Synopsis
The "Static" video presents a disorienting science-fiction environment shaped by isolation and malfunction. It opens with water droplets falling onto a person's forehead, then cuts to an older man examining electronic equipment in a narrow corridor. A young man later skates through the building's stark passageways as the imagery shifts between human figures, machinery, and confined industrial spaces. The video avoids a conventional performance setup, instead creating an eerie visual counterpart to the song's story of a traveler unable to reconnect with civilization.
Factoids & Trivia
- Released in 1983, "Static" was taken from Planet P's debut album, originally titled *Planet P* and later reissued as *Planet P Project*.
- Planet P was a pseudonym used by Tony Carey for his science-fiction-oriented recordings. Carey does not appear in the video, following Geffen Records' stipulation that he remain separate from the Planet P identity in promotional appearances.
- The song reached No. 24 on Billboard's Top Rock Tracks chart.
- MTV listed "Static" among the new videos added to its programming in May 1983.
- Carey described the song's premise as a man returning from a nine-million-light-year interstellar journey after cryogenic sleep, only to find that he cannot receive a radio signal.
- The video runs for approximately four minutes and is presented as a short atmospheric narrative rather than a band performance.