MTV, The Early Years
January 14th, 2007 at 9:02 am by CrankyOK kids, due to popular demand (hi Sharon and Billy!), let’s discuss the extremely early videos where the production was still primitive. We’ll see where it goes from there…
Exhibit A: Red Hot Chili Peppers, True Men Don’t Kill Coyotes
Exhibit B: Devo, Are We Not Men?
UPDATE (Preston):
This discussion would not be complete without including some early-MTV-era Billy Squier. “Lonely is the Night” was one of the first songs I learned on the guitar – and with a video like this, it’s no wonder I spent so many 7th-grade hours in my room working on the intro.
January 14th, 2007 at 11:59 am
Great Start to a Spectacular Sunday, Crankster! I have church and hopefully a Charger victory today (I pick THIS to be the year I give up my season tickets of course)…and through it all some serious tubing.
My lead-off pick is Gary Numan’s “Cars”. With a song that has so many low-budget opportunities by just going to the parking lot, count the number of actual cars Numan uses in this one:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kw9nq45feyA
And since we are on the subject of Cars and low budget, at least The Cars rented a moving van for this one (or perhaps they just found one down the street). I get the feeling that Ric went to the thrift store…
(oops, coffee kicked in, emergency “twosie”!)
…to get that hideous blue suit.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GiWrxCtLkIY
January 14th, 2007 at 7:18 pm
Everybody, have you heard
If you’re in the game
then the Stroke’s the word.
Funny in the eighties I would have been much more at home at a Squier concert than a Gary Neuman.
But Cars… freakin’ Cars. Now that song always evokes the fond memory of me and my 15 year old friends riding our bikes down to the Garrett pizza and burger joint. We’d always put one of the six quarters we had for pinball into the jukebox.
Billy, the low/no budget kinda works, don’t you think? Minimalist and all?
January 14th, 2007 at 8:40 pm
The Chargers broke my heart. So hopefully some Tubing will be good therapy…
Who needs a budget when you have a babe with a ‘hawk prancing around:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=jKDJdRGug5o
As far as Squier goes, did he ever do a video that wasn’t a performance vid? I had this on 8-track:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LL4hsLYBbbk
Anyone remember the movie “Heavy Metal”? It was the rage when I was a Junior in High School. I remember blaring this soundtrack in this guys garage while we played 8-ball on his pool table.
Anyway, the movie had that low-budget animation look (OK, at least compared to the animation we see now. I went looking for the title song from Don Felder, but no movie shots. But here is something low budget just the same:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=50lHWjH_RNQ
OK, now some Patriot-fan asshole is lighting fireworks down the street.
January 14th, 2007 at 11:13 pm
The Eagles let us down again. This year, however, they did it with style.
I hope it doesn’t get tiresome that every song that comes up has a memory. But…. Heavy Metal? Oy! That was the first recording I ever purchased. I bought it for the Sammy Hagar song. Let me tell you that the $16.95 soundtrack double cassette took me two days of wages to purchase. I was working at a drive-in earning $3.35/hr.
Bow Wow Wow? Sorry. The Mohawk was enough for me to disqualify the lead singer for hotness. My kind of hotness?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PRQzFhTmmiE
Right here.
January 14th, 2007 at 11:39 pm
Sorry you did not find Annabella to be hot. Perhaps if she had kept her hat on…
Quarterflash…I still have that album on vinyl:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IDLzj3FVuUc
That was my favorite song from the album…alas the only video is a performance video.
My vote for hotest video babe of the 80’s is Kate Pierson. Of course you can’t really tell in this video, but it at least satisfies the low production topic we have been discussing:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=vKKFhHpFFVE
This tune was a staple of my high school parties. It was a great excuse to get freaky on the floor with some naive freshman babe…
Cranky, it will never get tiresome to share “memories” these tunes revive. Isn’t that what 80’s Tubing is all about?
January 14th, 2007 at 11:39 pm
Oh…one more thing. Where the hell is Sharon?
January 14th, 2007 at 11:52 pm
Here’s better Kate Pierson. You can actually see her face…
http://youtube.com/watch?v=FJ4U6jVltr0
January 15th, 2007 at 7:38 am
Better late than never!
And, go Saints! (You had to know the liberal is rooting for the fairytale team)
And speaking of fairies, (how’s that for a segue?) Anthony from RHC was so gay looking/acting, and I used to think he was really hot, though not as hot as Billy Squier. I loved that Devo video! It was like the nerds version of “I’m a M-A-N.”
Right before I came over here, I was watching Rick Springfield (Jessie’s Girl) and Toomy Tutone (867-5309) Rick was a major hottie in the early 80s. Of course, assuming the guys over here are straight, that probably doesn’t appeal to you.
