PLAYOUT 2.0 BATCH 9: SEP 27

Night Flight - "Take Off" to the Australian Invasion

This review of the early 80s Aussie rock scene on video features the likes of Jo Jo Zep, Men At Work, Divinyls, Midnight Oil, Inxs and New Zealand's Tim Finn (of Split Enz fame) and more. Night Flight's innovative "Take Off" series dispensed with playlists, bland VJ set-ups and the usual tired video countdown format and instead cleverly programmed music videos an...Read More

Night Flight - New Order Video Profile

Night Flight's video profile of one of the seminal bands of the 1980s, Manchester England's innovative New Order. Highlights include their music video for "Confusion" which contains scenes filmed inside legendary NYC nightclub 'The Funhouse' along with rare footage of revered dance music producer Arthur Baker at work in the studio.

A Night Flight Special - Prince Video Profile

Video hits from Prince and affiliated acts such as Morris Day and The Time and the late, great Vanity.

Night Flight - "Take Off" to Street Music IV

1985's "Take Off" to street music featuring Chaka Khan, Grand Master Flash, Run DMC and more...

Night Flight - Short Film Showcase and Directions in Jazz

Night Flight's independent filmmaker showcase featuring Ilene Segalove's "Why I Got Into TV and other stories," Daniel Reeves' "Thousands Watch," "Mirage" and a special directions in Jazz special, featuring members of Steely Dan's live band.

Night Flight - Music Video Directors Part 2

Welcome to Night Flight, where we're showcasing the directors behind some of the top music videos of the time. We'll look at the people who directed the videos of Duran Duran, The Police, Kenny Rogers, Billy Joel and Bette Midler. Starting with Russell Mulcahy, director of "Video Killed The Radio Star" heralding in a new era.

Night Flight - New Sounds 4 and Wendy O. Williams Video Profile

Night Flight's 1985 Episode of New Sounds music's latest trends and hottest rising stars. Tonight: Dance music, sounds from the national club scene, with Peter Brown, Feelabelia, Goon Squad, and more. Also in this episode, a hardcore video profile on Metal's leading lady, Wendy O. Williams.

Radio 1990 (2/22/84)

A classic episode of Radio 1990 (from 1984) arrives on Night Flight Plus. Lisa Robinson interviews Mick Jagger, Kathryn Kinley looks at the Hot Sports Illustrated of the Year and music videos (then known as video music) from Elton John, Bob Seger and The Rolling Stones.

Night Flight - "Take Off" to Summer Fun

Pat Prescott let's us know its "party time in the sun, with food, sand, women and water." Night Flight Take's off to Summer Fun is an eclectic mix of classic Night Flight Zannies, summer-centric music videos and a Mr. Bill segment tucked inside. Dive in!

Night Flight - "Take Off" to Rock and Cult

Night Flight's take off to Rock and Cult films. This is A special preview of some of the films Night Flight showed in 1985 including Rude Boy (starring the Clash), Breaking Glass, Smithereens, Debbie Harry in Union City, Warhol's Frankenstein and more...

Night Flight - The Cure Video Profile and New Movies

The segment is guided by a candid Radio 1990 interview with Robert Smith about the inspiration for the "Close To Me" video, fame and more. In true Night Flight fashion, the British band's "ever-evolving visual image" is explored through director Tim Pope's videos throughout the piece.

Night Flight - "Take Off" to Rockabilly

"Rockabilly is a strange brew," Pat Prescott announces, "part Rhythm & Blues, Country & Western, Gospel and even Pop. It's a style that takes us back..." Continuing with our recent theme of looking at the history of rock and roll, this week we've got Night Flight's 1984 Take Off To Rockabilly. With Jerry Lee Lewis, Stray Cats, Robert Gordon, The Blasters and X, this...Read More

Night Flight - "Take Off" to Rock Legends

Welcome to Night Flight's Take Off to Rock Legends! Tonight we'll look at those performers who had a profound influence on popular music including Chuck Berry, Elvis, Smokey Robinson and more classics. In true Night Flight fashion, this episode explains the influences and cultural context of Rock and Roll through the decades and up to more contemporary (for the time...Read More

Night Flight - Terror of Tiny Town

Welcome to Night Flight's feature film presentation of "Terror of Tiny Town," an epoch in cult history and a staple of the Night Flight circuit. When it debuted in 1938, it was dubbed as the world's only musical Western with an all-dwarf cast. It may well still hold that title. Revisit this classic tale of "little guys with big guns!"

