Retro Video of the Week: "I Wanna Be Somebody" by W.A.S.P.

This past Sunday marked the 30th anniversary of the release of W.A.S.P.'s self-title debut album.  For those of you not familiar with W.A.S.P., they were an LA-based hair band that added elements of shock rock to their stage show, from lead singer Blackie Lawless's cod piece with a saw blade to scantily clad women tied to torture devices to throwing raw meat into the audience.  Perhaps they are best known for their entry on the PRMC's "Filthy Fifteen," a song called "Animal (Fuck Like a Beast)" that was controversial enough that W.A.S.P.'s record label made them pull it off of their first album to prevent the album from being banned in certain stores in the U.S.  Incidentally, it's a pretty awesome song that happens to serve as my ringtone right now and is very appropriate to play at high decibel levels in your car with all the windows rolled down, particularly as you enter Telluride, Colorado.  However, it doesn't have a true music video attached to it -- only a live video of the song from a 1984 show in London.  Thus, I decided to go with another song (one that was actually allowed to be included on their debut album), "I Wanna Be Somebody."  Other than "Animal," this is probably their most famous song.  It didn't chart or anything, but it was named by VH1 as the Number 84 Greatest Hard Rock Song of all-time, so suck on that, Billboard.  In addition, it's a pretty fantastic hard rock song in its own right with a message that everyone can relate to.