From the Closet - Van Halen "Hot for Teacher"

From the Closet - From the closet is a new feature I intend to update every so often. I am a huge fan of cheesy pop culture.....especially stuff from the 80's. I intend to have the from the closet feature bring to the forefront of our minds music, shows, events, phenomena, and musings from days past. Enjoy.

My first From the Closet post is highlighting a classic 80's video. Not only is "Hot for Teacher" by Van Halen (not Van Hagar) the best song ever written by the band, it might just be one of the best videos to come out of the 80's. In an era where music videos have become all but irrelevant (if you don't believe me tune into the horrific mass of staged dating shows that is prime time MTV), it is refreshing to see such a bad ass video from the glory days of MTV. Check it out on my video feature or watch it on YouTube, it is 5 minutes that is very well spent.

This video has it all. A funny back story, kids fantasizing about their teacher, a hot stripper/teacher, variety show dancing, hot rods, and a 5th grade representation of Van Halen. It's a classic. I think Diamond Dave (David Lee Roth) was at his prime in this video. This guy was the man in this video. He is the walking embodiment of every high school male's interests and dreams. You can tell that these guys were just living the dream when they made this video. I bet it was hilarious when Diamond Dave brought in his lyrics with all the over the top sexual innuendos, which is highlighted by "I got my penciiiiil! Give me somethin' to write on man!" I can just imagine the gears turning in these guys heads at the fun they could have given the relatively new medium of music videos based on the concept of the song. It must have been exciting times brainstorming ideas. And frankly it worked. Between the chemistry of the band at the time, the song, and all the cool ideas they came up with this video truly is one of the greats to emerge from the closet.