Video killed the radio star.

Feb 28 02:06 UTC 2000

This song by the Buggles, which was the first video on MTV, became the 
1,000,000th shown yesterday afternoon/evening.  Of course, this was an 
obvious choice for the accompaning contest in which they paid a million 
to the 2000th caller who dialed in the number shown along with the video 
(obviously, when it was first shown, not when it was re-run later in the 
middle of the night).

This sparked the old discussion we've been talking about in other items 
amongst the MTV video jockeys, past and present.  Matt Pinfield, former 
host of 120 Minutes, exclaimed, "Video didn't kill the radio star, but 
it did give radio a good kick in the a**."

Maybe that is the point.  MTV, in its early days, gave airplay to New 
Wave and progressive stars that weren't getting time on the radio.  (Ok, 
someone clue me into what kind of videos were being shown on Friday 
Night Videos.)  Much of the UK and Europe had already been making a big 
deal about videos-- several bands there had already made a few before 
MTV came along, but since many were decently produced, they now had a 
bit more exposure in the U.S.

Musicians had already been using film for years-- Elvis Presley and the 
Beatles starred in several full-length movies that had fairly little 
substance other than to promote the music.  But short video clips that 
accompanied music did exist, although that particular medium did not 
come to fruition until then.

One hit wonders began to grow a little bit more based on the success of 
songs *with* the music video marketing package.  Other musicians-- such 
as Madonna and Michael Jackson (in his solo career), most notably-- 
built most or all of their careers with music video.  MTV also noted 
that established acts grew nervous about the new medium-- showing John 
Oates in a televised press conference expressing his displeasure about 
suddenly being expected to act.  Madonna (who else?) made the rebuttal.

The cliche of stock imagery in videos also began to grow.  But I think 
"Video Killed The Radio Star" succeeded precisely for what it was.  It 
was a one hit wonder because of the video.  A Rolling Stone editor 
commented it was good because of the seemingly unrelated plethra of 
images that foreshadowed the cheesy 80's stock imagery aforementioned, 
and that was the point.  Also, the band faded into obscurity, while lead 
singer Trevor Horn became a successful music producer, working on 
projects for Seal, Tina Turner, and David Bowie.  Seal's self titled 
1994 album won a Grammy, and I still believe it to be one of the 
slickest pieces of work that came in that year.

Quite the statement.

They also mentioned Dire Straits' "Money For Nothing," which the lead 
singer (I forget his name) explained was inspired by the comments of 
some friends of his who were watching MTV and claiming the stars weren't 
really working.  Sting was also quoted as saying he didn't expect it to 
be a hit.

But it was.  The video satirized the idea that being a video star wasn't 
work, and MTV was all about easy money.  Consequently, it satirized how 
MTV was being considered, but also by reason of its refrain.  Sting's 
refrain of "I want my MTV" hearkened back to early promos of rock stars 
chanting the same slogan for the network.  Another MTV VJ was quoted as 
saying the song and video seemed to be a bit of a satirical Mobius 
strip, but in the end-- they didn't care-- "I want my MTV" made "Money 
for Nothing" an instant and monster hit, as well as the network's 
unoffical anthem.

The cable channel has changed drastically, however, from its original 
roots.  MTV Networks originally consisted of MTV and Nickelodeon, which 
I assume was a Canadian company, based on the endless Canadian 
programming (and shows produced in Canada) that was plastered all over 
Nickelodeon.  Of course, since Viacom purchased MTV Networks, both 
stations have a decidedly different look about them, 20 years 
notwithstanding, as well as the addition of VH-1 as an video channel of 
adult contemporary music.

MTV also fell victim to some minor worries about discrimination until 
about the mid 80's.  Herbie Hancock reportedly did not directly appear 
in his video "Rocket" (save on a TV screen) because he believed the 
audience would not want to see a black musician on MTV.  Michael 
Jackson's arrival with "Billy Jean" is also noted to have been a big 
deal with black audiences.  The New Romantics and synth bands had a big 
influence on MTV in the early 80's, although the artists that were gay 
would not announce their sexuality until much later.

Ironically, homosexual innuendos seem to have largely vanished from the 
scene (George Michael aside from that obvious video), while 
African-American contemporary music has since enjoyed a great deal of 
exposure on MTV, especially after YO! MTV Raps started.  Today, I see 
much more colorful videos among the black artists than I do the rockers; 
perhaps it's because there is more money there.

But then there's Busta Rhymes-- I started getting much more excited 
about rap and hip hop when I saw his bizzare but amusing videos.

Anyway, I'll shut up now.  Comments?

response 2 of 31:

May 9 23:54 UTC 2000

No one's interested?  Well, MTV has done some programs on its former 
VJs, and VH1 started a program series called "Video Killed The Radio 
Star" just last night.  Finally, I think I get somewhat close to the 
facts.

As I said, music groups have done something approaching videos for 
years, most notably the Brits.  The Beatles films were really a 
prototype for this, as were the Elvis ones.  The Monkees followed this 
tradition in a TV show, and it was member Michael Nesmith that really 
did conceive the idea that became MTV.

Sometime after the Monkees was disbanded, Nesmith had made a video 
called "Rio."  More later.

response 4 of 31:

May 10 13:43 UTC 2000

Going back to #0, I recall the phrase "I Want My MTV" being used *Before*
"Money For Nothing," which is why Dire Straits used it in the first place.
Also, the story that I'd heard at the time was that it wasn't Knopfler's
friends, but rather that he happened to be an appliance store and overheard
workers bitching while they were watching the TVs... hence the lyrics and the
video, featuring appliance shop workers.

