Hello, Fast Horse. Is it a Flashback Friday you’re looking for?

My mug has created a fair number of questions, discussions and pure envy around Fast Horse. And I’d like to shed some insight I’ve had about this. But first, look at this brilliant mug.

For those of you who didn’t grow up watching VH1’s “Pop-Up Video” alone in your living room, you may not understand this. One of my favorite “Pop-Up” discoveries is the video for Lionel Richie’s song “Hello.” As silly as the lyrics are, the mug was not made due to the lyrics. Oh, no. You have to watch the whole video to understand why the song is well-known.

Lionel is a teacher in love with his blind student. He legitimately stalks her and she expresses her love for him with a sculpture of his head. It’s too absurd not to love. Aside from the concept, it’s Lionel’s style that wins our hearts: the hair, the ‘stache, the khaki blazer. The imagery with the song has become so iconic. And that got me thinkin’ about why I want to share this all with you in the first place.

Well, everyone has their own experience with the music-video revolution, even if it’s none at all. I invested a lot of time during my childhood to MTV and VH1. For me, I saw them as a way of expressing or documenting “the times,” whether through fashion, politics, technology or music itself. This fad truly fascinated me. These videos had the ability to combine music with imagery in order to create long-lasting impressions. Arguably, they were long-lasting, because at one point, the video mattered more than the album or song. Well, maybe that isn’t exactly true. But, there was a high importance put on videos that has faded today. That mug, that silly mug, made me want to map out the evolution of music videos. I had never thought about it before. And I’m nerding out. Watch out, everyone.

If exploring the cultural importance of music videos isn’t your thing, you can always look for the music video gems, like “Hello,” for a good laugh to share with friends and loved ones. Why else do you think seeing this mug makes people smile and want to steal it from me everyday? This mug will unite us all.

One last note: I found out that the director of this video also made the infamous commercial with Michael Jackson. I will applaud you for your achievements in the “Hello” video. As ridiculous as it is, at least no one started on fire.