Mark Knopfler wrote it after overhearing delivery men in a New York department store complain about their jobs while watching MTV. He wrote the song in the store sitting at a kitchen display they had set up. Many of the lyrics were things they actually said.
Yes. I'm a little surprised he didn't realize these lyrics were not Knopfler's point of view but rather that of some rather bigoted working class guys he overheard. Of course this was a popular viewpoint of many people who watch pop stars getting rich while they have to bust their humps just to get by.
@@johnsilva9139the biggest mistake i see reactors making is assuming that every song is autobiographical. Even on songs that the performer didn't even write. Syed Doesn't fall into this trap often, though
It's simpler than you think. It's a song about overheard delivery guys who worked for a home appliance and home electronics retail store, and he's quoting what those delivery guys were saying about the musicians and actors in the videos they were watching on MTV.
Just like "Sultans of Swing", this is a real story. Knopfler was in a department store, and two of the store clerks were watching MTV in the store, and this song is basically the conversation he overheard.
Knopfler wrote this after he saw department store employees making fun of videos on MTV that were on the TV screens. He's speaking in their voices. Great song, great satire.
Producer: Mark, are you sure you want to have such a long intro? You're building a lot of anticipation there. You're gonna need a bloody good riff, mate. Mark: Not a problem.
The song is written from the perspective of a guy working at an appliance store talking to his co-worker and hes calling the long haired, 80s hair metal guys he seeing on the tv as “fa**ots” while talking about how easily they get girls and money and how easy their jobs are compared to his own.
A lot of the context is lost now, but this song was a very meta comment on MTV, which was the biggest thing in the music/entertainment world at the time. He's quoting blue collar workers commenting on how great life would be if they'd just learned to play a few chords and made it on to MTV (while putting down the performers) -- and at the same time the video of the song was a huge hit on MTV, which benefited from the satirical publicity. 'I want my MTV' was the network's slogan at the time.
Syed is missing context because he's never experienced walking into a kitchen or furniture store and trying to get a salesperson to pay attention to you while they are all standing around by the "TV wall" watching MTV.
This is from a conversation he overheard. Working men talking about the musicians on tv. And yes, the daft hair and the make up. It’s not Mark Knopfler’s opinion or anger. He just wrote a song from the perspective of some non-musicians, feeling a little jealous.
Personally, I think this is one of the best tracks in modern music. Everything about it is perfect, from the classic 80s synth intro, tight rhythm and powerful drums, fun ad libs, and brilliantly satirical lyrics. The song perfectly encapsulates the 1980s resentment of the average person (those feeling left behind by Reaganomics) for the wealthiest in society, be it in rock music, or yuppies on Wall Street. Mark Knopfler's unique fingerpicking style, combined with the power of the double-humbucking pickups on the Les Paul, and a wah-pedal set half way for a uniquely "nasel", biting tone, is an amazing combination, and the riff is widely celebrated as one of the greatest of all time. Even the music video was very iconic for its day, using digital animation in the 80s.
There’s an important cultural key here: for a good while MTV was struggling to get onto cable services. So MTV started a campaign to get watchers to call their provider and shout “I want my MTV!” The way they got the message across was by using celebrity musicians of the time (who had been elevated by MTV) like Cyndi Lauper, Billy Idol and…Sting. The campaign worked beyond their wildest dreams, obviously.
He’s saying those guys on MTV, despite how they look, are laughing all the way to the bank while “we” are stuck here doing hard manual labor making little money.
Brilliantly put, to the point❤; it has probably gotten even worse to this day: the scissors widened even further. I've been listening to this album version for a long time with many details. I don't like the marching rhythm of this song, but it fits the lyrics, all in step towards the bank.
This was the first song played on the UK launch of MTV. The fact that Sting is on this is pure chance. He was on holiday where the band were recording this and Mark just asked him if he wanted to sing the line.
And had the idea because he wanted to use the tune from Sting's "Don't Stand So Close To Me" for those lines, which is why Sting gets a co-writing credit.
Now go watch the video. You'll get it. Non-musicians thinking musicians don't earn their way. "That's easy, I could do that. We have to work for a living."
It's written from the perspective of a blue collar worker who is pissed off that the rock stars he sees on TV are pretty much getting paid and getting laid for not even working, while he's doing manual labor (moving refrigerators, installing kitchens) and probably getting paid peanuts.
The problem in the 80s is that the big money and stadium shows took out creativity. Lots of bands were forced to put out songs they didn't necessarily want to do, but the record labels demanded at least one AM radio single and MTV video. The "hits" were contrived and heavily promoted on the radio and MTV. The better bands of the era hid their good music on the album, but the culture of listening to an album as a whole was undermined, mostly by the new format introduced on MTV. Creatives of the time called it formula rock. They had to produce singles that followed the format and it all started to sound the same.
"I Want My MTV" was one of the most successful ad campaigns in TV history. Different celebrities coaxed young people to call their cable outlet and demand that they ad MTV. to the specific cable line-up. And by 1986, they did.
The 80's were mainly about the video's.The video was a huge success thus making the song very popular.MTV was at it's peak,so that boosted the song to being so good.
My friend, I always appreciate your honesty! It’s rare to find insightful people like you. I highly suggest the live version of this song that they did at Live Aid, where Sting is also present. A lot more energetic and engaging! I’m not a big Dire Straits but this song, for example, is a banger for me. The guitar riff is one of my favs!
Small note - Terry Williams - the drummer from the Alchemy album, played the drums for the intro to this. Actually he played the drums for the entire album but Mark didn't like it so only kept the start of this one track and had the rest re recorded with a different drummer. I'd LOVE to hear those original recordings though!
This song was Knopfler overhearing guys talking at an appliance store. These were their comments about actually having to work as opposed to the people they’re watching on MTV.
Synthesizer is a huge part of the 80s sound, but I think you're missing the key elements of this song -- a sarcastic rejection of the 80s excess and an amazing guitar riff. At the time MTV was at it's height of influence, and there's books that have been written about how it influenced popular culture. Edit: Oh yeah, the f--- line didn't hold up at the time. It was edited out of the radio single. But as others have mentioned, he was playing the character of a deliveryman seeing what was being played on MTV at the time.
I think there was a lot of good music in the 80s. I remember listening to Talking Heads, The Police, Pretenders, King Crimson, U2., XTC, Oingo Boingo ..... the 90s is when it started going downhill
That’s Sting from the Police singing in the background. And the part where he sings, “I want my, I want my, I want my MTV,” is sang in the exact same line of notes and melody as most of the lyrics in the Police’s song, “Don’t Stand so Close to Me.”
My recollection (and understanding) was that when Knopfler asked for permission to use the chords and melody, Sting said that Dire Straits could use them, if Sting could sing on the track. This could be an "urban legend," but it was what I remember from when the song came out (and the obvious parroting of "Don't Stand So Close to Me").
