Music In The Air Tonight: Sept 16, 1984

When Miami Vice aired it's first episode, Brothers Keeper, on September 16, 1984, it immediately redefined TV with it's pioneering mix of vision and sound. Below is the montage leading to the final-scene shootout in episode one, set to Phil Collins' In The Air Tonight (itunes).



This slick nighttime driving sequence influenced what was to come from MV producers for years, such as the pre-coffee shop scene in Heat where Pacino chases down DeNiro to Moby’s New Dawn Fades (itunes), and the pre-club shootout scene in Collateral where Cruise eyes the glowing-eyed wolves to Audioslave’s Shadow On The Sun (itunes).

You gotta wonder whether it's the visual style that made the Phil Collins song seem so hard, or whether Collins actually was hardcore before he became the king of Disney flick scores. I mean, at least Moby has decades of club credibility, not to mention the fact the New Dawn Fades is a Joy Division cover (itunes). And the fact that Audioslave was preceded by Soundgarden and Rage Against the Machine speaks for itself.

Nevertheless, this 'In The Air' scene’s appeal is undeniable, and it made the song an icon of American pop culture. More to come on this in a couple days. In the meantime, here’s another episode one video showing how Crockett and Tubbs first met.



And here's a list of DOWNLOADS THAT KICK ASS (itunes):
>> Phil Collins: In The Air Tonight
>> Moby: New Dawn Fades (from Heat soundtrack)
>> Joy Division: New Dawn Fades (original that Moby covered)
>> Audioslave: Shadow On The Sun