25 Years of MTV

[HeartlandGirl]

According to Stereogum, MTV is turning 25 next week.

I thought it might be fun for us BandC'ers to reflect on this. So, any thoughts?


Personally, I think the channel should change its name, as music is clearly no longer its prime focus. I used to be upset about it, but I've accepted it now. What really gets my goat, though, is that MTV2 is now turning into the same type of wasteland. MTV2 was supposed to be the music part of the MTV family once the original channel corrupted itself beyond belief. All they would show was videos 24/7, but now it has become a dumping ground for all of the old non-music shows that used to show on MTV.

I weep for the day they get rid of Subterranean too.

So yeah, 25 years of MTV. Feel free to share your thoughts.

 

[yertle-the-turtle]

Well it wasn't a bad idea to begin with, now was it, even if one could argue that it's a shining example (like McDonald's) of American cultural imperialism. The prevalence of the so-called reality shows is annoying, as is the current 'interactive' fad of texting poorly spelled messages onscreen, but otherwise it doesn't really bother me. It's a bit like visual radio, I guess; it won't play stuff I like all the time, or even most of the time, but occasionally it's cool to see a live set or something or a well-directed music video.

 

[Dismantled]

yes I agree with HeartlandGirl...I mostly remember when MTV came out....it was great, great music, great videos and thats all it was....none of this sleezy teen crap...shows like Room Raiders and those dating shows that just show young people acting slutty and irresponsible, the music sucks everything revolves around sex....it just sucks

*rant over...for now

 

[GibsonGirl]

I'm not old enough to remember the original MTV, but its current incarnation makes it possibly the worst channel on television today. For starters, I don't know how they can continue to call it music television. Where's the music? Do I care about how "pimped out" a celebrity's "ride" is? No. And I don't see how other people can. As for the music itself, I can't remember when last MTV played a video that didn't degrade young women or glorify sex.

Mind you, I hardly ever see MTV other than when I'm channel hopping, so maybe they do play some decent stuff and I'm just missing it. I doubt it though.

 

[Irishteen]

I can't stand MTV, the name sounds like sarcasm to me. MTV was replaced o tv stations here, but you could tune back in on another number, but my family couldn't be bothered. Instead we got Channel 6 which shows from Midnight to 2 am, about 75 minutes of videos, and 45 minutes of ads but it's in a different world to MTV, miles better.

 

[one4u2]

original Mtv I remember those days, they actually played good music and I miss those original VJs-Martha Quinn, Nina Blackwood..Good Times.

 

[bono_man2002]

they need to have an MTV dedicated for music videos and one for all the other crap that they show!

 

[GibsonGirl]

they need to have an MTV dedicated for music videos and one for all the other crap that they show!

They did that a few years back, and now they both show crap.

 

[bono_man2002]

They did that a few years back, and now they both show crap.

 

[one4u2]

VH1 Classic is genius IMO that's comparable to old MTV

 

[Eliv8]

MTV used to stand for Music TeleVision!
For those of you (us ) that wernt around 25 years ago ...


To celebrate the 25th anniversary of the launch of MTV, VH1 Classic will be airing the entire first day of MTV programming. Tune in starting at Midnight on Tuesday, August 1st, and again at 9AM on Saturday, August 5th.

http://www.vh1.com/channels/vh1_classic/channel.jhtml


http://members.tripod.com/retrolisa/videos.html

 

[Tiger Edge]

I wonder if this was a local thing or something but there used to be a station called "The Box" back in like...jeez '94 or something like that and they would play music videos all day by request! I think it was like $0.75 to request a video and you'd have a little dedication box in the very beginning. It was very cool.

Music videos all day...
EDIT:

Okay so I wiki'ed it and it was a UK thing or is one still and these producers brought it to Miami and Miami only in the late 80's, early 90's.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Box_(TV_channel)

Oh well.


Oh and MTV sucks ass. Here's a good rant on it:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=eK33BMsnJJM

Pretty much everything I want to say anyways.

