The music video for the song featured early computer animation illustrating the lyrics. While the animation appears crude by modern standards, the video was one of the first uses of computer-animated human characters and was considered groundbreaking at the time of its release.

Money for Nothing cover

"Money for Nothing" is the name of a song by Dire Straits which first appeared on the band's 1985 album Brothers in Arms and subsequently became an international hit when released as a single. The song was notable for its controversial lyrics, groundbreaking music video and a cameo appearance by Sting singing the song's ironic introduction and backing chorus, a borrowing of the cable network's slogan "I want my MTV". The video was also the first to be aired on MTV Europe when the network started on August 1, 1987. Image File history File links Moneyfornothing. ... Image File history File links Moneyfornothing. ... Computer animation is the art of creating moving images via the use of computers. ... Image File history File links Moneyfornothing2. ... Image File history File links Moneyfornothing2. ... Vocalist and guitarist, Mark Knopfler, performing live with Dire Straits Dire Straits were a British rock band, formed in 1977 by frontman Mark Knopfler (guitar and vocals), his brother David Knopfler (guitar), John Illsley (bass) and Pick Withers (drums), and managed by Ed Bicknell. ... This article is about the year. ... Brothers in Arms is the fifth studio album by British rock band Dire Straits, released in 1985. ... In music, a single is a short (usually ten minutes or less*) record, usually featuring one or two tracks as A-side, often accompanied by several B-sides, usually remixes or other songs. ... Look up Controversy in Wiktionary, the free dictionary A controversy is a contentious dispute, a disagreement in opinions over which parties are actively arguing. ... Lyrics are the words in songs. ... A music video (also video clip, promo) is a short film or video meant to present a visual representation of a song. ... Martin Scorsese appears briefly in an uncredited role in this scene from Taxi Driver, the first scene in which Cybill Shepherd appears. ... Sting in Budapest, 2000 Gordon Matthew Sumner, CBE (born October 2, 1951), usually known by his stage name Sting, is an English musician from Newcastle upon Tyne. ... MTV: Music Television is a young adult cable television network headquartered in New York City. ... August 1 is the 213th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (214th in leap years), with 152 days remaining. ... 1987 (MCMLXXXVII) is a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Somewhat unusually for mainstream rock music, the song's lyrics are written from the point of view of a character, a blue-collar worker watching music videos and commenting on what he sees. Dire Straits' leader and songwriter Mark Knopfler described the writing of the song in a 1985 interview with critic Bill Flanagan: Rock and roll (also spelled Rock n Roll, especially in its first decade), also called rock, is a form of popular music, usually featuring vocals (often with vocal harmony), electric guitars and a strong back beat; other instruments, such as the saxophone, are common in some styles. ... A blue-collar worker is a working class employee who performs manual or technical labor, such as in a factory or in technical maintenance trades, in contrast to a white-collar worker, who does non-manual work generally at a desk. ... In classical economics and all micro-economics labour is one of three factors of production, the others being land and capital. ... Mark Knopfler with Dire Straits performing live Mark Freuder Knopfler, OBE (born August 12, 1949, Glasgow, Scotland) is a geordie British guitarist, singer, and songwriter. ... This article is about the year. ...

The lead character in "Money for Nothing" is a guy who works in the hardware department in a television/custom kitchen/refrigerator/microwave appliance store. He's singing the song. I wrote the song when I was actually in the store. I borrowed a bit of paper and started to write the song down in the store. I wanted to use a lot of the language that the real guy actually used when I heard him, because it was more real.

The crude observations of the character included references to a musician "banging on the bongos like a chimpanzee" and a description of a singer as a "little faggot with the earring and the makeup", and lamenting that the artists got "money for nothing and chicks for free". These lyrics were widely criticized as sexist, homophobic and racist statements, and in some later releases of the song the lyrics were edited for airplay; "faggot" for example is often replaced with "mother": "little mother, he's a millionaire". The entire second verse was removed in the compilation Sultans of Swing: The Very Best of Dire Straits and replaced with an instrumental. In a late 1985 interview in Rolling Stone magazine, Knopfler expressed mixed feelings on the controversy: Hardware is the general term that is used to describe physical artifacts of a technology. ... A kitchen is a room used for food preparation. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into refrigeration. ... This page is about the radiation; for the appliance, see microwave oven. ... The word appliance has several different areas of meaning, all usually referring to a device with a narrow function: One class of objects includes items that are custom-fitted to an individual for the purpose of correction of a physical problem, such as prosthetic and orthotic appliances. ... A musician is a person who plays or composes music. ... Bongos being played Bongos are a percussion instrument. ... Type species Simia troglodytes Blumenbach, 1775 Species Pan troglodytes Pan paniscus Chimpanzee, often abbreviated to chimp, is the common name for two species in the genus Pan. ... LeAnn Rimes singing in concert A singer is a type of musician who uses his or her voice as an instrument to produce music. ... Look up faggot in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... The sign of the headquarters of the National Association Opposed To Woman Suffrage Sexism is commonly considered to be discrimination against people based on their sex rather than their individual merits, but can also refer to any and all differentiations based on sex. ... The term homophobia literally means an irrational fear of or contempt for homosexuality or homosexuals. It is derivable from the words homosexual and phobia (meaning panic fear in Greek). ... 1. ... A millionaire is a person who has a net worth or wealth of more than one million United States dollars, euros, UK pounds or units of a comparably valued currency. ... The Rolling Stone logo, designed by Rick Griffin. ...

