The 80's live
15I was having a conversation with @carl669 today and posted an old MTV video. Nostalgia set in for me and I started remembering when MTV actually played music videos all day long (kids, this for us old folks). The original VJ's: Alan Hunter, Mark Goodman, J.J. Jackson, Nina Blackwood, and of course Martha Quinn.
These were my later High School days in which I would sit around smoking Oregano (completely legal) and watch these videos all day long. That, and the movie Stripes which I watched around 32 times. These were the days of Hair bands, One Hit Wonders and New Wave.
So what were your favorites, or the ones you remember most?
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I was going to post the Buggles - video killed the radio star (1st video to ever be played on MTV, but couldn't find an original I could post) But for some reason I loved this one.
@mfladd
The day one video I can't find to embed - but you can view it here:
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x19cbz_the-buggles-video-killed-the-radio_music
@Pavlov but not the original. Here it is:
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x19cbz_the-buggles-video-killed-the-radio_music
@mfladd Jinx. You owe me a Coke.
@Pavlov Hey, that wasn't there when I posted. 5 minute window I get it. Here it is.
@mfladd BTW - nice thread man, I remember watching day one - on day one. Now it is just shit.
@Pavlov I think I was editing it as you were posting but I can't remember anything now as the blood has rushed from my head (on my shoulders) - all I know is I must have a Coke . . . sudden urge.
@Pavlov those were the days. In my area cable was new. I said to my dad - you should buy stock in MTV. He said yeah, whatever (true story)
@Pavlov
@mfladd Oh the days when we watched MTV on our 400lb 20" TV with the wood-paneled cable box with the giant clunky buttons.
@jaremelz I thought I died and gone to heaven when cable came into the house. I also remember a cable salesperson coming and actually sitting down with the family for like 45 minutes to sell the service.
@mfladd We begged mom for cable so much, and she gave in two days before MTV debuted. I hope she enjoyed those two days before the constant barrage of MTV.
Although she's a kickass mom. She once came in while Van Halen's Jump was on. She simply said, "Well look at the ass on him!" and walked out.
@jaremelz sound like you have to post it.
@mfladd I am just enjoying the other's posts as I'm in my phone right now. That and I have very lazy fingers tonight.
i always loved this song and video:
@carl669 Herbie Hancock - that was classic!
Remember when he was John Cougar.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_music_videos_aired_on_MTV
All of the programming from the first day (including the goofs and dead air) is available on YouTube - look for MTV day one.
@Pavlov
the Peter Gabriel one was actually cutting edge for it's time.
Lauper - classic - RIP Capt. Lou Albano
The Who - nuff said.
@mfladd That Peter Gabriel video is the reason I do what I do - it was directed by Stephen R. Johnson, who passed away earlier this year - I worked with him several times over the years. If not for that video I may have sold cars for a living. Stephen was from Paola, KS - which is about about 15 minutes from my house here in a KC suburb. He maintained close ties to this area and passed away in Fort Scott, KS - just a couple hours short drive from here. He's missed. He was amazing.
No single music video has won more MTV VMA awards than Sledgehammer - ever. He directed every single episode of Pee Wee's Playhouse.
@Pavlov I a big PG fan, and must have seen him 10 times in concert. My all time favorite performance was with his New Blood Orchestra in Radio City Music Hall. Amazing. I also had front-row for his SO tour in Philly, so that was pretty epic too.
I have lots of collectibles, including a DVD of all his videos. He did several in this style, and I think I prefer Blood of Eden, and maybe Digging in the Dirt even more.
I even still have the original Xplora I CD-ROM game he came out with in the early 90's. Talk about ground-breaking, I was mesmerized by that thing and it inspired a lot of my own artwork for years that followed.
@Pavlov I did not know he directed the Pee Wee shows - which are also classic. May he rest in peace.
@mfladd He is formally credited as director for season 1 - he was art director / 2nd director (uncredited) for the remainder of the run (the other four seasons). Without him, that show may not have existed. Pee Wee's Playhouse, BTW, was fucking epically good. 15 Emmys. More critical praise than the Muppets. Amazing show - and Paul and Stephen were amazing together as a creative force.
