One of my favorite Runaways songs, “Take It or Leave It” features Joan Jett on vocals, a molar-loosening drum sound by Sandy West, and a twin guitar attack by Jett and Lita Ford. From the 1977 album “Queens of Noise.”
A favorite from the early days of MTV, circa 1982. Those were the days when there so few videos to choose from, MTV basically played everything. It wasn’t uncommon to see Adrian Belew mixed in with the J. Geils Band, Rod Stewart, Duran Duran, the Clash, etc.
The primitive computer graphics and high contrast shot-on-video look may seem cheesy, but I have a very soft spot in my heart for this kind of stuff. Also, that beautifully sick rhino guitar sound that Belew patented is always a wonder to hear. From Belew’s album “Lone Rhino.”
Arguably, the funniest anti-drug song ever written. But just because it’s funny doesn’t mean it’s any less tragic. A good example of how you can deliver an effective message without a sledgehammer. Admittedly, the video sends some mixed messages, though I do like the nod to “Cheech and Chong’s Nice Dreams.” Jay and Silent Bob (Jason Mewes and Kevin Smith) make the expected cameos.
Sorry to kill your buzz from “Silver Machine,” but this is Hawkwind’s trippy space-rock amped up to punk speed by the Pixies. From the wildly underrated 1991 album “Trompe Le Monde,” here’s “Planet of Sound.”
More Lemmy for a Friday morning. This is from Lemmy’s days with space-rock giants Hawkwind, recording the vocal for Hawkwind’s most famous song, “Silver Machine.” This is extremely trippy stuff. I take no responsibility if you start to hallucinate (or levitate for that matter).
Here’s Motorhead’s version of the stereotypical ’80s metal video. It has everything you would expect: a scantily clad woman, disapproving parents, home destruction, being chased by the police, motorcycles, etc. Except it has the great Lemmy Kilmister and company bashing it out. Given all that Lemmy has seen and done over the years, I’m not so sure he can be killed by death. In a battle to the death with Keith Richards, I’m putting my money on Lemmy for the win.
A pulverizing and intense cover of Queen’s “Get Down Make Love” by Nine Inch Nails that was sadly thrown away as a B-side of the “Sin” single. The original by Queen was weird and disturbing enough, but Trent Reznor smashes it to bits and amps the creepiness factor up to 11.
There’s just something about the marriage of loud, dissonant guitars and throbbing funk beats that makes the Gang of Four one of the coolest and most innovative bands of all time. You can definitely hear the influence on such bands as the Cure, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, and Killing Joke.
When David Lynch was making his 1986 film “Blue Velvet,” he wanted to use This Mortal Coil’s famous cover of Tim Buckley’s “Song to the Siren” for his film. As great as this cover is, Lynch could not afford the rights to use it based on the limited budget he was given to make “Blue Velvet.” So, Lynch used composer Angelo Badalamenti’s and vocalist Julee Cruise’s “Mysteries of Love” instead. The song was effectively used in the film, especially during the scene where Jeffrey (played by Kyle Maclaughlin) kisses Sandy (played by Laura Dern) for the first time and then during the end credits.
Sometimes, one minute of careful editing, brilliant acting, and music tells you everything you need to know about a character in a film. This is the infamous entrance of Robert DeNiro’s character Johnny Boy in Martin Scorsese’s breakout film from 1973 “Mean Streets.” The scene is cut to the Rolling Stones’ “Jumpin’ Jack Flash” and Johnny Boy enters the club, two girls on his arm, acting like a cocky jackass with a stupid hat and suit. His friend, played by Harvey Keitel, eyes him with the most in-control “Oh s–t! This a–hole better not start anything tonight” look I’ve ever seen.
Dave's Strange World 