What was MTV? Music Television from Launch to Reality

MTV Flow: Decade 1989 on Reagan “We wanted Ronald Reagan, and we got him.” Linda Ellerbee’s closing comment sums up the this segment from the MTV documentary Decade, in which various celebrity "witnesses” are interviewed about the 1980s.  MTV Flow: Decade 1989 Haring and AIDS clip In this segment of Decade, Keith Haring discusses his decision to be open about his AIDS diagnosis. Also included are sound bites from novelist William Gibson and actor/playwright Eric Bogosian. The clip ends with the number of deaths in 1989 from AIDS.  MTV Documentary: Racism: Points of View This clip from MTV's 1991 documentary special, Racism: Points of View, comes from a segment that considers the causes of racism. It begins with Ice-T and Perry Farrell performing a cover of Sly & the Family Stone's "Don't Call Me N***** Whitey," which they did that summer on the first Lollapalooza tour. After that David Byrne states that he needs to recognize that he is r...

MTV Promo: People Really Win 1982 MTV not only often promoted contests; they regularly produced promos “naming names” of winners of past contests. This early example from 1982 shows VJs Mark Goodman and JJ Jackson appearing at the doors of winners. MTV branded itself as the channel where everyday people could get the chance to live like rock stars; the channel with the power to transform the lives of everyday people. In later years, the fantasy became couched in reality show transformations. MTV Flow: Club MTV Interview 1988 Club MTV frequently included short interviews between the host Downtown Julie Brown and dancers. Often she asked personal questions about taste related to the band or subject of the video. But many times she asked other kinds of lifestyle questions about fashion or going-out. In this clip, we see how fashion is discussed not as simply about consuming the latest brand and keeping up with trends, but a way of assembling identity. MTV Flow: Beastie Boys - ...

  In this clip of MTV flow from March 1984, we get a glimpse of just how jarring tonal changes could be between music videos both in look and sound. While MTV was slowly opening its playlist to include pop acts like Michael Jackson, it was still overwhelmingly rock oriented. Here, we get a quick lesson in how heavy metal videos could displace prestige acts based on sheer entertainment value. A video by Paul McCartney has star power, and a behind-the-scenes, making of the video approach that shows off McCartney, bandmate and wife Linda, and former co-Beatle Ringo Starr. Musically, the song could charitably be called soft rock. Whatever it is, it is totally forgettable after the next video starts: Motley Crue's "Looks that Kill". The men in the band don't just have dramatic hair, outfits, and makeup, but they hunt women--or is it the other way around?--and carry torches. There's a burning pentagram...is this satanic? Whatever it is, it sure does rock. Sorry, Paul Mc...

  Chrysler spent a lot of cash on this special 90 second ad for the Plymouth Duster that was produced especially for MTV's first ever Video Music Awards. However, the ad looks like a Broadway musical done in the style of 80s music video, rather than the "product videos" which aimed to create a distinctive stylistic identity for products. Here's the last ad break from MTV's first ever Video Music Awards in 1984. It includes a Thom McAn ad inspired by music videos, a Mountain Dew ad featuring breakdancing, and  a new campaign for Levi’s 501s…with Bruce Willis. This flow from the first ever Video Music Awards in instructive to recognize differences in approaches (somewhat subtle) to advertising on MTV. The first ad is for Levi's Cords, and is somewhat similar to the Levi's 501 ads which would be a much longer campaign. However, cords does not have a single blues musician singing the jingle, and instead has a more elaborate or typical pop jingle. Visually it i...