peterr@utcsrgv.UUCP (Peter Rowley) (07/16/84)
The Human League must be given credit for trying, at least. They seem determined to change the reputation they have of being a poor live act, hence their new video for "The Lebanon". Someone should have told them, however, that having singers in more-or-less revealing dresses swaying to the beat and singing about people getting gunned down in the streets of Beirut does not really jibe. Because of this, this is one of the silliest videos I've seen. On the other side, the new video for Ultravox's "Dancing With Tears in My Eyes" is one of the two best "concept" videos I've seen. It complements the song perfectly, and is emotionally involving. As does the video for "Genetic Engineering" by Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark... a song about a serious topic, but they manage to add a nice touch of humour at the end of the video... I won't give it away. I don't want to start a "my favourite video" debate, but it is good, I think, to point out the better works-- if only because so much of it is so incredibly cliched... even worse than the music. So I'll mention a few I find visually appealing: Adrian Belew's "Big Electric Cat", Philip Glass' "Act III", and Jean-Luc Ponty's "Individual Choice" (all 3 produced by John Sanborn, with various co-producers), and the video for the Peter Gabriel/ Laurie Anderson song from her recent album (I can't remember the title). peter rowley, U. Toronto