Brothers in Arms - Dire Straits
Published by James E on Monday, November 19, 2007.
Brothers in Arms is the fifth studio album by British rock band Dire Straits, released in 1985. The album has sold over 29 million copies worldwide. It was the 3rd best-selling album of the 1980s (Behind The Joshua Tree by U2 and Thriller by Michael Jackson), the best selling album by Dire Straits, and the twelfth best selling album of all time.
Brothers in Arms was one of the first albums to be directed at the CD market, being the first full digital recording (DDD). It was also released on vinyl and cassette. This was also the first album to sell one million copies in the CD format and to outsell its LP version. Indeed, when the disc was released, it was said that more people owned a copy of the CD than owned CD players. A Rykodisc staffer would subsequently write, "[In 1985 we] were fighting to get our CDs manufactured because the entire worldwide manufacturing capacity was overwhelmed by demand for a single rock title (Dire Straits' Brothers in Arms)."
"Money for Nothing" first appeared on Brothers in Arms and subsequently became an international hit when released as a single. The song was notable for its controversial lyrics, groundbreaking music video and a cameo appearance by Sting singing the song's iconic falsetto introduction and backing chorus, a borrowing of the cable network's slogan "I want my MTV". The video was also the first to be aired on MTV Europe when the network started on August 1, 1987.
The song's lyrics are written from the point of view of a blue-collar worker watching music videos and commenting on what he sees. To achieve the effect of such a layman making such casual everyday commentary, Dire Straits' lead singer and songwriter Mark Knopfler used a vocal style known as Sprechstimme.
The observations of the character included references to a musician "banging on the bongos like a chimpanzee" and a description of a singer as "that little faggot with the earring and the makeup", and lamenting that the artists got "money for nothing and chicks for free". These lyrics were widely criticised as sexist, anti-gay, and racist statements, and in some later releases of the song the lyrics were edited for airplay; "faggot" for example is often replaced with "mother": "little mother, he's a millionaire". The entire second verse was edited out for content and length for radio and video airplay, and on the 7" single.
Brothers in Arms was one of the first albums to be directed at the CD market, being the first full digital recording (DDD). It was also released on vinyl and cassette. This was also the first album to sell one million copies in the CD format and to outsell its LP version. Indeed, when the disc was released, it was said that more people owned a copy of the CD than owned CD players. A Rykodisc staffer would subsequently write, "[In 1985 we] were fighting to get our CDs manufactured because the entire worldwide manufacturing capacity was overwhelmed by demand for a single rock title (Dire Straits' Brothers in Arms)."
"Money for Nothing" first appeared on Brothers in Arms and subsequently became an international hit when released as a single. The song was notable for its controversial lyrics, groundbreaking music video and a cameo appearance by Sting singing the song's iconic falsetto introduction and backing chorus, a borrowing of the cable network's slogan "I want my MTV". The video was also the first to be aired on MTV Europe when the network started on August 1, 1987.
The song's lyrics are written from the point of view of a blue-collar worker watching music videos and commenting on what he sees. To achieve the effect of such a layman making such casual everyday commentary, Dire Straits' lead singer and songwriter Mark Knopfler used a vocal style known as Sprechstimme.
The observations of the character included references to a musician "banging on the bongos like a chimpanzee" and a description of a singer as "that little faggot with the earring and the makeup", and lamenting that the artists got "money for nothing and chicks for free". These lyrics were widely criticised as sexist, anti-gay, and racist statements, and in some later releases of the song the lyrics were edited for airplay; "faggot" for example is often replaced with "mother": "little mother, he's a millionaire". The entire second verse was edited out for content and length for radio and video airplay, and on the 7" single.
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