The Buddy System - Go Back to Hollywood (1986)

What this video is

Filmed in 1986, 'Go Back to Hollywood' documents the grassroots pathway by which independent regional American bands achieved national visibility in the mid-1980s through MTV's audience-participation Basement Tapes segment — a mechanism that specifically democratized access to national airtime outside of major-label infrastructure. The Buddy System's Boston origin situates them within a vibrant regional…

Why it matters

A primary document of mid-1980s American indie new wave as filtered through the college-rock and regional-band circuit. Represents the Basement Tapes ecosystem as a cultural gateway, and illustrates the sonic and visual aesthetics of self-produced independent video prior to the proliferation of…