Forgotten Classic Video of the Week

You may think that I'm posting a Michael Jackson vid this week in honor of our dearly departed King of Pop, but that's not the case. I posted several of his videos last week and hadn't planned on sharing any more, until I saw the one for "Liberian Girl" on a VH-1 Classic MJ marathon.

I'd never even heard this song (a track from Bad, which I didn't own), so I certainly had no idea there was a video for it. Evidently, the video was just an excuse for Michael to show everyone how many famous friends he had, because nothing really happens and the song essentially becomes background noise while all of the assembled celebs chit chat.

My roommates and I were rather amused by the vid, and had fun naming all of the stars. But then (around the 1:25 mark) I asked, "Hey, is that Olivia Newton Joooo.....JOHN! IT'S JOHN TRAVOLTA!!!" (Insert mad 13-year-old style squealing.) I was right on both counts. ONJ and JT are together in this vid, and John looks GLORIOUS. Ah, those were the hair days of his life. And this was in 1987, when he really wasn't doing anything. Right in between the shame of Perfect and the ridunkulousness of The Experts. It was a time in which everyone had forgotten that he existed. Everyone except ME, of course. Oh, and I guess Michael Jackson. Which makes Jacko even cooler in my book now.



By the way, John also shows up at 2:31, and again, briefly, right around the 3:15 mark. Right before Dan Aykroyd rolls in with Steve Guttenberg. GUTTENBERG. And here's where I get angry at the injustice of Hollywood. John Travolta's career died (for the first time) after he did the stupid '80s gym movie (in which he looked incredibly hot, by the way), yet Guttenberg was a huge star in '87, thrilling audiences in the 4th Police Academy installment. And let's not forget that other movie, you know the one. How did Chili Palmer describe it? The one where three grown-up guys get left with a baby, and so they act like three grown-up assholes, acting all cute.

Sure, 3 Men and a Baby might have been marginally better plot-wise than Perfect, but I still can't believe that the majority of the public would rather watch Steve Guttenberg change a diaper than John Travolta do some squat thrusts. I just don't understand people, I guess.

Comments

Malcolm said…
Cool find! That was the power of MJ because not many other people would be able to pull together that collection of stars. The appearance of Beverly Johnson near the beginning was a pleasant surprise. With all of the NBC stars at the time who showed up, I was expecting an appearance by Marla Gibbs, Don and Philip Michael, and The Golden Girls.
J.J. in L.A. said…
Living here sucks at the moment. I haven't even watched the news. It's all MJ, all the time. And his dad's a f*cking psycho.

Maybe if I was a fan...
I'm glad I am not the only one who thinks of the past chronologically by hair. Only in my case, of course, it's Thom's hair.
Red said…
I'm realizing I must be a bigger MJ fan than I initially thought, as I know all these MJ songs people have never heard before.
leslie said…
can't view the MJ vid - was it pulled or is it a problem at my end?
Johnny Gruber said…
Sorry I'm late to the party here....but...I ALMOST forgot about this. Thanks for posting Becky.

Now here is the jam of all jams performed by The Jacksons (not written by them).

BLAME IT ON THE BOOGIE:

http://vodpod.com/watch/1649874-the-jacksons-blame-it-on-the-boogie