Dire Straits and MTV Europe

I was informed that my writing should be a bit more neutral, so without bashing MTV again, lets see an interesting video by Dire Straits -


Hear the falsetto "I want my MTV" in the intro? That, my friends, is non other than mr. Gordon Matthew Thomas Sumner, more popularly known as STING!

This was the first video to be shown on MTV Europe and is actually one of my all-time favorite songs!

From wiki -

Money for Nothing" is a song recorded by British group Dire Straits, which first appeared on their 1985 album Brothers in Arms and subsequently became an international hit when released as a single. It peaked at number one for three weeks in the United States, becoming their most successful single, and also peaked at number one for three weeks on the U.S. Mainstream Rock chart. In the band's native UK, the song peaked at number four. The recording was notable for its controversial lyrics, groundbreaking music video and a cameo appearance by Sting singing the song's falsetto introduction and backing chorus, "I want my MTV". The video was also the first to be aired on MTV Europe when the network started on August 1, 1987.

The lyrics did stir up some controversy though -

The observations of the character included references to a musician "banging on the bongos like a chimpanzee" and a description of a singer as "that little faggot with the earring and the makeup", and lamenting that the artists got "money for nothing and chicks for free". These lyrics were widely criticized as sexist, racist and homophobic statements, and in some later releases of the song the lyrics were edited for airplay; "faggot" for example is often replaced with "mother": "little mother, he's a millionaire".

When the song is included in rotation as part of a music feed played in stores, or restaurants "faggot" is usually turned backwards.

The entire second verse was edited out for content and length for radio and video airplay, and on the 7" single. This edited version is included in the compilation albums Sultans of Swing: The Very Best of Dire Straits and Money for Nothing.

In a late 1985 interview in Rolling Stone magazine, Knopfler expressed mixed feelings on the controversy:

I got an objection from the editor of a gay newspaper in London - he actually said it was below the belt. Apart from the fact that there are stupid gay people as well as stupid other people, it suggests that maybe you can't let it have so many meanings - you have to be direct. In fact, I'm still in two minds as to whether it's a good idea to write songs that aren't in the first person, to take on other characters.

Wonderful, 1 "faggot" in the lyrics and the whole world goes wild and tries to put down a perfectly wonderful song! Way to miss the point of the song itself!

The lead character in "Money for Nothing" is a guy who works in the hardware department in a television/custom kitchen/refrigerator/microwave appliance store. He's singing the song. I wrote the song when I was actually in the store. I borrowed a bit of paper and started to write the song down in the store. I wanted to use a lot of the language that the real guy actually used when I heard him, because it was more real....

Not one mention of homosexuality now, is there? The "guy" simply hates the fact he has to "Install microwave ovens" while the guys on TV get their "money for nothing and chicks for free".

Just about as working class as it gets...

ps.
Oh, by the way, anyone else see Knopflers headband as a wicked awesome pair of futuristic eyegear?! :D