This post is a bit of a departure for me, at least on this site, so forgive me if you are mildly offended by my errant decision. Last Friday, on another social platform that I had previously sworn off but have since returned to, dripping with shame but parched for the interaction, I tried an experiment. I posted ten clips that were supposedly based on the theme of “trippy 80s music videos”, although I veered a bit from “trippy” to “I just really like this video”. As many music lovers know, this is something that happens when you combine YouTube with a couple of beers. You click on one thing, your eye is caught by another thing, and, well, you veer.
In any case, said experiment turned out to be a lot of fun. I didn’t break the Internet, by any means, but it’s very interesting to see who responds to certain songs and who doesn’t. In that respect, I thought it might be a hoot to post those same videos over here, along with my original comments on that platform of seduction and regret, and watch things play out. I’m sure that the reaction in our little community will range from “Hey, I remember that song!” to “Where are the stories? I want stories!” and possibly up to the point of “You have offended me forever with this outrage and I will now speak disparagingly of you in all social situations”.
Okay, that last bit was perhaps a little on the drama-queen side. (Go figure.) Still, I’m curious as to what you think. Let me know in the comments. (Yes, I’m actually encouraging conversation, which means that I managed to take all of my vitamins this week and I’m feeling more interactive than usual.) If this turns out to be a satisfying adventure, I just might make it a regular feature. If nobody comments and the tumbleweeds blow across a barren landscape, I’ll quietly shove this concept to the side and never speak of it again. (This isn’t my first time at the “you shouldn’t have done that on your blog” rodeo. The Web is littered with the obscure carcasses of things that I never should have poked with a stick.)
Here we go…
#1: Okay, let’s mess around with some trippy 80s music videos…
#2: A tie-in to the previous post, two songs with the same title released at basically the same time…
#3: Nothing says “recreational drugs” quite like stop-motion animation…
#4: Because life isn’t complete unless you have Ninja ballet dancers pirouetting through a video about ill-advised relationships with minors at a boarding school…
#5: I admittedly over-share with this one, throwing it out there far too often, but it gets me every time…
#6: This one is specifically for Margaret. Yes, I remember…
#7: This one goes out to Lisa Finley, another fellow survivor of high school. I don’t know where you are or what you’re doing, but I thought you were too cool for words back then…
#8: For my brothers and sisters. We’ve come so far, but the road is still slippery…
#9: There was a time when music was about music, not posturing…
#10: We’ll close out the night with another Peter Gabriel song. (Yes, I’m double-dipping.) There is just so much respect for “music without borders” in this live performance that it’s awe-inspiring…
All videos “borrowed” from YouTube. The text is all mine.
Story behind the photo: Yet another image from our visit to Malaga, Spain, with me once again playing with filters.
Categories: Music
Bonnywood Manor 
I’m an ’80s girl so I will comment. What kind of comment do you want? (happy hour is in full swing, :D)
I like all these videos and all these songs. They all have different wonderful memories for me, but I always loved Stevie’s hair. If I couldn’t have David Coverdale’s hair, I wanted Stevie’s. BTW, I recently spent nearly 8 hours on YouTube doing the “distracted” eye-catching thing, so I totally get it. Great songs Brian! Great happy hour!
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This is exactly the kind of comment I was hoping to get, just spontaneous reactions and possible memories. This was a “spur of the moment” post that I slapped together and threw out there just to see what happened. So far, it’s turning out to be fun and I plan to do more little “themed” groupings like this (at least until people get sick of it and quit knocking on my virtual door). As for the hair angle. I started out the 80s with that standard “feathered” look that half the guys in high school were wearing, but then I got into all that new-wave mess and things got a bit wild. I never really had all that much volume, but I definitely went through a lot of colors and glitter gels. I even had a rat-tail (well, that’s what they called it in Tulsa) at one point that I would dye a different color than the rest of my hair. Good times. See you at the next Friday Clam Bake/Happy Hour!
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Those rat tails were mighty popular in Southern Arizona as well. I didn’t have one only because I refused to cut my hair that short… 😀
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(and I really need to stay off the computer when I’ve been partaking… )
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I certainly have no right to pass judgment over such an action… 😉
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Thanks for this great Happy Hour. I totally missed the music of the 1980s because I was living in the Middle East and then Southeast Asia. Now to pour myself a drink—it’s almost 7pm in Australia.
