David Lee Roth "Just A Gigolo/I Ain't Got Nobody"

It's probably been a long time since you've seen the video for David Lee Roth's "Just A Gigolo/I Ain't Got Nobody."  You might as well watch it first, since it's certainly going to be the most entertaining part of this otherwise shaggy dog post:


See the video on Youtube.

If you remember the video, you probably remember the busty girls or the celebrity impersonators or Dave's particular, peculiar dance moves.

But I wanted to focus on the preamble scene.  The one that takes place on the set of the Cable Channel that "Dave" is the host of.

As Dave is approached by a collection of very, very surreal character actors, one of them (at the :45 mark) says, "You've got charaassma!"

He doesn't pronounce it correctly.

CharISma.

He makes it rhyme with the respiratory condition, asthma.

CharASma.

This song and video came out in 1985, which means I was 16 at the time.  Basically, I was the target audience of this video.

And I loved it.  All of it.

But for some reason, I really thought "CharASma" was hilarious.  So much so, that I started saying it myself.

At first, I'd just use it the way you'd use any movie quote.  The video was ubiquitous enough at the time, that peers would know the reference.

Then I started saying it any time the word "charisma" would happen into a sentence.  I'd just substitute "charASma" in, but I'd say it in a BIG way.  You know, to be ironic.

Then I just started pronoucing the word "charASma."  I mean, even when I wasn't trying to be funny or weird or pop-culturally clever.

To the point where I kinda forgot that the word was actually pronouced "charISma."

This transformation took place over the course of a couple of years, so it had reached the point where mispronouncing "charisma" was a habit I had to break.

I finally did get a handle on it, and after a few months of consciously thinking about it, I no longer had to pause and try to remember, "What's the correct way to say it?  CharISma or CharASma?"

And thus concludes the longest, lamest and least boob-related story about how a David Lee Roth video warped a teenagers brain.

King Missile "Detachable P****"

Here's another Weekend Post:

An entertaining video, from the 90s, when having an entertaining video (and saying the "P" word) meant you might be seen on the tee-vee.


Hear the song on Youtube.

Weekend posts are a chance to revisit songs that have happy memories, not of anything in particular, other than just hearing the tunes.

Many of these songs were tracks that I played during my 90s stint as an Alternative/Modern Rock radio show.  They're tunes that I hardly hear these days, but are fun to revisit.

Click on the "Weekend Posts" label below, to see other posts like this.

The Bogmen "Suddenly"

Here's another Weekend Post:

An entertaining video, from the 90s, when having an entertaining video meant you might be seen on the tee-vee.


Hear the song on Youtube.

Weekend posts are a chance to revisit songs that have happy memories, not of anything in particular, other than just hearing the tunes.

Many of these songs were tracks that I played during my 90s stint as an Alternative/Modern Rock radio show.  They're tunes that I hardly hear these days, but are fun to revisit.

Click on the "Weekend Posts" label below, to see other posts like this.

JJ Fad "Supersonic"

Here's another Weekend Post:

When I was searching for yesterday's "Supersonic," this one popped up too, and it made me laugh, thinking of the early days of MTV.  I love how positively quaint (if garish), the whole thing is---the hair, the outfits, the "attitude."  It was a cute song . . .


Hear the song on Youtube.

Weekend posts are a chance to revisit songs that have happy memories, not of anything in particular, other than just hearing the tunes.

Many of these songs were tracks that I played during my 90s stint as an Alternative/Modern Rock radio show.  They're tunes that I hardly hear these days, but are wonderful to revisit.

Click on the "Weekend Posts" label below, to see other posts like this.

Ween "Push The Little Daisies"

Here's another Weekend Post:

Like yesterday's tune, this one got more famous thanks to "Beavis And Butthead" than via any other avenue.  And you never hear it anywhere these days . . .


Hear the song on Youtube.


Enjoy Beavis and Butthead commenting on the song on Youtube.

Weekend posts are a chance to revisit songs that have happy memories, not of anything in particular, other than just hearing the tunes.

Many of these songs were tracks that I played during my 90s stint as an Alternative/Modern Rock radio show.  They're tunes that I hardly hear these days, but are wonderful to revisit.

Click on the "Weekend Posts" label below, to see other posts like this.
 

Gary Young "Plantman"

Here's another Weekend Post:

This song came up in a recent conversation, so I thought I'd post it.

In its day, it probably got more attention via inclusion on an episode of "Beavis & Butthead," but should be enjoyed on its own merits.


Hear the song on Youtube.

Weekend posts are a chance to revisit songs that have happy memories, not of anything in particular, other than just hearing the tunes.

