I think the drum and synth in the very beginning are massively underrated. They add a feeling of mystique and anticipation that makes the legendary guitar riff so good. Without the first 30 seconds the guitar riff wouldn’t hit as hard, so underrated if you ask me.
In every riffs of every band I have ever heard from Dimebag Darrell (Pantera), Brian May (Queen), James Hetfield (Metallica), Kurt Cobain (Nirvana), Jerry Cantrell (Alice In Chains) and etc. This still hits something, it hits like an ice that is chilling.
Damn, Knopfler is a genius with the guitar and making lyrics. He turned a normal conversation in a appliance store into a whole song. He's a musical genius.
@@HendrixTheBunny knopfler made the song from a conversation in an appliance store between two blue collar workers moving around boxes full of appliances, they were watching a wall of colored tv's tuned to MTV and talking about how the rockstars were making money for nothing, the guys in the store were comparing the money they get from the hard labor they do in comparison with the rockstars easily making money from just playing the guitar. That's why in the song he uses the lyrics, "I should've learned to play the guitar, I should've learned to play them drums." That's what the guys in the store were saying. They also say "maybe get a blister on your little finger" implying that it's nothing compared to the injuries they could potentially get working blue collar. Overall all the guys are doing is just making fun of the people who make music because they think that they make money for nothing by doing something as simple as strumming a guitar, but those guys are doing back breaking work moving around appliances making not as much money, and Knopfler decided to turn it into a song.
I came here from Professor of Rock's channel too. We quoted lines from this song a lot back in the day. Weird Al's Beverly Hillbillies parody from the movie UHF is also pretty sweet.
It was based on banjo riffing believe it or not. Mark always preferred finger picking. Add the overdrive you get one of the most iconic guitar riffs ever recorded.
@@nickb3809 As clever as the video is, I would think that once MTV started airing Michael Jackson videos, he got immense air play. I don’t know the whole story, but there was some controversy over why black artists were not being played on MTV. It might be that Michael was the first to break the color barrier. Without question, the big three of music videos in the 1980’s were Michael Jackson, Phil Collins and Madonna.
Most dads do tbh. Middle aged and older folks come from a generation where music was more appreciated. Because people had to pay for it and wait in line to get the latest albums. Concerts were affordable for everyone to go to. The 60s-80s were a very powerful transitional period for music. It helped the hippie movement and might have gone so far as to contributing to the end of the vietnam war. Radio stations were better back then too. And celebrities were wild and always trying to compete to stay relevant. Snorting ants, destroying hotel rooms etc. So music was a much bigger thing back then. These days it's all available on RUclips and Spotify. No need to pay and wait for it so it gets taken for granted by this generation.
it was release in 1985, which is a number that if rounded to the nearest 0 would round to 1990, meaning that its closer to the 1990s then it is to 1980 meaning its not early 1980s animation its mid 1980s which makes all the world of difference. They would not have been able to do this back in 1980@@lewis7515
No it wasn't. It was just what was possible a the time. How do you want to be ahead of a technology if it's not advanced enough ? It's like saying that you're going 50m/h with a car that cannot exceed 30
@@Folker46590 It does... like most songs that get significant airplay on radio, certain words are censored. And I've heard multiple versions of a radio edit for this song. On top of that he often substituted the word for something less vulgar when performing it live.
@@Folker46590 Perhaps they're just exercising common sense? I think it's quite well known the song was based on an actual conversation Knopfler overheard, where these warehouse guys were taking the piss out of musicians. The song depicts homophobia (and probably racism) which is, of course, not the same as being guilty of those things. Depictions of murder are habitually uncensored in western art and entertainment - why should depictions of discriminatory speech - a far less grievous act - be censored?
This video was every bit as revolutionary as "Take On Me" was. Both are quality works of art that were technological marvels at the time. Watching them (on actual MTV) made our jaws drop.
Steven Barron Directed both. He also directed Billie Jean by Michael Jackson. He was worked as a VFX camera operator (on Superman and for Jim Henson)...why he was good at directing VFX/animation videos.
Fun fact: this music video was mentioned in a textbook when I was studying graphic engineering at college, because it's an early use of 3D graphics, especially for characters.
This is one of my father’s favorite songs. Approximately 8-9 years ago we were sitting in balcony and my father was telling how songs were amazing in his youth, and he started the humming this song but he couldn’t remember the name of it, because he didn’t know English. The only thing he remembers about this song was the music, rhythm and the atmosphere where he first listened this. We started the search the song in all over RUclips by typing something like these “dire straits songs” and we finally find it. I still remember the face of my father when we find it :))
My dad showed me this song.. He's from 1970. I love my dad for showing me how music the atmosphere, and music was back in that day, I always listen to this song and I always think of him everytime. It's like when you're young, your father shows you this song, so you just bump it with him, and then when you get older, you really realize what a gem this song really is. Then everytime you listen to this song on your own, you can only imagine the moment your father and you used to jam to it... Incredible.
@@man_in_space Synchronicity means "the simultaneous occurrence of events which appear significantly related but have no discernible causal connection." for example: when you notice something happing over and over again when it doesn't relate; like 10 people who you you know never met each other doing the same thing, while serendipity means "the occurrence and development of events by chance in a happy or beneficial way.". so in this situation I believe serendipity is the correct word. I don't mean to prove you wrong or embarrass you, I just don't want others to embarrass themselves by taking what you said and using it only to end up being wrong. may I suggest just double checking before posting something as I fact? (I really don't mean to be a dick even though I sound like it, we're all brothers in the end. all of my definitions are according to the Oxford Dictionary)
The intro...it was fascinating as a child. And then it kicks in. Great memories loving this song as much as my parents. The music video was the icing on the cake. Superb.
@@leonardsalinas2002 The first video isn't epitomizing the Golden era. It's starting the movement. Not the same - if you wanna be pedantic about musicology, be very very much more specific than that.
I don't know if it's the build' up before the riff, the riff itself or the combination of both what sends chills to my spine every freakin' time I start hearing this masterpiece
you can play the riff by itself and its still badass, but that long winded and spacey intro just kicks it into overdrive when it drops off and just the guitar is playing. perfect execution
I'm feeling the same thing--such a brilliant intro, and of course the riff throughout. Goosebumps! Suddenly I'm zoomed back to my youth in mid-80s! (I also forgot how much Sting contributed to the vocals, even discounting the beginning "I want my" part.)
Sting's ethereal vocals, the long sustained synth chords, the thudding drum fills. All build to the epic guitar riff with just the right amount of dirty delay and distortion. Then it all comes back into an awesome groove for the rest of the song. Sublime, simply sublime!!!
I hear you. Look at the 'TV' at 1:31 (That's about how they look, in reality, 40 years later.) Unlike our parents' & grandparents' console TV with the wooden cabinet that sat on the living room floor!
@katiecurbow7086 I remember when a co-worker showed me a picture of his family that had been digitized and could be displayed on an MDA monochrome screen. I think it was sometime in '87. That was the first time I'd ever seen a face represented by anything other than real photos, or those pics people used to manually create using a keyboard or typewriter. LoL.
This band always makes me think of going to work with my dad. He always jammed out to this. He passed In 2012 but when I'm having a rough day , I go through my dad's playlist and it puts an endless smile on my face.
I used to work in an appliance repair shop when I first left school, this song came on the radio in the workshop, we all stopped working and started dancing, even our boss came out of the office and started grooving with us. Happy memories :)
I was 14 and singing along to this song when it came on MTV in the summer of '85 --- my Mom wasn't happy with the "look at that mama stickin' it in the camera, mmm I'd like to have some"
Exactly. Im 44 and how Bill Burr explained on how we used that word ( which i cant type because im sure youtube will censor me)hits the nail on the head.
@@darrellid Unfortunately there are people who can't understand that using a word doesn't mean endorsing it and that the song is making fun of the guys grumbling about rock stars on TV. (And remember, the little ****** has his own jet airplane!)
