Epic Win: a-ha: “Take On Me”
Submitted by S Albert
Raise your hand if you ever tried to sing along and completely slaughtered the high notes! And almost every girl I knew, myself included, had a big fat crush on Marten Harket. He was dreamy. Sigh….drool… Let’s just say he was my original McDreamy.
OK, snapping out of it now. The video was also the first time most of us saw Rotoscoping, which according to Wikipedia is defined as:
Rotoscoping is an animation technique in which animators trace over live-action film movement, frame by frame, for use in animated films. Originally, pre-recorded live-action film images were projected onto a frosted glass panel and re-drawn by an animator. This projection equipment is called a rotoscope, although this device has been replaced by computers in recent years. In the visual effects industry, the term rotoscoping refers to the technique of manually creating a matte for an element on a live-action plate so it may be composited over another background.
Wow. Since the video came out in 1985, you know they did that by hand. Like as in, no computers. Using fingers. And hands. As such.
You may think a-ha is lodged firmly in the “Where Are They Now?” file, but you’d be wrong. They released their last studio album Analogue in 2005, and are slated to release a new album in early 2009.
Here’s a relatively recent photo of a-ha:
Photo via Alternative Classix
My, they have aged well. Who wants to go to Norway with me? 
Ooooh! I love this song, and I loooove the video.
When he saves her from the bad guys and then gets a beat-down. (sob)
Hey! They still look pretty cute!
Yay!
I highly recommend that everyone search youtube for Take On Me the Literal Version! Hilarious.
Its gone…”Sigh.”
Hah. This amuses me, because I just downloaded that song last night. x3
This is one of my favourite videos! So cool compared to all the half-naked women and that sort of thing in today’s music videos. I wish I was around for the 80’s.
I wish I was still IN the 80s. Minus Ronald Reagan, maybe. You weren’t missing much with him.
Ah, I feel so nostalgic. *Sniffle* I liked this whole album. And the guys are still looking quite handsome.
Morten Harket has clearly made an excellent pact with Satan.
They’re still hot. @_@ *goes overseas*
Woohoo, when do we leave?
Wait, I’m coming with you. Just let me grab my passport!
This video was the first thing that put me on the pathway to becoming an art teacher……. thank you AHA.
(completely serious – it made me want to go to art school to learn how to do that. Rotoscoping is AWESOME)
Gad! This makes me feel so OLD! When I was in 4th or 5th grade, my Girl Scout troop visited Disney Studios…they were in the process of making “Alice in Wonderland.” Yeah. THAT long ago. 1949 or ‘50. (It was released in 1951)We saw the artists hand-painting the individual cels, and part of the tour was a demonstration of how they roto-scoped a lot of Alice’s action. I think it took them 4 years to go from story-boards to the completed film.
I am jealous! I would have loved to see Disney animators at work.
Oh, me too! That would’ve been heaven. Instead, I got to go to a Ford factory (Is now a shopping mall) a bakery (anyone remember Langendorf?) and I forgot what else, but I’d've given up a body part to go see Disney in action.
Our fields trips were always to NASA and JSC. My favorite part was watching the guys talk to the astronauts in space, I looked forward to that every year. To bad after 9/11 they had to move it for safety reasons and we are no longer allowed to see them talk to the astronauts
I would have loved to watch them make a movie too, that sounds so neat.
The Sun Always Shines On TV, Scoundrel Days, A-Ha had more than one great songs
I loved all their creepy songs, like Sycamore Leaves, I’ve Been Losing You, and Early Morning! Nasty murderer pop music you can sing along to, yay!!!
Oooh you can’t forget Velvet and I just about die laughing everytime I watch the creepy video!
Sidenote It’s Morten, not Marten. He’s had several solo albums. Mags has done some soundtracks. Last, but not least Pål Americanized his name to Paul annd has several albums with his & his wife’s band Savoy.
Yes, I still wear my leather bracelets, why do you ask?
Hah! I was just talking about this video last night! This is one of my most favorite songs ever. Mostly because of the video. I think I saw it first on the cartoon show, Kid Video. I’m going to type the word ‘video’ one more time.