Many of these songs were tracks that I played during my 90s stint as an Alternative/Modern Rock radio show.  They're tunes that I hardly hear these days, but are wonderful to revisit.

Click on the "Weekend Posts" label below, to see other posts like this.

Bonnie Raitt "Takin' My Time"

I had a fun time-machine-like experience while on vacation in August.

We were at my Mother-In-Law's getaway place in Maine.  It's not a cabin.  It's not roughing-it by any means.

But it IS out of cell phone range and internet range and cable and broadcast television range.  So you can be pretty disconnected.

There are a ton of books floating around, so in the quiet moments (when we send the kids outside, that is) there are plenty of things to idly flip though.

When my Mother-In-Law bought the place a couple of years ago, it came as-is.  So we inherited a huge collection of VHS movies and books and such.  Many of them had been there for decades.

And that was my experience when I picked up The Rolling Stone Illustrated History Of Rock & Roll.

It was---as advertised---a comprehensive history of Rock & Roll, published in 1980.  Each section was an essay on either a single important musician/band, a particular movement or a full genre.

Hilariously, it touts that this is the updated edition (the original came out in 1976), so it's more complete than ever.

So it's a view of Rock & Roll that predates Nirvana.  It predates the internet.  It predates Rap music.

Those are obvious.

It also describes a world that has never seen a CD.  A world where all four of The Beatles are still alive and could potentially reunite.  A world where MTV did not yet exist.

Most interestingly, it had really interesting summations of artists who---from today's perspective---were perhaps being analyzed too soon.

Talking Heads had put out a few promising albums, but the piece on them doesn't/couldn't predict their breakthough commercial success or their lasting influence.

Elvis Costello had put out his blistering triptych debut and follow-ups, but gave the reviewer no hint of the many genre exercises and tributaries that he would so ably traverse in the coming years.

My favorite review was on Bonnie Raitt.  In 1980, she was critically beloved, and was an impressive live act.  But she hadn't had a commercial breakthrough yet.  And the reviewer thought her own material was weak, and, more damningly, that her ability to select material was weak (like this track written by Little Feat's Bill Payne).  And thus she'd probably never realize her potential.

Which is hilarious to read here in the future, where Bonnie has won many Grammys, sold millions of records and is widely regarded as important and influential.


Hear the song on Youtube.

Huey Lewis & The News "Do You Believe In Love"

Do you know what "100th Monkey Effect" is?

Here's the short version:

Scientists observed Monkeys in the wild.  They noticed that a few monkeys were washing their sweet potatoes.  And each day, they noticed that a few more monkeys were also washing their sweet potatoes before eating them.  This seemed to follow a normal pattern of simple observation and repetition.  However, at a certain point---when over 100 monkeys were now washing their sweet potatoes, an incredible phenomenon happened.  The following day, ALL the monkeys---thousands of them---were washing their sweet potatoes.

Their collective knowledge had reached a critical mass, and spread to the entire population via unknown means.

The 100th Monkey Effect explains how ideas flow into the stream of the collective unconscious to reach us all.

Of course, the 100th Monkey Effect story seems to be a complete hoax.  Having no real basis in scientific fact, it has been widely debunked.

And yet, I find it to be the most reasonable explanation for the awkward moment that occurred during an 8th grade sleepover.

I can't remember who's birthday it was, but I remember that 4 or 5 of my best friends were sleeping over someone's house for a birthday.  This was 1982, the when MTV was still brand new.

Bands that no one had ever heard of, were suddenly becoming hugely popular, on the basis of silly little film clips that aired round the clock on the channel.

My friends and I were excited about pretty much any fun band with a fun video, especially if the video featured a good looking woman---hey, we were teenage boys, you'd expect no less.

Quarterflash, Aldo Nova, Adam Ant, The Tubes, Wall Of Voodoo, we didn't discriminate.

But something weird happens when you turn from a pre-teen to a teen.

"We should go see Huey Lewis!" I enthused to the group of friends.

(The stage direction here should read:  Blank, slightly disdainful stares.)

I thought it was a great idea.  And I didn't understand what part of my statement seemed confusing to my friends.

"He's playing at Hampton Beach Casino next week!"

There was another long moment of silence.

The someone simply said, "Uh.  No . . ." and the other guys laughed weakly.  And the subject was changed.

Now I know these guys liked that Huey Lewis video.  I'd watched it with some of them before.  My God, it showed a woman in a bed!  And clearly the band was sleeping over.  Sexy!

But somewhere between being a pre-Teen and a Teen, Cool happens.

Cool doesn't become part of every kid's consciousness at the same time.  Some kids become Cool later than others.  And frankly, some kids never learn that they should wash their sweet potatoes.

I don't believe my group of friends ever had discussed it, but somehow a critical mass of them had arrived at the notion that Huey Lewis was not cool.

