by Dave (Twitter: @80sReboot)
Your 80’s League team is at it again. We are collaborating on the same theme across our blogs and podcasts and this month we are talking about 1980’s Music Videos. I loved me some MTV and watching those iconic videos in their infancy of the art form. This blog entry has so many different avenues that I can take it. Do I concentrate on favorites or most hated or my favorite band that had multiple videos out there in that decade? In the end, I am self-serving (I hope you will indulge me) but this article will be an 80’s Reboot Overdrive podcast history lesson. I have managed this podcast since October 2014, I try to contact people that have contributed their talents to that awesome decade, and to my amazement and utter gratitude, some actually say yes and participate in the podcast. The journey I will take you on in this entry will be something related to behind the scenes of the podcast as it relates to our guests that contributed their musical talents in the greatest decade.
Nu Shooz “Point of No Return”
http://traffic.libsyn.com/80srebootoverdrive/Nu_Shooz_Interview.mp3?dest-id=228624
I am well aware that “I Can’t Wait” was Nu Shooz’s bigger hit but I enjoyed the backstory on this video that we talked about with John and Valerie Day a bit more. We enjoyed having a little fun at John’s expense around his hairstyle choice as depicted in this video but as most bands in the 80s lots of hair primped to perfection was the order of the day. The fun backstory on this video was Valerie’s account of the “shoe wranglers”, there were three to four people that would be off camera that would adjust the shoes for the next shot, as she had to stand or lay still for hours. I can’t think of a better video depiction for their band name than what you get here. You can get the scoop on both videos by listening to this fun interview.
Buckner & Garcia “Pac-Man Fever”
You probably are putting a flag on the play on this one. The video I linked is actually the 35th Birthday of Pac-Man video I created, much later than the 80s. I found the band’s appearance on Dick Clark’s from Goggle searches for this, but no original video that was produced back in the day so I am sorry if this is a disqualification for 80’s Music Videos, but bear with me on this. Leading up to Pac-Man’s 35th Birthday, I was able to line up key interviews for some significant influencers in the 80’sarcade phenomena. Amongst the pack was Mr. Jerry Bucker to talk about the iconic song Pac-Man Fever. The moment that I wanted to share was that I was afforded the opportunity to go to Level 257 in Schaumburg, IL and watch Jerry with new band members perform this music hit for them. Among the guests at the occasion was Toru Iwatani who is the video game designer that was responsible for giving us Pac-Man many years ago. A highlight of the evening was watching Professor Iwatani take to the dance floor during Pac-Man Fever to the joy of a very festive crowd celebrating one of favorite arcade icons. Jerry Buckner was fantastic with his approval to allow me to use his song for the video that I created to commemorate the birthday this arcade icon.
Billy Vera and The Beaters “At This Moment”
I want to say nice things here, I really do. Billy did participate in the podcast and did give up some of his valuable time and I appreciate that. However, this could be partial to the fact that I was early in to the podcast game and expected that “stars” would want to share interview links with their followers. While I appreciate Billy’s time and stories he shared which I still believe was very entertaining to listen to, the post interaction with this really tainted my feelings towards the song and interview. Putting back my 80s love perspective it was an impactful song. There was major love and attention to the show Family Ties and this song played a significant role in what set it apart from a typical sitcom of the time. The video link I shared was not the official video, it is what put this song on the 80s map for many people so it is fitting to include it here with our 80’s Reboot Overdrive stroll down podcast memory lane.
Timbuk 3 “The Future’s So Bright (I Gotta Wear Shades)”
I have to say that pat mAcdonald was one of my most interesting interviews on the podcast. With some easy to find research you can find that pat has had many offers to receive major funds for the rights to use this song on commercials and other media. He has refused on all occasions, as he believes that it is better to keep the integrity of his musical process versus be a “sell out”. Interesting enough the notion that this is a song about being hopeful for the future is widely misunderstood and it is actually an 80’s viewpoint of a nuclear apocalyptic future. He has also authored a book called “Space Kitty Blues” that provides his insight from a fictional standpoint on what may have been had he take offers to use the song for commercials.
Be sure to check out the rest of our 80's League podcasts and blogs on this wonderful topic.