When I was a kid my dad used to deliver Chinese food on weekends as a 2nd job. Sometimes he would take me with him for part of his shift, He would always have his CD's playing in the car with his favorites, U2, The Eagles, Cream, Zeppelin, and of course Dire Straits. This was always one of his favorites and this song always reminds me of those childhood memories with my dad just driving along singing together.
I'd be honored if some Mark Knopfler & Sting fans would take a quick listen to my acoustic piano & vocal performances of ON EVERY STREET and ENGLISHMAN IN NEW YORK on my YT channel in tribute to these 2 songwriting geniuses from the North of England. Live acoustic with no autotune or digital editing. Thanks and RESPECT to the legends.
Yeah M in Mtv stand for Music Tv where only music should be. Its happend same way Tvn stand for TvNorway where alot of norwegian show been but now its only full of american show on it -_-
My dad played Dire Straits for me, when i was young. Now im 30 and he's 74. Some times when i visit them, i have my bt speaker with me. I hit play and turn it up. He starts rocking his head and feet while smiling.. Just looking at him. Feeling the atmosphere.. Too see his joy and love for this is.. 🙏❤
My dad was a fan of Dire Straits. He always played their music on his computer, sometimes as background music whenever there was a big family gathering, and we were playing board games. He passed away back in April, and I'll be grateful to know Dire Straits because of him.
Way back when I was a kid in the mid '80s, I said that this song and this group was ahead of its time. Fast forward to 2022 and this song is still withstanding the test of time. Incredible.
@Andrzej Jasinski Very nice cover, Andrzej! You have captured the spirit of the song. Check out my newest original: ruclips.net/video/fvqTcDarByw/видео.html
Well... Aside from that part of the song, that basically involves a derogatory slur for gay people at 1:49. That part has probably aged worse than the early 3D animation in the music video.
@@retrogamelover2012 If you wanna be PC then the phrase "chicks for free" isn't exactly respectful either, but frankly judging the past based on what goes today is silly at best.
I'm just a humble drummer so I probably won't describe the riff right. But to me it's like he is playing a live electric wire and every now and then it's sheer power begins to escape until Mark nips it in the bud and brings it back under his control, and then starts playing with it again.
The guitar riffs, the CGI and the vocals are all undeniably epic, phenomenal. And speaking of vocals don't forget that Sting was along for the ride! "I want my, I want my, I want my MTV!!!🤟🏽🎸🎶🥁🎙
I will always remember, after first discovering RUclips, I was 11 at the time. probably around 2007. My younger brothers and I was showing my dad this website called “RUclips” where you could watch videos of anything online. We were asking him what he wanted to see. Trying hard to impress him with this new website. He told us to look up this song, we all just sat there in amazement from the beginning guitar riff and we were hooked. Just had the aux. speakers cranked on the Gateway desktop in the living room. Loved this song ever since, great memories.
I went to renovate my kitchen earlier this year and I promptly told the tradesperson: "We gotta install microwave ovens, custom kitchen deliveries." His response: "That aint workin', that's the way you do it". He got the job ✌
The old MTV and VH1 died long ago. I loved this and you have to crank it up. Those were the days and the music was rockin and cruisin in the car. Glorius!!!!!!
It's not really the way you make it out to be. Sting used to come to Montserrat to go windsurfing," recalled John Illsley, "and he came up for supper at the studio. We played him 'Money for Nothing' and he turned round and said, 'You've done it this time, you bastards.' Mark said if he thought it was so good, why didn't he go and add something to it. He did his bit there and then." He contributed the "I want my MTV" line, which followed the melody from his song "Don't Stand So Close to Me".
The part at the beginning when Knopfler shreds out that kickass guitar solo, with no drums or anything, will always be my favorite part of this music video. Don’t forget about the flawless drum improv that opens the song, that’s awesome too!
@@alistairnaidoo9380 yeah, they got a new drummer for Brothers in Arms, but the drum solo at the beginning of Money For Nothing was done by the old drummer before.
If today's kids saw these animations... they would probably just laugh... but we don't… because we know that those were the beginnings of everything.. 😎🥲 Love the 80s❤
The satire of that joke infiltrates and executes so flawlessly because it carries over not only from the lyrics but the instrumental composition as well. I know the intro and verse guitar riffs and bass parts, and they are as sloppy chops and stiff hips as it comes. The biggest and worst part of the punchline though is that it literally predicted the direction society was heading (Idiocracy anyone?) and that all that matters with the institution of MTV was that you look good for the cameras, not necessarily paired with having talent, and the institution of software like auto tune killing the presence of actual talent even more, because it may not look good on camera no matter how good it sounds...
I just imagine the poor working stiffs who inspired this hearing it for the first time on the radio and realizing that Mark just made another million or ten off them complaining. What went through their heads when they knew what was happening?
Trivia: At 1:15, when the character turns his head to the right, you can see a polygon sorting error causing the character's features to draw in reverse order. His eyes, beard, and cigar become visible through his head.
@@spitfire84 yeah it’s trivia not an actual criticism. Surely they could have fixed it if they gave it more time. However there’s absolutely no reason to as I would bet this minuscule error was unnoticed by 99.9999999999999 percent of the population until like the past 20 years.
watched the pop-up-video on vh-1 and yet another bit of trivia came fourth: the system software used for the original video crashed and then failed! all the data was lost and the designers redid the entire video as shown here! (huh, i guess they lucked out the second time around)
The animation company who worked on this music video is the same one who later created the Saturday morning cartoon series "Reboot". In one episode, "Enzo's Birthday" (not the actual episode title), the moving men Sol and Harv make a cameo, where they are booed on stage before having a sandbag dropped on top of them. It was the show's creators way of stating they hated the 2 characters and worked so hard to avoid typecasting their work.
The voice backing Mark Knopfler is Sting, giving a helping hand on Knopfler's singing as he was just verbalizing lyrics. Sting provided the iconic backing vocals while asking for no credit. Absolute gentleman! LE: Apparently Sting got songwriting credits. Article on Wikipedia says: The songwriting credits are shared between Mark Knopfler and Sting. Sting has stated that his only compositional contribution was the "I want my MTV" line, which followed the melody from his song "Don't Stand So Close to Me". "Sting used to come to Montserrat to go windsurfing," recalled John Illsley, "and he came up for supper at the studio. We played him 'Money for Nothing' and he turned round and said, 'You've done it this time, you bastards.' Mark said if he thought it was so good, why didn't he go and add something to it. He did his bit there and then."
I grew up listening to this track played at home and never thought twice about it. Literally hearing it again now for the first time in years like, hold on wait a minute! 😂
the call and response between the guitar and bass is flawless, also amazing space for the instruments to breathe. perfect tune for what it’s meant to be
What's great about this guitar riff is that only mark can play it properly, he literally owns it. His unique finger style technique means many will copy but none will get the nuance and the tone he gets from his fingers. Never heard anyone play it convincingly.
it's the finger pressure on the strings at a certain time on the note, and the push or delay between each pick. yeah, many can play the notes but no one can replicate the music.
Yup. People dedicate loads of bandwidth trying to get another guitarist’s tone, and often come admirably close … but at the end of the day, it’s always in that guitarist’s fingers. (Sidenote: I had a beautiful early-issue Gibson SG Standard, like made right around ‘69 or ‘71, which by dumb luck wound up mostly being the guitar on which I taught myself to play _le rock,_ but one year some asshole with a clearer idea of its dollar value than I stole it … so I spent the next decade trying to recreate its tone down to the most minute detail-or at least how I remembered it, which was also what I’d heard in my head when I first set out to play, significantly-whether I was playing another SG, a Les Paul, some boutique guitars, an SG I specifically modded to be as close to the stolen one as I could get, down to getting humbuckers wound on their old factory’s original winder … I even tried duplicating it on a Strat! until one day, a rhythm player who often sat in with us asked me “How do you get your clean tone? No matter which guitar you play, you always get a lovely deep ringing tone from it,” and I realized: kee-ripes, I have a signature sound … and it’s coming from my fingers! So it’s great to borrow other people’s styles-I borrow from Robert Fripp pretty openly, especially his super-overdriven tone-but that’s just the path towards discovering your own tone … which will then follow you everywhere, whether you realize it or not!)
