Pop-Up Video
The next stop along the Guitar Train’s Music Video Month is “Pop-Up Video”. Quirky T loved this show when it aired on VH1 from 1996 to 2002. For those of you not familiar with this show, each half hour show contained four or five music videos enhanced with little pop-up bubbles like comic strip dialogue bubbles. These pop-ups contained background or inside information on the artist in the video or gave trivia based on a visual or song lyric. The inside info was usually behind the scenes tidbits from the filming of the video.
One example of trivia based on a visual from the video is the bubble that appears in the video for Billy Idol’s “White Wedding”. During a scene in the kitchen, this pop-up appears “Nearly 4,000 people are injured by teapots each year.” and then a teapot explodes. The pop-ups for Meat Loaf’s “I’ll Do Anything for Love” contain several plays on the artist’s name including these two over shots of a motorcycle chase, “Meat did not do his own stunts. A stunt Loaf was hired.”
I found “Pop-Up Video” to be quite an addictive show. I always hated it when the last video of the episode would air because I wanted to see more. So I loved when marathons of the show came on; I would watch episode after episode for hours. The best endorsement for the show is that it made me watch music videos by artists I could care less about or songs I didn’t even like just so I could read the pop-ups. For example, I found myself watching Nena’s “99 Red Balloons” and learning much about the song itself and the artist.
Here’s a Pop-Up version of a classic music video, a-ha’s “Take On Me”. http://www.vh1.com/video/misc/189435/take-on-me-pop-up-video.jhtml#id=1664862
Old episodes of “Pop-Up Video” still air on VH1 Classics so check your DVR or channel guide for when. The show was revived in 2011 and 2012 to include more current music videos. I dare you not to get hooked on it, too. It’ll change how you look at music videos.
Guitar Train passengers, did you watch “Pop-Up Video”? What did you think about the show? Which music video do you think received the best “Pop-Up Video” treatment?
Guitar Train 
Nice to see Pop Up Video make an appearance!
I remember finding the ‘pop’ sound effects annoying but the trivia impossible to turn away from.
I know. I can’t just listen to the song; I don’t want to miss reading a pop-up.
I used to watch Pop Up video all the time. I loved it! I often look for the reruns on VH1 Classics. It’s true you end up watching videos for songs you really don’t even like just because the little pop ups are so interesting! The tidbits are so random at times. LOL
Thanks for commenting. Preparing for this post has made me want to check out the more recent episodes of this show.