Suck it Tony Robbins

August 6, 2010 8:26 PM

In 1983, renowned photographer Lynn Goldsmith, became, with a little help from her friends, Will Powers.

The resulting album, Dancing For Mental Health, was as Ira Robbins described, "Strangely strange...both a Great Artistic Achievement and an unbelievably smug heap of horse puckey."

Adventures in Success
Kissing with Confidence
Smile

posted by timsteil (10 comments total)

Will Powers awesome show good job!
posted by basicchannel at 8:58 PM on August 6, 2010

GREAT job!

This sounds like a cross between Liquid Liquid and that Baz Luhrmann "song" from whenever.
posted by basicchannel at 9:01 PM on August 6, 2010 [1 favorite]

Wow - I totally forgot about Will Powers. I'm not sure I'm glad that you reminded me. So much of what I didn't like about the early to mid 80's crammed into a few videos. Worst of all, tomorrow I know I'm going to have that stupid "Adventures in Success" melody in my head.
posted by Slack-a-gogo at 9:27 PM on August 6, 2010

I remember seeing this on MTV, back in the old days when they still played videos. It really gave me the creeps- ugh, those cgi masks! I hoped it was supposed to be parody, but I wasn't sure.
You could still have stupid pop culture mysteries like that in the days before the internet.
/cane-shaking
posted by biddeford at 9:32 PM on August 6, 2010

Used to love Kissing With Confidence - it was on the very first Now That's What I Call Music album, if I remember correctly, which I still have on vinyl in storage!

And is that Meat Loaf at the beginning of the Adventures in Success video?
posted by benzo8 at 10:25 PM on August 6, 2010

And is that Meat Loaf at the beginning of the Adventures in Success video?

Yup
posted by timsteil at 11:04 PM on August 6, 2010

I owned the Will Powers album on vinyl and the eight minute album version of "Adventures in Success" contained the punchline that proved the whole thing was a joke. At about 5:45, the narrator's voice says "...but you must do one thing. You must go to a store and buy this record. You must not borrow it, you must not tape or copy from a friend. You must not ask anyone to pick it up for you. This is an investment in your self. You must give out to get back. You must take responsibility in order to begin your Adventures in Success."

The most emphatic example of early DRM I ever heard. Of course, the video and the radio single both cut off before it, so the only way you ever heard it was by possessing the album...
posted by oneswellfoop at 12:10 AM on August 7, 2010

Here's the long version with the BUY THIS RECORD message.
posted by oneswellfoop at 12:14 AM on August 7, 2010

It's also a very common part of the self-improvement guru/motivational speaker's rap, though: You got through this stage, but BUY THE TAPES so that you can listen to them again, and then when you're ready, buy the series of tapes for the next stage of your progress, and then attend the touring three-day-two-night seminar series visiting these eight major cities... You can keep feeling better about doing better as long as you ante up to the guy who's making you feel good about it.

he message to continue to buy is part and parcel of the people they're parodying/paying tribute to, and makes the album even more complete, whether as a tribute or parody.
posted by ardgedee at 6:56 AM on August 7, 2010

I thought I was the only person to actually buy and then listen to (and laugh at) this album.

Gosh I love the Internet. Thanks, timsteil. This is awesome.
posted by kinnakeet at 8:47 PM on August 7, 2010