Even before MTV finally reached San Francisco on Viacom Cable in 1982, I was already excited about music videos. I would religiously tune into a music video program on Viacom Cable channel 6 called "The California Music Channel" that started up around 1981. Interestingly, after some cursory Googling, I learned that it's still around today!!
One music video they played that I really dug was Skateaway from the Dire Straits. The song is about a girl who skates through the streets and life freely and exuberantly - unconcerned about anything else in the world except the music that's the soundtrack of her life. Needless to say, I was fascinated with the girl. To me, her movements, enhanced with the slow motion effects, were a expression of freedom and beauty that belonged to no one but herself.
The skater was Jay Curley/Jayzik Azikiwe, who later became a famous Dub poet and just recently passed away last February in Gambia. She had lived there for some time and was a well known benefactor of childrens' schools and artists.
Of course the song itself is great. Mark Knopfler's distinctive, jazzy guitar twang sounds as great as ever and evokes the perfect mood along with his Dylan-esque style vocals.
Dire Straits - "Skateaway"(1980)
1 comment:
Jay was my daughter who did the video when she was 21 she died Jan31.1.08 not February. She had a smile for everyone she was also in Soul to soul back to life back to eternity. sadly missed RIP Jayzik
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