@@seajaytea9340 according to Mark, he suggested it would be great to get Sting to sing the lines only for one of the crew to tell him that Sting was vacationing on the island of Montserrat where they were recording the album. They invited Sting over and he agreed, although apparently he wasn't overly impressed with the song. It must have made him a lot of money over the years because Mark gave him a co-writing credit for using his melody.
@@seajaytea9340 check out the performance of the song from the Music For Montserrat concert. Mark talks about it beforehand. It's a marvelously joyous performance with him, Sting and Eric Clapton plus Phil Collins on drums with the orchestra and choir bobbing away in the background.
You're missing meaning of the lyrics, at least early on. It's a story told from the point of view of a meathead who works at some appliance and electronics store conversing with his buddy there, admiring and mocking the rock stars on their color TV display area as it's tuned to MTV. So Knopfler reports this conversation, the one guy saying he should have learned to play guitar so he could get the girls and money these rock stars obtain, which he describes with envy, regret and some hostility toward the rock star on TV. The language is taken directly from the conversation Knopfler heard. By the way, that opening riff is considered one of the most iconic guitar riffs in rock history.
In 80's there's a great bands, just the mainstream music was crazy wired, between hard rock and metal but there's wery cool bands like Sonic Youth,Talking Heads, The Smiths, Blondie, The Cure,The Stone Roses Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, U2, Joy division/New Order, Pixies, The Police, R.E.M. ....
The 70's were a special time for music. The invention of the electric guitar and rock-and-roll weren't far in the past, and almost every American boy who saw girls going nuts over Elvis and the Beatles got the urge to learn guitar. With no video games and 3 TV channels that broadcast nothing but gameshows and soap operas during the day, they had time to practice, and some got damn good and some of them could write songs. I was born in '64, the year the Beatles came across the pond for the first time.
Syed, you should check out the live version of this song from the Music for Montserrat concert from the Royal Albert Hall. Mark explains how the song came about and performs it with Sting and Eric Clapton with Phil Collins on drums, with the orchestra and choir behind them jigging along loving every second as does the audience.
Syed, I agree exactly with your chronology of when music peaked. The sixties were revolutionary for music, and the possibilities, and openness to multiple styles, and rapid cultural change, provided fertile ground for fantastic records. In the latter half of the 70s, music generally became less innovative, and a slower pace of innovation, and I agree that the amount of classic music decreased. Of course any era has some great music, but some are more fertile than others.
The feeling of passion motivates us to do new things if we do them before, because there is always a motive that pushes us to discover everything unknown. This is a characteristic of young people, they may call it recklessness but I call it exploration. I also know when one of my colleagues discovered something new. I find inside me a great passion to try this thing, whether it is something simple or something complex, it may be new recipes, or a new way of designing computer programs
Yo, Syed! I just subscribed . . . been lurking and listening for a while now and have really enjoyed your choice of songs and your reactions to them . . . GREAT balance of emotional and analytical analysis IMO (This comment might read a little bit like "Your taste in music is impeccable . . . it exactly coincides with my own" but that's my story, and I'm stickin' to it!) Much respect!
I much prefer the '60s and '70s too, but I've grown to like more and more '80s stuff over the years: Paul Simon, Peter Gabriel, Kate Bush, the Blades, Prince, and so on. And Dire Straits are another big exception - don't forget that Telegraph Road, Sultans of Swing at Alchemy and Brothers in Arms are all '80s tunes too 😉
Oh and there was a ton of great underground punk in the '80s - grunge before grunge - but almost none of it charted 'til Nirvana brought the sound to the mainstream.
This did get huge airplay, and I don't recall the words being changed. Yep, they were quoting an overheard conversation, as Christy mentioned. I still love the vibe - as fresh now as it was then.
The video includes that verse. Mark stopped singing it soon after release when he learned how offensive it was, moreso in the US than the UK. Even as early as Live Aid just a few months later he'd started swapping it out for alternatives such as "Queenie", "Mother", "Mothertrucker" etc.
The appearance of MTV changed the game. Now it was not only the music quality itself that did it. It was also the quality of the video that made the hit. The eyes were listening along. I was a young man back then and was one of the only ones with access to MTV (in my own room). That made my home the meeting ground for all my mates and ensured that I was on the beat when knowing about all the new stuff. Mark Knopfler caught the gist of it and this entire number encircles the minds of the young teenagers at the time. The teenager that had to earn their ground money in the local store while addicted to the MTV cirkus, pondering what life would be as one of them popstars. Genesis laid the ground for the sound of the eighties. It went well with the concept of mainstream pop radios, but was hardly a highpoint in music history. The era, though, also laid ground for the birth of super mega stars like Michael Jackson, Prince, Madonna and George Michael.
I was born in 66 so grew up with music from the 50's onwards thanks to mum and dad. Dad and I were , I still am fans if Dire Straits. I can't say I hate any song but there are some I can go the rest of my life without hearing again, and I was until recently a studio recording fanatic but after finally giving in after 39 years I absolutely love the Alchemy Live concert and some of my all time favourite hits are in there and blew away the studio versions eg Sultans of Swing and Telegraph Road. They were and are to me anyway a 12/10 whilst the studio versions were 10/10. And of course Brothers in arms whether it's the studio or live version I don't really care which is played as it's such a brilliant song though the studio version is a bit better as it's clearer and has the video but never fails to bring tears to my eyes . Telegraph Rd is my ultimate favourite song of all time especially the Alchemy Live version as I grew up near a Telegram road myself watching it grow from a dirty muddy track which often flooded and it turned in to a major thoroughfare. A bit like the song but on a smaller scale. There's not too many telegraph Road's in Australia but I remember in 2007 I drove along two of them in one day, one was in Sydney Australia and the other is in Brisbane Australia 1000 KMs apart and the MP3 player was set to random. After driving for ten hours straight I had driven from telegraph Rd to telegraph Rd as I said 1000 KMs apart and when the line ( six lanes of traffic , three lanes moving slow) I looked out the window to the six lane highway I was on and could see I was actually stopped on top of a small stretch of telegraph Rd that had been blocked off for the Bruce highway to be built, telegraph Rd still runs on either side of highway with the missing section laying underneath the highway. But U couldn't get over the fact at that moment I was stopped in the three lanes moving slow at the same time the line was sung. Has been an eerie thing as I listen to dire straits all the time and the number of times I end up in that small stretch that matches the line in the song is amazing.
He wrote this song on the spot in a new york department store after hearing some New York delivery men talking about what they saw on the tvs. He actually used their words. He was singing from their perspective and the grudging respect they have for the musician grift. They're assuming they don't work hard. It's more a literal conversation He overheard and less about him feeling the same way. He was actually gaslighting the ignorance of the blue collar new yorkers. At least from his perspective. At least that what he says.