Night Flight - New Sounds (12/10/88) and Video Flash Tracks

Side A: Welcome to New Sounds highlighting the burgeoning acts and micro-genres of the late 80s with Belgian synth act Front 242 (with a video from iconic photographer Anton Corbijn), Australian punk act Lime Spiders, Edie Brickell and the New Bohemians massive hit “What I Am,” and some fantastic Joy Division inspired coldwave from Siglo XX. Side B: Time for some...Read More

Night Flight - The Video Artist (Video Synthesis)

One of Night Flight's most revered segments returns on Night Flight Plus this weekend. This episode of The Video Artist follows Stephen Beck, who creates abstract analog visuals with his direct video synthesizer. Beck was an inventor, video artist and writer who was a pioneer in the video synthesis medium. "My interest is using the video synthesizer as a composition...Read More

Night Flight - New Sounds (10/4/86)

Take off with an hour long special episode of New Sounds from 1986, starting off with Sigue Sigue Sputnik, Big Audio Dynamite, BoDeans, Hüsker Dü, Jane SiBerry and provocative political rockers, Lords of The New Church.

Radio 1990 (10/28/83)

Episode 158 - 10/28/83 Welcome to Radio 1990. The Future is here today with Radio 1990. Tonight Lisa Robinson concludes our interview with John Cougar Mellencamp, with his latest video hit ‘Crumbling Down,’ with more on The Moody Blues, Earth Wind and Fire and a look at the 1983 film “The Right Stuff.”

Radio 1990 (12/26/83)

Welcome to Radio 1990, bringing you the latest news from the world of entertainment and today's best music videos. In this episode, Lisa Robinson shares sad news for any The Who fans out there, previews a new Mel Brooks episode and videos from Hall and Oates, Men at Work and 1983's #2 power cut from "The Album Network" countdown.

Radio 1990 (12/30/83)

We get set for the New Year in 1984 as Lisa Robinson previews a video art star studded PBS broadcast, discusses the secrets behind a new The Go-Go's album, and music videos from Prince and John Cougar Mellancamp.

Radio 1990 (4/11/84)

Welcome to Radio 1990! Today Lisa Robinson concludes her exclusive interview with Gene Simmons of Kiss, Kathryn Kinley brings news on the Pointer Sisters, the fashions of MarcBouwer, and music from Toni Basil, Ratt and more!

Night Flight - "Take Off" to Self Destruction

In Take Off To Self Destruction (1986), Night Flight focuses on some of the darker elements that defined the 1980s, looking at music that dealt with topics like drug abuse and crime. Featured songs like “Stop The Madness” and “Just Say No” convey a conflicted range of emotion when watched today. The videos are definitely humorous in their categorically ‘80s presenta...Read More

Night Flight - "Take Off' to The Beach

We suggest you Take Off To The Beach with this Night Flight episode from 1986. This segment takes you through a video vignette series covering the land of the surf, sand and sun with videos include Y&T, The Beach Boys, Joe King Carrasco and Beastie Boys. Side B of this episode is a mix of videos loosely held together by the theme: 'Crime.' There's a topnotch selecti...Read More

Night Flight - "Take Off" to Rock and Horror

The Ramones, Cabaret Voltaire, J. Geils Band, Rockwell, and The Monsters all make an appearance in Night Flight's Take Off to Rock and Horror from October 25th, 1986. On the flip side of this seasonal episode, Night Flight includes filmmaker Dan Carbone's post-apocalyptic title DOT in its short horror film collection of "Mini Chillers" a surrealist b&w film sought a...Read More

Night Flight - Playback '83

"1983 was the year music video and music television revolutionized the way America listened to and looked at Pop Music." Need a refresher course on the world of pop culture in 83? Look no further than Night Flight's 1983 Playback episode, original air date 11/14/83. The episode is a perfect survey of the best music, fashion and films of the year featuring Stevie N...Read More

