There aren’t many entertainers who can boast of 9 #1 hits, 12 Gold Records, 4 Platinum, 1 Double Platinum, 10 Grammys, a hit television show, and a co-starring role in a John Wayne movie! In fact, there’s only one. Glen Campbell, who died yesterday at age 81 of complications from Alzheimer’s Disease, was more than just an average country music singer. During the tumultuous late 60’s/early 70’s, when protests and riots were common occurences, Campbell’s country/folk/pop songs were a common denominator, enjoyed by hippie freaks and establishment tools alike. Face it, Glen Campbell was The Man!
Born in humble, sleepy little Billstown, Arkansas, Glen took up playing guitar at an early age. His uncle was a musician, and teenage Glen began his show-biz career picking on his radio show. The young man soon formed his own band and toured the South and Southwest extensively. The bright lights/big city of Los Angeles beckoned, and Campbell…
Hi! Lisa here, filling in for Val, with today’s music video of the day!
Before anyone asks, my selection of this music video has absolutely nothing to do with the current situation between the U.S. and North Korea. To be honest, when I picked this video, I didn’t even know that was going on. The fact that I picked Atomic at a time when everyone is freaking out about nuclear war is just one of those coincidences that helps to keep life interesting!
No, the reason I picked this video was because I’m getting ready to finally watch T2 Trainspotting but, before I watch T2, I have to rewatch the original Trainspotting. Sleeper’s cover of Atomic is prominently featured in Trainspotting and I have to admit that I’ve always liked that chorus of “Your hair is beautiful.” I’ve always loved my hair.
(My boyfriend got excited when I told him I would be featuring this song because apparently, he used to listen to it while running down pedestrians in Grand Theft Auto. And, actually, I can imagine this would be a pretty good driving music.)
Anyway, I did some research to see if I could explain just what exactly this song is actually about. It turns out that the song is actually about nothing. Courtesy of Songfacts, here is Blondie’s lead singer, Debbie Harry, on how Atomic came to be:
“He (Blondie Keyboardist Jimmy Destri) was trying to do something like ‘Heart Of Glass,’ and then somehow or another we gave it the spaghetti western treatment. Before that it was just lying there like a lox. The lyrics, well, a lot of the time I would write while the band were just playing the song and trying to figure it out. I would just be scatting along with them and I would just start going, ‘Ooooooh, your hair is beautiful.'”
While the video takes place in a post-apocalyptic world (and features artist Jean-Michel Basquiat as the man who takes away the horse at the beginning), the song actually has nothing to do with nuclear war. It’s actually not about anything. It’s just a good song!
Garage rock bands sprouted up everywhere during the 60’s. Any teen who could master three chords on guitar or bang on a drum kit wanted to be a rock star, mainly because all the girls were ga-ga for teen idols. Cape Cod, MA was no different, and The Barbarians rose to #55 on the Billboard charts with their long haired anthem, “Are You a Boy or Are You a Girl?”:
The difference between The Barbarians and all those other would-be Beatles was their drummer, Moulty, who had a hook in place of his left hand. Victor “Moulty” Moulton lost his hand in a homemade pipe bomb explosion at age 14, but that didn’t stop him from joining the rock revolution. He had his hook modified to fit a drum stick, then he and the band grew their hair out longer than the popular Beatle-bowl cut. Their unique looks helped land The Barbarians a gig in THE TAMI…
ain’t no rest for the wicked/money don’t grow on trees
Hi everyone! Lisa here, filling in for our resident music video expert, Valerie.
Now, there’s a variety different reasons why Val or I might pick a video for music video of the day. Sometimes, the choice is made as a way to honor an artist who has recently passed away. Sometimes, it’s done to commemorate a historical event. And sometimes, especially in my case, it’s just because the song’s chorus has gotten stuck in my head.
For instance, take today’s music video of the day. Sunday morning, I was driving to the store and I turned on the radio and, just by chance, this was the song that was playing. Ever since, I’ve had Ain’t No Rest For The Wicked, Money Don’t Grow On Trees stuck in my head.
And really, the song has a point. Money doesn’t grow on trees.