 

[bono_man2002]

Oh and MTV sucks ass. Here's a good rant on it:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=eK33BMsnJJM

Pretty much everything I want to say anyways.

...I haven't seen the US MTV, but the Aussie one is pretty crap!

 

[Dismantled]

...I haven't seen the US MTV, but the Aussie one is pretty crap!

USA is crap too...and its not even pretty crap..its ugly crap ....

I remember the good old day..the original VJ's..the astronaut guy..I remember when Dire Straits Money for Nothing video aired and it was the coolest thing since sliced bread...peter gabrial's Sledge Hammer....

 

[bono_man2002]

USA is crap too...and its not even pretty crap..its ugly crap ....

 

[one4u2]

USA is crap too...and its not even pretty crap..its ugly crap ....

I remember the good old day..the original VJ's..the astronaut guy..I remember when Dire Straits Money for Nothing video aired and it was the coolest thing since sliced bread...peter gabrial's Sledge Hammer....

Lets not forget The Buggles, 1st video ever on Mtv and Thriller and the constant Duran Duran videos

 

[tiny dancer]

I Want My OLD MTV.

 

[got_edge]

Do I care about how "pimped out" a celebrity's "ride" is?

I do.


so low six fo'

 

[Snowlock]

How about U2?? MTV is what introduced me to them.

I remember thinking how cool of a video New Years Day was, it was like a Mad Max type thing, very post apocalyptic. Good stuff.

Then I kind of passed on them for a few years and I was watching one day and the VJ announced the world premier of With Or Without You. HOLY CRAP was that cool.

I remember ISHFWILF being played like every ten frickin' minutes.

When The Fly debuted I was astounded with how different they were.

And that's not even counting the great other videos like:

Born In The USA
Pour Some Sugar On Me
Smells Like Teen Spirit
If This Is It
Summer Of '69
Right Now
Jeremy
Brilliant Disguise
Enter Sandman
Don't Dream It's Over
Need You Tonight
New Sensation
Beds Are Burning
Rio
Easy Lover
Uptown Girl
Every Breath You Take
Synchronicity II
You Can Call Me Al
When Doves Cry

And then there were shows like Headbangers Ball and 120 Minutes... Full concerts, Unplugged...

God I miss those days.

 

[Dismantled]

yes ^

 

[Maoilbheannacht]

According to Stereogum, MTV is turning 25 next week.

I thought it might be fun for us BandC'ers to reflect on this. So, any thoughts?


Personally, I think the channel should change its name, as music is clearly no longer its prime focus. I used to be upset about it, but I've accepted it now. What really gets my goat, though, is that MTV2 is now turning into the same type of wasteland. MTV2 was supposed to be the music part of the MTV family once the original channel corrupted itself beyond belief. All they would show was videos 24/7, but now it has become a dumping ground for all of the old non-music shows that used to show on MTV.

I weep for the day they get rid of Subterranean too.

So yeah, 25 years of MTV. Feel free to share your thoughts.

Get digital cable and you'll have access to MTV HITS and VH1 Classic. VH1 Classic has all the great old video's, no shows and sometimes rare concert footage. MTV HITS is the way MTV used to be in the 1980s, except they typically only show the latest video's released within the past couple of months.

 

[Snowlock]

After posting that I keep thinking of other great videos:

Patience
Sad But True
Paradise City
Good Time (INXS & Jimmy Barnes, God that was good)
Welcome To The Jungle
Sweet Child O Mine
Take On Me
The Old Man Down The Road
Girls, Girls, Girls
Hot For Teacher
Panama
Jump
Yankee Rose
California Girls
Everybody Wants To Rule The World
And We Danced
Mandolin Rain
Oh Sherry
Fight For Your Right To Party

I think I'm going to go to iTunes now and drop about $200 on videos.

 

[Zoots]

How about U2?? MTV is what introduced me to them.

Yes!!! Even Better Than The Real Thing (or Mysterious Ways, I can't recall) is how I got the first glimpse of U2.

And then there were shows like Headbangers Ball and 120 Minutes... Full concerts, Unplugged...

