Fact: Pop-Up Video Pops Up Online

We were excited to discover today that one of our favorite shows of pre-Rock of Love-era VH1, Pop-Up Video, had resurfaced online, allowing us to watch the storied series while we're at work. (Editor's note: Well, we would never watch it at work, but other people might find it an enjoyable way to kill time.) Pop-Up Video bubbled with so much in-depth, unnecessary trivia, it made our Almost-Impossible Rock & Roll Quiz seem like a third-grade math test. Now, we can revisit all the stories behind a-ha's "Take On Me" (the single only sold 300 copies when it was first released!) and Janet Jackson's "Runaway" (she never traveled anywhere, it was all blue screen!) -- and enjoy that satisfying pre-TiVo pop sound effect. While we were a little bummed by VH1's failure to post any videos recorded after Bill Clinton was in the White House thus far (we did, however, enjoy the Billy Joel, Culture Club and Toni Braxton clips that are among the forty-seven currently available) and some slow buffering time, we're happy to welcome Pop-Up Video back into our lives.

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Song Stories

“Time to Pretend”

MGMT | 2008

Listening to MGMT’s breakthrough song, one might interpret it as being about the excesses of rock stardom, but it’s actually about the duo’s pet praying mantis. Ben Goldwasser and Andrew VanWyngarden told Rolling Stone they got the idea from the insect's jerky movements. The mantis died, but the two bandmates kept the egg sack and allowed the hundreds of eggs to hatch. “We tried to name them all, but they died after a day,” said Goldwasser, with VanWyngarden chiming in, “But the praying mantis dance inspired us.”

More Song Stories entries »

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