Reality TV has killed the video star - on MTV, at least. But once upon a time the network changed the face of pop culture - many times over. During its first decade MTV ruled the pop landscape. Today, its legacy – good and bad – is everywhere. The evolution of music videos radically altered other visual mediums from commercials to cinema. MTV’s fast and loose editing style, uncomplicated visual shorthand and sarcastic postmodernism have permeated our consciousness. Several subcultures such as grunge, hip-hop and metal made a rapid transition from underground to mainstream through late 80s-early 90s MTV exposure. The cult of celebrity has conquered the American public to a level unimaginable in 1981, the year the network launched. MTV’s first foray into reality TV gave us “The Real World”, which during its first few seasons gave a compelling, groundbreaking glimpse of twentysomethings struggling with real issues - notably living with the AIDS epidemic when the disease equated a death sentence.

MTV’s pre-history began in 1977 when Warner Cable launched the first two-way interactive cable TV system, Qube, in Columbus, Ohio. Qube offered a small number of specialized channels, notably Pinwheel – an early version of Nickelodeon – as well as Sight on Sound, a music channel similar to primitive MTV. MTV’s programming format was developed by visionary media executive Bob Pittman, eventual CEO of the network. Pittman was inspired by former Warner Cable boss John Lack, who shepherded “PopClips”, a late 70s music video program created by ex-Monkee-turned video enthusiast Mike Nesmith (later the recipient of the first Grammy awarded to a music video, with 1981’s “Elephant Parts”).

On August 1, 1981, at 12:01 a.m., MTV launched with Lack’s announcement “Ladies and gentlemen, rock and roll.” Those words kicked off the original MTV theme song, a crunching guitar riff written by Jonathan Elias and John Petersen, accompanying a montage of the Apollo 11 moon landing. Appropriately, the first music video shown was “Video Killed the Radio Star” by The Buggles. The second video aired was Pat Benatar’s “You Better Run”. Early MTV was still struggling with the most basic of technical details. Sporadically, the screen would go black when someone at MTV’s headquarters hurriedly switched video tapes. Then tapping a relatively undeveloped field, early MTV aired a limited selection of crude promotional clips and concert footage in order to populate its schedule. This relative void gave voice to unknown bands with art school backgrounds – primarily new wave acts with video savvy. It would take a little while for most major artists to grasp the new medium. With this in mind, MTV’s early format was still loosely modeled after Top 40 radio with their own set of on air jocks termed VJs. The original five VJs in 1981 were Nina Blackwood, Mark Goodman, Alan Hunter, J. J. Jackson and Martha Quinn. As the network’s popularity increased, “I want my MTV” became a rallying cry in promotional spots, echoing the network’s youthful demographic.

Gradually the music industry got an elementary handle on the medium. Some videos were nothing more that basic commercials for the band. Other segments – such as Herbie Hancock’s “Rock-It” – pioneered an art form. Regardless of a video’s end quality, popular acts had to adapt… and fast. Even the least photogenic rock dinosaurs tried their hand at videos to mixed success. In this new era, the more visually striking and inventive the marketing was, the more powerful an act became. Madonna would be little more than a pop footnote without MTV’s outlet for her characteristic visual savvy. Established directors soon entered the fray. John Landis was responsible for Michael Jackson’s 14 minute “Thriller”, which marked a number of firsts for the network, most notably the first video showcasing a black artist. Tobe Hooper directed Billy Idol’s “Dancing with Myself”. William Friedkin and Julian Temple were among other successful film directors dabbling in the field. Over the next decade, budding auteurs such as Spike Jonze, David Fincher and Michel Gondry made their names directing videos. In 1984, MTV launched its own awards show, the Video Music Awards. At the time, the VMAs were largely perceived as masturbatory self-indulgence, but the annual event quickly established a hip alternative to the Grammy awards.

By the end of the 80s, MTV had expanded beyond videos into niche programming. Alternative rock-centric “120 Minutes”, metal’s “Headbangers Ball” and its first hip-hop showcase “Yo! MTV Raps” all made groundbreaking debuts during this era. MTV’s news show The Week in Rock, dance show Club MTV, game show Remote Control, and performance specials such as MTV Unplugged soon followed. These new shows would be just the beginning of new genres to impact MTV and pop culture at large. As the format of the network continued to evolve in the early 1990s, MTV embarked on reality programming with “The Real World” and animation with BBC acquisition “Liquid Television”, then monster hit “Beavis and Butthead”. In 1992, MTV started a public service campaign called “Choose or Lose”, to encourage increased voter turnout from the underrepresented young demographic and hosted a landmark town hall forum for Bill Clinton.

Some aspects of MTV’s golden age of programming endure to this today, but the quality has declined. Reality TV has spawned a voyeuristic nation in love with its own idiotic image. Rather than leading the music vanguard, MTV ineptly tries to reflect it. As MTV approaches an uncomfortable third decade, we all want our MTV – back.

More Classic Early Videos:
Pat Benatar - “You Better Run” (the second video aired on MTV)
Duran Duran - “Hungry Like the Wolf”
Herbie Hancock - “Rock-It”
A-ha - “Take on Me”
Peter Gabriel - “Sledgehammer”

885 Blog:
Guest Blogger: The Infancy of MTV
The first airing of MTV (By Lauren Edelstein Henry, Exton, PA)

Related Links:
MTV.com
The 100 Best TV Shows of All-TIME: MTV 1981-1992
How TV Started Getting Real: MTV’s ‘Real World’ launched a revolution, USA Today
I Want My A.D.D.: How 25 years of MTV have changed the world (for better and worse), New York Magazine
25 Years Down the Tube, Washington Post
Entertainment Weekly Gallery: MTV turns 25