BARNES & BARNES⧸ SOAK IT UP (with BILL PAXTON) — Directed by Rocky Schenck

JUL 01 1983 · 12:00

BARNES & BARNES⧸ SOAK IT UP (with BILL PAXTON) — Directed by Rocky Schenck (1983) Director: Rocky Schenck Era: Early MTV Era (1983) - Lo-fi surrealist new wave novelty video from the inaugural years of MTV, produced on a micro-budget with Super 8 and Bolex film cameras; embodies the DIY experimental aesthetic that defined early cable music video culture. High curatorial value as a confirmed, dated (August 11, 1983) early MTV artifact representing the full convergence of micro-budget surrealist filmmaking, comedy-rock novelty culture, and pre-fame Hollywood talent. The video is a documentable node in the careers of Rocky Schenck (who would go on to direct 150+ videos) and Bill Paxton. Its technical fingerprint — Super 8 grain, forced perspective, theatrical costuming, warm low-key lighting — offers a precisely readable visual grammar of the era's DIY aesthetic. Preserved in the Rhino Video compilation Zabagabee. Context: Released in August 1983 on Boulevard Records, 'Soak It Up' sits at the intersection of the early MTV novelty-video boom and the Los Angeles art-underground scene. Barnes & Barnes — the duo of actor Bill Mumy (Lost in Space) and musician Robert Haimer — had already achieved cult status via Dr. Demento's nationally syndicated radio show with 'Fish Heads' (1979). 'Soak It Up' was the title track of their third EP, recorded as part of a thematically optimistic project called 'Code of Honor.' The video continues the duo's established practice of enlisting pre-fame Hollywood talent: Bill Paxton, who co-directed the earlier 'Fish Heads' clip with Schenck, appears on screen here. The EP was distributed by CBS Records but underperformed commercially, leading to the duo being dropped from Boulevard and the planned follow-up LP shelved until 2005. Director notes: Schenck served as both director and editor on 'Soak It Up,' as confirmed by IMVDb and IMDB. The video was shot on Super 8 and a hand-crank Bolex camera for approximately $2,000, consistent with the lo-fi grain, warm color temperature, and forced-perspective practical optical effects visible in the quantitative metrics. IMDB lists the release date as August 11, 1983. Schenck is also credited with Photography on the 'Soak It Up' EP release (Discogs). The video employs forced perspective, optical superimposition, and surrealist set design — techniques characteristic of Schenck's broader photographic aesthetic described as 'dream-like, surreal compositions that emphasize mood and psychological depth.' This video represents one of Schenck's earliest known music video directorial credits, predating his later work with major-label artists by nearly a decade.