So for todays 80s education song for Jessica, were going to take a hard right turn into rock, albeit rock that made it to number 16 on the billboard charts: Def Leppards Rock of Ages (1983). Def Leppard was HUGE when I was in high school and a group of us particularly liked this song for the initial four words Gunter glieben glauten globen which we ran around repeating brainlessly like prattling idiots. (Which we were.) We didnt know what that meant, but it SURELY meant something horrible in German! Except it didnt. Not even close. It was just a phrase muttered by perfectionist producer Mutt Lange, who insisted on doing so many takes of the song that he got tired of saying One, two, three, four... and switched to saying random nonsense words. The band liked this particular parsel of nonsense, so they stuck it in the beginning of the song. Allllll right. The song takes its name from a hymn book. (!) Leppard lead vocalist Joe Elliott found a hymn book left by a member of a childrens choir which had used the studio and saw the words Rock of Ages, which prompted him to write the lyrics of the song. Leppard was technically a hair band (or glam metal as Wikipedia calls it), although to watch the video, their hair sort of looks like 70s rock band hair. Actually, what it REALLY looks like greasy 70s teenager hair. (How old were these guys when they made this? Fifteen?) The video features a group of monks, who just stand around a laugh pseudo-evilly, perhaps in reference to the original hymn on which the song is based. (Hey, you got a better explanation for them?) Theres also a rather wasted-looking girl with very poofy hair and a dirty face strapped to a tree who must surely represent something, although her role is never made very clear. She escapes the tree (apparently) and plays chess with someone. She basically disappears by the end of the video, her inexplicable presence never made clear. The lead singer also draws a GIANT sword out of a stone and then swings it around at intervals in the video until it turns into a distinctively 80s style electric guitar. At least the significance of THAT seems apparent. In sum, its like a lot of the 80s rock videos...the band plays and theres several incomprehensible references to things that have nothing to do with the song. But its a solid 80s rock anthem. In fact, the whole Pyromania album it came from can be listened beginning to end if you like this kind of music. (I know I sure did.) Every once in awhile I haul it out on the iPod and mutter to myself... Gunter glieben glauchen globen. (It just never gets old.)
Posted on: Wed, 29 Oct 2014 12:05:12 +0000
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