Don't get me wrong, I love ACDC, Guns n Roses, Journey, ect, but the reason Dire Straits is my favorite band is because of how well defined and vast the notes are in thier songs. That intro was LEGENDARY. No other word than that.
Man, just decided to play my old cassettes today and found these guys' album from 1988 named after this song. After playing it for an hour on my dad's cassette player, I can tell my dad's had a good taste for music. 2023 and this hit is still banging most of the new song out there, said by a 19 years old dude here :D
Fun fact, the lyrics were mostly from an overheard conversation between a bunch of laborers that delivered and installed furniture, which makes sense when you listen to them.
That was top notch CGI in the 80s! I remember how impressed I was when I first watched it. I was wondering, if it will ever be possible to have computer games with such good graphics in the future. :) Something you phone renders in real time without breaking a sweat took a render farm probably month back then!
How far we've come!! But this old style animation has its own charm. I'm almost scared to see what animation is like in the future...probably everything will be virtual reality.
If I had to guess, 3:37 probably took the longest to render, along with the possibility of the TV when it pans maybe taking as long depending on how they did that. Texture mapping back then was new and the hardware had difficulty with it. I have an old SGI Irix workstation from the 90's and even it takes dozens of seconds to render single frames of 240p texture mapped objects. Can't imagine how long it would have taken to render these entire scenes lol.
@@Mavors1099 What? I'm just saying that's an unfortunate sign of the times, considering the 80s still had some contempt towards the LGBT community. And I'm already aware of them taking out that line in later broadcasts, as well. Basides... I didn't come here to "weep", when I only discovered the unfortunately awkward detail just recently. So stick that in your pipe and smoke it.
@@anirudhaarvind1736 Yes,My first concert in 1987,but lol,I was wearing a mo hair jersey and someone through their cigerette,I started to burn,we were so close together with people.But a really good memory of this band.
My dad listened to this when it came out on his first day of college with his buddies and they listened to it on max volume in their convertible , what a time to be alive
The 80’s and the start of MTV was the bomb! We were like a tv station only showing music videos! I would stay up and watch the videos! It was a great time !
Dire Straits have been acknowledged as one of the most intelligent and original bands of their era. As the creation of Mark Knopfler, they successfully blended blues-based influences along with country and rock into an instantly timeless mix of atmospheric album tracks, combined with populist, catchy and massive-selling singles. Although they will rightly always be remembered for their sixth studio album, Brothers In Arms, there is so much more to discover in their discrete, influential catalogue.
In '85, Knopfler released this, "Brothers in Arms," their most accomplished album. I think their undisputed masterpiece is "Money for Nothing", a song so catchy, most people probably don't listen to the lyrics -- but they should, because it's not just about the pleasures of conformity and the importance of trends, it's also a personal statement about the band itself.
My mum used to go Bingo every Sunday night with my Nan and as soon as she left my Dad would get out his record player and play Dire Straits, Pink Floyd, David Bowie, Queen and many more to me and my brother 5 and 7 years old. This song brings back them happy memories of the three of us together, rocking out to these absolute classic tunes by these incredible artist. My dad told me they just don’t make music like they used to, it’s not until I got older that I now totally understand what he meant. Time flies 😢
@DrZook please back up your statement with some proof. Let’s start with 2020’s give me 10 fantastic artist. Then 2010’s give me 10 incredible artist. Then 2000’s give 10 artists. Let’s start there and see if we agree.
Maybe the nineties but after 2000 it ain't gonna be easy. Lol So I'll try the nineties Soundgarden Alice in Chains Primus Nirvana Pearl Jam Red Hot Chili Peppers Screaming Trees Mudhoney Godsmack Mad Season
features early computer animation illustrating the lyrics. The video was one of the first uses of computer-animated human characters and was considered groundbreaking at the time of its release. It was the second computer-generated music video shown on MTV.
Imagine the soul-crushing rage those dudes must've felt, when their conversation about musicians getting rich for nothing was overhead by a musician who made boatloads of cash from their disgruntled discussion.
@lesley.l if any of what you typed was true they wouldn't have had that whiny conversation in the first place. Loser talk. About as far from manhood as you can get.
@@micktaylorwolfcreekmechanical It’s sad. A friend said they have an hour a week when they play old music videos. (Most of the hat hour is ads for their lame shows). I wish they’d have a channel dedicated to the old videos, I’d actually turn on my tv & watch it!
@@cyn37211 yep the old 80s music videos are awesome some pretty crappy too but why not play them for a couple hours without ads every weekend its would be better than the crap on mtv now.
I honestly get chills listening to that first 50 seconds. Unbelievably great song from my youth. I remember cruising town hoping for a red light so we could blast that intro through some 6x9's
![I.N "HALLUCINATION" | [Stray Kids : SKZ-PLAYER]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/n5B5q1Hwt_U/mqdefault.jpg)
39 years later and it's still a banger and that opening guitar riff is just unbeatable
Yep, and now that opening is used at the end of every MTV related show.
Oh hell yes...I was 13 when I first heard it and the first ever cassette I bought was Brothers in Arms based solely on hearing MFN 🙂
You got that damn right.
Who else love smells like teen spirit better and beat it and money for nothing
Excuse me, how many years?!!!!
There isn’t a better ‘Dad Song’. This is the final boss.
Nailed it 🤣🤣🤣💯
sultans of swing
Dad used to blast highway to hell omw to school. I love that more.
ㄷㄱ3ㄴㅂㅂ ㄴ.
@@revilox16 my dads ringtone XD
That guitar intro is legendary. Like an adrenaline shot
Da prova
Simplicity of sounds is what modern music is lack of
oh my gosh yesssss
Facts my guy. The intro gets me pumped
I'm the like number 666
I think the drum and synth in the very beginning are massively underrated. They add a feeling of mystique and anticipation that makes the legendary guitar riff so good. Without the first 30 seconds the guitar riff wouldn’t hit as hard, so underrated if you ask me.
The synths kind of build up to the guitar riff in a really effective way
0:18 No doubt about it! 🔥
if you put it that way, yeah youre right, it really lifts the riff to perfection
I concur.
Trop bien
That opening guitar riff is just unsurpassable.
legendary. Still sends shockwaves down your spine
That's the main reason I came here :)
In every riffs of every band I have ever heard from Dimebag Darrell (Pantera), Brian May (Queen), James Hetfield (Metallica), Kurt Cobain (Nirvana), Jerry Cantrell (Alice In Chains) and etc. This still hits something, it hits like an ice that is chilling.
Knopfler made some brilliant riffs
That's always been my favorite part.
Everyone is mentioning the guitar riff, but the synth pad in the opening sets the atmosphere.
Yes, exactly! I am a really big fan of synthesisers, so that's what catches my attention everytime.
Both are top shelf 🤌🏻 let’s not lie on our ****** like that.
Great keyboardist, yes. He is there in the whole song but it is subtle enough to keep it rock, so to speak.
The drums are perfect.
True. But this video misses out a whole minute of the intro.
That opening guitar riff will live forever.
It does. ❤
So too will Sting's refrain of "I Want My MTV" that was taken from his band The Police's "Don't Stand So Close to Me."
The riff was inspired by ZZ Top. I can hear the similarity .
@@unready1961 That's exactly what I've read about Mark Knopfler's lead guitar tone.
It will! 🎸
Damn, Knopfler is a genius with the guitar and making lyrics. He turned a normal conversation in a appliance store into a whole song. He's a musical genius.
