This is the second version of The Tide Is High (first version). Any sexual stuff is gone. Even Horny Vader only makes a confusing appearance at the end–without any buildup.

The video stays the same until the squatting-Debbie scene. That’s when a video effect kicks in that brings in other footage on top of the floor.

From then on, things are different. Here are some examples.

They still leave in the rocket, but the video comes across like it was supposed to be about a disaster that the band was fleeing, which is how they end up on the space station, or whatever that is supposed to be.

The video says it is the “director’s cut.” That wouldn’t surprise me for a couple of reasons.

1. Director’s cuts of videos happen. There’s one of Wrecking Ball by Miley Cyrus and Heart-Shaped Box by Nirvana.
2. There seems to be a drop in quality when you hit the new footage. That suggests that it was recovered and inserted back in with the higher quality stuff that wasn’t cut.
3. It doesn’t seem to fit the lyrics. It’s more trippy. I’ll give it that. I assume somebody else thought so too, which is how we got the first version as well the third one.

The third one brings back the sexual stuff in a big way. But it also brings an element of the song to the video that neither of these do.

Enjoy!

Thank you, Lisa!

Since she did a song by Blondie yesterday, it gave me the idea to do The Tide Is High seeing as it’s kinda weird. It turns out, there are at least three versions of this video–each one different enough to merit a separate post. Yay! Ugh.

This is the first version of The Tide Is High. If you poke around online, then you’ll usually run into this one, with slight variations of the ending.

We start off the video by panning across the boys in the band as they look up, wondering what is taking Debbie so long.

Cut to Debbie’s place, and we see fish filing up her windows. And by fish I mean as close to showing sperm as they could get.

After we see that some of the “water” is leaking into the room, watch Debbie look out a window, and sing to the camera, we cut to a horny Darth Vader watching Debbie.

More of the “water” leaks into the room, so Debbie very precisely squats down and pulls a towel off what looks like a radio.

Debbie then proceeds to mop up some of the “water”, and then ring it right back out onto the floor. I get the feeling that isn’t a blonde joke.

Meanwhile, the guys are outside standing like they are at a urinal.

Horny Vader continues to look at Debbie in a variety of ways, such as the one below.

Debbie does eventually come downstairs so that the band can get into a car, and she can sing out the window.

When she’s done, we are treated to some people…

who had no idea they would end up in video where the audience is meant to think they are looking at a penis.

The phallic object takes off, and after separation, they all go through a brick wall. Just go with it.

Then it cuts to four women in blonde wigs, wearing swimsuits, while carrying a half-naked man. Sure.

Now Debbie taps Horny Vader on the shoulder. He turns around to reveal he’s some sort of combination of Vader and a Cylon?

Debbie seems to have no problem with this turn of events.

This is were you’ll get slight variations. This version does continue a little longer by cutting back to the girls and the half-naked guy.

Once in a while, I came across a version that would not cut back to the five whatevers, but instead go to the following shot where some people run towards the camera.

I’ve included that version below. I don’t know if that was intentional, censoring, or just that during that particular airing they cut the video short, and we are seeing something else for a few seconds. My bet is on censoring.

There are versions that just fade to black while Debbie dances.

If you think I was jumping to conclusions about the sexual stuff–I wasn’t. One of the other versions is more explicit in that area.

Enjoy!