Videos I Didn't Know Existed

Oh hi. You know, one of my favorite things to do is sit on my ass and watch videos on YouTube. I know it's a shock. Here's a couple of videos I found in my travels...



Joni Mitchell-Underneath the Streetlight- (1982)Well isn't this precious. I didn't even know this video existed until last night. Despite what VH1 Classic said, the song isn't called "Street Lights" it's "Underneath the Street Light." This is also a different version than what appeared on the album. In 1982 Mitchell was one of the first artists signed to then fledgling Geffen Records. From the sound of this they were looking for a hit from Joni. It didn't happen. As a video presence frankly it's bizarre seeing her, well, happy. Make it stop, please, please...

Grade *** Not totally feeling this era of stuff. Joni has some live footage from this era, sounds good but visually blah.




Joni Mitchell-Shiny Toys-(1985) Yet another video I didn't know existed until a few damn days ago. What is up? I saw Tears for Fears "Head Over Heels" in my REM sleep and I didn't see this one until 25 years later. Why ask why. "Shiny Toys" comes from Joni's 1985 album Dog Eat Dog. I'm a big fan of it, I've got it in cassette, record and CD. I'm going to die alone. Got to love this video. Unlike the other one, the Big '80s isn't so offensive here, in fact this is the part of the 80s even I can tolerate. The minimalistic style is preferred to typical fare of the day. Someone really boring wrote that last sentence...

As a Joni lover I've got to say she's no Jennifer Grey. This video proves that Joni is a horrible dancer. After that odd little shimmy she takes off her glasses at the 2:31 mark and looks cute. Who knew?

Grade ****





James Taylor-Brother Trucker- Check out James looking a hot mess. This is from the Working days, the play James was writing music for. Why this particular clip exists, I do not know. For some reason this video tape reminds me of one of those 80s soap operas. Who's behind James? Clay Alden? Hoo hah hoo ha...

Let's mention the elephant on the highway: James's Glassy Eyes. I know JT was having problems off and on during this time but I can't imagine what combination of whatever is causing this. Really I don't want him on the road, I certainly hope this big rig was filmed on a sound stage. "Brother Trucker" is a favorite of mine (it's on Track 3 on the 8 Track) and it sounds like he's having slight difficulty remembering a few lines. Still this is interesting footage, perhaps this was going to be a TV show. A movie? A franchise....

Update: I still don't know exactly where this comes from, exactly...

Grade ****

Pop Culture Idiot: Intimate Portrait: Rollo Lawson

Intimate Portraits aren't just for women! I think men should get them too and who better to start off with than Rita Lawson's boy, Rollo.

Make no bones about it, Rollo was a crook. The good folks at Sanford and Son never got into exactly what Rollo did to get that car and that fly pad--and thankfully we never knew. They did say something about pumping gas--yeah right. According to reports, Rollo did his first stint in the prison at the tender age of 5.


Perhaps one of the most interesting aspects of Rollo Lawson's life is not his vast collection of 8 tracks and bongs but his relationship with one Lamont Sanford. These two were polar opposites, in a sense, but you can see why they worked together as a friendship. On an odd level, in the earlier to mid-point episodes you can see Lamont Demond Wilson trying to appropriate some of Rollo (Nathaniel Taylor's) speech patterns. Hilarious--and it didn't really work. In a strong sense, Rollo was one of the truer African-American portrayals. He wasn't sexless, not a total parody, just that slightly shady character who existed in neighborhoods during that era. To their credit, the writers of the show didn't pull punches about Lawson's personality. To be perfectly honest,  I didn't like the way Rollo treated the Three Degrees when they starred in the episode "Presenting the Three Degrees." He was really feeling his Cheerios and barking orders like a common pimp. No wonder The Three Degrees left him. Good for them! More often than not though, Rollo was written very intelligently, especially in his scenes with Fred Sanford.

     Sadly, as Sanford and Son declined, so did Rollo's character. A once up-to-the-minute and cool character pretty much was just there during the final seasons. His cool clothes and style stagnated and his role disappeared. To add insult to injury, the Rollo Lawson character was brought onto the 1980-81 NBC series Sanford. That's when you knew the times had changed, they even had the nerve enough to give him a job driving Fred Sanford's truck. The horrors!

Oh no....