Retro Video of the Week: "Somebody's Watching Me" by Rockwell

Yesterday was the 40th anniversary of the release of Rockwell's debut album, Somebody's Watching Me.  As you may or may not know, Rockwell's real name is Kennedy Gordy, and he is the sixth of Motown founder and CEO Berry Gordy's eight children.

Not yet 19 when Somebody's Watching Me was released, Rockwell had been kicked out of his father's house and was staying with one of his dad's former wives when he started working on the album, and in particular the title track.  It got the attention of a producer at Motown, who wanted to record the song.  Rockwell got childhood friend Michael Jackson and his brother Jermaine on board to sing the chorus and backing vocals, respectively.  The song was recorded without Berry Gordy's knowledge, but he was a fan when he heard the unreleased song.

Rockwell didn't want to rest on the laurels of his famous last name, which is why he took a stage name.  The album did very well, reaching #15 on the Billboard album chart and #5 on the Billboard R&B album chart.  That success is due in large part to the title track, which was a huge hit, both domestically and abroad.  In the U.S., it reached #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 and spent five weeks at #1 on the Billboard R&B singles chart.  Internationally, it topped the pop charts in Belgium, France, and Spain, and it was a Top 10 hit on eleven other international pop charts.

The video is a classic mid '80s video, with Rockwell being paranoid in his house and for some reason showing with shorts on.  Turns out his paranoia was warranted, as some sort of cult that makes suckling pigs has invaded his house.

Hair Band Friday - 1/26/24

1.  "Burning Like a Flame" by Dokken

2.  "Memories" by Europe

3.  "Read My Body" by KISS

4.  "Can't Live Without You" by Scorpions

5.  "Dance" by Giuffria

6.  "Looking for Love" by Whitesnake

7.  "4th of July" by Keel

8.  "You Don't Mess Around with Jim" by Poison

9.  "Evil on Queen Street" by Dio

10.  "CDFF - Lucky This Time" by Mr. Big

Retro Video of the Week: "Can't Even Tell" by Soul Asylum

In our latest installment of "Shit, I'm old," this past Monday marked the 30th anniversary of the debut screening of Clerks at the Sundance Film Festival.  The film was then picked up by Miramax for distribution and officially hit the theaters in October 1994.  It was the world's introduction to Kevin Smith's quirky brand of humor and the characters of the View Askewniverse.

For me, it certainly started my love of Smith's movies (Mallrats is still one of my favorite '90s movies), and in retrospect, Clerks is one of the defining Gen X movies, blending apathy, comedy, intelligence, and skepticism into a black and white masterpiece, all on a budget of less than $28,000.  It's one of those movies where much of the budget was spent to acquire rights to the music used in the film, which ended up including a solid lineup of early '90s grunge, alternative, metal, and punk bands, such as Alice in Chains, Bad Religion, Corrosion of Conformity, The Jesus Lizard, Soul Asylum, and Stabbing Westward.

Soul Asylum's "Can't Even Tell" was the song played over the film's closing credits, and as it happens, the video for the song was directed by Smith and featured Jay, Silent Bob, Dante, and Randal from Clerks, recreating the roof hockey scene, though this time playing against the band members of Soul Asylum.  They're from Minnesota, so Dante's prediction that they would be bad at hockey because they're in a band was a bit miscalculated!

Hair Band Friday - 1/19/24

1.  "Give It To Me Good" by Trixter

2.  "She's So Fine" by Thunder

3.  "Six String Sting" (live) by Scorpions

4.  "You Say Yes" by Judas Priest

5.  "Patience" (live) by Guns N' Roses

6.  "In The Future to Come" by Europe

7.  "Nothin' for Nothin'" by Cinderella

8.  "Goin' Home Tonight" by White Lion

9.  "The Eulogy" by W.A.S.P.

10.  "Warchild" by Sleeze Beez

Retro Video of the Week: "Pincushion" by ZZ Top

Tomorrow marks the 30th anniversary of the release of ZZ Top's eleventh studio album, Antenna.  It was the band's first album on RCA Records, after their previous five had been released on Warner Brothers.

In the midst of '90s grunge and alternative rock, the old timers from Texas proved once gain that they were a mainstay, regardless of whatever rock music trends might have been swirling around in the world.  Though the album only reached #14 on the Billboard album chart -- their lowest-charting studio album since 1981's El Loco -- the album still went platinum in the U.S., making it their fifth album in a row that reached platinum status or better (including their 1992 Greatest Hits album).  It was also a big hit internationally, reaching #3 on the UK album chart, #1 in Sweden, and the Top 10 on the album charts in five other countries.

The first single released from the album was "Pincushion," a song that definitely draws on some of the musical styles of the day, but still maintains that ZZ Top feel.  The song hit #1 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks chart, and it was a Top 40 hit in Canada (#32), Finland (#5), New Zealand (#33), Sweden (#11), Switzerland (#40), and the UK (#15), as well as on the Eurochart Hot 100 (#30).

The video features the band in black suits, some cuts and effects that also mirror some of the video styles of the day, and a story of a jilted bride who exacts revenge on her former presumed fiancé -- who loves hookers and strippers -- in classic voodoo doll manner. 

Hair Band Friday - 1/12/24

1.  "Give Me All Your Love" by Whitesnake

2.  "While the City Sleeps" by KISS

3.  "The Great Misconceptions of Me" (live) by W.A.S.P.

4.  "Steeler" by Judas Priest

5.  "Another Lie" by Dio

6.  "Light Up the Sky" by Van Halen

7.  "You're All I Need" by White Lion

8.  "Simple Man" by Junkyard

9.  "Love's Got Me Doin' Time" by Cinderella

10.  "To Be With You" by Mr. Big

Retro Video of the Week: "Back On the Chain Gang" by The Pretenders

Saturday marks the 40th anniversary of the release of The Pretenders' third studio album, Learning to Crawl.  It was the band's first album in nearly two and a half years, after the deaths of two founding band members, guitarist James Honeyman-Scott in 1982 and bassist Pete Farndon in 1983 (though he had been fired from the band in 1982), both of whom died of overdoses.  The album got its name because lead singer Chrissie Hynde's then-infant daughter was, in fact, learning to crawl.

It ended up being a big success for the band, reaching #5 on the Billboard album chart -- still their highest-charting album in the U.S. (and eventually going platinum in the U.S.) -- and #11 in the UK, as well as the Top 10 on the album charts in several other countries.

The album featured several songs that became signature songs for the band:  "Middle of the Road," "Back On the Chain Gang," "2000 Miles," their cover of "Thin Line Between Love and Hate," "My City was Gone," and "Show Me."

I'm gong with the first single off the album, "Back On the Chain Gang," which hit #5 on the Billboard Hot 100 -- also the band's highest-charting single in the U.S.  It's a poppy little ditty, and the video was filmed in London.

Hair Band Friday - 1/5/24

1.  "Edge of a Broken Heart" by Vixen

2.  "Ride the Whip" by Trixter

3.  "Life in the Real World" by FireHouse

4.  "10,000 Years" by Hurricane

5.  "Chainsaw Charlie (Murders in the New Morgue)" (live) by W.A.S.P.

6.  "My Baby's Gun" by Femme Fatale

7.  "Revelation (Mother Earth)" by Ozzy Osbourne

8.  "Ship Rolls In" by Faster Pussycat

9.  "We Let It Rock . . . You Let It Roll" by Scorpions

10.  "Rock Revolution" by Britny Fox

Retro Video of the Week: "1999" by Prince

Because I just realized 1999 was 25 years ago.  Jesus Christ.