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November 17, 2005
The Chronic Curmudgeon Pop Culture Influence #3: MTV
Music videos weren't invented by MTV; for that you probably need to credit the Beatles and "A Hard Day's Night." But as the medium emerged in the late 70s, a confluence of entertainment events -- the beginning of the rise of cable television in the United States and the proliferation of networks that came with it, and the slow downturn in radio's popularity as disco and slickly overproduced arena rock began to lose their audience's captivation -- made the ground fertile for the development of a music television network. It's just that nobody knew just how fertile.
On August 1, 1981, MTV premiered on cable systems across the country (although not nearly as many as we'd now suppose; the network spent much of its first years on the air running ad campaigns -- the ubiquitous "I Want My MTV" ads -- trying to get cable systems to pick them up). It's not a stretch to say that nothing was ever the same. Beginning with the breakthrough cultural moment of the Buggles' "Video Killed The Radio Star" (still one of my favorite songs of all-time, scroll down in the link to get to the video), MTV announced the presence of something different, something game-changing.
The impact on music was virtually immediate. Image became as important, if not more so, than sound; untelegenic acts like Christopher Cross (who'd won five Grammies in February 1981) quickly disappeared from the scene, while style-conscious popsters, especially from Britain, began getting the radio exposure that had eluded them in the States, thanks to their popularity on MTV. Acts like Duran Duran and the Eurythmics became megastars using the video medium; Michael Jackson used video to take his incredible talent and audience reach to unprecedented levels; one hit wonders like Thomas Dolby, Dexy's Midnight Runners, Men Without Hats, and A Flock Of Seagulls became as memorable for their videos as for their songs; and MTV quickly became the center of all things pop culture. And it made superstars out of their VJs -- Alan Hunter, JJ Jackson, Nina Blackwood, Mark Goodman, and Martha Quinn (who was my very first celebrity crush, as MTV came along just as I was discovering girls). But MTV didn't just impact music. TV advertising began to borrow heavily from video's fast-cut editing and angled shots; movies like Flashdance and Footloose rang up millions at the box office by bringing MTV style to the big screen; seminal TV shows like Miami Vice owed their very existence to MTV. It's hard to overstate the pervasiveness or the influence of MTV during its glory years.
Sadly, somewhere in the early 1990s the network decided to stop being relevant, relegating itself to reality shows and a daily half hour of Carson Daly and his screaming teens. By today, it's hard to imagine anyone over the age of 14 even watching MTV, much less caring about it or being influenced by it. But despite its precipitous fall from grace, MTV's dominant run during its first dozen or so years impacted every single entertainment medium, permanently affected pop culture, and was the vehicle for any number of other pop culture influences -- 7 of the top 15 in this countdown, in fact -- earning it a bittersweet place at #3 in this countdown.
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Comments
I want my OLD MTV!
Posted by: jillian at November 18, 2005 02:42 PM
At least they've brought back Headbanger's Ball. Or is that on MTV2? MTV2 is where they play all the videos now.
Posted by: Susan M at November 18, 2005 04:14 PM
For the record, Men Without Hats came back about 10 years later with a very minor hit called "Pop Goes The World" which technically removes them from one-hit wonderdom. Everyone knows the S-A-F-E-T-Y dance, but they did actually make more than one album.
MTV changed music both for the better and for the worse. It allowed an entirely new way of marketing singles on a national and global scale. It was no longer 100% necessary to get your songs to the radio, you could become a star on TV. Limp Bizkit was on their way out before doinf a version of George Michael's "Faith" on the MTV Beachhouse. 1.5 Years later "Nookie" was a number 1 single, and "Signifcant Other" a corresponding #1 album. In this way MTV has offered faster, and more wide spread exposure. Tool sold 2 million copies of "Undertow" with one singular video played on Headbanger's Ball. The video was all claymation, and you never saw Maynard or any of the other band members.
The downside was as you mentioned, about image. Heart's videos were filmed showing only Anne Wilson's face. Many talented voices and songwriters go unnoticed now because MTV concentrates on the beautiful people. I doubt highly that Britney, Christina, Jojo, J.Lo, and all the rest of the pop music sugar bowl hotties wouldve been pop stars without their looks.
J.Lo can dance and she is hot. You dont have to be able to sing, and BMG has plenty of people to write the music/ lyrics.
I have made my predictions for #2, and #1. Try not to keep us in suspence too long.
Posted by: Cuzin Jose at November 18, 2005 05:33 PM
