Five Early '80s Music Videos MTV Missed

Video may have killed the radio star, but for independent bands, video was an extension of their creative expression

If it wasn't witnessing Debbie Harry fronting the Muppet Band when I was a toddler, my first vision of punk was surely on MTV. My brother and sister are a decade older than me, and that meant I got glimpses of Headbangers Ball, Liquid Television, and MTV countdowns in early elementary school. The most vivid memory I have from MTV at that time is my introduction to the Butthole Surfers from the vantage point of Beavis and Butt-Head's couch. That said, images from MTV are embedded in my consciousness. In later elementary school, I discovered music I liked (the Smashing Pumpkins, Weezer, Green Day) first on MTV, picked up their tapes and CDs at Disc Go Round, and only later found out there was an alternative radio station in my city (92.1 the Edge to be exact). Indeed, music videos were just as significant for some generations of kids– and sometimes more important– as the songs themselves.    

Until the arrival of MTV, music television programs used to feature live performances by major label artists on shows such as American Bandstand, the Midnight Special, and Shindig! On these shows, artists often lip-synced or only provided vocals to their recordings. While mainstream artists had been supplementing their songs with videos for artistic and promotional purposes for decades, music videos did not become a driving force in the music industry until after 1981.

Many glimmers of the future emerged in the years leading up to the network's launch, including the many independent and major-label bands that made music videos. Before MTV was established, a subscription-based service called Rock America in New York distributed compilations of music videos from major and independent labels to disc jockeys for promotion (similar to a DJ record pool). In San Francisco, an independent TV studio, Videowest, produced dozens of videos of emerging local punk and new wave groups. In the beginning, Saturday Night Live featured music videos between its comedy sketches. 

When MTV broke through in 1981, it became the means to launch a band's career. For a band's video to get airplay on MTV, typically a major label needed to be behind the group, which, of course, meant many underground and independent bands did not have a shot (let alone the funds to afford professional quality shoots in the first place). Despite this, many artists in punk and new-wave scenes created music videos independently. As mentioned, some of them did so before the arrival of the revolutionary network. 

The Buggles' "Video Killed the Radio Star" was the first music video aired on MTV at 12:01 am on August 1st, 1981. 

Punk, new wave, no wave, and adjacent genres epitomize innovation and rail against the status quo. Lots of punk and new wave artists qualify as “outsiders,” not only by their odd-ball personalities or weirdo status in society but also in their position in the music world. What I mean by "outsiders" is that so many did not have training and taught themselves how to play. Many had no interest in learning the "rules" of music but chose to play instruments and write songs intuitively. (This type of outsider status in no way correlates to popularity or success in rock 'n' roll. Many "outsiders" are considered the vanguards of particular subgenres and often masters of their craft. Among many others, B.B. King, Jimi Hendrix, and Prince are all self-taught musicians.) Often, not knowing the rules of a particular art form wields as much power as learning all of the rules and then choosing to break them. "Outsiders," or untrained musicians, approach music-making with brand-new eyes.

An incredible amount of these "outsider" musicians and singers from the first wave of punk and new wave fell into music while studying visual art – drawing, painting, printmaking, and film. While exploring their creativity, they funneled their creative energy into music. Members of the Talking Heads famously met at the Rhode Island School of Design. Before joining bands, Penelope Houston of the Avengers and Debora Iyall of Romeo Void studied painting at the San Francisco Art Institute. In Athens, Georgia, the members of Pylon met in the art department at the University of Georgia. The original lineup of Destroy All Monsters became acquainted in the art program at the University of Michigan. Chicago's Audrey Stanzler studied photography at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and joined the Dadistics, one of her professors' bands. 

Visual art skills were particularly helpful for artists in the '70s and '80s. Punk, new wave, and other adjacent movements, artists not signed to major labels had to do everything themselves – including printmaking, logos for merchandise, and music video production. (The only other option was to solicit help from their art school friends.) 

A handmade poster by Bellingham, Washington band, Art Object circa 1978.

