Rick Springfield ‘80s Videos and Songs Tell a Familiar Story

When I watched Rick videos for my #2020 Challenge Meme, I noticed a trend: several of the videos, made in the ‘80s, referenced current situations. Is Rick Springfield psychic? Did his songs and video predict future events?

Coincidence? You be the judge. Take a look at similarities between current day and Rick Springfield videos.

The Songs and Videos From the Rick Springfield Prophecy

#1 “What Kind of Fool Am I”

I’m starting with the most amazing prediction in all of the videos, “What Kind of Fool Am I” from 1982. Rick is playing his guitar while standing on cars at a drive-in. A drive-in. That is literally what is happening right now, though most people are on a stage not a vehicle. But still. Wha?

Check it out:

And we’ll point out a few lyrics from “What Kind of Fool Am I”

I thought we'd be together
When the world ran down
When the curtain fell and the lights came up
But the Gods or whatever make the world go round
Shuffled when they should have cut

#2 & #3 “Human Touch”

This is a two-parter.

First. We’re too consumed with electronics that we don’t talk with people. When this song was written there were rotary phones, maybe Atari games, no one had a computer at home or even at work. People went outside and played, didn’t stare at an iPhone. So it’s not like he was writing these lyrics from what life was like in the ‘80s. We had to, like, use maps to get around. It was a very low tech time.

“Everybody’s talking to computers, they’re all dancing to a drum machine…I’m so scared and isolated in the modern world”

Second: this is timely for right now when we are secluded at home, we do need the human touch but then we don’t want the human touch. See, it’s a mixed problem. Longing for a touch, but please scrub your hands for 30 seconds first.

Rick Springfield seen in the “Human Touch” video

Watch Rick singing an updated version for our COVID-19 world: No Human Touch, and also sing along to Glove Somebody a parody of “Love Somebody.”

#4 “Celebrate Youth”

In the video Rick is sitting on an empty jungle gym at a schoolyard (what we’re seeing right now) singing about the importance of celebrating children, “teach them right” he belts out. He is wearing a red scarf like the bandanas people are wearing as face covers.

Are you saying this is a stretch? Well, maybe. But we’d like to think Rick is psychic!

Red is featured in several of Rick’s videos like “I’ve Done Everything for You” (woman in a red dress) but in this one it seems strategically artful against the black and white. The cinematography looks ahead of its time probably because it was directed by David Fincher (he later directed Se7en, Panic Room, many more).

#5 “Affair of the Heart”

We see a red sun, Rick is tossing and turning in bed, waking up in terror. Ok, watching this video made me think of my tossing and turning with anxiety. And true, hearing so much about COVID-19 did make me think he had the night sweats when maybe he just had unbelievably good looking guy worries. I’m sure it happens.

“Mercury rising into the red.” He’s stuck in isolation/quarantine. Can’t break free, when he does it’s a bunch of phony people. Maybe this one resonates with me because I live in LA!

“Dance This World Away” Still Relevant

Not a prediction, but a song and video that are timely for today. Made in 1985, and again directed by David Fincher, Rick is beating on a desk in frustration with the cheesiness and callousness of the world around him while there are issues like acid rain and nukes. This is the Cold War era, so the subject matter isn’t what is amazing.

What is fascinating about “Dance This World Away” is the song and video still apply to today. In the video people are dancing not paying attention to what is happening. This could be an analogy to Dancing With the Stars, people tuning in to such nonsense when there are real problems. There’s a Mr. Rogers-like character who joyfully talks about acid rain with puppets. References the carefree attitude we have about serious subjects.

Though it is interesting the goofy lounge singer (one of three roles played by Springfield) does wipe off the microphone before he sings in it.

Like other Rick Springfield videos there are red references: his tie is red, a woman in the ballroom applies red lipstick.