My God, I think I remember that Billy Squier video. Let me click through. (In the meantime, Squier has recently been sample bait for Dizzee Rascal, who the kids seem to like; and dagger aleph is definitely worth reading. In fact, the video for Love Is a Battlefield currently being second up on her site, it looks like she's making a habit of it. Also this "Video Deconstruction Fridays" category indicates that it might be a regular thing.)
God, I remember the Billy Squier song really well but clearly didn't remember the video, which means that I found it unremarkable at the time. This time around I could barely watch it, I was so embarrassed for him. It was indeed Richard Simmons-esque.
The thing is, if you take just about any random video from that time period, there will be something untintentionally hilarious about it.
For a long time now videos have been so carefully crafted and everything is so calculated there's nothing unintentional in them at all.
Ok, I looked at the first and the last of those videos supplied by Cryptic Ned (YouTube is loading up slow for me today so I didn't see them all), and they're sorta ridiculous. But are they unintentionally ridiculous?
I still maintain that even in ten years, the average early 80s video will be more ridiculous than your average video from the 00s. The Squier is jaw-droppingly embarrassing.
Distance and nostalgia don't always make previous fads look dumb. Grunge, for example: it looks dated and all that, but not hilarious.
This is weird. In my browser, at least, the word "clichés" is correctly displayed on the front page but the special character is gibberished on the archive page.
This has something to do with its having been entered directly, and not with an HTML entity, though why it wouldn't have that behavior on the main page and the archive page is beyond me. (This came up in the archiving script.)
Yeah, it makes sense in the archiving script because it's being written using a different method. It's just kind of odd that MT would process it differently on the main page vs. the archive. Although, at this point, nothing about MT should come as a surprise.
I still maintain that even in ten years, the average early 80s video will be more ridiculous than your average video from the 00s. The Squier is jaw-droppingly embarrassing.
Ah, the sad overconfidence of youth. Our ridiculous videos at least killed the radio star; what have yours done?
Speaking of Judas Priest, everyone who hasn't ever done so should watch Heavy Metal Parking Lot. Even if you have ever watched it, you should watch it again.
I also remember an interview with Rob Halford, the lead singer of JP, relatively recently (within the last several years, maybe even on Fresh Air?), and he said that he had assumed, back when they were really big in the 80s, that all his fans knew he was gay because it was like so freakin' obvious.
I think the non-ridiculousness of grunge comes not from calculation, but from a kind of abandon. At least nobody's trying to act, which helps so much. There are plenty of pop phenomena in every decade who will look idiotic later. Think of all those '90s videos of bands driving around in cars lip-synching. I think the more calculated the video, the more weirdly cheesy it's going to seem later.
For a long time now videos have been so carefully crafted and everything is so calculated there's nothing unintentional in them at all.
I agree. Part of what makes videos from the '80s so unintentionally hilarious (and so great!) is the over-the-top ambition evident in so many. Yeah! This is A-R-T man! Wave of the future! Little movies! 20 years later small budgets and ambitions as big as the hair spell "roffleupagous." It's like looking at Prom photos.
Later music video directors had larger budgets and smaller ambitions: make a slick, professional commercial and Nike might come calling. I can imagine current videos (but there aren't that many, are there? None of the music channels I get even show them anymore) looking dated in 20 years, but no more hilarious than any other 20 year old commercial.
Meanwhile, Grunge was always boring.
YouTube is the MTV of the Aughties. The third decade's gonna have to look for all their bad taste there.
(And speaking of intentionally gay videos, Freedom2006, a crossdressing revision of George Michael's "Freedom" video is really clever, eccentric, and hilarious. The video's amateurishness and its ambition is exactly what modern music videos lack. If it didn't sound so trite, I'd call it "punk as fuck." WAFs? WAF crossdressers? SFW if drag isn't verboten. Some of the comments are vulgar.)
While the viddie is funny, what made me laugh was the number of Liza Minelli viddies in the "Related Videos" box.
Proof!
Posted by Rich | Link to this comment | 06- 3-06 8:35 PM
My God, I think I remember that Billy Squier video. Let me click through. (In the meantime, Squier has recently been sample bait for Dizzee Rascal, who the kids seem to like; and dagger aleph is definitely worth reading. In fact, the video for Love Is a Battlefield currently being second up on her site, it looks like she's making a habit of it. Also this "Video Deconstruction Fridays" category indicates that it might be a regular thing.)
Posted by Matt Weiner | Link to this comment | 06- 3-06 8:39 PM
No, that was not the Billy Squier video I remembered ("My Kinda Lover"). My God.
Posted by Matt Weiner | Link to this comment | 06- 3-06 8:48 PM
That dialog at the beginning of the DeYoung video is great
DeYoung:
"You guys didn't say anything to my family about this did you?"
Friend #1 :
"You told me to keep it a secret man."
Friend #2:
"Don't worry, they're going to be plenty surprised."
Boy are they ever.
Posted by gswift | Link to this comment | 06- 3-06 10:06 PM
Wow. I'm kind of surprised Squier didn't sue (the pants off? HAW HAW) Richard Simmons for stealing the whole "Sweating to the Oldies" concept.
Posted by Robust McManlyPants | Link to this comment | 06- 4-06 1:19 AM
Thanks for the shout-out, Weiner.
God, I remember the Billy Squier song really well but clearly didn't remember the video, which means that I found it unremarkable at the time. This time around I could barely watch it, I was so embarrassed for him. It was indeed Richard Simmons-esque.
