Is this right? Britney Spears is the same age as MTV?
OMG.
It’s hard to believe it was 30 years ago today that MTV began airing something we had never seen before, at least in America: music videos. The first one to air on the pioneering cable channel was, appropriately, “Video Killed the Radio Star” by the Buggles, an English New Wave group.
The first video aired on MTV 30 years ago
Boy, has MTV come a long way from the days of hour-long video marathons to, well, hardly playing a music video anymore.
Criticize MTV all you want. You can’t deny its powerful influence on pop culture. Lauren Conrad (“Laguna Beach,” “The Hill”) and the entire “Jersey Shore” cast didn’t exist until MTV.
And remember these classic shows: “Club MTV,” “Direct Effect,” “Headbangers Ball,” “MTV Unplugged,” “Yo! MTV Raps,” “My So-Called Life” and “Remote Control.” These were after-school TV staples for me — and most of my generation.
But like everything else in media, MTV has, well, sold out. It banks more on the undeniable popularity (and cheap production costs) of reality TV —
While some — “Pimp My Ride,” “Run’s House” and “MTV Cribs” — are enjoyable, others — “Jersey Shore,” “16 and Pregnant” and “My Super Sweet 16” — are barely tolerable. Honestly, I’d rather watch commercials.
Still, MTV has been our friend — or frenemy — for years, and it’s been quite a ride.
Here are three fun reads today about the best memories of MTV these past 30 years:
• “The 30 all-TIME best music videos” by TIME
• “Happy birthday MTV: 30 best moments” from The Guardian
• “MTV’s best videos ever” from NBC’s “Today”
37 Comments
When “M” stood for Music, they actually used to play music videos!
Hmm… What could “M” stand for now…?
“Meh” ? 🙂
LOL!
Hey Cat: Hope you don’t mind the switch back to my original ID … anyway …
Wow … I was around for the birth of MTV, though I don’t remember seeing that first video … but I clearly remember watching music videos all night waiting for the newest releases and recording it on our *ahem* VCR … haha … just goes to show and how old we are now *sigh* …
I even remember some of the hosts (forgot what they called them), like Martha Quinn … I had a crush on her as well …
And even as they changed, I still watched … shows like Remote Control (had a crush on the girl in that show too), the show with Jenny McCarthy, and the lip synch show with Jay something …
Crap … even my memory is shot …
Won’t watch too much now though … reality shows bore me … a bit too silly and unreal if you ask me … but I do enjoy some of the newer game shows … like Silent Library …
Your memory IS shot! LOL! I had to Google the shows myself, so I guess we’re showing our age!
I used to watch “Real World” regularly in the early days when it was actually interesting. I think that show started “reality tv” as we know it today. That along with “Road Rules” and of course “Beavis and Butthead” (which they’re bringing back) and MTv was a weekly staple of mine back in the early-mid 90’s. ‘Yo MTv Raps! and Headbangers Ball were then new and innovative but the early-mid 80’s was when I used to watch MTv daily for the videos, which there were plenty of. I don’t watch it nowdays…..its just not the same.
“Beavis and Butthead.” Classic MTV. 🙂
I heard Mike Judge is bringing back Beavis and Butthead!!!
Wow, good note today …. I had no clue it has already been 30 years since MTV has come into existence. It seems like just yesterday I was a kid and people were all talking about the new station playing the rock and roll that they wouldnt let their kids watch, and even asked their cable companies to block it. At least that is the way things were for me growing up in the ultra conservative midwest.
Now look at it today….. I think there are at least two different MTV channels if not more… They still attract attention of todays hottest stars and regardless of the fact that you never see a video anymore. This doesnt stop the popstars from making them…..
I can still remember one of the first MTV Music Awards shows when they first gave away the moon man. Not to mention, I still do and forever will have a crush on Martha Quinn!
So you share a birthday with MTV? How cool is that?
I watched it the first two years it was on. Not sure I would recognize it anymore.
If you haven’t watched it since the ’80s, don’t start. You’ll be disappointed.
Don’t listen to music anymore unless I am in the car. Of course Nathaniel, 11 years old, and I listen to what is popular today. Wouldn’t you know it of all the music out there I gravitate toward homeboy Bruno. Like some of Pink, Katy Perry, and Eminem but Bruno I like best especially ‘I want to be a billionaire’
They should add another T to the MTV and make it MTTV b/c their current programming seems to lack substance.
things I used to watch on MTV
Yo! MTV Raps
120 Minutes
Liquid Television
What would that T stand for……?
mt as in empty – empty television haha
I remember we used to call the people in HS who listened to all the euro mod music “120 minutes” after the show (“eh, you see what 120 minutes was wearing today? like she got dressed in the dark”)
also, how could you forget to mention Kari Wurher…still the best looking woman who’s ever graced the MTV video feed.