Another fun, stupid song is Toni Basil’s “Hey Mickey.”
What would y’all say is the all time cheesiest video from the 80s?
January 15th, 2007 at 7:44 am
I jsut watched the Tommy Tutone video again, and it’s pretty darn cheesy!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V1oE2rS6JYQ
(And there is even a beautiful blonde in there for the fellas)
January 15th, 2007 at 9:52 am
I think the B-52 win the “Quintessential 80’s Band”
Jerky robotic moves borrowed from DEVO? Check
Flamingly gay front man (Sean Hayes’s dad)? Check
Geek guitarist dressed in a Captain Kirk t-shirt? Check
That bubble tube from the “Video Killed the Radio Star” video? Check
Yep!
Sharon, I didn’t lik Rick Springfield because he got the credit for a song Sammy Hagar wrote. Any guess what that one was?
January 15th, 2007 at 10:12 am
OK Sharon, perhaps not the most cheesy. But this one always stuck in my craw.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S7IPdVIvXEw
Note the extremely cheesy paper mache monster tentacle.
January 15th, 2007 at 10:17 am
Oooh! Oooh! I know! I know!
I can remember discussing this in high school on the East lawn.
“Why would Sammy Hagar let that fag Rick Springfield do his song?”
(of course secretly some of us guys still liked the song, but we wouldn’t admit it since all the girls were in love with Rick Springfield…and admitting liking S’field was similar to admitting we were gay ourselves…kind of like admitting liking THIS band):
http://youtube.com/watch?v=HzgPv-5trCk&mode=related&search=
This video may also get a nomination for “cheesy” if no other reason than the carnation and headband.
Whilst looking for this video, I tripped across this. Pretty cool in my opinion:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=SFyEJlj6-dY&mode=related&search=
I’ll let Sharon guess on the Springfield song first…
January 15th, 2007 at 10:25 am
OK, my own nomination for cheese:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=Vk7AJ7jDNzI
Sorry about that Cranky, I know you don’t like this music. I love the video, but is HAS ABSOLUTELY NOTHING TO DO WITH THE SONG! It’s like TP had a little money (not much) to blow on the video and he decided to do some post-apocalyptic film-making for no reason other than it was cool.
January 15th, 2007 at 10:32 am
Cranky,
LOVE your choice for “cheesy”! Greg Kihn played at our “grad night” celebration at Disneyland my Senior year along with:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=azr2ooLlfzQ
I’ve got to admit it, it was cool living in SoCal in the 80’s…
January 15th, 2007 at 10:35 am
I had no idea Duran Duran did White Lines. I have been looking for this song for a while. Thanks.
This video might be the main reasons I didn’t like TP. OK, so they discover this old arcade or something. Connect the dots for me – why does Tom have to trash it?
Was this in fact a prequel for his cameo in “The Postman”?
January 15th, 2007 at 10:46 am
You know, I was trying to remember that hideous movie. I don’t think it was intentional, it was probably somewhere along the lines of, “hey, Petty did a video about our movie before we even made it,let’s cast him…”
I think Petty is a divisive artist. Everyone I know either LOVES his stuff or hates him. No middle ground. I’ve been to at least 25 Petty concerts…during his Wildflowers tour in ‘95, I saw him 8 times in SoCal, including the best show I have ever seen at the Hollywood Bowl.
Another band I have seen 8 times (but not all the same summer):
http://youtube.com/watch?v=S0TfEcSyJDE
Living in SoCal means bands often begin and end tours here. This is the one band that I would travel ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD to catch a reunion concert if they ever have one…
But something tells me Danny will never let it happen.
January 15th, 2007 at 11:15 am
Hey Cranky (and Sharon)…
It’s MLK day and in the high school basketball world that mean “all-day festival”.
So I won’t be able to keep going on this conversation until I return late tonight.
Since the topic is now “cheese”, I’ll leave you with this:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=pFN_VWWfiQs
Anything cheesier than a male women’s shoe salesman? Before Al Bundy made them cool, that is…
January 15th, 2007 at 12:12 pm
It’s MLK day and in the high school basketball world that mean “all-day festival”.
Dang! With my new employer (whom I love), MLK day means sit on tushie and surf.
January 15th, 2007 at 12:45 pm
Forget it, Billy! Danny Elfman has too many movie soundtrack commitments and is too busy raking in beaux-coup up-front commitment money to take time off for a little 80’s nostalgia. For people like you and I, we’re left with “Dead Man’s Party” . Danny passed them the torch.
