Many of you will not, because it's been a long, long time. But my question is this:
What is the first music video that made an impression on you or that you remember seeing?
Mine is Hot for Teacher by Van Halen. I was just 7 or 8 years old but I was pretty fixated on that teacher. I've never forgotten it.
What are yours?
Mine would have to be Thriller. Freaked me out but I powered through it every time it was on. Michael Jackson was so huge that whenever he had a new video, not only would it premiere on MTV, but many other network TV channels simultaneously. It was an event.
I always thought that the idea of Michael Jackson attempting to be Bad or a tough albeit Smooth Criminal was too far fetched, even as a child. Great music though. humanodon, you're right that nobody except maybe Prince could pull off the Jacket/Glove combo. Except maybe Allen Covert:
I remember those events. The one that sticks out to me the most is man in the mirror. Michael Jackson was a fantastic artist, an amazing showman and a brilliant marketer. He was so famous in the United States, but that pales in comparison to how famous he was elsewhere. He was truly global and this is before the Internet "connected" us all.
Nice. I prefer the original Canadian Version of Twisted Sister
One of the stop-motion Tool videos, either Prison Sex or Sober. I thought stop-motion was the coolest thing because Jason and the Argonauts and Clash of the Titans were on TV constantly along with making of documentaries, and I'd recently discovered the Puppet Master movies. Whichever it was, I'm pretty sure I had no idea what it was about.
Those Tool videos were (are) awesome. I remember being captivated by them. I was also a big fan of Clash of the Titans back in the day. Thanks for the links.
If I remember correctly, the first video I saw was Guns N' Roses - November Rain. I liked watching music videos all day and then Beavis and Butthead and the other cartoons at night (Liquid Television anyone?) That reminds me, I'm going to see these guys next month!
Pot USA? Wow, I've not thought of them in years. They were a talented band that sort of painted themselves in a corner with a couple hits that I'm sure they're forever remembered for. If I'm not mistaken, they've put out a bunch of music over the years, right? Is it good? I remember the song Lump and Weird Al's parody Gump. -You know you've made it when Weird Al covers one of your songs. Enjoy the show, hope it's a good one.
They're pretty locked into a sound, which I happen to really like. I think part of what limits them is their use of what they call the "basitar" and "guitbass" which is explained on their Wikipedia page: Guitars modified in this way use heavy-gauge strings for a heavier sound and are normally tuned in Drop D, though the Presidents play half a step lower in C#. For a basitar, the strings are placed in the D and G positions. Chris uses a .60 gauge string tuned to C# and a .36 tuned to G#. On a guitbass, the strings are placed in the A, D, and G positions. .54 gauge tuned to C#, .42 to G#, and a .32 gauge tuned to C#. In a way I like that they have kind of a singular, self-cohesive vision of rock music. On Freaked Out and Small they do play around with their sound a bit, for example in Tiger Bomb (live version). They also play with normal bass and guitars on that album.Ballew and Dederer/McKeag play a basitar and guitbass, which are regular, six-string guitars with special modifications: Ballew's instrument has two bass strings (with which he plays bass parts), and Dederer/McKeag's instrument has three guitar strings (used to play guitar parts). The original idea came from Morphine frontman Mark Sandman, with whom Ballew had previously worked.
I had a huge crush on Jane Child, thanks to this video.
Nice hair. Like many a 12 year old boy, I had a thing for Tawny after I saw this White Snake video.
Was it the boob slip at 2:19 that did it for you? MTV never caught that one... And while we're on music video crushes, how about the girl from ZZ Top's "Legs"? Also, this video meets all the criteria for perfect 80s music video: 1. At least one babe
2. Poofy hair
3. Torn clothing
4. Cheesy keyboards
5. At least one change of clothing
6. Stage effects (smoke, lasers, etc.) or visual effects (artist jumping through a TV, disappearing, etc.)
7. Wild instrumental or record scratch solo
8. A storyline
9. A cool car (although any kind of transportation is acceptable, like a plane or a car or a motorcycle)
10. Sunglasses
This one fits MOST of that criteria It really only follows a storyline if you're Tim Burton or on acid.
This list is great. I'm going to think on it today and follow up with at least one that meets all criteria. Fun challenge. bgood79, can you think of any?