While some artists in the music world were experimenting with music videos as early as the late ‘60s (see David Bowie) the early ‘80s were when music videos really took off. This was back in the days when MTV was still a new thing, and back when they were still actually showing music videos.
Remember when MTV was actually about music?
In those early days, the production quality of music videos was mixed. Some just used concert footage, which could be fun. Some had the band on a stage faking it to a studio cut of the song they were supposed to be performing, and that has always struck me as just a pedestrian effort. But as the genre matured a little, we started seeing some interesting, themed music videos. Some were funny, some were thoughtful, and some were just bizarre.
Here’s a selection of five that manage to cover all of these bases.
Ah ha - Take on Me (1986): Ah ha wasn’t the kind of band I normally listened to. I never liked the girly-man “boy band” vibe they gave off. But I did (and do) have a sneaky little liking for this song, and the video shows some creativity; the bouncing back and forth between reality and printed pages, the dramatic bit where the hero escapes the printed page in a cut lifted from a famous scene in the movie “Altered States,” and the touch of romance at the end.
Dire Straits - Money for Nothing (1985): With this, Dire Straits broke new ground. This video contained some of the first true CGI in music videos, and crude though it seems now, it was pretty damn cool in 1985. Dire Straits always had a great sound, and combining it with a fun, creative, heavily stylized video just made them more fun.See Related: Start Your Weekend Right With Five Great Rockers Taken From Us Too Soon
Paul Simon - You Can Call Me Al (1986): The diminutive Paul Simon side-by-side with the 6’4” Chevy Chase is visually arresting enough, but the way Chase pretends to be singing – almost narrating – the lyrics while Simon mostly sits there looking bored, is fun enough. Combine it with the minimal setting, with Simon repeatedly going on and off stage to retrieve various instruments, and a few bits of typical Chevy Chase physical comedy, and you’ve got a chuckle-inducing few minutes.
Men At Work - Down Under (1980): This Aussie group is pretty well known for not taking themselves too seriously, and this song and the video are both good illustrations of that. There’s no real underlying message; it’s as though the band members just stuck on some funny outfits and trusted to luck. Somehow, it worked.See Related: Start Your Weekend Right With Five Great Live Guitar-Rock Tunes
Mike Nesmith - Cruisin’ (1981): Yes, this is that Mike Nesmith, formerly of the Monkees. Post-Monkee, Nesmith went off in a rather odd direction, ending up with his video album “Elephant Parts.” While this album presented us with an almost Frank Zappa level of bizarre, maybe the weirdest part was the video and song “Cruisin’,” which introduced us to the young Lucy and Ramona and their partner Sunset Sam, who, rumors aside, was not played by a young Hulk Hogan.
Music videos are still a thing, of course, but these days you are more likely to find them on YouTube than on cable television. But the same mix applies; some are funny, some are thoughtful, some are lame, and some are just bad. But music videos are here to stay.Have any favorites of your own? As always, the comments are yours!