I'm right there with you guys, and there's so much here to post (The Fixx, The Tubes, Dexy's Midnight Runners), but maybe the most happening thing during that time had to be MJ's Thriller. Up to that point, nothing was so theatrical and had so much hype around a video release. This had to be the most memorable for me.
@ACraigL oh, you are talking my language. I almost posted the Tubes, DMR is also great - post it!
@mfladd i came here for this, and was not disappointed. Thanks!
@DaveInSoCal You are welcome, my Westie friend :)
Aww, man. I grew up in Belgium and one of my only connections to U.S. culture in the 90s was MTV Europe (along with the Simpsons and DS9 on BBC). My brother and I used to sneak into the television room at night to watch beavis and butthead, ren and stimpy, aeon flux, and the latest music videos. The music videos I remember most? Lol, well... the ones that were replayed non-stop! Cotton Eye Joe, Runaway Train, all the Haddaway videos, the "Red Red Wine" band music videos with that silly looking man in the ginger dreads, Smells Like Teen Spirit, so much Metallica, the "wake up in the morning and I step outside" song, Black Hole Sun, a bunch of Take That songs, the theme song from four weddings and a funeral... oh shit but I could go on and on and on. And now I'm stuck on the nostalgia train travelling back into young teenhood. Oh, my first pair of Docs! Oh, that blue plaid shirt which I wore to death and still have somewhere in the basement! Gluing colourful beads to my nails, stolen roses in my hair, chupa chups and pogs and constantly slapping the cap off the boy who always snapped my brastraps who ended up dating my friend who turned out to be talking smack about me that I overheard behind our friend's poolhouse and oh! the dramaaaaaaa, running from lunch at school to the candy shop down the block to buy sour strips by the kilo... meeeeemories.... all alooooone in the moooooonliiiiight....
@goldenthorn I was stationed for three years in Kleine Brogel BE near the Holland border. Great memories.
I just fell into a cliche 90s childhood music video sinkhole and I don't want to get out, awww yeah!
@goldenthorn I loved Aeon Flux! I wanted to punch someone for that movie they made later.
@jaremelz I've refused to watch it at every opportunity and I contentedly stand by that decision.
Bottle of coke for anyone who can get this to embed
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x19cbz_the-buggles-video-killed-the-radio_music
@mfladd
Ask and ye shall receive.
@Pavlov You are the best. It wouldn't be the same without this original video. Let me get you that coke. You don't mind if Kate Beckinsale delivers it do you?
You guys forgot one. This one messed with my mind...
@mehdaf trust me...I knew it was only matter of time before this one got posted. Nice!
@mehdaf Ooh, one of my very favorites. Thank you!
This seems pretty appropriate
@Bingo As long as I have a camera and an edit bay, I'll never be irrelevant to pop-culture. Unless my walker is stolen, or I forget where I put my teeth the night before.
@somf69 You are bringing the Fat Boys out!
@boc Yes! Milton Berle is a legend.
@mfladd Yes. He also appeared in the video for "Back for More."
@boc the girl is model Paulina Porizkova and she married Cars lead singer Ric Ocasek - fun facts.
@mfladd The girl in the video wasn't Paulina. It was model Susan Gallagher. Paulina is hot, but she did not appear in this video. Paulina met Ric Ocasek while appearing in the video for "Drive." The video for "You Might Think" won the very first MTV award for "Video of the Year" beating out Thriller and Rockit (Herbie Hancock.)
@boc Oh shit, you are right. Thank you for the correction, and more fun facts. Think about beating out Thriller.
@mfladd if only there was a goat you could blame...
@jaremelz bitch! :)
@mfladd
So I fondly remember watching MTV music videos all day with my friends, even when the same ones would come on over and over. Do you guys think YouTube is the modern replacement for watching music videos on TV? I'm not a big fan of pop music per se, but I spend a lot of time watching new music videos on YouTube just to see what's going on with the kids these days. I don't even have TV, but I'm not sure I'd spend as much time trying to watch this stuff on MTV or whatever.
