What are Your MTV Memories?
I want my MTV!
MTV (Music Television) celebrated its 36th year in existence today. On August 1, 1981 a new way to listen to music came into our living rooms...on TV?
Mark Goodman, Martha Quinn, Nina Blackwood, Alan Hunter and JJ Jackson were the original "VJs". "Video jockeys" who do what we do here on the radio, introduce songs, only they were videos.
We all have our favorites. "Take on Me" by A-ha and "Out of Touch" by Hall & Oates come to mind for me.
A cool tune with an uncomfortable message to some of us was the debut video on the network.
But somewhere along the way, they lost their edge. More "shows" lined the network like "The Real World" (cool for about the first five seasons) and "Jersey Shore". No thanks. With the announcement that Total Request Live (TRL) is returning, it seems like a good step toward putting the M back in MTV, although it's going to take five hosts to do what Carson Daly did alone back then.
Is the commemoration of the "36th Anniversary" of a television network redundant? Possibly. But it just seems like we have to mention it every year, and it's only because we all miss what it used to be and want it back that way again.
I want my MTV! If you do too, share what you miss most about the old version in the comments.