Pretty sure he’s talking about the average worker and the rich and how all this money is literally for nothing, buying things you don’t need
@@HendrixTheBunny knopfler made the song from a conversation in an appliance store between two blue collar workers moving around boxes full of appliances, they were watching a wall of colored tv's tuned to MTV and talking about how the rockstars were making money for nothing, the guys in the store were comparing the money they get from the hard labor they do in comparison with the rockstars easily making money from just playing the guitar. That's why in the song he uses the lyrics, "I should've learned to play the guitar, I should've learned to play them drums." That's what the guys in the store were saying. They also say "maybe get a blister on your little finger" implying that it's nothing compared to the injuries they could potentially get working blue collar. Overall all the guys are doing is just making fun of the people who make music because they think that they make money for nothing by doing something as simple as strumming a guitar, but those guys are doing back breaking work moving around appliances making not as much money, and Knopfler decided to turn it into a song.
@@zoidlux2016 I wish you can see his whole transcript that he wrote about the conversation. I would read that.
I came here from Professor of Rock's channel too. We quoted lines from this song a lot back in the day. Weird Al's Beverly Hillbillies parody from the movie UHF is also pretty sweet.
GOATed Playstation profile picture. I'm pretty sure my account still uses that one.
That riff is just filthy. One of the greatest guitar riffs ever imo.
So filthy it's alchemically CLEAN. ❤😂🎉
Yo does not count!!❤😂 just kiddin, my man!! P.s. nooiow if u r a woman cld I still say my woman???? U know, like my man?,!!❤😂
It was based on banjo riffing believe it or not. Mark always preferred finger picking. Add the overdrive you get one of the most iconic guitar riffs ever recorded.
Utterly disgusting. Still in awe of this.
Banjo roll + trying to imitate Billy Gibbon = Coolest intro riff ever
Everyone talks about the timeless guitar riff but never the opening drum section.
Yeah true the drums are underrated
Or the fact that Sting sang the intro.
...or that GODDAMNED STING just sings "I want my MTV". lol
Istg, he’s an excelent drummer😍
Because it sucks
Not only one of MTV’s top ten videos of all time but one of the songs that defined the 80’s.
This should of been number one
The video has somehow aged remarkably well despite the animation effects having aged terribly. I guess it's just perfectly retro
This is MTVs most played video ever
First song ever played on MTV Europe!
@@nickb3809 As clever as the video is, I would think that once MTV started airing Michael Jackson videos, he got immense air play. I don’t know the whole story, but there was some controversy over why black artists were not being played on MTV. It might be that Michael was the first to break the color barrier. Without question, the big three of music videos in the 1980’s were Michael Jackson, Phil Collins and Madonna.
Hard to believe 1985 was 40 years ago but still one of my favorites
2016 it was almost 8 years ago
Thanks for making me feel old
Holy sh*** this is actually an insane realization.
I'm 80 years old. 20 to 30 years ago I said this was the best rock and roll song ever and I believe it today rock on boys.
Sultans of Swing has it beat, but it's up there
Try almost 40 years..... where does the time go?
Who cares how old you are. Your that much closer to the grave, good for you
@@danieljones377 Oh gosh! Too right. 1985.
@@BallMarks
No, I hate that song.
Mark Knopfler is one of the greatest guitarists of all time. Guy is a genius.
Let's admit you have never heard (of) real guitar players :(
It's like saying Sting is the best singer ever.
@@goprodog4304 bro… just stop.
@@caboose8110 Any other orders?
@@goprodog4304 Yngwie Malmsteen, Black star.
100%
“Now look at them yo-yo’s” is quite possibly the best opening line of a song ever …
What's yo-yos means?🤔
Dudes of my dad’s generation (70+) say it as a way to call a person an idiot or an as*hole.
and the line "Look at that Faggot"... couldnt get away with that these days!
Rowdy Roddy Piper - land of 1000 dances “Hulk is such a yo-yo”
@@lafierraortega6355 google yoyo
Best track to play in a convertible on a summer day. Adrenaline boost only thinking about it.
This song is timeless. I’m only 25 and still get this randomly stuck in my head. Thank God I have a dad who knows good music.
Big thumbs-up, Sniperboy!
26, and this is a core part of my playlist
im 16 and this song rocks
Remember when they use to play chords?
Most dads do tbh. Middle aged and older folks come from a generation where music was more appreciated. Because people had to pay for it and wait in line to get the latest albums. Concerts were affordable for everyone to go to. The 60s-80s were a very powerful transitional period for music. It helped the hippie movement and might have gone so far as to contributing to the end of the vietnam war. Radio stations were better back then too. And celebrities were wild and always trying to compete to stay relevant. Snorting ants, destroying hotel rooms etc. So music was a much bigger thing back then.
These days it's all available on RUclips and Spotify. No need to pay and wait for it so it gets taken for granted by this generation.
For the early 80s, this animation was way ahead of its time.
@@Dimitri88888888shut up
@@Dimitri88888888What the hell are you even saying?..
it was release in 1985, which is a number that if rounded to the nearest 0 would round to 1990, meaning that its closer to the 1990s then it is to 1980 meaning its not early 1980s animation its mid 1980s which makes all the world of difference. They would not have been able to do this back in 1980@@lewis7515
No it wasn't. It was just what was possible a the time. How do you want to be ahead of a technology if it's not advanced enough ?
It's like saying that you're going 50m/h with a car that cannot exceed 30
I don't know how this got 223 likes, when it is mid 80's not early 80's!
This is the best riff ever made in my opinion. I don't care the genre, nothing can top it
yeah no
@@T1NF01L He might struggle with that word seeing as he's dead.
Surprised him saying "faggot" has not been censored out as hate speech.
@@Folker46590 It does... like most songs that get significant airplay on radio, certain words are censored. And I've heard multiple versions of a radio edit for this song.
On top of that he often substituted the word for something less vulgar when performing it live.
@@Folker46590 Perhaps they're just exercising common sense?
I think it's quite well known the song was based on an actual conversation Knopfler overheard, where these warehouse guys were taking the piss out of musicians. The song depicts homophobia (and probably racism) which is, of course, not the same as being guilty of those things. Depictions of murder are habitually uncensored in western art and entertainment - why should depictions of discriminatory speech - a far less grievous act - be censored?
That guitar intro will put hair on your chest, there is just something so raw about it. Music moves the soul
This video was every bit as revolutionary as "Take On Me" was. Both are quality works of art that were technological marvels at the time. Watching them (on actual MTV) made our jaws drop.
The homophobic perjoratives (at least, by today's standards) made others' jaws drop too, but in a different way!
True
Steven Barron Directed both. He also directed Billie Jean by Michael Jackson. He was worked as a VFX camera operator (on Superman and for Jim Henson)...why he was good at directing VFX/animation videos.
I remember I was there!
@FactsMatter999 I forgot about that one. That was great, too.
Fun fact: this music video was mentioned in a textbook when I was studying graphic engineering at college, because it's an early use of 3D graphics, especially for characters.
I imagine that perspective shift effect on the TV screens in the video, the live action footage, was just as new?
@@AccAkut1987whats the perspective shift effect?
@@AccAkut1987 Squeezing the video footage to make it fill the animated TV's in a similar perspective? No, that part would have been easy.
I guess we’ll never hear the whole version again on the radio 😖
@@robyncoy7973 why not? It's not a big deal unless ppl make it a big deal
The opening riff was out of this world. Definitely one of the most memorable opening riffs of the 80's. Kudos to Mark Knopfler.💕
I bought a guitar and learned how to play that.
It was inspired by ZZ Top’s sound, they admired that he nailed it.
Mark based it on ZZ Top who were big on MTV at the time!
Fagooootttttt
😂
One of the greatest songs ever recorded. Love the story of this song. Makes a normal guy feel like creativity is everywhere
This is one of my father’s favorite songs. Approximately 8-9 years ago we were sitting in balcony and my father was telling how songs were amazing in his youth, and he started the humming this song but he couldn’t remember the name of it, because he didn’t know English. The only thing he remembers about this song was the music, rhythm and the atmosphere where he first listened this. We started the search the song in all over RUclips by typing something like these “dire straits songs” and we finally find it. I still remember the face of my father when we find it :))
My father showed me this too when i was very young and i listen to the band till today, love it so much.