The lead singer had the most amazing, and fluffiest mullet ever… *dreamy sigh* I wish he’d come crashing through MY walls! ;D
How many of us started trying to learn how to draw because of that video?
I could never get the lyrics right, and after a while, I started to deliberately mess them up. But I like the song, and the band.
I still try to hit those high notes and it sends my cats in a frenzy trying to escape the hideous glass shattering racket emanating from me.
I do I do!
Oh – I always cried when the guy got beat up! I was totally in love and would stop whatever I was doing to sing along and cry.
Ah the good old days. *sigh*
Speaking of bands from Norway, he on the far right looks kinda like Janove Ottesen from Kaizers Orchestra. Huh. Norwegians.
Guess I can’t post links… anywho, it’s still available on Google Vids, just not on FailTube.
You should have checked mtvmusic.com, they have all the music videos and they can be embedded.
http://www.mtvmusic.com/a-ha/videos/7846/take_on_me.jhtml
Hey Jim,
Unfortunately, wordpress.com does not allow us to embed videos from MTV, as of yet.
Thx for the suggestion tho. It’s awesome.
awesome song have it on my mp3 player and the video is even more awesomeness
When it first came out, this song was good, but it was the video that really made it big.
I like it. And the Family Guy clip with it is just funny.
The Family Guy version is the best! Chris is cuter than Morten’s girlie any day…
GASP!
I’m going to Norway!
I think that there is a disease that regularly sweeps through Norway that kills all the ugly people.
There was a joke about the Lillehammer (sp.?) Olympics. An athelete was sent to the wrong dorm, and when asked who misdirected him replied, “A tall, good-looking blond in a turtleneck.”
Yes, we are all gorgeous in Norway… And we have polar bears walking in the streets!!! :p
Not all people slaughtered themselves. XD. The hint to getting the notes right: start at a low pitch, and go higher. 030
Oo oo… I WANNA GO! Acuz my love Robert Plant didn’t age so well, and Marten is looking miiiiiiiiiiiiighty tasty. Les’ go already!! ^_^
I guess I’m too young to consider this nostalgic (The first time I heard it was in that family guy episode), but I found it interesting because, in the video game Saints Row 2, when this song is on the radio, your character sings along to it.
First video I ever saw! Woo-hoo! On Friday Night videos. God, I’m old.
Have sung this at karaoke and failed massively but it is still fun.
And heck, I am on my way. They are so cute.
he’s gonna go kick some ass with his pipe wrench
This video is no longer available due to a copyright claim by a third party.
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Morten nothin’ – my friend had a crush on Mags, but I always thought Pal was the cutest.
they aged REALLY well. WOW. Norway, you say? lol
poor choice of classic 80’s songs to throw back to
Those Goddam Jonas Brothers sang this and sort of killed it.
The Jonas Brothers cover of this is terrible! Everything of theirs is completely un-original.
And Reel Big Fish already covered it thank you very much.
a-ha is so much greater than just “Take On Me.” I’d say that song isn’t actually all that representative of their sound. I have all but one album and still listen to them regularly.
Pal (now Paul) was and is my favourite. His other band, Savoy, is also great. He’s an excellent singer, though I don’t think his range is quite as broad as Morten’s.
He`s my nabour actually
excellent song, although to this day I wonder what those f*ckers with the wrenches were so cheezed about…
Hahahaha! that was funny… There are so many variations of this video already… Here is also a hilarious music video on a-ha’s take on me ( literal version)
http://rotoscopingvideos.blogspot.com/2008/11/take-on-me-literal-version.html
great song, great video, the group washed out, though.
Great band. I like this song, but they have loads of other great songs. I’m only 16 but these guys are epic. Favorite band by far. What happened to having artists like these guys be the norm. Nowadays the majority of artists, well, suck. a-ha, David Bowie, etc. etc. I want artists like them back.
And Morten is still gorgeous looking <3. FTW.
It’s good to be Norwegian I tell ya