Psssst… They just played The Belly Up in Solana Beach this past Saturday night, and it was packed (again!).
I think i’ve seen DMP 6 times in the last 18 months at Canes, Belly Up, and Coach House up in San Juan Capistrano.
My favorite all-time Oingo Boing song???
Why, of course! “CAPITALISM”!
Theres nothing wrong with capitalism
Theres nothing wrong with free enterprise
Dont try to make me feel guilty
Im so tired of hearing you cry
Theres nothing wrong with making some profit
If you ask me Ill say its just fine
Theres nothing wrong with wanting to live nice
Im so tired of hearing you whine
About the revolution
Bringin down the rich
When was the last time you dug a ditch, baby!
If it aint one thing
Then its the other
Any cause that crosses your path
Your heart bleeds for anyones brother
Ive got to tell you youre a pain in the ass
You criticize with plenty of vigor
You rationalize everything that you do
With catchy phrases and heavy quotations
And everybody is crazy but you
Youre just a middle class, socialist brat
From a suburban family and you never really had to work
And you tell me that weve got to get back
To the struggling masses (whoever they are)
You talk, talk, talk about suffering and pain
Your mouth is bigger than your entire brain
What the hell do you know about suffering and pain . . .
January 15th, 2007 at 3:39 pm
Home for a quick lunch, then back to the gym. Had to check the Tubing thread…
Thanks for the tip, Yiddish. I haven’t ever seen DMP. I know Danny has said “never, never”, but can you imagine the rush for tickets in SoCal if they ever announced a reunion show. I’ll bet they could sell out the Rose Bowl.
Also a frequent player at Belly Up is The Rugburns. I’ve sold Geezer on them with Kilkenny Man, here’s something most San Diegan’s are familiar with:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=1OFCXlvIxb8
Yeah, I know. No actual “video”, but those unfamiliar listen to the lyrics. I’ll make sure to dial in the rest of the Buffet as often as I can. Yiddish, make sure you catch them sometime. I’ve been following them since ‘86 when they used to play at the Blarney Stone at 70th and El Cajon Blvd.
Cranky, sorry it sucks you are at work. I can’t offer you any porn to look at (plus I am sure your work filter wouldn’t let it through), so here is a good centerfold substitute:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=HQ2EFr4FX6E
OK, back to the basketball “festival”…
January 15th, 2007 at 7:15 pm
What about the Dead Milkmen? The DEAD MILKMEN, man!
Punk Rock Girl
Couldn’t find Bitchin’ Camero, which is my favorite. It always reminds me of my “bitchin’ stang” I had in High School, which I didn’t appreciate nearly enough as I would now.
No Violent Femmes, or am I just going off on some weird tangent here? Anybody with me?
Gone Daddy Gone
Ugh, all they had for the Femmes is live videos. (didn’t they have any Mtv creations?)
This one is from *shiver* lalapalloazablows. Weak. By the time their pre-pubescent voices changed, they started suckin’ big time.
Love these threads Cranky!
January 15th, 2007 at 7:47 pm
Thanks for joining in dsmith. BTW, there are three Femmes songs on my iPod. Didja know that they did an “upscale” version of “Blister in the Sun” for the Grosse Point Blank soundtrack?
January 15th, 2007 at 11:49 pm
FYI, Cranky…
The Violent Femmes play around San Diego often (sometimes unannounced) since they now call San Diego “home”.
January 16th, 2007 at 1:43 am
The Rugburns have been known to cover “Bitchin’ Camaro”, but I didn’t see it on YouTube.
Love “Punk Rock Girl”…
Not a huge Femmes fan, though I saw them at the Del Mar Racetrack on a Friday night a few years ago (or was it last summer?).
As I age, I notice that I don’t go see live music as much. In fact, I haven’t been to a show since last summer.
I remember my ’80’s summers…they were always full of concerts. I followed this group around the DC area in ‘85:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LwZY9ZXrBt0
I also saw Bob Seger a few times around then…this was often the highlight of the show:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fe7yOccqdxI
January 16th, 2007 at 5:44 am
dsmith…Nice call on DM!
Billy and Cranky–I was soooooooooooo in love with all of Duran Duran. Oh my gosh.
Yiddish–do you speak Hebrew or Yiddish? I was going to write something only you would get if you do.
Sigh–Now I’ll be thinking about Simon from Duran Duran with Rick Springfield sprinkled around generously.
Billy–You mentioned Sammy Hagar. Why is it almost every conservative I’ve met likes heavy metal or heavier rock. (ACDC,Rush,etc)
January 16th, 2007 at 7:37 am
The Violent Femmes play around San Diego often
I’m with Billy in that I don’t see concerts much anymore. But what a show that would be. I imagine they would play smaller venues.
