Tag Archives: music video

Music Video of the Day: Bitter Sweet Symphony by The Verve (1997, directed by Walter Stern)

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Does this seem familiar?  It’s because Val already shared her thoughts about this video.  This is a song that means a lot to me, especially on this day, so that’s why I’m sharing my thoughts now.  It’s either that or else I forgot to check on whether this video had been previous shared before I wrote and scheduled this post.

Cause it’s a bittersweet symphony this life
Trying to make ends meet, you’re a slave to the money then you die.
I’ll take you down the only road I’ve ever been down
You know the one that takes you to the places where all the veins meet, yeah.
No change, I can’t change, I can’t change, I can’t change,
but I’m here in my mold, I am here in my mold.
But I’m a million different people from one day to the next
I can’t change my mold, no, no, no, no, no, no, no

Bitter Sweet Symphony.  It’s a beautiful song that, on days like today, means a lot to me.  The lyrics were written by Richard Ashcroft, the lead singer of The Verve.  That’s him in the video, lurching Frankenstein-like down Hoxton Street in London.

The famous orchestral riff, which has been heard in so many movies and commercials, was lifted from a 1965 song by The Rolling Stones, The Last Time.  When the band tried to get permission to use the sample, there was a lot of confusion about who actually owned the rights.  You can read all the details on Songfacts.  It’s a bit too complicated for me to even try to put my mind around.

Well I never pray,
But tonight I’m on my knees, yeah.
I need to hear some sounds that recognize the pain in me, yeah.
I let the melody shine, let it cleanse my mind, I feel free now.
But the airwaves are clean and there’s nobody singing to me now.

The video,I assume, was very carefully orchestrated.  Personally, I’d love to imagine that Ashcroft just started walking down the street, intentionally crashing into anyone or anything that got in his way.  I especially relate to the woman who gets in Ashcroft’s face after he walks over her car.  That would be me.

The video was directed by Walter Stern, who has sixteen credits listed on the imvdb.  Supposedly the video was inspired by another music video, this one for Massive Attack’s Unfinished Sympathy.  I’ve never seen the Massive Attack video but apparently it also features a lead singer lurching down a street.  Though Walter Stern didn’t direct Unfinished Sympathy, he did do a different video for Massive Attack (Tear Drop) shortly before doing Bitter Sweet Symphony.

No change, I can’t change, I can’t change, I can’t change,
But I’m here in my mold, I am here in my mold.
And I’m a million different people from one day to the next
I can’t change my mold, no, no, no, no, no, no, no

(Well have you ever been down?)
(I can’t change, I can’t change)

When I rewatched this video for this post, I was struck by just how tall Richard Ashcroft is.  Honestly, I would probably get out of his way.  Unless he walked across my car, of course.  Then I’d get in his face and start yelling.

Cause it’s a bittersweet symphony this life.
Trying to make ends meet, trying to find some money then you die.
I’ll take you down the only road I’ve ever been down
You know the one that takes you to the places where all the veins meet, yeah.
No change, I can’t change, I can’t change, I can’t change,
but I’m here in my mold, I am here in my mold.
But I’m a million different people from one day to the next
I can’t change my mold, no, no, no, no, no, no, no
I can’t change my mold, no, no, no, no, no, no, no
I can’t change my mold, no, no, no, no, no, no, no

Despite the fact that The Verve was opposed to having their music appear in commercials, they didn’t control the rights.  As such, Bitter Sweet Symphony was used in a campaign for Nike.  The Verve donated the money that they made to the Red Cross Land Mine Appeal.  Of course, the song’s appeared in a lot of commercials and movies since then.

It’s just sex and violence melody and silence
It’s just sex and violence melody and silence (I’ll take you down the only road I’ve ever been down)
It’s just sex and violence melody and silence
It’s just sex and violence melody and silence
It’s just sex and violence melody and silence (I’ll take you down the only road I’ve ever been down)
(It’s just sex and violence melody and silence)Been down
(Ever been down)
(Ever been down)
(Ever been down)
(Ever been down)
(Ever been down)

Enjoy!

Music Video of the Day: Smashed Blocked by John’s Children (1967, dir by ????)

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Hi, everyone!  Lisa here with today’s music video of the day!  It’s an old one, one that comes to us all the way from 1967!  I present to you: Smashed Blocked by John’s Children!

