Lazy Music Video Directors: Save video, different songs

Cafe Society
1

Back in the day I was an MTV addict (you know when they actually played music videos). Bought two albums probably within the first month that each came out because of the heavy rotation on MTV, but I never noticed that they both featured the same music video, just different songs.

#1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oqlauwX_ums

And compare to this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HGDmBLAPikU

Apparently both videos were directed by the same team, and I knew both songs were produced by Nile Rodgers (who is in both videos). Wikipedia states that both videos were nominated for several awards at the 1987 MTV Video Music Awards. Neither won.

I’ve seen other music videos pay homage to other video (see: Robert Palmer’s Addicted to Love), but are there more examples?

2

I wrote a blog post recently about a discovery I made about a music video.

This is Alexei Sayle’s Ullo John Got A New Motor, circa 1982

This is Captain Sensible’s Wot, circa 1982

Neither of those videos are alike at all.

But this is Cyndi Lauper’s Girls Just Wanna Have Fun, circa 1983.

Can you see the distinct influences that I saw?

3

Madonna’s ‘This Used To Be My Playground’ is referred to by Boy George as ‘This Used To Be My Video’.

4

The baseline in this song sounds like it was lifted from Chic’s Good Times. (Nile Rodgers again!)

5

Now that you’ve got me looking through old videos from the 80’s, they all seem derivative of each other.

And embarrassing.

If I were a current performer who’d had MTV videos in the 80’s (and chances are had my stuff shot by the film school dropouts who hadn’t had a date in a while), I’d try to take them down off YouTube at least.