MTV Ruled the World- The Early Years of Music Video

by Greg Prato

  STEWART COPELAND: My understanding is that they don't play music videos anymore. Somebody once told me that the minute they play a music video, their viewership just dives. They've changed their format many times, and MTV has been a different entity many times over the decades. I remember the days before MTV, and then it was what it was when it started, and then it turned into something else, then it turned into something else again, and it has been through several incarnations since then. I have no idea where they're at now.

  BOB PITTMAN: I don't watch it, because I'm way out of the demo. I mean, I'll pass by it occasionally. I think they've done a fantastic job to keep something as a cultural icon in the mainstream of the youth culture for 30 years. So I think they've done great. I hear friends go, "They're not as good as when you were there." And I go, "That's because you're old! It didn't get bad, you got old." And I think that's true, whereas I was 30 years old or 27, I could intuitively understand where it was. I think there's zero chance I can intuitively understand where it is today. But I think I'm smart enough to understand they are still there and are still the voice of young America.

  ROB HALFORD: It's MTV as it should be in 2010. Everything changes. I think it's still important and still valuable. It still reaches people the way it needs to. There are like five or six different ones now, aren't there? You've got the main one, which doesn't play music anymore. It's reality shows. But you can't discount it at the end of the day. It's Viacom, and it's cash. But at least the spirit hasn't been totally destroyed. You still get Headbanger's Ball and one or two other important moments. But it's a different world, a whole different world. MTV is still here, and I think always will be.

  TONI BASIL: I still watch all those channels. I can't tell the difference between them, but I surf them everyday. I look, and if I see Chris Brown I stop, and if I see Ciara I stop. I'm always looking to see what the new steps are, what people are doing, because I continue to choreograph, so I like to see what everybody else is doing.

  ANN WILSON: Which one are you referring to? It seems to have turned into quite a spider with many legs. Last night, I was watching MTV, and they showed Into the Wild, and I thought that was probably the best of what MTV is today - where they really can go in and show rock movies. They can go into rock in a way that's not necessarily a reality show. I don't really prefer reality shows on MTV. I like the other side of the coin.

  KEN R. CLARK: I think that MTV has finally successfully reinvented itself as something viable. And I almost can't believe I'm saying that, because for many years, I truly despised what they had become. I just didn't pay any attention to it. They really had lost their identity for a while and floundered around, trying to figure out what they wanted to be. The programming wasn't particularly appealing. This is going back a ways, but The Osbournes was one of the first shows on MTV that I thought, "That's just plain, damn fucking good. It's funny." Now, I think they have a ton of shows — between MTV and VH1 — they've got some really engaging programming. It's not about music anymore. It's about youth culture. If you accept that and don't hold on to what MTV was — and look at it for what it truly is now — I think it has become something that has become viable once again.

  MIKE SCORE: Now it's just like...who cares what kids do on spring break? It's probably the last thing I want to see. But for some reason, it must have worked. To tell you the truth, I haven't seen one reality TV thing and gone, "Wow, that was great." Not one. I'm sure it's cheaper for them to make it, and they have God knows how many hours of filming they have to fill in, so whatever they have to do. But as far as entertainment goes, reality TV is at the low end. It's almost like fart jokes. "The fart joke of television."

  EDDIE MONEY: It's very dramatic, with a lot of kids crying on it and a lot of girls breaking up with guys. And girls beating each other up. It's come a long way from music, y'know? My daughter is 21. I feel like I'm living in MTV, because she's always breaking up with her boyfriends! It's crazy. I don't have to watch MTV anymore — I have five kids that are all teenagers, drive me out of my mind.

  BOB GIRALDI: The television culture is so glitzed, so maneuvered, so manipulated that it doesn't interest me. I'm more interested in the real deal. I'm real interested in what young people are really like, and not how they're portrayed to be like. So I don't watch it, and I know very little about it. The same with VH1. That was then, this is now.

