Dissect DJs - The Buggles - Video Killed the Radio Star

Episode Date: August 4, 2022

80's Month has arrived! And we kick it off with the song that kicked off the 80's infatuation with music videos with The Buggles infamous classic - "Video Killed the Radio Star". Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Going on, it's 80s weeks. It's 80s month. Chew the sound bite. Cowabonga, baby. Because we are the DJs that like to spin it, mix it, throw it back, and dissect it. Tribute to the 80s starts right now. With this legendary track from 19... Oh shit, it's from 1979.

Well, that just ruined her whole... Yeah, but you didn't hear it until 1980, and everybody knows it as. You get the idea. Yeah, it didn't really pop off into the 80s. Fuck. We already ruined 80s month, Jessin. This is an 80s song. This is an 80s song.

We're going to push through. We're going to push through. Not the best start to 80s month, but we all know this as an 80s song. Because it took over MTV. Yeah, it kicked off MTV. That video that killed the radio star, meaning this is the first video that said, hey, videos are going to take over. Radio Star, radio DJs.

Beware, you're about to die. You're about to die out. They didn't really, but... Video basically... They made it from being the main source of... Yeah, because here comes video, and we're all going to want to watch a whole bunch of videos with their music. And that...

Question for you. Did you know before you looked, and I want to ask our audience, guys, who sings this song? Who was the artist? Go, three, two. Did you know? Do you know? Because I had no idea. Yeah, I literally didn't know until I looked up the lyrics and everything for this right now.

I'm not even sure how to pronounce it, but apparently... How are you doing it? The Buggles. I'm saying Buggles. Yeah, because you like to pronounce shit weird, so that makes sense. I'm saying it's the bugles. B-U-G-G-L-E-S. That feels like Buggles.

But you might actually be right, because Buggles sounds really stupid. Yeah. It is Video Killed the Radio Star by the... Buggles. Buggles. And I am DJ Castle. DJMC jigger to jag in the building And we are the

DJs Let's get into it It's 80s month I gotta be honest The singer of the bugles Is this this normal song Like do they have other songs That they possibly came out with

And is he always have the I can't even do the voice But you can know what I'm trying to say That kind of Yeah we just heard it And almost annoying In the background Kind of I have something in the back of my throat

Something in my nose I've been sick for about a week sound. Yeah, can you imagine how tired that would get after listening to like four songs? Yeah, or if he had to do that for concert and he's like, that's not his normal voice, he has to like force it. He's like, I can't even do it. There's a reason that this is one of the original one-hit wonders because, yeah, that would not sustain.

It did not sustain. But they did put out this one legendary track that very intense foresight, especially now knowing that they created this in 1979. Damn it, I hate that. Why couldn't you guys wait another like four months and then 80s month wouldn't already be fucked up? But it's okay. The idea that they knew it back then that, you know, hey, this video thing is coming. We talked about it last week when we did message in a bottle by staying in the police, how they had that video where they were basically just performing in the Montreal Expo's locker room,

how video at that point was not a thing. It was either just you had performances of people on stage. or them just like cramming into a locker room and singing it like nobody was really creating videos but we're watching the music video here and they're doing a whole elaborate production that at that time i don't think it'd ever been seen they got a girl that turns into an adult and then they put her in a clear pipe and now she's stuck in the pipe while some guys sings around yeah what is going on there while i guess you know i honestly don't know what this is in it's chaos but that's the point is they're actually doing a full-on like little production they're all dressed like scientists for

some reason. My man, Mr. Bugal or Buggle has... Bugal. I've looked it up. It's Buggle. He has like these crazy goggles on with like almost like a snorple thing coming off the side. I don't really know what the visual they're going for here. I got the lyrics. Did you get the lyrics right here? Let's get into it. I heard you on the wireless back in 52. Hold up. That is tracking way back. I mean that's like 30 years at this point. What was wireless at that point. I don't even know what wireless means. Now we hear wireless and we think of like a cell phone.

Yeah, but in 52 wireless, like, what was that? I guess that could possibly be like when you first started doing radio, but no, radio's been around before that. I know, but like maybe that was what they referred to. Back then, wireless referred to radio maybe. Because like you could actually have a radio that's not plugged in anything. That person's the name of the songs kind of ensuing that. Because back then having like batteries and something was probably like a dope feature.

Like, you don't even need to have this thing plugged into the wall. Okay. Got some batteries. on this bitch you win that one all right so then it goes lying awake intently turning on turning in on you i'm not going to do his voice the whole time because yeah it's a stupid stupid voice it's a dumb voice it's a stupid voice it's a stupid voice i guess it works for this one but it's it's a bugle voice all right no fuck with you lying awake intently tuning in on you okay so yeah it's a he's talking about the radio because he's tuning in if i was young it didn't stop you coming through

Oh! They took the credit for your second symphony. Rewritten by machine on new technology. And now I understand the problems you could see. He's getting deep there, and I hate that it, I'm not even fully following, but I feel like there's some actual deep poetry that's happening there. What do that mean to you? Do that makes any sense? No. They took credit for your second symphony.

