Alive from Off Center

Episode Synopsis

This program, hosted by Susan Stamberg, showcases alt rock music videos, beginning with "The Dancing Man," in which a recurring song torments a man. The video "The Women's Group" by the British New Wave group "The Flying Lizards" offers a satirical view of a "woman's world" and the "traps" that she faces. "Lake Placid 80" by artist Nam June Paik uses images of Olympic ice skaters as they whirl to the beat of a rock song. In "Record Players" by Christian Marclay, unidentified hands "play" acetate LPs by scratching them. "Once in a Lifetime," a music video by "Talking Heads" band leader David Byrne, is followed by Joan Logue's "TV Commercials for Artists" in which she presents unconventional video portraits of Steve Reich (clapping hands), Nam June Paik (playing a piano in an unorthodox way), and Laurie Anderson (using her head as percussion). The final segment, "Act III", is a piece by John Sanborn and Dean Winkler with music by Philip Glass.