Peter Schilling’s “Major Tom (Coming Home)” is one of my favorite songs, I still get goose bumps during the chorus. I love the quirky techno beat and the isolated guitar bursts. The overall story line always got me.
I haven’t thought about it in ages but it is briefly heard in “Atomic Blonde” so I sought out the video. Now I’m not into videos at all, but this one sucked big time. Really amateurish and Schilling’s bad lip synchs are devoid of any emotion. Reminds me of the SNL “Sprockets” bit about the German techno guy, “Now vee dance…”
Much of it is shot in a junk yard, featuring stacks of old cars and some geezers sitting around. It just does not compliment the song, nor is it “artsy”.
There are some elements that follow the story, quick cuts of rockets and some weightless floating (Where was that part filmed, anyway? The large round spacecraft, not the KC-135 scene).
One inspired moment - right after the lyrics “…No reply”, a scene from inside a junk car with the door open and the “Door Ajar” warning light flashing red.
And who was the babe? The only other good scene, perhaps, she is talking into a NASA microphone and blowing kisses to the Heavens. But then the camera zooms out and we see a topless Schilling pressing clothes on an ironing board. Reminds me of Nena of “99 Balloons” fame but that’s just wishful thinking.
The first video on any such list should be Rock Me Tonite by Billy Squire. It’s a generic 80’s rock song so there wasn’t a lot to be ruined, but the video is so blindingly terrible that it still qualifies.
“Allentown” by Billy Joel was a good song about unemployment in the Rust Belt. But the video would have worked better for a Village People song. Lots of sweaty muscle men doing gay choreography.
‘Wicked Game’ by Chris Isaak. Such a lovely haunting song, and it’s ruined by a coy, soft-porn ‘lookit me I’m topless, tee hee’ bimbo on a beach. It’s spoiled forever, might as well have had an artsy black and white montage of dogs taking shits.
Not the first time I’ve posted Lakeside’s Fantastic Voyage video. The lightbulb ship. The almost pirate costumes. The SAND!! It was the very early '80s, but still!
The video is so terrible it can’t even make it to the end of the song. It does have one up on Major Tom in that at least it isn’t meant to be taken seriously.
My vote is for The Verve’s Bitter Sweet Symphony. I saw the video a few times, hated the video and refused to even consider the quality of the song. Some time later, I heard the song on the radio and kind of liked it.
Yeah, any time you’ve got a video primarily composed of a middle-aged white guy doing the goofy, bouncy “80’s dance,” it’s going to be a spectacular train wreck. Also see:
Escape Club’s *Wild Wild West *- a fun, upbeat tune from the late 80s but the official video is bizarre and distracting. Who on earth thought THIS was a good idea?
First song I thought of, too.