Jefferson Starship, "No Way Out"

While I convalesce and recover from a cold, here's something appropriately hallucinatory: one of the most nonsensical yet weirdly entertaining videos of MTV's heyday.

"No Way Out" and its album Nuclear Furniture marked the end of the line for this iteration of the Jefferson Starship: after a few years of working banal arena-rock formula, Paul Kantner would take his ball and go home, acrimoniously taking the "Jefferson" with him. Funny thing, though: while the preceding albums Modern Times and Winds of Change were heavy on dire rock-by-numbers, Nuclear Furniture was something of a comeback in its songcraft, Kantner continuing his space-age saga of Rose in the quirky songs "Rose Goes to Yale" and "Champion" and Grace Slick offering the smart "Showdown." But mostly this was Mickey Thomas's show, and though he imparted his usual amounts of filler (unintelligent and uncurious like our president, Thomas rarely gave a shit what he sang, just as long as it let him belt), he had a few shining moments, including "No Way Out," which made Top 40 partly on the strength of its bizarre video.

How bizarre? I can't even summarize the plot sensibly. Mickey and his gal arrive at a castle, where Grace (in a role that I can only describe as Red Queen meets Blue Meanie) escorts him to a confession booth, where Father Guido Sarducci (!) interrogates him, catching him in his cheating-on-her lies (the only thing that makes sense in the context of the song). Meanwhile, Paul and keyboardist David Freiberg meander as mad scientists whose purpose is never made clear; guitarist Craig Chaquico runs interference (or telemarketing); bassist Pete Sears scuffles about as a chimney sweep in search of a chimney; and in another room, drummer Donny Baldwin responds to his Asian girlfriend's departure from his bed by cheerily curling a barbell. In bed.

It must be the NyQuil, but I rather enjoyed this today.