Blogger: 11 Videos that Made Me Gay

[michelej1]

From AfterEllen.com:

http://www.afterellen.com/blog/80s-v...at-made-me-gay

Eleven '80s videos that made me gay

When it comes to videos, I'm old. I remember the premiere of Friday Night Videos, and even before that (and even before MTV), I watched something called FM-TV (later Teletunes) on a local public access channel. It was such a thrill to stay up late and enter that strange new world. My sister even figured out how to hook up our clunky TV to the stereo so we could enjoy bizarre bands like Les Rita Mitsouko in high fidelity.

And just as the age of music video was dawning, so was my baby dykedom. Here are some '80s videos that helped me explore my newfound appreciation for the fairer sex. (Note to the PMRC types: I'm not really saying these videos made me gay; just that these women are totally worth going gay for, if that were possible.)

1. The Eurythmics, "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)" (1983)
Oh, Annie Lennox. The hair. The stare. The tie. Sweet doesn't begin to cover it.

2. The Pretenders, "Brass in Pocket" (1979 — yeah, a year early)
I didn't understand half of what Chrissie Hynde was saying, but her eyeliner did something to me — as did her smooth, sexy voice.

3. Cyndi Lauper, "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun" (1983)
At that point, I didn't know exactly what I wanted from a slumber party; I just knew I really, really liked them.

4. Tina Turner, "What's Love Got To Do With It" (1984)
Love has a lot to do with it. Especially if you're going to strut like that. This video also fed my growing yen for the Big Apple.

5. The Go-Go's, "Our Lips Are Sealed" (1981)
Not Belinda. The other ones. I'm looking at you, Kathy Valentine.

6. Pat Benatar, "Love Is a Battlefield" (1983)
Let's take to the streets and have a dance-off! We are strong! No one can tell us we're wrong!

7. Heart, "What About Love" (1985)

It wasn't their best or their prettiest. But Ann Wilson's voice is pure heat.

8. Katrina and the Waves, "Walking on Sunshine" (1985)
It was all about the shoes. And the awesomeness of the song!

9. Stevie Nicks, "Talk to Me" (1985)
I wanted to talk to her. For a long, long time.

10. The Bangles, "Going Down to Liverpool" (1984)
This is the Bangles before they started to suck (i.e., before they let bimbo Susanna Hoffs sing everything). And yes, that's Spock behind the wheel — but more important, that's bassist Michael Steele in the purple jacket and ridiculous tie thingie. Yum. (Bonus: This song was originally recorded by No. 8 on this list!)

11. Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, "Crimson and Clover" (1982)
I know it's obvious, but I'm still powerless when I see it. Thank you, Joan, for not changing the pronoun. What a beautiful feeling.

Finally, here's a video that just made me weird. This is the aforementioned Les Rita Mitsuoko. The song is "C'est Comme Ça," from The No Comprendo (1986).
OK, that still makes me feel weird! No comprendo indeed.

[skcin]

Love it!

[mikeschmike]

Funny post, but what's this business about calling Susanna Hoffs a bimbo?

[petep9000]

And here I thought I was the only one who remembered NBC's old 'Friday Night Videos' program. I used to stay up way late on Friday nights (12:30!) to watch this. IIRC, I used to fall asleep before it finished!! I guess I'd stay up hoping they'd play 'Gypsy' or 'Stand Back' and start getting dozey when they'd play ZZ Top's 'Sharp Dressed Man' for like the umpteenth time in a row.

[skcin]

Do you guys remember Night Traxx?

[petep9000]

Originally Posted by skcin

Do you guys remember Night Traxx?

I remember a show called 'Night Flight', I think. Maybe I'm confusing it. It was shown on cable, maybe Showtime, or one of those old Ted Turner channels? My family was slightly disadvantaged back in those days and we didn't have cable, so I never saw it. But I remember seeing it listed in the newspaper, and I used to dream about this mysterious night-time video program.

[skcin]

^ I think it was on TBS, so that might be it. I remember staying up late for it one week (it started at midnight, I think) and some stupid basketball game went into, like, 3 OTs. I was so pissed.

[DashingDan]

Originally Posted by petep9000

I remember a show called 'Night Flight', I think. Maybe I'm confusing it. It was shown on cable, maybe Showtime, or one of those old Ted Turner channels? My family was slightly disadvantaged back in those days and we didn't have cable, so I never saw it. But I remember seeing it listed in the newspaper, and I used to dream about this mysterious night-time video program.