  JELLO BIAFRA: When pop culture gets stupid, I just ignore it. Every five years or so, people come up to me — "MTV used to be really good, but it really sucks now." And I'm like, "Hey, wait a minute...didn't it always suck, and you just outgrew it?" Some people complain that there aren't enough clips anymore, and it's just one dumb reality show after another that they don't really want to watch. But that doesn't motivate me to watch those shows, just for the sake of watching those shows. There's a lot of things that turn up in popular culture that I saw no reason to watch because I was never interested in it. To this day, I've never seen Charlie's Angels, I've never seen The Brady Bunch or The Partridge Family, never saw Moonlighting, I've watched about five minutes of Seinfeld, and decided I had better things to do. That's just the way I am. Again, why keep up with bad pop culture when there's so many other interesting things to keep up with? I just don't bother.

  RICK SPRINGFIELD: It's a completely different animal. I'm not bemoaning the loss of MTV. Like I said, it was distasteful to me the posing...and I was certainly guilty of it myself. But there were also some great moments. Honestly, I haven't seen a lot of videos. I think most of them now are performance videos in kind of an odd setting, on a city street or something. I've seen a couple of the newer ones, where they do concept videos, and there's nothing really new that's being done. Everything was done back in the day, when everyone was experimenting. So there's nothing really new to be done, I don't think. It's probably very smart that they morphed into what they're doing now.

  JOE ELLIOTT: I moved on to VH1. That's what we all did, at our age. It's sad that this generation will probably go, "We started with iPods and don't even know what a cassette is." There are a lot of people that will really genuinely never experience the kind of excitement that we did.

  BOOTSY COLLINS: The feeling it has for me is just like everything else nowadays. It has no feeling. The cell phones have souled us out, and the smart phones are not saving us from making dumb decisions. And that, my friend and funkateers, is what my next album will be about, the very thing that you are writing about in your book. Times have changed technically, but we are still as stupid as it gets with our choices. We are all a by-product of our desires and choices.

  CHUCK D: They're totally all over the place. The only reason I would watch MTV is because of MTV News. That's it. There would be no reason, whatsoever.

  FRANK STALLONE: MTV's gotten real jive. It has no soul anymore. Not that it really did ever have great soul, but it's pretty bad now. See, I don't watch TV shows like I used to, because I'm not into this thing where rappers are fighting and carrying guns. I'm like, "What the hell is going on here?" In my era, it would have been, "Hey man, you better watch out. Ray Davies is going to pop Mick Jagger." What kind of shit is that? I think it's a crashing bore. It has no credibility anymore. I mean, I guess if you're going to listen to Justin Bieber or whatever his name is — I don't even know what he does or who he is. To me, Justin Timberlake is still a "boy band guy." Guys with their five o'clock shadows, acting like they're all tough. I don't get it. I'm really open to a lot of stuff. I really like Kings of Leon. I think they're great. Because they're like a real band, aren't they?

  PAUL DEAN: The "new video channel" now is YouTube. All you need is an Internet connection. I'm on YouTube all the time. That's an awesome "MTV." Way better, because it's viewing on demand.

  THOMAS DOLBY: In a way, the most comparable experience for kids today is YouTube. I think, as was the case in the early '80s, when teenagers would be doing their homework with MTV on in the background, I think these days, I see teenagers doing their homework with Y
ouTube in the background. So I think that legacy has been taken up elsewhere.

  STAN RIDGWAY: I'm in a media transition at home, where I'm trying to get rid of my television and get rid of my broadcast or cable, and make the change over to just having a computer in the living room with a large monitor, and be able to watch whatever I want, whenever I want to. I'm not interested in what some bail-bondsman in Hawaii is doing and what he's doing with the extensions in his hair today.

  LES GARLAND: When I heard the Rolling Stones do "Satisfaction" in 1965, nobody would have had the balls to predict that the Rolling Stones would be the highest grossing tour band between 2000 and 2010. That, to me, is just extraordinary. And that's what MTV is. MTV is an extraordinary phenomenon around the world. It's bigger than life. When we created it, we wanted it to live and breathe. And today, it's living and breathing.