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Well, some folks would say you didn’t miss a thing with 80s music, but it’s my second-favorite musical time. (The early 70s would be my first.) Of course, the early 80s were probably more special for me, since I came of age and discovered independence and sex, and you generally have a fondness for the music playing when that happens… 😉
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To veer with a beer is compulsory as far as I’m concerned. I recognise around 75% of these songs (I’m not sure how I came to such a figure) but am looking forward to watching these videos later today and my initial thought is this concept has mileage, Brian, particularly in your entertaining hands 🙂
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Turns out I knew 6 and a half of the songs (I half recognised the first) but the Stevie Nicks, the Mrs Meatloaf sounding one and the second Peter G one were new to me so fire ahead, Brian, I should find it educational too 🙂
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Okay, the “Mrs Meatloaf sounding one” bit cracked me up. I’m going to guess that you’re talking about the “Tonight Is What It Means to Be Young” track, as I can see how you would go there with that one, but I may have stumbled with my assessment. Still, I’m having fun with this mess so far, so I anticipate doing more posts in the future…
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Yes, that’s exactly the one I meant. Looking forward to your next collection of eighties…greaties, Brian (Ooh sorry, bit too dodgy DJ) 🙂
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Can I be honest Brian? I am 70s all the way, and I totally have no idea what I did in the 80s, well I know what I did, I just want to forget. 🙂
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You can always be honest here, Terry. And we’ve chatted enough in the past that hopefully you know I consider the 70s to be superior, especially the early 70s. Still, the 80s did result in some terrific songs, you just had to know where to look. And yes, my 80s were fraught with some very poor decisions and choices, but now I can look back and get some really good blog material out of it… 😉
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I will agree with you about the 80s, there is some good music and some good times. Maybe I am being too hard on that decade! 🙂
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I loved this! Can your next post be about 80’s movies and pretty pretty please include something about Escape from New York…include that car with the chandeliers…You know, Dr. Whoberry turned down the part to play Snake Plissken in that movie.
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I hadn’t really considered doing a gaggle of movies, but that’s actually a good idea, some snippets of my favorites scenes. I’ll get back to you on that. And please give my condolences to Dr. Whoberry, as I’m sure it was a difficult decision to make… 😉
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Just give me #9 and lets forget about the 80s!!
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I would happily give you whatever you want, Wanda, if it’s within my means… 😉
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Ah the soundtrack of my youth. I hadn’t been introduced to beer back then. That must be why I remembered these songs so well!
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I don’t remember being formally introduced to beer. It just sort of showed up one day at a frat party, and things went south from there. Still, music has always been in the background of everything I’ve ever done, legally or otherwise… 😉
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What? No endless guitar solos over “Everybody Wants to Change the World?” No $600 tops production values “Jump?” Katrina and the Waves…I almost slipped into an 80’s diabetic coma…Nice work. Must’ve been a strange night indeed. Hair spray and spandex. Good Gawd, y’all!
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I can always depend on you to keep it real. But at the same time, it’s fair to say that the early to mid 80s were the last bastion of musicians being given basic free reign to do what they want to do, fail or succeed. Since then, the formulaic corporatism has stifled creativity, with a few exceptions. Thoughts?
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Okay, I knew nearly every one of them, but I’d never heard of the streets of fire before? Yes, I live under a rock, surrounded by nothingness surviving on one TV channel that rarely worked. But loved the flashbacks and the big hair & shoulder pads.
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You surely weren’t under a rock if you remember 9 out of 10. After all, I was living in Oklahoma, and I had to bust my ass to hear some of these songs, because the local radio stations sure weren’t about to play anything that defied the conservative agenda. On the flip side, people telling me I shouldn’t listen to something was a fine motivator to seek out that very thing, which is perhaps how we both stumbled onto the same shared memories… 😉
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Ah, the 80s! Such fond memories. Peter Gabriel is one of my favorites. Every time I hear In Your Eyes I immediately see a forlorn John Cusack standing in a trench coat holding a boom box over his head. I Got You is now going to be stuck in my head on a permanent loop. Bronski Beat- Jimmy Somerville. What an incredible voice! I also loved him when he was with the Communards. Between you and me, Brian, I believe I was kidnapped and lived my life in Britain during that entire decade. Just saying…..BTW, I really dug this post. I think you should make it a “thing.”
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We are now officially kindred souls, even though I suspected that much before now. (I have everything the Communards ever released, including the 12″ mixes, and I essentially know every word to Jimmy Somerville’s “Dare to Love” album.) We should both be honorary citizens of Britain, mmm hmm. And yes, I think this is going to be a thing…
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Great! We are kindred spirits, Brian. Have you been to London? I have had friends from there and friends that have visited the UK. I hope to go sometime in the future. Looking forward to the next installment.
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For my 50th birthday (among other milestones), we went on a whirlwind tour of London, Belfast and Amsterdam. It was delicious. 😉
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That sounds wonderful. Envious…
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Micahel Pare – swoon.
JP
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Michael even!
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Micahel/Michael made me want to do very questionable and possibly-illegal things just to get him to love me… 😉
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Tonight Is What It Means to Be Young I heard for the first time since, well, being young. Still kicks ass. And Bronski Beat too.
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“Tonight” is my go-to song when I need inspiration. It just makes me happy and energized… 😉
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I thought the Sledgehammer vid was so flippin weird when I was a kid but it was mesmerizing at the same time. #9 is a personal fave. Nice list you got here!
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I agree with your thoughts about “Sledgehammer”. I had no idea what they were trying to say at the time, but I couldn’t take my eyes off of it. Thanks for stopping by Bonnywood and poking around… 😉
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