My dad showed me this song.. He's from 1970. I love my dad for showing me how music the atmosphere, and music was back in that day, I always listen to this song and I always think of him everytime. It's like when you're young, your father shows you this song, so you just bump it with him, and then when you get older, you really realize what a gem this song really is.
Then everytime you listen to this song on your own, you can only imagine the moment your father and you used to jam to it... Incredible.
So nice of you to share this story. Music is the one commonality people of all cultures share, and along with love can heal the world.
@@defiantdavid2317 🤗❤️
Baban zamanında dire straits dinliyorsa çok havalı bir baba olmalı 😄
The fact that Sting was in town on vacation when Mark was recording the track was serendipity.
Surely you mean “synchronicity”?
They both work @@man_in_space
It was truly fate
@@man_in_space Lol! Well done!
@@man_in_space Synchronicity means "the simultaneous occurrence of events which appear significantly related but have no discernible causal connection." for example: when you notice something happing over and over again when it doesn't relate; like 10 people who you you know never met each other doing the same thing, while serendipity means "the occurrence and development of events by chance in a happy or beneficial way.". so in this situation I believe serendipity is the correct word. I don't mean to prove you wrong or embarrass you, I just don't want others to embarrass themselves by taking what you said and using it only to end up being wrong. may I suggest just double checking before posting something as I fact? (I really don't mean to be a dick even though I sound like it, we're all brothers in the end. all of my definitions are according to the Oxford Dictionary)
Mark Knopfler is probably one of the greatest guitar players ever. What an amazing opening riff and tone. Brothers in arms is a masterpiece!!
ZZ Top tone
Wrong! Its Jimi Hendrix! Ain't no doubt about it!
He is the Greatest 🤌❤
Absoeffinglutely he is!!!
@@andrewinstre Certainly, but the claim was never about Knopfler being the "best", but rather one of the best
Thank you for not censoring this great song!!
Concur
Agreed. When they play it on the radio, they redact the comments on George Michaels.
The intro...it was fascinating as a child. And then it kicks in. Great memories loving this song as much as my parents. The music video was the icing on the cake. Superb.
Hell ya man! This song came out when I was a little kid, and I remember thinking the music video was so cool.
I feel the same way about the intro…I was 13 when this song was released-I’ve loved it ever since.
who
Ll
true -surprising that this was a one hit wonder, at least in N America
How do you turn it up louder
"Look at that little .... " Me favorite lyrix. :D
buy a 2000 watt speaker and blast it.
"This volume goes up to 11...." or something like that?
Yes
Press the upper volume button
Weird to think that this was once the pique of cgi and not just a stylistic choice, honestly I love it
It kinda was. Pixar was around at this time and was making some cool stuff that looked far better. But I do really like this aesthetic!
Holy polygons, am I right?
This CGI in this video was mediocre or average for this time. It was mostly stylistic
Fun fact, people back then thought the CGI was actually real and had to be briefed every time this video played.
@@irridesu Not true. This music video was one of the first uses of CGI human characters and was groundbreaking for the time.
bro this shit slaps so fucking hard...never stop slapping, probably one of the best all time guitar intro openings ever
My dad favorite song . miss you dad always and forever love you .
My dad too. He passed in 2008.
@@Stanger182..RIP..they had good taste in music my bro...much respect to you and your family 👍..
same for my dad
Love to you fellas, even though I am a bit late
❤️❤️❤️
Ah MTV, days of yore and youth. Those were the days! 1980s rocked!
Lol, back when they actually had music videos non-stop!
Yep, I remember the day M TV came on, a whole bunch of us gathered around the TV for that!
La rolla aún suena como si fuera ayer,joven y llana de energía.
Aún somos jóvenes bro.
Saludos.
A song that epitomizes the golden era of the MTV Generation!
Duran Duran in Girls On Film
The first music video to play on MTV..this was the start of that
@@spec_opsgaming that was 4 years prior
@@spec_opsgaming no it was actually Video Killed The Radio Star that was the first video played on MTV
@@leonardsalinas2002 The first video isn't epitomizing the Golden era. It's starting the movement. Not the same - if you wanna be pedantic about musicology, be very very much more specific than that.
I don't know if it's the build' up before the riff, the riff itself or the combination of both what sends chills to my spine every freakin' time I start hearing this masterpiece
you can play the riff by itself and its still badass, but that long winded and spacey intro just kicks it into overdrive when it drops off and just the guitar is playing. perfect execution
I'm feeling the same thing--such a brilliant intro, and of course the riff throughout. Goosebumps! Suddenly I'm zoomed back to my youth in mid-80s! (I also forgot how much Sting contributed to the vocals, even discounting the beginning "I want my" part.)
Sting's ethereal vocals, the long sustained synth chords, the thudding drum fills. All build to the epic guitar riff with just the right amount of dirty delay and distortion.
Then it all comes back into an awesome groove for the rest of the song.
Sublime, simply sublime!!!
Same! Goosebumps every time, the "tink" just adds something unique IMO.
Same. It’s gets me every time
I remember how futuristic this vid seemed when I first saw it in 1985. God I'm old AF. 😅
I hear you. Look at the 'TV' at 1:31 (That's about how they look, in reality, 40 years later.) Unlike our parents' & grandparents' console TV with the wooden cabinet that sat on the living room floor!
😂 my dad had one of those tvs it set on fire 🔥. He was watching snooker and Alex Higgins stubbed his fag out and the tv set on fire 😂perfect timing
Haha so did I. My brother would shout me if it came on the TV 😆
I'd never seen anything like it
Hell, I remember when PS1 graphics were the height of technology
@katiecurbow7086 I remember when a co-worker showed me a picture of his family that had been digitized and could be displayed on an MDA monochrome screen. I think it was sometime in '87. That was the first time I'd ever seen a face represented by anything other than real photos, or those pics people used to manually create using a keyboard or typewriter. LoL.
crazy to think my dad was the biggest dire straits lover ever!!!
fly high dad 1961 - 2019🥰
Rest In Peace sir.
R.I.P
My dad is crazy obsessed with Mark Knophler. He thinks he’s one of the top 5 guitarists
@@d-family5843 That's cool. Having favorites is healthy. So long as he stays within the parameters of reality.
This band always makes me think of going to work with my dad. He always jammed out to this. He passed In 2012 but when I'm having a rough day , I go through my dad's playlist and it puts an endless smile on my face.
The opening guitar riff gives me life. It never gets old.
This song never gets old. Mark my words, people will be rocking out to this a hundred years from now.
Until someone realises it has a slur word and tries to cancel Dire Straits 🙄
@@jordythebassist DUDE TRUE
Nobody is playing it cause the f word.
We have to play it everywhere ! 🙂
Aha "mark" my words i see what ya did there
I must have heard this song over 100 times in my lifetime and it never gets old.
RIP old MTV. Changed the world forever.
@Fragorder1
I want my Mtv
MTV ruined music. Before MTV, it was all about talent. After MTV, it became all about appearance. How else do you get a Milli vanilli?
@@theodoretheelder6248 Yeah! Video killed the radio star...
The very first video on MTV was video killed the radio star 1980 .
For 30 years now anytime I get a new stereo setup or retune a current set up this is the very first song to be played.
Just played this on my new to me khorns attached to a Marantz amplifier. Good stuff
good idea.
Just an FYI this album was recorded digitally. I know some people refuse to use digitally recorded songs to test out their set up.
My first experience with listening to music through an actual stereo system was this song. Changed my life, and I'm only 20 years old, lmao.
@@EKMOfficial666 the intro to this song is a masterpiece
I never realised that Sting sang "I want my MTV". .... and some of the other lines in the song too. Wow!
