The story of Money for Nothing is weirder than you thought

[regenitech]

I'm happy to have played a small part in this music video. I was one of the original software engineers on the Bosch FGS 4000 responsible for the animation editor. I moved to Paris in 1987 from Salt Lake City where the FGS 4000 was invented and continued to work on the animation editor. From time to time I visited London where Ian Pearson and Gavin Blair were working on the animation for Money For Nothing. The blocky extruded characters in Money For Nothing were about the best a modeler could do at the time so I began working on the Hyperspace Modeler that allowed artists with no 3D modeling experience to create freeform organic models. The rest is history 😊

[keithharrison]

I tried learning this on guitar
Using Mark's finger picking style instead of a pick
Guess what happened ?
I got a blister on my finger & a blister on my thumb !

[robertodesimone]

The publisher wanting a percentage for a melody, against the author will; for a song titled Money for nothing... Case in point!

[davecummings]

No mention of the badass drum solo at the beginning with the epic keyboards that build up the ultimate crescendo AT THE BEGINNING OF THE SONG. Usually that happens in the middle or near the end. It was genius to put it on the front and then go dead silent for that guitar. Incredible!!

[michaelg.]

Can you imagine being that guy who worked in the appliance store, one day hearing and seeing Money For Nothing while at work, and realizing "Wait a tick, that sounds like something I'd say!"

[krisoko]

Don't disrespect the graphics in the video - they're iconic, they have character, and were made 30 years before the blocky graphics of minecraft were a thing.

[MaxStax]

When this song came out i was actually working at an appliance store as a appliance repairman. One of my jobs was to deliver and install microwave ovens, the above stove type, and deliver TV's when they sold them. Needless to say i loved this song!

[LeviBulger]

You missed a pretty massive part of the accidental guitar tone. The reason they thought it sounded so great was because they didn't realize there was a wah pedal in the chain that was inadvertently turned on and in a partially cocked position. It gave it a very mid-forward tone much like what Billy Gibbons would sometimes have. Without that, you don't get anywhere near the guitar tone as it was otherwise set up.

When they said they couldn't replicate it afterwards, that was why. They hadn't realized for quite some time later that there was a wah pedal turned on. In fact they had already broken down all the equipment and finished recording the whole album before realizing the wah was in the mix of that particular song.

[Nahash]

I was helping farmer Bill in southern Illinois loading hay out to pasture for the horses from his pickup truck. This song came on and he scrambled to turned it all the way up. I remember seeing all the dust in the air as the music played against the colorful evening sky, and the horses didn't mind at all. Working hard and listening to the radio, and a song that seemed to merge the spirit of the Midwest and the limelight.

[danstephensen]

I’m just a drummer who has performed for 60 years. Money 4 NUTHIN’ has been one of my ALL TIME tunes to play. I play in 4 bands and 2 of them have it on their Set List. Always a Pleasure. Thanks MARK🥁🎸🥁🎸🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆

[Mrmumps-tbno]

To anyone who doesn’t know, better help were caught selling their customers data, don’t use them

[lakewall]

When I was little my dad was a truck driver, and one day he heard this tune for the first time on the radio and it so happened he was moving a truckload of refrigerators.

[Zacabeb]

Of note regarding the CGI in Money for Nothing video is that the Bosch FGS-4000 video graphics system used could produce more complex graphics (though obviously still extremely primitive by today's standards) and the boxy style seemed to be a deliberate aesthetic choice.

I think that because of its extreme simplicity it's aged incredibly well compared to much other CGI.

[mikewazowski]

"Mtv is not what it once was..." is an understatement. To have been a part of that generation where Mtv and even Vh1 were actually about music was an exciting time. We used to have music video parties on the weekends. People would tape on VHS, their favorite or popular videos. You could get 8 hrs of videos on tape, then setup multiple VHS players in several rooms. Everything else would be a normal party, but you wouldn't need anyone to DJ.

[tonybroken]

the guitar sound is from a cocked wah pedal. I never realised " i want my MTV" had the "don't stand so close to me" melody, that's clever. Money for Nothing is a classic for sure.

[ForgottenTasmania]

The song was an anthem for people selling HiFi in the 80s. And the thrill of that guitar riff played loud sold a lot of systems. Fond memories.

[jonathanhill]

The iconic album cover was another accident. There was a bad storm during the time they were recording that did some damage to the building. After it passed, the sky was spectacular. Knopfler was carrying the National resonator guitar near the swimming pool and held it up to the sky for their photographer, who was snapping the view. The result was so good, they made it the album cover. A few attempts were made to reshoot it better, but nothing worked as well as the first quickly snapped shot. That’s how John Isley told it.

[balaji-kartha]

For someone who was 28 in ‘86, your analysis was great to hear. These guys are heroes!

[SewerTapes]

When I was 17, one of my friends tried to tell me Money for Nothing's guitar riff is one of the best in Rock history. Now that I'm 44, and my taste in music is no longer limited to only metal, I totally agree with him. This song fu-king rocks. I also happen to love the primitive CGI and have been losing my mind trying to get a similar look from Blender.

[Besmertnic]

I lived in Montserrat in 2008, I met George Martin and visited what was left of Air studio after the volcano. I was there planning an aquaponic project, Sir George wanted me to convert the swimming pool into a fish pond. I didn't know this song was recorded there, beautiful place, tragic what the volcano did, the studio was basically a shell when I was there. A lot of great music was made there; Synchronicity, Steel Wheels, Too Low for Zero...