January 16th, 2007 at 12:32 pm
Sharon,
It might be that heavy metal addresses our neanderthal, throw-the-woman-over-our- shoulder mentality that conservatives are often accused of. The music is hard and it’s intense.
Of course, in the late 80’s a “metal” band kind of wussified things:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=YiEpLI5exrU
Almost every girl I knew from the “East County” was totally in love with Poison.
Then there is Rush. Personally, I like their music. When I was in high school, the fastest way to get the stoners to gang up on you was to say that “Rush sucked”. In fact, I knew that a stoner sat in the same desk I did the period before my history class. He had scratched “Rush rules!” in the desktop with his pocket knife.
I scratched out the word “rules” and wrote in pen “sucks”…just to mess with him.
A week later he took the time to scratch this entire message in the desk:
“I know who you are and I will kick your ass!”
Such passion. I lived in fear of getting ganged up on by a bunch of psyco-stoners my entire sophomore year.
Enjoy, Sharon:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=r460UMI5gbo
Speaking of Geddy Lee, this might be his greatest work:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=ot70G4wSQi0
I still have the album…
January 16th, 2007 at 12:37 pm
Cranky,
The Violent Femmes play at Del Mar almost every year. You should come on out in August for a day of horse racing and concert-going…
January 16th, 2007 at 1:48 pm
Sharon,
Of all the Hebrew i’ve learned from my youth that I may have forgotten, i can always fall back on my daughters (both of whom are still in Hebrew School) to help me. I can speak a little bit of Yiddish, too. Afterall, it is the language of couching and spitting.
January 16th, 2007 at 2:59 pm
Sharon,
Oh Duran Duran. The entire population of my pre-teen fantasies consisted of four British citizens. Those guys are beginning to show their years, as am I, except for my personal fave John Taylor. Still the cutest bassist in all of rockdom. And their music was pretty good too.
mmmm. http://www.ear.fm/Encyclopedia%20T/taylor_john.jpg
January 16th, 2007 at 4:47 pm
Duran Duran…
I had a major crush on this girl back in ‘84. Her name was Bonnie. But I had NO chance against Simon, Nick and John. I was totally convinced they were gay.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=FUtnadLNi1k
I mean, just look at their HAIR. And they didn’t wear shirts, they wore BLOUSES.
Yet somehow in ‘84 they had the heart of my sweet Bonnie. I had no chance.
I’d already mentioned in another comment about all of the Poison-crazy chicks in East County (that’s Lakeside, Santee, El Cajon). I kind of understand Sharon’s thing for Rick Springfield (I guess). But this I just never got:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eQWKmceb184
OK, I am SURE Morissey is gay (he is, isn’t he?). And although I own some Smiths music and have a fondness for it in a reflective way, back then I couldn’t understand how the girls just loved this guy. Maybe they thought he was dark and disturbed (I mean, listen to the lyrics).
January 16th, 2007 at 6:09 pm
Morissey. Blech. Why any guy would want to sing like a narcissistic prom queen with PMS, and why that would be attractive to either sex is beyond me.
January 16th, 2007 at 6:15 pm
Billy,
Adam Ant was HOT in a blouse. So was Mel Gibson in Bounty, with that little ribbon in his hair. Maybe it’s a pirate thing.
January 17th, 2007 at 9:09 am
Michele–I think you’re on to something there with the pirate thing. Jack Sparrow is somehow sexy as hell, too. And Duran Duran…all of them were hot, but they are getting a bit long in the tooth, now. Still…
Billy said “the music is “hard and intense.” Hard and intense–nothing wrong with that.
Yiddish–Shculz en kauf en vont! (Regarding heavy metal)
I saw Prince on the Golden Globes Monday night, and he was really great in the 80s.
“When Doves Cry” is one of the best songs of the 80s, or at least one of the more memorable ones. It still holds up today.
Question: How do we talk about the gloved one who gave us a classic record who is most likely a child molester? Do we try to forget Thriller, or remember it as a masterpiece and give it its props while dissing the performer? I will forever remember the first time any of us saw the Motown 25 special where he moonwalked for the first time, and yet he’s so creepy, I don’t want anything to do with him. Can art and the artist be separated?
January 17th, 2007 at 9:43 am
OK, my two cents.
I don’t know why I felt this way, but I always got a rush out of rock music. And that rush by its very nature was testosterone driven. That is why I never could understand the appeal of lipstick wearing Brits. If I did, well perhaps I would have dated more. I remember Angus Young of AC/DC in an interview being asked what the band’s name meant. I was so let down when he said, “’cause we swing both ways.”