John’s Children were an English band who were together for about two years, from 1966 to 1968.  By most accounts, they didn’t make much of an immediate impact, despite Smashed Blocked finding some popularity in the States.  (However, they would later receive some retroactive recognition as one of the major influences on early punk rock.)  Perhaps unfairly, they were better known for their antics on and off the stage than for their music.  For instance, they opened for The Who until they were got kicked off the tour for being too wild.  They frequently posed naked for the press.  They named their first album Orgasm, which was a sure way to generate controversy in the 60s.  Marc Bolan, who would later find fame as the frontman for T. Rex, was briefly a member of the group, though he wasn’t involved with the recording of Smashed Blocked.

Anyway, this video for Smashed Blocked was apparently filmed in 1967, in the basement of the Establishment, a popular London nightclub.  That’s ainger Andy Ellison, drummer Chris Townson, and bass guitarist John Hewlett in the video.  According to some comments that Ellison posted on YouTube, the song’s title comes from “mod” slang — Smashed meaning to be drunk and Blocked meaning to be high on amphetamines.  That’s certainly the feeling that I get from this song, which really does seem to scream out “1967!” in every way that it can.

Interestingly enough, there’s a second video for Smashed Blocked on YouTube.  This one was not an official release.  Instead, it’s made up of footage that was left on the cutting room floor after the first video was put together.  Here it is:

Enjoy!

 

Music Video of the Day: The Test by The Chemical Brothers feat. Richard Ashcroft (2002, dir by Dom & Nic)

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Today’s music video of the day is a personal favorite of mine.  Then again, just about anything that involves The Chemical Brothers is a favorite of mine.

What is the video for The Test about?  That’s a question that I’ve heard asked by several and I’ve read many different interpretations.  Some people are convinced that the video is meant to be a recreation of an acid trip, which is certainly a valid if rather simplistic interpretation.  Myself, I like to think that this video means whatever you, as an individual viewer, choose to believe it means.  Any didactic interpretation, I think, misses the point.

Myself, I will say that the start of the video remind me of Irene Miracle’s iconic dive into the flooded basement in Dario Argento’s Inferno.  (To a lesser extent, it also reminds me of the scene in which Asia Argento falls into a painting in The Stendhal Syndrome.)  Once the action moves to the beach, the video puts me in the mind of one of Jean Rollin’s cinematic dreams.

However you interpret this video, enjoy!

Music Video of the Day: My Window by Jake Epstein (2008, dir by ????)

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Hi there!  Lisa here, recovering from my birthday and bringing you today’s music video of the day!

Today’s music video of the day comes from a Canadian show that is very close to my heart … no, not Saved By The Bell: The New Class.  That show wasn’t Canadian.  I’m talking about Degrassi!

Starting with the second season, Jake Epstein was a regular on Degrassi.  Epstein played Craig Manning, the bipolar photographer-turned-musician who, over the course of his time on the show, did everything from impregnating Manny to beating up Joey Jeremiah to eventually breaking the hearts of both Ellie Nash and Ashley Kerwin.  He even befriended Kevin Smith!

In the middle of the fifth season, Epstein left the show and Craig left Toronto.  However, even though he was no longer a regular character, Craig would occasionally return to Degrassi.  For instance, during season 6, he came back to play a show and, as a result of snorting too much cocaine before taking the stage, ended up having a massive nose bleed in the middle of his performance.  Agck!

Fortunately, Craig went to rehab and was able to return during the season 7 episode, Bust a Move.  Playing a surprise show at a Canadian college and reconnecting with two of his exes, Craig also found time to perform My Window, a song that, in real life, was written by Jake Epstein.

The video above was released around the same time that Bust a Move premiered in the States.  It’s an official video, even if it is mostly made up of clips taken from previous episodes of Degrassi.  Unfortunately, most of those scenes were lifted from his season 6 return.  I would have liked to have seen more scenes between Craig and Ellie.  (I used to think that Ellie was totally me but, while recently rewatching the show, I realized that I actually had more in common with Ashley.)

Anyway, I can hear the eyes rolling already but cut me some slack.  I love Degrassi!  Add to that, this is actually a pretty good song.  I love Jake Epstein’s voice.  Along with appearing on Degrassi and countless Lifetime films, Epstein is also a respected musical theater actor.  Among his credits: American Idiot, Beautiful: The Carole King Musical, and Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark.

