History Music / BrothersInArms

* EndOfAnAge: The album's marked the end of the era of the phonograph (which had already been losing ground to the cassette) as the dominant form of music reproduction and the rise of the CD. The album's later double-LP release would herald the end of the CD era and the start of the Vinyl Revival in turn.

* EpicRocking: [[InvokedTrope Invoked]] by the band as a way to promote the CD format. The broad majority of the tracks[[note]]"Money for Nothing" (8:26), "Why Worry" (8:31), "Brothers in Arms" (7:00), "Ride Across the River" (6:58), "Your Latest Trick" (6:33)[[/note]] all exceed five minutes; in fact, the abundance of atypically long tracks on ''Brothers in Arms'' meant that the only way to release the album in its entirety on the vinyl record format was as a double LP.

* SexOPhone: "Your Latest Trick".

--> ''Money for nothing and you chicks for free''

** "Ride Across The River" sorta-kinda fits too:

Regarding the musical content itself, the album is both a NewSoundAlbum and a RevisitingTheRoots approach, returning to the band's roots rock sound following the ProgressiveRock-oriented ''Music/LoveOverGold'', while simultaneously continuing that album's musical experimentation and incorporation of synthesizers for atmospheric effect (albeit oriented in a far more commercially accessible direction). Combined with the continued presence of EpicRocking, the end result is a sonic middle ground between the nostalgic minimalism of the band's first three albums and the musical innovation of ''Love Over Gold''. Such an approach earned the band critical scorn in the UK, but major critical ''acclaim'' in the US; it would go on to be thoroughly VindicatedByHistory in Britain, and among fans and critics today it is widely considered Dire Straits' greatest album.

This album was subject of an episode in the TV documentary series ''Series/ClassicAlbums'' and is also the {{Trope Namer|s}} for MoneyForNothing. The album was listed at No. 352 in ''Magazine/RollingStone'''s [[UsefulNotes/RollingStone500GreatestAlbumsOfAllTime 500 Greatest Albums of All Time]] and at No. 584 on ''WebSite/AcclaimedMusic''[='s=] [[UsefulNotes/AcclaimedMusicAllTimeTopAlbums All-Time Top Albums]].

This album contains the TropeNamer for MoneyForNothing.

* DeliberateValuesDissonance: Per word of Mark Knopfler, "Money for Nothing" is sung from the perspective of a conservative retail store clerk commenting on the music videos he sees on MTV, which he doesn't consider "real" work (hence the refrain, "money for nothing and the chicks for free"). He also mocks a singer's effeminate getup via homophobic slurs, sleazily remarks on a woman performer, and makes racist jokes at the expense of a bongo player. Knopfler emphasized that you're meant to see the narrator of the song as a scumbag and that it's a reflection of his own negative opinions on fans of rock music..

* MoneyForNothing and MoneySong: {{Trope Namer|s}}.

In fact, its CD release is rather notable as the album was specifically designed to take advantage of the format's strengths compared to the then-well-established gramophone record: not only was every song recorded digitally, but the fact that the majority of the tracks were EpicRocking meant that it was impossible to fit the full album onto a single record. Indeed, up until 2006, all vinyl releases of ''Brothers in Arms'' cut a few minutes off of most of the songs (this only changed when Vertigo Records realized they could just release the uncut version as a double LP, but at the time of its original release, double albums were considered commercially unviable in the wake of the [[FollowUpFailure underperformance]] of Music/FleetwoodMac's ''Music/{{Tusk}}'' compared to ''Music/{{Rumours}}'').

This gimmick paid off quite well for Dire Straits, with the album becoming the first to sell more copies on CD than on vinyl, making it one of two major [[KillerApp killer apps]] for the CD format (the other being a reissue of [[Music/PinkFloyd Pink Floyd's]] ''Music/TheDarkSideOfTheMoon''). It helps that the album came out just as CD players were dropping dramatically in price since their introduction three years earlier, becoming affordable for the average rock fan. To this day, the CD release of ''Brothers in Arms'' is considered the definitive version of the album.

Regarding the musical content itself, the album is both a NewSoundAlbum and a RevisitingTheRoots approach, returning to the band's roots rock sound following the ProgressiveRock-oriented ''Music/LoveOverGold'', while simultaneously continuing that album's musical experimentation and incorporation of synthesizers for atmospheric effect (albeit oriented in a far more commercially accessible direction). Combined with the continued presence of EpicRocking, the end result is a sonic middle ground between the nostalgic minimalism of the band's first three albums and the musical innovation of ''Love Over Gold''.

This album was subject of an episode in the TV documentary series ''Series/ClassicAlbums'' and is also the {{Trope Namer|s}} for MoneyForNothing. The album was listed at #352 in ''Magazine/RollingStone'''s [[UsefulNotes/RollingStone500GreatestAlbumsOfAllTime 500 Greatest Albums of All Time]].

''Brothers in Arms'' is the fifth studio album by Music/DireStraits, released in 1985. It became a massive million seller thanks to the title track, "Walk of Life", "Your Latest Trick" and the song "Money for Nothing", which was noted for its criticism of MTV. It's one of the biggest-selling albums of all time and was one of the first to be released on [[UsefulNotes/CompactDisc CD]] concurrently with the LP release (most CD releases early in the format's life were of albums that had already been out for at least a couple years).

* SpecialGuest: Music/{{Sting}}, on "Money for Nothing".

In fact, its CD release is rather notable as the album was specifically designed to take advantage of the format's strengths compared to the then-well-established gramophone record: not only was every song recorded digitally, but the fact that the majority of the tracks were EpicRocking meant that it was impossible to fit the full album onto a single record. Indeed, up until 2006, all vinyl releases of ''Brothers in Arms'' cut a few minutes off of most of the songs (this only changed when Vertigo Records realized they could just release the uncut version as a double LP).