My reaction was, “No, No, NOOOOOO!!!! You meant so say that AC/DC was pure energy!”
Now Sharon, about the art/artist separation. Not so easy. Pete Townsend and the child porn was hard to take, but I could still enjoy his music. Just too memories wrapped up in that.
Woody Allen is a little tricky. He often has a deviant edge in his $ex-related material. When it was revealed that he really wasn’t kidding, that hurt my perception of his “art”. Even that, I have managed to reconcile to some extent.
I think conservatives have to deal with this question more because we do like our entertainment even if we have to take more than a few swipes sent our way.
Anyway, do you still like Thriller?
January 17th, 2007 at 12:12 pm
Thriller and Off the Wall…yes. I believe they are both still classics.
Maybe something was “off” about M.Jackson back then, but his stuff was so great we allowed him what seemed to be a little eccentricity.
I own Thriller and have a couple of those tunes in my MP3. His videos were awesome of course:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t0D8WsV8EGw
Would I pay any money to see him or listen to any of his stuff post-’87. Absolutely not. I have a friend who loved the Ditsy Chicks before Natalie Maines decided to become a geo-politician. She didn’t throw out any of their music, but she won’t go to a concert or buy any new music.
In my mind, there are three Michael Jacksons. The first sang the bebopping fun stuff fronting the Jackson 5 that I so cherished as a kid. The 2nd was the young man who was perhaps the most talented entertainer of his generation.
Of course the 3rd is the sick freak you wouldn’t let 1/2 mile from your child.
January 17th, 2007 at 3:48 pm
I agree with Billy about Michael Jackson.
I 95% believe Pete Townsend when he says he’s innocent, the other 5% is the part of me that knows I wouldn’t leave him alone with my children anyway. But I still think he’s a rock genius.
Mostly I don’t want to hear anything about the life of a writer, actor, or artist. I’ve always believed that it is important to look at a work separate from it’s creator. What it means to me is more important than what they intended for it to mean. And more often than not, knowing the personal opinions of the artist has a negative affect on my enjoyment of their work, or my ability to converse with people about their work.
For example, I admit I love the Cat Stevens album “Teaser and the Firecat”. Take away all the politics of his day, his conversion to Islam, the stereotype of the Vietnam era folk-singer, and just listen to the music. There is no doubt to anyone who appreciates musical and lyrical talent that this is quality stuff, whether or not you are into that style of music. I love the music, but I can no longer enjoy it. Knowing that he’s rumored to have donated to muslim charities that finance terror operations puts a little turd in the punchbowl.
January 18th, 2007 at 1:54 am
All interesting observations and comments, though I must say there’ a pretty big difference between eccentric and child molester.
Regarding Pete Townshend, even if his story was bogus, (and I actually tend to believe him) he was never near a young boy. Of course if he was looking at child porn that is wrong, too…but not like doing it.
BTW, while we’re on the topic of Pete, did you know he blogged all last year? Now, his girlfriend Rachel Fuller blogs and shares stories and photos of them. You should check out her blog if you want the real inside stories of Pete and The Who.
Cranky–the name AC/DC didn’t tip you off that they might be bi? If it makes you feel any better (or worse) Mick Jagger and David Bowie were bi for a while. Of course they could write it off to the 60s, AC/DC was after the experimental phase, so…
And Michael Jackson is just so damn creepy, I can’t stand to look at him. I think Thriller is one of the best albums ever made, but it’s hard to listen to it without thinking what terrible things he (allegedly) did.
Billy, regarding The Chicks, they did turn out to be right.:cool:
January 18th, 2007 at 7:20 am
I like Pete Townsend’s blog. He’s very human and up front, and I hope he ends up writing that book.
January 18th, 2007 at 7:36 am
Cranky–the name AC/DC didn’t tip you off that they might be bi?
Sharon, the point was that was 15 and didn’t WANT to believe it. Hard rock is macho, tough and definitely not gay – or so I thought at the time.
Re: Pete. Michele, did you know he wrote a book back in the 80s called “The Horse’s Neck”? It was sorta autobiographical with his heroin withdrawl visions mixed in. Some of the writings turned up as lyrics in “Athena” and on his solo albums.
Now excuse me while I find this blog you speak of…
January 18th, 2007 at 12:49 pm
Sharon,
What were the Ditses “right” about? That they went to a foreign country and said they were “ashamed” to be from Texas?
Why didn’t they have that “courage” in front of a Dallas concert crowd? Why don’t they go to Iraq to perform for the troops and say the same thing?
