Everyone has had the experience of singing along to a classic radio pop tune in the comfort of the car, relieved that no one else can hear you trying to hit the high notes. That goes double for a song like a-ha’s “Take on Me,” a hit single from 1985 that established the Norwegian pop group as one of the top acts in New Wave.

The hit song is infamous for the preternaturally prescription cialis online high range of (male) vocalist Morten Harket. But it’s also known for an iconic music video in which a young woman falls in love with a character in a comic book-then steps into the comic to be with him. When she leaves, he slams against the comic book panel he’s stuck in, finally managing to break out of it in a sequence that seems “borrowed” from the trippy sci-fi film Altered States.

The video pushed the limits of what music videos could be and what special effects could deliver. The video includes amazing effects of the comic book “man” as a squiggly sketch that shifted into real flesh and blood. Even today, it’s a fantastically original concept and entertaining music video. Sadly, music videos seem to be largely a dead medium these days, and few of them exhibit the same level of creativity on MTV-when you can find them on MTV.

And actually, the “Take on Me” video could have gone unremembered. There were two music videos that were shot for the song. The second is the one that most people know. The first version was a much simpler recorded performance of the band’s Kamagra Gold playing the song against a blue background. Fortunately for MTV fans, the band decided to go with the more creative take.

The music video for “Take on Me” was so impressive at the time that it swept the MTV Music Video Awards, taking home Best New Artist in a Video, Best Concept, Most Experimental, Best Direction, Best Special Effects and Viewer’s Choice awards. It was also nominated for the Best Group Video and Video of the Year.

While the “Take on Me” video seemed to be little more than a popular, colorful promotional item at the time, it’s since become clear that it was a trailblazing work. The video features some of the first footage ever of rotoscoping-the process of “animating” live film. Since the video’s release, all manner of rotoscoped films and videos have been seen, most notably including Richard Linklater’s 2001 film Waking Life and his 2006 adaptation of the Philip K. Dick novel A Scanner Darkly.

“Take on Me” is still fondly remembered and is considered a classic as far as music videos go. It’s put in the same ranks as Peter Gabriel’s video for “Sledgehammer,” Devo’s video for “Whip It” and Michael Jackson’s epic “Thriller.” It’s hard to enjoy “Take on Me” without the sheen of nostalgia. But fortunately, you can still enjoy a-ha’s music live. Get a-ha tickets online and see them on their current tour.

Author Bio: This article is sponsored by StubHub. StubHub.com is a leader in the business of selling a-ha tickets, sports tickets, concert tickets, theater tickets and special events tickets.

Category: Music
Keywords: a-ha, music, concert, tickets, entertainment, pop