I used to work in an appliance repair shop when I first left school, this song came on the radio in the workshop, we all stopped working and started dancing, even our boss came out of the office and started grooving with us. Happy memories :)
That's the way you do it, you bust a move while listening to songs from MTV. :)
I was 14 and singing along to this song when it came on MTV in the summer of '85 --- my Mom wasn't happy with the "look at that mama stickin' it in the camera, mmm I'd like to have some"
what a time to live man
And then everybody clapped
U made that up
Thank you for posting the uncensored version.
my word 😀
Exactly. Im 44 and how Bill Burr explained on how we used that word ( which i cant type because im sure youtube will censor me)hits the nail on the head.
The censored version is only used by radio stations
@@TheInkPitOx RUclips is chock-full of censored radio edits, unfortunately.
@@darrellid Unfortunately there are people who can't understand that using a word doesn't mean endorsing it and that the song is making fun of the guys grumbling about rock stars on TV. (And remember, the little ****** has his own jet airplane!)
When I was a kid my dad used to deliver Chinese food on weekends as a 2nd job. Sometimes he would take me with him for part of his shift, He would always have his CD's playing in the car with his favorites, U2, The Eagles, Cream, Zeppelin, and of course Dire Straits. This was always one of his favorites and this song always reminds me of those childhood memories with my dad just driving along singing together.
That's some awesome memories 😄
That's excellent I also have memories like that with my dad, singing along in the car at very high volumee
OMG good times!! Glad you had an awesome dad!
This video singlehandedly represents MTV's golden era.
"How good are you as a musician?"
Mark Knopfler: "Sting did the backing vocals for me"
Weird Al did a cover of the song. Ain't that a sign of prowess.
I'd be honored if some Mark Knopfler & Sting fans would take a quick listen to my acoustic piano & vocal performances of ON EVERY STREET and ENGLISHMAN IN NEW YORK on my YT channel in tribute to these 2 songwriting geniuses from the North of England. Live acoustic with no autotune or digital editing. Thanks and RESPECT to the legends.
and Eric Clapton Harmony
@@uladzimirdarozka3882 In my favorite movie of all time too.
Sting did backvocals here?
I want my MTV......back like it was. Not those reality TV based crappy shitty shows.
Trivia: The M in MTV stood for Music.
Exactly!!!!!
It used to. Now it stands for Morons. ;)
more like moms
Yeah M in Mtv stand for Music Tv where only music should be. Its happend same way Tvn stand for TvNorway where alot of norwegian show been but now its only full of american show on it -_-
so true mate
My dad played Dire Straits for me, when i was young. Now im 30 and he's 74. Some times when i visit them, i have my bt speaker with me.
I hit play and turn it up. He starts rocking his head and feet while smiling.. Just looking at him. Feeling the atmosphere.. Too see his joy and love for this is.. 🙏❤
God bless you and your family
Even us old guys like music
Si coincido con el estraño
My dad was a fan of Dire Straits. He always played their music on his computer, sometimes as background music whenever there was a big family gathering, and we were playing board games. He passed away back in April, and I'll be grateful to know Dire Straits because of him.
I made my dad's ring tone sultans of swing and he looked at me like I was a wizard (never seen him smile like that) . He's 70.
I'm 77 and I still get chills when that "drum beat" comes in @ 0:47 😎👍👍
Way back when I was a kid in the mid '80s, I said that this song and this group was ahead of its time. Fast forward to 2022 and this song is still withstanding the test of time. Incredible.
The good ones filter to the top and tend to stay there :).
@Andrzej Jasinski Very nice cover, Andrzej! You have captured the spirit of the song. Check out my newest original: ruclips.net/video/fvqTcDarByw/видео.html
Well... Aside from that part of the song, that basically involves a derogatory slur for gay people at 1:49.
That part has probably aged worse than the early 3D animation in the music video.
Hello
@@retrogamelover2012 If you wanna be PC then the phrase "chicks for free" isn't exactly respectful either, but frankly judging the past based on what goes today is silly at best.
There isn't a speaker in the world loud enough to play that guitar intro.
dynamic Dylan # My Dali 850’s can play it loud enough
Couldn't of said it better
USSR's 3-line with powerbox dinamics Radiotechnika-S90, was sound's real cool for guitar intro and more different loud's)
amen
@@jeppepedersen7006 those are pieces of shit compared to my KEF 103.2's
I know everyone else is talking about that guitar riff at the start, but I just can't express how much adrenaline it releases
Great too play before a football game to get that energy pumpin 🔥
Hey bro! I used to play this song to heat up😁👌
I'm just a humble drummer so I probably won't describe the riff right. But to me it's like he is playing a live electric wire and every now and then it's sheer power begins to escape until Mark nips it in the bud and brings it back under his control, and then starts playing with it again.
Agreed man
It's like doing a bump and then walking into a party, theme music
Fantastic music video - all those little details are hilarious. Like at 3:38 the microwave buttons! :D
The guitar riffs, the CGI and the vocals are all undeniably epic, phenomenal. And speaking of vocals don't forget that Sting was along for the ride! "I want my, I want my, I want my MTV!!!🤟🏽🎸🎶🥁🎙
By..gio..sss..primo...Milano.. italy..ciaoo
The graphics were state of the art when this video dropped
I want My...
ORIGINAL MTV.
@@noahpartic7586Me 2
Weird Al's version is also incredible
0:34 the best riff it's never getting old
Edit: I just learnt how to play this riff on my electric guitar! It's awesome!!
Best riff ever!
That’s awesome keep up the good work
I’m tryina recreate it on my keyboard XD it’s not going well
@@bcdieselsofficial yep #!!!
@@avionhelikopterovic8417 glad someone agrees!
The intro with the synths & drums to the build of the guitar riff🔥 i was a kid watching this on MTv i thought everything was cool about this video
I will always remember, after first discovering RUclips, I was 11 at the time. probably around 2007. My younger brothers and I was showing my dad this website called “RUclips” where you could watch videos of anything online. We were asking him what he wanted to see. Trying hard to impress him with this new website. He told us to look up this song, we all just sat there in amazement from the beginning guitar riff and we were hooked. Just had the aux. speakers cranked on the Gateway desktop in the living room. Loved this song ever since, great memories.
That's actually beautiful
what an awesome story dude
That's so cool man!! Like the other guy said, it's beautiful.
That’s pretty amazing man. Those are some beautiful memories you should always cherish
I miss that RUclips… same thing happened to MTV… thanks for sharing your story!!
I went to renovate my kitchen earlier this year and I promptly told the tradesperson: "We gotta install microwave ovens, custom kitchen deliveries."
His response: "That aint workin', that's the way you do it".
He got the job ✌
That's priceless!!!
Well played that man.......gratitude 👏👏👏
r/thathappened
...and who says its hard to find good help anymore? 😏
Best comment ever lol
I'm not a huge Dire Straits fan, but man... this must be the greatest intro and riff in rock history !
ahmed amin Belkhiria It is
You should be
It's ok to be an uncultured swine.
(PS: Just jokin')
Could be, but it is also good intro in song Deliverance by The Mission...
The old MTV and VH1 died long ago. I loved this and you have to crank it up. Those were the days and the music was rockin and cruisin in the car. Glorius!!!!!!
You might be badass, but you'll never be "having STING as your BACKUP VOCALS" badass.
Even Phil Collins had him on No Jacket Required
That’s why the 80s were wild as shit. It had more talent than it needed
It's not really the way you make it out to be.
Sting used to come to Montserrat to go windsurfing," recalled John Illsley, "and he came up for supper at the studio. We played him 'Money for Nothing' and he turned round and said, 'You've done it this time, you bastards.' Mark said if he thought it was so good, why didn't he go and add something to it. He did his bit there and then."
He contributed the "I want my MTV" line, which followed the melody from his song "Don't Stand So Close to Me".
Yeah, but that's the point. Sting isn't exactly known for being the background singer.
@@jesram4518 stop spouting made up garbage from guys that wanted to be in charge, but couldn't figure out where the fucking SUN went at night.
This is honestly how my first mushroom trip felt like...
how often do you do drugs in your professional career?