Enjoy!

 

Music Video of the Day: Down To Earth by Flight Facilities (2015, dir by Rhett Wade-Ferrell)

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Hi there!  Lisa here, filling in for Val and bringing you today’s music video of the day!

Today’s my birthday and I gave a lot of thought as to what music video I wanted to share on this special day.  I considered sharing Only Happy When It Rain by Garbage, because I’ve been told that song pretty much is me.  But then I realized that I had already shared that video!

I then considered Fiona Apple’s Criminal but again, I remembered I had already shared that one as well!

(Seriously, after a year and a half, it starts to become a challenge not to repeat yourself.  Give full credit to Val on this.  She keeps the feature fresh and updated and she has yet to repeat herself once.)

I also came very close to going with the music video for Jake Epstein’s My Window.  I love that song and the entire video is pretty much made up with clips from Degrassi and y’all know how much I love that show.  (Maybe Val will do My Window someday, Lisa thought, keeping her fingers crossed…)

But then, suddenly, I had a vision of Sam Rockwell dancing in a deserted diner.  And I knew then that I was meant to share, on this particular day, the video for Down to Earth by Flight Facilities!

Sam Rockwell’s just adorable, isn’t he?  This video was directed by Rhett Wade-Ferrell and the choreography is credited to Vincent Paterson, who previously worked with Michael Jackson.

Enjoy!

 

Update On Music Video of the Day Posts (Rock Me Tonite by Billy Squier)

Posted on by Valerie Troutman

I haven’t been doing good health-wise, and I’m not sure when it’s going to pick up. So, I am going to be in and out for awhile. I just wanted to give people a heads up. I don’t like missing these, but it’s going to happen more frequently. I would provide a timeframe if I had it. It’s all over the place at the moment.

I picked out Rock Me Tonite by Billy Squier because I wanted to talk about the infamous music video that went with it for today. Unfortunately, that isn’t something I can just throw together like this post. There’s interviews–written and oral–, context, my opinion, it’s importance, etc. It’s one of the most significant music videos ever made.

In the meantime, do what Squier would have liked people to do in the first place: Listen to the music absent of the images that the video brings to mind.

Music Video of the Day: Paradise In Distress by Golden Earring (1999, dir. ???)

Posted on by Valerie Troutman

I had to do this video eventually. It might as well be on Election Day or Inauguration Day. I decided to go with Election Day. There’s never a time this video wouldn’t be controversial to spotlight anyways.

I’m hardly a history expert, so numerous people in the stock footage are unfamiliar to me. However, I do recognize some, and thanks to a YouTube comment, I have been able to look up a fair amount of the ones I didn’t know, such as Mobutu Sese Seko, Ferdinand Marcos, Jean-Bédel Bokassa, and Megawati Sukarnoputri. You could play this back-to-back with Cult Of Personality by Living Colour because all the people featured in the stock footage had or have a cult of personality around them, whether you agreed with them or not.

There’s something that’s easy to miss in the video if you aren’t familiar with their 80s videos. They did one called The Devil Made Me Do It that might as well be sung from the perspective of a guy in a film noir that was drawn into criminal actions by a spider woman, and would like to be let off the hook as a result. The parts with the band are largely done with lead singer Barry Hay looking upwards as if he is singing to God in order to pardon him for the crimes he has committed. You’ll notice that near the end of this video, the camera goes up so that Hay is looking upwards like he did in The Devil Made Me Do It. Seeing as this video starts off with confession, I imagine that was done on purpose.

I don’t know who the director of the video is, but there is someone in the YouTube comments section that seems to say that they were the one who did it:

OMG. I so forgot I did this one as CD-extra for them in 1999. Just found it back on an old back up! KREWL!!!

Whoever did it, I think they did a good job. It’s one of my favorite political videos along with America by Kurtis Blow and Cult Of Personality by Living Colour, both of which make use of stock footage.

Enjoy!

Music Video of the Day: Make You Move by Slam (2015, dir by ????)

