I have to admit that there was some strong competition for the music video to feature today. There was the CGI fun of Money For Nothing by Dire Straits, the Michael Bay directed song about masturbation, Ice Ice Baby, and Shania Twain’s remake of a Robert Palmer video staring at me in the same list. However, I decided to just go with something that is pure fun.
I remember when MTV oddly decided to celebrate their 20th anniversary in 2001 rather than their 25th 5 years later. They invited back a bunch of musicians who had been big on the network. It seemed that all of them had lost it. I remember TLC sounding awful. Then Billy Idol came onstage. He was amazing, and so was his guitarist Steve Stevens. They played the living hell out of this song. They didn’t need to, but they did anyways. I remember them sounding as good as in this music video except they did it live.
I have nothing to say except that director Jeff Stein certainly captured Billy and his crew perfectly. A well-filmed concert video is one done by someone who knows the musician’s style. Jeff Stein obviously did. The music video was produced by Kathy Doherty who doesn’t appear to have done anything else. Jeff Stein on the other hand is another director we’ll see again.
If I can find an excuse to spotlight a particular music video, then I try to take advantage of it. This is one of those days. Today is the anniversary of the beginning of the Gulf War. This song happened to be the first one played on Armed Forces Radio when that war began. Apparently since then all sorts of nonsense has been piled onto the shoulders of this song. I really didn’t need to know that this is apparently considered to be one of the most “Conservative Rock Songs”. Sure, that makes perfect sense. The music video shows both a Muslim and a Rabbi running around, having a good time, and then going to a concert by The Clash. They also throw in capitalism, consumerism, oil, and immigration. Yes, it’s very political. It’s a song by The Clash, but it turns my stomach to think that it has been co-opted like it has for such a purpose. Can we perfect that green goo from Re-Animator (1985), bring back Joe Strummer, and let him tell people what he thinks about it?
The thing I love about this video is its’ interesting tie to Texans. I remember many years ago when I saw a Pop-Up Video on Rock the Casbah. According to it, the shoot for this music video was rather popular with Texans at the time who showed up to watch. Not necessarily because they were fans of the band, but because despite being native to Texas, few Texans had actually seen an armadillo alive instead of roadkill. I like to remember this music video for that rather than what has been done to the song since then. I really didn’t need to know that had happened, but came across it while doing a little research for this post.
That said, I’m not sure what’s worse. That this song is considered conservative, or that Men At Work were successfully sued over the flute portion of Down Under. That’s for another day. Enjoy!
It’s another Canadian holiday that is on my calendar today. Thankfully there are more musicians from the Great White North than just Rush. Otherwise I’d run out of music videos very quickly for other Canadian holidays. It’s my understanding that this “Civic Holiday” is something called a “public holiday” that basically is a day set aside for whatever a particular place decides to celebrate. I am going to co-op this Canadian holiday to celebrate that Alanis Morissette decided to pull a Tori Amos in 1995, and we got the album Jagged Little Pill as a result. To be fair, she was a decent Paula Abdul knockoff before she changed her tune. I could have started with her earlier videos like I did with Ministry. However, I already did the equivalent by spotlighting the early 90s cheese fest of Nothing My Love Can’t Fix by Joey Lawrence back in July. That’s how her music videos used to look.
I remember back in 1995 when I was up in Lake Tahoe, CA with my parents, and saw this music video for the first time. I’m not sure how I wound up watching MTV considering I used to watch the Weather Channel all the time when I was up there for reasons beyond me. Kennedy was interviewing her late at night if memory serves. This was an odd time to release an album like Jagged Little Pill. 1994 saw the height, and deathblow to the early 90s musical renaissance. Kurt Cobain killed himself that year, which brought Nirvana to an end. We also saw the release of Dookie by Green Day, The Blue Album by Weezer, The Downward Spiral by Nine Inch Nails, Throwing Copper by Live, Purple by Stone Temple Pilots, Smash by The Offspring, and Superunkown by Soundgarden to name a few. The next few years we went through a transitional period, and this music video was at the center of it. It’s a great song and good music video, but just like bands such as Bush and Collective Soul, it was part of an aborted second wave of musicians following in the footsteps of Nirvana. A few years later we would be neck deep in boy bands, pop princesses, nu metal, and faux-punk/alt.
The video today looks like they took a standard “just put the musicians in front of the camera performing and add a few arty scenes elsewhere” then passed it through an Instagram filter. It’s a simple music video. The question is does it complement the anger of the song? Yes, it does. Does Alanis really look that angry? No, but that’s not really her fault. She isn’t the type that conveys that easily, which is probably why we’d get much more peaceful stuff from her after this. No, I’m not going to say it. Just enjoy this time capsule. I think 21 years is enough time for us to have gotten over it being played to death.
