Slightly psychedelic and visually arresting homage to American TV of the 1980s put together by Smash TV that we recently discovered on Vimeo.
With an enjoyable soundtrack including tracks from the likes of Peaking Lights, Boards of Canada, Thompson Twins and Laurie Anderson the playful and vibrant montage video comes recommended. There’s definitely a time and a place for this one. Hope you enjoy it.
Here’s what Smash TV say about the video:
Memorex is the advertising industry’s collective wet dream. The sequel to Smash TV’s critically acclaimed ‘Skinemax’, Memorex is a 50 minute VJ odyssey, a tribute to an entire generation who grew up with only a TV and a VCR for a babysitter.
Sourced from over forty hours of 80s commercials pulled from warped VHS tapes, Memorex is a deep exploration of nostalgia and the fading cultural values of an era of excess. It’s a re-contextualization of ads – cultural detritus, the lowest of the low – into something altogether more profound, humorous, and at times, even beautiful.
Digging up long forgotten memories for a generation who spent their formative years glued to the boob tube, Memorex is a veritable nostalgia nuke for children of the 80s. Endless beach parties, Saturday morning cartoons, claymation everything, sleek cars, sexy babes, toys you forgot existed, station idents, primitive computer animation, all your favorite sugary cereal mascots, and so much more. An ode to the hyper consumerism and sleek veneer of a simpler time.
The audio provides a perfect accompaniment to the warped and weirdly nostalgic footage, like finding your favorite cassette from childhood after it’s been baking in the sun for 25 years. An authentic audio/visual package, Memorex was designed to look and feel like the real deal. The ultimate VHS tape.
Is it a lost cultural relic, melted to the dash of an ’83 Nissan Sentra?
Is it a sinister government experiment, designed to brainwash children into becoming consumer slaves?
Is it the pinnacle of blipverts, sent back in time from 20 minutes into the future?
Is it the holy grail of unlabeled VHS tapes, tucked away in the back room of an abandoned Blockbuster?
Is it live, or is it Memorex?
We didn’t create your childhood, we just organized it for you. How to brainwash an entire generation.
OBEY. CONSUME. THIS IS YOUR GOD.
Fair enough.
Have a look at the other films on Racket Racket.