"Sherman, set the Way-Back Machine for 12:01 AM, PDT, August 1, 1981."
"What are we going to see, Mr. Peabody?"
"We are going to witness a murder."
"A murder, Mr. P?"
"Yes, Sherman. That was the moment that video killed the radio star."
Yes, my blogglitts...
As Mr. Peabody said, 32 years ago today, at 12:01 AM, a new kind of television network made it's debut and...
Changed the music world... FOREVER!!!
Or, more realistically, for a couple of decades.
On that night/early morning, MTV was launched.
,,,something...
,,,Like this.
MTV (aka Music TV) began playing a newfangled thing called "music videos."
And the first video they played was, appropriately...
The Buggles- "Video Killed the Radio Star."
Maybe not entirely "new."
*Begin Digression*
The music video genre had it's roots in The Beatles movie...
So, one could make a good argument the that the music video was invented by director Richard Lester.
Not long after that, the TV series "The Monkees..."
About a decade later, the "New Wave" movement adopted the newest video technology and began making promotional videos that were very much, and yet, not at all like those seminal influences.
Music videos became the "after midnight, weekend" staple on many television stations. Replacing "D movie" horror shows and pre-dating the yet-to-come infomercial.
The then in his late teens, future PC found them weirdly fascinating.
Not long before MTV's debut, The Young Blog saw a preview of the very first feature film to utilize the music video style.
The "Rocky Horror Picture Show" sequel...
... In the wee hours of a Saturday morning, on a local station that was airing the early music video format.
The young PC was taken aback when his Mom, (who The Blog inherited his "night-owl tendencies from,) greeted him one Saturday
The BlogMom pretty much nailed it.
*End Digression*
32 years ago, today, MTV became a thing.
And, for several decades, what a thing it was.
MTV was exactly, as BlogMom put it, "visual radio."
MTV coined the term "V.J." (video jockey) and the originals were, Mark Goodman, Alan Hunter, J.J. Jackson...
...And nerdy cute (and way more the young PC's type,)
Dig those perms!
(Except for Martha, who was nerdily, perm free. And, God, I loved her for that!)
*Full Disclosure*
During that period, the young Blog rocked that perm. He was going for Paul Stanley or at least Doug Henning. Depending on the time and hair length, he actually achieved Greg Brady or Howard Stern.
*End Disclosure*
MTV started out playing videos by cutting edge, new wave artists like "Blondie" and Pat Benatar.
Eventually, any recording artist who wanted to sell records had to submit to the cult of music videos.
Before you knew it, Bruce Springsteen and and KISS were on board.
And, it was good.
That was a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away.
Music videos still happen.
They are the bailiwick of YouTube™ and iTunes™.
The Blog doubts that the young whippersnappers at MTV know what a music video is.
It's sad, really.
MTV has been hijacked by "Teen Moms" and "Jersey Shore."
_____________________________________________
Next post...
Tomorrow night, or maybe, the night after...
The final George Zimmerman Rant.
Finally.
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