“Steve M” left a comment at JasonHare.com two weeks ago that mentioned Daryl Hall & John Oates’s video for 1973’s “She’s Gone,” one of their first big hits and still a great song. I use the term “video” loosely, however, because videos from the ’70s don’t look anything like videos from the ’80s, after the creation of MTV made everyone try a lot harder.

I found it impossible to turn away from the “She’s Gone” video, and that’s saying something, because most videos or movie trailers that I see on YouTube, even the ones that bring back memories of my childhood, can only hold my attention for about a minute. I just don’t like watching videos on my computer. Then again, I sit at an uncomfortable desk at home. And I don’t have Wi-Fi, so don’t say, “Move to the couch, fool.”

“She’s Gone” really is something else. We see an eyebrow-free Daryl Hall in his androgynous “Ziggy Stardust impersonator” phase, practically nodding off during his close-ups (because he’s also a heroin addict impersonator) and not even bothering to lip-synch some of his lines. We also see John Oates in a sleeveless tuxedo shirt; by the end of the video he’s put the penguin in “penguin suit.”

I love how the duo seem to be on the set of a public-access “community views”-type talk show. This week’s topic: “Abandoned luncheonettes: Should we earmark them for historical preservation or blow them up real good in lieu of a Fourth of July fireworks display?” (Next week’s topic: “Adult education: Oh yeah! Oh yeah!“) The appearance of Hall & Oates’s very special unholy guest makes you realize they are in on the joke, but I’m not sure if I laughed for the right reasons. See for yourself …

This entry was posted on Tuesday, August 21st, 2007 at 1:56 pm and is filed under Popdose. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.