The thing is, if you take just about any random video from that time period, there will be something untintentionally hilarious about it.
For a long time now videos have been so carefully crafted and everything is so calculated there's nothing unintentional in them at all.
Something has been lost.
Posted by dagger aleph | Link to this comment | 06- 4-06 8:27 AM
although in ten years, the carefully crafted cool stuff is going to be totally embarrassing, guaranteed.
Posted by mcmc | Link to this comment | 06- 4-06 9:35 AM
How on earth is it possible that Judas Priest was for a long time viewed as a "tough guy" metal band?
I've seen guys give blowjobs that were less gay than that video.
Posted by skippy | Link to this comment | 06- 4-06 10:46 AM
#6, the carefully crafted recent videos just need a little distance and nostalgia and they'll be just as ridiculous.
Check these out:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bDm17wNsi_Y
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ftzN-2STZFI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aCNpsGUsVR8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XIAzce0a_uc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lEqLkcAXnxs
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dNQIzAZ_Y8g
And especially this one - what's with the barn owl?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zowifr3ofq0
Posted by Cryptic Ned | Link to this comment | 06- 4-06 10:52 AM
Ok, I looked at the first and the last of those videos supplied by Cryptic Ned (YouTube is loading up slow for me today so I didn't see them all), and they're sorta ridiculous. But are they unintentionally ridiculous?
I still maintain that even in ten years, the average early 80s video will be more ridiculous than your average video from the 00s. The Squier is jaw-droppingly embarrassing.
Distance and nostalgia don't always make previous fads look dumb. Grunge, for example: it looks dated and all that, but not hilarious.
Posted by dagger aleph | Link to this comment | 06- 4-06 2:43 PM
This is weird. In my browser, at least, the word "clichés" is correctly displayed on the front page but the special character is gibberished on the archive page.
Posted by Becks | Link to this comment | 06- 4-06 7:57 PM
This has something to do with its having been entered directly, and not with an HTML entity, though why it wouldn't have that behavior on the main page and the archive page is beyond me. (This came up in the archiving script.)
Posted by ben wolfson | Link to this comment | 06- 4-06 8:13 PM
11 -- that's true on my browser as well. (Firefox 1.5.0.4)
Posted by The Modesto Kid | Link to this comment | 06- 4-06 8:14 PM
Yeah, it makes sense in the archiving script because it's being written using a different method. It's just kind of odd that MT would process it differently on the main page vs. the archive. Although, at this point, nothing about MT should come as a surprise.
Posted by Becks | Link to this comment | 06- 4-06 8:16 PM
I still maintain that even in ten years, the average early 80s video will be more ridiculous than your average video from the 00s. The Squier is jaw-droppingly embarrassing.
Ah, the sad overconfidence of youth. Our ridiculous videos at least killed the radio star; what have yours done?
Posted by SomeCallMeTim | Link to this comment | 06- 4-06 8:21 PM
Speaking of Judas Priest, everyone who hasn't ever done so should watch Heavy Metal Parking Lot. Even if you have ever watched it, you should watch it again.
I also remember an interview with Rob Halford, the lead singer of JP, relatively recently (within the last several years, maybe even on Fresh Air?), and he said that he had assumed, back when they were really big in the 80s, that all his fans knew he was gay because it was like so freakin' obvious.
Posted by M/tch M/lls | Link to this comment | 06- 4-06 8:43 PM
I think the non-ridiculousness of grunge comes not from calculation, but from a kind of abandon. At least nobody's trying to act, which helps so much. There are plenty of pop phenomena in every decade who will look idiotic later. Think of all those '90s videos of bands driving around in cars lip-synching. I think the more calculated the video, the more weirdly cheesy it's going to seem later.
Posted by mcmc | Link to this comment | 06- 4-06 8:57 PM
SCMT: folly of youth? Uh, I think we're the same age.
Are you inadvertently calling me old? It's okay, really.
Posted by dagger aleph | Link to this comment | 06- 4-06 9:45 PM
"folly" s/b "overconfidence"
Posted by dagger aleph | Link to this comment | 06- 4-06 9:50 PM
da:
You sound like you're having too much fun to be my age.
Posted by SomeCallMeTim | Link to this comment | 06- 4-06 10:04 PM
For a long time now videos have been so carefully crafted and everything is so calculated there's nothing unintentional in them at all.
I agree. Part of what makes videos from the '80s so unintentionally hilarious (and so great!) is the over-the-top ambition evident in so many. Yeah! This is A-R-T man! Wave of the future! Little movies! 20 years later small budgets and ambitions as big as the hair spell "roffleupagous." It's like looking at Prom photos.
Later music video directors had larger budgets and smaller ambitions: make a slick, professional commercial and Nike might come calling. I can imagine current videos (but there aren't that many, are there? None of the music channels I get even show them anymore) looking dated in 20 years, but no more hilarious than any other 20 year old commercial.
Meanwhile, Grunge was always boring.
YouTube is the MTV of the Aughties. The third decade's gonna have to look for all their bad taste there.
(And speaking of intentionally gay videos, Freedom2006, a crossdressing revision of George Michael's "Freedom" video is really clever, eccentric, and hilarious. The video's amateurishness and its ambition is exactly what modern music videos lack. If it didn't sound so trite, I'd call it "punk as fuck." WAFs? WAF crossdressers? SFW if drag isn't verboten. Some of the comments are vulgar.)
Posted by Paul | Link to this comment | 06- 7-06 9:11 PM