Wednesday, January 9, 2008

Worst Idea Ever #731: Mick Jagger and David Bowie's "Dancin' In The Street"

It probably seemed like a good idea on paper. Two friends....perhaps more than friends.....both highly talented and respected singers in their own right, covering a Motown classic from back in the era when they themselves first made their mark. Okay, I can accept that. But then there was the VIDEO. Capturing some of the most heinous, over-the-top footage since the crowd reaction to the stripping robot in Metropolis, this video would make Ziggy Stardust crush his own sweet hands in horror. Perhaps the only way it could have been worse is if they included the bubbles from the Rolling Stones' "It's only Rock 'n' Roll" video. The disgusted look Charlie Watts gives as the bubbles overtake him says it all in that one. Sadly, he was not there to be the voice of reason for Mick and Bowie's misadventure.

1 comment:

Randy said...

Yeah, that “It’s Only Rock ‘n’ Roll” video is a real abomination. As if the overflowing suds weren’t embarrassing enough, just what the hell were the Stones doing dressed as sailors? Bill Wyman was thirty-seven years old at the time—one week of basic training in the Royal Navy, and he would’ve been deader than Brian Jones. And what’s with Mick Taylor getting a lower rank than the others? Jagger, Richards, and Wyman all have three stripes, but Taylor—who turned the Stones from Beatle clones to songwriting bad-asses putting their music where their mouth is—only has one. Jagger and Richards—always keeping Taylor down. (Although, to be fair, poor Charlie—whose left sleeve is never visible to the camera—probably got no stripes...and I wouldn’t be surprised if he had to clean up the suds when the shoot was complete.)

Still, I guess it makes sense economically—a band washing their clothes all at once instead of five guys having to come up with 30p each plus washing powder. And I'd lay money it was Keith’s first bath in a month. More importantly, it spared the world a video of the Stones sitting around a launderette in their boxers and undershirts, lip-syncing the song while waiting for the rinse cycle to finish.