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Tag Archives: music video
Music Video of the Day: 90 Days by P!nk featuring Wrabel (2019, directed by ????)
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Music Video of the Day: O Canada performed by Sarah McLachlan (2019, dir by ????)
Happy Canada Day!
Love you, Canada!
Music Video of the Day: Down by the Water by PJ Harvey (1995, directed by Maria Mochnacz)
“It’s a song I didn’t want to put a label on too much, like this isn’t a song about some woman drowning her baby. To be quite honest, I don’t really know what it is for me, myself, yet – which I don’t mind because I’d much rather leave it for other people to do what they want with anyway.”
— PJ Harvey on Down By The Water
Despite the above quote, it is generally accepted that PJ Harvey’s Down By The Water is about a woman who drowned her baby and is now returning to the scene of the crime and asking for her baby to be returned. According to Harvey, she has met both fans and critics who have assumed that the song must be autobiographical and that she’s singing about drowning her own child.
Speaking of drowning, that’s what came close to happening to PJ Harvey herself while she was shooting this video. Made up to look like, as she herself put it, “Joan Crawford on acid,” Harvey was wearing a wig that proved to be so heavy that, when she went underwater, it was a struggle to resurface.
It proved to be worth the trouble, though. The video was not only highly popular on MTV but it also helped to make a hit out of the song. In fact, Down By The Water would prove to Harvey’s breakthrough hit in the United States. Years after it’s initial release, the song continues to live on as a part of the soundtrack of countless investigative procedural crime dramas.
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Music Video of the Day: Magic by Mick Smiley (1984, directed by Greg Gold)
Magic is probably best known for being used in the original Ghostbusters. It’s the song that plays while the ghosts are being released from Ghostbusters HQ and subsequently haunting New York. It’s been said that composer Elmer Bernstein, who did the score for Ghostbusters, hated the way that Magic was used in the film. Then again, Bernstein also hated the film’s Oscar-nominated theme song.
The video has nothing to do with ghosts but instead, it’s about the magic of attraction. It was directed by Greg Gold, who also directed videos for Michael Bolton and the Hollies. Far better known than the video’s director is the video’s cinematographer. Dominic Sena would go on to direct several music videos before eventually branching into directing feature films like Kalifornia, Gone In 60 Seconds, Swordfish, and Season of the Witch.
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Music Video of the Day: Walking Away by Information Society (1988, directed by ????)
Information Society was formed, in Minneapolis, by Paul Robb in 1982. Despite a small but devoted fan base, the band initially struggled to achieve mainstream success, which led to several lineup changes during the group’s early years. It wouldn’t be until 1985 that Information Society would have their first minor hit and then it would be another three years before they released their two best known songs, What’s On Your Mind (Pure Energy) and Walking Away.
According to Paul Robb, Walking Away was written while he was thinking about all of the people who had recently left the band. In Robb’s own words, “So if you listen to the lyrics of ‘Walking Away,‘ it’s basically just someone complaining about people who left. That’s because that’s exactly what it is.” Though Walking Away was not as big a hit as What’s On Your Mind, it still charted at #9 and there’s a good chance of hearing it played at any 80s night.
Just as Pure Energy sampled Leonard Nimoy, Walking Away opens with William Shatner saying, “It is useless to resist us.” Leonard’s son, Adam Nimoy, was a huge fan of the band and was instrumental in winning the band permission to use the audio samples in their songs.
Enjoy!
Music Video of the Day: I Dare You by The Regrettes (2019, dir by WATTS)
So, yesterday, I was in a terrible mood because I’d gotten a parking ticket and my pick for music video of the day reflected that.
Today, I’m in a great mood! It turns out that my parking ticket was just a warning and I’m not going to have to pay a fine! That makes me feel like dancing! And hence, today’s music video of the day.
Seriously, this exuberance of this music video just makes me happy!
Enjoy!
Music Video of the Day: Blacklight by The Ting Tings (2018, dir by ????)
All of the darkness in this video goes along nicely with my current mood.
For instance, on Monday, we had company so, when I came home from work, there were already two cars sitting in the driveway. So, in order to not to block anyone in, I parked in front of the house. I then went inside and had a wonderful dinner and got caught up with some old friends. Around 8:15, I got a call from our neighbor across the street, informing me that some guy had just put a piece of paper on my windshield. I went outside to see what was going on and guess what I found?
A PARKING TICKET!
That’s right. I parked in front of my own house and I got ticketed. Officially, I was ticketed for “illegal parking — facing traffic.” And now, apparently, I’m supposed to go down to our municipal court (which is located “right behind Walgreen’s,” to quote the court’s website) and pay $60 because I parked IN FRONT OF MY OWN HOUSE!
Needless to say, that ruined my entire Monday night and it ruined most of Tuesday as well. And I’m still pretty mad even as I sit here typing this. I mean, if you’ve ever wondered why I have issues of authority, it’s because of crap like this!
But this song and this video both helped to cheer me up. The Ting Tings are a group that I tend to listen to whenever I’m feeling down. They made me feel better about things and I hope they’ll do the same for you!
Enjoy!
Music Video of the Day: Shut Up by Madness (1981, directed by Chris Gabrin)
In this video, the members of Madness start off as crooks and then they become cops before becoming crooks again. But regardless of which side of the law that the band finds itself on, they’re all always chasing after the band’s lead singer, Suggs. What crime has Suggs committed? It has something to do with cars and a black mask.
In the song, Suggs attempts to convince the police that he’s innocent, even though it’s obvious that he’s guilty. Despite the song’s title, the words “Shut Up” are never heard. Originally, the song was meant to have a verse that would be told from the point of view of the cop, singing about how chasing after petty criminals is keeping him from spending time with his family. At the end of the song, the cop would order Suggs to “Shut up!” However, that verse was ultimately dropped, leaving the request to shut up merely implied.
Enjoy!
Music Video of the Day: One Night In Bangkok by Murray Head (1985, directed by David G. Hilier)
One Night in Bangkok was written, by Benny Andersson, Bjorn Ulvaeus, and Tim Rice for a musical called Chess. Chess, which was meant to be a satire of the Cold War, tells the story of two chess champions, one an American and one a Russian. One Night in Bangkok opens the second act as the American, who has now retired from playing professionally, is hired to provide commentary for a chess championship that is being held in Bangkok. As is evident from the lyrics, he is not impressed by the city. In fact, the American was so unimpressed by the city that the song was banned in Thailand and officially condemned by the Thai government.
The song was performed by actor Murray Head, who played the American in the Broadway production. The single proved to be an unexpected hit, reaching number three in Canada and the U.S. and number twelve in the UK. It’s gone on to have a long life outside of Broadway, being successfully covered by several different groups.
As of this writing, it’s still officially banned in Thailand.
Enjoy!
Through the Shattered Lens