Album: Fore!
Video: From DailyMotion.
“Hip To Be Square” is a case study in irony. Before this song, hipness and squareness were
widely considered to be two completely different states of being. But in the turbulent 80’s these opposing
concepts became one and the same, as Huey Lewis & The News point out in this gripping social commentary.
Don’t believe me? Well, 4 out of 5 serial killers agree.
And this was another video that was gypped out of a spot in
the MTV Top 100 of 1986. It was a
commercially successful song, peaking at #3 on the Billboard Hot 100. On the MTV Top 20 video countdown it peaked
at #4, holding that position for three weeks.
It spent nine weeks on the countdown.
No other video was on the weekly top 20 for that long and missed the year
end top 100.
It is surprising, because Huey Lewis & The News was at
the height of its popularity. “Sports”
was one of the top selling albums of 1984, largely due to its videos being in
heavy rotation on MTV. The follow up album
“Fore!” was just as strong with five top ten singles in all, and both albums
reached #1 on the Billboard charts.
So why the omission? Very
likely another victim of a late year debut, like “The Way It Is”. It didn't reach its peak popularity until December. But while Hornsby’s hit was ultimately rewarded
with a spot on an all-time MTV Top 100 list, “Hip To Be Square” was left out in
the cold. No excuses though, MTV goofed up.
The video should not be watched by people who suffer from
epileptic seizures. It features tight
facial shots of the band members, mostly Huey, usually about three inches from
the camera. Lots of nostril action.
No comments:
Post a Comment