Tom Petty Videos and Some Other Stuff [Warning: Embedded Videos!]

[aimeeandbeatles]

So anyways I decided to make a thread to show some favourite videos of mine, obviously Tom Petty videos.

First off, it's two versions of Breakdown from 1982. I honestly can't pick out which one is better.
There's another version I like from 1980, but I like these two better. I was actually quite disappointed by the version of Pack Up the Plantation, it doesn't have the energy level it seems.

Germany 1982 (I don't know the date, sorry.)

Spoiler :

Link to video.

US Fest, Devore, CA. September 4th, 1982

Spoiler :

Link to video.

Both these videos showcase what I call Pettyfits. In the first one it's 5:25 - 5:48. In the second one it's 6:25 - 7:20.
The other interesting thing is that on the original album (Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers) the song is less than 3 minutes long. However, as the story goes, it was cut from an 8-minute version or something along those lines, so these extra-long versions aren't that surprising.

EDIT: If anybody wants to see any videos I mentioned, just ask and I'll put them up. I just don't want to put too many videos in the OP.

ANOTHER EDIT: Also, please serious discussion, I'd like this thread to not be closed for spam.

 

[aimeeandbeatles]

Some more.

First off is ... a graphic I made. It's sort of weird to say the least.

Spoiler :

Here's one from June of 1978, on a British TV show called the Old Grey Whistle Test. An interesting thing to know is that in the 1970s, they were most famous in the U.K. and Europe, while the Americans hardly paid them any mind. (Nowadays, it's more reversed.) I don't know what's up with Tom's weird sunglasses.

If you look around 0:54 there's a bunch of towels laying there. I find this funny but I don't know why.

Spoiler :

Link to video.

 

[Plotinus]

Moderator Action: Comments removed. The thread is for discussing Tom Petty, whoever he may be, not for casting aspersions upon people for wishing to do so.
Please read the forum rules: http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=422889

 

[aimeeandbeatles]

Another great one, this time from New Year's Eve 1978. The Heartbreakers were working on Damn the Torpedoes at this time (in fact, another part of the video shows an early live version of Refugee) which would become a big hit. But not before Tom Petty got into some serious legal ... manure.

Spoiler :

Link to video.

EDIT: If you're wondering about the lines that sometimes show up, I'm not sure where they came from. I think the video was originally on film so it may be that.

 

[aimeeandbeatles]

If somebody has any questions to ask because I like to answer questions when I know what it's about.

Also ... damn you Tom.

Spoiler :

Link to video.

 

[aimeeandbeatles]

No video this time, but something interesting I found. I was googling Damn the Torpedoes (the 1979 album) but forgot to add Tom Petty to the search, so I came across this.

Spoiler :

Damn the torpedoes is a well-known quotation. The original quotation was by U.S. Navy Admiral David Farragut during the Battle of Mobile Bay, during the American Civil War. Mobile, Alabama, at the time was the Confederacy's last major port open on the Gulf of Mexico. The bay was heavily mined (tethered naval mines were known as torpedoes at the time). Farragut ordered his fleet to charge the bay. When one ship struck a mine the others began to pull back, but Farragut shouted the order, "Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead!" All of the ships (except the one sunk) entered the bay.

This I find very interesting because at the time, Petty was in a battle with his record company.

And of course:

 

[aimeeandbeatles]

Some more thoughts --
Somebody told me I'm not a true Petty fan because I don't listen to the post-Greatest Hits stuff quite as much as the older stuff. However, this person hasn't talked about TPATH in over a year and is only doing so now because of the upcoming tour. (Why Greatest Hits? You'll need to ask me.)
Either ways, when you're googling for this you're in trouble. Well, one of my favourite ways to find little bits of trivia is to type in

"tom petty" somerandomword

into google. But more often or not you get crappy spamsites with "tom petty" and "somerandomword" both on the same page with no relation to each other. However, it works better if you use one of the Heartbreakers' names.
Oh yes, and Petty video of the day. Or week, or something. Gotta love that intro. The intro to the song, I mean.

Spoiler :

Link to video.

 

[wideyedwanderer]

Glad you made a Tom Petty thread, that's awesome.

