Althouse: A-ha... the same song, in 2017, without the familiar video.

October 16, 2017

A-ha... the same song, in 2017, without the familiar video.

Lovely.

33 comments:

Quayle said...: Reminds me of one of my favorite movies of late: Sing Street; 10/16/17, 7:56 PM
Sprezzatura said...: The Pardon My Take podcast is awesome.

[Sure, you think this comment should be deleted cause it's early in the thread and ya think it don't fit this post.]

[[Golden years folks are funny.]]; 10/16/17, 7:59 PM
richlb said...: How did we both come across this at the same time from different angles? Yesterday I was reading the Wikipedia page about MTV Unplugged and saw that A-Ha had recorded a show. Last night I watched the whole thing.

They recorded one of my favorite Bond themes for The Living Daylights.; 10/16/17, 8:06 PM
mccullough said...: Needless to say, this song had the best video back in the day.; 10/16/17, 8:08 PM
Mary Beth said...: I love Morten Harket and I'm impressed he can still hit those high notes after all these years.; 10/16/17, 8:09 PM
Jason said...: Check out the bluegrass version.

Actually, check out ALL the bluegrass versions of 80s pop tunes by the band Love Canon. Brilliant stuff. Fantastic musicianship.; 10/16/17, 8:22 PM
Henry said...: He does have a beautiful voice.

This reminded me of death. Not of death, but of time. In another venue I saw a current picture of Yo Yo Ma. Finally, he looks older than a very dignified teenager. His face has filled out It's startling.; 10/16/17, 8:29 PM
Lem Vibe Bandit said...: Not bad hitting those notes after all this time.; 10/16/17, 8:44 PM
Dear corrupt left, go F yourselves said...: I forgot about A-ha. I forgot the lead singer is so pretty.; 10/16/17, 9:03 PM
Curious George said...: Best Version https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CIQm7Z05Nt8; 10/16/17, 9:36 PM
Curious George said...: Or this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_vPr3p8F5YE; 10/16/17, 9:38 PM
Snark said...: Well that was awful.; 10/16/17, 9:51 PM
Howard said...: Mood music for non-sexual consensual spooning.; 10/16/17, 10:16 PM
Michael The Magnificent said...: Chris from Family Guy Ah-Ha; 10/16/17, 10:21 PM
Static Ping said...: Also remember that this song inspired the first "literal video".; 10/16/17, 10:38 PM
gpm said...: I had a dorm room across the hall from Yo Yo Ma for a few months back around 1973 or 1974. Probably the nearest approach to greatness in my life. Don't recall that we ever met or had any conversation (or that he ever showed up in the dining hall with the rest of us). What I do recall is that, when I was getting up at 5 or 6 in the morning to go clean glassware in some chem labs to earn my keep, he would be listening to music in his room across the hall.

--gpm; 10/16/17, 10:39 PM
Cormac Kehoe said...: Thanks for this one.; 10/16/17, 10:44 PM
Snark said...: "I forgot about A-ha. I forgot the lead singer is so pretty."

He reminds me of Paul Bernardo, but presumably less murdery. Unless you count what he did to his own song there. A ha ha!; 10/16/17, 10:50 PM
Static Ping said...: The unplugged rendition of the song is very good, but the original video is still the best. It is, if not the best music video of all time, definitely in the top 10. And that matters in the sense that a music video can make or break a song. There are songs that I thought and still think are a lot better than they really are objectively. The video attaches the video experience to the song experience to make a unified experience, somewhat like nostalgia except instantly. "Take on Me" is pretty much the pinnacle.

There are also songs that I probably would like, but the video was so terrible that I gave up on it. If I hear the song again without the video sometime, that often changes my opinion. Of course, the greatest example of a bad music video is Billy Squier's "Rock Me Tonite" which not only ruins the song but singlehanded ruined Billy's career. Dudes should not dance on poles.

There is also the matter of Blotto, a band with middling to fair talent, that pretty much are only remembered now thanks to making creative and fun music videos at a time when MTV was desperate for content and would show pretty much anything.
I-I-I Wanna Be a Lifeguard!
I-I-I wanna guard your life!; 10/16/17, 10:51 PM
Be said...: There have been several versions of A-Ha's music, posed by the band themselves, over the years. Happy that you're finally picking up on this. (Shrug.); 10/16/17, 11:02 PM
Be said...: Battle of the Bands between A-Ha and Bon Jovi! Acoustic versions.; 10/16/17, 11:06 PM
Be said...: Housemate took me to the Princeton Chapel at one time, a little while back. It was interesting to see a a Perfect Representation of Princetonian Alums rememberances of Cathedrals from Elsewhere.

https://youtu.be/a3ir9HC9vYg; 10/16/17, 11:12 PM
Ryan said...: Meh.; 10/16/17, 11:15 PM
Bill said...: The Sun Always Shines on TV; 10/16/17, 11:41 PM
JAORE said...: Lovely is in the ear of the beholder.; 10/17/17, 12:55 AM
Wince said...: What a poignant ode to growing older, if not old, gracefully.

Almost thirty-one years to the day, October 1986, I'll never forget the excitement of being on stage while these guys played that song up-tempo, while helping to prevent a swarm of young women from ending the show early.

Aside from the youthful hormonal rush and frenzy going on around us, I remember being moved by the beauty and power of a simple pop song and its video storytelling as a moment etched in time as the song was first played live in each city on their world tour.

Although at the time the faces were younger and more frenzied (with thicker eyebrows as was the fashion), I believe you can see a similar remembrance and yearning still reflected in the more mellowed faces of the women shown whispering the unhurried lyrics as the camera panned the audience.; 10/17/17, 3:58 AM
MadisonMan said...: The people mouthing the words look pathetic to me (I didn't watch the whole thing -- was it only women singing along? The first two cutaways -- very distracting -- it was).; 10/17/17, 6:04 AM
Paco Wové said...: I think the link Althouse was trying to include at the bottom was this one. Her misted-up eyes must have interfered with getting that URL right.

Anyhow, here's proof, once again, that the best way to look good when you're old is to be really good-looking when you're young.; 10/17/17, 7:01 AM
Wilbur said...: Not sure this is the case here, but what is more annoying than going to a concert and being seated near some moron who thinks buying a ticket entitles them to inflict their singing-along upon anyone near them? I've seen others finally tell the person to PLEASE shut up.

It rarely ends well.

Take On Me was the only video I ever saw that I thought added something to the audio version.; 10/17/17, 9:01 AM
Anthony said...: I loved that. Also impressed he can still hit those notes, with only a couple coming down a bit.; 10/17/17, 10:30 AM
California Snow said...: What a great trip down memory lane.; 10/17/17, 10:37 AM
Wince said...: MadisonMan said...
The people mouthing the words look pathetic to me (I didn't watch the whole thing -- was it only women singing along? The first two cutaways -- very distracting -- it was).

I get what you're saying, especially as a video presentation.

But if it's your job to look off the stage, that's what you see people do. You better get used to seeing it, especially if you're a performer.

Meanwhile, the faces on young girls who en masse "want at" the current heart-throb can be absolutely frightening. Hence the term "--mania."

You just have to try to understand how frail, insecure and indeed pathetic some people are at various points in their life and try to be sympathetic and kind. It actually builds your tolerance and patience.; 10/17/17, 11:48 AM
Darrell said...: Morten Harket could have all those women mouthing the lyrics in that video. Maybe he did.; 10/18/17, 3:47 AM