MTV in the 80s Song of the Day

[Jaq]

The power of music video to make bands in the 80s wasn't just tied to the British New Wave, as this video demonstrated. If MTV hadn't gotten behind this video the way they did, Twisted Sister would never have taken off to the extent that they did. It doesn't hurt though that it's a pretty funny video AND the song is catchy as hell. This was one of the videos that opened the door to metal being accepted in the mainstream; Quiet Riot drove through that door and Motley Crue and Ratt were right behind them.

In fact, apparently MTV had a thing about playing metal songs at 8 PM eastern (7 PM central, natch) because for a month, every day, they played Metal Health by Quiet Riot at 8 PM eastern. 

[DebraKadabra]

OMG - I loved that video!    Still do, kinda sorta.

[KevShmev]

Run-D.M.C. featuring Aerosmith - Walk This Way

I wasn't much of fan of this.  Despite never really digging rap at all, I did like a few of Run-D.M.C.'s hits that came out after this, but this one didn't do a lot for me.  I was completely unfamiliar with Aerosmith and the original Walk This Way at the time, but I imagine that the outrage and cries of "sellouts!" had to be loud and thunderous from their longtime rock fans.  However, it was a smart move that helped get them back in the limelight and on MTV.  You gotta give them that.

[Orbert]

Until this version came out, it had never occurred to me that what Steven Tyler did in the original version was rap.  It still blows my mind to think of it that way because in general I really don't like rap.  Even after this version came out, I remember thinking "What the fuck?  They've turned it into a rap song!"  Then I saw a thing on MTv talking about it, about how natural it was, it made perfect sense since Aerosmith's version is one of the earliest examples of rap on the radio.  Whoa.

This confuses my prejudices, because I'm still pretty sure that I don't like rap, but I do love the original Aerosmith version.  Hate the Run-D.M.C version.

[wolfking]

Couldn't stand this song.

[Cool Chris]

I was completely unfamiliar with Aerosmith and the original Walk This Way at the time...

Same with me. I remember thinking the video was cool, which upped the quality of the song in my mind. Then when I heard the original it always sounded like something was missing.

I never got in to Run DMC or any other similar groups back then. I didn't hate rap, I just didn't care to listen to it. I never cared for Aerosmith either. I liked 'Angel' and 'What it Takes.'

Twisted Sister - We're Not Gonna Take It

And I obviously had no clue at the time that the video and even several comments in the song were a nod to Animal House, since I didn't see that movie till I was like 18 or 19. But it made the video even more awesome once I knew all of that.

Holy crap I didn't know that. I need to check that out. Good rebellous song, at least for a 10 year old Cool Chris, who was about as far from being a rebel as possible.

[King Postwhore]

Until this version came out, it had never occurred to me that what Steven Tyler did in the original version was rap.  It still blows my mind to think of it that way because in general I really don't like rap.  Even after this version came out, I remember thinking "What the fuck?  They've turned it into a rap song!"  Then I saw a thing on MTv talking about it, about how natural it was, it made perfect sense since Aerosmith's version is one of the earliest examples of rap on the radio.  Whoa.

This confuses my prejudices, because I'm still pretty sure that I don't like rap, but I do love the original Aerosmith version.  Hate the Run-D.M.C version.

Wow!  So spot on.  This is how I felt also.

[Jaq]

Okay, as usual, I have a story about this video. 

In high school, there was a girl I knew, and, in fact, had a powerfully huge crush on. The story of the first half of my senior year with my friends was my crush on this girl, and when the fuck was I going to do something about it. (I did over Christmas vacation. It was a disaster, but not related to this tale.) The thing about this girl, other than how fantastic she made sweaters look, was that she was a HUGE Aerosmith fan. Now, being that I was in that sort of intense, head over heels, idealistic young love that comes of being a teenager with their most monstrous crush, you would think that at that point, I'd run out, buy every Aerosmith album and t-shirt I could find, and slap Aerosmith logos on my notebooks and whatnot.