Who is he talking to? I've never been a poetic. Like, you could tell me the deepest poetry. I'm like, what do you think? Does that mean to you? I'm like, I have no idea. Yeah, I'm going to figure it out. I'm going to figure it out. All right.

So he's talking to somebody. Okay, wireless back in 52. Sounds like maybe he's talking to an artist, right? Or a radio host, because he's intently tuning in on you, right? Yeah, old radio host. Mm-hmm. Art Leboe. But then he says they took credit for your second symphony, so maybe he's talking about a singer.

Rewritten by Machine and New Technology. Okay. He's talking about remixes. This is like early day remixes, which is something that you hate and you gripe about all the time on this very podcast about how you hate when they take an old song and they just rejigger it in a way and they just like add a little beat to it. Oh, they pit bullet? Yeah. Yeah, yeah. Exactly.

And now I understand the problems you could see. He's speaking to you right now, man. This is exactly what you're always talking about. Again, give it up for the buggles. They were way on top of it. Bugles. I'm going back and forth on it. I haven't decided yet.

I could look this up, but I don't want to. We're going to keep it going. All right. Well, you want to listen to what else? And then he says, wait. Okay. I met your children. Oh, oh, what did you tell him?

Video killed the radio star. So he's talking to somebody who was an artist back in 52, and now he knows their children. I actually almost want to look up with the deep stories on this. I think that would actually serve us well if we did that. Yeah. I think this is the one we shouldn't just go blind. and it'd be like, I don't know what you'd say.

I think we should. I think what's happening here is you got an old radio artist who is being told by somebody that's up and coming like, hey, I know you used to be cool, but now your kids are listening to are watching videos, and what you were is now no longer needed. Move along. Yeah, but it's also sad, and he's acknowledging that. He's like, now I see the problems that you could see. like he's understanding like man they took your voice they ripped it out and they like put some

technology on it and they're like that's music now that's what this is this guy is so this is crazy he's so ahead of the game it's too bad he sounds like a stupid sick robot because he's actually spitting fierce knowledge not only did he predict that video would kill a radio star which it's question well that's exactly what it did but he is calling the shot in 1979 before anybody was making music videos this is five years before Michael Jackson changed the game with Thriller, which I think was the first like full feature music video. He is saying that, you know, this whole technology taking old music and remixing it, that's going to be the future. And dude, nailed it.

Nailed it. Let's hear. I want to hear some more. Let it flow. I saw your children. Oh, we're oh. Let's let Buggles do it. Fuck you.

That keyboard guy with the silver jacket that is just. slaying it, not even like moving his head, but he's looking directly at camera. That's my dude. He has been getting it all video. I think you're right about the deepness of this song. He's really kind of speaking like, oh yeah, no, the world's about to change. So I wickied it, and I do have a little bit of an explanation on the video. A little more insight?

A little bit. So, yeah, I mean, we were right on with the previous. part about how he was speaking about the movement of music and how it's going towards more as it's referenced here is sort of like a machine technology of sorts where they're going to get more technological take old fashion music and kind of rework it and then kind of call it new music but also in the music video it starts with young girls sitting in front of a radio black and white and an old school radio era microphone and the radio blows up and then she's transported into the future.

That's why everybody's dressed all weird. That's why they're in like silver suits and they're in like space. Because for the longest time, for some reason, everybody always just thought the future was just going to be a bunch of people walking around like silver jumpsuits. Yeah. You know? Yeah, I remember that. And like spaceman and stuff.

Like I don't know where that started. I was actually looking forward. I'm glad they were not there yet. Because definitely this era they thought by 2022, that's what the world was going to be. Like fashion was just going to go out the window and they're just like, no, we all wear the same silver jumps. sense now though as far as well yeah so now she's like in the future and she's like what and that's why you said you saw her grown up yeah because now she's older and she's like oh my god what is all this and for some reason he's dressed like a scientist with like weird goggle glasses and that's

that's what the rest of the video says is that she was transported and then yeah it's pretty much it and then they just keep performing and the guy that is playing on the the keyboards never takes his eyes off the camera doesn't say that here i'm just noticing that Kind of props if you can no look to piano like that, you know? Like, he has... You can nail all the keys and he's... Can I give props to the background singers that are like, oh? Like throughout the whole song?

Have you noticed that? I think we should give them true props. Are you ready? Oh. Do you like that? Yes. Yeah. Let's let them do it.

