Kim Carnes - Abadabadango

What this video is

Released in August 1985 as the second single from 'Barking at Airplanes' (EMI America), the video arrived at a pivotal moment in Kim Carnes' career and in the broader arc of synth-pop's commercial dominance. The album, co-produced by Carnes and Bill Cuomo, has been documented by Nashville Scene as the first synth-pop album produced by a woman — a landmark that went largely unacknowledged at the time. The song…

Why it matters

Represents a critically underexamined node in the history of female-produced synth-pop, documenting a moment when a veteran singer-songwriter fully embraced electronic production methodology. The video's black-and-white minimalism, within the hyper-colorful MTV landscape of 1985, signals a mature…

The director

Russell Mulcahy (born 23 June 1953, Melbourne, Australia) is an Australian director, writer, and producer. He began his career directing music videos, becoming one of the most prominent video directors of the 1980s. He directed the Buggles' 'Video Killed the…