Night Flight - Rockin' Ronnie

Conceived by the creators of the successful USA cable program "NIGHT FLIGHT," this light-hearted, off-the-wall exposé includes the unlikely supporting cast of Queen Elizabeth, Richard Nixon, Colonel Kaddafi, Yasser Arafat, Jayne Mansfield, Margaret Thatcher, the Ayatollah Khomeini, and many more. America's Leading Man, Ronald Reagan, is the subject of this hilarious...Read More

Radio 1990 (4/12/83)

Kicking off with Lisa Robinson's inside scoop on Debbie Harry's 1983 Broadway debut, this April 12th, 1983 is definitive Radio 1990.  Tracks from Culture Club, Gary Numan, and a flashback to Ike and Tina Turner's epic performance of Honky Tonk Woman on BeatClub, soundtrack this excellent episode.

Radio 1990 (4/13/83)

You can truly appreciate the value of our library as you see in our April 13th, 1983 episode, Lisa Robinson talks about a secretive Talking Heads film in the works, a certain "concert film." Of course, that title in question is 1984's Stop Making Sense. Revisit this time capsule covering '80s fashion trends and music from Eddie Rabbitt, The Waitresses, Blancmange, L...Read More

Night Flight - "Take Off" to Solo Careers

Tonight, we "Take Off" to iconic solo careers and the band's they left behind in this 1994 special Syndication episode of Night Flight. Ahh, the solo career: the proving ground for artists who uncouple from the bands that made them or simply want to blow off some creative steam. Hosted by Tom Juarez, we take a journey through the solo songs of Mick Jagger, Phil Coll...Read More

Night Flight - Short Film Showcase (Gravity)

Tonight's Night Flight original comes in the form of a 1987 Short Film Showcase and Classic Video Medley. Kicking off with directors Michael Nankin and David Wechter's short film "Gravity" (the pair created another Night Flight Plus exclusive Junior High School) and eventually arriving at an alien abduction psychedelic fever dream called "Skin Deep From Outer Space,...Read More

Night Flight - Traveling Wilburys Video Profile

Welcome to tonight’s new original arrival: a 1988 special profile of The Traveling Wilbury’s. The a British–American supergroup consisting of Bob Dylan, George Harrison, Jeff Lynne, Roy Orbison and Tom Petty, gets the complete Night Flight treatment with a look at the groups signature songs and individual output from the 80s.

Night Flight - "Take Off" to Southern Rock

Join us as Night Flight "Takes Off" to the Sounds of South, from the Bayou and beyond. A mix of country music, blues and old time religion: the sounds that define the south are echoed in many of Rock’s key pioneers. Tonight, Night Flight takes this geographic prompt to explore a broad range of ‘80s acts that carried the torch and established a sound inspired by sout...Read More

Night Flight - Tom Waits Video Profile

Delivered straight from the Night Flight archive, tonight we embark on an hour long special which kicks off with Night Flight's "Take Off to Irish Rock," which features videos by U2, Sinead O’Connor, That Petrol Motion and the Pogues, who we recently featured in an excellent documentary. Then, about 25-minutes in, we arrive at our video profile of the work of son...Read More

Night Flight - Neil Young Video Profile

Tonight Night Flight profiles one of Rock’s great renegades: Neil Young. The essential episode features a candid NF studio interview with Young discussing his origins and inspirations and features some of Young’s more esoteric deep cuts on Geffen Records in the '80s including 1982’s techno track “Sample and Hold” and his Rockabilly ballad “Wonderin'.” Night Flight c...Read More

Night Flight - New Bands of 1986

Tonight we Take Off to some of the "best bets of ’86!” That’s right, we’re talking about the mid-decade buzz bands (was that even a term in the '80s?) that landed on our radar. As you'll see, Night Flight was prescient in it's curation—many of these prospects went on to become massive acts. The episode includes The Hooters, Waterboys, Charlie Sexton, Tom Petty appro...Read More

