You're browsing the archives for the category 1988
Kevin Seal’s getting punchy. “On this date, exactly ten years ago,” he says, “it was December 31, 1978.” Continuing onward: “Okay, enough of the past. Let’s look at the future. Last year, I mean to say.” He introduces Belinda Carlisle’s “I Get Weak” video, mentions that it was directed by Diane Keaton, and adds […]
posted 4 November 2009 in 1988. 2 comments
I suspect you’re not keeping up with comments on posts from a year and a half ago, but let me share a recent one that was interesting: responding to my rundown of commercial break #4 in the MTV 1988 countdown, “CheezNapkin” informs us that the great animated spot featuring a scientist getting the MTV logo […]
A shockingly young Colin Quinn, lean of gut and fulsome in hair, is singing U2’s “Pride (In the Name of Love).” On a clear day, from a sufficiently high vantage point, he might be able to spot the melody from where he’s standing. He interrupts himself: “Steve! Steve! You’re out of tune, buddy.” Yes, this […]
posted 21 October 2009 in 1988. 4 comments
(New to the countdown? Catch up here.) Sure, I know what you’re thinking: Europe had another hit? In fact, they had three others, including 1987’s “Carrie,” which apparently went all the way to #3. This relatively anemic followup marked their last appearance in the American top 40, although they were still getting a promotional push […]
posted 8 October 2009 in 1988. 8 comments
(New to the countdown? Catch up here.) Many musicians have a career arc that takes them through various radio formats: country to top-40 and back to country, for example. One of the most common paths, taken by artists such as Rod Stewart, is classic rock to top-40 to adult-contemporary. Richard Marx following that route isn’t […]
posted 1 October 2009 in 1988. 7 comments
Time to visit the Duke. MTV replays their promo for “Michael Jackson Sunday”; as you might expect, it plays very differently now than it did a few months ago. “He’s been bad,” says the MTV Voiceover Guy. (A clip from “Bad” plays.) “He’s been smooth.” (A “Smooth Criminal” clip.) “Now he takes his own image […]
posted 24 September 2009 in 1988. 4 comments
(The countdown’s back! If it’s new to you, you can catch up here.) We open on Prince in a powder-blue polka-dot shirt, lying on the ground. “Owwww!” he comments. The background has lots of floating and rotating letters of, well, the alphabet. The blue-screen effects probably were moderately expensive in 1988, but the overall look […]
posted 16 September 2009 in 1988. 7 comments
(New to the countdown? Catch up here.) Coming back from the commercial, we see a short clip of Stewart singing “Forever Young” at the MTV Video Music Awards. His drummer has some hexagonal drum pads in the kit; Stewart is wearing a glitzed-up leather jacket and gesturing wildly on the line “be courageous and be […]
posted 18 June 2009 in 1988. 2 comments
(If you’re new to the countdown, you can click here to catch up.) We kick off this commercial break with the spot for MTV’s “Big Bang ’89” broadcast that we’ve seen three times before. A lot of big hair among the featured acts: Poison, Winger, Daryl Hall, Escape Club, Vixen. But even at age 40, […]
Consulting the Midnight Oil entry in my ever-handy Encyclopedia of Australian Rock and Pop, I learn (1) “underneath the radical politics and lean, driving guitar rock, Midnight Oil remained an honest and compassionate group of optimists with a strong pride in their own country” (2) it only takes 35,000 units sold to certify a […]
posted 3 June 2009 in 1988. 5 comments