* AnimatedMusicVideo: "Money for Nothing". This video is of special note as the first fully computer-animated music video. The animators later went on to found Creator/MainframeEntertainment[[note]]creators of ''WesternAnimation/ReBoot'' and ''WesternAnimation/BeastWars''[[/note]]. It also won the 1985 Grammy for Best Music Video (beating A-ha's "Take on Me" in an arguable AwardSnub). Their video for "Brothers in Arms" also had several animated scenes.

* DeliberateValuesDissonance: "Money for Nothing", one of the most notable (and controversial) examples in popular music; the lyrics, according to Mark Knopfler, are narrated by a conservative retail store clerk commenting on the music videos he sees on MTV; among other things, the narrator deems music as not ''real'' work (hence the song's title), mocks a singer's effeminate getup via homophobic slurs, sleazily remarks on a woman performer, and makes racist jokes at the expense of a bongo player. The listener is not meant to sympathize with any of these statements, and Knopfler stated that the song is a reflection of everything ''wrong'' with rock fans.

Regarding the musical content itself, the album is both a NewSoundAlbum and a RevisitingTheRoots approach, returning to the band's roots rock sound following the ProgressiveRock-oriented ''Love Over Gold'', while simultaneously continuing that album's musical experimentation and incorporation of synthesizers for atmospheric effect (albeit oriented in a far more commercially accessible direction). Combined with the continued presence of EpicRocking, the end result is a sonic middle ground between the nostalgic minimalism of the band's first three albums and the musical innovation of ''Love Over Gold''.

!! Money for Nothing, and your tropes for free:

''Brothers in Arms'' is the fifth studio album by Music/DireStraits, released in 1985. It became a massive million seller thanks to the title track, "Walk of Life", "Your Latest Trick" and the song "Money for Nothing", which was noted for its criticism of MTV. It's one of the biggest-selling albums of all time and was one of the first to be released on CD concurrently with the LP release (most CD releases early in the format's life were of albums that had already been out for at least a couple years).

[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/direstraits_5078.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:300:''I want my MTV...'']]

This gimmick payed off quite well for Dire Straits, with the album becoming the first to sell more copies on CD than on vinyl, making it one of two major [[KillerApp killer apps]] for the CD format (the other being a reissue of [[Music/PinkFloyd Pink Floyd's]] ''Music/TheDarkSideOfTheMoon''). It helps that the album came out just as CD players were dropping dramatically in price since their introduction three years earlier, becoming affordable for the average rock fan. To this day, the CD release of ''Brothers in Arms'' is considered the definitive version of the album.

In fact, its CD release is rather notable as the album was specifically designed to take advantage of the format's strengths compared to the then-well-established gramophone record: not only was every song recorded digitally, but the fact that the majority of the tracks were EpicRocking meant that it was impossible to fit the full album onto a single record. Indeed, up until TheNewTens, all vinyl releases of ''Brothers in Arms'' cut a few minutes off of most of the songs (this only changed when Vertigo Records realized they could just release the uncut version as a double LP).

# "So Far Away" (5:12)
# "Money for Nothing" (8:26)

# "Your Latest Trick" (6:33)
# "Why Worry" (8:31)

# "Brothers in Arms" (7:00)

* DeliberateValuesDissonance: "Money for Nothing", one of the most notable (and controversial) examples in popular music; the lyrics, according to Knopfler, are narrated by a conservative retail store clerk commenting on the music videos he sees on MTV; among other things, the narrator deems music as not ''real'' work (hence the song's title), mocks a singer's effeminate getup via homophobic slurs, sleazily remarks on a woman performer, and makes racist jokes at the expense of a bongo player.

''Brothers in Arms'' is the fifth studio album by Music/DireStraits, released in 1985. It became a massive million seller thanks to the title track, "Walk of Life", "Your Latest Trick" and the song "Money for Nothing", which was noted for its criticism of MTV. It's one of the biggest-selling albums of all time and was one of the first to be released on CD.

This album was subject of an episode in the TV documentary series ''Series/ClassicAlbums'' and is also the {{Trope Namer|s}} for MoneyForNothing. The album was listed at nr. #352 in ''Magazine/RollingStone'''s [[UsefulNotes/RollingStone500GreatestAlbumsOfAllTime 500 Greatest Albums of All Time]].

This gimmick payed off quite well for Dire Straits, with the album becoming the first to sell more copies on CD than on vinyl, making it one of two major [[KillerApp killer apps]] for the CD format (the other being a reissue of [[Music/PinkFloyd Pink Floyd's]] ''Music/TheDarkSideOfTheMoon''). To this day, the CD release of ''Brothers in Arms'' is considered the definitive version of the album. The release was well timed, as CD players had dropped dramatically in price since their introduction three years earlier, becoming affordable for the average rock fan.

This gimmick payed off quite well for Dire Straits, with the album becoming the first to sell more copies on CD than on vinyl, making it one of two major [[KillerApp killer apps]] for the CD format (the other being a reissue of [[Music/PinkFloyd Pink Floyd's]] ''Music/TheDarkSideOfTheMoon''). To this day, the CD release of ''Brothers in Arms'' is considered the definitive version of the album.

** Crossing with SongOfSongTitles: The street musician in "Walk of Life" plays oldies, including "I Got a Woman" , "What'd I Say" (Music/RayCharles), "Be-Bop-a-Lula" (Music/GeneVincent), "Mack the Knife", "My Sweet Lovin' Woman".

* BitingTheHandHumor: "Money for Nothing" criticised MTV, while at the same time having a music video that got a lot of airplay on the channel. In fact, Mark Knopfler didn't like music videos and only agreed to have one done for the song because MTV themselves insisted.