Yes, this is a cover of the Robert Palmer song that, for many, epitomizes the 80s. The music video for Ciccone Youth’s version probably cost considerably less than the video for the original Palmer version. Back in the 80s, stores often had booths where, for $19.99, you could stand in front of a blue screen and lip sync along to a song while images were projected behind you. This video was shot at Macy’s. Palmer performed his song with a group of models playing his backup band. Kim Gordon performed the song in front of what appeared to be a documentary about the war in Vietnam. As for Gordon’s vocals, they were recorded in a karaoke booth.

Ciccone Youth was a side project of Sonic Youth members Steve Shelley, Kim Gordon, Lee Ranaldo and Thurston Moore, featuring contributions from Minutemen/Firehose member Mike Watt and J Mascis of Dinosaur Jr. They released one album in 1988, The Whitey Album. Ciccone Youth were not the only artist to cover Addicted to Love in 1988. Tina Turner was doing the same thing and she even released her own video of the song at roughly the same time that Kim Gordon was dancing at Macy’s.

Enjoy!