Might As Well Face It, You're Addicted to Robert Palmer's "Addicted to Love"

This week's tribute to MTV’s 30th birthday got me thinking some more about my favorite classic MTV videos, so here's another one - Robert Palmer’s "Addicted to Love" from 1986.



I remember reading in some sort of Rolling Stone Celebrates the 80s type of magazine Michael Stipe of R.E.M. saying that “Addicted to Love” was the defining song of the 80s and I think he’s right. (Of course, now I'm sure, Stipe would renounce that accolade in favor of an unreleased song-haiku by his dear friend and mentor Patti Smith.)

With its huge drum sound, disco bass groove and work-hard-play-hard ethos, "Addcited to Love" embodies the coke-fueled, power-mad Gordon Gekko 80s to the T. But the song also feels very tongue-in-cheek, and judging by the video, I have a feeling that Mr. Palmer thought the whole thing was kind of a joke.

The "Addicted to Love" video, with its wall to wall band of living female manequins, caused many women's studies majors around the world to pull the sexism card, but I think it’s really a satire. I think the concept is really as simple as "Hey I know a way to get people to watch our new video - let’s fill the screen with beautiful women instead of the pasty, homely session musicians who played on the tune."

Yes they may be dressed identically and have no singing parts, but the women are all playing their insturments and are making active contributions. They are not groupies, roadies or caterers, servicing or cleaning up after the man, etc. You go girlfriends!


Robert Palmer passed away before his time in 2003. He was an underrated artist who was never taken all that seriously, perhaps because, unlike all rock critics,he was handsome and lived a playboy lifestyle in Barbados. Before "Addicted to Love," Palmer was a well-established R&B artist with a penchant for New Wave, as in one of my favorite songs of his, the mime-infused "Johnny and Mary."


RIP & TCB RP. Get your Robert Palmer on iTunes here.