![]() ![]() “It was a little out of character for us. “I felt like, ‘Oh well, here we are,'” Petty recalled with a chuckle in 1983 while reminiscing about this video. “Letting You Go” is shockingly postmodern, constantly reminding you of the phoniness of the whole endeavor. This Hard Promises cut is a video about making a video, as Petty and the Heartbreakers contend with the fact that the cameramen are moving closer and closer into their personal space, forcing them to rebel. But he was one of the few to turn that discomfort into the point of a video. Like a lot of artists at the time, Petty didn’t immediately take to music videos, feeling uncomfortable and inauthentic lip-synching in front of a camera. He may not have liked making music videos, but he left us with some classics. Along the way, you’ll see how an initially resistant Petty learned how to shape an onscreen persona – that of a friendly, impish prankster – which would become his MTV avatar. Here’s a look back at 10 of his most memorable videos. “I wasn’t happy the way videos started to exploit women. “I knew it would cheapen our long-term play,” Petty said. And credit him this: He resisted the popular trend to just feature hot babes in his videos. No matter their misgivings, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers were one of the best video bands of the Eighties and Nineties – the singer would end up winning three Moonmen while delivering innovative, funny clips for radio-ready rock songs. ![]() They didn’t want to go anywhere near them. “I didn’t much like making videos – the hours were insane,” he admitted in I Want My MTV: The Uncensored Story of the Music Video Revolution. “But I liked the outcome. He didn’t dance, he didn’t have movie-star looks and, most importantly, he couldn’t stand music videos. Tom Petty, who died October 2nd at the age of 66, was not your typical MTV figurehead. But perhaps the most underrated major videomaker of the era was a young man from Gainesville, Florida who perfected an indelible mix of Byrds-ian melody and Stones-like punch on albums like Damn the Torpedoes and Full Moon Fever. If that wasn't enough pressure, the success of Torpedoes had not only made Petty and the band an "A-List" commodity, it came with its own set of prices too.Thinking of the musicians who became superstars thanks to MTV, names like Michael Jackson, George Michael, Madonna and Prince come to mind. The problem with making an album full of now-signature songs like "Refugee", "Even The Losers", "Here Comes My Girl", and "Don't Do Me Like That" is that the minute you show yourself capable of reaching such musical heights, you're immediately asked to do so again. ![]() would pass them by and, with the release of Damn The Torpedoes in late 1979, this became a reality. While it would have been foolish to admit such a thing publicly.many artists felt it was only a matter of time before Petty and Co. While the album was only a modest chart success, peaking at #55 on Billboard's Top 200, it seemed every other band had reason to keep an eye on the rear-view mirror after hearing the likes of "American Girl" and "Breakdown". From the release of their self-titled debut album album in 1976, Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers were a formidable presence on the rock scene. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |