Peter Gabriel - Sledgehammer (Reaction)

ShakaShine reacts to: Peter Gabriel - Sledgehammer
Original Video: • Peter Gabriel - Sledge...
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#ShakaShine #PeterGabriel #Sledgehammer

[@dalee72]

This music video was released in 86. This was before MJ's Leave Me Alone and Speed Demon.

[@lewis9702]

4:22 - Yes, it's stop motion. You have to remember this video was in the late 80's, and digital effects really weren't available back then.

[@PixelPro-4000]

Shakashine, you will appreciate this. This album "So" (which includes Sledgehammer) is widely considered to be one of the best quality audio productions ever. Tremendous care was applied to the audio mixing and production quality of each song on the entire album.

[@nightHawk66]

Peter Gabriel was a founding member of Genesis in the late 1960. In 1975 he dropped of the machinery to do other stuff and to pursue a solo career. The guy behind the drums was a guy called Phil Collins, who took over leadvocals from the 1976 album A Trick Of The Tail. Phil joined Genesis in 1971. Peters first soloalbum came out 1977 and contains the wonderful song Solsbury Hill which was a small hit. Great artist, great music and all of Genesis current and former members had some sucess. A deep rabbit hole!

[@pennyhaynes9010]

One of my favorite songs! The bass is amazing!

[@carolynbifano]

This tune came out in 1986 when MTV was just getting started and all the videos were very creative because they did not have CGI, etc. It’s one of MTV’s most important videos ever: not only did it win nine Video Music Awards in 1987 (a feat still unsurpassed); it’s also the most played clip in the history of the channel. It took them a week to make it and Peter laid under a sheet of glass for 16 hours while they filmed it one frame at a time. The song is filled with sexual innuendos and euphemisms. Some believe the song is not about sex but about Drug addiction and getting clean and that has been a HUGE debate. However the opening is swimming sperm and an egg so it cannot be denied that is about sex. The lyrics are "You can get a steam train if you just lay down your tracks" to "You could have a big dipper. Going up and down, all around the bends. You could have a bumper car, bumping. This amusement never ends". He wants to be her "Sledehammer", being/doing anything she needs". Then "Show me round your fruitcake. 'Cos I will be your honey bee. Open up your fruitcake. Where the fruit is as sweet as can be". The "Drug" references would be "I kicked the habit, Shed my skin." I am told a "Sledgehammer" in addict parlance is a person that acts like a "Mentor" in Alcoholics Anonymous. The "Sledgehammer" breaks the needles. "You show for me, and I will show for you" means "when I need help to not shoot up, you come and help me, and I will do the same for you". Peter did get off of heroin and free-basing so maybe it is about addiction but it for sure is about sex. I saw an interview where he was asked about the lyrics and Gabriel said regarding the theme of this song: "Sometimes sex can break through barriers when other forms of communication are not working too well." He did not mention addiction. :)

[@girlsdrinkfeck]

the clay motion part of peter gave me big MTV celebrity deathmatch vibe u feel me

[@nmgal8543]

Yes, it's about sex, 100 percent. I remember hearing that he wrote it for his wife. In other news, the bass line is by the great Tony Levin. (inventor of the Funk Fingers...) Sounds great live, too.

[@standhd]

Tony Levin’s Funk Fingers originated from Big Time. It was also used in Steam.

[@dcramblermusic317]

Yes it's stop motion and it was high tech back in the day !

[@rpraelsporcupine3112]

Yes, it is stop motion. This video was a huge success when it came out. I mean, huge. It is still the most played video on MTV today. And about the lyrics, you got it right, they are metaphors about sex.

[@dbsti3006]

Pause it all you want. You actually offer commentary that shows you think deeper than most into songs. Cant believe ive never subbed. Now im subbed.

[@lynnhoffman247]

This video won several awards. Watch the live version of “In Your Eyes” from his Secret World concert. He sings part of the song in the African language of Wolof. All of the accompanying singers & musicians are fantastic, too.

[@DocRobert]

2:09 “This little intro part didn’t need to be that long.” Funny I was just thinking that about your reaction video. 😄 Just playin. Rock on, bruv. Great reaction as always.