Night Flight - "Take Off" to School Revolt

Ever since “Rock Around The Clock” was heard on the soundtrack of the film Blackboard Jungle, rock music has targeted the classroom as a constant enemy of all that is fun and good in music. Tonight we look at the bands revolting against school authority and classroom discipline with tunes from The Stray Cats, Ramones, Twisted Sister and more. The 1980s had no shorta...Read More

Night Flight - "Take Off" to Satanic Metal

Welcome to tonight’s "special investigation" into Satanic Metal circa 1988 (peak Satanic Panic!). Ever since the days of Paradise Lost, Faust and Hot Stuff Comic Books, the devil has been folk antihero numero uno and when Rock & Roll finally came along, he had his soundtrack (according to outraged fundamentalists).  Kicking off with Ozzy's "Miracle Man," join us ...Read More

Night Flight - Politics In Music Videos (1984)

Tonight we present another edition of Politics in Music Video with John Lennon, Nena, U2, Men at Work and the Fixx. As we dig through the massive vault of Night Flight tapes, we see more and more that politics were a recurring theme for our 1980s writers. This doesn’t come as much of a surprise if you read Night Flight creator Stuart S. Shapiro’s recent book "Identi...Read More

Night Flight - "Take Off" to Slapstick

Welcome back to Night Flight. Tonight, we jump into the world of Slapstick Comedy. “Drawing on the theatrical tradition of Vaudeville, Slapstick Comedy is one of America’s most enduring traditions in cinema history,” syndication host Tom Juarez tells us. Its visual, it’s physical, and tonight we present collected the masters of the genre: Chaplin, W.C Fields, The Th...Read More

Night Flight - "Take Off" to Woodstock

For three magical days in 1969, the Woodstock Music and Art Fair was a "Rock 'n' Roll City" half a million strong. Get ready for one of the headiest retro-television experiences of your life as Night Flight flashes back to Woodstock, with live documentation, concert footage and music from the iconic festival's key sets. 

Night Flight - Mr. Gloom & Other Shorts

Tonight, we present esteemed animator Bill Kopp’s original short “Mr. Gloom,” from an episode of "Toone Theatre." The psychedelic animation is hand-drawn theatre of the absurd. Kopp’s credits myriad credits include voice over work for none other than Night Flight animated “freak-out” classic, Jac Mac and Rad Boy Go! Also in this episode, the experimental animation “...Read More

Night Flight - Public Image Ltd Video Profile

“In 1977, the Sex Pistol’s Johnny Rotten was the most famous man in Rock 'n' Roll…” Pat Prescott tells us, “then he went to work on Public Image Ltd… a group that called everything to question.” A cadre of PiL’s music videos and candid interview segments with Lydon are the backbone of this epic episode. Let John's disdain for music industry and all it’s hypocrisy,...Read More

Night Flight - Nico's Frozen Warnings and Industrial Dance Mix

Salvador Dali, Bob Dylan, The Velvet Underground and other denizens of Andy Warhol’s netherworld make an appearance in this long-lost footage from the Factory for Nico's "Frozen Warnings." Featuring the gorgeous, droning arrangements of John Cale's pipe organ, and the otherworldly voice of Warhol’s muse, this The Marble Index deep cut is a perfect backdrop to som...Read More

Night Flight - The Animal Show

“Hello all you Night Owls, and welcome to Night Flight!” Tonight’s original episode finds us exploring the animal kingdom through a menagerie of short films, music video compilations and lost docu-comedies. Featuring experimental shorts like “Grinning Evil Death” an early 3D CGI project about an oversized cockroach, a video profile of Knoxville, TN’s The Judybat...Read More

Night Flight - Regional Rock New Jersey

Night Flight rocks regional tonight as we travel to Asbury Park and beyond to explore the sounds of The Garden State. Featuring music from, of course, the Boss, blues revivalist Southside Johnny, Hackensack’s Joe Lynn Turner, Clarence Clemons and more!

