I love these songs, they are part of my American experience. We were a family of immigrants and we didn't have much but we had this music as we rolled in our junky car. It will forever be etched into my memory and be a reminder of our humble start in this country.

The videos though are pretty funny. MTV was new and it really shows that the people making the videos are a far cry from the movie type productions they have now. Ol' John C looks a bit awkward when he is trying to figure out what to do. The dance party scene is priceless, especially the shirtless guy. Ain't that America? POMTL!


Jack and Diane
[youtube.com]

Pink Houses
[youtube.com]

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Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/19/2006 11:26AM by pRON aHOLIC.

Pink Houses is one of my all time favorite videos. MTV had a huge promotion at that time to live in a pink house on Lake Michigan and a pink Jeep. I "knew" I would win that thing. I loved the "Uh Huh" album.

Interesting. That hand-clap thing in J&D was also done by Steve Miller in "Abra-Cadabra" if I recall correctly. I agree these videos are a far cry from the "movies" of today, but I don't think they are laughable. Maybe you have to be from the Midwest (as I am) to really "get" them...this is pure Americana stuff. (Although that woman falling out of the convertible in "Pink Houses" was to me, very odd and seemed quite out of place.) EDIT: thinking more on the shirtless guy on the bike: that does seem a bit hamhanded. The guy next to the old Coke machine was a little less so.

If anybody remembers the old "Chrysler -- Born in America" (or was it Made in America?) spots from around 1980 or thereabouts, there is a lot of Americana imagery in those as well. I remember them being very striking and inspiring.

Just my humble opine...



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/19/2006 11:46AM by SteveO.

I find them funny because there is an awkward innocence to them of an emerging media. The songs I will always love as part of my Americana.

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I was a DJ at a skating Rink in Chico, California (I was going to Chico State University), when Jack & Diane came out. I remember it being numer 2 on the Billboard charts. pRON, did you immigrate around that time?

This is where it all started...

The Buggles: Video Killed the Radio Star (the first video ever shown on MTV)
[www.youtube.com]

Herbie Hancock: Rockit (one of the most effective uses of video to add value to music)
[www.youtube.com]

Beastie Boys: Sabotage (the last actual music video MTV would ever show)
[www.youtube.com]

These are the videos that marked the rise and fall of MTV.

I just wanted to throw this one in too:
The BeastieBoys live on Letterman. When was the last time you saw Rap artists actually play instruments?!?
[www.youtube.com]

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MacResource User Map: [www.zeemaps.com]#



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/19/2006 12:21PM by ztirffritz.

Ztirffritz, was Sabatoge really really the last actual video on MTV?

Quote
vision63
Ztirffritz, was Sabatoge really really the last actual video on MTV?

No, not REALLY really, but in my book it was the end of the ride for MTV. That is where MTV jumped the shark and started playing nothing but hip-hop/R&B crap...then eventually they drifted into 24x7 RealWorld territory. I haven't watched MTV in years, but I don't think that they even show music videos anymore.

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I guess I checked out of MTV too. Now I'm more likely to watch America's Test Kitchen. I've officially become a sissy.

I was nine when MTV came out, but we didn't have cable. My neighbor did, though, and the first video I ever saw was Devo's _Whip It_. My first thought: "Why are these strange singers wearing flower pots on their heads?" My second thought: "WOW -- they're whipping that woman's CLOTHES off!" My third thought: "My mom is going to kill me if she ever finds out I watched this!"

[youtube.com]

-Tofer

Years ago when the top video countdown on MTV turned into "TRL" I remember watching to see what was new. They start playing a video, and then about ten seconds in BOOM that's it, on to something else.

MTV was awesome back in the early to mid '80s. It was like, well, a video version of radio! DJs, music, imports, Yo MTV raps...

Now it is just as worthless as plain old radio.

Like the old joke, the food is bad and the portions are too small.

Quote
vision63
I was a DJ at a skating Rink in Chico, California (I was going to Chico State University), when Jack & Diane came out. I remember it being numer 2 on the Billboard charts. pRON, did you immigrate around that time?

My family was in the U.S. for about 4 or 5 years at that point. That makes me wonder if I can find a pic of that super junky Ford we had from the 70's. It was a hideous yellow that is seared into the 80's portion of my brain.

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Quote
SteveO
Interesting. That hand-clap thing in J&D was also done by Steve Miller in "Abra-Cadabra" if I recall correctly. I agree these videos are a far cry from the "movies" of today, but I don't think they are laughable. Maybe you have to be from the Midwest (as I am) to really "get" them...this is pure Americana stuff. (Although that woman falling out of the convertible in "Pink Houses" was to me, very odd and seemed quite out of place.) EDIT: thinking more on the shirtless guy on the bike: that does seem a bit hamhanded. The guy next to the old Coke machine was a little less so.

