Bronze Age Babies: Discuss: MTV

Friday, August 24, 2012

Discuss: MTV

14 comments:

Chuck Wells said...: I might be able to reminisce about MTV, but can't really discuss it these days. The channel has been gone for long years. What passes itself off as "MTV" these days isn't. Allan & J.J. were okay, Martha and Nina were cute in their way, but the best of the VJ's was Mark Goodman. I liked seeing music videos around the clock, even the weird ones (I was in the military at the time), but I really hate the bullshit that channel shows currently.; August 24, 2012 at 9:07 AM
J.A. Morris said...: Can anyone remember the first video you ever saw on MTV? 1st on I saw was 'Harden My Heart' by Quarterflash:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OqeKV2UYq1Q; August 24, 2012 at 9:17 AM
david_b said...: I never had cable in my home, and we never had cable in college. A buddy of mine had what was called 'basic cable', and they were pretty non-challant about it.

Luckily we had stuff like 'Friday Night Videos' to watch on network television, so I got to see videos in full by '83.; August 24, 2012 at 9:47 AM
Doug said...: J.A. --

Don't recall the first MTV video (although I was there from virtually the very beginning), but I am pretty certain that Gary Numan's "Cars" was the first music video I ever saw.

Doug; August 24, 2012 at 10:02 AM
Anonymous said...: I was never much for the idea of "watching" music. If anything, MTV helped push me back to so-called classic rock of the 60s and 70s.

Had a thing for Martha Quinn though. ;-)

Tom; August 24, 2012 at 10:21 AM
david_b said...: One of the first videos I loved was the Stones "She's So Cold", just a cool, fun video from 1980.

It actually began my full emergence into Stones appreciation, having grown up with my older brother playing 'Get Your Ya-Yas Out' and other earlier classic albums endlessly..; August 24, 2012 at 12:08 PM
Edo Bosnar said...: Since I grew up in a pretty rural area, I could not watch MTV in its heyday (like david_b, I had to be content with 'Friday Night Videos'). Don't remember the first video I ever saw, but one of the earliest ones I recall really liking was ZZ Top's "TV Dinners" - loved that little blue claymation monster that crawls out of the dinner tray.
By the way, J.A.'s comment really brought back memories: since I grew up in Oregon, I can well recall the extensive local airplay of 'Harden My Heart' by the Portland-based Quarterflash - still called Seafood Mama at the time the song was released as a single. And believe it or not, the first time I ever saw the video was just now, when I clicked on that link. So thanks, J.A., for the little stroll down memory lane...; August 24, 2012 at 1:51 PM
Doug said...: Other random thoughts --

It was amazing how MTV created superstars of many performers, Duran Duran and Madonna among them.

Big fan of "Remote Control".

Simply could not stand "Downtown" Julie Brown.

Enjoyed Mark Goodman's revival on VH1 Classic.

Recall seeing the video for "Lick It Up" with the now-non-make-up members of KISS. Even though I'd seen paparazzi photos of the four original members sans their make-up, it was still disappointing. It's no wonder the band tours in the Destroyer costumes these days -- it's really who they are.

Open for debate whether MTV's "The Real World" or the day of the infamous OJ Simpson Bronco chase ushered in the sheer mindlessness that pervades today's "reality" TV. Either way, certainly one of the signs of the decline of Western civilization...

Doug; August 24, 2012 at 3:19 PM
Graham said...: We didn't have MTV at home for several years, but when I went to college, we had it there. We watched it pretty much non-stop for awhile. The first video I saw was the guy who sang, "It's A Fine Day," but can't remember his name.

I haven't watched it in years, well since they stopped playing music videos. I think I left shortly after Beavis and Butthead started showing up.; August 24, 2012 at 5:37 PM
Anthony said...: I didn't have cable TV right away but when I finally got it I was interested in MTV for about a minute. Then they stopped playing music. Now I think they have separate channels for different types of music. Imagine that. A MUSIC channel needing separate channels for music. I did enjoy Behind The Music on VH1.; August 24, 2012 at 6:42 PM
Comicsfan said...: This comment thread won't be complete without the participation of Dire Straits. :D; August 24, 2012 at 8:29 PM
Joseph said...: @Graham - Was the video about a dude(the singer) telling a story about an elderly guy who was always one step ahead of the law? If so, it was Tony Carey (spelling may be off). I absolutely loved that video and song.

I was a big MTV fan in the 83-85 era. I spent many a-summer day watching the same 20 videos over and over. I later enjoyed shows like Daria and early Real World, but nothing had quite the same impact on me as those early years. It was the first time I was aware of being part of the national, and not just regional, zeitgeist.; August 25, 2012 at 1:52 AM
Graham said...: Yes. That was the one. Tony Carey. I'll have to see if that's on YouTube. Thanks!; August 25, 2012 at 11:27 AM
Fred W. Hill said...: I also liked MTV back when it played all sorts of stuff, including a lot of "weird" stuff that I might not have heard otherwise. I got into regularly watching 120 Minutes in the early '90s, which probably didn't help me be too productive the following Monday morning.
I have no use for reality tv programing, however. Actually, I rarely watch tv at all anymore as a few years ago I cancelled my satellite tv service as it seemed I was having to keep paying more for something I was watching less and less. The old MTV I used to enjoy no longer exists, but that goes for a lot of things.; August 25, 2012 at 11:05 PM

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