Mmmm… Kari…! She was a hottie! (hehe)
She’s on Twitter: @kariwuhrer
I remember when The Pretenders came to Hawaii for a concert in 1984, MTV also came down to cover it as they were sponsoring the entire tour. It was unreal to see the VJs that you watched for hours on end in person. I think the entire original crew came down. I know for sure J.J. Jackson and Nina Blackwood were there. Oh yeah and The Pretenders kicked ass too. 😉
First video I ever saw was the last part of “Planet Earth” by Duran Duran, thought they were strange…still had the New Romantic look. MTV played a lot of stuff that wasn’t on Hawaii radio at the time (well it was probably on KTUH I guess) so it was awesome to watch and pick up on these new bands.
The MTV Awards were THE show to watch up until a certain year, then it got a bit tired. 1992 was especially awesome with the fight between Nirvana and Guns N’ Roses backstage, and then Dave Grohl calling out Axl on stage while Krist Novoselic hit himself on the head with his own bass lol.
I could go on and on, but other people above have mentioned the same shows I watched as well. Trying to find something no one has brought up…Saturday Night Concerts were cool…how about The Monkees reruns haha. It did revive their career! Yes those were good times.
When MTV first started, only had European videos to air. American bands hadn’t produced any/many. So we were introduced to a lot of Euro bands like Duran Duran, The Cure, etc. It was the second wave of British music to hit U.S. shores. It was cool stuff.
Sigh…
I watch Palladia now on the HD channels. I think it is owned by MTV. But, it plays MUSIC!!!
By the way, MTV certainly wasn’t the first to play music videos in America. It was simply the first dedicated channel for them. American Bandstand, Soul Train, and various other stations played music videos before MTV was a spark of neurons in some TV exec’s head.
I remember A.B. playing Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody” during its broadcasts for weeks. I also believe WTBS (at that time it still used the W) had its own video show too!
I remember my freshman year of college working in the mall. Whenever Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” came out, there would be throngs of people around the TV/Stereo stores watching it on the big screens. The crowds would spill out onto the concourse!
The only thing I tune into MTV for nowadays is ABDC. Do they still play music? Seriously… do they?
“Thriller” was SUCH an epic video! I remember looking forward to the world premiere of MJ’s videos because you knew they were going to be cutting edge. But now… nothing. I can’t even THINK of a video I’ve seen recently…
beavis and butthead are coming back….so all is good now.
yeah, i remember music on TBS,was called Night Tracks or something like that.hours and hours of music videos. i put in a vhs and let it go…. hmmm,not sure if i ever even watched the tapes.But i know i still have them….somewhere…. Furthermore,they say when Buddy Holly’s plane crashed was the day the music died. I,however, say it was more like around 2005 or so when music died.And was on serious life support at the turn of the Century….
Night Tracks? I’ll have to look that up!
I remember that. Remember Video Concert Hall? It predated MTV by three years. It had no hosts though, but showed a cycle of music videos.
Hey OldShoes,
You said you recorded NIGHT TRACKS?
Oh wow, talk about total 80s flashback. I don’t remember the first video I saw on MTV, not that it mattered. There were so few videos at that time, that you were bound to see a repeat every hour or two. I can remember when there would be a premiere of some video, we’d all be waiting to see what it was going to be like.
Yo! MTV Raps, with Dr. Dre and Ed Lover, was cool. Of course, watching some of Ed Lover’s moves was hilarious.
matt: You haaaaaaaaad to bring up Kari, didn’t you? Oh boy, now I got Kari on de brain…. 😆
One of my favorite shows, was Remote Control. It’s funny watching guys like Colin Quinn, Adam Sandler, and Denis Leary, all doing goofy short skits on the show.
For a long while, MTV was good, now….I don’t know. I haven’t watched in a loooooooong while.
Kari! Funny, I don’t remember her…
wasnt kari W. an actress in soft porn movies, like on cinemax or something? i still have the Remote Control game home edition.i liked that show…..”dead…..or not dead”, colin’s other brother, funny stuff.
I miss the old MTV 🙁
What!? Is it not cool to dance around in front of the t.v. anymore?
remember when they wouldnt let us watch Wang Chung’s video?
I had bought a car from florida, a 1969 Plymouth Roadrunner that had a license plate in it only one though so I hung on my garage wall. One day I’m watching Remote Control and saw the partner to the florida license plate hanging on my garage wall. What a trip huh? Spacey indeed.
Oh yeah and who didn’t have a crush on Marth Quinn and seeing her in that Angel is a centerfold, J geils video. She claimed it wasn’t her but me and my fantasies think that it was her dancing around in lingerie.
WHAT A SHAME, that MTV has become nowadays. The MTV from the 80s & 90s were WWWWWAAAAAAAAYYYYYYYYYYYY better than the MTV of 2000s(2000-2012) & today.