MTV
Here's some cool info about it:
- Launched on August 1, 1981
- Based out of New York City and featured videos played by what is called VJ's or video jockeys
- The 2 most commonly heard slogans for this TV network is "I Want My MTV" and "MTV is here"
- This channel is thought to be like a hub for all things music, like concert events, music news, music promotions, etc
- MTV's first ever played music video was the Buggle's Video Killed the Radio Star. The 2nd video was Pat Benatar's You Better Run.
- The basic premise of this channel was to play music videos nonstop, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week
- During the 1980s, a good number of rock bands were made popular by this channel because their music got airplay. It ranged from heavy metal, to new wave to hard rock, such as:
- Adam Ant
- Eurhythmics
- Culture Club
- The Fixx
- Split Enz
- Prince
- Ultravox
- Duran Duran
- Van Halen
- Bon Jovi
- Ratt
- Def Leppard
- The Police
- The Cars
- Also rotated videos from parody artist Weird Al Yankovich
- Also played classic rock from the 1980s and earlier decades. With such artists as:
- Dire Straits- Money for Nothing
- Journey
- Rush
- John Mellencamp
- Billy Joel
- Genesis
- Billy Squire
- Robert Palmer
- The Rolling Stones
- Rod Stewart
- The Who
- ZZ Top
- New solo artists such as:
- Robert Plant
- Paul McCartney
- Phil Collins
- David Lee Roth
- Pete Townshend
- Supergroup acts such as:
- Asia
- Power Station
- The Firm
- The Traveling Willburys
- As well as forgotten bands such as:
- Michael Stanley Band
- Shoes
- Blotto
- Taxxi
- In 1983, the hardcore rock band KISS appeared publicly with out their trademark makeup
- For some reason there was a limited number of black artists performing on this channel, and it wasn't until 1983 when someone black broke the color barrier, Michael Jackson. The black artists that were on the channel were Donna Summer, Eddy Grant and Tina Turner. English rock legend David Bowie actually questioned the fact that there were so few black artists on here. In 1983, the video for Michael Jackson's hit Billie Jean began getting regular airplay on MTV
- For most of July 13, 1985, this channel showed live broadcasts of the Live Aid concerts, held in London and Philadelphia to try and raise money to help people in Ethiopia.
- When the 1990s rolled around, MTV was regularly playing pop-friendly, hard rock, chart-topping metal artists, R&B quartets, such as:
- Guns N Roses
- Michael Jackson
- Madonna
- 2 Unlimited
- New Kids on the Block
- New Edition
- Bell Biv Devoe
- Tony Toni Tone
- Boyz II Men
- This also introduced rap musicians such as:
- Vanilla Ice
- MC Hammer
- LL Cool J
- Naughty by Nature
- Onyx
- Sir Mix a Lot
- By 1993, West Coast rappers associated with gangster rap, with alot less pop friendly stuff started getting airplay, such as:
- Snoop Dogg
- Tupac Shakur
- Ice Cube
- Warren G
- Dr. Dre
- The 1990s were also the time of alternative music, which isn't hard rock, isn't pop, it's a little easy on the ears if that's what like. Also some of the hair bands of the 1980s were mainly phased out, except Aerosmith and Tom Petty. Also other acts such as R.E.M. and U2 began changing their style of music to keep up with the times. Some of the more successful alternative artists include:
- Stone Temple Pilots
- Race Against the Machine
- Tool
- Beck
- Radiohead
- The Smashing Pumpkins
- Blind Melon
- Silverchair
- Weezer
- Collective Soul
- Other musicians began experimenting with pop and alternative music and electronica. Some of these artists include:
- Madonna
- David Bowie
- U2
- Radiohead
- The Smashing Pumpkins
- When 1997 rolled around, this was the time of more pop, and more boy/girl bands. There were bands like The Backstreet Boys, The Spice Girls, N*Sync and also pop princesses as they're called, such as Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, Mandy Moore, Jessica Simpson. As time went on, rock, electronica, alternative music got less airplay and more pop and rap/hip hop got more airplay. Some of the artists that got heavy rotation with their music include Puff Daddy, Master P, DMX, Busta Rhymes, Jay-Z, Missy Elliot, Ja Rule, Eminem. We also seen new R&B bands and musicians emerge, such as Destiny's Child and Brandy
- This channel also has edited or will not play music videos that make references to racism, homophobia, sex, violence, weapons or advertising. Because who wants to watch a music video that advertises something? Stupid is my response to advertising in music videos!
- And this channel is slowly straying away from music and slowly heading in the direction of reality TV, such as The Real World, Road Rules, and The Osbournes, which follows the everyday life of Black Sabbath front man Ozzy Osbourne and his wife Sharon and their 2 kids Kelly and Jack. And also Punk'd is a newer one, where actor Ashton Kutcher and friends play pranks on celebrities. Recently the channel has been airing newer shows, like My Super Sweet 16, about spoiled, undeserving rich chicks practically groveling for a sweet 16 party they don't deserve in the 1st place and Jersey Shore, about a bunch of Italian youths in a Seaside Heights, NJ house. Sort of like Big Brother only with more tans and even more drama! The show Jersey Shore has had problems with it since day 1. One of the major problems it has had is it uses a term some may take as an ethnic slur. On various advertisements for it, it says "follow eight of the hottest, tannest, craziest Guidos ever". This term is often used as a racial slur for Italians and Italian Americans, and considering almost 80% or more of the population of New Jersey is Italian, that's pretty wrong for that show to go that way.
- Also this channel features animated stuff, like Beavis and Butthead, and Celebrity Deathmatch, where famous people in Claymation form would wrestle and rip each other to bloody bits.
- One of the more popular shows on this channel is Jackass, a show starring Johnny Knoxville, sometimes Bam Margera, and the late Ryan Dunn
- The iconic block letter M with TV in grafitti style writing over it is the best known logo in all of pop culture.
- And for all the commercials and campaigns, the people at MTV have gotten various artists to star in them, such as:
- Pete Townshend
- Pat Benatar
- Adam Ant
- David Bowie
- The Police
- KISS
- Culture Club
- Billy Idol
- Hall & Oates
- Cyndi Lauper
- Madonna
- Lionel Richie
- Ric Ocasek
- John Mellencamp
- Peter Wolf
- Joe Elliot
- Stevie Nicks
- Rick Springfield
- Mick Jagger
Logos
This logo has gone thru so many changes it's hard to keep track
This one must be promoting the Rolling Stones
Sorry to be predictable but I love this one!!!!
Another image of the old logo
Different variations on it
