This is a clever idea, and it appeals to both my inordinate love for Mark Knopfler and my interest in watching performers then and now (see this, this, this, this, and this):
All hail YouTube and virtual time travel!
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Previously a lifelong Democrat, born in New York and living in New England, surrounded by liberals on all sides, I've found myself slowly but surely 
July 20th, 2012 at 5:24 pm
Interesting, but the thing that struck me most? How puny the lead singer’s arms are (0:41). He looks like he’d lose an arm wrestling match with most women.
July 20th, 2012 at 7:16 pm
I recall back during my college days having my dad – both he and his brother are pretty competent amateur guitarists – ask me if I knew the name of that “young German” fellow, who was a big fan of Chet Atkins and had taken up playing with him on occasion.
I couldn’t think who it could be. German sounding name maybe? Earl Klugh? Stanley Jordan? LOL
Finally he said something about rock and roll and a tall guy that caused me to say , “Oh geez you mean that bald goofball wearing the doo-rag who sings “Money for Nothing …” and dances around in his bare feet on MTV?”
Same guy it turned out. And I guess that Knopfler is indeed considered a very fine guitarist by many very good players, not all of whom are big rock fans.
I think I should give him this: His stage performances, to judge by the videos, sound very much like the canned product. Just as good.
By way of contrast, just think how crushed some of us were when we saw the Youtube video of the Jeff Beck Group doing “Situation” live, after having years before permanently etched the a– kicking “Rough and Ready” commercial version into our brain cells.
Give Knopfler credit for what he does.
July 20th, 2012 at 7:28 pm
I’ve always loved Mark Knopfler and Dire Straits – first because when I was an AFRTS dee-jay and stuck on the overnight shift with a rock and roll show in the wee hours of the morning, I used to amuse myself by seeing how few cuts I could play in an hour. (and without playing Stairway to Heaven – that was cheating!) Frankie Goes to Hollywood and an enormously long title cut on that album, and if I filled the rest of the hour out with some Dire Straits concert cuts and one or two others … bingo. Had it down to four selections to fill 55 minutes.
The other reason was for his music for ‘Local Hero – http://www.allmusic.com/album/local-hero-original-soundtrack-mw0000652037
I had the album before I ever saw the movie, and fell in love with it. And then the music for ‘The Princess Bride’. He’s a magnificent musician, as a composer and performer.
July 20th, 2012 at 7:53 pm
DNW: I’ll give him credit, and then some. He’s amazing in live performance, although I’ve only seen him on YouTube. He has explained the headband as being because he sweats so much; he’s not really into fashion or looks, especially compared to other rockstars.
By the way, his surname is from his father, who was a Jewish refugee in WWII from Hungary.
July 20th, 2012 at 8:40 pm
Knopfler is a great guitarist and a first class song writer. Thanks for the review of Sultans over time.
“He looks like he’d lose an arm wrestling match with most women.”
I know plenty of women (here, in Japan, and all across Europe, including several tough Russian women) over the age of 50 who can toss big young muscle bound, macho men around as if they were rag dolls. Its all a matter of timing, positioning, and applying leverage. Take their center and you own them wrist-elbow-shoulder-ankle-knee-hip. Once you own them all resistance is extremely painful and dislocates joints and breaks bones. Even lowly women can do it.
The harder they come…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sjtXfkHCEkY
July 20th, 2012 at 11:09 pm
I had a shotakon teacher in the National Guard who was 62 years old. He was very impressive. He was 6’2″ and fast. Man how he could make his clothes snap doing kata’s. I really liked that. I wished I had continued doing kata’s but I didn’t. Talk about a great exercise and stretching and peace. But it requires discipline, something I did not have. So I let it slip away. But I still, sometimes, in the morning, grip my feet into the floor, and perform the very basic blocks, sweeps, punches and kicks. Doing them feels good and I fantasize that some day there will be an event and I can exercise my knowledge, much like one exercises a gun, to public benefit.
July 21st, 2012 at 1:01 am
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v7GPndG0f-A&feature=related
July 21st, 2012 at 3:03 am
I hate to admit this publicly, but when I was about 12 I was challenged and beaten in arm wrestling by the smallest girl in the class. Whap. It was over before I even realized it had started.
I probably should have married her or something.
July 21st, 2012 at 3:20 am
And it looks like he’ll be playing with Bob this fall. So far the closest show to me will be at Hershey Park on 9/9, but that’s two hours away. It’s pretty tempting, though.
(Holyoke, MA on 9/7, neo? Hint, hint.)
http://www.bobdylan.com/us/upcoming-dates
July 21st, 2012 at 4:01 pm
11/18 in Boston and 11/19 in Philly sound like they will be closer to both of us, but tickets to those shows aren’t on sale yet.
July 21st, 2012 at 4:05 pm
rickl: I would love to see Knopfler in person, but I can’t stand Bob Dylan in person. I went to a concert a while back and he barely phoned it in.
Thus, a dilemma.
July 22nd, 2012 at 5:33 am
I’ve always preferred Money for Nothing and Skateaway, myself. The former for its amusing genesis:
=================
Knopfler described the writing of the song in a 1984 interview with critic Bill Flanagan:
The lead character in “Money for Nothing” is a guy who works in the hardware department in a television/custom kitchen/refrigerator/microwave appliance store. He’s singing the song. I wrote the song when I was actually in the store. I borrowed a bit of paper and started to write the song down in the store. I wanted to use a lot of the language that the real guy actually used when I heard him, because it was more real….
In 2000, Knopfler appeared on Michael Parkinson’s interview program and explained again where the lyrics originated. According to Knopfler, he was in New York and stopped by an appliance store. At the back of the store, they had a wall of TVs which were all tuned to MTV. Knopfler said there was a man working there dressed in a baseball cap, work boots, and a checkered shirt delivering boxes who was standing next to him watching. As they were standing there watching MTV, Knopfler remembers the man coming up with classic lines such as “what are those, Hawaiian noises?…that ain’t workin’,” etc. Knopfler asked for a pen to write some of these lines down and then eventually put those words to music.
===============
Skateaway — I think just melds his voice with the song’s theme and jazzy/twangy riff perfectly.
July 22nd, 2012 at 6:08 pm
Late to the thread as usual, but I l think M.K. is one of the guitar greats ( and lyricists) and I love these ‘then and now’ posts by Neo. Somehow having company makes being 60 a bit easier….
Hell, talking about geezers, I’m still listening and watching (and making others listen and watch) that John Hiatt/ Sonny Landreth cover of BB King’s “Riding with the King” that jc turned me onto in the comments to Neo’s ‘Mesmerizing Music post’ back on March 16. [see link to that performance below]
Thanks again Neo (and jc!).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m_CUzuitxSI