I kinda think that artists like Ok Go and even Beyonce, Katy Perry, or that recent Madonna one are making more interesting videos because they imagine their stuff on YouTube rather than on TV. Social media sharing and all that.
@metageist see This Post further up in the thread.
@bmf Ok, you caught me off guard with Rick Astley
@mfladd YW, you've earned a good roll ; )
for @jaremelz
@mfladd Aww, how can I throw any shade your way when you catered to my lazy finger syndrome?
And I should add that I didn't really go for these guys. Mom was a little bit of a fan though.
@jaremelz now you get unlazy.
@jaremelz Oh gods, the cognitive dissonance! That video footage belongs SOLELY ONLY BUT FOREVER EXCLUSIVELY with the perfection that is the 1987 Disney Halloween special (starting at 15.15 if the link don't be doin' it), which I still own recorded live on VHS:
@mfladd Yeah, but we've already established I'm a bitch. Thanks for doing the heavy lifting!
@jaremelz I am always humbly at your service....
ok, not even I am going to believe that one :)~
@mfladd The humble or the service!
@jaremelz well, humble of course, service well..........
@mfladd Oh yeah, you're the most humble guy around, right? Way more humble than everyone else!
I'd ask to speak with a manager about the lack of service in this establishment, but I think they'd just laugh at me.
@jaremelz I prefer Squirrel Nut Zippers' version.
And we can't forget these
Hurts So Good
I Love Rock N' Roll
Back In Black
I'm putting myself out there a bit, but here's my very favorite song ever. Well, that distinction changes as often as what my kids jokingly call my 'spirit animal' (sometimes it's a unicorn, sometimes it's Ron Swanson, other days it's a bear eating a hunter). But this, this owns real estate in my heart.
Shit, I've said too much. I should sleep.
@jaremelz i never, not once, saw this on MTV... but when MTV2 did the "we're gonna play every video MTV played" my friends and I waited for this one. to this day, it's my favorite Tim Buckley cover, maybe tied with "i must have been blind" from brendan perry's first solo album.
I remember this one. It gave me much joy to show this to my 9-year-old recently. She didn't believe me that it was a real song. :)
@Groovymarlin A staple on Dr. Demento. That was back when it was kinda a big deal to be able to record a song on your own. I remember dreaming of having a Portastudio.
Friday night video fights. As a Def Leppard fan I remember when they ruled the fighting for a while. I was glued to the tv on Friday nights for these video throw downs.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=dRSHAP0HNrM
@denboy
I am a bit shocked this hasn't shown up yet...
@thismyusername I never was a Duran Duran fan.
@thismyusername
@boc A friend of a friend owned a copy of the uncensored Duran Duran videos. I could have watched them every day.
Martha Davis could sing some haunting melodies,,,
@boc Hey, I just recently learned that Martha Davis lives on a farm just down the road from me (OutInTheSticks, OR). So then I had to dig out one of my old Motels albums and play a few songs for old times sake. Maybe I'll have to drop by one of these days and say hi.
We had teenagers so MTV was on pretty much all of the time.
I remember every time a new Michael Jackson video was due out, it was hyped like it was the 2nd coming.
How about the power ballads from Bonnie Tyler?
I have a special love for this and most of Meatloaf's stuff because I'm like the only one in the country who knows who Jim Steinman is. I found him during my 5th grade school fair when I won a game and the prize was his album, 'Bad for Good'. I listened to it a lot and much of it became a constant reference for my best friend and I. Especially "Love And Death And An American Guitar", which we quoted in it's entirety any chance we got.
Besides just having an AWESOME resume, can his album cover be any more 80's? I think not. (Drops Mic).
This one was on about every 20 minutes for a while there:
When I worked in Norway for five weeks in 1994, this played on MTV Europe every single morning while I got ready for work:
@SSteve Yes to the Cranberries. This is actually a great album!
