Music Video of the Day: Sister Christian by Night Ranger (1984, dir. Dan Halperin)

Posted on August 27, 2016 by Valerie Troutman

It’s been awhile since a song made me tear-up. You might not know the story behind the song since I didn’t. Drummer and vocalist Kelly Keagy was visiting his younger teenage sister and was amazed how fast she was growing up. He wrote the song about her. You can tell he was anxious and worried about her fast approaching adulthood. Of course people latched onto the word “motoring” as if the song and music video don’t make it clear that the term is synonymous with “cruising”. I think I need to break out Jeff from Rock: It’s Your Decision (1982) every time I do a music video that has a song with misunderstood lyrics in it such as Losing My Religion.

Rock: It’s Your Decision (1982, dir. Jon Taylor)

I guess it’s appropriate then that the song became Sister Christian because one of the other band members kept mishearing Sister Christy as Sister Christian.

The music video starts off with a clock literally ticking off the seconds of her life before we cut to her graduation. What follows are scenes of her coming of age while the band appears to be practicing in an auditorium. She is ambivalent throughout about her sexuality, how it relates to her studies, and how she is going to live her life after high school no longer has a hold on her. In the end, she decides to hop in the car and drive off into her future.

In a way, you could consider Billy Joel’s Only the Good Die Young a companion piece to this song. It too has a misunderstood meaning.

The high school in reality is San Rafael High School in California.

I couldn’t find much on director Dan Halperin except that he worked on a few other music videos.

On the other hand, I found that production manager Peter Lippman has worked on a ton of music videos performing numerous jobs.

Enjoy!

Music Video of the Day: Centerfold by J. Geils Band (1981, dir. Paul Justman)

Posted on August 26, 2016 by Valerie Troutman

With this music video of the day, I have now done 62 of these posts. It has taken that long to hit a music video that came out in 1981.

When I was growing up before I discovered Nirvana, I was listening to my parents’ music. Luckily, they had pretty good taste. I received the standard stuff that anyone of my generation should expect from their parents, but there were a few odd ones. I used to be a little ashamed when my dad would have Neil Sedaka’s greatest hits album playing when he would take me to and from soccer. I’m not ashamed to say I like Sedaka to this day. Especially not when Sedaka apparently made this music video type thing himself back in early 1960s, which reminds me of Centerfold.

My parents were very focused on raising me, so they largely missed out on 80s music, but there were a few exceptions. Two of the most notable examples were Centerfold and The Logical Song by Supertramp.

The song is a given. Freeze Frame is enjoyable, but Centerfold is a classic feel-good song that I would be willing to believe a lot of people have heard without knowing the name of the group.

I love the music video because I don’t see music videos often where the band or a member of the band has fun with some other people in it. I have to wonder how many times the lead singer either fell off the desks, or at least came close. The music video looks as fun as the song sounds. I don’t know what else you can ask for when making one of these for a song like Centerfold.

We have the same crew from Freeze Frame here. Director Paul Justman worked on a handful of music videos. He also did some other films including Gimme an ‘F’ (1984), which I have since found out is about cheerleaders (go figure). I have also since procured a copy of it too.

According to IMVDb, this was cinematographer Andrew Dintenfass’ first music video. He seems to have worked primarily with Russell Mulcahy and Paul Justman, but there is one he did with Kenny Ortega who would later direct the very popular horror musicals for Disney in the 2000s. We’ll get to one of his music videos later.

Justman did a great job capturing the fun of the song. I can’t say that enough. Just enjoy it!

Then maybe come back and listen to Neil Sedaka perform Solitaire.

Music Video of the Day: Popular by Nada Surf (1996, dir. Jesse Peretz)

Posted on August 25, 2016 by Valerie Troutman

If I only washed my hair once every two weeks, then I would be grease city.

I’m quite sure that Nada Surf never went on to have much success, but they did make an impact with this song. I recently watched a movie all about popularity, and I’m 99% sure it has an instrumental soundalike of this song at the beginning of it. It’s called The A-List (2015).

It’s a very simple, but enjoyable music video. This is one I say is a music video that helps to set the context for the song. Alone it’s okay, but with the music video it has a setting for its’ lecture.

Director Jesse Peretz did about 20 music videos. One of them is the best Foo Fighters music video of all time that I am really surprised I haven’t done yet. He has also mainly done directing for TV shows such as Nurse Jackie and Girls.

If you haven’t seen it, then enjoy this 1996 time capsule. It’s a lot of fun.

Music Video of the Day: …Baby One More Time by Britney Spears (1998, dir. Nigel Dick)

Posted on August 24, 2016 by Valerie Troutman

I would usually try to write something here. Something like that she represented the worst of the late 90s. Maybe that she has grown on me since that time. Just about anything along those lines would normally fill this post. But I can’t do that because I really can’t get over that the director of Wonderwall by Oasis, Paradise City by Guns N’ Roses, and Everybody Wants To Rule The World by Tears For Fears made this music video. Then again, he has worked on some 300-400 music videos, so why not?

Speaking of why not. Why not a death metal cover of this song?