Lisa has subjected herself to many shark movies during the past week. I thought it was only appropriate to end July with a music video featuring a shark. It also happens to be one of the most bizarre music videos I have ever sat through. I guess it makes sense. Director Francis Delia also did Mexican Radio for Wall of Voodoo and Somebody’s Watching Me for Rockwell. No, this music video is weirder. It’s appropriate that this music video was released the year I was born. I do love the weird, and I am an odd duck.
How many music videos do you know that open with a human wearing a pterodactyl head while riding on a unicorn? It then cuts to the titular shark. What follows seems to be a modern day tortured noir-ish character who also goes through a last temptation of Christ situation, which includes the creepy head of an Asian girl coming out of a pot. This scene also comes complete with women who I’m pretty sure were borrowed from the set of She (1982).
However, that’s not all that happens. What is with the scene where he chases after the woman in the field, catches her, and she turns into a goat? That’s immediately followed by him seeing the ghost of a woman in his motel bed with his gun pointed at her.
In the end, he releases a dove. Why? Does it mean he has made peace with himself? That’s my best guess.
I can at least say this. I’m quite sure that the “Shooting Shark” refers to a comet. I’m also pretty sure The Man Who Laughs (1928) makes a cameo appearance.
One could dissect this music video scene by scene, but I won’t. Just watch it. It will only cost you about five minutes, and is well worth the odyssey it provides. Then come back to get a prescription for that nasty cowbell fever you are having right now.
How do you say I totally missed Deee-Lite’s existence? How do you say I pretty much wasn’t aware of this song till YouTube? How do you say I have next to nothing to say about this video?
Hmm…I think I just did. If The B-52s made sure we knew that tin roof was rusted, then Deee-Lite made sure you could get stoned without having to take drugs. I mean Bootsy Collins even shows up in this music video at the end to bring up drugs. I think we know the thought process that went through director Hiroyuki Nakano’s mind here. It’s like every acid trip scene that was in 60s and 70s cartoons except in music video form and with real people.
Leaving this out of a week of music videos that feature dancing would be a crime. I could leave it at that, but let’s talk a little bit about this music video.
Much like the mid-90s swing revival seemed to come out of nowhere, so did this video. We were all familiar with Fatboy Slim’s Praise You whether we wanted to be or not at this time. They played that song to death. Then came Mr. Deer Hunter and Gold Watch up your butt Christopher Walken dancing around a hotel like he was suddenly possessed by the spirit of Fred Astaire. Leave it up to Spike Jonze to think this one up, or at least I assume he did. This is one of those music videos that we not only know the director and producers, but the cinematographer, choreographers, the production designer, the 2nd camera operator, costume and wardrobe, visual effects, stunts, and it apparently had a “Philosophical Consultant”.
The choreographers were Spike Jonze and Christopher Walken themselves, but also a Michael Rooney. His work can be seen from as far back as Saved by the Bell to this year’s The Jungle Book.
Of course you’ll recognize the 2nd camera operator. That being director Roman Coppola.
The cinematographer is Lance Acord. He worked on Being John Malkovich (1999), Adaptation (2002), Lost in Translation (2003), Marie Antoinette (2006), etc.
The people you’ll recognize goes on.
Eric Zumbrunnen was the editor on this video a along with some notable videos such as Buddy Holly, Cannonball by The Breeders, and Sure Shot by Beastie Boys. He too would continue to work with Spike Jonze being the editor on Adaptation and Her (2013).
Producer Vincent Landay would continue to work with Jonze, but Deannie O’Neil doesn’t appeared to have done much of anything beyond this music video.
Production Designer Val Wilt would go on to do 96 episodes of Bones. Not bad.
Costume Designer Casey Storm would also go on to work for Spike Jonze and do Zodiac (2007) with David Fincher.
Visual effects person Ben Gibbs would work some more with Jonze, but I’m not sure about Jeff Kim.
As for the stunt people, Keith Campbell is one of those people who has done stunts on everything. Brian Friedman is apparently very well known as a dancer/choreographer on TV Shows. He also worked on several Britney Spears music videos.
The “Philosophical Consultant” K.K. Barrett worked with both Jonze and the Coppolas.
Wow! Now this is a well documented music video. This makes me happy. It also makes me happy watching Christopher Walken channel his inner Astaire. I love how Walken at first isn’t sure where the music is coming from and notices the little radio. Then he is overcome, and must dance. It’s true what Gloria Estefan said: “Rhythm Is Gonna Get You”.