Night Flight - The Video Artist (Kit Fitzgerald)

Tonight, we bring you another episode of "The Video Artist," an original Night Flight segment exploring the work of pioneers in New Media art. This episode highlights the self-proclaimed "TV Artist" Kit Fitzgerald. Fitzgerald creates abstract expressionist video collages featuring impossible landscapes and non-linear time. In an interview with Night Flight, Fitzgera...Read More

Night Flight - "Take Off" to Toyah

Tonight’s original episode comes from 1983, i.e. the early days of discovery on NF that often featured uncut performance footage. Here, we see Toyah’s 1981 show at London’s Rainbow Theatre with the irrepressible performer at the top of her game. Listen up for excellent tunes like "War Boys," "Neon Womb" and more. 

Night Flight - "Take Off" to The Doors

The Doors Are Open is a 1968 black-and-white documentary first aired in the United Kingdom on 4 October 1968 and shown regularly on Night Flight. Combing footage of the Doors playing live at London's Roundhouse venue, interviews with the band members and contemporary news snippets of world current affairs. Watch Night Flight's original broadcast tonight!

Night Flight - Pat Benatar Video Profile

Kicking off with 1984’s “Ooh Ooh” song, Night Flight takes you on a complete tour of the artist’s numerous smash hits. Ten years before this episode aired, Benatar was “working as a bank teller and supplementing her income while singing in motel lounges,” host Pat Prescott tells us.

Night Flight - New Sounds (1987)

Night Flight’s 1987 episode of New Sounds is teeming with deep cuts and lost treasures. Mondo Boffo with Scorpio (!), Prince proteges Wendy and Lisa's excellent tune "Waterfall," Squeeze's Dali-esque video painting and more.

Radio 1990 (4/18/84)

Episode 269. An original episode of Radio 1990 from 1984 featuring The Go-Go's, Yes and Van Halen.

Radio 1990 (4-17-84)

Episode 268. An episode of Radio 1990 from 1984 featuring R.E.M, Rockwell and Marvin Gaye.

Radio 1990 (4/16/84)

Episode 267. An episode of Radio 1990 from 1984 featuring Missing Persons, Bruce Springsteen and more.

Radio 1990 (4/13/84)

Episode 266. An episode of Radio 1990 from 1984 featuring Billy Joel, the president of CBS Records and a Summer movie preview.

Night Flight - "Take Off" to Rock Docs

In tonight’s original episode of Night Flight (Air Date 4/19/85) we Take Off to Rock Documentaries. Hop on board for a journey through some of the most famous Rock Films in history starting with the 1964 T.A.M.I. Show up through the Talking Head's Jonathan Demme-directed classic "Stop Making Sense." In between we'll cover Rock Docs like Neil Young's Rust Never Sleep...Read More

Night Flight - New Sounds (June 1988)

Night Flight’s June 1988 New Sounds provides the pulse of new music from the past, featuring Joni Mitchell and Peter Gabriel, a lost X video for “Devil Doll,” Yugoslavian Avant-pop, and early sample-based techno from Coldcut.

Night Flight - The Video Artist (Stan Vanderbeek)

Video art innovator and collagist Stan Vanderbeek is profiled in this segment of Night Flight's The Video Artist. Vanderbeek studied at Manhattan's Cooper Union in the 50s where he began a career in experimental video that eventually lead him to Bell Labs, where experiments in computer animation and holographics was greatly expanded in the 60s. “Video is a medium o...Read More

Night Flight - "Take Off" to Sacred Bones 4

“Take Off” to Brooklyn-based independent label Sacred Bones featuring music videos from Caleb Landry Jones, John Carpenter, Anika, and DJ Muggs the Black Goat.

Night Flight - "Take Off" to Video Violence

Tonight we "Take Off" to Violence in Music Videos in this 1984 original episode of Night Flight; perfect for triggering your local PMRC chapter. “The following program contains controversial material…” Pat Prescott warns before contrasting the "psychological violence" of the Ramones against the "comic book violence" of Iggy Pop in this '80s time capsule that also...Read More

Night Flight - New Sounds (1985)

“Night Flight goes beyond 'Corporate Rock' for New Sounds!" From the Night Flight archives, here’s an early iteration of our New Sounds format form 1985. Featuring music from the unstoppable Nina Hagen, Washington D.C.'s raw rhythm based Go-Go Movement leaders Mass Extension, post-punk and synthesized pop by Germany's Propaganda, and supergroup Shriekback's high con...Read More