Page Buckner worked in the art department for this music video. There is an IMDb page for that name, but I’m not sure if someone born in 1979 would have been working on this music video. Assuming it is, then he has worked on numerous major projects such as Django Unchained (2012).

Watching this music video is very nostalgic, but I am so glad this period of music is over. Enjoy this time capsule.

Music Video of the Day: Pressure by Billy Joel (1982, dir. Russell Mulcahy)

Posted on August 23, 2016 by Valerie Troutman

I’m really not sure what to say about this other than to watch it. It is one of the best music videos I have spotlighted so far. That shouldn’t be a big surprise since it is Russell Mulcahy directing a Billy Joel music video. For whatever reason, Billy Joel’s music videos are some of the best I have seen. Russell Mulcahy is an excellent director of music videos. It’s a winning combination.

I guess there are two things I want to make particular note of in the music video. First, is that it uses a modified version of the training montage from The Parallax View (1974) at the beginning. The second thing is that I love how Mulcahy used water and liquids in general as something that not only builds up pressure when attempts to contain it are made, but also as something that can consume you if you cannot handle pressure as the song says. It is much like the television that winds up capturing the kid within it since it is also a source of pressure along with magazines and other mass media.

This is another one of those music videos where we know more than just the director.

Andrew Dintefass was the cinematographer on Pressure. He shot a few other music videos with Russell Mulcahy, some other music videos, and did a few other things as well.

Doug Dowdle edited Pressure. He also edited, directed, and wrote a few music videos.

Keith Williams wrote Pressure. He wrote over 60 music videos, which includes a bunch of Russell Mulcahy ones. I found an IMDb entry that I am pretty sure is him and includes numerous producer credits.

Jackie Adams was the producer of Pressure. She seems to have exclusively produced music videos directed by Russell Mulcahy.

I love when I come across a music video that has this much documentation available.

Enjoy!

Music Video of the Day: I Wanna Rock by Twisted Sister (1984, dir. Marty Callner)

Posted on August 22, 2016 by Valerie Troutman

“Hello students.
School has begun.
The summer is over.
I am in command.”

According to my old high school’s calendar, it is the first day of school. If your teacher happens to look like the jilted husband/boyfriend from Chilly Scenes of Winter (1979), then…

Chilly Scenes of Winter (1979, dir. Joan Micklin Silver)

be careful because the guy might be able to lift cars.

Chilly Scenes of Winter (1979, dir. Joan Micklin Silver)

After We’re Not Gonna Take It worked out so well with actor Mark Metcalf, we got a repeat of his amazing performance. Also, with this and 1987’s Here We Go Again, director Marty Callner has directed at least two music videos that have become legends, not because of the band or the song, but because of someone else in the video.

I Wanna Rock is the riveting tale of Mark Metcalf trying to destroy fun by being funny himself while getting flung around a school through the power of rock. It’s also about choosing what you want to do in life, and not what somebody else tells you to do. The music video is not as good as We’re Not Gonna Take It largely because the song isn’t is as good. The music video is still fun though, and showcases Mark Metcalf’s talents as a comedian.

If you haven’t seen this music video, then it is essential. I’ll explain the story of how Metcalf wound up in these music videos when I get around to We’re Not Gonna Take It.

Enjoy!

Music Video of the Day: Simply Irresistible by Robert Palmer (1988, dir. Terence Donovan)

Posted on August 21, 2016 by Valerie Troutman

We like people who are made up to look the same while they do the same thing next to each other. There really isn’t anything else to say here except that it took an age old formula a la Busby Berkeley, and fed it to us once again.

Robert Palmer didn’t like making music videos, so when Addicted To Love turned out to be amazing, he just said let’s do that again. Hence we got the same thing only with more girls. That’s not quite as good seeing as five girls that are easy to look up, find out their names, and discover they have reunions. However, I have looked through the comment section and there are several people who write that one of the girls is either their sister, girlfriend, wife, or somebody they know in general. Doesn’t surprise me.

As for the song, it’s Robert Palmer. He does good work. I have yet to come across a song of his that I don’t like, but I’m sure it will happen eventually. The music video is actually perfect for him specifically because while the girls behind him do their thing, it let’s Palmer stay simple. He’s there with his good looks, nice suit, and sings to us like he is onstage in a 30s-40s musical.

Director/Producer Terence Donovan also did Addicted To Love and a handful of other music videos while being a well-known fashion photographer.

I can’t find any other music video work done by choreographer Jeff Thacker, but he certainly continued to work afterwards. His main thing is being one of the producers on the TV Show So You Think You Can Dance.

Enjoy!

Music Video of the Day: Freeze Frame by J. Geils Band (1982, dir. Paul Justman)

Posted on August 20, 2016 by Valerie Troutman

The J. Geils Band is one of those groups that I only know a couple of songs from because when they would come on the radio when I was a kid, my mom would say it was one of her favorite songs. We’ll get to the one most people know by the group, but I decided to start with Freeze Frame. This song is pure fun. There’s nothing to be said about that.

There really isn’t much to say about the music video either. The band performs in what looks like an area prepared for painting as it cuts between them and Old Hollywood period stock footage. The only one I recognize by name is Nosferatu (1922). There are some other ones that look familiar, but I can’t come up with the names. That’s really all there is to this. There’s more to talk about with Centerfold.

