Have you heard the news? MTV has ended their all-day music channels as of the turn of the new year. All is not lost, however. They are still broadcasting. Just pretty much the final nail in the coffin for around-the-clock music videos. But for those of us around since the beginning (or close to it), that ship sailed back in the 90s.
So many great artists and music videos came out of the MTV era. To go through them all, we could seriously be here for the next few months talking about it. It’s definitely a point of passion for a lot of people. “Hey! What was one of your favorite music videos from back in the day?”
Around the early 90s, MTV started incorporating “shows” into the mix. Some of which took on the role of VJ, with a short storyline sprinkled about. Example: Beavis and Butthead. Other greats but moving away from music videos: Loveline (shoutout to Dr. Drew) and Singled Out.
We also had Spring Break and The Grind which incorporated a bunch of youngsters dancing to hit music (think Soul Train) and/or playing party games. With a few music videos sprinkled about. But there were concerts!
And who can forget Unplugged? The acoustic-only concert with some of the hottest bands. This one though, still gives me goosebumps:
It was 1992 when MTV first introduced The Real World. A broadcasting shift wildly popular at the time. But alas, the beginning of the end.
Sure, MTV played music videos here and there throughout periods of the day. Heck, they even continued to hold the MTV Music Video Awards. But the next 2 decades would become more and more of the reality-style programming. Shows like Pimp My Ride, Cribs, My Super Sweet 16, Teen Mom, and Ridiculousness. Their new demographic just eats it up, leaving a few older generations behind. To us, it is no surprise. Reality TV and the age of streaming, it was bound to happen sooner or later.
“So, hey! What was one of your favorite music videos from back in the day?” Again, I could probably sit and talk music videos for several months straight, but I’ll leave here with 2:
Serena, Thanks for this fun article and cool videos. It is a sad day. I lived for MTV. I played in bands from high school and beyond so it was awesome to watch all the music videos and the MTV VJ’s. I loved Unplugged . Probably one of the smartest programming ideas in TV history. I never missed it.
As reality programs ,game and dating shows started to emerge,the music videos were relegated to the back and got put into small blocks and then completely disappeared. Gone were the days the World Premiere Video Event that everyone crowded around the tv to watch.
I’m like you . I could talk MTV videos for a long time. Great videos like Sledgehammer (Peter Gabriel) Eurythmics (Missonary Man) Love Removal Machine (The Cult) the wall of Marshall stacks was outrageous and cool, and of course Thriller,the most expensive music video of it’s time. Everyone had to up their game after that one. At least we can pull up videos on our phones and computers when we get nostalgic for the old days. It is the end of an Era. Really enjoyed the article. Thanks Serena!
Yes, Lynne! The world premiere video releases were absolutely something my girlfriends and I sat and waited for. Even popped a tape in the ol’ VCR so we wouldn’t miss it and could watch over and over and over.
Wasn’t the Thriller video like 14 minutes? Half a sitcom. Beyond fantastic. So lucky to now live in an era where all these videos are available to us at the snap of a finger.
Thank you!! 🙂