Dire Straits - Money For Nothing (REACTION) with my wife

In the 80' on MTV, there were NO reality shows! It was music videos 24/7 and it was WONDERFUL!!

Mark wrote this song after he overheard 2 delivery men commenting on the TV's in a store in New York, all the TV's were tuned to MTV. He wrote down what he heard and turned that into this song. It's Sting form "The Police" that sings the higher second voice.

Sting of The Police is singing intro,and back up vocals.

You have summed up the message of the song perfectly! The resentment of the laborer being paid a pittance, compared to his boss (which he slants as a you-know-what) and his anger that musicians have money and girls falling at their feet for doing (almost) nothing - certainly not physical labor. This incredibly beautiful and insightful song should also be viewed in the light that the band themselves were desperate only a few years earlier - hence their name.😎

The rear window of my car vibrated at the time.❤

The story behind the song: Mark was in a store in NY, and on one whole wall of the store there were TVs tuned to MTV (Music Television); he overheard the workers making derisive (and jealous perhaps) comments about the performers in the videos and how easy those guys had it compared to their own blue-collar jobs (moving TVs, microwaves and refrigerators etc.). Mark grabbed a pen and paper and wrote their remarks down verbatim right there, and those comments became the lyrics of the song. Given that they (Dire Straits) are musicians themselves, singing the lyrics in an MTV video, it's also good natured, self-parodic and cheeky! Moreover, it's fitting because in contrast to some the 'glam rock' of the time, Dire Straits was 'pub rock'. As to the 'offensive' word at issue: 1) That was the word used by the blue collar workers themselves in the store about the guys in the MTV videos; (2) it was very common parlance at that time and was a term sometimes used akin to a 'dumb-ass' or a 'moron,' (3) it was also used to suggest 'poser' or 'pretty boy' (the glam rock of the time, 'with the earrings and the makeup' who were seen to have sold out to corporate media) rather than to homosexuals (gay guys wouldn't be concerned about getting 'chicks' for free, would they?); And Notably, when the band plays this track live, in the first person if you will, they leave out that word. Context is everything!

The voice you hear at the beginning singing “ I want my MTV “ is Sting! My favourite Dire Straits song!

That guitar riff is so good it leaves a scar in your brain. Once you heard it, you will never get it out of your head.

Money for Nothing was Dire Straits most commercial successful single, peaking at No.1 for three weeks on the US Billboard Hot 100. Money for Nothing won video of the year. The Rolling Stone magazine listed the song the 94th greatest guitar song of all time. For me this is Dire Straits No.1 song and the Top 10 song of the 1980s. I was at the Dire Straits Brothers in Arms tour concert 26 October 1985. The concert was amazing! Thanks for a great video by Dire Straits the great 1980s at its best! 🎸

The song comes from overhearing some guys working in a shop talking about what they where watching on MTV

Don't ever apologise for your discussions, that's my favourite part! I could listen to the two of you talk and banter without a music reaction, although I guess it's the music that gives you something to talk about, lol. Anyway, it's one of the things that sets your channel apart in the best possible way. :goodvibes:❤

I am not surprised that Dominika knows the song. I am Polish like her and about her age and this song has been huge in polish television in the 80s it was everywhere.

One of the first ever clip on MTV. When they still played music that is 😂😂

It's been an incredible era to live in for technological development, my first home computer was black and white and had half a K of memory, I learnt to write my own games on it cos I couldn't afford to buy any, the way it's snowballed since then is incredible! Great reaction as always :)

Walk Of Life is a great fun song by Dire Straights involves sports Brings back great memories ❤❤❤

One year in the 80's, it was down to this song and Michael Jacksons Beat it, for song of the year. It was very close, but this song won.

That was my first CD and it was the first video on MTV Europe

First song played on MTV Europe

That first bot looks very much like Stan Laurel. I have always wondered if it was a coincidence or by design.🤷‍♂

The money is not "proportional" to the exerted effort, but that's the point of a market economy, doing it different/better and getting more. The irony is that most (all that signed a contract with a record company before they had any leverage) musicians were the one's getting screwed out of money that was earned on their talent and effort. If you want to know more about that, info is everywhere - I saw a Van Halen interview where they had just dropped their debut album and toured constantly. That debut album, maybe the best debut album in the history of rock, went gold and platinum that first year - over a million units sold in US alone in first year. When they got into the studio to record the follow-up album, they were informed by their label that they currently owed them over $3,000,000 for the expenses incurred with marketing, distributing, etc. - they were broke - literally every band coming up in the '70s has the same story. Rush and Tom Petty have good record company fight stories.