25 years ago at the stroke of midnight, Music Television (MTV) was born. All music videos, 24 hours a day!My how time has changed since then. You can't barely even see a music video on television anymore. The original format of music videos that MTV ran with, while popular, just couldn't capture proper demographics to sell to advertisers. So first, MTV switched to programming blocks, with things like 120 Minutes, Headbanger's Ball, Yo MTV Raps, etc. Then came original programming like The Real World, and slowly but surely, the music video was squeezed out (spawning MTV2 - which rarely plays music videos now as well.) So where do people see music videos now?
MTV is losing plenty of potential eyeballs to this new medium you may of heard about called 'the internet,' and MySpace, in particular, is doing what MTV used to do: Play bands' music videos. Today, in conjunction with their 25th anniversary, MTV is launching a new interactive channel called Flux, and have a companion website along with it. The channel and site aim directly at MySpace, but much like MTV's Urge is to iTunes, it's being seen as a 'too little too late.'
So let's take a look back... everyone remembers the first song played ("Video Killed the Radio Star" by Buggles) but can anyone remember past that?
The first 10 went like this (with aid from YouTube, yet another internet site playing music videos)
1. Buggles "Video Killed the Radio Star" (video)
2. Pat Benatar "You Better Run"
3. Rod Stewart "She Won't Dance" (video)
4. The Who "You Better You Bet"
5. PhD "Little Susie's On The Up" (video)
6. Cliff Richard "We Don't Talk Anymore" (video)
7. The Pretenders "Brass in Pocket" (video)
8. Todd Rundgren "Time Heals"
9. REO Speedwagon "Take it on the Run" (video)
10. Styx "Rockin' the Paradise" (video)
Here's the first two minutes broadcasted (YouTube)
Looking at the full list, it's interesting to note just how white MTV was when it launched. It wasn't until 1983 that Michael Jackson's "Billie Jean" essentially broke that color barrier. Also of note is the massive push REO Speedwagon's album Hi-Infidelity got (3 songs) on the first day.
tags: mtv, music videos, anniversary, flux, buggles, myspace, youtube
5 comments:
Songs from MTV's First Day
* "Video Killed The Radio Star" - The Buggles
* "You Better Run" - Pat Benatar
* "You Better You Bet" - The Who
* "Brass In Pocket" - The Pretenders
* "Time Heals" - Todd Rundgren
* "Take It On The Run" - REO Speedwagon
* "Rockin' The Paradise" - Styx
* "When Things Go Wrong" - Robin Lane & The Chartbusters
* "History Never Repeats" - Split Enz
* "Hold On Loosely" - .38 Special
* "Just Between You And Me" - April Wine
* "Sailing" - Rod Stewart
* "Iron Maiden" - Iron Maiden
* "Keep On Loving You" - REO Speedwagon
* "Message Of Love" - The Pretenders
* "Mr. Briefcase (LP Version)" - Lee Ritenour
* "Double Life (LP Version)" - The Cars
* "In The Air Tonight" - Phil Collins
* "Looking For Clues" - Robert Palmer
* "Too Late" - Shoes
* "Stop Draggin' My Heart Around" - Stevie Nicks
* "Baker Street" - Gerry Rafferty
* "I'm Gonna Follow You" - Pat Benatar
* "The Best Of Times" - Styx
* "Wrathchild" - Iron Maiden
* "I Wanna Be A Lifeguard" - Blotto
* "Passion" - Rod Stewart
* "Don't Let Him Go" - REO Speedwagon
* "Angel Of The Morning" - Juice Newton
* "Is It You? (LP Version)" - Lee Ritenour
* "Tusk" - Fleetwood Mac
* "He Can't Love You" - Michael Stanley Band
* "Tough Guys" - REO Speedwagon
* "Rapture " - Blondie
* "Don't Let Go The Coat" - The Who
* "Ain't Love A Bitch" - Rod Stewart
* "Talk Of The Town" - The Pretenders
* "Can't Happen Here" - Rainbow
* "Thank You For Being A Friend" - Andrew Gold
* "Bring It All Home" - Gerry Rafferty
* "Sign Of The Gypsy Queen" - April Wine
* "The Man With The Child In His Eyes" - Kate Bush
* "Ashes To Ashes" - David Bowie
* "Rat Race" - The Specials
* "Once In A Lifetime" - Talking Heads
* "Tonight's The Night (Gonna Be Alright)" - Rod Stewart
* "Cruel To Be Kind" - Nick Lowe
* "Turn It On Again" - Genesis
MTV is losing a lot of eyeballs to things that return to the "roots" of what it was 25 years ago.
aj
exactly, my good (spam)friend, exactly...
yes i remember the first day of MTV! I was 11. I LIVED and DIED for it! It was where I heard all the important Music News by Kurt Loder, it's where I "fell in love" w/ Alan Hunter (and my uncle loved Martha Quinn, LOL). It's where I first heard about the music world losing Steve Clark (RIP Steve!) MTV will never be the same and it can never be repeated. There is only ONE MTV, and it will live on in our hearts forever!
Well I really like the music of this guy, I wonder how he get killed, it;s still a mystery but many of he's songs were excellent and many people loved him because he's music really touched the heart of many.
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