Of course, this is the best Dixie Chicks song ever:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=oy_YrUP2NQ0
Cranky, I think you need to 80’s Tubing post at least once a month. Good discussions…
On the subject of Townshend, this was one of the first videos on MTV that got heavy rotation:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=ZfqN0wupduI
I don’t know why me and my friends were so mesmerized by this video. But during that first summer of MTV, we would stay up until 4am if we had to in order to see it.
This is neither here nor there, but in the category of favorite early 80s videos, here are two of my favorites:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=86ZY5CtZXqk
http://youtube.com/watch?v=BzttLZuoUbA
Here is why MTV was so important in the early 80’s. Without those videos, I might never have heard these tunes at all. Now they are both irreplaceable additions to my music collection.
And whenever I play them, I always set the volume to 11:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=akaD9v460yI
January 18th, 2007 at 2:27 pm
Cranky, I think you need to 80’s Tubing post at least once a month. Good discussions
I love ‘em too. dsmith and Michele are good contributors too.
The boss tells me that I can only do it on weekends, though. Something about interrupting the flow of important “newsy” pieces.
January 18th, 2007 at 3:42 pm
“The boss tells me that I can only do it on weekends, though. Something about interrupting the flow of important “newsy” pieces.”
I think the fact that boss-man disappears for for days in a row without posting something may contribute to “interrupting the flow of important ‘newsy’ pieces.”
(I wrote that in the most non-bitchy and benign way. Sprinkle that comment with a few giggles.)
Forty-three.
January 18th, 2007 at 3:59 pm
Forty-three? Are we playing that game, Michelle?
The numbers game. For some reason I instantly thought of this 80’s alternative classic:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=hE1i2zLG9yY
Now I never did see a video from The Nails…it might have been too racy back then for MTV. Or maybe The Nails didn’t have the funds to make a video. Anyway, if anyone actually finds one, please hook me up.
Forty-four.
And I found some Tubing to back that up.
January 18th, 2007 at 7:02 pm
Billy,
Loved your choices. In the great minds and all department, I almost posted Twilight Zone but thought I’d hold onto that one for next month. Besides it wasn’t too cheesy (except for the dancing Nazi girl interrogators).
January 19th, 2007 at 10:31 pm
Michele,
Did you follow Pete’s online blog last year when he was writing his novella? It was amazing watching the creative process of a tortured genius. I think he las a link to his old blog on his current site. Many people (including me) left comments on each chapter he added, and sometimes he would respond. He would also put up demos he was working on, and it was just great listen to and watch his process for creating.
Rachel Fuller’s blog is RachelFuller.com, it will take you to intheattic.tv You have to register, but it’s free. She blogs almost daily and is very open about where you can meet up with her and Pete. Apparently, they’re computer geeks and enjoy meeting other bloggers.
I think as time moves forward, more artists will do this as a way to communicate with their fans, though I don’t know they’ll be quite as open as Rachel is.
Billy, The Chicks–I agree with what they said. I’m originally from Texas, so…
January 20th, 2007 at 10:57 am
Michele and Sharon, Thanks for pointing me to the PT blog.
Since neither of you have the decency to put the url out there…. Here it is.
January 20th, 2007 at 11:31 am
Michelle, Sharon and Cranky…thanks to the hook-up on Townshend’s blog. Interesting to thing that Pete thought himself to be a B52 on stage. I wonder if Fred Schneider ever made a pass at him…
Wait…that IS what Pete is talking about…right?
January 20th, 2007 at 6:12 pm
Gordon,
My bad. I was actually talking about his old blog from 05-06 when he was writing his novella online, and posting each chapter as he wrote it and we all gave feedback. It was extraordinary. He took that blog down, but I found a link from your link to each Chapter of his novella. Here’s the link to it:http://www.petetownshend.co.uk/projects/tbwhm/
Each chapter is listed on the right side of the page. You can soooooo see “The Who” in some of it, while other parts are more hidden. Still, it’s all Pete, and I still can’t believe he let us participate in his process. His mind is somewhere between brilliant and insane.
January 20th, 2007 at 8:35 pm
Yes I read his blog back then, I haven’t read it in a while though. I just forgot about it until you mentioned it way back there. Blogs are so good for letting people just be human with each other. That’s the irony of internet technology.
Side note: It was really interesting to see “Tommy” after knowing a bit about PT’s life. It just seemed cheesy when I was 20.( See, still somewhat on topic) I could see the significance of his being blind to the world but only seeing himself, that kind of narcissism that comes from being neglected and traumatized. Then how he tries to fill the hole in himself with adoration from others, and trying to be a god among men. Then how he seems to find God in the end. I really got the Marilyn Monroe scene. Could you just see Madonna in the remake? How fitting.