I suspect that, because of these bands' proximity to the visual art world, many of them were interested in pairing their music with visuals. Most were not simply thinking of images as strictly promotion but as an artistic extension of their music. I encountered many pre-MTV or despite-MTV music videos when researching my book "Hit Girls: Women of Punk in the USA, 1975-1983." I spent endless hours exploring YouTube and discovered many bands that way. When I couldn't get a hold of a release from a particular artist, YouTube often had the goods. During these investigative probes, I noticed common types of videos from artists from this era. These were the most common:

1. Videos of a spinning record with audio

2. Audio accompanied by an image or slideshow

3. Live shows

4. Actual music videos

All constitute important artifacts YouTube has preserved. (This is not a YouTube-sponsored post; I’m just a big fan of YouTube’s archival capabilities.) 

I find the music videos especially impressive and cool, so I compiled a non-ranked list of 5 music videos I enjoy from some artists I researched. All the bands included in this list are featured in my book, and ok, two of them are from the last year of '70s; I just couldn't fit that information in the headline.

This is not an exhaustive list by any means; there are so many more amusing videos from this era, and I will likely do a series of posts. To learn more about each artist, order my "Hit Girls" book here.

1. Los Microwaves- “Life After Breakfast” (1983)  

Videowest produced Los Microwave's video for "Life After Breakfast," which never aired on MTV but was in heavy rotation on Rock America. I think it's extra charming that so many of the attempted effects can be done with a simple Instagram filter nowadays. But honestly, it's way cooler to see the sincerity in a handmade version.

In the comments on YouTube, bandmember David Javelosa wrote, "This was actually shot in an industrial sub-basement in the South of Market district of San Francisco. The water leaking into the floor is because the area was under the bay in the 1800s. South of Market is all sinking landfill."

2. DA! - “Dark Rooms” (1981) 

Chicago’s DA! is a band that has always existed under the radar. Both because they have never fit neatly into any genre and because, as we know, success has much to do with being the right person in the right place at the right time.

The spooky images in the video for their song “Dark Rooms” tell the story of the song. A frightened child lays in bed with her eyes open, possessed by an eerie painting as shadows swirl around in the dark. The video contains layered, ethereal vocals, a room consumed by fog, shadow theater, and a cursed porcelain doll. The video was also featured on Rock America.

3. F-Systems - “People” (1980) 

I love a simple song built on a sexy, spooky rhythm with disaffected lyrics. The band plays in a hypnotic state – the guitarist only plays a single chord until the chorus –  and all players abide by their minimal changes, rocking back and forth. The video is all glitched out. Whether a product of time (probably) or on purpose (would be cool), it serves the song well and adds to the allure of singer Lorenda Ash’s shimmering gold turtleneck.  

The band’s bassist and main songwriter, Neil Ruttenburg, attended film school at the University of Texas at Austin. Many of the band’s songs referenced films, including Four Flies on Grey Velvet and Dawn of the Dead, the latter of which was included in Richard Linklater’s “Also Starring Austin.” 

4. The Accident - “True Detective” (1979)

This band had a video for another song of theirs, “Kill the Bee Gees,” which is equally entertaining. In both videos, the band is clearly in it for the comedy. The Accident’s songs slap. Their work doesn’t emit art aloof, in-your-head, obscurely-themed art school vibes. Instead, their videos pair with their tunes to exude an easy-going rock ‘n’ roll attitude, albeit in the style of the Monkees. 

5. Suburban Lawns - “Gidget Goes to Hell” (1979)

Speaking of comedy, this Jonathan Demme-directed music video for the Suburban Lawn’s 1979 single “Gidget Goes to Hell” was shown on Saturday Night Live in 1979 (or 1980? Who knows.). The appearance on the show brought the band some attention.

The members of Suburban Lawns met as students at CalArts and were a staple in the LA punk scene until disbanding in 1983. Also, their singer, Su Tissue, plays an awkward wife in “Something Wild,” and it’s the best thing I’ve ever found on YouTube.