If you’re suffering from anxiety, it is nothing to be ashamed of. As today’s music video of the day shows, even Pat Benatar can get nervous! Of course, when your dentist is named Dr. Pain, who can blame you for getting nervous?
This video was directed by Mark Robinson, who also did videos for The Pretenders, Tina Turner, and Eddie Money.
Enjoy!
On August 1st, 1981, MTV premiered. Over the course of 24 hours, 166 unique music videos were played on MTV. Yes, there was a time when the M actually did stand for music.
After airing Let’s Go by The Cars, MTV re-aired several videos that had previously been broadcast that day, April Wine’s Just Between You And Me, Lee Ritenour’s Mr. Briefcase, David Bowie’s Fashion, and Pat Benatar’s I’m Gonna Follow You. After those four videos, the Ramones finally made their MTV debut with the video for Do You Remember Rock ‘N’ Roll Radio? This song, which was produced by Phil Spector, featured what was considered to be a new sound for the Ramones but it’s message that the radio should play newer artists instead of just focusing on nostalgia was definitely a familiar Ramones theme.
This video, which predicts MTV in some ways, was directed by Mark Robinson. Robinson directed several music videos in the 80s, for artists like Bob Dylan, Eddie Money, and Pat Benatar. He also did the video for The Pretenders’s Brass In The Pocket, which also aired during MTV’s first day.
Enjoy!
The First Videos Shown on MTV:
On August 1st, 1980, MTV premiered. On that day, they played over 160 unique music videos, which is certainly a contrast to today when they play none. The 19th video that MTV played was the video for The Pretenders’s Message of Love. While the video may ultimately be a performance clip, it still captures the unique aesthetic and sense of humor that won and continues to win The Pretenders a legion of loyal fans.
Enjoy!
The First Videos Shown on MTV:
Today’s music video of the day features Pet Benatar as a Rosie the Riveter-type of character, working in a factory during World War II and having fantasies about being a flying ace. Judge Reinhold appears as a pilot while the much missed Bill Paxton plays an enemy radio operators. Interestingly, this video was filmed before either one of the two men became well-known. Reinhold had just starred in Fast Times at Ridgemont High but he wouldn’t play his best-known role, as Detective Billy Rosewood in Beverly Hills Cops, until a year after this video came out. At the same time that Reinhold was trading quips with Eddie Murphy, Bill Paxton was playing an ill-fated street punk in The Terminator.
Pat Benatar was not actually the first artist to record this song. The song was originally written by D.L. Byron in 1980 for a film called Times Square but it was rejected by both the filmmakers and Byron’s record label. The song was subsequently recorded by both Helen Schneider and Rachel Sweet before Benatar did her version. Of course, Benatar’s recording is the best known, climbing up to the third sport on the charts and inspiring even more artists to cover the original song.
If you’ve ever stolen a car in Los Santos, there’s a good chance you’ve heard Shadows of the Night on the radio.
Enjoy!
In the late-90s I was very dissatisfied with the state of music. As a result, I turned to older bands whose music I hadn’t explored. Numerous VH1 top-artists’ lists helped me to discover all kinds of bands I had never heard of before. One of those bands was The Pretenders. It was mainly Chrissie Hynde’s voice that I fell in love with, but the songs were excellent as well. I figured it was time to feature one of their music videos. There was no particular reason I chose this one. I am pretty sure that the music video for Brass In Pocket is their most well-known.
There isn’t that much to the music video. There are two interesting parts I noticed. The first is the opening when they all step forward from the darkness to reveal themselves. The other part is when they face each other at the microphone to hum towards each other. It reminded me of that part of the music video for ABBA’s Waterloo when Agnetha Fältskog and Anni-Frid Lyngstad turn to sing towards each other rather than facing the audience. You see this again in ABBA’s Knowing Me, Knowing You music video. Other than those things, it is shot like you are sitting-in on a studio recording of the song. It does make things more intimate, but it also makes it difficult to say much about it other than that it is great song.
According to VH1, this was the 19th music video to air on MTV.
The director of the music video was Mark Robinson. I can find that he at least directed around 20 music videos, including several more for The Pretenders. However, his IMDb page leads me to believe that there are more, and that he may still be working in music videos today.
Enjoy!
Through the Shattered Lens 