Back in 1988 when I was 15 I saw this video for the first time and thought it was the coolest thing that I’d ever seen. The band warming up the stage for BB, his arrival backstage in the Merc, his seemingly effortless arrival on stage in the open fronted elevator, and then the high energy performance over the next four minutes. It was the first time that I saw performers using headphone style microphones too, as well as being the first RnB influenced song that I really liked during those years when it was mostly indie music that grabbed my attention.
So after the song came up on shuffle yesterday I decided to have a look at the video on YouTube to see whether it was as good as I remembered. And it was.
OK, so everything about the video screams OTT late ‘80s - the big hair, the keytars, the choreography and so on. But somehow it still works for me, mainly I think because of the relentless energy of all involved in the performance. And the fact that he takes a lesser used English word - ‘prerogative’ - and makes it an intrical part of the song. Hell, it’s even survived Britney Spears’ ill-advised 2004 cover version.
The song’s Wiki article is worth a quick read as it talks about the style of the song being ‘New Jack Swing.’
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/My_Prerogative
I never really liked anything else that he did, and of course his career went off the rails later after his well publicised drink and drugs problems and turbulent relationship with Whitney. I suppose he lived his life in harmony with the song’s lyrics.
I was thinking too about the social context of the song in the US during the fag end of the Reagan years. Was RnB still largely restricted to a predominantly black audience at this time? It's hard to spot any white faces in the video. What’s also interesting is the brashness of BB’s singing, namely that ‘I earn my own money and I’m going to spend it how I damn well like so stuff you.’ Can’t imagine that went down too well in Middle America.
Any thoughts?
So after the song came up on shuffle yesterday I decided to have a look at the video on YouTube to see whether it was as good as I remembered. And it was.
OK, so everything about the video screams OTT late ‘80s - the big hair, the keytars, the choreography and so on. But somehow it still works for me, mainly I think because of the relentless energy of all involved in the performance. And the fact that he takes a lesser used English word - ‘prerogative’ - and makes it an intrical part of the song. Hell, it’s even survived Britney Spears’ ill-advised 2004 cover version.
The song’s Wiki article is worth a quick read as it talks about the style of the song being ‘New Jack Swing.’
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/My_Prerogative
I never really liked anything else that he did, and of course his career went off the rails later after his well publicised drink and drugs problems and turbulent relationship with Whitney. I suppose he lived his life in harmony with the song’s lyrics.
I was thinking too about the social context of the song in the US during the fag end of the Reagan years. Was RnB still largely restricted to a predominantly black audience at this time? It's hard to spot any white faces in the video. What’s also interesting is the brashness of BB’s singing, namely that ‘I earn my own money and I’m going to spend it how I damn well like so stuff you.’ Can’t imagine that went down too well in Middle America.
Any thoughts?
Comment