@@poosmoker0457 whenever I want I guess
I love your videos man
nice to know my favorite motovlogger has a good taste in music.
Crazy you were here three weeks ago lmao, loved your vids when I was younger
The part at the beginning when Knopfler shreds out that kickass guitar solo, with no drums or anything, will always be my favorite part of this music video. Don’t forget about the flawless drum improv that opens the song, that’s awesome too!
The buildup by the drums intro is great too.
Local Swansea Guy Mr Terry Williams on Drums the Guy was awsome on those drums 🥁
The introductory drum solo is improvised ?? the solos were A+
@@alistairnaidoo9380 yeah, they got a new drummer for Brothers in Arms, but the drum solo at the beginning of Money For Nothing was done by the old drummer before.
0:36 O yeah
If today's kids saw these animations... they would probably just laugh...
but we don't…
because we know that those were the beginnings of everything.. 😎🥲
Love the 80s❤
This song is so funny and I don't think a lot of people get it. Its all a big joke but its so well executed that its also a legendery track
I'm surprised the PC police haven't tried to ban it from the radio because of the "little faggot with the earring and the makeup".
У этой песни серьезный текст. Таких стихов сегодня не пишут!
The satire of that joke infiltrates and executes so flawlessly because it carries over not only from the lyrics but the instrumental composition as well. I know the intro and verse guitar riffs and bass parts, and they are as sloppy chops and stiff hips as it comes. The biggest and worst part of the punchline though is that it literally predicted the direction society was heading (Idiocracy anyone?) and that all that matters with the institution of MTV was that you look good for the cameras, not necessarily paired with having talent, and the institution of software like auto tune killing the presence of actual talent even more, because it may not look good on camera no matter how good it sounds...
I just imagine the poor working stiffs who inspired this hearing it for the first time on the radio and realizing that Mark just made another million or ten off them complaining. What went through their heads when they knew what was happening?
@@Crusader1815 better him than someone else maybe?
Trivia: At 1:15, when the character turns his head to the right, you can see a polygon sorting error causing the character's features to draw in reverse order. His eyes, beard, and cigar become visible through his head.
The animation come from 80s, well, is the best for the time
@@spitfire84 nah it's just made by ac unity dev team
@@spitfire84 yeah it’s trivia not an actual criticism. Surely they could have fixed it if they gave it more time. However there’s absolutely no reason to as I would bet this minuscule error was unnoticed by 99.9999999999999 percent of the population until like the past 20 years.
watched the pop-up-video on vh-1 and yet another bit of trivia came fourth:
the system software used for the original video crashed and then failed! all the data was lost and the designers redid the entire video as shown here! (huh, i guess they lucked out the second time around)
The animation company who worked on this music video is the same one who later created the Saturday morning cartoon series "Reboot". In one episode, "Enzo's Birthday" (not the actual episode title), the moving men Sol and Harv make a cameo, where they are booed on stage before having a sandbag dropped on top of them. It was the show's creators way of stating they hated the 2 characters and worked so hard to avoid typecasting their work.
My Dad gave me this CD like 25 years ago when I was a Teen. I love you Dad RIP❤
What yr was this out? & sorry for your loss 💐
It was realesed in 1985 😊
🌹
God love your dad. My dad bought me the first Beatles album!❤ A total surprise gift!!❤ I miss him everyday.😢❤😅
The voice backing Mark Knopfler is Sting, giving a helping hand on Knopfler's singing as he was just verbalizing lyrics. Sting provided the iconic backing vocals while asking for no credit. Absolute gentleman!
LE: Apparently Sting got songwriting credits. Article on Wikipedia says:
The songwriting credits are shared between Mark Knopfler and Sting. Sting has stated that his only compositional contribution was the "I want my MTV" line, which followed the melody from his song "Don't Stand So Close to Me". "Sting used to come to Montserrat to go windsurfing," recalled John Illsley, "and he came up for supper at the studio. We played him 'Money for Nothing' and he turned round and said, 'You've done it this time, you bastards.' Mark said if he thought it was so good, why didn't he go and add something to it. He did his bit there and then."
To be fair though, me and likely most others went "is that Sting?" when they heard this
Love Sting 🥰 what a guy!!
You are such a smarty ...
I grew up listening to this track played at home and never thought twice about it. Literally hearing it again now for the first time in years like, hold on wait a minute! 😂
A Gentleman will sing but never charge
I would say that this song has the best riff in the whole 80s decade and could even attend in the top 10 best riffs overall
And it's such a perfect midrange guitar tone, you can turn it up to 11 on any stereo system big or small and it sounds epic.
sultans of swing
Agree
My favorite riff ever is Shortest Straw Main riff by metallica
I see your Money For Nothing, and I raise you What Difference Does It Make by The Smiths
Listening for my Dad
R. I. P Roger
15/1/20
❤️❤️❤️
Me tooo my dads song xx
R.i.p 🧡💫
RIP
RIP
❤❤
the call and response between the guitar and bass is flawless, also amazing space for the instruments to breathe. perfect tune for what it’s meant to be
Nothing'll make you miss the 80's like Dire Straits. Especially since we are currently in dire straits.
Covid for nothing but the mask is free. Still working on it
Anything from the '80's is better than what's on these days. Lol
We didn't start the fire! Land of Confusion! And a lot more!
LOVE love your comment
Thanks heaps for sharing
money for nothing
You got that!!
What's great about this guitar riff is that only mark can play it properly, he literally owns it. His unique finger style technique means many will copy but none will get the nuance and the tone he gets from his fingers. Never heard anyone play it convincingly.
it's the finger pressure on the strings at a certain time on the note, and the push or delay between each pick. yeah, many can play the notes but no one can replicate the music.
Yup. People dedicate loads of bandwidth trying to get another guitarist’s tone, and often come admirably close … but at the end of the day, it’s always in that guitarist’s fingers.
(Sidenote: I had a beautiful early-issue Gibson SG Standard, like made right around ‘69 or ‘71, which by dumb luck wound up mostly being the guitar on which I taught myself to play _le rock,_ but one year some asshole with a clearer idea of its dollar value than I stole it … so I spent the next decade trying to recreate its tone down to the most minute detail-or at least how I remembered it, which was also what I’d heard in my head when I first set out to play, significantly-whether I was playing another SG, a Les Paul, some boutique guitars, an SG I specifically modded to be as close to the stolen one as I could get, down to getting humbuckers wound on their old factory’s original winder … I even tried duplicating it on a Strat! until one day, a rhythm player who often sat in with us asked me “How do you get your clean tone? No matter which guitar you play, you always get a lovely deep ringing tone from it,” and I realized: kee-ripes, I have a signature sound … and it’s coming from my fingers! So it’s great to borrow other people’s styles-I borrow from Robert Fripp pretty openly, especially his super-overdriven tone-but that’s just the path towards discovering your own tone … which will then follow you everywhere, whether you realize it or not!)
The guitarist for Weird Al's Beverly Hillbillies parody is pretty good too.
@@mouse059 I wonder who that was??? 🧐
Just quit with the "fingers" nonsense already.
Don't get me wrong, I love ACDC, Guns n Roses, Journey, ect, but the reason Dire Straits is my favorite band is because of how well defined and vast the notes are in thier songs. That intro was LEGENDARY. No other word than that.
Best guitar opening EVER!
ZZZZZ
That's not even the name of the band.
Journey is better band because Steve's vocals. He is the greatest
First you have to know how to spell bands name and than be a big fan
I want my MTV!!
Man, just decided to play my old cassettes today and found these guys' album from 1988 named after this song. After playing it for an hour on my dad's cassette player, I can tell my dad's had a good taste for music. 2023 and this hit is still banging most of the new song out there, said by a 19 years old dude here :D
Fuck yeah!!
Rock on!
Thx for restoring my faith in humanity:)
My dad has been telling me to listen to dire straits for years but I didnt until today and I feel so stupid lol
@@arielfeinstein2915 ur welcome haha 💪
The guitar riff is gangster. It is fire. Legendary song.
