Translator — Sleeping Snakes

JUL 01 1982 · 12:00

Translator — Sleeping Snakes (1982) Era: Early MTV Era (1982) - First wave of US college/alternative rock music videos coinciding with MTV's launch year, produced under Columbia/415 Records during the peak of San Francisco new wave. High. This video carries rare documentary value as a confirmed case of MTV political censorship in the network's inaugural period. It represents the San Francisco new wave scene's protest tradition and the broader struggle for ideological expression within the new music-video format. Its fast-cut performance style and warm film aesthetic are textbook examples of early 1982 promo production, making it valuable for both political-media and technical-aesthetic research tracks. Context: Released in 1982 on Translator's debut LP Heartbeats and Triggers (415 Records/Columbia), 'Sleeping Snakes' emerged at the height of the American anti-nuclear movement and the early MTV era. The video's explicitly political anti-nuke messaging led MTV to drop it from rotation, a notable act of editorial censorship in the network's first year of operation. Other broadcasters continued to air the clip. The band, rooted in the San Francisco independent scene via Howie Klein's 415 Records, occupied a guitar-driven post-punk space that stood in deliberate contrast to the synth-pop aesthetic dominating mainstream MTV programming at the time. Director notes: IMVDb lists the video as released in 1982 with no crew credits submitted. Vevo attributes the copyright to 1982 SONY BMG MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT. The video received MTV airplay upon release but was subsequently pulled by the network due to its anti-nuclear political content, per a statement by band member Robert Darlington. Other television outlets continued to air the video.