Well fuck that noise, my favorite band was Iron Maiden, and no one, not even the girl I wanted to spend several hours in the backseat of my parents' 67 Fury* with, was going to tell me otherwise. When music would come up, she would champion Aerosmith, and I would champion Iron Maiden, and I'd forget that I had this utterly hormonal crush on her, and in hindsight, if I had kept that up, I might have gotten a date with her instead of trying to woo her with poetry and love letters. (I told you it was a disaster, didn't I?)

Time passed as time did. We graduated, and I lost track of her along with the vast majority of my school age friends. But I always associated her with Aerosmith, with the days when she'd snatch my notebook off my desk and draw Aerosmith logos by hand on the back of them as part of her war against Iron Maiden. See, if I had stuck with music as my form of contact with her instead of poetry and love letters...At any rate, when Walk This Way came out, my first thought was "what the fuck is this?" and my second one was "I wonder what she thinks of this song?" I also thought the same thing about the rest of Aerosmith's 80s output. Time passed, hands on the clock, calendar pages falling off the calendar, the mullet came and went.

And a couple of years ago, my best friend in high school got ahold of me and explained that I needed to get a Facebook, because my crush was looking for me, and other people she went to school with. I'm not much for social media, but I did it, and she contacted me, and we talked on occasion about old times. December 2010, she sends me a message about she was coming to town with her son to visit her family here, and hey, how about we meet? I agreed, and wound up at a pizza place with her and her son, and the subject of our old music wars came up. And hell, I'd been wanting to ask her this question for AGES, so I asked "what did you think when Run DMC did Walk This Way with Tyler and Perry?"

Without missing a beat, she said " When I saw the video the first time I heard you say 'I told you Iron Maiden was better' as clear as day."

The best part of this story is: she still has the poems and letter I wrote her all those years ago. Go figure.


*Why the old Fury they had instead of the two 1984 vintage cars my family had at the time? Easy, the Fury had the biggest back seat!

[KevShmev]

Haha, that is awesome, Jaq!

[Jaq]

Until you started this thread, I had NO idea how much of my life I could tie back to watching MTV. 

[KevShmev]

I could probably say the same thing for my younger years.  I still have four or five old VHS tapes of videos I taped circa 1987-1989, that I refuse to throw away.  I don't even use my VHS anymore, but it would be like throwing part of my childhood away.  I won't do it.

[KevShmev]

Erasure - A Little Respect

An outstanding synth pop song, this is one of those songs I still know all of the words to whenever it comes on. Clever little video with all of the references to the lyrics which were interspersed with shots of the singer.  Like Pet Shop Boys, the outwardly gayness of the lead singer tends to throw some people off, but to me, a straight male, good music is good music, and The Innocents, the album this song came from, had quite a few really good tunes. 

[DebraKadabra]

Run-D.M.C. featuring Aerosmith - Walk This Way

I wasn't much of fan of this.  Despite never really digging rap at all, I did like a few of Run-D.M.C.'s hits that came out after this, but this one didn't do a lot for me.  I was completely unfamiliar with Aerosmith and the original Walk This Way at the time, but I imagine that the outrage and cries of "sellouts!" had to be loud and thunderous from their longtime rock fans.  However, it was a smart move that helped get them back in the limelight and on MTV.  You gotta give them that.

IMO, this is the weakest song on an otherwise stellar late 80s rap album - you can't deny the impact that Raising Hell had, especially since Public Enemy was just getting their feet wet and The Beastie Boys had released Licensed To Ill, both (all three, actually) at around the same time.  Good record IMO, okay song, video was really cool though.
 
 
Not too familiar with the Erasure one though - more familiar with Chains of Love.

[Kwyjibo]

I prefer the original version by Aerosmith over the RUN DMC version, but the latter isn't that bad either.

