Money’s not for nothing

“Money for Nothing” by Dire Straits is layer upon layer of irony. Musician Mark Knopfler cribbed the lyrics from an appliance delivery man who was watching music videos and complaining about the posh life of rock stars. Layer one of irony is that Knopfler used those words to create Dire Straits’ biggest money-making hit. Layer two is that the music video for “Money for Nothing” was a huge contributor to the band’s success — it won numerous awards and was the first music video shown on MTV Europe. Of course, the hit was based on the enormous guitar talents of Knopfler, the band and a cameo appearance by Sting.