Anyway, this video was directed by D.A.R.Y.L., which is the creative moniker of directors James Hall and Edward Lovelace.
Talk about shock rock! Proto-metal rockers Bloodrock reached #36 on the charts in 1971 with DOA, a morbid little ditty about a plane crash, told from the victim’s point of view:
Bloodrock began playing local Ft. Worth, Texas venues in 1965 as The Naturals, quickly changing their name to Crowd +1. A string of unsuccessful singles followed, until they were discovered by Detroit rock impresario Terry Knight, a former DJ who once fronted his own band, Terry Knight & The Pack:
Knight changed their name to Bloodrock, taking over management and producing duties for the band. He also at the time handled the immensely popular (yet critically reviled) hard rock group Grand Funk Railroad:
After an acrimonious split with the two groups, and failing at starting his own label (Brown Bag Records), Knight vanished from the music scene. He hung out with stars, raced autos, but mostly did tons of cocaine. After getting…
Hi, everyone! Lisa here with today’s music video of the day!
July 14th is Bastille Day in France so it only seems appropriate to share a video from my two favorite French musical artistes, Daft Punk. That’s right — the robots are French!
Instant Crush was the fourth single to be released off of Daft Punk’s Grammy-winning fourth album, Random Access Memories. It’s a collaboration between the robots and Julian Casablancas. The video was directed by veteran music video director Warren Fu and it brings tears to my eyes every time.
The latest season of Degrassi dropped on Netflix today. Val’s already watched it and I’ll probably watch it this weekend.
In honor of this occasion, today’s music video of the day comes from the Canadian band, Jakalope. Not only was Jakalope’s best-known song, Feel It, prominently featured in the classic Ghost in the Machine episode of Degrassi but Jakalope also performed Degrassi’s opening theme song from season 4 to season 7. Part of my ritual, before watching any season of Degrassi, is to spend an hour listening to Jakalope. It gets me just in the right mood. My Canadian friends understand.
Pretty Life comes from Jakalope’s debut album, It Dreams. (It Dreams was co-produced by Trent Reznor and his unmistakable influence in present in both the songs and the videos.) After watching Pretty Life, be sure to check out the videos for Feel It and Go Away.
As an extra bonus, here is Jakalope performing the Degrassi theme song during season 4:
And here is the instrumental version that was used during seasons 6 and 7. These opening credits are taken from season 7. (If the opening credits seem a bit crowded that’s because, during season 7, apparently every teenager in Canada had a role on Degrassi.)
When I was searching for the perfect music video for Independence Day, I did a google search for “Best Libertarian songs.” After all, as anyone who knows me can tell you, the only thing more firm than my love of cinema is my resentment of authority.
Anyway, as you can probably guess, my search led to me sitting through a lot of dreary progressive rock songs, the type that featured 20 minute drum solos and lyrics lifted from Ayn Rand. However, it also led me to a song called I Can’t Drive 55.
Though this song is just a little before my time, it still feels like it was specifically recorded just for me. I have always considered traffic laws, not just the laws themselves but the way they are enforced, to be the epitome of everything that can go wrong when people blindly respect authority.
Last year, I was mailed a ticket for running a red light. I’ll be the first to admit that I ran the red light but the time to ticket me was when I did it. Furthermore, if I’m going to be ticketed, I demand to be ticketed by a human being and not some machine that is impervious to being manipulated by tears. Sending me a ticket a month later and expecting me to pay it just because some camera recorded me bending the law is the first step to dictatorship. The second step is people passively paying the fine because “that’s the law.” Laws, after all, are man made and obeying them without question is giving mankind more respect than it’s earned through it actions.
As for the video, it also feels like it was specifically filmed for me. It’s actually a fun little video with a sense of humor and who hasn’t wanted to tell a traffic judge what he can do with his gavel?
If y’all already didn’t already known in which direction my musical tastes tends to run, you probably could guess just by doing a search and seeing who, out of the 18 writers on the site, has spent the most time writing about The Chemical Brothers and the Electric Daisy Carnival. In other words, I’m not going to pretend that I know much about Megadeth.
But I do know that it’s World UFO Day and this video certainly seems to fit with the theme!
