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120 Minutes from the Crypt

Posted at 9:35 PM on February 11, 2008 by Jacquie Fuller

I'm a bit of an old-timer and am only now discovering the true, hidden wonders of You Tube. But tonight I really struck gold. There seems to be a pocket of folks who, in the 80s, took to recording hours and hours of MTV's 120 Minutes. These same folks, now old timers like me, have apparently uncovered their stash of VHS tapes from their parents' basements, and are posting them on You Tube.

You must understand. This is great, and more spiritual than, "Oh, that's what the girl in The Cocteau Twins looked like." And it's also deeply, deeply disturbing. Peruse at your own risk.

I have, for twenty years, had a song in my head. It's called "The Real Sheila," and was by a long defunct Bay-area band, Game Theory. When I say this song has been in my head, I mean it--I haven't actually heard it in 20 years. And I haven't been able to track it down, on vinyl, tape, download, anything (I did find a CD on Amazon for $100, which I did not buy.)

On a lark, I typed the song into You Tube, and found the video, complete with the 120 Minutes logo at the bottom of the screen. I was amazed and delighted to find that the song still sounded really good, and really fresh! What was even more miraculous--I still knew all the words! After twenty years!

But I was also a little horrified. To appreciate the song, I had to close my eyes and not watch the video, which was so painfully 80s that I was surprised to not see someone playing drums covered in milk, or a wine glass shattering to the floor. I did, though--when I peeked between my fingers--see someone pass a ball through an empty picture frame (oh my god) and some women with unruly perms and bangs as tall as German Shepherds. Friends, it was not pretty.

Once you get past the horror, though, it's kind of fun to watch these folks' homemade 120 Minutes archives. For one thing, it makes you appreciate how far videos have come (from Herbie Hancock's "Rockit" robots to Bjork's "All is Full of Love," for instance.)

And if you don't have time to browse, The Tripwire digs up a new "flashback" video every Friday.

But, really--if you don't want to be traumatized like I was--you're better off just listening to The Current. You'll get your occasional fix of The Cure and New Order and The Smiths, without the ridiculous hair.

February 2008
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