I got an objection from the editor of a gay newspaper in London - he actually said it was below the belt. Apart from the fact that there are stupid gay people as well as stupid other people, it suggests that maybe you can't let it have so many meanings - you have to be direct. In fact, I'm still in two minds as to whether it's a good idea to write songs that aren't in the first person, to take on other characters.

The music video for the song featured early computer animation illustrating the lyrics. While the animation appears crude by modern standards, the video was one of the first uses of computer-animated human characters and was considered groundbreaking at the time of its release. Gavin Blair and Ian Pearson created the animation at Rushes Post production in London, using a Bosch FGS-4000 CGI system. The animators went on to found computer animation studio Mainframe Entertainment, and referenced the "Money for Nothing" video in an episode of their ReBoot series. In modern society, gay is a word which can be used as either a noun or adjective. ... London is the capital city of the United Kingdom and of England. ... Computer animation is the art of creating moving images via the use of computers. ... The pseudopod in The Abyss marked CGIs acceptance in the visual effects industry. ... Computer animation is the art of creating moving images via the use of computers. ... Mainframe Entertainment is a Canadian computer animation and design company based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada and Los Angeles, California, USA. It produces childrens computer animation TV series. ... ReBoot poster. ...

The songwriting credits are shared between Knopfler and Sting, though Sting has stated that his only contribution was the "I Want My MTV" line, which was sung in partial parody of his own song "Don't Stand So Close To Me", originally recorded by The Police. In contemporary usage, parody is a form of satire that imitates another work of art in order to ridicule it. ... Dont Stand So Close to Me is a famous song and hit single by the British pop group The Police. ... The Police was a three-piece British new wave band which was strongly influenced by reggae. ...

Dire Straits performed Money For Nothing at the 1985 Live Aid Concert at Wembley Stadium. It was considered one of the standout performances of the event. The performance featured a guest appearance by Sting. As a result of this performance, this helped launch not only the song, but Dire Straits themselves into international superstars. Live Aid was a multi-venue rock music concert held on July 13, 1985. ... Old Wembley Stadium (1923-2000) Wembley Stadium is a football stadium in Wembley, London, England, which is currently being rebuilt. ...

Knopfler modeled his guitar sound for the recorded track after ZZ Top guitarist Billy Gibbons' trademark guitar tone, as ZZ Top's music videos were already a staple of early MTV. Gibbons later told a Musician magazine interviewer in 1986 that Knopfler had solicited Gibbons on how to replicate the tone, adding, "He didn't do a half-bad job, considering that I didn't tell him a thing!" Knopfler's "not a half-bad job" included his use of a Gibson Les Paul guitar, rather than his usual Fender Stratocaster. ZZ Top on the cover of the March 1991 issue of the Guitar World magazine. ... Billy Gibbons (born 16 December 1949), nicknamed the Reverend Willie G, is best known as the guitarist for that Little Ol Band from Texas, ZZ Top. ... The Gibson Les Paul signature model is one of the classic solid-body electric guitar designs. ... Strat redirects here. ...

"Weird Al" Yankovic wrote a parody titled "Money For Nothing/Beverly Hillbillies" for his 1989 film UHF. As the title implies, this song merges The Beverly Hillbillies theme song with "Money For Nothing"'s tune. Knopfler returned and recorded a guitar part for the song, replicating his parts from the original. Alfred Matthew Weird Al Yankovic (born October 23, 1959) is an American musician best known for his parodies of contemporary radio hits. ... The Beverly Hillbillies is a TV sitcom about a hillbilly who strikes oil while rabbit hunting, becomes a millionaire and moves with his family to Beverly Hills, California. ... UHF was rereleased on DVD in 2002 by MGM UHF (also known as The Vidiot from UHF) is a comedy cult film made in 1989. ...

External links

• Lyrics