METROPOLIS IS POPOLOGY®

This influential German science-fiction film presents a highly stylized futuristic city where a beautiful and cultured utopia exists above a bleak underworld populated by mistreated workers. When the privileged youth Freder (Gustav Fröhlich) discovers the grim scene under the city, he becomes intent on helping the workers. He befriends the rebellious teacher Maria (Brigitte Helm), but this puts him at odds with his authoritative father, leading to greater conflict.

Release date: March 13, 1927 (USA)

Director: Fritz Lang

Music by: Gottfried Huppertz

Budget: 5.3 million Reichsmarks (estimated) (equivalent to €38 million 2017)

Produced by: Erich Pommer

Production company: UFA

The Genesis of anti utopian Science Fiction in cinematography, the one and only Metropolis - the movie /1927/ by Fritz Lang

with The Mother of any next humanoid robots / androids Maria

OWN THE POP Messiah® NFT ONLY IN THE BOOK OF POP!

POP Messiah® Is A Noble Trademark Teacher Of POPOLOGY®!

Media Literacy is only gaining more complexity as the Metaverse and computer universes meld. POPOLOGY® presents a brand direction whereas the BRANDS are trained to bow to you!

POP Messiah® is the collective consciousness, invigorating progressive solutions towards the human condition and global betterment.

The POP Messiah® Says

" I say things among the thunder.

I say things that make you wonder. The Who, the What, the Where, the Why.

It is I, a ghastly guy, provoking (sigh) try.

To invent consent and prevent dissent.

I have a lot of proof of how weird I am.

Accept my POPOLOGY® and everything can be correct."

Additional information POP MESSIAH® is a term for any living public figure whom's audience count exceeds the Global POPULATION. This is MODEST. identifying with Madonna, Mark Zuckerberg, Bill Gates, Oprah, Jay Z, and maybe ME, AND YOU!

Control the POP Messiah First POPOLOGIST® NFT TRADING CARD for yourself!

"Take On Me" Almost Didn't Take Off

In our "Songs That Didn't Do Well At First" series, learn how Aha's "Take On Me" almost didn't fly. Not until Tony Mansfield and remixed by John Ratcliff did any head nodds by POP CULTURE! "Take On Me" is a song by Norwegian synth-pop band A-ha.

A-Ha burst onto the music scene in 1985 with their incredibly catchy tune 'Take on Me', and it's still one of the greatest pop songs ever made.

But what inspired the song and who made its iconic partly-animated video?

Here's all the facts behind the classic song...

Originally, 'Take on Me' was written by A-Ha members Magne Furuholmen, Morten Harket and Pål Waaktaar.

The song first existed from Waaktaar's and Furuholmen's previous band Bridges.

One of the tracks they rehearsed at this time was called 'Miss Eerie', which was initially titled 'Panorama'. It featured several elements of what would later become 'Take On Me', including the main synth riff, which Furuholmen created when he was 15.

The band felt the riff was too poppy for their band, and so the first version of the song had a "punky" sound.

However, Bridges soon disbanded. Waaktaar and Furuholmen relocated to London, and then returned to Norway after six months of disappointment.

They were later joined by singer Morten Harket and began working on demos, including a new version of 'Miss Eerie', which was renamed 'Lesson One' before it finally became 'Take On Me'.

The song was intended as a way to unveil Harket's impressive vocal range, which led to his vocals "doing this spiraling thing", according to the band.

The first version was a flop

After singing to Warner Bros in the UK, the Norwegian band met with producer Tony Mansfield, who mixed their demos - including 'Take on Me' with electronic instrumentation rather than their usual instruments.

This sound was not what the band had hoped to achieve, and the album was remixed again.

The band soon released 'Take On Me' as a single in the UK, but the single only charted at 137 in late 1984.

Warner Bros in the USA then decided to invest in the group, and gave them the chance to re-record the song.

It then flopped a second time

Former Warner Brothers UK executive Andrew Wickham said in 2020: "I got a call from Terry Slater... I couldn't believe my ears when I heard Morten Harket sing. I thought, how can somebody who looks like a film star sound like Roy Orbison? I thought, this is unbelievable." Wickham signed A-ha to Warner Brothers America, after learning of their previous attempts to make 'Take On Me' a hit. He approved large investments in the band, and on Slater's recommendation, producer Alan Tarney was brought in to refine the song. The new recording had a much cleaner and soaring sound, and a coda section instead of the earlier quick fade-out. It was re-released in the UK, but the record label's office in London gave very little support, and the single flopped for a second time.

Its video finally made it a hit

Thanks to Producer Alan Tarney who was challenged to make it into an anthem!

How was the video made?

The video was filmed in 1985 at Kim's Café (now named Savoy Café), which is on the corner of Wandsworth Road and Pensbury Place in London, and on a sound stage in London. The video used a pencil-sketch animation and live-action mix called rotoscoping, in which the live-action footage is traced over frame by frame to give the characters realistic movements. Around 3,000 frames were rotoscoped, taking 16 weeks to complete. The idea of the video was suggested by Warner Bros executive Jeff Ayeroff. The fantasy video follows a comic book narrative with motorcycle sidecar racing, in which the hero (Morten Harket) is chased by two opponents, one of whom is played by actor Philip Jackson. Meanwhile at a cafe, a young woman, played by Bunty Bailey (Harket's girlfriend at the time), is reading the comic book. As the woman reads along, the waitress brings her coffee and the bill. After winning the race, Harket winks at the woman from the page. His pencil-drawn hand then reaches out of the book, inviting the woman inside. She then appears as a pencil drawing, as the action unfolds. The video won six awards at the 1986 MTV Video Music Awards, and is widely known as one of the greatest music videos of all time.