Saturday, April 13, 2013

Entry #1 - Hanging on a Heart Attack by Device

The purpose of this blog (at this point anyway) is to showcase all the weird, wonderful and sometimes not so wonderful music I've stumbled across. Sometimes it will be because of the song itself, but in some cases, it will be because of the music video, or some history surrounding the song.

Today's entry, the first entry of this blog, is from a music video that left my jaw on the floor and my brain leaking out of my ears.

This is the most insane music video I've ever seen. And not because of any weird David Lynch style imagery, or because the video doesn't fit the song. It's honestly not that out of the ordinary for the eighties. But it just as something indescribable about it. Something that mystifies me.

But before the video itself, I'd like to talk about the band that made the song - Device. A one album wonder based around songwriter/keyboardist Holly Knight, one of the most prolific songwriters in rock during the mid eighties. Her credits include Love is a Battlefield (Pat Benatar), The Warrior (Scandal), Better be Good to Me (Tina Turner) and Rag Doll (Aerosmith). This is her attempt at success as a recording artist. The album flopped hard.

Things to keep a look out for in this video - Mullets, stupid outfits and insanity.



Seriously, what the hell was up with that? That video looks like what would happen if someone dropped a crapload of peyote and watched a shitty Blade Runner knock off before deciding to make a music video. It's fantastic.

It's also extremely eighties. The mullets - Oh god, the mullets. The abandoned warehouse was probably used in at least a dozen other eighties videos. I half expected to see Lita Ford humping an ice block.

The smoke machines, the lights, the random electronics, the guy tossing papers off of his desk in slow motion, Baron Samedi from Live and Let Die if he were a mime... Holly Knight is wearing an outfit that Darryl Hannah's character in Blade Runner would say was over the top.

I'm sorry if I'm rambling, but this video breaks my brain every time I see it.

As for my honest opinion about the song - I really like it. It's generic eighties synth rock, but there's a charm to it. Besides, it's Holly Knight, and if anyone knew how to write generic eighties synth rock, it's her. That's not a backhanded remark either. I genuinely love her work as a songwriter.

I can understand why someone wouldn't, though.

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