Nostalgia Blast: Video Concert Hall
Back in 1979, when I was first discovering the wider world of rock music (ie, stuff besides KISS), the local TV station started showing this show called Video Concert Hall. It was basically a one hour, syndicated version of MTV. And I got to thinking about it, and did a Google search, sure that someone out there must have made some kind of tribute page to it, or at least a wikipedia entry. Sure enough, not only is there a wiki, there's a blog!
Some of the songs that stand out in my memory of watching this show were The Police's "Message in a Bottle," The Who's "Baba O'Reily," Nazareth's "Holiday," and Pete Townsend's obscenely catchy "Let My Love Open the Door." I hadn't developed the most discerning tastes yet--I remember thinking that this cheesey Styx song rocked hard!
One thing that was kinda neat about it was that they programmed pretty much everything they could get their hands on, so in addition to the rock/pop stuff, there was disco from The Bros. Johnson and Rufus & Chaka Khan, southern rock from The Atlanta Rhythm Section, and even a jazz video from Herb Alpert. And thus, some of the first rock songs I was exposed to were by The Cramps, The Dickies and Iggy Pop. Man, The Dickies' cover of "Knights in White Satin," which I didn't know was a cover at the time, is so great. The original is, to my ears, one of the most godawful things ever recorded, and they turn it into this fucking BRILLIANT pop-punk song. It's the guitar solo that really makes it, taken directly from the original, but put into a context that really lets it shine.
Another thing that was pretty cool about it was that it opened with a montage of video clips set to the first 30 seconds or so of Led Zeppelin's "Carousalambra." I only knew the song as "the Video Concert Hall Theme," so when I bought In Through the Out Door and first heard the song on the record, it was pretty freaky.
Some of the songs that stand out in my memory of watching this show were The Police's "Message in a Bottle," The Who's "Baba O'Reily," Nazareth's "Holiday," and Pete Townsend's obscenely catchy "Let My Love Open the Door." I hadn't developed the most discerning tastes yet--I remember thinking that this cheesey Styx song rocked hard!
One thing that was kinda neat about it was that they programmed pretty much everything they could get their hands on, so in addition to the rock/pop stuff, there was disco from The Bros. Johnson and Rufus & Chaka Khan, southern rock from The Atlanta Rhythm Section, and even a jazz video from Herb Alpert. And thus, some of the first rock songs I was exposed to were by The Cramps, The Dickies and Iggy Pop. Man, The Dickies' cover of "Knights in White Satin," which I didn't know was a cover at the time, is so great. The original is, to my ears, one of the most godawful things ever recorded, and they turn it into this fucking BRILLIANT pop-punk song. It's the guitar solo that really makes it, taken directly from the original, but put into a context that really lets it shine.
Another thing that was pretty cool about it was that it opened with a montage of video clips set to the first 30 seconds or so of Led Zeppelin's "Carousalambra." I only knew the song as "the Video Concert Hall Theme," so when I bought In Through the Out Door and first heard the song on the record, it was pretty freaky.
posted by Chris Oliver at 10:44 AM
1 Comments:
Hey,
Thanks so much for linking over to the blog -- I'm glad you're enjoying it. Thanks for contributing your memories, too, as many of mine have faded.
I had the same experience when listening to In Through the Out Door: Wow, the Video Concert Hall theme song! What I wouldn't give to see the opening or the between segments. I'll be keeping my eyes out.
I also *love* that version of Nights in White Satin! While I don't absolutely hate the Moody Blues version, I agree with all you wrote about how great The Dickies made it.
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