Your the first person I've heard Diss this song, back in 1986 my then brother in law used to introduce me to new music mainly reggae, Bob marley, ub40, aswad, black uhuru, steel pulse, then one day he said here's a tape by dire straits it's the biggest selling album so far, I only listened to the opening track so far away, then money for nothing, walk of life and that was it all the reggae stopped right there and then as I thought I'd stumbled on something completely insane 😮, bought all the albums and manged to see dire straits twice in 1991 and 1992, absolutely gutted when they disbanded in 95 but I have seen knopfler a further 13 times as a solo artist and this is still incredible when he plays it, in fact last time out in 2018 it was the best I'd heard 👴🏻 🎸 he's an ageing genius 🥺
In the very early days of MTV, the network ran an ad campaign on cable systems around the U.S. to drive adoption of MTV to the various cable systems. The ad campaign featured 'rock stars' of various stripes simply saying "I want my MTV!" one after the other in sort of a rapid fire presentation. The opening (and outro) of this song is a callback to that early ad campaign.
The 'I want my MTV' line was actually MTV's ad slogan, repeated ad infinitum by various rockers on in-house promos all day. So Sting had probably said it a thousand times before it was presented to him as a song lyric.
"I want my MTV" was the slogan of the network in the early days. And this is Knopfler playing a character, not his feelings. And I think the reason this was a hit was the video, which was one of the very first computer animated pieces.
Here in the US, in 2023 and when this was a new song, they used a radio edit without the verse referencing what the workers think of the sexuality of the musicians. You can't use that F word any more than you can use the other one, on broadcast radio or TV in the US.
Mate, the forest is over by all the trees. The song was a big hit on MTV, because the song is about MTV. It's sort of like getting the crowd to cheer, because you said the name of their city, in your song.
I think with the 80's you had all the people from the 60's and 70's settling down into family life and also the rise of yuppy culture. Lead to a more shallow kind of music with ultra high production (dads wanted to show off their new hifi, this was one of the first CDs to blow up and as you said so yourself the way the drums kick and overall clarity was a huge step up sonically from the what you could get from your old records, bear in mind that when you're listing to The Beatles and Led Zeppelin you're hearing remix done later for CDs). People gave up on free love and idealism for a more comfortable lifestyle and bought into consumerism the music reflected that. Like people say about MTV as a young persons thing (and it was) but Dire Striaghts and Geneis were all in their late 30's when they hit big in the charts. This is music to play a dinner parties and sing along to as you drive to your job as an lawer still thinking you're cool. Its funny because there's a rise in whats referred to as 'yaght rock' with millennials with them listening (unironically) to Steely Dan
I came of age in the 80s (born in 1972), and my own experience was that I had a hard time finding music that I liked. There was a ton of stuff my friends said I should like, but I just didn't. That is not to say I didn't find good music from the 80s, but it was hard to find or hard to defend; it was on the fringes, I think. I'll say that my musical tastes ran in two main timelines: From the 1980s I really liked music whose fans didn't always mix well--Iron Maiden, Pet Shop Boys, Tears for Fears, Judas Priest, Journey, U2 etc. The other stream came in when I was introduced to Pink Floyd's The Dark Side of the Moon via a neighbor, and my life changed; after that, to me, the well of great music seemed to be from the late 60s through the 70s--Pink Floyd, The Moody Blues, Yes, BTO, ELO, etc. I hear what you're saying after watching your reactions to this and Genesis' "I Can't Dance" (a song I don't personally like, although Genesis is one of my favorite bands). There were great songs in the 80s, though: "Holding Back the Years" by Simply Red, "One Thing Leads to Another" by The Fixx, "Something About You" by Level 42, "West End Girls" by the Pet Shop Boys, "Bullet the Blue Sky" by U2, and the list goes on. I hope others make the case that there is good music to be found in the 80s, and good bands that started in the 80s also. Still respect you, brother!
Including Knopfler who says he hates the lyrics and no longer sings them because of the negative connotation. So I guess you have to cancel him for cancelling himself?
Weird Al created a parody of this song with "Beverly Hillbillies" - which took the theme of the 1960's American sitcom and combined it with Money For Nothing.
this became the working man's song, when it came out. They were singing about things that most hard working guys were thinking at the time. The bands were making alot of cash, parting all the time and getting the woman, so yeah, this song was important at the time dude
Because a lot of things were ironed out too smoothly in the 80s - it had to fit for MTV - Public Enemy came in the second half with their lyrics, sampling for the first time, and the musical style collages/crossover, not my musical style, but PE were the pioneers for the Rap in general and bands like RageATM and Linkin' Park (dedicated an album to PE). I'm not a great advisor, but songs like Bring The Noise (featuring Anthrax), Fight The Power, Welcome To The Terrordrome, Black Steel In the Hour Of Chaos (played live with RageATM)... led into the 90's. After all, they had three million selling albums.
The F word was pretty much a direct hit at boy bands like Duran Duran. When the video version of this song was played on MTV, that word was censored. But Sting's intro was sampled in ads for MTV.
I agree, lots of 80s music was very commercial. As a teen then I preferred P.Floyd, Zep, Stones, Bowie... I think you'd like early Elton John, Goodby Yellow Brick Road or Madman Across the Water are 2 very fine albums. Mark Knopfler was main music collaborator on Dylan's Infidels album, played guitar on Blind Willie MçTell.. He was upset that Bob didn't include it on the album.
I would say the '70's were a high point, but the '80's had lots of phenomenal music, aside from the silly pop stuff. The '90's came back to more serious subject matter and more intense instrumentals. Then it died for me. This was one of the first really big albums that was produced for CD, and this song took advantage of the digital format and sounded astounding on a good system. The subject matter is very topical, and you can read comments below for the origins of the lyrics. We LOVED this song at that time, and it still holds up musically.
In that time, though you may have had cable, you didn't necessarily have MTV. You were urged, on commercials, to call your cable company and tell them "I want my MTV"
I think it’s just about what how hard the working class compared to how Rock stars work - “ get a blister on your little finger” while the working class has to move refrigerators.