I got to be honest. The revert makes you sound fucking fantastic. Yeah, it really helped. When you took it off, you sounded nowhere as good. It sounds like butthole. Which again makes me wonder how good. the boogles. I'm going with boogles.

Buggles. I switched up. I'm going boogles now. I'm going to Buggles. I'll go Buggles now. It's actually not the. It's just straight Buggles. No, I got the Buggles. I got the Buggles. I see also Buggles, just know the. Yeah, you're right. I'm saying the now too. I don't know.

It doesn't matter. They didn't count after this song. But this song is obviously a landmark song because of all the things we're talking about. I do want to give serious props 80s month shout out to Jeff Downs might be asking who is Jeff Downs No

because I love that guy No that is a Thank you for apologizing There was no need to do that twice No that was Trevor Horn He's the lead singer who's the guy with the glasses Or the goggles and Oh he's the one that's never mind

Yeah he's the guy that sounds like a He has like a third degree cold and he's maybe speaking through a computer. Yeah, that guy. He's a singer. I mean, we got to give him props to, I guess, because he put this together. You know, he wrote it and stuff. Did he write it? He wrote it?

The singer wrote it? Is that what it's saying? Because you never know. You've seen the other songs like Devereux went down to Georgia where it had like 14 writers. It says it was written by Trevor Horn, Bruce Woolley, and Jeff Downs, who again, I'm going to give our 8.000. to give our 80s month shout out to because he is the keyboard guy who is slaying in this video. Did you see

that fool was playing three keyboards at a time. And never took his eyes off. Always kept his eyes on the camera. This dude is doing it blind. It reminds me of, do you remember Bill and Ted's Eklund Adventure? Yes, of course I do. So when they brought Mozart to the future, or I guess the now at the time when the 80s, when that movie happened, another

great 80s treasure since we are in 80s month and Mozart just starts crushing it in the mall. He starts playing like five keyboards at the same time. Maybe it was just three. Jeff Downs, modern day Mozart. He was, oh no, you know what? It was Beethoven because they call him

Beethoven. Yeah. All right, you know you know what I'm saying. Yeah, definitely. Jeff Downs, absolute legend of the 80s, one of the best keyboarders that we've ever seen, and he helped write this track So we could go ahead and assume that maybe he was part of the Genesis that made such a genius written track that called the future. It really called their shot here.

And we did skip over a majority of the lyrics. So we should get into some of the other stuff he said while we're doing it. Hit me because I didn't look up shit. We can't rewind. We've gone too far. Pictures came and broke your heart. Remember, he's talking to some guy who was like a singer in the 50s or maybe even like. like a radio DJ, but I think it was like an original composer who has had his work just

completely twisted up sideways, torn up, shredded, and turned into some 80s synth bullshit. Put the blame on VCR. You are a radio star. And then, yeah, so he's really giving props to somebody for being the radio, the original, the OG radio star. And that's who this song is dedicated to. I can look up if it says that. But you say something now.

I got to be honest. The radio DJ must have been a very, you know, big, big person to be. Let's stress, especially in the 70s. I bet, you know, they had a lot of power as to who had artists and what songs got played at their specific radio stations. And, you know, it was their voice that was heard on the radio every night. And just, you know, it sounds like the radio star was a very big. big thing to be through the 70s, possibly 50s, 60s and through the 70s. And then when the 80s videos came, they must have saw it and be like, oh no.

Like, you know, they're losing, they lost their star quality. They're still good. They're still fine, but they're not nearly what they were the moment videos came out. So this must have been a big, like, they must have heard the song, but I'm not playing that shit. They're taking my fucking job away over here and fucking, I'm playing the stupid fucking songs. Although they might have played it and been like, yeah, right, and I got to lose my fucking job over videos.

and they might I went cocky with it. Who knows? But all I'm saying is, just in the general, the radio star must have been huge. Absolutely. And it actually just reminded me of, there's a documentary series that I love that's on Netflix, called Evolution of Hip Hop, that goes through all the different regions of the country and how they kind of built their hip-hop scene

and who they borrowed from, whatever you want to call it. And at the beginning, they're trying to figure out exactly who originally birthed hip-hop. and there was a radio disc jockey, I think maybe all the way back to like the 60s. He was the first one who kind of spoke in sort of a rap way, but they said you can't give him credit for starting rap because he hated it because of exactly what you're saying. He didn't like that they kind of bit his style and they turned it into music,

but he kind of talked in a flow and he was kind of like, he was one of the original guys who was like, oh yeah, Saturday. days, this is going down, playing this with funky sound. And, you know, like, he, he kind of talked like that. But at the time, Rapp didn't exist. And they started kind of using a style. But because of that, he always despised the evolution of hip-hop. So you can't really credit him with that. But it goes back to this whole thing where, like, radio disc jockeys had all the power of music for the longest time. I mean, you go back to, like, the early ages of entertainment, and it was all built around the radio. Franklin Delano Roosevelt.