Night Flight WAS a mysterious night-time video program, the likes of which we'll never see again. One of the few good things to remember from 80's 'tee-vee'.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Night_Flight_(TV_series)

[bellagypsy79]

I don't see why those videos would make a person gay. The 80's were so much fun. I love the music. And those videos are great ones. I can't really tell you my favorite music videos of ALL time would be or what would be #1, but I belive that my favorite music video of the 80's would be either "Sledgehammer" by Peter Gabirel, or "Every Breath You Take", by The Police. No, wait! Don Henley, "The Boys of Summer"! Hell yeah! Still to this day you can watch that video and not even realize that it was from the 80's. It was beautifully done and totally before it's time. yes, it was in Black and white, but you have to look beyond that. It captured the mood of the song, and made the artdirection and the scenery look just beautiful. Don Henley wasn't bad looking either. Of course. he was my first crush anyway.LOL!

[petep9000]

Originally Posted by bellagypsy79

I don't see why those videos would make a person gay.

I'm pretty sure the author of this piece was being tongue-in-cheek, and not literally suggesting that this list of music videos ushered her down the path of same-sex eroticism.

I watched these same videos when I was in my teens in the 80's, and I never became a Lesbian.

[bellagypsy79]

I was joking too. But you know I think that what they ment by "gay", was that, either happy, or just a figure of speech used in a sentence that has no direct critisizm to the person and their sexuality. But yeah, I liked the list of videos. It was a fun period of time. I miss it don't you?

[petep9000]

LOL! No dear, I'm quite sure the author was using 'gay' to describe the lavender-strewn path of the Love The Dares Not Speak It's Name.

Originally Posted by bellagypsy79

I was joking too. But you know I think that what they ment by "gay", was that, either happy, or just a figure of speech used in a sentence that has no direct critisizm to the person and their sexuality. But yeah, I liked the list of videos. It was a fun period of time. I miss it don't you?

[SuzeQuze]

Originally Posted by michelej1

From AfterEllen.com:

http://www.afterellen.com/blog/80s-v...at-made-me-gay

Eleven '80s videos that made me gay

When it comes to videos, I'm old. I remember the premiere of Friday Night Videos, and even before that (and even before MTV), I watched something called FM-TV (later Teletunes) on a local public access channel. It was such a thrill to stay up late and enter that strange new world. My sister even figured out how to hook up our clunky TV to the stereo so we could enjoy bizarre bands like Les Rita Mitsouko in high fidelity.

And just as the age of music video was dawning, so was my baby dykedom. Here are some '80s videos that helped me explore my newfound appreciation for the fairer sex. (Note to the PMRC types: I'm not really saying these videos made me gay; just that these women are totally worth going gay for, if that were possible.)

1. The Eurythmics, "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)" (1983)
Oh, Annie Lennox. The hair. The stare. The tie. Sweet doesn't begin to cover it.

2. The Pretenders, "Brass in Pocket" (1979 — yeah, a year early)
I didn't understand half of what Chrissie Hynde was saying, but her eyeliner did something to me — as did her smooth, sexy voice.

3. Cyndi Lauper, "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun" (1983)
At that point, I didn't know exactly what I wanted from a slumber party; I just knew I really, really liked them.

4. Tina Turner, "What's Love Got To Do With It" (1984)
Love has a lot to do with it. Especially if you're going to strut like that. This video also fed my growing yen for the Big Apple.

5. The Go-Go's, "Our Lips Are Sealed" (1981)
Not Belinda. The other ones. I'm looking at you, Kathy Valentine.

6. Pat Benatar, "Love Is a Battlefield" (1983)
Let's take to the streets and have a dance-off! We are strong! No one can tell us we're wrong!

7. Heart, "What About Love" (1985)

It wasn't their best or their prettiest. But Ann Wilson's voice is pure heat.

8. Katrina and the Waves, "Walking on Sunshine" (1985)
It was all about the shoes. And the awesomeness of the song!

9. Stevie Nicks, "Talk to Me" (1985)
I wanted to talk to her. For a long, long time.

10. The Bangles, "Going Down to Liverpool" (1984)
This is the Bangles before they started to suck (i.e., before they let bimbo Susanna Hoffs sing everything). And yes, that's Spock behind the wheel — but more important, that's bassist Michael Steele in the purple jacket and ridiculous tie thingie. Yum. (Bonus: This song was originally recorded by No. 8 on this list!)

11. Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, "Crimson and Clover" (1982)
I know it's obvious, but I'm still powerless when I see it. Thank you, Joan, for not changing the pronoun. What a beautiful feeling.
Finally, here's a video that just made me weird. This is the aforementioned Les Rita Mitsuoko. The song is "C'est Comme Ça," from The No Comprendo (1986).
OK, that still makes me feel weird! No comprendo indeed.

Well I think I could love her. But I don't hardly know her. Yeah go Joan!

[UndoingTheLaces]

I remember Friday Night Videos, especially when Sandra Bernhardt announced the premiere of the Seven Wonders video. I was so excited.