On August first of 1981, I was a ten year old boy about 6 weeks from turning eleven. I have no idea what I was doing on that day but I do know something of significance happened then...MTV was launched at 12:01am and the first video they played was "Video Killed the Radio Star" by the Buggles. It's a catchy tune and today it's a legendary video because it marked the first video on the music channel.
MTV was huge part of my life as a pre-teen and all the way through high school and for years beyond that. I remember reading that MTV only employed people under the age of 30 because they wanted the channel to remain the voice of the young and didn't want it represented by "older" people. When I read that, i was younger than 30. I thought that was a very cool idea. But an interesting thing happened over the years. MTV became a mockery of it's once "all music all the time" theory.
You, dear reader, maybe still watch MTV. I don't. In fact, I don't even know what channel it is on Direct TV, and with like a thousand channels, I don't have the time or the inclination to find it. It's not a very interesting channel anyway, they lost touch with their own musical efforts years ago. They became a reality TV show network. I loved The Real World, especially the first year in New York, and I enjoyed many of the subsequent years in New Orleans and San Francisco. But mostly, the music channel of my youth ceased to be a music channel. I guess it's sad, but maybe not so sad. I kind of wish that MTV wouldv'e aged with me. Instead they decided to pander to the reality show (even though reality had very little to do with most of their shows).
MTV lost it's way. It'll never be the same. I know that they play blocks of music here and there, but it's not the same. Music is the minority on MTV now. MTV was on the verge of taking over the music world with some cool programming like the game show REMOTE CONTROL and the aforementioned REAL WORLD as well as shows like Headbanger's Ball and THE WEEK IN ROCK and YO MTV RAPS and the countdown shows. They had lot's of cool "rockumentary's" and had some great awards shows. But now, it's really an irrelevant channel.
In their song "Video Killed the Radio Star" the Buggles said this, "Video killed the radio star, pictures came and broke your heart". These words were true for a time, but maybe they just seemed true. What actually happened is video changed the radio star. Form over substance became big with such bands as Creed and others. And in the end, the video star killed MTV. The irony is that the very medium by which MTV defined itself was the very thing that devoured and cannibalized it's own existence. So video hurt the radio star, but the radio star survived and moved on to places like I-tunes and Amazon. So in the end, it was the music that prevailed, the true art that was the basis for the channel won out. The music found a way to live. And live it does.
They used to have that slogan "I WANT MY MTV"...well I still want my MTV. I just don't want this MTV. I want what MTV was supposed to be and what it was for two decades...music videos and music news. I want to rush home from school again to see the Michael Jackson Thriller world premier. I want to see Kurt Loder read the music news to me on the tens and fourty-fives. I miss Axl Rose and Kurt Cobain. Mostly, I just miss my MTV.
MTV was huge part of my life as a pre-teen and all the way through high school and for years beyond that. I remember reading that MTV only employed people under the age of 30 because they wanted the channel to remain the voice of the young and didn't want it represented by "older" people. When I read that, i was younger than 30. I thought that was a very cool idea. But an interesting thing happened over the years. MTV became a mockery of it's once "all music all the time" theory.
You, dear reader, maybe still watch MTV. I don't. In fact, I don't even know what channel it is on Direct TV, and with like a thousand channels, I don't have the time or the inclination to find it. It's not a very interesting channel anyway, they lost touch with their own musical efforts years ago. They became a reality TV show network. I loved The Real World, especially the first year in New York, and I enjoyed many of the subsequent years in New Orleans and San Francisco. But mostly, the music channel of my youth ceased to be a music channel. I guess it's sad, but maybe not so sad. I kind of wish that MTV wouldv'e aged with me. Instead they decided to pander to the reality show (even though reality had very little to do with most of their shows).
MTV lost it's way. It'll never be the same. I know that they play blocks of music here and there, but it's not the same. Music is the minority on MTV now. MTV was on the verge of taking over the music world with some cool programming like the game show REMOTE CONTROL and the aforementioned REAL WORLD as well as shows like Headbanger's Ball and THE WEEK IN ROCK and YO MTV RAPS and the countdown shows. They had lot's of cool "rockumentary's" and had some great awards shows. But now, it's really an irrelevant channel.
In their song "Video Killed the Radio Star" the Buggles said this, "Video killed the radio star, pictures came and broke your heart". These words were true for a time, but maybe they just seemed true. What actually happened is video changed the radio star. Form over substance became big with such bands as Creed and others. And in the end, the video star killed MTV. The irony is that the very medium by which MTV defined itself was the very thing that devoured and cannibalized it's own existence. So video hurt the radio star, but the radio star survived and moved on to places like I-tunes and Amazon. So in the end, it was the music that prevailed, the true art that was the basis for the channel won out. The music found a way to live. And live it does.
They used to have that slogan "I WANT MY MTV"...well I still want my MTV. I just don't want this MTV. I want what MTV was supposed to be and what it was for two decades...music videos and music news. I want to rush home from school again to see the Michael Jackson Thriller world premier. I want to see Kurt Loder read the music news to me on the tens and fourty-fives. I miss Axl Rose and Kurt Cobain. Mostly, I just miss my MTV.
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