Do you remember where you were the first time you saw a music video? The heyday of MTV and the onset of cable where the mediums of music and television collided? Personally I was a baby when the idea of music videos being broadcast launched but I clearly remember when I was first exposed to it. I was paired for a project with Richard Kane, a goofy redhaired kid in my history class. Now I am not being judgey, he really was goofy but so was I so I guess it made sense in retrospect. We decided to build a replica of Shakespeare's Wooden O theater using popsicle sticks. I don't remember why we made this call or what we were suppose to learn from the experience but I do remember it looked like garbage.
(This is not ours, I stole this from a Google Search)
After what seemed like hours of failed attempts to glue two small pieces of wood together in just the right way we opted to take a break. Now Richard was a lucky kid, he had a TV IN HIS ROOM. This concept alone blew my mind. Feeling an opportunity to show off he produced a dirty magazine he had stapled the cover of a Sports Illustrated to in an effort to camouflage it from his mom. Now being a normal young man this was impressive but I was envious of the magical box with cable readiness. Flipping through channels we landed on MTV and caught the end of The Real Life before being treated to Soundgardens bizarre Black Hole Sun music video.
Before long his mom interrupted our efforts to avoid school work and redirected us to the pile of splinters and globs of glue at the kitchen table. When I returned to home I asked my parents if we could get cable. After they grilled me on the reasons and explaining Richard had it at his house I got the boilerplate, "if your friend jumped off a bridge would you?" response. "If I meant I could watch more TV, yeah maybe", I responded. This did not go over well. Now we can all stream music videos on our smart TVs, laptops, phones, watches, etc. so my kids will never know the struggle of 3 channels and no way to pause. Here is a continued list of some of my favorite songs, (selected for the song not the video). If you have Amazon Music and want to listen to this playlist you can find it here.
Bubba Shot The Jukebox by Mark Chesnutt
This could be a whole blog by itself. I made a friend and bonded over this song in 8th grade who later passed away when we were in high school. Lots of emotion with a song that wasn't really designed for it.
Buck Naked by Hank Williams, Jr. One of the first concerts I went to (and earliest records I had) was from ole Bocephus. Not at all a role model but before I knew better I attached nostalgia to his music. (Also oddly enough my dad loved this song.)
Cadillac Ranch by Chris Ledoux
Likely the most played song from this cassette in my room. I didn't have a lot of cassettes and mostly skipped from records to CDs but this was definitely part of the collection.
California Gurls by Katy Perry feat. Snoop Dogg
I don't care who knows it but I love Katy Perry (and Snoop Dogg) so as unmanly as this song is I dig it.
Californication by Red Hot Chili Peppers
I knew about the Red Hot Chili Peppers for a long time but ended up listening to a ton of them when I published GC4P7PJ.
Callin' Baton Rouge by Garth Brooks
I didn’t count but likely the most represented artist on this list is Garth Brooks. This fast paced song is another I will gladly embarrass myself trying to sing.
Can't Fight This Feeling by REO Speedwagon
I went through an unexplainable REO Speedwagon phase in my 20s where I listened to this CD on a loop for long stretches of time.
CAN'T STOP THE FEELING! (Original Song from DreamWorks Animation's "TROLLS") by Justin Timberlake
My daughters love this song and I love to make them happy so this one used to see pretty consistent action.
Cat's in the Cradle by Harry Chapin
I could never understand why my dad was sad when he heard this song till I got older. If my kids aren't around I skip it, it hits me hard right in the feels.
Celebrity by Brad Paisley Jason Alexander from Seinfeld is in the video and both him and Brad are comedic geniuses in my book.