There’s something charming about early music videos. Before record labels realized they could use them to make art in line with their artists’ music, or great short films in their own right, they weren’t quite sure what they’d be used for, or where they’d be seen, so they didn’t put money or time into them. At all. The result was that they tended to employ very little camera movements and they would be very, very literal. Josie Cotton couldn’t really be too literal in 1981 with a song about having a boyfriend she thinks might be a homosexual, so instead of doing anything that telegraphs as gay, Johnny is just, like, a stereotypical ’80s nerd.
Brian Boone
From the middle of nowhere in the Pacific Northwest, I contribute to the Retroist, write for trivia publications, and blog about music in a humorous fashion. I feel about "Back to the Future" the way you feel about "Star Wars." Also, I'm married and have a child (sorry ladies, orphans).
Latest posts by Brian Boone (see all)
- LaToya Jackson’s “Heart Don’t Lie” - July 18, 2014
- M.A.S.K., the Cartoon and Toy Line, Not the Deeply Sad Eric Stoltz Movie - July 16, 2014
- MTV’s Mega-Dose - June 30, 2014