3 hours of MTV from 1983

[megoscott]

MTV 1983 (Part 1 of 2)

Commercials, tour news and all. Love it.

[Jason73]

Yeah, great stuff. I've got this and a few other MTV brodcast on DVD. FUN

[toysrus]

great site! Thanks. Watching it now. Some of those videos I totally forgot until just now!

To bad MTV is far,far from that now.

[LonnieFisher]

Adds for 8-track tapes! Wow, that's old!

[MIB41]

We went to that Police concert advertised on November 6th in Rupp Arena. That was great! It's so easy to see why that station was addictive back then. Life virtually changed overnight, when MTV started to broadcast around the clock. That was so radical at that time if you were a teenager. It absolutely fueled everything you talked about, listened to, and dressed like. I will always remember that year too because KISS unmasked for the first time that Fall. Kids today can't appreciate it's significance then. But for those of us who were STILL KISS fans (and the operative word here is "still") this was a big moment. If you had been like me collecting Circus, Hit Parader, and 16 magazine when KISS was always on the cover (and the only way you could see them unless they were in concert) , this was an historical day. It was akin to growing up I guess in a way. You were saying farewell to the KISS characters in favor of the new attitude of the 80's. Everyone was evolving and KISS was no exception to that rule. Fun times mixed with a bit of sadness during the transition. It was tough seeing KISS snuffed out in favor of Motley Crue and AC/DC. But it was pretty much their own fault. They had gotten too commercially pop by that point, between Dynasty, Unmasked, and the Elder. They did churn out one great rock album with Creatures. But the consensus had already been established, which was KISS was on the downside of their career. So MTV really wanted nothing to do with them, nor their videos, until they unmasked. Strange too, since so many of the metal bands were imitating KISS back then.

[The Toyroom]

I Want My MTV....Back

[wolfie]

MTV and the 80's.

This is my idea of what hell must be like.

[megoscott]

I went looking for that after listening to an interview with the authors of a new book about the golden age of MTV. Very interesting, the factors that made it what it was back then and it's inevitable transformation into what it became. We all want it back, (except wolfie) but by it's very nature it didn't hold enough viewers for long enough. 30 minute reality shows keep viewers in their seats watching commercials.

Chuck Klosterman: 10/7 - ESPN

[megoscott]

Yeah, great stuff. I've got this and a few other MTV brodcast on DVD. FUN

Are those commercially available or bootlegs or what?

[Jason73]

Are those commercially available or bootlegs or what?

Boots.

[Wee67]

The commercials are the best part! A real trip back to adolescence. Though I do have to say, hearing some of these bands, I remember what inspired me to get into underground/punk/alternative bands back in the early 80's

[megoscott]

Of course. For me, this clip isn't about the merits of the music in it. I don't care about most of that stuff and if I had wanted to track down any of those particular videos it's easy to do. But the time capsule quality is very compelling. The rhythm and sound of the whole experience from the VJ to the commercial to the news to the video and back again.

Just to witness a world where Huey Lewis or Night Ranger is a major player is very odd indeed.

[MIB41]

If you look back over that period, so much music was dispensable. It was more about the video than it was the song. And I lost track of how many one-hit wonders were created MONTHLY, based purely on the strength of their video. I mean does anyone really want a greatest hits from the Flock of Seagulls?

[wilbs518]

Very cool.

[Spawn67]

Thanks for posting this! And I thank whoever it was that recorded this a lifetime ago.
People can say what they want but at the time I remember MTV was a big deal for anyone growing up in that time period. Of course several years later I got into the underground metal/hardcore/punk scenes but that's another story for another time.
I remember clearly before we got cable the only way I saw videos was on Friday Night Videos (remember that show?)
When my parents got cable (around early 84) I remember watching it all the time even though I didn't like the videos or some of the music but I watched it anyway.
Watched it for many years up until about 92 Id say.
Still got some VCR tapes somewhere with old Headbangers ball episodes.
Seems music was everywhere in those days. Radio, MTV, and I remember any given mall where I grew up had at least 2 or 3 music stores. Was at a mall here last week and no music stores exist here anymore.