As I'm sure you've picked up by now from all the comments, the song is not sung from his own perspective, but rather from the perspective of delivery men who think people like him get money for nothing. So the F-bomb is being directed at people like himself by others. Still wouldn't fly today, but it's not anywhere near as offensive or controversial of a lyric as it sounds at first. I strongly recommend checking out Romeo and Juliet by Dire Straits as well. Quite a bit different sounding than this, but it's a really beautiful song with great lyrics. Walk of Life is another of their hits that I think you'll maybe like more. It's super poppy, but to me it just is so obvious why it's a hit. So damn catchy and good. Though I think you'll appreciate Money For Nothing more as you hear it more as well. Regarding the quality of eras, yeah, a lot of it is personal taste, and I was too young to experience it first hand, but I've always felt the same regarding the 80s that there was definitely a major dip in great creative output. (especially in terms of film and music. Even 70s TV seemed to be putting more thought provoking stuff out there than the 80s and early 90s) Possibly because of the economy being so strong and times being relatively good in the West without major conflicts like the Vietnam War going on, and being pre-9/11. Happier times probably lead to less great art being made than times of great conflict. There's definitely some really good 80s bands out there though, and Dire Straits is one of them. I'd also strongly recommend checking out The Talking Heads. I see you haven't done much of them yet, and you're in for a treat when you do. I'd start with their first big hit: Psycho Killer. They're also one of the very few bands where I'd perhaps recommend you watch music videos or live performances when you listen to them, as their lead singer is absolutely one of a kind (almost in a Bowie kind of way) and you kind of need to see him in action to really get them.
I love the song, and it's hard to appreciate it without context, which its MTV video presented. Mark was actively biting the hand that feeds him--dissing MTV *on* MTV. Mark Knopfler wrote the song after overhearing workers at an appliance store reacting to a David Bowie video, in which he wore a tutu. It is told from the blue-collar worker's viewpoint, on having to bust his ass while watching some one getting money and women while getting at most a blister on his thumb. The speaker is the classic "unreliable narrator", who takes a point of view that the writer does not share, often to lampoon it, as this song does. The sound is intentionally pop, and is part of the MTV satire. Yeah, the lyric was an eye-opener in the 80s, for the rare few who actually listened to lyrics. I think that later they did dub in something less offensive for radio play. Here's the original music video, which was groundbreaking at the time, and in Heavy Rotation on MTV. It provides the context that I mentioned. Love your channel: ua-cam.com/video/wTP2RUD_cL0/v-deo.html
"I want my MTV" was famously MTV's catchphrase back in the 80s. The "little fa**ot" line reminds me of Bob Seger's Turn the Page, where Seger steps off the tour bus and into the small-town restaurant and the regulars are hostile and staring because of his long hair "is it woman, is it man." Only, in Money for Nothing the use of "fa**ot" isn't hostile toward the musician, rather it's one working class character mocking another for not seeing the big picture. Essentially: you think this pretty boy is a "fa**ot" because he's wearing make-up and an earring? Well turns out that "fa**ot" is a rockstar with piles of money and "chicks for free" while we're stuck here hauling appliances for a living.
It's always hilarious seeing younger people react to these lyrics. There is a major phenomenon in play right now where the younger generations are totally oblivious to how the progress they experience actually came to be. Part of it is their parents were against those changes to begin with. The notion of the song being about the belligerent, everyday workers attitude toward the artists simply isn't something they think about. We don't use that word because it was cancelled? No. It's looked at as unacceptable because of a long, slow evolution within the screwed up "people". The people's minds were changed mostly through the medium of art. And that's why so many people have a problem with people in the arts speaking their mind or producing social commentary. Syed is a smart guy and interpreted it ass backwards. There's a lesson to be learned there.
He's speaking in the voice of a big burly stock/product mover inside a major appliance store. The guy sees MTV playing on one of the TV screens and he's commenting and making fun of the chintzy 80s videos. This is supposedly based on an actual observation Mark made at a visit to one of these stores. And no, that word absolutely would not go over well today. He still sings the song in his solo concerts but replaces that word with another adjective far less offensive having nothing to do with sexuality at all.
The song is sung from the perspective of a blue collar, working class dude in the early 80s who’s complaining about how hard he has to work while these MTV “f-ots” (think Motley Crue or Boy George) making a fortune doing something that looks ridiculously easy. BTW, even though Mark Knopfler isn’t really a riff guitarist, this riff is often listed in the top 10.
Although the fills during the intro are from Terry Williams, all that remains of his contribution to the Brothers in Arms album before Mark Knopfler brought in Hakim to re-record all the drums because Williams didn't have the sound he wanted. Williams did rejoin the band and appears in the videos.
Mark Knopfler wrote it after overhearing delivery men in a New York department store complain about their jobs while watching MTV. He wrote the song in the store sitting at a kitchen display they had set up. Many of the lyrics were things they actually said.
Yes. I'm a little surprised he didn't realize these lyrics were not Knopfler's point of view but rather that of some rather bigoted working class guys he overheard. Of course this was a popular viewpoint of many people who watch pop stars getting rich while they have to bust their humps just to get by.
@@johnsilva9139lol "bigoted". Boy, sit down.
@@johnsilva9139the biggest mistake i see reactors making is assuming that every song is autobiographical. Even on songs that the performer didn't even write. Syed Doesn't fall into this trap often, though
Right, Knopfler is mocking the view of people who think that musicians don't work, but get more than they deserve.
yeah, what he said!
It's simpler than you think. It's a song about overheard delivery guys who worked for a home appliance and home electronics retail store, and he's quoting what those delivery guys were saying about the musicians and actors in the videos they were watching on MTV.
exactly. Told from the perspective of blue collar workers being jealous of how "easy" they believe the MTV generation had it.
Yea its pretty simple but interesting his take all these years later not understanding its about hard working delivery guys.
As opposed to hard working musicians.
Yeah, but he's obviously taking that conversation and tweking it to make a point.
I think the little f@ggot lines were referencing the Duran Duran lead singer. I remember reading that somewhere.
Just like "Sultans of Swing", this is a real story. Knopfler was in a department store, and two of the store clerks were watching MTV in the store, and this song is basically the conversation he overheard.
Knopfler wrote this after he saw department store employees making fun of videos on MTV that were on the TV screens. He's speaking in their voices. Great song, great satire.
Producer: Mark, are you sure you want to have such a long intro? You're building a lot of anticipation there. You're gonna need a bloody good riff, mate.
Mark: Not a problem.
The song is written from the perspective of a guy working at an appliance store talking to his co-worker and hes calling the long haired, 80s hair metal guys he seeing on the tv as “fa**ots” while talking about how easily they get girls and money and how easy their jobs are compared to his own.
This whole album is terrific.
A lot of the context is lost now, but this song was a very meta comment on MTV, which was the biggest thing in the music/entertainment world at the time. He's quoting blue collar workers commenting on how great life would be if they'd just learned to play a few chords and made it on to MTV (while putting down the performers) -- and at the same time the video of the song was a huge hit on MTV, which benefited from the satirical publicity. 'I want my MTV' was the network's slogan at the time.
Syed is missing context because he's never experienced walking into a kitchen or furniture store and trying to get a salesperson to pay attention to you while they are all standing around by the "TV wall" watching MTV.