What I remember when it came out is, that people talked about how unique and groundbreaking it is to have a rap part in a rock song. I always told them that they should listen to the original because Steven Tyler back then rapped as good (or better) than RUN DMC. In fact the RUN DMC version isn't that much different, it just doesn't groove like the orginal.

Not crazy about Erasure and don't remember that particular song but Sometimes was quite nice.

[King Postwhore]

I could probably say the same thing for my younger years.  I still have four or five old VHS tapes of videos I taped circa 1987-1989, that I refuse to throw away.  I don't even use my VHS anymore, but it would be like throwing part of my childhood away.  I won't do it.

Me too.  Though I have a VCR but not plugged in.  So many concerts and videos I taped over the years.  Plus so many bootleg concert video's I bought.

[Orbert]

What I remember when it came out is, that people talked about how unique and groundbreaking it is to have a rap part in a rock song. I always told them that they should listen to the original because Steven Tyler back then rapped as good (or better) than RUN DMC. In fact the RUN DMC version isn't that much different, it just doesn't groove like the orginal.

I've tried to figure out what it is about rap that turns me off so badly.  I really, really don't like it.  Back in school, it was still pretty new (compared to mainstream rock anyway) and it was easy to dismiss as nothing more than talking in rhythm.  But that's all Steven Tyler is doing on the original, and I love it.  I think it's the "attitude" or something.  The Run-DMC rap, and most rap to my ears, sounds pushy, arrogant.  There's a WUH! WUH! WUH! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! about it that just bugs me.  Steven sounds like he's just telling you what went down.  I guess there's a certain bravado to his delivery, but that fits with the story he's telling.  It grooves, as you say.  Run-DMC sound like they're pushing it, bragging, building it up.  The unnecessary way they SLAM on certain BEATS and EMphasize certain SYLLables just RUINS the RHYthm of the deLIVery.

I remember Will Smith was still The Fresh Prince in those days, and I could actually listen to his style of rapping, because it literally just sounded like talking in rhythm, almost conversational.  "Parents Just Don't Understand" was cool.  It's not what rap is lacking that bugs me, I think it's what they add to it.  The arrogance, the unnecessary punctuation.

[Kwyjibo]

I'm not a big rap fan myself, I don't hate it, but most of the times I just don't get it. And I think a big part of me not getting it is just what you wrote. I don't feel the rhythm or the flow of the rap part. Most of the time it sounds forced and constructed and not natural, at least to my ears.

[KevShmev]

Cyndi Lauper - Girls Just Want to Have Fun

Good pop song, but one I was never overly fond of.  I didn't hate it, but it wasn't one I got excited about when it came on the radio or MTV; the video was good fun, for sure though.  And it got the whole Rock N' Wrestling Connection thing going, with Captain Lou Albano, who played Lauper's dad in the video, smack dab in the middle of it with Hulk Hogan and Rowdy Roddy Piper.  That was good stuff.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H1LB0kWS3Xw

[jjrock88]

I like the wrestling connection

[Kwyjibo]

At first I liked this song but after a while Cindy's voice/singing style started grating on my nerves a lot.

Nowadays if I here it it's okay, I don't turn it of.

[Cool Chris]

Would turn this song off in a heartbeat.

I like the wrestling connection

She appeared at a Wrestlemania, right?

Love the avatar. I was such a huge fan of Flair back in the NWA days, and when he was a Horseman.

[DebraKadabra]

Fun song, good video - I just happen to like Time After Time a lot more.

[masterthes]

Time After Time is a far superior song but Girls is still a catchy song

[jjrock88]

Yeah there were alot of tie in's with Cindy around Wrestlemania 1.  I believe she was Wendi Richters manager for her match.

[Jaq]

One day I will sit down and determine the top 10 songs that remind me most of the 80s. It's better than even odds Girls Just Wanna Have Fun will make it. 

[KevShmev]

Bonnie Tyler - Total Eclipse of the Heart

It is now almost impossible for me to hear this song and not think of Old School.   When I was a kid, my dad always loved this song and video a lot, and while I didn't like it nearly as much as he did, I did like it.  I like the big-sounding instrumental break in the middle a lot; that part still sounds glorious.