[@AW-yj6md]

Darlin the whole song is the hook,..we were so blown away when this dropped,..I can't remember the VJ(video jockey),..but remember when they first introduced the video,..they so calmly introduced the video,..like.."ohh we have a new video fro Peter Gabriel ",..like it was an everyday thing,..which it was back then,..but this video isn't an everyday thing,..caught me off guard you know,..by then had seen and heard Shock the Monkey,.which I loved,...but then this came along,..don't remember hearing about him working on anything,...it's like it was just sprung on us,..in spite of how painstakingly long it took to make this video masterpiece,..whole time your watching the visual smorgasbord,..so much to see,..your just sitting there jaw dropped,..(also because you know the meaning of the content,..(no you don't have a dirty mind young man, your right on point!),..your dancing, jamming, tapping your feet snapping your fingers,..you just can't stop,..then when it's over,..your like,..what just happened,..and you so want to, can't wait to see and hear it again!,..,Peter's videos are wild,..but the music always good,..always,..the innovation incredible,..80's was a kind of reniaissance,..innovation in music and videos, film making,..they became movies,..storylines,..you wondered about the innovation,..that Harryhausen effect, stop motion,..from the 1930's, King Kong(its black and white) to all the scifi in between,..matte drawing,..even used in major dramatic movies,.not just scifi,.puppetry,.and makeup used on small screen, scifi,.Outer Limits, Twilight Zone(black and white),.to what Jim Henson Frank Oz(yeah from Sesame Street) did in The Dark Crystal,..to Sledgehammer,..like 60 years,..and the stop motion was still being used,..improved on yess,..but still only game in town before cgi,..the on hands creativeness of movies like Star Wars, Alien,..and another masterpiece,.The Thing(have you seen those,..huh,..dare you to if you haven't, to see them and not be impressed by how these artists brought characters and horror to life),..the make up artist for American Werewolf in London, Rich Baker won an Oscar for his work,..the artist back then didn't play,..they couldn't,..the touch up,..the paste on and make it work happened on the fly,.while filming,..tedious,.like the work done on this video,..there's a deadline,..in spite of that they pulled it off,..and its some of the best work,.best art ever done on film,..all we have to do is click on a video,..and be taken to a make believe world,..so glad this is still here for you young people,..your looking at history making work,..do keep going,..Peter's music, videos worth the time,..Big Time,.Steam(so love that one),..Kiss The Frog, Diggin in The Dirt,..and the one I mentioned earlier, Shock The Monkey,..enjoy young person,..keep going,..so enjoyed your reaction,..Godspeed, Peace ✌

[@PixelPro-4000]

You make a lot of great observations. Yeah, the mid-eighties showed us a lot of talent trying to out-do everyone else in the industry by being innovative with existing and new video technology. Sledgehammer was among the most revolutionary. MJ's Leave Me Alone is very similar in style for sure, and you can see both of these videos are top tier executions.

[@PixelPro-4000]

BTW, Sledgehammer came out first. MJ followed it 2 years later with "Leave Me Alone".

[@PixelPro-4000]

Several video techniques were employed for this video. You are right. There is stop motion in this. But also, they did something very interesting at the time. They recorded segments of the video multiple times... and then they edited them together but they went back and forth between each video stream one frame at a time. So, frame 1 of the first recording, followed by frame 2 of the second recording, with the 3rd frame of the 3rd recording after that, and so on. That's why it looks the way it does, but is also in sync with the music the whole time. Pretty cool stuff and it was unique at the time. Instead of doing stop motion specifically for one stream of video recording (pause/animate/record/pause, etc.) they would simply make adjustments on the other video streams being recorded, rather than pause and stop animate only on a single video stream. This video was really revolutionary at the time and set the standard that other music videos tried to reach. If you haven't seen this before, it might be good to let you check out A-Ha's "Take On Me" (another revolutionary video at the time). Back then, everyone was trying to push the boundaries of creativity and innovation with their music videos. In return, they got a tremendous amount of exposure on MTV.

[@beatawallace5725]

This came out April of 86.

[@kennethslayor8177]

Also, "claymation" was used in a number of notable videos and several movies from the late 80's to early 2000's.

[@girlsdrinkfeck]

i also thought it reminds me of leave me alone ,but this came out earlier by a few years !

[@franckgrandis4354]

Hi, Sledgehammer is an introduction to sexuality. The sentence "Open your fruitcage" is colorful but explicit !!! For the style of music, Peter was a big fan of Otis Redding ... this song takes on the Soul music style. Peter is a great artist, looking for sounds and rhythms ... and strong and committed lyrics (Biko, Games without frontiers, Not one of us), on relationships (Lay your hands on me, Come talk to me, Only us) ... Many masterpieces by this ex-singer of the group Genesis (until 1975) ... Firth of fifth, Super's ready, The lamb lies down on Broadway. ;-) from France

[@mjrmrz5932]

The beat tho...