This video is pure fun. It’s also funny that we got 70s cop shows for Beastie Boys, Happy Days for Weezer, 50s musicals for Björk, and then Walken doing a more expansive version of Fred Astaire’s number from 1951’s Royal Wedding.
I remember back in the mid-90s catching an episode of Regis and Kathy, which my mom watched regularly. They had an unusual musical guest that day. It was Squirrel Nut Zippers playing Hell. I had no idea where the hell this was coming from. You have to bear in mind that by about 1996, my music was over with. I was around for the four horseman of the musical apocalypse sure. I saw NSYNC perform at my high school with a recorded applause. But all that said, the music that I took to heart was over with by then. I nearly burst out laughing when Ivanka Trump said she was a Millennial the other night. Anything that came after was something distinctly different to me. Just like Hell was distinctly different than anything made by Nirvana, The Offspring, and Green Day to name a few. Even when I went to Tower Records, they had no idea what I was talking about when I asked about the album. Of course this all changed when the mini-swing revival of the mid-90s kicked into high gear. I think it’s fair to say that The Brian Setzer Orchestra was spearheading the short-lived movement.
A few years later after this brief seemingly out of nowhere revival happened, I was in Lake Tahoe, CA with my parents. We were lucky because we got to see Brian Setzer perform. It wasn’t with the full orchestra. That was a little disappointing, but it was pretty awesome to see such a good guitarist return to his rockabilly roots that are all over this early 1980s Stray Cats song. The music video doesn’t feature dancing in the same way that all the other videos I will spotlight this week do, but I love the band, song, and I did just finish watching four of Lifetime’s “at 17” movies.
In this video we have a square classroom transformed through the power of a camera cut, and the band protesting in class. Once they look ready to take on Glenn Ford in Blackboard Jungle (1955), they are off to sing, play, and dance. There isn’t really anything to bring up seeing as it is relatively simple. They do a good job of pulling you in and making you want to dance along because those parents just don’t understand.
As for the girl, she’s sexy, kind of reminds me of Benatar, and is most certainly not 17 seeing as we basically see her butt naked.
Rock This Town and Stray Cat Strut are awesome, but I love this one too. I can imagine this being one of those music videos that not only reintroduced kids to the roots of rock, but had them dancing in front of their televisions.
This is one of those music videos like Take On Me by a-ha where I ask myself what the heck am I going to add. Regardless, I’ll try.
The three big things in this music video are narrative, spoken dialogue, and many sets.
This short film could have been released back in the 1910s and it would have fit structurally as an early example of short form narrative filmmaking. The film takes us from Pat being kicked out of her home, working at a seedy nightclub, and then heading back on the road after she leads a dancing revolt against a nasty boss. It’s noteworthy that she never goes home. Go ahead and put aside the girl power part of it that we will see again in a much better form later on, and focus on that this was sent into people’s homes many times a day. Instead of screams of “leave me alone” turning into something violent, the music video offers a non-violent solution to its’ audience.
The second thing is the spoken dialogue. We take that for granted now. I mean we looked at Weezer’s Buddy Holly a ways back, and it’s loaded with it. However, back then, it was brand spanking new with this music video. Before Love Is A Battlefield, that simply did not exist in music videos.
The third thing is very simple. Going along perfect with the 5+ minute length music video, it also used numerous sets, and cut back and forth between them. It’s not something to be overlooked when watching this music video.
I’m sure I will find plenty of innovation as I move into more recent music videos, but just like early cinema, it’s always fascinating to see early music videos as they tried all sorts of different things. Especially when the song that is playing is merely a recent incarnation of an ancient art form. An ancient art form simply mixed with an art form that by 1983 had been around for about 95 years. The first 30 or so of those devoted to making films like this. Sometimes they were even focused around a performance of a song such as several films that Alice Guy made.
At the end of the day, they didn’t call it music television for no special reason. I’ve seen TV stations that play nothing but music. MTV took what was largely used as a replacement for a live performance on a music show, and did what early cinema did when they moved from Queen Elizabeth in 1912 where you can literally see the dust coming off of Sarah Bernhardt’s costume cause it was seen as just canned theater to something that in 2016 isn’t even seen as separate from the songs. Ask any parents with kids, and they’ll tell you they don’t buy music. They simple AirPlay music from their computer or other device to the TV. I do this myself, and I was born the year this music video came out.
Unless Lisa has changed her mind (very possible), she is currently posting dance scenes that she loves this week. I like coordinating a theme around a week or a month like we do here sometimes at Through The Shattered Lens. That’s why I am going to post six videos this week that feature dancing. I am starting with Toto’s Rosanna.