[lonestar]

Karaoke destroyed this one, along with Don't Stop Believing, for me forever.

[Cool Chris]

Great song. Really has a majestic feel to it, for lack of a better word. That instrumental section is glorious, and the way it builds toward the final section is awesome.

Also.... just watched the Land of Cinfusion video for the first time in decades. Holy crap that was weird.

[CrimsonSunrise]

Meh......  never really dug the song.  Sorry, just caught this thread, don't mean to start with a negative post.

[Jaq]

One of my many musical guilty pleasures is Jim Steinman's music. I have no shame in admitting it, though I can understand why his music really isn't for everyone. The emotional level of every narrator in a Steinman song is set to total bugfuck crazy and every song seems to come from some alternate universe where the 50s never ended. (Which is why his music was singularly appropriate for the 80s Walter Hill film Streets of Fire, another place where the 50s never ended.) His music seems to find a certain higher level of magnificence when a woman sings it-Celine Dion's version of It's All Coming Back To Me Now is a fabulous example of this-which is why Total Eclipse of the Heart works so well. The full version of this song, which clocks in around seven minutes, is GLORIOUS. In a delightfully cheesy way, admittedly, but still glorious.

[DebraKadabra]

Meh......  never really dug the song.  Sorry, just caught this thread, don't mean to start with a negative post.

No worries - we've ALL said something negative in this thread at one point or another.

That said?  I've always liked this one a lot.  Sue me.

[CrimsonSunrise]

Meh......  never really dug the song.  Sorry, just caught this thread, don't mean to start with a negative post.

No worries - we've ALL said something negative in this thread at one point or another.

That said?  I've always liked this one a lot.  Sue me.

Sigh....and to think I held you in such high regard....

[DebraKadabra]

O RLY?

Well

[Orbert]

One of my many musical guilty pleasures is Jim Steinman's music. I have no shame in admitting it, though I can understand why his music really isn't for everyone. The emotional level of every narrator in a Steinman song is set to total bugfuck crazy and every song seems to come from some alternate universe where the 50s never ended. (Which is why his music was singularly appropriate for the 80s Walter Hill film Streets of Fire, another place where the 50s never ended.) His music seems to find a certain higher level of magnificence when a woman sings it-Celine Dion's version of It's All Coming Back To Me Now is a fabulous example of this-which is why Total Eclipse of the Heart works so well. The full version of this song, which clocks in around seven minutes, is GLORIOUS. In a delightfully cheesy way, admittedly, but still glorious.

I think I'd read at some point that Steinman wrote "Total Eclipse of the Heart" but I'd forgotten.  And I didn't realize that he also wrote "It's All Coming Back to Me Now" though I'm not surprised.  They both have that Broadway musical hypertheatrical sound to them that all his songs seem to have and which worked so well with Meat Loaf.  I can only take so much of it, but when it happens to catch me in the right mood, it's pretty awesome stuff.

What I remember about the "Total Eclipse" video was all the young boys running around, and thinking "WTF? Why would I want to watch this?" Then I thought about the fact that a woman was singing it, so it was full of sexy young men, just as 95% of videos are by guys and feature lots of sexy young women.  It's only fair, I guess.

[KevShmev]

Robert Plant - Ship of Fools

I absolutely adore this song.  Did back in the day, and still do.  It is just a gorgeous song, featuring some really sweet singing by Plant, whose voice was more refined and less rough than it was during the bulk of his LZ days.  I am still a big fan of the entire Now and Zen record.  And even though it is somewhat of a cliche to say that the most popular song from it is your least favorite from it, Tall Cool One really is my least favorite from it.   A friend I used to work used to drive another friends of ours (who was a huge LZ nut, played bass and worshipped John Paul Jones) nuts by always telling him (in jest, to those of us in on the joke) that Tall Cool One was the best song Robert Plant ever sang.