My Small Rebellion, Part One - Videos

I was sitting in the dark the other night and turned on my iTunes to random play, and David Gray’s “Babylon” came on. I was transported years away, to another life, and memories just came back – my best friend in North Carolina, my Texan friend in Chicago, and countless of other people that inhabit the chaotic world of my mind came bustling. I remembered, again, the power of music; the way we attach memories and feelings to songs. I remembered the fact that our favorite songs are not always the best songs, technically speaking, but rather those songs that bring back memories and feelings. And that is part of the power of music – it is not just a universal language, it is this amazing conductor of empathic energy and one of the few things we can share with one another that may bring us closer.

So I had a small rebellion.

Ever since I started this blog, I have listened to more and more “new” music, and between everything else I have to do, I have not had the time to go back and enjoy some of older songs that really meant something to me at some point in my life. Even though at the beginning, back seven or eight months ago, I included older videos with each video post (something I should go back to), I’ve been more intent on keeping my finger on the pulse of new music than sitting back and enjoying the “classics.” That, I think, is a great mistake and a shame.

So, as I said, I had a small rebellion. I took a few days off from all new music and stirred up some other memories and feelings listening to some of my favorites. And of course I decided to share some of that here. Here are eight videos that I was able to dig up from YouTube and MySpace, but what really got to me was that there were so many older videos that were not there officially or not at all. It seems that the older the band, the harder it is to find official postings of the videos. If they did not outlive the 70s, 80s, or 90s, they are practically wiped out of digital existence. Has the world forgotten bands like Renegade Soundwave and Carter the Unstoppable Sex Machine? Has the world underestimated the importance of the Cockney Rejects and Alien Sex Fiend? I hope not, and I hope that these musicians and labels start placing their back catalogue of videos online, because some of us want to relive old memories. And I am sure that many younger viewers / listeners will be just as inspired as I was years earlier.

So, ahead of time, I apologize that I was not able to locate official sources of all the videos I wanted to share. Furthermore, I promise we will make the effort to keep our eyes open for anything that emerges on line from yesteryears.

And on that note, enjoy the videos! Part Two to follow soon!

David Gray’s “Babylon” from his YouTube Channel: TheRealDavidGray.



Dresden Dolls' “Coin-Operated Boy” from their YouTube Channel: dresdendolls.



Andy Bell’s “Crazy” from his MySpace videos page.


Crazy

Andy Bell | MySpace Music Videos

Hello Operator’s “55 Regrets” from their YouTube Channel: hellooperatortv.



Mogwai’s “Hunted by a Freak” from their YouTube Channel: mogwaiTV.



Skunk Anansie’s “Selling Jesus” from their YouTube Channel: SkunkAnansieOfficial.



Erase Errata’s “Tax Dollar” from the BlankTV YouTube Channel.



The Cooper Temple Clause’s “Waiting Game” from the santuaryrecordsuk YouTube Channel.