But music videos were far less kind to artists who had already (long prior to the video age) cemented their iconic status.
There were really only 2 paths you could take.
You could be like Bruce Springsteen or Bob Seger, and refuse to star in videos (except for actual concert footage), and live with the fact that you weren't a star of the video screen.
Or you could decide to roll with it, and find yourself helplessly trapped in a horrible flaming bag of dog doody.
I’m not really sure what could have possessed Bob Dylan to choose the latter.
But Good Lord & Taylor! This video is HORRIBLE.
And yet, you can’t take your eyes off it, for all the wonders it offers:
The site of Dylan, exerting just enough mouth effort to suggest he’s lip-mumbling the lyrics.
Shoulder pads!
That great moment at the 2:55 mark, where Dylan musters all his acting skills to “naturally” “turn” and “look at a building.”
Knife fights!
Repeated images of a purple wig being blown by the wind, tumbling down some stadium bleacher seats. I think we all know what this symbolizes . . . the death of the modern wig industry.
Dylan in a chest baring V-neck!
What I think we can all agree, is the sexiest image ever committed to film---a storyline denouement that promises a Dylan-orchestrated ménage e trois.
International Intrigue!
Finally, the sentence that no human being has ever dared type before . . . Bob Dylan shows of his "Jazz Hands"! (at the 5:10 mark)
The first time I watched this, I kept saying, “Poor Bob Dylan.”
You just feel so much empathy for him, being stuck in this joyless cheesefest.
I’m mean, the man has been largely insouciant toward fame throughout his career. I can’t imagine how he was convinced that this was a good idea.
Thankfully, for the most part he avoided making videos in later years, and the ones he did do, suggested that he was enjoying the cheesefest, not trapped in it.
See the video on Youtube.
Oh my. Where to start. My guess is that Bobby Z. was engaging in that time honored tradition of U.S. celebrities hawking their products in Japan and other Asian countries. This was his product in the 80's.
ReplyDeleteOk - I could not watch the whole thing - I just had to stop - it is too awful
ReplyDeleteIs it too music geeky to notice that right after the "Bob turns to look at the building" shot the video editor has very meticulously synced the drummer's bass drum foot with the snare drum hits?
ReplyDeleteOh Chez, you gotta watch it to the end. Otherwise you'll miss Bob dancing with the Japanese girls.
ReplyDeleteThnkfully there are also some great Dylan music videos like Blood In My Eyes, Series Of Dreams and Not Dark Yet.
ReplyDelete"Tight Connection to My Heart" is a very visual song. I want to make a movie out of it. I don't think it's going to get done. I think it's going to go past on the way, but of all the songs I've ever written, that might be one of the most visual. Of all the songs I've written, that's the one that's got characters that can be identified with.”
ReplyDeleteDylan, Spin Interview, 1985
"This is no throw-away candy-floss video : it's a story and a statement and a chilling reminder of a potential destiny."
Me, 2011
A couple of interesting points.
ReplyDeleteNotice the photo of Robert Johnson(?) behind Bob in the bar scene.
Also, that shot is similar to a scene in his greatest triumph, "Hearts of Fire. This film is so goofy, I have had it for years and after only seeing the beginning of it, I haven't been able to force myself to crack open the dvd case again. His 'acting' is very similar to this video. Another thing, he wears the jacket, briefly, that he was photographed in for "Empire Burlesque".
Another bad video was for "When the Night Comes Falling from the Sky". We are certainly lucky he grew out of ths shit.
Trample the pearl into the ground if you must, but please refrain from grunting so loud. Clearly the man was not speaking to you.
ReplyDeleteI think that's Charlie Patton in the poster at the bar.
ReplyDeleteDoesn't anyone have a sense of humor? Did you forget Bob has a good one? Did you use the same standard for his xmas video? Seeing him in the camouflage-type sport-jacket was reward enough. Hehe.
ReplyDeleteIt's Elmore James http://www.soundunwound.com/music/elmore-james/1911
ReplyDeleteTrucker Hat!
ReplyDeleteAnd the director is Paul Schrader (screenwriter for Taxi Driver and Raging Bull, director of Mishima and a few other very good movies).
ReplyDeleteSchrader was also appalled by the result and swore that he wouldn't direct any other music video after that. He kept his word.
I thought it was superb. total Bob weirdness, 80's style. Rivals "Must Be Santa." Great song too.
ReplyDeletePerfectly said-I totally agree. It seems to have gone over most people's heads (including Schrader's), hence their bafflement. I can't get enough of it or the song- each time I see and hear it, it brings a smile to my face and makes my day. Go figure, eh? Love Bob's wonderful weirdness.
DeleteI didn't think the video was horrible...this was the 80s, after all. Remarks about the clothing and attire was just a product of the times. Besides, this is Bob Dylan -- he's strictly critic-proof. I enjoyed the film, nevertheless.
ReplyDeleteKim Jung Il at 1:50 into that video
ReplyDeleteTight Connection to My Heart was always one of my favorite songs from the great Empire Burlesque album. So what if the video looks different than a lot of Bob's stuff --- I thought it was fun.
ReplyDelete"Repeated images of a purple wig being blown by the wind"
ReplyDeleteHow much did you listen to the song? It is a "powder blue" wig.
I cannot be 100% sure, but I am almost certain that the "hot-blooded singer" on stage (in orange) Dylan refers to is none other than Victoria Horne, a signer that performs mostly in Europe and Japan, but also in the U.S. Some of the Victoria Horne YouTube videos look like the same person. I remember seeing her in Paris when I traveled there. In France, she probably has as many fans as Dylan. Can anyone confirm if this is her?
ReplyDeletehttp://www.victoriahorne.com/victoria-in-a-bob-dylan-video/
DeleteTight connection to my heart is one of the most fun videos ever to watch, i love, at the end, when he and the two girls do a three-way hug! and the more i see the song on those 'worst ever' lists, the more I love it. But what really makes me mad is 'Forever young' is on those lists, I HATE Time magazine almost as much as i hate Rolling Stone.
ReplyDelete