Music On TV
[Moozik: The Danse Society - Red Light (Shine)]
Growing up I remember looking forward to Thursday because that meant it was Top Of The Pops night. I was hopelessly addicted and watched every week. It was Top Of The Bloody Pops, a staple of any childhood music obsession and not to be missed.
The format of the programme was simple and consisted of a run down of that week's Top 40 with "live" performances in studio and the odd video thrown in. Of course "live" meant miming and it was so funny to see how many bands/artists couldn't actually do that do save their lives. There were exceptions though. New Order always played live and got 100 "actually a real band, not a studio creation" points every time they were on.
But as any hopelessly addicted music child of the 80s will tell you, seeing your fave bands once a week just wasn't good enough. Enter Satellite TV and the beginning of something special. MTV. Music videos. All. Day. Long. For the win, I feel. Looking back on it, I can't help but wonder how much better I would have done at school if it weren't for MTV. Homework or 120 Minutes? Hmmm...
So, swiftly fast forwarding to the year 2008. MTV has decided to place some videos on the interwebs. MTVmusic.com. Of course, they're a little late to the party and YouTube has quite the headstart. Still, it's another source of video nostalgia. And I'm all for that. So, without further ado, lets see what vids from my yooof MTV has online.
New Order - True Faith
Depeche Mode - Shake The Disease
Adam & The Ants - Stand & Deliver
Alphaville - Big In Japan
Ah, that trip down nostalgia avenue. Good times indeed.
Ooooh yes, I checked that out awhile ago - they have Smiths and Duran Duran too! LOL . . .
I *LOVED* 120 Minutes on MTV - Dave Kendall!! I would religiously record it every week. They also had a short-lived American version of Top of the Pops that I watched as well. The big thing when I was in elementary school though was American Bandstand, believe it or not . . . I first saw Adam Ant and Madonna on there - then came NY Hot Tracks and Friday Night Videos . . . hahaha!
When I was a kid my dad used to know someone who'd been on top of the pops (he was in the Dubliners and they had done their pogues duet there).
I used to thrill at his tales of being forced to mime.
*Gasp* Adam Ant my my first true love! God he was so beautiful back then. I had the ubiquitous posters all over my bedroom walls.
I was at boarding school in the '80s and we used to have supper early on Thursdays just to fit around TOTP. There would have been riots if we missed it!
PS Us non Americans can't watch those videos!!
Wow, that Stand & Deliver video is actually really good. They really put a lot of effort into the videos back in those days didn't they.
cindy... I would have loved to have seen the American version of 120 minutes. The one in England was hosted by Paul King (from the band King) for a bit.
dan... wow, was it Irish Rover? I remember seeing them play that on top of the pops. Well, "play" obviously ;-)
penelope... I, er, also had an Adam Ant poster on my wall when I was a kid. You can't see the vids in England? That's lame. I hate that. I get the same bloody thing over here with the BBC iPlayer too. Sucktastic.
jake... yeah back then they really did put some effort in. Some of the early Duran Duran videos were really good too. The record companies were a little more generous with their video budgets back then.
Ok, now that was an awesome trip down memory lane for me. I was there on August 1st, 1981 when MTV went live. A friend and I stayed up to watch on his new cable system.
In 1983, TBS used to play Night Tracks, which was a huge success for anyone that either couldn't get MTV or that had parents that didn't like it.
I understand MTV2 is getting close to not playing videos anymore. Good thing MTV has decided to show them on the web.
marty... MTV Europe didn't go on the air until 1987 so you guys had a six year head start on us. Yeah, both MTV and MTV2 are shadows of their former selves now. I do like VH1 Classic as they do actually show videos from the golden era.
Alphaville. Love them. Big In Japan was a fave of mine while growing up. Good choice. You're going to mention my lack of scrobbles aren't you? You've got mail...
It's funny. We tell The Boy about cartoons only being on, on Saturday mornings. And he just can't conceive. It was such a big deal when video stations started and actually played music. MuchMusic used to have a show called City Limits which was all alternative... on at midnight on a Friday.
Now it's just sort of there... wonder if it spoils it a bit.
yoozney... mate, I'd forgotten that you even had a last.fm account it's been so long ;-)
nat... oh I know, there was no dedicated cartoon channel running 24/7 in those days. Saturday morning cartoons were as good as it got.
My fave TOTP was Nirvana's first appearance for Teen Spirit. Cobain sang with the mic in his mouth.
simon... I remember when Nirvana were first on The Word and they played that. Did you ever watch that programme? Had Terry something or other as the presenter ;-) Blimey, could I be any more vague?