Music Video - Mötley Crüe - Looks That Kill [1983]

[Adam Dravian]

Read it here!

[Rijst]

When I grow up, I want spiked walls like that in my house too.

In the end, did Mötley Crüe use their spooky powers to kidnap the woman to another dimension for a gang bang?

I know someone who had a hair-metal image going on until recently, including bandana and skinny jeans. It took a long time before I got used to that..

[Adam Dravian]

Here's my best guess at the story of this music video:

Mötley Crüe rule the fantasy-wasteland. They've scoured the land, rounding up all the remaining babes and corral them into a pen so they can force the babes to watch them perform all day and night. But then some kind of warrior goddess babe busts out of a stone monument and frees the slave babes. Mötley Crüe try to put the Warrior Babe in her place but she, I dunno, leaps around and shit. But then Mötley Crüe, with their spooky powers combined, are able to banish her into Hell.

I'm thinking of writing a novelization of this music video. It's the only way to truly do this story justice.

[Rijst]

It obviously has hidden layers too deep for me to understand.

Perhaps we should play it backward, in good satanic tradition, for it to make sense:

Mötley Crüe, using spooky powers, summon the Warrior Babe, who is at first confused and skittish. After she regains her composure she uses her shield to put a pentagram spell on the guitarist, which allows him to play a solo. The Warrior babe then transforms herself into a statue. This allows the babes of fantasy-wasteland to moon-walk/run out of the cage, freeing them.

The take-home message would be that, in order to do good (play guitar solos, free the caged babes) we sometimes need to resort to evil measures (spooky powers, pentagram-shooting). According to Mötley Crüe, the ends justify the means. This was also the viewpoint of Niccolò Machiavelli, whose name was shortened to "Old Nick" and became a synonym for the devil. The video makes much more sense this way.

The question remains why they wanted to transmit this message. It is, after all, not a new one. Perhaps they meant to tell us something about our society. The fantasy wasteland is really the world we're living in, and our rulers frequently resort to questionable measures. This is cool though, as the results can still be good.

How comforting that Mötley Crüe simply tells us it's ok to turn a blind eye to occasional evil, it makes life much easier.

[Gregg Samsa]

This. I need this.

I'm thinking of writing a novelization of this music video. It's the only way to truly do this story justice.

[Michigander1911]

Okay so I'm getting into this convo a little late.  1st off I want to correct you on one point.  You can't talk about Devo being cool and then trash any metal band no matter how pussified they are. 

On another note the Crew fucking rocks. I'm not sure why it took you so long to see this vid, did you not watch MTV back in the day? 

[Adam Dravian]

It obviously has hidden layers too deep for me to understand.

Perhaps we should play it backward, in good satanic tradition, for it to make sense:

Mötley Crüe, using spooky powers, summon the Warrior Babe, who is at first confused and skittish. After she regains her composure she uses her shield to put a pentagram spell on the guitarist, which allows him to play a solo. The Warrior babe then transforms herself into a statue. This allows the babes of fantasy-wasteland to moon-walk/run out of the cage, freeing them.

The take-home message would be that, in order to do good (play guitar solos, free the caged babes) we sometimes need to resort to evil measures (spooky powers, pentagram-shooting). According to Mötley Crüe, the ends justify the means. This was also the viewpoint of Niccolò Machiavelli, whose name was shortened to "Old Nick" and became a synonym for the devil. The video makes much more sense this way.

The question remains why they wanted to transmit this message. It is, after all, not a new one. Perhaps they meant to tell us something about our society. The fantasy wasteland is really the world we're living in, and our rulers frequently resort to questionable measures. This is cool though, as the results can still be good.

How comforting that Mötley Crüe simply tells us it's ok to turn a blind eye to occasional evil, it makes life much easier.

I meant to say this earlier, but this may possibly be my favorite forum post.

I'm not sure why it took you so long to see this vid, did you not watch MTV back in the day?

In my earliest memories, MTV was on constantly since I had a lot of teenage babysitters. I'm sure I saw the video, but I didn't remember it. Also, it didn't get nearly as much airplay as stuff from their later albums.

[Rijst]

I meant to say this earlier, but this may possibly be my favorite forum post.

I'm honored.

I just noticed I'm designated "Rad Ninja" by the forum on account of having posted 100+ messages. Cool! Although it also means I clearly spend too much time procrastinating..

[Adam Dravian]

No, the only thing it means is that you are a Rad Ninja! The first and therefor the raddest!

[Rijst]

No, the only thing it means is that you are a Rad Ninja! The first and therefor the raddest!

There'll be slightly less procrastination soon though. I had a job interview in Cambridge yesterday and I've been offered the job, I'm hugely excited!

[Adam Dravian]

That's awesome, dude! Congratulations.

[Rijst]

Thanks! It's about time I'd say, but they want met to start ASAP so I'll be moving my ass down to posh Cambridge in one or two weeks.

It's a job as a research scientist at a small expanding drug discovery company. Since it's a small team everything is very personal and integrated. I also like the idea that everyone can make a recognisable contribution rather than be part of a team of 100 people.

You should see the area they're located in, it's literally a park with lots of grass, trees and even a golf course. It's hard to get a more stereotypically English landscape..

[Michigander1911]

Congrats on the job Rijst

[Adam Dravian]

It's a job as a research scientist at a small expanding drug discovery company.

Looking forward to that Science Dude avatar.

You should see the area they're located in, it's literally a park with lots of grass, trees and even a golf course. It's hard to get a more stereotypically English landscape..

Heh, when I try to picture what I imagine to be a stereotypical English setting, I conjure foggy cobblestone streets winding through tightly packed ancient buildings. You know, Jack the Ripper type stuff.

[Rijst]

You should see the area they're located in, it's literally a park with lots of grass, trees and even a golf course. It's hard to get a more stereotypically English landscape..

Heh, when I try to picture what I imagine to be a stereotypical English setting, I conjure foggy cobblestone streets winding through tightly packed ancient buildings. You know, Jack the Ripper type stuff.

With a horse and carriage rattling through it? That's Victorian London when people were breathing gaseous tar from all the heavy industry. Nah, I was thinking more along the lines of this  :



The avatar will, of course, have to be made soon too..