If anybody remembers the old "Chrysler -- Born in America" (or was it Made in America?) spots from around 1980 or thereabouts, there is a lot of Americana imagery in those as well. I remember them being very striking and inspiring.

Just my humble opine...

SteveO, are you telling me you didn't crack a smile when that guy was dancing without a shirt or when JCM was strutting his stuff or punching at the screen? I love it!

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Those video are pretty funny in retrospect but what they were for the time.

If you want to see an interesting peek into the evolution of the music video
take a look at Tom Petty's "Playback" which is over 10 years old now (1995) [www.imdb.com]

Petty was one of the first to understand the power of the music video and
worked with a lot of interesting people. Sit and watch them in chronological order
and you see the development of the video form. Pretty interesting trip.

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Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/19/2006 03:37PM by lafinfil.

Quote
vision63
I was a DJ at a skating Rink in Chico, California (I was going to Chico State University), when Jack & Diane came out. I remember it being numer 2 on the Billboard charts. pRON, did you immigrate around that time?

Memories. Nobody could call a game of Shoot the Duck like vision.

The drums were always my favorite part of John Cougar Mellencamp songs. His drummer, Kenny Aronoff is awesome. He's a beast, yet the ladies love him too. He was the main drummer for the Lilith Fair tours.

It was just John Cougar back then--no "Mellancampo"--and if you had been in highschool at the time, rather than elementary, you'd understand how much cooler these songs made you. Cleansing the pallate post-disco.

FWIW, I find the cinema verite bits in J&D pretty convincing.

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jimbrady
It was just John Cougar back then--no "Mellancampo"--and if you had been in highschool at the time, rather than elementary, you'd understand how much cooler these songs made you. Cleansing the pallate post-disco.

FWIW, I find the cinema verite bits in J&D pretty convincing.

Sorry, the "o" on my keyboard is somehow pushing itself even when I am not typing.

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hey, let's not mock one of my employers.
me likey the MTV, reality, hop hip, videos or not.

better then Larry King

Mellencamp has always been and still is great 'merican RnR.

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proofraed by OwEn the c@t.



Nobody remembers their first download, but everyone remembers their 1st LP.

Quote
pRON aHOLIC

Quote
jimbrady
It was just John Cougar back then--no "Mellancampo"--and if you had been in highschool at the time, rather than elementary, you'd understand how much cooler these songs made you. Cleansing the pallate post-disco.

FWIW, I find the cinema verite bits in J&D pretty convincing.

Sorry, the "o" on my keyboard is somehow pushing itself even when I am not typing.

FYI--There was no Mellancamp... either. Always thought changing the professional name was distasteful (though he was probably just remedying a marketing decision by his label).

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pRON aHOLIC
SteveO, are you telling me you didn't crack a smile when that guy was dancing without a shirt or when JCM was strutting his stuff or punching at the screen? I love it!

I hear what you're saying...yeah, I cracked a smile (as I said, there was that hamhanded stuff), but it was mostly from thinking that I was in 7th grade at Catholic school then...and the nuns would not let us listen to, "Jack and Diane" due to its lascivious content. Ha!

Quote
ztirffritz
This is where it all started...


Beastie Boys: Sabotage (the last actual music video MTV would ever show)
[www.youtube.com]

I confess that my memory isn't the greatest, but I don't believe that is actually the Beastie Boys video that you linked to. Is it perhaps an homage created by some fans?

I was never a big fan of theirs until I finally heard Paul's Boutique a few years ago. After that I went back and listened to some of their music and found I appreciated it a bit more. Perhaps I'm just trying to recapture my youth.


outcast



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/19/2006 09:10PM by outcast.

Quote
brofoski

Quote
vision63
I was a DJ at a skating Rink in Chico, California (I was going to Chico State University), when Jack & Diane came out. I remember it being numer 2 on the Billboard charts. pRON, did you immigrate around that time?

Memories. Nobody could call a game of Shoot the Duck like vision.

The drums were always my favorite part of John Cougar Mellencamp songs. His drummer, Kenny Aronoff is awesome. He's a beast, yet the ladies love him too. He was the main drummer for the Lilith Fair tours.

YEAH!!!

I am tired of hearing Johnny 'Cooper' (Couger/Mellonhead) about 14 times a day if I tune to any local station round here. I liked him in concert, hate his politics, attitude and am sick to death of his music now.

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SteveJobs
I am tired of hearing Johnny 'Cooper' (Couger/Mellonhead) about 14 times a day if I tune to any local station round here. I liked him in concert, hate his politics, attitude and am sick to death of his music now.

Is he not a Republican?

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Yeah, outcast is right- that link is NOT the Beasties, but a fan parody of their video.

Here's the real one: [www.youtube.com]

Mellencamp is great. He's a local hero in these parts.