“Big Electric Cat” – Adrian Belew

Video

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.”

“Genius of Love” – Tom Tom Club

Video

A loving tribute to funk, recorded by a couple of Talking Heads on vacation (Tina Weymouth and Chris Frantz), Adrian Belew, and others. The song became a classic, being sampled endlessly in the early days of hip-hop. However, as great and as groundbreaking as the song was/is, the animated video is even better. Almost 35 years later, it still seems revolutionary.