Blotto — I Wanna Be A Lifeguard

JUL 01 1981 · 12:00

Blotto — I Wanna Be A Lifeguard (1981) Director: Tom Gliserman & Dave Lefebvre Era: MTV Launch Era (1980–1981) - One of the earliest purpose-built music videos in American rock, filmed on consumer/prosumer video by SUNY Albany film students and debuted among the inaugural broadcasts on MTV's first day on air, August 1, 1981. Exceptionally high. This video is a primary document of MTV's first broadcast day and of the pre-commercial, student-made music video ecosystem that preceded the industry's domination of the format. Its confirmed production provenance (SUNY Albany student project, named filmmakers, known locations), its historical placement in MTV's inaugural rotation, and its embodiment of early-80s comedy new wave make it irreplaceable for any archive focused on the origins of music television or American independent rock culture. Context: Blotto's 'I Wanna Be A Lifeguard' occupies a singular position in American pop-culture history: it was the 36th video broadcast on MTV on August 1, 1981 — the network's inaugural day — airing between Iron Maiden and Rod Stewart. Produced entirely outside the music-industry infrastructure by SUNY Albany video students as a class project, it became one of early MTV's most-rotated clips and a proof-of-concept that independently produced, regionally-rooted novelty rock could achieve national visibility purely through the new medium of music television. The band, from Albany, NY, had already built a college-circuit following and earned radio play on WNEW-FM and the Dr. Demento Show before MTV amplified their reach. The song itself had been adopted as an unofficial anthem by Jones Beach lifeguards. This video is thus a document of both the democratizing promise of early MTV and the vibrant Northeast new-wave/comedy-rock underground of 1978–1982. Director notes: The video originated as a class project proposed by SUNY Albany film students Tom Gliserman and Dave Lefebvre, who approached the band with the concept. Blotto agreed when told there would be no cost. Filming took place at multiple upstate New York locations: Million Dollar Beach in Lake George, a shoe store on Wolf Road, a storefront on Central Avenue, and an escalator beneath The Egg at the Empire State Plaza in Albany. The video was among the first 40 videos aired on MTV on August 1, 1981 — the 36th video broadcast, airing between Iron Maiden and Rod Stewart. It became one of the most-rotated early MTV clips and was later included in a Sony 'Video 45' VHS release featuring three Blotto videos. No formal production company is credited; the work was done under the SUNY Albany video production program. IMVDb lists the copyright year as 1980, suggesting principal photography occurred in 1980 ahead of the 1981 MTV debut.