God I miss those days.

Yes. I should try to catch that Vh1 Classic special.

 

[Dismantled]

Yes!!! Even Better Than The Real Thing (or Mysterious Ways, I can't recall) is how I got the first glimpse of U2.

I remember my adolesent eyeballs glued to the television

 

[u2popmofo]

I can remember when even my parents would watch MTV (and buy cassettes based off of artists from it that they liked). Now I can't even watch a video on it if I wantd. As HG said, it disturbs me even more that even MTV2 is becoming.......well, MTV part 2... Though I understand the name is iconic and that they won't change it, it's ridiculous that they truely have as much to do with music as nearly any other channel on television any more. MTV is now a channel for Jr. High aged kids and that's it. If you're older than that and watch it regularly, you should really re-evaluate your life choices.


Ok, how many of the rest of you still more or less cannot think of MTV without thinking of this?

 

[Bono's shades]

I was in junior high when MTV premiered. For the first few years I could only see it if I was at the house of a friend who had cable because my parents were about the last ones in town to get cable TV. I remember being so excited when they finally did, becaue that meant I could watch music videos whenever I wanted!

I think MTV was a very good thing in the beginning because they sometimes played videos by bands that weren't getting a lot of radio exposure back then in the small, Midwestern town where I lived, like Depeche Mode, the Cure, and yes, even U2. And there were some amazing, cutting-edge videos, too. It certainly wasn't all great, by any means. There were plenty of crappy bands that were only on MTV because they looked good. And MTV didn't just become sleazy in recent years. There was plenty of sleaze in the '80s. But at least they still cared (somewhat) about music.

I didn't even see MTV during much of the '90s because I was without cable again for a few years and just got out of the habit. I finally turned it on again around 1999 or so and it was complete crap. The only good thing was Daria, and then they canceled it. My cable system picked up MTV2 and I was really excited, but then I realized except for Subterranean it was all garbage too.

 

[1stepcloser]

VH2 is the best music channel

 

[Popmartijn]

I wonder if this was a local thing or something but there used to be a station called "The Box" back in like...jeez '94 or something like that and they would play music videos all day by request! I think it was like $0.75 to request a video and you'd have a little dedication box in the very beginning. It was very cool.

Music videos all day...
EDIT:

Okay so I wiki'ed it and it was a UK thing or is one still and these producers brought it to Miami and Miami only in the late 80's, early 90's.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Box_(TV_channel)

Oh well.

We still have The Box here in the Netherlands. At times it's nice and at times I really question the musical taste of the Dutchies.

And with MTV I totally agree with everyone here. A couple of months ago I guess there was a celebration because MTV Europe turned 20, or something like that. So the whole weekend they looked back. And I think I watched more MTV than I'd watch in total the whole year before. All those great music shows they had, those videos, those music specials. It really put the current programming to shame.

 

[Sorchia]

VH1 Classics has a program called Alternative that airs on Wed and Sunday. Not just 90's/grunge as the name might imply. On a given evening, I have seen Siouxsie, The Cure, Smiths, Wire, Lightning Seeds, Electronic, Joy Division, etc etc.

Which makes it about the only decent thing to watch compared to the crap on MTV nowadays. I always watch it with my kid and find myself yelling "See!?! It didn't always suck!"

And for the record, I did see beginning of MTV. Was the one upside of having Mono for a month =)

Dated myself again!

 

[LMP]

I'm not old enough to remember the original MTV, but its current incarnation makes it possibly the worst channel on television today. For starters, I don't know how they can continue to call it music television. Where's the music? Do I care about how "pimped out" a celebrity's "ride" is? No. And I don't see how other people can. As for the music itself, I can't remember when last MTV played a video that didn't degrade young women or glorify sex.

Mind you, I hardly ever see MTV other than when I'm channel hopping, so maybe they do play some decent stuff and I'm just missing it. I doubt it though.

I believe they stopped playing music after the God of All Music MTV Knows and Adores, Kurt Cobain died.

The worst show in television history is easily "Next", but I get a kick out of its idiocy.