  ALAN HUNTER: I think it's such a worldwide phenomenon now, that's what amazes me, how ubiquitous they are around the world. That has everything to do with youth. MTV is so much "the pacifier" for young people around the world. I think that's probably my biggest worry — what I'm not sure they're doing is motivating young people above and beyond just entertaining themselves. But they sure have a big enough following that they can make changes and "pied piper" these youngsters along. When they do the occasional social event, they can sure get a lot of people come onboard that. And some people think that's a little disingenuous, like they're keeping their cred up a little bit, by doing these one-offs every so often. I think MTV surely must be at a place where they have to evolve again. And they've got to rethink spotlighting only the dumbest and meanest among us. If they can do that, than maybe "year 31" will be worth watching again. Certainly, it will never be for an older demographic. They know who they're talking to. But they're a lot more about merchandising nowadays than anything else.

  DAVE WAKELING: We were just talking about it last night. We even talked about it on stage. We sang a little of "Satellite Killed the Video Star"...or "Internet Killed the Video Star." It's interesting. We thought the world had changed forever, but it was only a short change. Things were going to change even more after that. It turned out our "Lady of the 30 Rules" wasn't going to be ruling the artistic universe for as long as we thought.

  SERGEANT BLOTTO: I wish there was somebody that was doing what MTV used to do. I think that's still a valid...I don't know how it could be commercially successful. But maybe that's why I'm sitting here, and Bob Pittman is sitting somewhere else. [Laughs]

  MARTHA DAVIS: Sometimes, I'll look back on the '80s and go, "Was it all frivolous? Was it all crazy?" A lot of it was just fun.

  Where Are They Now?

  JON ANDERSON: Performing with the Cleveland Youth Orchestra, the Vermont Youth Orchestra, and the San Antonio Youth Orchestra. Recording with students from the Paul Green School of Rock on a project. Still performs solo shows, as well as shows with former Yes bandmate Rick Wakeman.

  PETE ANGELUS: Manager of the Black Crowes and Truth and Salvage Co. Has a film project in the works.

  CARMINE APPICE: Performs as part of a drum show called Slamm [from Carmine's site — "Described as Stomp on steroids, Appice and four young drummers rule the stage and make rock music playing buckets, sticks, oil cans, drain pipes, even Dixie cups, as well as drums"]. Does drum clinics, performs with bands, and working on an autobiography.

  ART BARNES: Continues to record with Barnes & Barnes, who released Opbopachop, in 2009.

  STEVE BARRON: Working on a sci-fi show, Slingers, for a games company, Sleepy Dog. Developing an '80s set movie, Slow Down Arthur, Stick to 30, written by artist Harland Miller, for the U.K. Film Council.

  TONI BASIL: Completed two years of choreographing and serving as dance director of Bette Midler's The Showgirl Must Go On, at Caesers Palace. Also was associate director and choreographer of Tina Turner's last world tour. Writing a book of the history of American street dance, and judges and teaches at street dance competitions.

  JELLO BIAFRA: Records/performs as part of Jello Biafra and the Guantanamo School of Medicine. Released The Audacity of Hype in 2009. Head of the Alternative Tentacles record company.

  NINA BLACKWOOD: Hosts a daily show on Sirius XM, 80s on 8.

  ERIC BLOOM: Continues to tour with Blue Öyster Cult.

  SERGEANT BLOTTO: Is a music and arts writer for the Albany Times Union. Also writes for nippertown.com. Still performs sporadically with Blotto, and is a member of a four-piece acoustic jug-band, the Ramblin' Jug Stompers.

  RICKY BYRD: Finishing up a solo record with producer Ray Kennedy.

  GERALD CASALE: Continues to record/tour with Devo, who released their ninth studio album, Something for Everybody, in 2010.

  KEN R. CLARK: A real estate broker with RE/MAX.

