Jim Steinman

A few weeks ago for Meat Loaf Monday I talked about the video for Meat Loaf's song "Rock and Roll Dreams Come Through." I love the song, and the video's completely overdone (it even has Angelina Jolie and exploding jukeboxes). Yes, we all know it's great. But what you may not know is that Meat Loaf didn't actually write the song. In fact, most of Meat Loaf's best and most famous songs were written by Jim Steinman. 

Exactly, I didn't know who he was, either. But basically any hit Meat Loaf had, Steinman wrote it.  It's not like it's some kind of conspiracy, though; the album covers even say something like "songs by Jim Steinman." Steinman also wrote "Total Eclipse of the Heart," which Bonnie Tyler later sang. So he wasn't just a one-trick pony (although due to the cheesy Conan The Barbarian-style imagery in both Steinman's and Meat Loaf's album covers and videos, he'd probably prefer that I say he wasn't a one-trick warrior stallion... so be it).

Anyhow, I was poking around on the internet looking for more Meat Loaf videos (as I am wont to do), and I came across Steinman's video for "Rock and Roll Dreams Come Through." It's pretty...um... I'm not sure how to describe it. It looks like it's set about 20 feet below any scene depicted on a Meat Loaf or Steinman album cover, if that makes sense. The main theme of the video seems to be that the guy dancing in the hot pants wants the guitar, and the girl dancing in what appears to be a jazzercise outfit wants the guitar, too. Fortunately, Jim Steinman's there to mediate over the dance-off. And in a dance-off like this one, everyone wins. But I've said enough. Just watch it, and appreciate the kind of video you could get in 1981 if you had a budget of about $65:

Thanks for reading, and keep on dreaming and rocking!

(Update 1, 10 minutes later): OK, no, sorry. I just can't let it stop there. How in the world did they get this video made? It baffles my mind. I can't even begin to imagine the sales pitch they made to the production company. "OK, so we're on the moon, right, and Jim's gonna be standing on some kind of stump while a guy and a girl dance around with a silver guitar. Oh, and there'll be some kind of raptor bird-- either a hawk or an eagle, whichever's cheaper and more photogenic. The kids love hawks, so maybe we can even tie it in with some kind of She-Ra or He-Man cross-promotion. We'll be millionaires!"

(Update 2, 30 minutes later): Holy crap! Check out this video from a German TV program in 1981! They even brought in the Dancing Hot Pants Duo for a live performance!!

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