I don't know if this got much air play on MTV, but when The Sugarcubes' first album came out it was huge at the college station where I was a DJ.
@SSteve I don't remember that video/song, but I remember seeing the video for 'Hit' back in the day.
@NameisToad Wow, I haven't heard that one in a long, long time. I love "Ouch! This really hurts!" in the rap.
Haven't seen this 80s classic video listed yet:
@MrMark And the literal video is even better!
The fact this redub can actually hit the high notes is impressive enough, but the comedy. Oh, the comedy.
@ACraigL Oh wow. I have never seen that before. That is indeed better.
@MrMark I wondering how long it was going to take for someone to pull out the A-ha card!
@MrMark I was just coming back to post this one. When I lived in Norway for a year in 95/96 one of the guys from A-Ha lived in the apartment next door.
Ok, someone has to post it. "I Ran"
@mfladd Let's not forget....
I had such a crush on Kim Wilde
They had great IDs too.
The Fixx!
And lets not forget this one.
@mfladd 3 Classics!!
@boc ding..ding..ding 100th post goes to @boc
Speaking of former VJ's... Simon Rex aka Dirt Nasty: www.youtube.com/watch?v=b01Bnr1aXt8
Missing Persons (Dale Bozzio was HOT!)
@Pavlov Oh damn. I know I have seen this one - who is it?
@mfladd Art of Noise - Close (to the Edit)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Art_of_Noise
Directed by Zbigniew Rybczyński.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zbigniew_Rybczy%C5%84ski
Also: http://www.zbigvision.com/
He was shooting in HD a decade before HD was widely available - brilliant director and cinematographer. He alone has made more technical advances to the process of chroma keying than possibly any other person, living or dead.
i was a kid, but i loved these:
@Pavlov thank you for Thomas Dolby. I wanted to post but couldn't find one that embed.
No Euthrythmics? Flock of Seagulls? Cheap Trick? Bon Jovi? Wham? a-ha?
@beachbum I know a-ha and flock of seagulls has been . No cheap trick, or wham yet. Not sure about Bon Jovi or eurythimics. Post some.
Might not have gotten too much play, but I fucking love these guys.
@jaremelz
@mfladd
@mfladd This was my preferred response, but it was really 90s. But I'll just leave this right here anyway.
If you've heard the song, you'll never forget the weird "radio-oh-oh-owww":
And one of the most memorable music videos ever:
part of it ran as a citroen commercial for a long time
@einrad go to the top of the thread - Wall of Voodoo "Mexican Radio" is the first one I posted. I still have it on the playlist in my car. :)
@mfladd
I can't believe I missed that. Pretty much all the ones you posted are also on my most memorable list.
And how can we ever forget Gary Numan - Cars
Or this one from Dead or Alive
@mfladd
These played a lot at my favorite hangout (along with the "Flock of Seagulls" videos @mfladd posted):
And very different but also among my favorites from the period:
@einrad Oh yes, who could ever forget Loverboy!
@jaremelz That vinyl is probably still sitting in my parents' basement somewhere! Thank you for the memories.
Aldo Nova
Scandal
Another one that never got kicked from my playlist:
Thanks for doing this @mfladd. It's been a fun walk down memory lane and I've really appreciated everyone bringing some of this music back on to my radar.
@jaremelz Thanks. I agree it has been fun. and yes, thanks to everyone who has participated.
Not a song that played on MTV, but one about Martha:
Uh oh @mfladd it's been resurrected!
@jaremelz @SIMBM must have been gone a while as they are resurrecting all sorts of old threads - but I loved this thread.
The problem is with all these videos it is probably a loading nightmare for some people.
@mfladd Takin' away all my fun...pout...
@jaremelz more fun...find another video (hidden gem) to post!
@mfladd I didn't scroll up all the way to see if it was posted, so I'm leaving it here
Kinda glad this thread was revived.
A few that have been on my mind:
Thanks @mfladd !
Oh, and even though my wife says this song is "douchebaggery on ice:"
(BTW, I would buy tickets to a show called 'Douchebaggery On Ice.")