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Hi everyone!  Lisa here with today’s music video of the day.  For some reason, this video does not come with a thumbnail image but the video is there.  If you click play, you will see it.  I promise.  (Unless, of course, you’re reading this in 2032.  If that much time has passed and you’re just now coming across this post from 2017, I make no promises.  Sorry, kids.)

Hailing from Glasgow, Slam consists of Stuart McMillan and Orde Meikle.  (McMillan and Meikle are co-founders of the legendary label, Soma Quality Recordings.)  I like the video for Make You Move because it’s deceptively simple.  On the one hand, it may appear to just be a lot of old footage on a cheap TV that’s sitting in the corner of an apartment.  On the other hand, this video is exactly what music is all about.  It’s all about making you move and, as far as I’m concerned, this video certainly accomplishes that.

It just seems like a good way to the start the week!

Enjoy!

Music Video of the Day: Don Quixote by Nik Kershaw (1985, dir. Storm Thorgerson)

Posted on by Valerie Troutman

For those of you in an area that celebrates Daylight Savings Time, remember to make sure your clocks are set back an hour.

This is the last of the Thorgerson/Kershaw music videos that I can find. It also means that along with The Riddle, Wouldn’t It Be Good, and Wide Boy, we’ve done all the songs that Kershaw performed at Live Aid.

I have never read Don Quixote or even come close by seeing Man Of La Mancha, so I can’t really speak to what it has to do with it beyond a few things like the tilting at windmills bit. But that’s something that has become a saying independent of the book. He’s asking Don Quixote, among other things, if we are seeing imaginary enemies. This song is from 1985.

If you read the lyrics while watching the video, then you can see what they were going for with this. Especially tying television to delusional thinking about ourselves and our actions. After reading a couple sentences from the Wikipedia article on Don Quixote, I can see why that is the name of the song and the person the song is addressed to.

I would love to know who that is at the beginning of the video. My best guess is that it’s supposed to be Salvador Dali since he did at least one painting based on Don Quixote. That would explain the inclusion of the clock too.

I’m not sure what the dancers are there for, but I’m willing to bet that’s a Man Of La Mancha connection.

Enjoy!

Music Video of the Day: The One And Only by Chesney Hawkes (1991, dir. ???)

Posted on by Valerie Troutman

I’ll have to take Wikipedia’s word for it that Buddy’s Song (1991) was released theatrically. It certainly didn’t look like it to me when I watched it. It was more like a TV movie.

The song was written by Nik Kershaw for Chesney Hawkes. The Wikipedia article on it seems to indicate that it was tacked on to the movie because it was a hit song for Hawkes at the time. I think this is true because at least on the copy I watched, it plays very lightly in the background of one scene, and then prominently over the credits. An article on The Guardian where they interviewed Hawkes and Kershaw says otherwise. I recommend reading the article. It’s interesting to hear what Kershaw has to say about his effect on Hawkes career. They are apparently still friends and you can find numerous videos of them playing together as recent as this year.

The movie isn’t that bad. Despite appearing to be a star vehicle for Hawkes, it’s really Roger Daltry’s show. According to Wikipedia, the movie was a sequel to a mini-series that had Daltry in the same role, but with a different actor playing his son Buddy. That makes sense since the focus really is on him. He’s a guy who named his kid after Buddy Holly because he is obsessed with people like Holly and the 50s in general. He has ties to organized crime. He does some time for a friend, and then spends the rest of the film dogging his son as he moves into music, not realizing that while helping some of the time, he is also harming him. It’s two steps forward, one step back.

That brings me to the video. There is no real relationship between Buddy and a girl in the movie. There is a girl, but I only remember two scenes that she is in. That part of the video is a little ridiculous even if she is meant to our avatar. Daltry chasing after Hawkes does give you an idea of what you are getting if you watch the movie. Those parts of the video reflect the film. There’s an article over on The Telegraph where Hawkes talks about the amount of money it took to make at least one of the two videos that were done for this song. I’m assuming the quarter of a million pounds video was this one. Yikes!

If the girl looks familiar, it’s because that’s Saffron of Republica fame. The band I imagine most people–me included–know because of the song Ready To Go and the rock version music video for it with its excessive zooms.

The other woman is someone named Lucy Alexander. I don’t know anything about her other than that she has been on a show called Homes Under The Hammer since 2003.

I like the song. I think the video doesn’t do it or film any favors.

Enjoy!