He used to do fireside chats. The whole country would sit around the radio and just listen to him speak. That was how they got the word out back then. You know what I mean? So the radio had all the power. Wasn't the Gettysburg Address set over the radio? No, that was a stupid thing to say. So, but yeah, the radio had all the power.

And I think it started to sort of shift in the 70s as they sort of figured out new mediums to, you know, get the music out there. Obviously, records were a huge play in that. That's right. There was that time that the entire family sat around and listened to the entire Constitution that was red. That was also really stupid, but I think the point that I want to steal from that is there was a time when actually that was just how families entertained themselves or they all just sit around the radio. Can you imagine how fucking boring that would be? Like, where do you look? Where do you go?

I never liked it when somebody's like, hey, I got this new album. Let's all sit around and listen to it. And you all just sit there and vibe to it. And you're just like, huh, okay. With that said, I forever love League of their own

where they're being a little loud in the kitchen and the mom just yells, quiet, Kit. Your father's listening to the radio. It's like, what? Shut up.

That's how it was back of the day. That reminds me, everybody check out the three things we've got to talk about podcasts with its newest episode, A League of Their Own, featuring yours truly and DJ Jagg.

Oh, yeah. And her homie. Jayway J-Way J-Malabuyak. Avoid the clap, Jimmy Dugan. It's good advice. Anyways, back to it. Yes, radio stars, we're the shit.

This song was way ahead of its time as far as the lyrics. However, the lyrics to it and the, oh, what, oh, kind of bring it down, and also the bugles, bugles, never came out with another track. So if I'm going to give them

the snaps and claps to myself, I'm going to go ahead and give them the it gets three, three claps. two snaps. It slabs, damn it. It hits ahead of its time. I love it from the wedding singer.

I remember it in the wedding singer. I remember it from wedding singer. And it's, uh, it just, you know, it was the, it broke, it was MTV's first video and MTV was, you know, it almost helped me, uh, develop as far as, uh, how, you know, music really and, uh, culturally, MTV was it until it turned into fucking ridiculousness, which is all it is now, which is kind of crazy that it's developed and does. Literally one show. Have you noticed that already?

It's literally just ridiculous. Ridiculousness on repeat. On the entire show. I mean, I haven't watched MTV. I tuned out when they all became like a bunch of 16 and pregnant shows. That's what it is.

And then that's weekends. And then during the week, it's literally 12, 24 hours of ridiculousness. Damn. Shout out to Rob Deerick. Way to take over the whole. Real talk. Nice contract there, dude.

Yeah. But what are you giving it, man? What are your claps and snaps? Oh my God, it slaps and snaps. And for those who are just, listening for the first time. Every song has to be rated

through our slaps and snap system out of five and for radio killed the video. I forgot to add on mine. Could I add on my real quick? Yeah, because I just fucked up the name of the song. I haven't done that in a while. You've been calling them to Google's out. No, what you got? Slaps and snaps.

Hit him. So that was that was two confident slaps. A third one because I was like, you know what, the genius of this song and how they predicted exactly what was happening and it's an impact on pop culture and society deserves another slap. Then I was like, damn, they not only nailed the shift of music and remixing past stuff, but they also predicted that video was going to become a dominant force in music, which I think it still is today, but especially in the 80s and then especially in the 90s when basically MTV was like the hottest channel in all the land. So for that it gets another snap.

And then I did not want to go, oh, oh, because I think that sounds stupid. So I reversed it, and that was where you got the, I don't even remember where I did it now. The reverb sounds dope, though.

I also got to say one more thing, because I looked it up, and I don't know if this is who, I was speaking earlier about how it feels like, he's dedicating this song to somebody who, uh, you know, he's respected from back in the day going back to the radio on 52. It's Art Leboe. He's talking about Art Leboe. Isn't Art Leboe like still Yeah? I don't think he's been around since 1952. I guess he has. Apparently Han Zimmer makes an appearance in this video. He's like walking through the background. So possibly there's a

little hint that maybe he's the guy who he's like crediting with like his... Han who? Hans Zimmer. Who fuck is that? Who's like an epic composer who's, who's, done a lot of work on making scores for films and everything. I think he actually had like a run kind of created in his own music. But he's like a symphony guy. So I think that maybe that's who's being references. Dude, just look it up. Google it.

All right. I'm so him a symphony, bro. You don't know shit about symphonies, man. I'm symphony the shit. All that matters is that we kicked off 80s month with a bangor song from the 70s. Next!