Simple Minds: Alive and Kicking

Simple Minds' Alive and Kicking, released in 1985, stands as a powerful anthem of hope and resilience, and its visually stunning music video only enhances its emotional depth. Filmed amidst the breathtaking scenery of the Catskill Mountains, the video features stunning natural backdrops of waterfalls, autumnal forests, and towering peaks that perfectly complement the song's themes of hope, endurance, and the power of love. The video perfectly mirrors the song's themes of perseverance and enduring love. The natural beauty serves as more than just a setting-it amplifies the song's powerful messaging, creating a synergy between sound and imagery that has made this video unforgettable.

The grandeur of the cinematography, the song's uplifting instrumentation, and Jim Kerr's impassioned vocals create an immersive experience that elevates Alive and Kicking into something far more than a simple pop track. The serene mountains and cascading waters symbolize the perseverance the lyrics convey, suggesting that just as the natural world endures through time and change, so too can love and the human spirit prevail against life's adversities.

While it may be debatable whether the Alive and Kicking video is one of the greatest music videos ever produced, there's no question that it ranks as one of the most visually stunning and iconic. Nearly 40 years later, the video still holds up remarkably well against its contemporaries. The gorgeous cinematography, paired with Jim Kerr's passionate vocals and the song's uplifting instrumentation, can trigger a profound emotional reaction in viewers, even casual listeners. The combined effect of the music and visuals can stir emotions so profoundly that it might even bring some to tears of sheer joy. The video's lasting impact lies not just in its visual beauty but in its ability to deeply move audiences, making it an enduring masterpiece.

Just my two cents worth.

Simple Minds was a lot more than just "Don't You Forget About Me", that's sure. In fact, I've got to know them because of "Alive and Kicking", an out of the world song, so affirmative and energic that never failed to conquer over the years, it all keeps coming back and the effect is always the same - when I discovered the extended version I loved it even more.

The music video directed by Oscar winnnig Zbigniew Rybczynski isn't a spectacle to the senses except for a magical location (I can't believe that it was shot in New York, I always thought it was somewhere in Scotland) and also because the substance (music and lyrics) were pure magic. It looks too simple but when it comes to oldies goldies and clips...the heart of the matter is always substance over style. 21st century has all the money, the sexyness, everything's over the top except for the music, the lyrics, the sound, the meaning and even the poetry. "Alive and Kicking" doesn't need all the cheap thrills, it just needs and proves that it has some heart and soul. Concept is basic: Jim Kerr and band perform the song in the Catskill Mountains (beautifully shot, great location, pure nature), extracting their best possible shot with the director showing each member doing their rock routine. Well, most of the time it's kind of corny because they keep mugging to the camera and it looks ridiculous (the keyboard man giving a sexy look at the audience in several shots is slightly laughable and he does it in every single shot he appears) but that's fine, I don't mind. It's the song that keeps me going and some of the great sequences filmed by Rybczynski - one in particular towards the ending where the camera pans back in the forest felt like coming from a horror movie, it was chilling. Videos help to sell the music, and in this case it's simple and safe because you get the sense of liberty, relief, peace and conquer in being alive and kicking despite all the obstacles you faced, you're surrounded by this magnetic energy, deep and powerful feelings, no doubts despite the song asking us questions about what we're gonna do when everything's going wrong, what's gonna take to make a dream survive and who's got the touch to calm the storm inside. Well, that video can achieve all that. It can make us swoon, release our torments, and make us jump, dance and sing along. Doesn't get better than this and music videos were meant for that. Thumbs up! 9/10