And unbeknownst to me, I had not yet stepped into the stream of Cool, leading me to an icy silence.

It's awkward, when you are the 101st monkey.


Hear the song on Youtube.

The Godfathers "Birth School Work Death"

Throwing up a few songs for Labor Day Weekend.

Birth. School. Work. Death.

Enjoy your one day off!


See the video on Youtube.

Flaming Lips "She Don't Use Jelly"

Here's another Weekend Post:

Can you think back to 1993/4, when you first heard this song?

Did you imagine that nearly 20 years later, the band behind this (seeming) novelty song, would actually be one of the most inventive and critically beloved bands in America?

Me neither.


See the video on Youtube.

Weekend posts are a chance to revisit songs that have happy memories, not of anything in particular, other than just hearing the tunes.

Many of these songs were tracks that I played during my 90s stint as an Alternative/Modern Rock radio show. They're tunes that I hardly hear these days, but are wonderful to revisit.

Click on the "Weekend Posts" label below, to see other posts like this.

Adele "Rumour Has It"

I, and perhaps you, are of the generation where MTV mattered, musically.

Artists made videos, and we were excited to watch them.

But MTV evolved to a lifestyle channel, and music videos have been largely irrelevant to the channel for so long, that I just don't think videos matter to the current generation.

Videos have started to matter again, though, here in the age of Youtube. Online videos have proven to be a successful way to get an artist's music out there.

So I was curious to check out Youtube's newly updated Music page, which now lists the 100 most popular music videos on Youtube. And you can play them like a "Channel," one video after the other, like you were watching MTV in 1982.

I was curious, because I kinda thought---since music videos aren't really a part of the current generation's pop culture, but are hugely a part of my generation's orientation---that there would be a pretty strong showing of mvyradio-type artists on the list.

How wrong I was. Of the Top 100 videos, the only mvyradio artist on the list of most played videos on Youtube, was Adele.

The list was predominately Pop artists like Jennifer Lopez and Rebecca Black and such.

And I wondered, now that there is this page, will my generation rediscover their passion for the music video, and bring more adult artists to the top 100?


See the video on Youtube.

Dandy Warhols "Not If You Were The Last Junkie On Earth"

Here's another Weekend Post:

I kinda knew that the punk-ethos that had invaded mainstream music of the 90s (through Nirvana and the like) was gone, when I saw this (otherwise awesome) video, replete with fashionable choreography and bright colors, from this Next Big Thing band.




Weekend posts are a chance to revisit songs that have happy memories, not of anything in particular, other than just hearing the tunes.

Many of these songs were tracks that I played during my 90s stint as an Alternative/Modern Rock radio show. They're tunes that I hardly hear these days, but are wonderful to revisit.

Click on the "Weekend Posts" label below, to see other posts like this.

The Who "You Better You Bet"

Here's another video from MTV's first day of broadcast. I remember that folks made a big deal about this record, as it was their first post-Keith Moon album.

Rockpile "Little Sister"

After a week's worth of posts about early MTV videos, I did some research, and found a list of all the videos played on the first day of broadcast. There were a few things I'd never heard of, several things I'm happy to never hear again, and a couple of gems I was excited to revisit, like this live nugget.

Tenpole Tudor "Wunderbar"

After yesterday's post brought back faint memories of V66, I decided that I'd conclude this week, trying to test the limits of both my memory and of Youtube.

One of the lines in the V66 video, mentions that the video channel was playing a certain song and in the towns where the video was being seen, people were walking into their local record stores asking to buy it. This was true of early MTV, where they'd play songs that radio in the U.S. had never played.

So I wracked my brain, trying to think of an early, early MTV song, that I might vaguely remember a video for, but had never heard on the radio. Or, in fact, seen on TV since the early 80s.

Then I planned to search for it on YouTube, to see if anyone else remembered it.

I had the wispiest flash of a video, that HAD to be European, with a mad band on some kind of pirate ship, screaming "Wunderbar!" over and over.

Sure enough, typing "Wunderbar music video" in the search bar, led me to this band that I can't say I've ever heard of: Tenpole Tudor.

I read a lot about music. I listen to tons of it. I have, what some might consider, an elephantine memory for bands and songs. So I'm pretty certain that I haven't seen, heard or thought about his song in 28 or so years.

And yet, here it is, on YouTube. Do YOU remember it?

Asia "Heat Of The Moment"

Last week I invited mvy listeners and EDIWTB readers to write about the first video they remember seeing on MTV.