As you may have noticed, this is another one of these done by director Steve Barron. So far we have seen him direct music videos for The Human League in 1983 and a-ha in 1985. In 1982 he took Toto, who is probably best known for songs like Africa and Hold The Line, and brought us this mixture of Cynthia Rhodes doing her thing, West Side Story (1961), and Toto looking like they are on a darker looking version of the set that Stray Cats used in Stray Cat Strut.
The music video is similar to Whitesnake’s 1987 version of Here I Go Again. By that I mean they filmed some of Toto’s performance, but it’s really Cynthia Rhodes who shines as the West Side Story lady dancing in a red dress. My favorite part is at about the three minute mark of the video when it goes into pure instrumental and she lifts her leg up completely straight into the air against the chain link fence. Another nice moment is around the two minute mark when we are looking at a closeup shot of the lead singer’s face. In one shot of his face, we can see Rhodes dancing in the background, and the other time see the gang members walking towards him.
It also happens to be a great song by a group that certainly doesn’t get the same love as their songs such as Africa and Hold The Line. You can probably still talk to teenagers today who will not know the name of the group or the title of the song, but they will remember hearing that song about “I blessed the rains down in Africa” or “I touched the rains down in Africa” they heard on the radio at some point.
One final thing is that you might not know Cynthia Rhodes. She played Penny Johnson in Dirty Dancing (1987). She was also in the critical failure of a sequel to Saturday Night Fever (1977) called Staying Alive (1983). In other words, I think it’s safe to say that being in Runaway (1984) was the real reason she ultimately wound up giving up her career to be a full-time mother as IMDb says she did. She would also show up in at least two other videos done by her then husband Richard Marx. That, and she is a well-known dancer of the period in general.
This is also one of those music videos where we know more than just the director. Paul Flattery produced this music video. We will see him again and again.
It’s an excellent music video for an excellent song, and I hope you enjoy it.
Sticking with obscure, I give you Never Say Never by Romeo Void. It’s another one that I only know of because of Grand Theft Auto: Vice City. We’ll probably get to every song on there except some of the Latin Jazz. Yes, I do know that there are more obscure music videos than this one such as Ah Leah by Donnie Iris and Johnny Are You Queer? by Josie Cotton, but those are for other days.
First off, I put 1983, but there seems to be disagreement between the two big music video databases, VEVO, and Wikipedia. IMVDb says that it’s from 1981. Mvdbase says it’s from 1983. VEVO says 1981. I’m going ahead with 1983. The reason is that Wikipedia says the song was recorded in December of 1981, then released in January of 1982. I also get the distinct impression that this is a band that would initially say no way to MTV, but then change their tune when they realized MTV would take anything as long as you were white. They really were that desperate early on. People tend to forget that, but MTV was a fledgling network. How fledgling? They don’t start playing the song until a minute and five seconds into a four minute and thirty-seven second video. I can see them saying, “Oh, you mean we can also get creative visually around our song, and you really don’t have a problem with it? In that case, never say never, and sign us up.”
There is no director listed anywhere that I can find, but two directors come to mind. Those being Jim Jarmusch and Jim McBride. McBride even directed the remake of Breathless (1983). The beginning of this video sure reminds me of the original. The guy in the video even dies like Jean-Paul Belmondo did in the original Breathless (1960). The music video also screams early French New Wave. He also directed Great Balls of Fire! (1989) and in 2000 did the feature length VH1 original movie Meatloaf: To Hell and Back. So, if I have to make a guess here. This was possibly directed by Jim McBride.
I love this video. I think that no film should be left behind, but I love it when a music video takes advantage of the visual medium instead of just playing the song in front of a camera.
Also, is that Keanu Reeves in there? I doubt it, but you never know. I mean Courtney Cox is in Dancing in the Dark by Bruce Springsteen, so why not? Plus, I’m not that familiar with the members of the band. In fact, this is the one and only song by Romeo Void I have ever heard in my life.
I can’t possibly imagine this being in anything but this extra dark black and white. I also can’t imagine them drawing you more into their performance even if they cutaway from time to time to other things. No doubt No Doubt got some of their style from Romeo Void. The sexual tension between the lead singer and the band is all over this thing like it is in No Doubt music videos.
One last thing to mention. It is censored. They cut out the word “fuck”. Kind of interesting that it’s there. That means it originally aired that way, much like Shoop by Salt-N-Pepa originally aired with the word “retard” in it. It is fascinating, and sad how much more censorship happy we’ve become over the years. I don’t really mind “retard” not being there, but put the “fuck” back into a song that has a chorus that says: “I might like you better if we slept together”. At least we have access to older stuff like this, so it isn’t lost even if the VEVO versions get censored. Enjoy!
Through the Shattered Lens 