I had a fairly grandiose idea for this edition of Friday Evening Videos. I was going to do a survey of music vids that used science-fiction imagery or themes, even when they had nothing to do with the song itself, as in the case of last week’s Queen clip. This practice was more common than you might think, especially in the early ’80s when the Star Wars-inspired sci-fi boom was still cresting.

But you know, I started thinking today that most of the vids I have in mind were less feelgood space opera than grim, post-apocalyptic dystopia. And given that it’s a gray, gloomy day in the SLC and that my mood has been teetering toward melancholy all week anyhow, I decided I really didn’t want to go to that place.
Besides, I’ve had this song stuck in my head for the past several days:

Scandal is better known for its hit “The Warrior” than this one, but I remember “Goodbye to You” getting a fair amount of airplay as well, and honestly I think it’s a much catchier tune. In fact, it’s a nearly perfect example of the guitar-driven power pop that seemed to be so plentiful right around the time I was getting interested in music. I loved this stuff then, and I still love it now.

Too bad the video for such a great song isn’t especially noteworthy. It reminds me of the lip-sync competition we had one week in my high-school drama class, just a bunch of kids practicing their dance moves and vamping at each other. But that simplicity is kind of appealing in its own way, and the video does present a nice time capsule of the state of fashion circa 1982. I really like these looks, actually. They’re distinct from the decade before, definitely “Eighties,” but not yet taken to the ridiculous extremes that would mark the latter half of the decade, i.e., the huge hair and the shoulder pads and such.
And of course Scandal’s lead singer, Patty Smyth, was easy on the eyes. What is it about these pouty brunettes, anyhow?
Scandal disintegrated in 1984, not long after they released “The Warrior.” Smyth went on to record a number of solo hits, most notably a duet with Don Henley called “Sometimes Love Just Ain’t Enough.” I think I heard recently that Scandal has reformed and is supposed to have a new album out some time this year.

And with that, I’m off to see if I can shake these blues… have a better one, kids!