Christine Lorenzo is my cousin, who lived in Stow, MA, where they didn't yet have MTV, but who remembers V66! Here's what Christine wrote, when I asked for video remembrances:

OK! You guys were always way cooler than us and this is one of the reasons why!!! You got MTV BEFORE us!!! I sat in your basement in a trance and did not want to go home to V66, are you kidding? Part of it was listening to PJ tell us all about the VJ’s and the channel and how super cool it is. Asia, I think, “Heat of the Moment” was the first video I saw at MTV Newburyport HQ. Of course when you guys came to our house we did put on amazing air-band performances but I think that is another story...





For those of you who don't know what V66 is . . .

The Police "Don't Stand So Close To Me"

Last week I invited mvy listeners and EDIWTB readers to write about the first video they remember seeing on MTV.

Tim Taylor from Little Rock wrote today's entry:

I remember exactly where I was the first time I ever saw a music video. It was the summer of 1981. I didn't have cable television at the time, so I wasn't really aware of the draw of MTV. But the gym I worked out at did have cable in various rooms, and I remember stumbling into the lobby of the gym after a particularly hard workout to witness three men jumping up and down in graduation robes in a classroom. It was The Police, singing their hit "Don't Stand So Close To Me." I was immediately transformed into a fan of their music and the medium. I had no idea what MTV was or what music videos were supposed to accomplish, but I knew that they would have a dramatic impact on the music world.


If you have a good "First MTV Video I Saw" story, I have a few more guest blog slots. Send it to pj@mvyradio.com.

Quarterflash "Harden My Heart"

A seminal moments post . . .

Every trivia buff knows that “Video Kills The Radio Star” was the first video played on MTV.

But when MTV went on the air, only a few households in America had the channel. And even fewer were tuned in to MTV.

So the more interesting question is: What video was playing, the first time you watched MTV?

I can remember it, as clear as day. Two Newburyport Cable Company technicians were in our basement, hooking up a box.

I don’t know where my folks were, but I was supervising, to make sure they reconnected my Atari properly. And also, because I knew about MTV.

I’d heard about it anyway. Kids on the playground (which wasn’t really a playground so much as a parking lot) at The Immaculate Conception had been talking about the video of Olivia Newton John’s “Physical.”

I didn’t really get it. Was she on a stage, singing, like on Solid Gold? Why was that interesting?

So as soon as I got a quick tutorial on how to change channel with the box (yeah, we didn’t spring for the remote control, because, c’mon, you can’t walk over to the TV and change the channel!?!?) I flipped around to MTV.

And I was, not surprisingly, taken with what I saw.

Motorcycles! A Babe In Tight Pants! A Fog Machine! An Entire Set Built For The Express Purpose Of This Little Movie!

Sure, you can look at the production values of Quarterflash’s “Harden My Heart” today, and laugh. But in 1982, this was near the pinnacle of video artistry.

Over the next days and weeks, I’d sit in front of MTV for hours on end, with friends or without, and go into their weird worlds of music. Much of which (because it was imported from Europe) was completely unfamiliar to me.

My love of music videos would grow exponentially, then wax and wane in the decades that followed. And with their ubiquity, it’s hard to remember when they mattered.

But I’d argue that maybe they’re mattering again. Ok Go, and other viral successes, would support that theory.

Maybe some day down the line, I’ll be asking you, What was the first music video you saw on Youtube?


This post is one in a series of Seminal Moments---stories of songs that truly changed the course of my life. For more posts in this series, click on the Seminal Moments link under "Labels."

Guster "Bad Bad World"

There was a time when videos MATTERED. To get your song on MTV could pretty quickly change your band's life.

Then there was a time when videos didn't matter too much. You could spend a million bucks, hire Oscar winning actors, and have acres and acres of girls in hot pants, and you might still not sell any records.

It's kind of fun to be back in a time when video matters. And when production values don't.

Great videos are being made for low low budgets. And they don't need MTV. They need you.

You are needed, to make a music video a success. You have to watch it, love it, and share it with your friends, in the FaceTubeSpace World.

So how does a band get you interested in their video? They have you make it.

Check out Guster's video contest for their new song "Bad Bad World." Even if you don't really plan on making a video, you can download the track for free.

But with today's simple technology, anyone can make a World Wide smash video.

Get on it, Cecil B.!

Space Monkeys "Sugar Cane"

Here's another weekend post:

Some bands are one hit wonders and you totally get why.

Bobbie McFerrin had a hit, but it was a novelty. No surprise he hasn't had another "Don't Worry Be Happy."

But some one hit wonders are head scratchers. How could you make such a well crafted tune, and not be able to do it again?

I always felt that way about this one. This is so ridiculously catchy. If you had enough pop sensibility to make something so infectious, you'd think you'd know how to do it again.

And yet, they didn't. Here's their one, fun, alterna-90s hit.