YMMV / Brothers in Arms (Album)

• Alternate Character Interpretation: The first two verses of "Ride Across The River" describe war from two perspectives: one a young, idealistic soldier who considers himself a freedom fighter and proudly proclaims his willingness to die for his cause, the other a cynical, battle-hardened mercenary who openly admits he doesn't care who he fights for, since they're all the same in the end. The question that arises, though is this: are these, as one might assume, two soldiers fighting in the same conflict — or are they the same soldier at different points in his career, his youthful idealism having become a casualty of the reality of war, having come to see himself as nothing more than a hired killer and chosen to embrace that? The words of the final verse — "Right becomes wrong, left becomes right" — could certainly be interpreted as lending weight to this.
• Germans Love David Hasselhoff: UK critics panned the album when it came out, while American reviewers were much more positive. The British music press would later come around to laud the album in retrospect.
• Misaimed Fandom: A lot of rock fans in the '80s no doubt identified with the narrator's disdain for MTV and his homophobic dismissal of New Wave Music and the New Romantic scene in "Money for Nothing". A lot of fans also took the song as a celebration of MTV for the song's use of the "I want my MTV" catchphrase and its innovative video, though Mark Knopfler was skeptical of music videos.
• Once Original, Now Common:
  • At the time of its release, the fact that the album was recorded digitally was one of its selling points, especially for the CD version; digital recording is much less impressive now that any bedroom musician can use Pro Tools on a home computer. What's more, this fact, combined with the emergence of the Loudness War in the late 1990's, has led analog tape to be viewed as the superior format, with digital recording now categorized as cheap and amateurish.
  • The use of computer animation in the video for "Money for Nothing" was groundbreaking, but it also looks cheap and amateurish these days. A cheap Intel HD card on a low-end laptop could do a better job of rendering the animation. In real time. By mid-00s.
• Older Than They Think: "Money for Nothing" was the first music video to have computer animated characters, but not the first to use computer animation. That would be Devo's "Peek-a-Boo," released three years earlier.
• Signature Song: "Money for Nothing", "Walk of Life" and the Title Track, of course. However, also "So Far Away" and "Your Latest Trick" are very well-remembered.
• Suspiciously Similar Song: The "I want my MTV" parts of "Money For Nothing" have frequently been compared to The Police's "Don't Stand So Close To Me." Though it's not a total coincidence, as that part was contributed by Sting, who received a songwriting credit on the track.
• Tough Act to Follow: The album was so acclaimed and successful that the follow-up was highly anticipated for years. Their next album, 1991's On Every Street, was such a critical and commercial disappointment that the band broke up shortly after its supporting tour.
• Values Dissonance: "Money For Nothing" suffers a bit of this. Casually referring to someone as a "faggot"—whether they are homosexual or not—is at bare minimum frowned upon in the 21st century. Fortunately, the offending verse is easily removed, and the full song still pushes eight minutes without it. That being said, although intended as an insult by the subject who is saying it, it's still ironically empowering, as it recognizes the diversity of pop stars who were beginning to find fame and fortune in the MTV era. And interestingly, because of the context of how its being said (I.E. from the view of of a bigot), some stations still play it unedited anyways.
  That little faggot got his own jet airplane
  That little faggot he's a millionaire!

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