his friends. When he tries to laugh it off, they get upset at him for not taking it seriously. When he gets upset over being abandoned, they laugh at his pain.

This music video, from 1968, features Robin Gibb singing the song while surrounded by laughter, tears, and questions marks. The video was filmed in Brussels by French television director Jean-Christophe Averty and originally aired as a part of the Idea TV Special, a Bee Gees-centered program that aired in Europe.

Enjoy!

Music Video of the Day: Apollo 9 by Adam Ant (1984, directed by Daniel Kleinman)

Posted on by Jedadiah Leland

Apollo 9 is a part of what has been referred to as being Adam Ant’s “Rockers in Space” phase. Though the album on which it appeared was not one of Ant’s more commercially successful offerings, Apollo 9 was a hit in the UK.

This video was directed by Daniel Kleinman, a British commercial director who has also directed music videos for just about everyone. Kleinman has also designed the title sequence for every James Bond film since Goldeneye.

Enjoy!

Music Video of the Day: Workin’ For A Livin’ by Huey Lewis and the News (1982, directed by ????)

Posted on by Jedadiah Leland

If you go to YouTube, one of the comments under this video simply states, “Huey Lewis was the 80s.” It’s a simple statement but it’s also a true statement. For better or worse, Huey Lewis and the News epitomize an era. Personally, I think they may be one of the most underrated bands of the decade. They turned being a bar band into an art form, with songs that were both unpretentious and instantly catchy.

A lot of people make fun of them as a result of how Bret Easton Ellis used them in American Psycho but what they miss is that Ellis didn’t make fun of the band as much as he made fun of the depths that Patrick Bateman went to find some sort of hidden meaning in their straight-forward and always transparently sincere music.

Speaking of being straight forward, that’s a good description of both this song and this video. This is Huey Lewis showing that they didn’t need a bunch of gimmicks to rock. They just needed a stage.

Enjoy!

Music Video of the Day: Love Again by Dua Lipa (2021, dir by ????)

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

I’m a Texas girl so I loved this.  Admittedly, I’ve never ridden on a mechanical bull but I have seen a few and I’ve seen more than a few people get thrown off of them.  They’re a bit scary looking and I’m already accident-prone enough without tempting fate.  Still, I admire anyone who tries.  

(And, as scary as mechanical bulls are, they are nowhere near as scary as real bulls.)

Enjoy!

Music Video of the Day: Footsteps in The Dark, covered by Cannons (2021, dir by Ryan Rundle)

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

As I write this, we’ve got a nice thunderstorm going down here in Dallas. Thunder. Lightning. Pounding rain. Lights flashing on and off. It’s very atmospheric and so is this music video! So, it only makes sense to pick it for today’s music video of the day!

This is a cover of an Isley Brothers song. It’s good night music.

Enjoy!

Music Video of the Day: Ghosts by Desire (2021, dir by Kirill Nong)

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

This wonderfully atmospheric video is basically a mini-movie. I’m sure some would argue that you could say the same thing about all music videos but this video especially has the feel of being a wonderful feature length-film that happens to just have a 3-minute run time.

Enjoy!