"Take
On Me" by A-ha, has been enjoying a bit of a resurgence lately. In 2012 it
became a battle cry for the Washington Nationals baseball team, in 2013 it was
sampled by Pitbull and Christina Aguilera for "Feel This Moment"
(featured prominently in The Lego Movie trailer), and it was also
featured in a Volkswagen commercial that also mimicked the video.
That
has led to more various articles talking to the former band members. One with
singer Morten Harket made me think, when he said what the video did was allow
people to pay attention to the song. It was a good song, but people didn't latch
on to it on one listen.
I
thought of it differently then. I knew the song had been released twice
previously without gaining any traction, and that it was the release with the
classic video that made the difference, but I hadn't really thought about why.
I
am much more aware now that some songs require multiple listenings before you
appreciate them, but I would not have expected "Take On Me" to be
one. That one segment should work as a pop hook. Maybe timing was an issue too,
but the video worked.
For
me, I know it was not just the video, based on the number of times we went
through Hunting High and Low and Scoundrel Days. (After that they
did not focus on the US as much, and I did
still get some of their later albums, but it was different.) That being said,
the video had a huge effect on me.
I
could not even tell you if the local radio stations were playing A-ha before.
My first glimpse of them was the video, but it was just a clip in a commercial.
I wanted to see it so badly, just based on that glimpse, but it never came on
when I needed it. Suddenly I caught it one night while babysitting, and the
parents came home before it ended. So yes, I totally appreciate how the
internet allows me to call up things instantly now.
I
do think the rotoscoping aspect was something that drew attention. The live
photography was attractive, as was the band, and simple storyline worked. The
drama followed the music nicely. You can try and analyze all these points, and
you do learn things by doing it, but also sometimes there is just magic. It
captured a moment, and it worked for the band.
The
music landscape is different now, and things don't always work the same way, from
what is necessary to reach your audience to what budget you will have to do it,
so we'll spend some time on that over the next week or so. For now, it's good
enough just to appreciate a classic video from a magical time:
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