In an interview with Rolling Stone, Vinnie Paul explained how this song came about:
“The story behind this song is we were opening for Megadeth, and there was a guy that was flipping us off the whole show and so we stopped the show. And I was like, ‘Listen, in case you haven’t noticed there’s 18,000 people who really dig what we’re doing. You’re the only one doing that stupid shit without even having to egg the crowd on.’ Ten guys just jumped the guy and beat the shit out of him. His dad called the manager after all the lawsuits and this and that, and basically said, ‘Give me five minutes with that Phil Anselmo guy. I want to whup his ass.’ “
The music video, not surprisingly was directed by Wayne Isham. Isham was one of those directors who worked everybody who was anybody. Isham especially understood had to capture metal energy in video form.
Did you know that Clint Eastwood once had a number one country hit?!! His duet “Bar Room Buddies” with country music icon Merle Haggard hit number one on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart in July of 1980. Released as part of the soundtrack for BRONCO BILLY, the song spent a total of thirteen weeks on the chart. Clint’s not much of a singer, but it’s still a fun drinking song!
Today’s music video of the day is for Iron Maiden’s The Trooper, which was one the band’s few songs to achieve frequent radio airplay in the United States.
The song was inspired by Tennyson’s poem, The Charge of the Light Brigade and the video features scenes taken from the 1936 film of the same name. The BBC actually banned this video and demanded significant cuts because they felt that the footage from the film was too violent. Obviously, back in 1983, no one at the BBC had any idea what the future would hold as far as violence in music videos was concerned.
The footage of the band performing was filmed in Brixton Academy and directed by Jim Yukich, who did videos for everyone who was anybody.
When today’s music video was first released, it was banned by MTV. MTV claimed that the song and the video glorified suicide, which was certainly not the case when it came to either one. As Dave Mustaine explained in interviews at the time, the song was about what Mustaine would say to his friends if he learned that he only had a few minutes left to live. Mustaine sings that he would want to say, “I love you all and now I must go.”
(Some of the misunderstanding probably came from the song appearing on an album entitled Youthanasia. Megadeth’s lyrics could certainly be dark and serious but they were just as often misunderstood, even by people who should have known better.)
Most only sources list Justin Keith as the director of this video. In an interview with a German site, Mustaine explained that Justin Keith was actually the incredibly prolific Wayne Isham and that MTV apparently told Megadeth not to use Isham as their director because the channel was already “saturated” with videos that Isham had directed. So, when Megadeth submitted the video, the listed Isham as being “Justin Keith.” According to Mustaine, this — and not the the video’s content — is what actually caused MTV to ban the music video.
Mustaine later rerecorded this song for 2007’s UnitedAbominations.
… And now, the end is near And so I face the final curtain My friend, I’ll say it clear I’ll state my case, of which I’m certain I’ve lived a life that’s full I traveled each and every highway And more, much more than this I did it my way
… Regrets, I’ve had a few But then again, too few to mention I did what I had to do And saw it through without exemption I planned each charted course Each careful step along the byway And more, much more than this I did it my way
… Yes, there were times, I’m sure you knew When I bit off more than I could chew But through it all, when there was doubt I ate it up and spit it out I faced it all, and I stood tall And did it my way
… I’ve loved, I’ve laughed and cried I’ve had my fill, my share of losing And now, as tears subside I find it all so amusing To think I did all that And may I say, not in a shy way Oh, no, oh, no, not me I did it my way
… For what is a man, what has he got? If not himself, then he has naught To say the things he truly feels And not the words of one who kneels The record shows I took the blows And did it my way
… Yes, it was my way
Songwriters: Paul Anka / Gilles Thibaut / Claude Francois / Jacques Revaux
A woman has been kidnapped and it’s up to Van Halen to save her! Eddie’s a cowboy. Alex is Tarzan. Michael Anthony is a samurai. David Lee Roth, not surprisingly, is Napoleon. This video says a lot of about the appeal of early Van Halen, which really was a mix of Eddie’s technical virtuosity and Roth’s showmanship. Van Halen was a band that knew how to make amazing music but, at first at least, they were also a band who knew how to have a good time.
Playing the damsel in distress was International Chrysis, a transgender performer who worked in a number of revues and off-Broadway productions in the 80s, along with appearing in Sidney Lumet’s Q&A. International Chrysis died of cancer in 1990.
This video was shot at Indian Dunes, near Valencia, California. Director Roberto Lombardi was a musician who also acted and worked behind the scenes in a number of productions. He appears to have been one of those people who dabbled in a bit of everything as far as his creative outlets were concerned.
In 1982, this video was considered to be so controversial that MTV banned it from the airwaves. Of course, as Tipper Gore later learned, trying to censor something only made more people want to watch it. The video has since been unbanned but MTV gave up playing music videos a long time ago. I don’t know what the M stands for now but it’s definitely not music.
Perhaps due to the controversy, Van Halen’s cover of Roy Orbison’s signature tune because one of their biggest hits.
“I thank God for all the freedom we have in this country, I cherish them and treasure them – even the right to burn the flag. We also got the right to bear arms and if you burn my flag – I’ll shoot you. But I’ll shoot you with a lot of love, like a good American.”
— Johnny Cash
I walked through a county courthouse square On a park bench an old man was sitting there I said, your old courthouse is kinda run down He said, naw, it’ll do for our little town I said, your old flagpole has leaned a little bit And that’s a ragged old flag you got hanging on it
He said, have a seat, and I sat down Is this the first time you’ve been to our little town? I said, I think it is He said, I don’t like to brag But we’re kinda proud of that ragged old flag
You see, we got a little hole in that flag there when Washington took it across the Delaware And it got powder-burned the night Francis Scott Key Sat watching it writing say can you see And it got a bad rip in New Orleans With Packingham and Jackson tuggin’ at its seams
And it almost fell at the Alamo Beside the Texas flag, but she waved on though She got cut with a sword at Chancellorsville And she got cut again at Shiloh Hill There was Robert E. Lee, Beauregard, and Bragg And the south wind blew hard on that ragged old flag
On Flanders field in World War one She got a big hole from a Bertha gun She turned blood red in World War Two She hung limp and low a time or two She was in Korea and Vietnam She went where she was sent by Uncle Sam
She waved from our ships upon the Briny foam And now they’ve about quit waving her back here at home In her own good land here she’s been abused She’s been burned, dishonored, denied, and refused
And the government for which she stands Is scandalized throughout the land And she’s getting threadbare and wearing thin But she’s in good shape for the shape she’s in ‘Cause she’s been through the fire before And I believe she can take a whole lot more
So we raise her up every morning We take her down every night We don’t let her touch the ground and we fold her up right On second thought, I do like to brag ‘Cause I’m mighty proud of that ragged old flag
This is a very powerful music video. I don’t have much to say about it other than that. It’s not a political song or as political music video. Instead, it’s a tribute and an appreciation of those who have made the ultimate sacrifice and the loved ones who were left behind.
Today’s song of the day comes to us from the soundtrack of the 1983 film, Revenge of the Ninja. Composed by Robert J. Walsh, this soundtrack will definitely leave you prepared to defeat all of your enemies, ninja-style!
(Actually, don’t try to do that without getting some training once. I speak with the experience who sprained her ankle multiple times as a result of trying to duplicated Kate Beckinsale’s Underworld moves.)
Through the Shattered Lens 