One of the first videos on MTV. When the world was so much sweeter and so much more relaxing.
Someone please save MTV now
Yeah really. It seems like everyone is in such a hurry these days to get nowhere.
Fun fact, the lyrics were mostly from an overheard conversation between a bunch of laborers that delivered and installed furniture, which makes sense when you listen to them.
Sorry, no. This came out in 1985. MTV began in 1981.
@@bigdawg7262 The OP isn't wrong, this was the first video played on MTV Europe when it began broadcasting in 1987
The legendary riff aside: what really makes the song groove are the wonderful synth stabs across the track, for example 2:27
If you're here in 2025 you're an absolute legend!
I'm a legend
Paul Price you bloody ledg
:)
Black and White Masonic floor, can anything be original? Even back then, now we have real robots and AI. Geez
Yesss
That was top notch CGI in the 80s! I remember how impressed I was when I first watched it. I was wondering, if it will ever be possible to have computer games with such good graphics in the future. :)
Something you phone renders in real time without breaking a sweat took a render farm probably month back then!
How far we've come!! But this old style animation has its own charm. I'm almost scared to see what animation is like in the future...probably everything will be virtual reality.
@@lizxu322 That would be uncanny valley level stuff.
And a computer back then to handle the animations and graphics were probably as big as standard refrigerators.
If I had to guess, 3:37 probably took the longest to render, along with the possibility of the TV when it pans maybe taking as long depending on how they did that. Texture mapping back then was new and the hardware had difficulty with it. I have an old SGI Irix workstation from the 90's and even it takes dozens of seconds to render single frames of 240p texture mapped objects. Can't imagine how long it would have taken to render these entire scenes lol.
Music like this is the stuff that never dies
Man i need a version where it only the part form 0:35 to 1:05 !
Arguably the greatest 80's song of all time.
if you look up best 80s songs this doesn't even show up what a shame.
Technically it would be the greatest 80's song of.... well... of the 80's.
Yeah. Even in spite of the obvious wart, with the F-slur at 1:49.
@@retrogamelover2012
You come here only to weep for that word... Well you gonna love this version 😉
ruclips.net/video/76OCG4TOgrI/видео.html
@@Mavors1099 What? I'm just saying that's an unfortunate sign of the times, considering the 80s still had some contempt towards the LGBT community.
And I'm already aware of them taking out that line in later broadcasts, as well.
Basides... I didn't come here to "weep", when I only discovered the unfortunately awkward detail just recently. So stick that in your pipe and smoke it.
Doesn't matter what year you listen, It's still golden
It isn't golden anymore it's a fuckin diamond 💎
@@trollz6940 agreed
good art is timeless
Ikr
@@trollz6940 it's a crazy diamond
this song has the most satisfying guitar riff I've ever heard in my life
It’s all in knopflers fingers
I saw them live,it was great.
@@Amanda-t5p6c that must’ve been something! Very cool.
@@anirudhaarvind1736 Yes,My first concert in 1987,but lol,I was wearing a mo hair jersey and someone through their cigerette,I started to burn,we were so close together with people.But a really good memory of this band.
Really is, you can hear the liveness in it
Anyone in 2025 here🔥🔥🔥
I'm so old I remember when these graphics looked futuristic
I was thinking the same thing
now the sum of polygons used in the making of this video is almost enough to model a nose on modern CGI xD
I remember - It was such an achievement back then that it made the news headlines.
mr y mysterious video - I watched it at the time and thought the graphics were childish even though I was a child lol...
Me too 😂
My dad listened to this when it came out on his first day of college with his buddies and they listened to it on max volume in their convertible , what a time to be alive
The 80’s and the start of MTV was the bomb! We were like a tv station only showing music videos! I would stay up and watch the videos! It was a great time !
Do we have the same dad because I swear my father told me this exact story?
@@DngrDanMaybe ur dad's were in the same convertible lmao. He might be one of OP's dad's buddies.
Dire Straits have been acknowledged as one of the most intelligent and original bands of their era. As the creation of Mark Knopfler, they successfully blended blues-based influences along with country and rock into an instantly timeless mix of atmospheric album tracks, combined with populist, catchy and massive-selling singles. Although they will rightly always be remembered for their sixth studio album, Brothers In Arms, there is so much more to discover in their discrete, influential catalogue.
Wow. Music expert alert!!❤😂🎉
Love Over Gold
In '85, Knopfler released this, "Brothers in Arms," their most accomplished album. I think their undisputed masterpiece is "Money for Nothing", a song so catchy, most people probably don't listen to the lyrics -- but they should, because it's not just about the pleasures of conformity and the importance of trends, it's also a personal statement about the band itself.
What sales promotion did you copy that out of my guy
Nobody hang out at this guy's apartment drunk. He's got an axe.
Show demais....quem ouvindo em 2025?
My mum used to go Bingo every Sunday night with my Nan and as soon as she left my Dad would get out his record player and play Dire Straits, Pink Floyd, David Bowie, Queen and many more to me and my brother 5 and 7 years old. This song brings back them happy memories of the three of us together, rocking out to these absolute classic tunes by these incredible artist.
My dad told me they just don’t make music like they used to, it’s not until I got older that I now totally understand what he meant.
Time flies 😢
Your old man was spot on in his comments about the music of the greatest decade for music......EVER.
@DrZook please back up your statement with some proof. Let’s start with 2020’s give me 10 fantastic artist. Then 2010’s give me 10 incredible artist. Then 2000’s give 10 artists. Let’s start there and see if we agree.
Maybe the nineties but after 2000 it ain't gonna be easy. Lol
So I'll try the nineties
Soundgarden
Alice in Chains
Primus
Nirvana
Pearl Jam
Red Hot Chili Peppers
Screaming Trees
Mudhoney
Godsmack
Mad Season
Presumably the first music video ever made with CGi.
Not a music video, but first CGI in movies - Young Sherlock Holmes, 1985...
@@tishrowley5907 Wasn't Tron the first movie with CGi?
Bowl a stike at your local bowling ally
features early computer animation illustrating the lyrics. The video was one of the first uses of computer-animated human characters and was considered groundbreaking at the time of its release. It was the second computer-generated music video shown on MTV.
@@GWKTM Pretty sure the first movie with CGI was the original Westworld.
Imagine the soul-crushing rage those dudes must've felt, when their conversation about musicians getting rich for nothing was overhead by a musician who made boatloads of cash from their disgruntled discussion.
Best comment so far
@lesley.l if any of what you typed was true they wouldn't have had that whiny conversation in the first place. Loser talk. About as far from manhood as you can get.
@@scottmatheson3346 bro chill. you need to think about a couple things?
@flownet07 Don't you wish that you could have seen the look on their faces the first time they heard this song???!!!
6
I just want my own MTV ( lol )
I really miss the old MTV, when they actually played real music videos
put mtv on the other day some show called teen mom was running all day not a single song
@@micktaylorwolfcreekmechanical
It’s sad. A friend said they have an hour a week when they play old music videos. (Most of the hat hour is ads for their lame shows). I wish they’d have a channel dedicated to the old videos, I’d actually turn on my tv & watch it!
@@cyn37211 yep the old 80s music videos are awesome some pretty crappy too but why not play them for a couple hours without ads every weekend its would be better than the crap on mtv now.
They do, it's called MTV Classic and is currently one of the lowest rated TV channels in the US (was reported to average only 1,000 live viewers)
Definitely! Good we have RUclips to watch videos. 👍🙂
That open riff is legendary, never gets old. 🤘
👏👏👏👏👏
I shoulda learned to play the guitar--just for that riff.
I honestly get chills listening to that first 50 seconds. Unbelievably great song from my youth. I remember cruising town hoping for a red light so we could blast that intro through some 6x9's
It's a transcendent riff brother. It's legendary.
lol that makes me feel old and i aint that old 😂😂 love the memories that music invokes. Peace out brother
Do kids still put nice speakers in cars ?