This is from a conversation he overheard. Working men talking about the musicians on tv. And yes, the daft hair and the make up. It’s not Mark Knopfler’s opinion or anger. He just wrote a song from the perspective of some non-musicians, feeling a little jealous.
One of the first albums to be all digital, and you could tell that it sounded crisper even on cassette tape.
Personally, I think this is one of the best tracks in modern music. Everything about it is perfect, from the classic 80s synth intro, tight rhythm and powerful drums, fun ad libs, and brilliantly satirical lyrics. The song perfectly encapsulates the 1980s resentment of the average person (those feeling left behind by Reaganomics) for the wealthiest in society, be it in rock music, or yuppies on Wall Street.
Mark Knopfler's unique fingerpicking style, combined with the power of the double-humbucking pickups on the Les Paul, and a wah-pedal set half way for a uniquely "nasel", biting tone, is an amazing combination, and the riff is widely celebrated as one of the greatest of all time.
Even the music video was very iconic for its day, using digital animation in the 80s.
Brilliant lyrics :) "He's banging on the bongos like a chimpanzee." In the vein of Money and Have a Cigar.
There’s an important cultural key here: for a good while MTV was struggling to get onto cable services. So MTV started a campaign to get watchers to call their provider and shout “I want my MTV!” The way they got the message across was by using celebrity musicians of the time (who had been elevated by MTV) like Cyndi Lauper, Billy Idol and…Sting. The campaign worked beyond their wildest dreams, obviously.
He’s saying those guys on MTV, despite how they look, are laughing all the way to the bank while “we” are stuck here doing hard manual labor making little money.
Brilliantly put, to the point❤; it has probably gotten even worse to this day: the scissors widened even further.
I've been listening to this album version for a long time with many details.
I don't like the marching rhythm of this song, but it fits the lyrics, all in step towards the bank.
I’ve heard that Mark heard delivery workers talking to each other and he just lifted their conversation for this song
I’ve heard that Pearl Jam did the same thing for their Glorified G song
This was the first song played on the UK launch of MTV. The fact that Sting is on this is pure chance. He was on holiday where the band were recording this and Mark just asked him if he wanted to sing the line.
And had the idea because he wanted to use the tune from Sting's "Don't Stand So Close To Me" for those lines, which is why Sting gets a co-writing credit.
The lines about the musicians aren’t Mark’s feelings, but what he heard the workers saying.
Now go watch the video. You'll get it.
Non-musicians thinking musicians don't earn their way. "That's easy, I could do that. We have to work for a living."
Yep. That's the point of the song to me.
It's written from the perspective of a blue collar worker who is pissed off that the rock stars he sees on TV are pretty much getting paid and getting laid for not even working, while he's doing manual labor (moving refrigerators, installing kitchens) and probably getting paid peanuts.
Wasn't "I want my MTV" an advertising slogan at the time - encouraging people to get their cable service to carry MTV?
The problem in the 80s is that the big money and stadium shows took out creativity. Lots of bands were forced to put out songs they didn't necessarily want to do, but the record labels demanded at least one AM radio single and MTV video. The "hits" were contrived and heavily promoted on the radio and MTV. The better bands of the era hid their good music on the album, but the culture of listening to an album as a whole was undermined, mostly by the new format introduced on MTV. Creatives of the time called it formula rock. They had to produce singles that followed the format and it all started to sound the same.
"I Want My MTV" was one of the most successful ad campaigns in TV history. Different celebrities coaxed young people to call their cable outlet and demand that they ad MTV. to the specific cable line-up. And by 1986, they did.
the main reason this song was a huge hit was the video. it had some ground breaking computer animation that was mind blowing at the time.
I agree that the video was groundbreaking, and love the song in its own right.
The 80's were mainly about the video's.The video was a huge success thus making the song very popular.MTV was at it's peak,so that boosted the song to being so good.
My friend, I always appreciate your honesty! It’s rare to find insightful people like you.
I highly suggest the live version of this song that they did at Live Aid, where Sting is also present.
A lot more energetic and engaging!
I’m not a big Dire Straits but this song, for example, is a banger for me.
The guitar riff is one of my favs!
Best guitar intro - first video on MTV. Classic.😊
Small note - Terry Williams - the drummer from the Alchemy album, played the drums for the intro to this. Actually he played the drums for the entire album but Mark didn't like it so only kept the start of this one track and had the rest re recorded with a different drummer. I'd LOVE to hear those original recordings though!
dude. the best review and understanding of the times with your reaction. thank you
This song was Knopfler overhearing guys talking at an appliance store. These were their comments about actually having to work as opposed to the people they’re watching on MTV.
Synthesizer is a huge part of the 80s sound, but I think you're missing the key elements of this song -- a sarcastic rejection of the 80s excess and an amazing guitar riff. At the time MTV was at it's height of influence, and there's books that have been written about how it influenced popular culture.
Edit: Oh yeah, the f--- line didn't hold up at the time. It was edited out of the radio single. But as others have mentioned, he was playing the character of a deliveryman seeing what was being played on MTV at the time.
I think there was a lot of good music in the 80s. I remember listening to Talking Heads, The Police, Pretenders, King Crimson, U2., XTC, Oingo Boingo ..... the 90s is when it started going downhill
That’s Sting from the Police singing in the background. And the part where he sings, “I want my, I want my, I want my MTV,” is sang in the exact same line of notes and melody as most of the lyrics in the Police’s song, “Don’t Stand so Close to Me.”
My recollection (and understanding) was that when Knopfler asked for permission to use the chords and melody, Sting said that Dire Straits could use them, if Sting could sing on the track. This could be an "urban legend," but it was what I remember from when the song came out (and the obvious parroting of "Don't Stand So Close to Me").
@@seajaytea9340 according to Mark, he suggested it would be great to get Sting to sing the lines only for one of the crew to tell him that Sting was vacationing on the island of Montserrat where they were recording the album. They invited Sting over and he agreed, although apparently he wasn't overly impressed with the song. It must have made him a lot of money over the years because Mark gave him a co-writing credit for using his melody.
@@jjc5407 Cool. Do not know that. Thanks!
@@seajaytea9340 check out the performance of the song from the Music For Montserrat concert. Mark talks about it beforehand. It's a marvelously joyous performance with him, Sting and Eric Clapton plus Phil Collins on drums with the orchestra and choir bobbing away in the background.
The first song I remember hearing from them. Fell in love with their sound!
You're missing meaning of the lyrics, at least early on. It's a story told from the point of view of a meathead who works at some appliance and electronics store conversing with his buddy there, admiring and mocking the rock stars on their color TV display area as it's tuned to MTV. So Knopfler reports this conversation, the one guy saying he should have learned to play guitar so he could get the girls and money these rock stars obtain, which he describes with envy, regret and some hostility toward the rock star on TV. The language is taken directly from the conversation Knopfler heard. By the way, that opening riff is considered one of the most iconic guitar riffs in rock history.