January 21st, 2007 at 12:13 am
Michele,
That’s a much better analysis than I could even attempt to write.
I wouldn’t want to see a remake of Tommy, though now I’m thinking about it and am wondering what Quintin Tarantino or David Lynch could do with it. Actually, that’s not a bad idea. Hmmmmmmmmmmmm. Beyonce would so get cast as the acid queen, but I’d rather see Mary J. Blige. And who would be Tommy?
And the pinball wizard? But no Madonna! (I managed to get it back to cheesy 80s-whew!)
January 21st, 2007 at 12:40 am
If it were to be remade, am I too behind the times to say Rob Thomas for the role of Tommy? Hey Johnny Depp sings!( or am I just pushing it?) Either one in a pirate shirt and feather is fine with me. Whoops. Back to the 80’s thread.
Willem Dafoe as the Step-Dad. Kathleen Turner for the mom?
I say the world needs a new rock opera. I just don’t know a single group who writes rock opera material anymore.
January 21st, 2007 at 12:18 pm
This is what drove the nail into the coffin of that entire genre:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HUWRkv4Y1Bk
January 21st, 2007 at 2:00 pm
It was a twofer Billy. It also brought down Styx.
That was another 80s anthem. Fear of Japanese dominance, bashing the televangelists (Dr. Righteous) and Kilroy’s jumpsuit. So powerful was that jumpsuit that you could put those medical sticky suction cups on the outside and they would work.
January 21st, 2007 at 2:16 pm
Sorry, Tim Curry for the dad. Kathleen Turner probably can’t sing, she can hardly speak, so scratch her for the mom role. I’ll make that call to central casting.
Why didn’t Queen make a rock opera? Or did they?
I think we’re moving the conversation from cheesy low budget, to cheesy high budget.
January 21st, 2007 at 3:42 pm
I went looking for the old Behind The Music on Styx…couldn’t find anything but this:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=eWAQoX0CoTs
I remember watching that episode and thinking that David Spade…er…Tommy Shaw wanted to beat Dennis DeYoung over the head with his guitar. Shaw of course wanted to rock, DeYoung had let his wife turn him into a big pussy…
January 21st, 2007 at 3:44 pm
Tim Curry. Inspired casting. Kathleen Turner can play the psycho well. e.g. Serial Mom.
I don’t recall Queen doing any concept albums unless you consider doing the entire soundtracks to Flash Gordon and Highlander.
The only concept album I can think of past Styx was Roger Waters caterwauling Radio KAOS.
January 21st, 2007 at 3:54 pm
Actually, Styx was always doing “concept” albums…though I would not argue that the message was easily found.
The Grand Illusion and Paradise Theatre were clearly concept albums if you listen to them from start to finish. I remember being fascinated by that when I was a teenager…of course the whole Kilroy Was Here “concept” went so far it insured Styx would never be taken seriously again.
I had a friend in high school who hated them. He used to say “Styx is for dicks…”
Cranky, I know you won’t like this, but Tom Petty has become quite the concept rocker himself. His Last DJ, though not heavily played, was brilliant…
http://youtube.com/watch?v=44LJid6NNgU
Give it a listen anyway, Cranky.
January 22nd, 2007 at 7:22 am
Michele,
Great call on Tim Curry!
Billy,
I love Tom Petty’s last album.
And Styx! Back when I was a romantic, I loved Styx!!
January 22nd, 2007 at 11:28 am
And in honor of the Bears winning yesterday and heading to the Super Bowl, I just posted the original 80s Super Bowl Shuffle!
It’s great…and doesn’t get any cheesier than this one!
(plus you get to see the great Walter Payton)
January 22nd, 2007 at 12:04 pm
OK, did anyone watch Freaks and Geeks about 7 years ago. It was one of the greatest shows in the history of television…and NBC replaced it in favor of such great programming like “Daddy-O”.
No wonder I don’t watch network TV anymore…
Anyway, were Sharon and I still in high school, I may have tried to woo her like this:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=SpjT–b0m3g&mode=related&search=
OK guys…how many of us made “mix” tapes for those babes in high school we were after? Be honest…
January 22nd, 2007 at 12:08 pm
Hey Sharon,
Put your links in the comments!!
The Bearz Shuffle
January 22nd, 2007 at 12:22 pm
Methinks Sharon wanted us to visit HER site for the video…
January 23rd, 2007 at 3:53 am
Billy,
I clicked on your link and it said, “The url contained a malformed video id.” So much for our high school romance…sigh.
Try again now that we’re both old!
