Money for Nothing: A History of the Music Video from the Beatles to the White Stripes (Hardcover)

~ (Author)
Key Phrases: average music video, performance clip, live clip, New York, Michael Jackson, Pearl Jam (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In this look back on the music video genre, film and music critic Austerlitz does an admirable job explaining how early pioneers like the Beatles and Bob Dylan paved the way for the Madonnas and Michael Jacksons of the 1980s, the decade in which the music video thrived. Unfortunately, Austerlitz muddles his historical narrative by arranging it more by theme than by chronology. Focusing on specific directors like Michel Gondry and Paul Hunter, topics such as comedy and minimalism, and the groundbreaking concepts and techniques of videos such as Peter Gabriel's "Sledgehammer" and the Sinead O'Connor's "Nothing Compares 2 U," Austerlitz proves an erudite authority, clearly articulating what makes videos such as the Replacements' "Bastards of Young" and Guns N' Roses' "November Rain" so important to the canon. But this specificity comes at the expense of a broader, more sociological take: hot-button subjects such as homosexuality are addressed, but Austerlitz rarely connects these to the prevailing cultural climate. Similarly, Austerlitz's assessment can be succinct and spot-on, as in his consideration of Nirvana's legacy, but these moments are too few and far between. Still, film and music aficionados will find themselves smiling at discussion of their favorites and chuckling over Austerlitz's skewering of less successful specimens; like his subject, Austerlitz's efforts can be described as "part disposable crap, part ... genius."
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Review

"'His [Saul Austerlitz] love-hate relationship with his subject...results in a study that's as informative...as it is entertaining' Mojo" --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 250 pages
• Publisher: Continuum International Publishing Group (December 22, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 082641818X
• ISBN-13: 978-0826418180
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #847,717 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Groundbreaking Work for Music Video Fans, January 19, 2007

By	Daniel Smokler - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

As a child of the 80's who grew up in front of MTV, I have been waiting for a book like this to arrive. Music videos have been one of the most innovative and influential forms of media for the last twenty years, but there has been surprisingly little scholarship on the genre.
In that sense, Austerlitz is breaking new ground with this book. He is a savy tour guide for the visual landscape we all share. From the music video's early days, to the hair metal 80's into the ganster 90's, he manages to articulate in witty and insightful prose the nuances and salient features of the genre as a whole, and specific high points in particular.
With the explosion of youtube, and other self produced video formats, its about time we have some serious thinking published on the subject. Austerlitz does just that. At the same time, this is a book for the music video fan. Those of us who remember the glory days of Motley Crue's reign on DIAL-MTV, or that graffiti set of Parents Just Don't Understand, upto the great Guns and Roses triology will be thrilled to hear a wise and equally passionate voice take us back through these videos.
I only hope the sequal will shed some light on Trapped In the Closet.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Your cortex will thank you, January 22, 2007

By	Reuben M. Silberman (Washington, DC) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

The history of music videos is unwritten, even though the appeal of this strange, incandescent art form should be just as oversized for people of all ages as it is for those of us who grew up in the eighties and nineties. Austerlitz is a witty, thoughtful guide who writes with a gentle mix of scholarship and loving irreverence. Read this book no matter who you are--and then go to YouTube and burn his top 100 videos into the back of your brain.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Never thought I would use the words "thought-provoking" and MTV in the same sentence, January 29, 2007

By	J. Olken (NYC, USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Austerlitz is an insightful and funny guide through the world of music video, and it's a tour worth taking. I spent a good portion of my adolescence looking on in horror at the flopping fish in Faith No More's "Epic," taking style cues from MC Hammer, and watching the worms crawl around Peter Gabriel's head, but my middle school eyes didn't see much past the flash. For those of you like me who loved it (but maybe didn't get it) the first time around, this book is an eye-opener - as when Austerlitz takes points to the beginnings of music video in WWII "Soundies" - while still holding on to the fun and nostalgia of an afternoon (or maybe a good, solid year) watching VH1. There's plenty in here for cinephile, music geek, or the merely curious. In short: buy it, read it, and enjoy.