In 80's there's a great bands, just the mainstream music was crazy wired, between hard rock and metal but there's wery cool bands like Sonic Youth,Talking Heads, The Smiths, Blondie, The Cure,The Stone Roses Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, U2, Joy division/New Order, Pixies, The Police, R.E.M. ....
Exactly, there was some truly great 80s music you just have to look for it. All the bands you named were great
The 70's were a special time for music. The invention of the electric guitar and rock-and-roll weren't far in the past, and almost every American boy who saw girls going nuts over Elvis and the Beatles got the urge to learn guitar. With no video games and 3 TV channels that broadcast nothing but gameshows and soap operas during the day, they had time to practice, and some got damn good and some of them could write songs. I was born in '64, the year the Beatles came across the pond for the first time.
Syed, you should check out the live version of this song from the Music for Montserrat concert from the Royal Albert Hall. Mark explains how the song came about and performs it with Sting and Eric Clapton with Phil Collins on drums, with the orchestra and choir behind them jigging along loving every second as does the audience.
During this time there were "commercials" with musicians/celebrities saying "I want my MTV".
Syed, I agree exactly with your chronology of when music peaked. The sixties were revolutionary for music, and the possibilities, and openness to multiple styles, and rapid cultural change, provided fertile ground for fantastic records. In the latter half of the 70s, music generally became less innovative, and a slower pace of innovation, and I agree that the amount of classic music decreased. Of course any era has some great music, but some are more fertile than others.
The feeling of passion motivates us to do new things if we do them before, because there is always a motive that pushes us to discover everything unknown.
This is a characteristic of young people, they may call it recklessness but I call it exploration.
I also know when one of my colleagues discovered something new.
I find inside me a great passion to try this thing, whether it is something simple or something complex, it may be new recipes, or a new way of designing computer programs
Yo, Syed! I just subscribed . . . been lurking and listening for a while now and have really enjoyed your choice of songs and your reactions to them . . . GREAT balance of emotional and analytical analysis IMO (This comment might read a little bit like "Your taste in music is impeccable . . . it exactly coincides with my own" but that's my story, and I'm stickin' to it!) Much respect!
one small detail "I want my MTV" was an ad campaign by the channel featuring different musicians saying that phrase over and over
I want my MTV was their slogan back in the day when they actually played music videos.
For once I totally agree with you! Went to see Mark play a couple years ago and he played this song, but left out Sultans of Swing. Ouch!
I much prefer the '60s and '70s too, but I've grown to like more and more '80s stuff over the years: Paul Simon, Peter Gabriel, Kate Bush, the Blades, Prince, and so on. And Dire Straits are another big exception - don't forget that Telegraph Road, Sultans of Swing at Alchemy and Brothers in Arms are all '80s tunes too 😉
Oh and there was a ton of great underground punk in the '80s - grunge before grunge - but almost none of it charted 'til Nirvana brought the sound to the mainstream.
Every decade is a mixed bag. If you only focus on the good then every decade can be said to be fantastic.
Terry Williams, now retired, really hit the drums hard. He was the drummer during the Alchemy Live concerts.
Except that his drumming was rejected during the recording sessions, and they brought in Omar Hakim to rerecord most of his parts.
Yeah the only contribution that remains from Williams is the fills during the intro which, it has to be said, are fantastic.
@@jjc5407 How much would you love to hear the original album recording with Terry doing it all? I guess it doesn't exist any more.
@@dopiaza2006 well we have the live performances from the subsequent tour with Terry so there is that.
This did get huge airplay, and I don't recall the words being changed. Yep, they were quoting an overheard conversation, as Christy mentioned. I still love the vibe - as fresh now as it was then.
The version mostly or only played on FM radio omitted the entire verse with the word fa**ot in it.
The video includes that verse. Mark stopped singing it soon after release when he learned how offensive it was, moreso in the US than the UK. Even as early as Live Aid just a few months later he'd started swapping it out for alternatives such as "Queenie", "Mother", "Mothertrucker" etc.
The appearance of MTV changed the game. Now it was not only the music quality itself that did it. It was also the quality of the video that made the hit. The eyes were listening along.
I was a young man back then and was one of the only ones with access to MTV (in my own room). That made my home the meeting ground for all my mates and ensured that I was on the beat when knowing about all the new stuff.
Mark Knopfler caught the gist of it and this entire number encircles the minds of the young teenagers at the time. The teenager that had to earn their ground money in the local store while addicted to the MTV cirkus, pondering what life would be as one of them popstars.
Genesis laid the ground for the sound of the eighties. It went well with the concept of mainstream pop radios, but was hardly a highpoint in music history. The era, though, also laid ground for the birth of super mega stars like Michael Jackson, Prince, Madonna and George Michael.
It would had been better to see the official video first. It was award-winning and elevates the entertainment value of the song.
“I want my MTV” was MTV’s biggest slogan.
I was born in 66 so grew up with music from the 50's onwards thanks to mum and dad. Dad and I were , I still am fans if Dire Straits. I can't say I hate any song but there are some I can go the rest of my life without hearing again, and I was until recently a studio recording fanatic but after finally giving in after 39 years I absolutely love the Alchemy Live concert and some of my all time favourite hits are in there and blew away the studio versions eg Sultans of Swing and Telegraph Road. They were and are to me anyway a 12/10 whilst the studio versions were 10/10. And of course Brothers in arms whether it's the studio or live version I don't really care which is played as it's such a brilliant song though the studio version is a bit better as it's clearer and has the video but never fails to bring tears to my eyes . Telegraph Rd is my ultimate favourite song of all time especially the Alchemy Live version as I grew up near a Telegram road myself watching it grow from a dirty muddy track which often flooded and it turned in to a major thoroughfare. A bit like the song but on a smaller scale. There's not too many telegraph Road's in Australia but I remember in 2007 I drove along two of them in one day, one was in Sydney Australia and the other is in Brisbane Australia 1000 KMs apart and the MP3 player was set to random. After driving for ten hours straight I had driven from telegraph Rd to telegraph Rd as I said 1000 KMs apart and when the line ( six lanes of traffic , three lanes moving slow) I looked out the window to the six lane highway I was on and could see I was actually stopped on top of a small stretch of telegraph Rd that had been blocked off for the Bruce highway to be built, telegraph Rd still runs on either side of highway with the missing section laying underneath the highway. But U couldn't get over the fact at that moment I was stopped in the three lanes moving slow at the same time the line was sung. Has been an eerie thing as I listen to dire straits all the time and the number of times I end up in that small stretch that matches the line in the song is amazing.
