June 23, 2012

Ten Random Factoids From "I Want My MTV" (5 Today, 5 Yesterday)

6. David Fincher Got His Start on MTV: Today, director David Fincher is best known for helming cinematic gems like Fight Club, Se7en and The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo. However, years before Fincher began working behind the camera as a Hollywood icon he was cutting his teeth as a music video director. His first video was Rick Springfield’s “Bop ‘Til You Drop” in 1984, which can only be described as very Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YLnu8SzOGfs

However, it would be incredibly memorable videos like Aerosmith’s “Janie’s Got a Gun”, Billy Idol’s “Cradle of Love” and Madonna’s “Vogue” and “Bad Girl” that would propel Fincher to superstardom and launch a highly successful directing career. His work behind the camera on “Freedom 90” by George Michael helped start a trend of using supermodels in music videos that still gets copied by a multitude of artists today.

7. Michael Jackson’s brother Jackie Launches the Career of a Future Star with an Affair: A short time after Michael Jackson released the immensely successful “Thriller” album in 1982, Jackson clan father Joe Jackson got the five less famous Jackson brothers back together with Michael to form The Jacksons and release the record “Victory” in 1984. For the second single “Torture” choreographer and Billy Idol beau Perri Lister was set to choreograph the video. That didn’t sit well with Jackie Jackson, who was cheating on his then-wife Enid with the woman who he insisted get the choreographer gig instead. That woman was former American Idol judge Paula Abdul. So, I guess there is something to be said for sleeping your way to the top. Of course, I’m sure she had no idea Jackie was married to someone for ten years at that point, right?

8. Sinead O’Connor Weeps: I have never been a Sinead O’Connor fan, but I have to admit that this story is pretty damn incredible, even if a bit heartbreaking. Most all of us know the video for the song “Nothing Compares 2 U” which won Video of the Year at the MTV Video Music Awards in 1990. The video took home 3 VMAs that year and is probably best known for the end of the video when at 3:40 into the song she begins shedding quite a few tears just after singing the lyric “All the flowers that you planted, mama, in the back yard/all died when you went away.” The moment was so powerful because the video came off as so genuine and emotionally powerful. The truth is, O’Connor’s mother died shortly before the video was shot...in one take. The take you see in the video where she’s balling is the one that was used and every tear was as genuine as they appeared on camera.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iUiTQvT0W_0

9. MTV Gets Mick Jagger to Proclaim “I Want My MTV” for One Dollar: By now we’ve all heard the catchphrase “I Want My MTV” which went public almost immediately after the conception of the famed music channel. MTV executives figured if they could get one of music’s biggest icons, Mick Jagger, to speak the phrase first that everyone else in music would follow. Executive Les Garland travelled to France to meet up with the Rolling Stones frontman who absconded that the Rolling Stones don’t do commercials for anyone unless they were paid to do it. At the time, MTV wasn’t exactly rolling in money which led Garland to tell Jagger he couldn’t pay him to do the spot and instead threw a dollar down on the table and jokingly proclaimed that was all they could muster. Jagger, amused by Garland’s sense of humor agreed and filmed the very first “I Want My MTV” spot in history which led countless other musical legends like David Bowie, Madonna and The Police to follow suit figuring if Jagger was cool with MTV it was ok for everyone else to be cool with it too.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=46idQ5USX18

10. The Van Halen Contest that Nearly Killed a Fan: In the Golden Age of MTV from 1981-1992, the fledgling cable network tried a host of gimmicky contests to get fans to tune in. One such contest promised one lucky fan a weekend of partying with Van Halen in what was famously and appropriately called “Lost Weekend With Van Halen” which steals its name from the movie “The Lost Weekend” that chronicles an alcoholic’s weekend of binge drinking. The fan who won the contest was a college student named Kurt Jefferis who had recently suffered a traumatic brain injury and was sending countless postcards to MTV while in recovery. At first glance, Jefferis appeared to be just like any other 20-something college student to the boys of Van Halen who were about to expose Jefferis to a weekend of heavy drinking, drug usage, partying and sexual escapade. What they didn’t realize was that Jefferis had recently had a metal plate placed in his head from falling down a flight of stairs resulting in a brain clot. Due to the recent injury, medications and the metal plate, drinking was a big no-no for Jefferis, which was completely lost on Van Halen and their crew of roadies who had been partying hard with the kid for most of the first day. By day two, Jefferis completely started freaking out and throwing up back at his hotel. With the band and MTV legitimately fearing the kid was going to suffer a seizure and die, producers had to stay with him to ensure his safety. Not that Van Halen is to blame, but since then, Jefferis has been in an Anonymous program, suffers from diabetes insipidus and has gone legally blind. When asked about his 15 minutes of fame, Jefferis commented, “I think it lasted a little longer than that.”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cnbVTduQcgk