[@girlsdrinkfeck]

10:40 i agree with u, this is why many people prefer older computer games ,they had to be more creative and obscure to create a unique experience for the player ,same goes for music videos

[@israelbenitez6346]

Yes it's about him wanting to be able to "take care" of his woman...if you know what he means

[@kennethslayor8177]

Nope, you do not just have a dirty mind. This song is very suggestive. Pretty sure the "sledgehammer" is a euphemism.

[@rickyconner6782]

It's a witty song about sex which takes more intelligence than explicitness..

[@coldwhite4240]

Good reaction! This is my most favourite video of all time. PG is one of my favourite artists too and for me, his peak was his solo career from the period mid-80s to mid-90s, including, of course, this classic. I love how the video symbolically begins and ends with depicting the start and end of life (fertilisation and embryo growth, then later PG sitting down in the chair to 'sleep' and then 'rising up' into the stars and waving goodbye), and continues the motif of reproduction and innuendo/imagery throughout, but also has hilarious visuals like the chicken dance, the vegetable face, and so on! Also, it was a clever choice to use stop motion and claymation rather than the CGI of the time (as used, for example, in Dire Straits' "Money For Nothing" which was only a year before this song, but looks so dated in comparison). As a result, the only bit that looks dated is the section where PG and the dancing girls/crowd are, with clothes and hairstyles clearly of the 80s. PG's solo career is worth a deep-dive for a lot of great tracks and creative videos, including "Shock The Monkey", "Games Without Frontiers", "Big Time", "Steam" and "Digging In The Dirt". He also did great duets with Kate Bush ("Don't Give Up") and Sinead O'Connor ("Blood Of Eden"). If you find you like his work, his live performances are also a must. The whole Secret World Live tour from the early 1990s is brilliant and my personal favourite. The whole thing is on here at kzbin.info/www/bejne/bKuQl5ishb2CitU , but if you like it, do support the man by getting the DVD or download. The entire crew look like they had such a great time, the (then) new singer Paula Cole was fantastic as the female lead on some iconic PG songs in place of Kate Bush and Sinead O'Connor, and as a backing singer too. PG is one of my favourite artists for his lyrical and musical genius and the creativity of many of his video ("Sledgehammer" being one of the best IMO)

[@stevenblum2005]

The bass

[@michaeltodd7008]

Great artist. And great reaction. If you are willing to check it out…check his live performances in Africa…pure fire!

[@thereseball]

p.s. Peter G. is incredible!!

[@jayeell1253]

but a lot of people never really got what the song was about. And #naugthybynature sampled that opening flute sound for - (once again it's on) #hip-hop. And peter was also the lead singer for #genesis before #philcollins

[@PixelPro-4000]

You know what makes a great song? Progression. This song has it. Starts off strong... and progresses until you feel like moving by the end of it. Yep. Beastie Boys did this all the time. The song evolves throughout.

[@DRu.913]

Yup keeps you coming back for more!

[@nightHawk66]

Since you mentioned MJ, you should check out the recent released song Thriller by swedish band Dirty Loops, in collaboration with guitarist Corey Wong and a fantastic horn section! 🔥🔥🔥 Really fantastic musicians! Great cover which would make MJ proud! Dirty Loops are signed by Quincy Jones.

[@DocRobert]

I always thought this video, though cool, was way too goofy for this dirty, dirty song. 🔥

[@SWTSU]

No dirty mind here!!!!!! You are spot on!!!!! Very sexual song!!!!! So says Austin Tx!!!!😎🍸

[@danieldougan269]

It IS stop motion. And you are right about him being dirty. This whole song is full of sexual innuendo.

[@candicelitrenta8890]

It IS stop motion

[@walterwhite2640]

Shakashine, I agree to an extent with your opinion on music videos being more creative in the past. But I think the reasons you touched upon, while being somewhat accurate don't paint a full picture. That's not a criticism. But another angle you didn't cover in the video (maybe you're not a cynic like I am) is the fact that just like pop music itself has developed a formula over the years, music videos have largely done the same. Especially in popular genres. Most modern music videos in pop, R&B and rap are very similar. Lots of scantily clad women. Men wearing labels, smoking weed, fancy cars. Videos shot in a club or club type set. That kind of thing. What's happened is not really that music video creators don't want to do what was done before, but the opposite. They've seen that sex sells. Excess does too. So they've latched onto those ideas because they are what you would call effective marketing strategies. Its a shame, because music videos could be so much more than what they are at the moment. But so many artists seem to only want to put out a certain product.

[@S1n1sterTech]

From my understanding this song is about sex lol

[@NABIL7]

Please, react to Peter Gabriel - Intruder.

[@FrankCastlesConscience]

A reaction yes…but too many stoppages. A reaction doesn’t NEED to be you constantly stopping the video for your penny’s worth.