He wrote this song on the spot in a new york department store after hearing some New York delivery men talking about what they saw on the tvs. He actually used their words. He was singing from their perspective and the grudging respect they have for the musician grift. They're assuming they don't work hard. It's more a literal conversation He overheard and less about him feeling the same way. He was actually gaslighting the ignorance of the blue collar new yorkers. At least from his perspective. At least that what he says.
One of those tunes best seen with the original video, just like Peter Gabriel's 'Sledge Hammer'. Keep up your great introspections of these tunes.
Your the first person I've heard Diss this song, back in 1986 my then brother in law used to introduce me to new music mainly reggae, Bob marley, ub40, aswad, black uhuru, steel pulse, then one day he said here's a tape by dire straits it's the biggest selling album so far, I only listened to the opening track so far away, then money for nothing, walk of life and that was it all the reggae stopped right there and then as I thought I'd stumbled on something completely insane 😮, bought all the albums and manged to see dire straits twice in 1991 and 1992, absolutely gutted when they disbanded in 95 but I have seen knopfler a further 13 times as a solo artist and this is still incredible when he plays it, in fact last time out in 2018 it was the best I'd heard 👴🏻 🎸 he's an ageing genius 🥺
In the very early days of MTV, the network ran an ad campaign on cable systems around the U.S. to drive adoption of MTV to the various cable systems. The ad campaign featured 'rock stars' of various stripes simply saying "I want my MTV!" one after the other in sort of a rapid fire presentation. The opening (and outro) of this song is a callback to that early ad campaign.
and the "I Want My, I want My, I want my MTV" in the outro is sung to the same tune as a big police hit "Don't Stand So Close To Me"
The 'I want my MTV' line was actually MTV's ad slogan, repeated ad infinitum by various rockers on in-house promos all day. So Sting had probably said it a thousand times before it was presented to him as a song lyric.
"I want my MTV" was the slogan of the network in the early days. And this is Knopfler playing a character, not his feelings. And I think the reason this was a hit was the video, which was one of the very first computer animated pieces.
The live aid performance of this was absolutely amazing one of the best performances of the whole thing
The reason it was a hit, was because MTV played it over and over and over.... it was basically a huge promotion for MTV.
Here in the US, in 2023 and when this was a new song, they used a radio edit without the verse referencing what the workers think of the sexuality of the musicians. You can't use that F word any more than you can use the other one, on broadcast radio or TV in the US.
Mate, the forest is over by all the trees. The song was a big hit on MTV, because the song is about MTV. It's sort of like getting the crowd to cheer, because you said the name of their city, in your song.
Thankfully they do still play the original on many radio stations.
This was definitely on the radio all the time
I hadn't really listened to the lyrics of this song until now. They're fantastic...and funny!
I think with the 80's you had all the people from the 60's and 70's settling down into family life and also the rise of yuppy culture. Lead to a more shallow kind of music with ultra high production (dads wanted to show off their new hifi, this was one of the first CDs to blow up and as you said so yourself the way the drums kick and overall clarity was a huge step up sonically from the what you could get from your old records, bear in mind that when you're listing to The Beatles and Led Zeppelin you're hearing remix done later for CDs). People gave up on free love and idealism for a more comfortable lifestyle and bought into consumerism the music reflected that. Like people say about MTV as a young persons thing (and it was) but Dire Striaghts and Geneis were all in their late 30's when they hit big in the charts. This is music to play a dinner parties and sing along to as you drive to your job as an lawer still thinking you're cool. Its funny because there's a rise in whats referred to as 'yaght rock' with millennials with them listening (unironically) to Steely Dan
Telling a story as a working class guy watching videos playing while they are working. Laborers.
I came of age in the 80s (born in 1972), and my own experience was that I had a hard time finding music that I liked. There was a ton of stuff my friends said I should like, but I just didn't. That is not to say I didn't find good music from the 80s, but it was hard to find or hard to defend; it was on the fringes, I think. I'll say that my musical tastes ran in two main timelines: From the 1980s I really liked music whose fans didn't always mix well--Iron Maiden, Pet Shop Boys, Tears for Fears, Judas Priest, Journey, U2 etc. The other stream came in when I was introduced to Pink Floyd's The Dark Side of the Moon via a neighbor, and my life changed; after that, to me, the well of great music seemed to be from the late 60s through the 70s--Pink Floyd, The Moody Blues, Yes, BTO, ELO, etc.
I hear what you're saying after watching your reactions to this and Genesis' "I Can't Dance" (a song I don't personally like, although Genesis is one of my favorite bands). There were great songs in the 80s, though: "Holding Back the Years" by Simply Red, "One Thing Leads to Another" by The Fixx, "Something About You" by Level 42, "West End Girls" by the Pet Shop Boys, "Bullet the Blue Sky" by U2, and the list goes on. I hope others make the case that there is good music to be found in the 80s, and good bands that started in the 80s also. Still respect you, brother!
This intro is the 2nd best guitar intro in Rock and Roll. Smoke On The Water is number 1. 💥💥💥👍😎
Terry Williams drum fills and the way it builds to a crescendo put Money For Nothing at number 1 for me.
You might need the video for this one. Context is everything.
Video is awesome too :)
ps: 0% chance this song is released today - the Justice Warriors would try to 'cancel' Knofler's guitar .. lol
Including Knopfler who says he hates the lyrics and no longer sings them because of the negative connotation.
So I guess you have to cancel him for cancelling himself?
Weird Al created a parody of this song with "Beverly Hillbillies" - which took the theme of the 1960's American sitcom and combined it with Money For Nothing.
They actually do play this pretty regularly on Rock American radio
this became the working man's song, when it came out. They were singing about things that most hard working guys were thinking at the time. The bands were making alot of cash, parting all the time and getting the woman, so yeah, this song was important at the time dude
Because a lot of things were ironed out too smoothly in the 80s - it had to fit for MTV - Public Enemy came in the second half with their lyrics, sampling for the first time, and the musical style collages/crossover, not my musical style, but PE were the pioneers for the Rap in general and bands like RageATM and Linkin' Park (dedicated an album to PE).
I'm not a great advisor, but songs like Bring The Noise (featuring Anthrax), Fight The Power, Welcome To The Terrordrome, Black Steel In the Hour Of Chaos (played live with RageATM)... led into the 90's. After all, they had three million selling albums.
For the best 80s synth try Depeche Mode. Also Talking Heads is a must for good 80s stuff. You've already found the Smiths.
Are the Beatles reactions on hold for awhile or on a different platform? There were still two songs left in Hard Days Night. 😜
The F word was pretty much a direct hit at boy bands like Duran Duran. When the video version of this song was played on MTV, that word was censored. But Sting's intro was sampled in ads for MTV.