And "Video Killed the Radio Star" succeeded because it was a catchy song. I
don't even reemmber the video. Trevor Horn had been a producer (including
probably the most artistic New Wave album, ABC's The Lexicon of Love, as well
as Art of Noise and, later, Frankie Goes to Hollywood), and Buggles were a
one-hit wonder mostly because most of their other tracks were too erudite to
be readily accessible ("I Am A Camera" also got some airplay).

I recall "Relax" also having BDSM imagery. The song also appears in "Body
Double," in a reasonably graphic scene involving Melanie Griffith making a
porn movie. The scene looks more like a music video than a movie clip, and
shows the growing influence of music videos on other media.

On the gay video front, there was also Bronski Beat's classic "Smalltown Boy,"
whose album packaging was banned (the album being "The Age of Consent") for
listing the ages of consent in every major country, for both heterosexual and
homosexual act (the point being to illustrate the disparity in the ages). MTV
never balked at "Smalltown Boy," although it didn't contain any explicit
images, so I really doubt it was the homo- as much as the erotic that got the
first version of "Relax" banned. There were some other videos at the time that
were banned (following criticism) for sexual content, most memorably "Dance
with Me" (Lords of the New Church), which featured a little girl running
through a Gothic set to the words "Let's dance little stranger / Show me
secret sin / Love can be like bondge / Seduce me once again," which lead
watchdog groups to conclude that the video was promoting pedophilia, and Oingo
Boingo's "Little Girls," banned for content ("I like little girls / They make
me feel so good / I like little girls / They make me feel so bad / When I'm
around they make me feel like I'm the only guy in town"), again after watchdog
protests. 

Finally, NIN would also later be edited for content, because of some erotic
imagery. I'm sure there were other videos in the meantime.

Ironic in all this is that, years later, I believe VAST's video for "Pretty
When You Cry" got MTV airplay. I know it got played on The Box. Even though
the model in the video is adult, it's clear that was done only to keep the
video legal... it shows a man at the wheel, and a woman dressed as Little Red
Riding Hood, asleep in the backseat, and segues into a series of images such
as the woman running through a forest, the man trapped in a hallway with walls
made of outstretched hands, and most graphically, the man standing in a pool
o fmilk, with only his head visible, while the woman stands over him and
taunts him (before the room turns red and a hundred clones of the woman pull
the man under).  A long way from banning a girl running through a Goth scene
to fairly inoccuous lyrics.

(BTW, the astute will notice a similarity in meter and even rhyme between The
Lords of the New Church's stanza and the second stanza from "Fly," out a few
years ago, which is partly why I didn't like the latter song... too similar,
sounded like accidental theft. =} )

response 6 of 31:

May 10 18:23 UTC 2000

Madonna had a few scandalous videos, too, particularly for "Like a Prayer,"
which had to do with having sex in a church, if I recall correctly.

response 8 of 31:

May 11 16:34 UTC 2000

Not only did the Beatles films approach the condition of videos, but in 
the very early days of MTV (I haven't seen any MTV since around 1984), 
song-length cuts from Beatles films were used as videos just like the 
new videos.

"Relax" is the song I still use as the purest example of the kind of 
hit song I call the "tuneless wonder".  It was the growing prevalence 
of these that drove me away from listening to pop in the mid-80s.  I 
understand that pop songs are much more tuneful now, and have been for 
some years, but I've never come back.  But I'm still amazed that Cyndi 
Lauper's "Time After Time", also nearly tuneless, has become a classic, 
while the highly catchy "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun" seems to be almost 
forgotten.

response 10 of 31:

May 11 19:06 UTC 2000

Dance music isn't *supposed* to have a definable tune, it's supposed to have
a beat and enough repetition to encourage a dance without so much repetition
it gets boring. "Relax" has, what, about a dozen words? "Two Tribes" has more
relevance, and a a bit more of a tune, but you can't really dance to it (at
least, not club style).

response 12 of 31:

May 12 04:40 UTC 2000

boston, along with bad company and kansas are the collective banes to my
existence...oh, yeah...foreigner, styx, and journey, too......all evidence
of these six bands should be permenantly erased IMHO

have a nice day  :)

response 14 of 31:

May 12 12:10 UTC 2000

styx , boston, journey, kansas..bands i love....genesis too.
my ol skool stuff.
and styx rocks.

response 16 of 31:

May 14 14:06 UTC 2000

        The Beatles has put together 'concept' videos for Strawberry 
Fields Forever and other tunes of that near era for promotional
purposes.  Then again, with the BBC, maybe that had an outlet for
it.  Their Magical Mystery Tour was like a bunch of concept videos
strung together by the plot of the tour.  It was released on Boxing
Day (December 26th), 1967 (or was it 1968?).  Paul McCartney used the
same thing for his "Give My Regards to Broad Street" movie.

response 18 of 31:

May 15 06:44 UTC 2000

no barry, bite me, I'm dumber.

response 20 of 31:

May 15 19:10 UTC 2000

Well, I dunno, what if he has rabies?

response 22 of 31:

May 17 17:49 UTC 2000

>Dance music isn't *supposed* to have a definable tune, it's supposed to 
>have a beat and enough repetition to encourage a dance without so much 
>repetition it gets boring.

What I like in dance music is something that has a complex, hypnotic 
beat _and_ a good tune on top of it.  Tune without beat isn't danceable, 
but beat without tune isn't catchy: I wouldn't want to dance to it.  
(Would you dance to a solo drum track?  Maybe you would.  But I 
wouldn't.  We also have very different thresholds of boredom.)

response 24 of 31:

May 17 19:30 UTC 2000

Isn't "Wipe Out" basically a drumbeat? =}
Anyway, lots of trance/techno is just modulated beats and rhythms with no
discernible melody.

Then again, the reason why record stores sell more than five different titles
is, well, different people like different things.