The only particularly interesting part is at the end when they animate the cover of the album the song is on. I liked that it calls me back to Don’t Answer Me by The Alan Parsons Project, which was one of the first music videos I did as a music video of the day. I also like that one of the band members is dressed like a painter in overalls. I don’t know how I have passed 50 music videos without doing that homage to painters and women named Eileen, but I have. I’ll get to it eventually.

Director Paul Justman has directed a few other music videos, but not many. He has also done some feature films. That includes some B-Movies like Gimme an ‘F’ (1984) as well as some documentaries about music like Standing in the Shadows of Motown (2002).

Andrew Dintenfass shot this music video. He shot a few other music videos along with some other work.

I’ll get to Centerfold soon. In the meantime, enjoy this song that still gets airplay today with an okay music video to go along with it.

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

Posted on August 19, 2016 by Valerie Troutman

The Verve was a group that I know a lot of people liked in the late 90s, but I never got into them. I had the album this song is on, but that was it. I actually enjoyed The Verve Pipe more. However, in both of their cases it was only one song. I probably caught a minute of the music video here and there, but that was it. This is the first time I have watched it all the way through carefully. There’s not much to talk about.

The video starts off with our lead singer deliberately standing on a sidewalk at an intersection where construction would block him from walking straight backwards. He can only go straight forward. After that, he continues to walk down the street without caring too much about who or what gets in his way. Wikipedia says he is a oblivious, but he isn’t. That’s noticeable when he does move around some people. Not to mention that if he were truly oblivious, then he would have walked into several cars. He is unconcerned because this walk isn’t just for fun, but a cathartic experience for him. This is most noticeable in the way he walks to where he needs to stand, and seems to have to work up the courage to walk down the street. He ends up walking the metaphorical street where in the end he is joined by the other members of the group. He might hurt some people along the way, but he can’t let that stop him from being who he is, and to move forward with his life. I did find it interesting that they deliberately show shots of his feet. I don’t think it’s meant to be a Saturday Night Fever (1977) reference, but to show that he is not avoiding the cracks in the sidewalk.

This is another music video where we know more than just the director.

The director is Walter A. Stern who seems to have done about 20 music videos, but that’s it.

Editor Nicholas Wayman-Harris has a done a few more music videos having edited about 25 of them along with directing one. He has also worked in other short films as well as feature films

Costume designer Emma Sutton did at least 7 music videos and a few additional shorts, but that’s all I could find.

The music video fits the song and is interesting, but it’s nothing particularly remarkable. That said, I’d say this is required viewing and listening for 90s music.

Music Video of the Day: Wonderwall by Oasis (1995, dir. Nigel Dick)

Posted on August 18, 2016 by Valerie Troutman

I remember when this music video came out. It was for me the first time I heard Oasis. They seemed to come and go in the blink of an eye to be honest. However, they did leave behind several notable music videos, and this is one of them. Watching it now, I immediately thought of Werner Herzog’s Stroszek (1977). I kept looking around for the dancing chicken.

That’s not a bad thing, but I’m kind of disappointed director Nigel Dick didn’t put it in here somewhere. He seems to have used just about everything else in the video. However, it doesn’t feel like Nigel just threw everything he could think of at the screen in haphazard manner either. It gels together quite well and gets the real message across to the audience watching it. That message being that you are kind of supposed to think of Oasis as the new Beatles. That didn’t work out. It does seem to have panned out a bit better for them than it did for The Cyrkle with their song Red Rubber Ball back in the 1960s.

Speaking of the 1960s, take a look at this 1967 performance by The Box Tops of their song The Letter where apparently the syncing didn’t go exactly as planned, the band noticed, and they had some fun with it.

Let’s throw in one more for good measure with The Byrds performing Turn, Turn, Turn.

The point is that Oasis certainly fall into The Beatles lineage in sound even if they were never as good, and Nirvana was realistically The Beatles of the 1990s.

If you haven’t already heard the song Wonderwall, then certainly watch the music video. It’s essential 90s rock that is a time capsule of 1995, and a throwback to the 1960’s endless Beatles soundalikes.

What I find most interesting is the crew. I have done a little over 50 of these, but even without me, two songs that Nigel Dick directed the music videos for have been brought up in the last month or so. He directed both Everybody Wants To Rule The World by Tears for Fears and Paradise City by Guns N’ Roses. From what I can see by looking over his 300+ directing credits for music videos, he seems to have had a thing for black and white. He used it for Guns N’ Roses, Oasis, and Taylor Dayne at the very least. Nigel Dick has also worked as a producer and art director on about 50 music videos between the two jobs. That includes having produced Do They Know It’s Christmas? back in 1984.

The other crew member I was able to find is the producer Phil Barnes. From what I can see, he has produced somewhere between 80-90 music videos. He seems to have stopped now, while Nigel Dick seems to have just cut back on the number he is making these days. I love that Phil Barnes has at least four separate entries in IMDb because people clearly didn’t know it was the same guy.

Enjoy!