Wrapping Up the Week

I decided to start out my day's blogging with a nifty bunch of questions from the Weekly Wrap Up

It's about Mtv and Music, so I really couldn't resist this one.


1. What was the first music video you remember seeing? What was memorable?

The first video I ever remember seeing was Olivia Newton John's - Physical. It was on HBO's video show. I have no idea why this video stuck with me or why it made me determined to be Olivia Newton John for a few months in my youth. What I find funny about it now, is that all my friends and I of course had no clue what the song was really about. Here we were in grade school doing aeorbics to this song, while Olivia was singing about the horizontal mambo!

2. What was your favorite music video as a teenager? Why?

As a teenager my favorite music video was 'the chair' version of George Harrison's Got My Mind Set on You. It was so campy and so cute and I loved George so much then. My teen years were so filled with classic rock goodness. Of course the 80's were filled with so many Classic Rock milestones and some great videos as well. I'll add that my 2 runners up for video favs are both Moody Blues videos; 'In Your Wildest Dreams' and 'I Know You're Out There Somewhere'.

3. How often did you watch MTV as a teen? How often now? Why has this changed, if at all?

Mtv was constantly on in my house until I was in college. You have to remember this though. Up until the mid 90's Mtv did play videos and music related shows. Does anyone besides me remember Weird Al's show on Mtv. Somewhere I have a tape of one of the epis with XTC performing King for a Day from the Oranges and Lemons CD. Mtv was great in the beginning. I'm glad I was part of the Mtv Generation. I'm only sad that now I can't turn the channel on, entirely too much crap. I'm getting old.

4. Did "video kill the radio star," as The Buggles asserted in their 1980 song of the same title? Why or why not?

You have only to turn on Vh-1 too learn the answer to that question. There's too much emphasis put on the 'prettiness' of a band rather than their actual talent today. That we can partially blame video for, as well as the corporate rock idiots that are out to shove the same sound down our throats for years and years...stifling the creativity of the rest of the world.

5. What is the best music video ever made? Why?

Thanks to Brighid I'm half tempted to say, Elvis Costello's "Still", but that would be wrong. I love it only for the loveliness of the man singing it. There are so many truly wonderful videos made in the past 20 some years, it's really hard to pinpoint just one.

1. Aha's Take On Me
2. Duran Duran's Wild Boys
3. Guns and Roses' November Rain
4. Those 2 Moody Blues videos I mentioned.
5. Elvis Costello's 45 (too cute not to love)

I could add more to this list..but well it would be pointless.