30 Songs, 30 Days (2009 Edition), Day Fourteen: Speed Kills by 10cc

...or Godley and Creme had to start somewhere.

10cc is kind of curious. They're a band most people have some recognition factor of--if only for being the band that recorded 'that 'big boys don't cry' song' (You might know it under its more common title of "I'm Not In Love")--but may be most famous for truly launching the careers of Kevin Godley and Lol Creme, a duo who are best known for being pioneering music video directors. And they were pioneering music video directors primarily because, well, they didn't seem to like the form very much and did their best to twist, fold, spindle and mutilate every song they were hired to make a clip for. Don't take my word for it...check out the video for the Howard Jones nugget "Life In One Day"....

I love how this video just pushes Jones The performer more and more out of his own video in favor of little nonsensical channel flips...

Then we've got the wish-fulfillment incarnation of Frankie Goes To Hollywood's "Two Tribes"....I don't know about you, but I thought about this video and how I'd like to see it re-enacted with Dubya during the last eight years....

Another favorite of mine is the video for The Police's "Synchronicity 2,"which recasts the band as the kings of some post-apocalyptic junkheap.

And, of course, there's the beautiful, utter symplicity of "Cry," an excellent song in its own right, where the duo uses the then-nascent technology of video morphing to create an ongoing facial montage. And let me tell you, as one who saw this video when it was new, it was a creepy experience.

The duo became obsessed with new video tech--Huey Lewis' risible argument for not rocking the boat "Hip To Be Square" used a medical camera then utilized by dentists to get the extreme close-ups.

You'll notice I haven't been talking much about the song...well, it's because it's been a while since I heard it and....it's not very good. There's some neat guitar licks that drown out the lyrics, but it's pretty bog standard.

But if there was no 10cc, there would be no Godley and Creme...and without Godley and Creme, well...we wouldn't have the kick-assery of these videos, huh?