  KEN CEIZLER: A freelance director.

  PHIL COLLEN: Continues to record/tour with Def Leppard. Working on guitar designs with Jackson Guitars. Writing songs with his songwriting partner, CJ Vanston, for Def Leppard and his side-band, Man-Raze.

  BOOTSY COLLINS: Launched Bootsy Collins Funk University, "the first online funk bass university of its kind," via bootsycollins.com, and is working on a new album, also titled Bootsy Collins Funk University. Works with the Bootsy Collins Foundation, whose motto is "Say it Loud, an Instrument for Every Child."

  STEWART COPELAND: Reunited with the Police for a tour in 2007-2008. In 2009, penned the book Strange Things Happen: A Life with The Police, Polo, and Pygmies. Writing a symphony for gamelan and orchestra for the Dallas Symphony, writing an opera for the Royal Opera in London, and working on Mikrokosmos for percussion.

  CY CURNIN: Finishing work on a new Fixx CD. Also runs a solo label via cycurnin.com. Is working on a music project with Nick Harper.

  CHUCK D: Continues to record/tour with Public Enemy. In 2010, released a solo album under the name "Mistachuck," Don't Rhyme for the Sake of Riddlin'.

  MARTHA DAVIS: Released three albums in 2007 — Beautiful Life, Clean Modern and Reasonable, and This. In 2010, released a children's album, Red Frog Presents 16 Songs for Parents and Children. Recording a group of torch/jazz/ballad songs with original Motels saxophonist/keyboardist, Marty Jourard. Has a podcast with manager, Gaye Ann Bruno, and Berlin's Terri Nunn, called Between the Sheets.

  PAUL DEAN: Continues to record/tour with Loverboy. Released Just Getting Started in 2007.

  WARREN DeMARTINI: Continues to record/tour with Ratt. Released Infestation in 2010.

  JOHN DOE: Tours as a solo act and with X and the Knitters. Working on a new solo album. Last release was 2009's Country Club.

  THOMAS DOLBY: Releasing his first new album in 20 years, A Map of the Floating City, in 2010.

  GEOFF DOWNES: Continues to record/tour with Asia. Released Omega in 2010.

  JONATHAN ELIAS: Working on a score for the film Son of No One, a new album, and is the head of Elias Arts, which does TV commercial music.

  JOE ELLIOTT: Continues to record/tour with Def Leppard. Launched a side-band, Down 'N Outz, releasing My Re Generation in 2010.

  RIK EMMETT: Reunited for shows with Triumph in 2008. Released Greatest Hits Remixed in 2010. Plays in an acoustic guitar trio with Oscar Lopez and Pavlo. Records/releases solo albums via rikemmett.com. Plays solo acoustic shows. Plays in a duo, with Dave Dunlop, called Strung-Out Troubadours. Teaches a music business course and songwriting course at Humber College in Toronto.

  LITA FORD: Released her first new album in 14 years, Wicked Wonderland, in 2009. Working on a family reality show.

  LES GARLAND: Runs a consultancy business, AfterPlay Entertainment. Working with Michael Cohl on building a new entertainment company, "Soon to be Named" (aka "S2BN"). Does voiceover work for commercials.

  BOB GIRALDI: Shoots TV commercials, develops films, does short films, teaches a graduate short film program for the School of Visual Arts, and owns ten restaurants.

  ROB HALFORD: Continues to record/tour with Judas Priest, who issued Nostradamus in 2008, A Touch of Evil: Live in 2009, and British Steel
: 30th Anniversary Edition in 2010. Touring with his solo band, Halford, as part of Ozzfest in 2010, and released Halford IV the same year.

  DARYL HALL: Continues to record/tour with Hall & Oates. Does his own Internet show, Live from Daryl's House.

  GREG HAWKES: Toured with Todd Rundgren's band in 2009. Also plays in Flo & Eddie's band and does occasional solo ukulele shows. In 2008, released The Beatles Uke, an album of ukulele/Beatles covers.