A TRL hosting job was but a glimmer in 8-year-old, Carson Daly’s, eye. Somewhere in NYC, Madonna was grooming herself to become the original Lady Gaga. And Michael Sorrentino’s parents had a one-month-old, “Situation” in their nursery.
Conceived from the idea that music needed visual art as its complement, on August 1, 1981, MTV was born.
Since the network’s inception, MTV masterminds have shaped our perspectives on music. “Video Killed the Radio Star” was the first music video broadcast on MTV, and I’m sure the network’s savvy marketing team – not irony – gets credit for that decision.
Long before the Internet consumed every morsel of our beings, music video marathons were the culprit of adolescent idleness. Secretly, we wished sidewalks would light up for us like they did for Michael in the “Billie Jean” video.
Mullets, tank tops, and ripped jeans were not only acceptable but they were sexy because Def Leppard was doing it.
In the 80s, if you weren’t hip to the latest videos, you just weren’t cool.
In the 90s, MTV watchers became less obsessed with music and more preoccupied with programming. Keeping up with the “Real World” was a must, knowing what went down between Angela and Jordan on “My So-Called Life” re-runs was uber important, and it wasn’t New Years Eve until you watched the year’s best video countdown.
New millennium MTV has given us guilty pleasures like “16 & Pregnant” and “Jersey Shore…”
…and has helped launch careers of bands like Kings of Leon…
…and of solo artists like Avril Lavigne.
One can only wonder if MTV will ever get back to basics and be the ’round the clock music hub it once was. I wouldn’t even be surprised if the network blindsided the world and changed its name to “Reality TV.”
No matter what moves MTV makes in the next 30 years, the network has already secured its position as the single most influential force in music and in pop culture.
Be sure to check back to Positively Celebrity for more music news and reviews from Erica Renee Davis!
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