S3E9 | Music Video: Herbie Hancock’s Rockit
Episode description
Musician Herbie Hancock has made a titanic career out of fusing together disparate sounds, and Rockit was the breakout song that put him on the pop culture map. By crossing jazz with synthesizers, hip hop, drum machines, and DJ scratching, this song became the breakdancer's anthem of 1983 in school cafeterias across the country. And always a man to say yes to the possibilities, Herbie unleashed upon an unsuspecting MTV crowd a music video that gave us future shock, filled with disembodied figures writhing to the beat, popping and locking, kicking and twitching, and haunting our minds with the specter of what we just witnessed long after the TV went cold. Where did this video come from? Who made those unsettling mannequins? And what does it all mean? Join us as we explore the fascinating stories and characters that brought this song and its music video to life. Support the show by tossing us some lunch money at ko-fi.com/80shighpodcast. Write an 80's inspired note when you do, and we'll share it on the show!
-- Can I Borrow Your Notes? --
- Herbie Hancock's official website
- Rockit music video
- 26th Grammy Awards Live Performance of Rockit
- Songs that Changed Music: Herbie Hancock - Rockit (Produce Like a Pro)
- Behind The Scenes of the Rockit music video
- South of Watford: Interview with artist Jim Whiting
- Animatronic Band Moves From Pizza Parlors to YouTube (Wired)
- Norman Back to Normal (The Eagle Times)
-- Teacher's Pets --
- Join the Class of 80's High: 80shighpodcast@gmail.com
- Follow on Instagram: @80shighpodcast
- Theme song by Greg Reed at vendoviband.com
- Cover art by Alex Goddard at alexgoddarddesign.com