Twice a week we dig up a music video so ill-conceived it’s no wonder MTV stopped playing the damn thing. But hey, at least we learned something…
“On Our Own”
Bobby Brown, 1989
THE CONCEPT
Bobby Brown promotes Ghostbusters II, with a little help from Rick Moranis, Donald Trump, Jane Curtin, Christopher Reeve, Iman, and some space hookers.
WHAT THEY WERE THINKING
?Okay [available celebrity], here?s your motivation: you?re [walking/getting out of a limo/playing the cello in the middle of the street] in New York when you look up to see Bobby Brown on a [building/newspaper/phonebooth], and he?s dressed like [MC Hammer/Max Headroom/Tour de France rider]. Needless to say, you are [surprised/mortified/in need of a better agent].?
WHERE THEY WENT WRONG
Any song that features a rap summarizing the plot of Ghostbusters II was probably doomed from the start, but, unfortunately for Bobby et al, this video manages to encapsulate a number of questionable-in-retrospect late-80s trends. These include, but are not limited to: gumby haircuts, tin-can R&B, square shoulder pads, epilepsy-inducing edits, and Rick Moranis. (Although it was fun to see The Donald, pre-Apprentice, back before his toupee took on that evil orange sheen.)
THE LESSON
Bobby Brown is no Ray Parker Jr.
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yikes….good find
yikes….good find
this was my jam at the roller-rink when i was nine.
was that superman on the bike?
That’s Christopher Reeve on the bike.
Ouch.
I always did kind of like the song, though.
Are you kidding?! That video and song kick ass!
What’s wrong with Rick Moranis? As far as I can tell, he’s the most interesting person in that video.
Christopher Reeves on a bike makes me sad.
All things being considered, the chorus is pretty catchy. It’s a fly speck on the original Ghostbusters Theme though.
What’d the director of this video say to the celebrities?
“Okay, just look up, look bemused, and… cut.”
And yep, that’s Chris Reeve… looking bemused.
holy mother of fuck
i don’t know what you’re talking about – this song ruled, especially to a child of 9.
i also freely admit that i own this song on 45.
rick moranis would kill for a high-profile project like this nowadays. shit, so would bobby brown.
“i also freely admit that i own this song on 45.”
I’m betting it was a cassette single, old timer.
I feel funny defending it, but this song just brings back the most pleasant carefree memories.
“We had a slinky…but I straightened it.”
– Egon Spengler
This was my jam in 4th grade! Damn! I would rock the Ghost Busters II soundtrack like nothing else. I sucked!
Lol at inexplicable Trump cameo.
I still walk down the street sometimes singing to myself “Found out about Vigo, the master of evil, trying to battle my boys? That’s not legal!”
That video kicks ass. But not as much as the cassette single. The only song and video that kicks more ass is Roxette’s Joyride.
Whoa whoa back up. Was that Hasslehoff on the bike?!?
Anyway, yeah it was a shitty song. And a shitty video. But i got to say, it totally fit with Ghostbusters II. I can’t seperate the two in my mind.
if you notice, the ramones are also in there briefly.
and i knew way, WAY more of the lyrics to that than i would have expected. it’s honestly not that bad in my book, but i’m sure that’s just the nostalgia for my childhood talking.
It’s refreshing to look back at a time when the Diet Pepsi “Uh Huh” girls could still get work sans Ray Charles.
If it’s not too late to join the chorus line, this song is solid gold, but the scene here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sg6wPcHukvk
takes me “higher and higher.”
Somehow, I’ve always associated this song with the demise of Apartheid and the rise of Nelson Mandela and the ANC. I’ve also viewed “My Prerogative” as a song about black folks taking control over their own lives. Perhaps it was the times – I recall what a big deal it was when Nelson Mandela came to the US and I was in college when Apartheid crumbled. So, Bobby Brown was, in effect, responsible for the emergence of Nelson Mandela as leader in South Africa (moreso than the Specials, who are responsible for his release).
As for the video – it sucks. The song itself, however, is pretty good except for the lame ass rap. You excise the rap, erase all memory of the vid and you’ve got a decent song.
That’s Lori Singer of Footloose fame with the cello – and of course that brings us back to Bacon.
That swipe at Rick Moranis was completely unnecessary and goes to show how you can never trust indie rockers for comedy advice.
Long live Gerry Todd.
Way to go out on a limb and really stick it to Bobby Brown. You showed him!
Who’s the next sacred cow on Stereogum’s hit list? P.M. Dawn?
i like this video, and Bobby Brown is my Old School Rapper, this song remeinds me, when i was a kid, back in early 90ies when i was a kid in Ethiopia.