Friday, December 01, 2006

Mall Music Video: Robin Sparkles "Let's Go to the Mall"


Robin Sparkles "Let's Go to the Mall"

Behold the beauty that is this note-perfect '80s style music video parody from the CBS TV show, How I Met Your Mother. Canadian actress, Cobie Smulders, plays Robin Scherbatsky on the show, and in a recent episode it was revealed that her character had a dark past... she was a Canadian shopping mall teen pop star in the early '90s, and went by the stage name, Robin Sparkles.

Whatever, it's not the show itself that really interests me here (sorry CBS), it's the fake music video and song, "Let's Go to the Mall", that got my attention. It's pretty brilliant. Not so much for what it is, but for what it does, if that makes any sense.

This song and video, even though all fake, actually manage to capture what the '80s and early '90s mall scene was all about (or is that aboot?), better than almost anything I've ever seen--many movies included! They really nailed it. At first (when I watched it on YouTube) I honestly thought it was like, totally real, and that it was some obscure video I had somehow like, totally never seen. I'll admit I fell for it, lol. A little searching, though, told the real story. But it's still so dang good, I want to share it anyway.

So, if you weren't a teen mallrat in the '80s and early '90s, and didn't get to actually experience the corresponding shopping mall scene yourself, this video pretty much encapsulates the whole thing for you.

Oh, and good luck getting the stupid song out of your head the rest of the day, too! I apologize in advance. ;P

18 comments:

  1. I love this show!!! The character Robin hates shopping malls and then her dark secret is revealed...she was a teen singing star ala Tiffany and Debbie! Everyone thought she was a porn star; she wished it was that sordid.

    Anyway, I love your blog and visit it every day!

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  2. I cant stop singing
    c'mon Jess-i-kuh c'mon Tah-ree
    Thank you for posting that. I think?

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  3. Feels more '80s to me, too, Cora--which is why I fudged the date a little myself on it. According to the show it's actually supposed to be from early 1993.

    KP: Thanks! Glad to have you here.

    Jeff: You're welcome. I think? ;) I keep singing it, too, btw, or hearing it in my head.

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  4. Keith...got my email? Posting other clips?

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  5. The joke was that everything in Canada is five year's behind.

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  6. This makes me feel like I'm at Stratford Square Mall anytime from 1987-1989. Break out the Benetton sweaters!

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  7. LOVE the Eighties fashions. They were right on the mark, there. Was that really Prime Ministor Brian Mulrooney?
    Scott

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  8. um, no. it wasn't.

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  9. This video is totally awesome! I Love it! The song isn't all that bad either. It really grew on me.

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  10. Doug: No e-mail from you re: video clips, if that's what you mean. Please resend and I'll watch for it. Thanks!

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  11. Yeah, this was definately what it felt like going to the mall in those days.

    Most 15 year olds can't fathom what they missed for those of us past 30. But I had to notice this one YouTube vid a couple of teenage girls had to stick up for a class project. It's nice to see a few of 'em savoring in the last teetering years of a dying phenomenon. Something they can tell their grandkids about one day. :-)
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c2TTI4Vc49Q

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  12. 3 days later and I am still singing it! OK I did find an MP3 and played it ad nauseaum in the car as well.

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  13. BTW yes bigmallrat there was Prime Minister Brian Mulroney from 1984-1993

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  14. well yes jeff but the question was is that mulroney in the video, and the answer is obviously no. it doesn't even look like him.

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  15. Hello Jessica, Hello Tori...

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  16. I do remember Brian Mulrooney and his "we are progressive conservatives" quote. Those two words in the same sentence are non-existent south of the Canadian border. It baffles me until this very day. Nevertheless, I didn't study his face that hard back then. However, I could recognize Wayne Gretzky! :)
    Scott

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  17. anyone know which mall the video was filmed at?

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