Music Video Of The Day: Slang by Def Leppard (1996, directed by Nigel Dick)


Slang was the title track from Def Leppard’s sixth studio album.  The album had the misfortune to come out in 1996, when Grunge was still in full swing and Def Leppard’s style of arena rock had gone out of style.  It was Def Leppard’s first album to fail to achieve platinum status in the United States, though it was more successful in Europe.  Of the album’s tracks, the title track is the only one that is still regularly played in concert by the band.

The video for the song was filmed in Los Angeles, at Occidental Studios.  The video feels like a slicker version of the video for Rocket.  Jimmy Swaggart makes a cameo appearance, crying as he announces that he’s sinned.  This video was filmed 8 years after Swaggart’s infamous “I have sinned” speech and its inclusion here really does make Def Leppard seem like a band stuck in time. It’s still a rocking song, though.

This video was directed by Nigel Dick, who directed videos for everyone.

Enjoy!

Music Video of the Day: The Last Goodbye by David Cook (2011, dir by Nigel Dick)


Don’t worry, everyone, David Cook’s alright!

Incidentally, I was one of the few members of my family to vote for David Cook over David Archuleta.  I worried that Archuleta was just too young to be burdened with the title of American Idol and I stand by that decision.

Enjoy!

Music Video of the Day: Don’t Say You Love Me by M2M (1999, dir by Nigel Dick)


Why exactly this chirpy tribute to abstinence was included on the Pokemon soundtrack is anyone’s guess.  Apparently, M2M had never heard of Pokemon until they were told that their song was going to play during the film’s end credits.  They were also not happy to learn when they were told that they would have to change some of the lyrics to make the song Pokemon-appropriate.  “You start kissing me, what’s that about?” was changed to “You said you love me, what’s that about?”

I’m not a huge fan of this song, as you may have picked up on.  But I do think the video is kind of cute.  Maybe it’s just because I wish there was a drive-in near my house.  Who knows?

Enjoy!

Music Video of the Day: Bed of Nails by Alice Cooper (1989, directed by Nigel Dick)


Bed of Nails is from Alice Cooper’s 11th studio album, Trash.  It was the album’s second most successful single, despite not even being released as a single in the U.S.  Maybe some of that success was due to this music video, in which Alice the singer performs over and in a bed of nails while women in leather walk through the studio and play the cello.

This video was directed by Nigel Dick, who directed videos for anyone who was anyone.  If Nigel Dick has not done a video for you, you are not really a rock star.

Enjoy!

Music Video of the Day: Love Kills by Vinnie Vincent Invasion (1988, directed by Nigel Dick)


After a stint as lead guitarist for KISS, Vinnie Vincent went on to form Vinnie Vincent Invasion.  Though the band was only together for four years before the members split up to pursue their own projects (two members of the band would go on to form Slaughter), Vinnie Vincent Invasion had a number of minor hits during its existence.

Love Kills was featured in Nightmare On Elm Street 4: The Dream Master and Freddy repaid them for the song by appearing in the music video.  This video was directed by Nigel Dick, who I think has directed at least one video for every band that has ever existed.

Enjoy!

Music Video of the Day: Welcome to the Jungle by Guns N’ Roses (1987, directed by Nigel Dick)


Supposedly, this is a video that MTV initially rejected, feeling that it would be too intense and sordid to appeal to its audience.  In the end, the only reason MTV relented was due to the intervention of David Geffen, who convinced the channel to play the song once at five in the morning.  No sooner had the video aired than the station started to get calls from viewers who wanted to see it again.  Just as the song would become one of Guns N’ Roses’s signature songs, the video became one of MTV’s signature videos.

This is yet another video that was directed by Nigel Dick.  The video follows a young Axl Rose, as he gets off the bus in Los Angeles and finds himself in the jungle.  Interestingly, the members of the band appear as an assortment of drug dealers and other lowlifes, all of whom are trying to corrupt Axl.  It’s been said that the video actually follows the real life dynamic of the group as Axl, despite his reputation, stayed away from the heavy drug use that the rest of the band happily indulged in,

The video has been called a combination of Midnight Cowboy, The Man Who Fell To Earth, and A Clockwork Orange.  That sounds right to me.

Enjoy!

Music Video of the Day: Outside by Staind (2001, directed by Nigel Dick)


This is the version of Outside that does not feature Fred Durst providing “backup.”

I prefer the version without Durst but, in all fairness, they’re both good.  The version that Aaron Lewis performed during the Family Values tour was still a work in progress and Durst wasn’t lying when he said that he was feeling those lighters.  The version that Staind later released as a single is the final version of the song.  It’s the way the song was meant to be heard.

The music video was directed by Nigel Dick.  If you’re a successful musician, Nigel Dick is eventually going to direct a video for you.  That’s just the way it works.

Enjoy!

Music Video of the Day: Patience by Guns N’ Roses (1989, directed by Nigel Dick)


Maybe it’s the whistling at the start but I’ve always thought of this as being a Guns N’ Roses country song.

The video was directed by Nigel Dick, who has directed music videos for anybody who is anyone in music.  The scenes of the band performing were filmed at The Record Plant, a legendary Los Angeles recording studio,  The scenes in the hotel were filmed at the Ambassador, which is the same hotel where Robert F. Kennedy was assassinated in 1968 shortly after winning California’s Democratic presidential primary.  At the time the video was shot, the Ambassador had been closed down and was scheduled to be demolished.  (It would be another 17 years before the hotel actually was torn down.)

This was the final Guns N’ Roses video to feature drummer Steve Adler, who was fired from the band after the video was shot.  Most people who have seen this video will probably agree that the snake is the true star of the production.

Enjoy!

Music Video of the Day: Sweet Child O’ Mine by Guns N’ Roses (1988, directed by Nigel Dick)


You can thank Thor for today’s music video of the day.

This video was shot in the Mendiola’s Ballroom at Huntington Park, California.  All of the band’s then-girlfriends are featured in the clip.  Erin Everly was dating Axl Rose at the time and he wrote the lyrics with her specifically in mind.  Sally McLaughlin was dating Slash.  Steven Adler was dating Cheryl Swiderski while Duff McKagan was going out with Mandy Brx and Izzy Stradlin was seeing Angela Nicoletti.  Unfortunately, I don’t think any of those people are still together but the song still rocks.

The video was directed by Nigel Dick, which is not surprising.  From the 80s to the present day, being a star means that Nigel Dick will eventually end up directing a music video for you.  Along with doing several other videos for Guns N’ Roses, he’s also done videos for Nickelback, Il Divo, R.E.M., Barry Manilow, Britney Spears, Madness, Iron Maiden, and pretty much every other band that’s ever had a major recording contract.  Did his work with Iron Maiden and Guns N’ Roses prepare him to work with Barry Manilow?  We may never know.

Enjoy!