Gordon,
Sorry about not adding the link. I will remember to do so next time! Did you check out the video? It is so horrible but wonderful! And I was always a big Payton fan.
January 23rd, 2007 at 9:59 am
Sharon,
Try it now:
link
January 23rd, 2007 at 10:07 am
Cranky,
Can you delete my last post? I meant to put this link in:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SpjT–b0m3g
OK Sharon…it should work now.
January 24th, 2007 at 5:23 am
sigh….not working, Billy. Same error message.
January 24th, 2007 at 5:40 am
B I L L Y!!!!!!!!!!!
our link on comment # 65 worked!
I sooooooooooooooooooo would go out with a guy if he actually did something like that.
It’s cheesy, but it’s just too sweet.
January 24th, 2007 at 8:11 am
That is pretty cute.
A guy played that piano line in my presence once, and I developed an instant debilitating crush. I think it was a stupid man-trick.
January 24th, 2007 at 8:30 am
Styx works? Dang! I think about all the lost years now…
January 24th, 2007 at 10:05 am
I’m not sure it’s the song or the band. It’s the goofy self-effacing delivery (and the fact that he looks a bit like Judge Reinhold). Really gets the 18 year old girls with a bit of a savior complex. I’ve grown up a lot and those kinds of things don’t work on me anymore. Now I go for the guys who can protect me when the zombies come.
January 24th, 2007 at 10:37 am
That’s funny…because when I was in high school I didn’t knonw even ONE girl that would have worked with. Although notice would have reached the whole school by 4th period the next day.
Continuing on the Freaks and Geeks (any comment about the show, anyone?) theme…now what if they guy did THIS?
http://youtube.com/watch?v=yEwZlq90SpQ
Love how the whole thing came back to “cheesy” and Pete Townshend…
January 24th, 2007 at 1:22 pm
“what if a guy did THIS?”
As a recovering delusional songwriter who has since decided that young people should have a license to own and operate a guitar, I would be such a hypocrite to say that I would probably hide under the lawn chair until it was over. That said, I would definitely help him find a good tuner.
January 24th, 2007 at 6:43 pm
Now I HAVE had guys sing me songs like that!
That was hysterical! A little to close to home, but hysterical.
Michele, why “recovering” songwriter? Now more than even good songs are needed. Maybe not with major artists since they the record companies have monopolies with publishing and everything else, but now a good song can actually get out on these here tubes.
January 24th, 2007 at 8:34 pm
Had a few songs out on MP3 a few years back. Instant music, instant criticism, and without a band I couldn’t blame it on the fact that I was surrounded by idiots. I’m also a perfectionist who’s almost a good guitarist, almost a good singer, almost a good lyricist. And now more than ever good songs are needed, like you said.
January 24th, 2007 at 8:52 pm
I never tried to seranade a girl or write a song. I was guilty of the infamous “mix tape”…where I’d give a girl a tape with music I would claim made me think of her.
Kind of like the John Cusack character in Hi Fidelity (a great movie!).
Still looking for the Freaks and Geeks feedback. I think perhaps I might be the only one here who found that show brilliant. I own the entire 1st and only season of that show.
The show’s soundtrack helped make it great. I also believe a soundtrack can take an ordinary movie (like Dazed and Confused) and make it great.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=sNXKS6E8SaA
I remember going to that movie and not caring that the storyline sucked…because I spent the entire movie groovin’ to the tunes.
January 24th, 2007 at 9:06 pm
Sorry Billy. I’m one of those rare people who think there were plenty of good TV shows on which I don’t have time for.
F & G would have been right up my alley, but alas, I never saw it.
Michele the musician and Sharon the screenwriter. We have some talent here!
I have talents too! Wanna see me make a farting noise with my armpit?
January 24th, 2007 at 9:56 pm
You need to use your armpit? I can make that sound using only my hands…
Freaks and Geeks is special to me because I was also a high school freshman in 1980 and my school’s mascot just happened to be a Norseman. I’ll bet F&G’s McKinley High and my high school were the only two schools with that mascot.
I was sold after the first episode…which ended with Styx’s Come Sail Away. Try dancing to that:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=0eyRqdOJwt8
Check out all of the dresses…talk about serious high school flashback.
January 24th, 2007 at 11:36 pm
Sure!
January 26th, 2007 at 2:09 pm
Looks like this string has died…but wait! Victor over at Annika’s Journal has started another 80’s Tubing thread (whether he knows it or not)…
http://annika.mu.nu/archives/213447.html
January 26th, 2007 at 5:35 pm
Billy, it lived a long a fulfilling life. See you at annika’s later.
January 27th, 2007 at 7:29 am
I finally get the last word.