80s Music Video Sunday #16

During the past few days, Tel Aviv was transformed into a spotty patchwork of red and white as a seemingly endless number of soccer/football fans from England could be found wandering the streets, strolling along the promenade, and, probably more than anything else, drying up the local beer reserves. Thousands of English fans streamed into Israel last week ahead of yesterday evening's Euro qualifier against Israel (and I fell asleep shortly after the game started, which I'm sure will make Anglosaxy lose any respect for me that he might have had). Every newscast has spent an inconceivable amount of time following the goings-on of these fans, and if I had to hazard a guess as to what the most frequently asked interview question was among this crowd, I'd be willing to bet that it had to do with the number of beers they'd had so far that day (with mind-boggling answers such as "10" and "14", which would probably put me in a coma for several days, while these fellows seemed to be fine).

It was also noted on more than one occasion (and often with sloshy, beer-goggled pride) that a number of the fans partook of the services offered by a number of "after-hours" establishments in the vicinity of my office. There was even an interview with one young man as he was, umm, being serviced. He seemed to be having a rather difficult time answering the questions, and when asked which team he thought might win the game, he responded with something like, "ummm.... yeah... I don't... ummm... really know..." Now that, my friends, is entertainment. Overall though, they seemed like a rather cheerful bunch, and as we crawled through the traffic on the road running parallel to the promenade, we couldn't help but get caught up in the atmosphere, especially when we heard the boisterous singing coming from The Buzz Stop and Mike's Place (which made the news in 2003 as the scene of a suicide bombing) as onlookers lined the streets as though the Macy's Parade was about to come through.

It was recently announced that another "fine dining" establishment will soon be reaching our shores from the US, and I couldn't help but think that had this restaurant been here this week, they would have done very well. The eatery in question is Hooters, and if you were to ask me what slogan might be appropriate for the Israeli branch, I'd say something like, "Hooters... Because life in Israel isn't wacko enough...", or "Hooters... Can Israeli society sink any lower?" As I said, though, I think it would have been quite a hit with our English friends this week, given the excitement they displayed about meeting Israeli women (one fan said during yet another televised interview that as long as he got our beer and our women, he didn't care who won the game).

But what does all of this have to do with 80s Music Video Sunday, you ask? Well, all this talk about Hooters has reminded me of a time when Hooters meant something else. When it referred to a band out of Philadelphia that had a number of hits in the 80s, and not a derogatory name for female body parts. I've always really liked the song "And We Danced". I love the upbeat tune, and there's something about the video that has always put me in a good mood. I wonder if it's because the video showed a bunch of kids just having a good time, instead of the usual, recurring rock music video theme of far too many hooters...



And We Danced
The Hooters

She was a be-bop baby on a hard day's night
She was hangin' on Johnny, he was holdin' on tight
I could feel her coming from a mile away
There was no use talking, there was nothing to say
When the band began to play and play

And we danced like a wave on the ocean, romanced
We were liars in love and we danced
Swept away for a moment by chance
And we danced and danced danced

I met my be-bop baby at the Union Hall
She could dance all night and shake the paint off the walls
But when I saw her smile across a crowded room
Well I knew we'd have to leave the party soon
As the band began to play out of tune

And we danced like a wave on the ocean, romanced
We were liars in love and we danced
Swept away for a moment by chance
And we danced and danced danced

The endless beat, she's walkin' my way
Hear the music fade when she says
Are we getting too close, do we care to get closer
The room is spinning as she whispers my name

And we danced like a wave on the ocean, romanced
We were liars in love and we danced
Swept away for a moment by chance
And we danced and danced danced

And we danced like a wave on the ocean, romanced
We were liars in love and we danced
Swept away for a moment by chance
And we danced and danced danced

And we danced...
And we danced...
And we danced...
And we danced...