Watch the video version sometime and you'll understand the lyrics better.
I believe it was the fact that the industry was all cookie cutter, no individuality.
Iconic song & video of the 80s 👍
I agree, lots of 80s music was very commercial. As a teen then I preferred P.Floyd, Zep, Stones, Bowie...
I think you'd like early Elton John, Goodby Yellow Brick Road or Madman Across the Water are 2 very fine albums.
Mark Knopfler was main music collaborator on Dylan's Infidels album, played guitar on Blind Willie MçTell.. He was upset that Bob didn't include it on the album.
I totally agree with you about the 80`s, there are some great stuff but it didn`t get anywhere near the charts most of the time.
I would say the '70's were a high point, but the '80's had lots of phenomenal music, aside from the silly pop stuff. The '90's came back to more serious subject matter and more intense instrumentals. Then it died for me. This was one of the first really big albums that was produced for CD, and this song took advantage of the digital format and sounded astounding on a good system. The subject matter is very topical, and you can read comments below for the origins of the lyrics. We LOVED this song at that time, and it still holds up musically.
In that time, though you may have had cable, you didn't necessarily have MTV. You were urged, on commercials, to call your cable company and tell them "I want my MTV"
Cool riff
I think it’s just about what how hard the working class compared to how Rock stars work - “ get a blister on your little finger” while the working class has to move refrigerators.
As I'm sure you've picked up by now from all the comments, the song is not sung from his own perspective, but rather from the perspective of delivery men who think people like him get money for nothing. So the F-bomb is being directed at people like himself by others. Still wouldn't fly today, but it's not anywhere near as offensive or controversial of a lyric as it sounds at first.
I strongly recommend checking out Romeo and Juliet by Dire Straits as well. Quite a bit different sounding than this, but it's a really beautiful song with great lyrics. Walk of Life is another of their hits that I think you'll maybe like more. It's super poppy, but to me it just is so obvious why it's a hit. So damn catchy and good. Though I think you'll appreciate Money For Nothing more as you hear it more as well.
Regarding the quality of eras, yeah, a lot of it is personal taste, and I was too young to experience it first hand, but I've always felt the same regarding the 80s that there was definitely a major dip in great creative output. (especially in terms of film and music. Even 70s TV seemed to be putting more thought provoking stuff out there than the 80s and early 90s) Possibly because of the economy being so strong and times being relatively good in the West without major conflicts like the Vietnam War going on, and being pre-9/11. Happier times probably lead to less great art being made than times of great conflict.
There's definitely some really good 80s bands out there though, and Dire Straits is one of them. I'd also strongly recommend checking out The Talking Heads. I see you haven't done much of them yet, and you're in for a treat when you do. I'd start with their first big hit: Psycho Killer. They're also one of the very few bands where I'd perhaps recommend you watch music videos or live performances when you listen to them, as their lead singer is absolutely one of a kind (almost in a Bowie kind of way) and you kind of need to see him in action to really get them.
I love the song, and it's hard to appreciate it without context, which its MTV video presented. Mark was actively biting the hand that feeds him--dissing MTV *on* MTV. Mark Knopfler wrote the song after overhearing workers at an appliance store reacting to a David Bowie video, in which he wore a tutu. It is told from the blue-collar worker's viewpoint, on having to bust his ass while watching some one getting money and women while getting at most a blister on his thumb.
The speaker is the classic "unreliable narrator", who takes a point of view that the writer does not share, often to lampoon it, as this song does. The sound is intentionally pop, and is part of the MTV satire.
Yeah, the lyric was an eye-opener in the 80s, for the rare few who actually listened to lyrics. I think that later they did dub in something less offensive for radio play. Here's the original music video, which was groundbreaking at the time, and in Heavy Rotation on MTV. It provides the context that I mentioned. Love your channel:
ua-cam.com/video/wTP2RUD_cL0/v-deo.html
"I want my MTV" was famously MTV's catchphrase back in the 80s.
The "little fa**ot" line reminds me of Bob Seger's Turn the Page, where Seger steps off the tour bus and into the small-town restaurant and the regulars are hostile and staring because of his long hair "is it woman, is it man." Only, in Money for Nothing the use of "fa**ot" isn't hostile toward the musician, rather it's one working class character mocking another for not seeing the big picture. Essentially: you think this pretty boy is a "fa**ot" because he's wearing make-up and an earring? Well turns out that "fa**ot" is a rockstar with piles of money and "chicks for free" while we're stuck here hauling appliances for a living.
You don't know anything until you listen to Bon Scott.
This was first cd to sell a million copies.
This song is meant to be a "Direct Translation" of the working stiffs point of view regarding the "MTV" generation of musicians....
It's always hilarious seeing younger people react to these lyrics. There is a major phenomenon in play right now where the younger generations are totally oblivious to how the progress they experience actually came to be. Part of it is their parents were against those changes to begin with. The notion of the song being about the belligerent, everyday workers attitude toward the artists simply isn't something they think about. We don't use that word because it was cancelled? No. It's looked at as unacceptable because of a long, slow evolution within the screwed up "people". The people's minds were changed mostly through the medium of art.
And that's why so many people have a problem with people in the arts speaking their mind or producing social commentary.
Syed is a smart guy and interpreted it ass backwards. There's a lesson to be learned there.
He's speaking in the voice of a big burly stock/product mover inside a major appliance store. The guy sees MTV playing on one of the TV screens and he's commenting and making fun of the chintzy 80s videos. This is supposedly based on an actual observation Mark made at a visit to one of these stores. And no, that word absolutely would not go over well today. He still sings the song in his solo concerts but replaces that word with another adjective far less offensive having nothing to do with sexuality at all.
"The earing and the make-up" was a direct reference to Elton John.
The song is sung from the perspective of a blue collar, working class dude in the early 80s who’s complaining about how hard he has to work while these MTV “f-ots” (think Motley Crue or Boy George) making a fortune doing something that looks ridiculously easy. BTW, even though Mark Knopfler isn’t really a riff guitarist, this riff is often listed in the top 10.
If this song doesn’t get you off your ass and make you want to dance, nothing will.
During the time when MTV (MUSIC Television) actually showed music videos!
the great drummer Omar Hakim (also played on Sting's first solo album and on David Bowie's Let's Dance) rocks this entire album.
you should check out the album tracks -- often they were better and deeper than the hit singles were.
Why have I never this drummers name is lists of great drummers? He’s fantastic!
Although the fills during the intro are from Terry Williams, all that remains of his contribution to the Brothers in Arms album before Mark Knopfler brought in Hakim to re-record all the drums because Williams didn't have the sound he wanted. Williams did rejoin the band and appears in the videos.
Back in Black. Had the 80s sorted early.