Very recently, MTV finally — wait for it — launched a music video website. I swear. It’s such a delight to find out they still actually care about music videos and not just Young People’s Reality (as if) or whatever it is they’re doing over there these days.
The site content is still spotty — some artists go deep, and some aren’t represented at all, which I assume is a matter of rights negotiations. But there is certainly enough to be starting with, and it’s good quality. And it means you’ll probably be getting more music videos for a while (grin) — I already have my eye on a few things (Frankie! Christopher Walken dancing! U2 meets the Village People…)
I saw my first music video in 1983 on a network show called “Friday Night Videos.” No one I knew had cable TV then, so I’d never seen MTV. The first video on the show was “Billie Jean” and I thought it was amazing.
For those of you who have never lacked your MTV, videos were different back in the day. The production values were often minimal, the story lines random, and the musicians uncomfortable. No one really did “live” videos where they just played the music — it was all atmosphere and meaning and moody glances and suchlike. But things improved. By the time the song below came along, videos were more expensive, expansive, and coherent — and much much more about the music.
Yay! Just in time for the B-52’s.
Edited to add: I’ve just been informed that the MTV videos won’t play outside of the US. Controlling bastards. Here’s a YouTube version that will work.
Globalism, people!
I cannot listen to that song without feeling good. And it reminds me so much of things I loved about the South. I have no desire to ever live there again, but the South is in my DNA. There are things I do and believe that are the direct result of growing up there, and there are moments, images, bits of my childhood culture, that I still miss piercingly sometimes. And so I love heading down the Atlanta highway with the B-52’s under a Southern sky and feeling like I get it. Like I belong.
And here’s another treat for you, since there’s hardly ever such a thing as too much good music in the world. Thanks to Duncan for turning me onto Big Mama. And why is a South Korean group called Big Mama? Go find out here… and then send them a psychic blast of You go, girls if you are so inclined. I certainly am.
Like it? Go on over to Duncan’s place for more.
I was 20 the first time I watched MTV. My parents were anti-TV. They were particularly against cable TV—all those foreign values of decadence, tsk-tsk. I jumped with excitement at the news that MTV had launched a video site. But I’ll have to stick with YouTube a little longer. All those videos say “Copyrights restrict us from playing this video outside the US,” including the B-52รขยยs one you posted here. I’m glad I just saw them a few of months ago when they came to Vancouver with Cyndi Lauper, so I don’t have to feel completely bitter about US-only viewing perks. Same with Amazon’s MP3s—they won’t allow people outside the US to purchase those. I guess I am bitter. Meh.
Okay, YouTube version is also up. Sorry about that! I had no idea. Music should be global!
I’d be bitter too. Nicola accused me yesterday of being an isolationist, which mortally offended me (grin) and she’s just wrong, damn it! (We were talking about Washington State politics…)
You an isolationist? Hm… interesting. I would have loved to listen in on that conversation. ๐
I’m often ambivalent about such things. I’d be a free-for-all advocate if I wasn’t so jaded about the reality of national politics, foreign policies and even the most basic and personal human relationships. What bugs me the most is when someone claims to be free-trade and then they only carry water to their mill and restrict any outward flow of resources and goodwill. Meh.
Oh, but look! ๐ We’ve got the B-52’s on YouTube now. Thanks. It’s worrisome to think that soon all those companies enforcing—and hoping to thrive on—internet copyright will gang up on Google and arm-wrestle it into compliance. Thank goodness for geeks with bucks, the Electronic Frontier Foundation, Gibson, Sterling, John Perry Barlow and his “A Declaration of the Independence of Cyberspace”.
Oh those days of videos on MTV. Thank you MTV for those videos. I was transported back to the 80’s.
Nice Find!
I’m glad you liked Big Mama, Kelley! I thought you would. For those who are interested in exploring Korean pop a bit more, I’ve written a couple of other posts on performers who interest me: one on the hip-hop / metal / grunge prodigy Seo Taiji, another on the soul and funk influenced Kim Gun Mo. They are very different from Big Mama, but still worth a listen. They’re also male, and I need to do more posts on female K-pop singers I like. But I did earlier link to one song by Jaurim, fronted by a great female singer. A couple of years ago they did a CD mostly of covers of 70s and 80s songs in English, including Bowie’s “Starman.” None of those seem to be on Youtube, unfortunately, but here’s a lovely cover of Massive Attack’s “Teardrop” by Jaurim. I’ve never heard the original, but Jaurim almost make me want to track it down.
Hm, a lot of links in there; I hope that’s okay.
I like “Love Shack” and its video (did you notice Ru Paul in there?), but I think I like “Roam” better. I was never a fan of the B-52s, but I enjoy them well enough and have several of their early albums on vinyl. I too hope that more and more music and videos find their way out of corporate control onto the web.
Duncan, Massive Attack’s Mezzanine is an album I really love. Here’s “Teardrop”.
It’s not all just female vocals with Massive Attack — here’s Angel from the same album.
Pali, I was back in the 80’s too while I was fossicking about on the MTV site. I can’t remember historical dates to save my life, but there’s a place in my brain where the lyrics of pretty much every 80’s pop song live…. And isn’t that a useful evolutionary trait? (sigh).
Check this out!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=estBJikaMUw
Lindsey, I’m sorry it took me so long to check this out, but wow. Love it. Thank you.