One of my favorite videos of his is American Girl at the Superbowl halftime show. At first I didn't like it too much. American Girl is probably my favorite song of his (if I had to choose) and let's face it, when he played at the Superbowl he was *old.* He just didn't have the same energy he did when he was younger. (It's understandable. Everyone gets old.) To me, one of the things that makes American Girl such a great song is the energy behind his delivery. There's so much force and longing for something more. He brings the protagonist of the song to life, as if she could be any number of girls I've known. And yet, at moment 1:44 he seems to reach back and grab a little extra, and for one blissful moment he sounds almost exactly like he did back when he first recorded the song. I find it amazing.

Embedding was disabled for this video, but here's the link.

Spoiler :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XsSZI5C2S50

 

[aimeeandbeatles]

Yeah, it's a great song. Rumor has it that it was about a girl who committed suicide at the University of Florida, but it's myth. Urban legend. Tom said in Conversations that the "waves crashing on the beach" part came from when he was living in an apartment with a highway nearby.

When I first heard it I thought it was "microwaves crashing on the beach" and I had the image of a microwave shower.

I just looked through my notes and found this:

Spoiler :

link

Even as he mourns the death of a musical hero, former Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers drummer Stan Lynch can’t help laughing about the first time he tried playing The Beat.

Petty had come into their Gainesville rehearsal space with a new tune called American Girl. And there was only one rhythm he wanted powering the song: The Bo Diddley Beat.

“The first hit record I ever played on was my sorry attempt to sound like him,” said Lynch, who still has a poster signed by the seminal rocker nearly 30 years ago sitting in his St. Augutine home office. “It was kind of sweet - it gave it a pulse. Just shows, you can try to be like Bo Diddley, and even when you suck, it sounds great.”

....

Lynch on trying to play the beat on American Girl: "I remember literally Tommy was adamant when he wrote that - it’s Bo Diddley. He was playing the beat. Spazmo, me, I just launched before I even thought about it - play before you think. You play the first freaking thing that comes out of your butt. And then you think: Well, nobody’s yelling at me. It must be okay."

Also, a 1980 version:

Spoiler :

Link to video.

 

[aimeeandbeatles]

Spoiler :

Link to video.

Sorry for the not-so-great quality. I think it's a VHS rip.

This is from the US Fest on September 4th, 1982. Some background information on this:

Spoiler :

-- A few months before this, they replaced the bassist in the group. So I think (I may be wrong) that this is Howie Epstein's first performance with the group.
-- Phil Jones (on percussion, he would later played drums on Full Moon Fever) was never an official Heartbreaker. I think he was once referred to as a Sidebreaker.
-- Also, TPATH already had a show earlier that night. However, Steve Wozniak (from Apple Computers) offered to pay them $1 million so they did both sets. However, the setlist was shorter than normal (8 songs) and at a few points Tom looks extremely worn out. Although it's not in this video, he actually lost his voice at one point during 'Even the Losers.'

 

[aimeeandbeatles]

For some reason I had it in my documents. I googled the first sentence (in quotation marks) and found two sources, both of which look a little dodgy. But still, it's sort of funny when you think about it:

Spoiler :

November 25th, 2006

Rocker TOM PETTY is banned from keeping guns after he was caught going "mad" and shooting at trees. The mellow star used to use his weapons to relieve stress, until they were taken away by authorities. Petty says, "I can never have a gun in the house. I'm not allowed. "I've had mine taken away for disturbing the peace. There were times when I'd just start shooting. Not at people, but I'd go out and kill a tree. When I'd get mad, I'd take a gun and kill some inanimate object. So it was the right thing to have the guns taken away. They're dangerous."

The part I find the most hilarious is where they call him "mellow."

 

[wideyedwanderer]

Creative minds need a release.

Either ways, when you're googling for this you're in trouble.

Would you really er... have relations with Tom if given the opportunity? Even though he's... you know... old now?

You're obviously also a beatles fan. Why not do a beatles thread?

 

[sophie]

I'm rather annoyed that I can't find the Concert for George version of this song, but I always did LOVE the Traveling Wilburys, so, here you go.

Spoiler :

Link to video.

 

[wideyedwanderer]

^ That's a great song!