I Want My MTV

25 years ago today I was 15 years old. I was at a friend's house who was throwing a party for the launch of a new television channel:

MTV.

We had no idea what to expect but there'd been some hype about it so we decided we'd check it out...

...and last night they re-broadcast the first 20 minutes.

That's right: The space launch that counted down. The rocket launch that took off. The astronaut planting the MTV flag on the moon, which would then change into variety of logo changes. Followed by the Buggles "Video Killed The Radio Star." That's the easy trivia question. The harder one is what was the 2nd video played? "You Better Run" by Pat Benetar.

My daughter laughed at the graphics that began as well as both videos. We immediately turned it off because Tracy and I could've stayed up all night reminiscing.

But here are a few quotes from Mark Rosenthal regarding his little network (it came from a graduation speech--the best one I ever heard) start-up:

"In contrast, MTV was truly a "postmodern" network. It was never really about the shows. It was about one idea, twenty-four hours a day--a pop-cultural identity. But most of all, it was about the audience and about connecting with the audience in a unique and meaningful way. Today, people say, "I feel like watching MTV" and you know exactly what they mean."

"We've always operated as outsiders, challenging the conventional wisdom. We didn't know that it couldn't be done, so we just did it. We've been presumptuous. We've been obnoxious. We've been downright rude. And we've made mistakes. Many of them. But we haven't been safe. We haven't been predictable. We haven't trudged along a well-worn path to successful mediocrity. And we've never been afraid to fail."

"Of course, MTV wasn't exactly the first to come along and challenge the established powers that be. That's a great American tradition. Harriet Tubman, Walt Whitman, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Ida Mae Tarbell, Woodie Guthrie, Paul Robeson, Jackson Pollack, Billie Holiday, Miles Davis, Jack Kerouac, Malcolm X, Cesar Chavez, Lenny Bruce, Muhammad Ali, Bob Dylan, Curt Flood, Curt Cobain--the list is long and varied. Rabble-rousing is an American birthright. Despite a penchant for middle-class, middle-of-the-road homogeneity, America usually comes around to admiring--and rewarding--those who burn their bridges to convention and safety--and light up
the sky in the process."

"Before I'm accused of waxing too poetic, let me be blunt. None of you should try to come up with the next MTV. Don't make the short-sighted choice of riding the wave of a phenomenon that's already begun to crest or cloning an already successful formula. You shouldn't want to. You see, what I'm trying to tell you is this: We don't need more copies. We need more originals. There are originals out there in every industry. Some are fledglings. Others are just beginning to gain some traction in their respective arenas. Still others have yet to be born--they are ideas waiting to be discovered by people of passion and commitment and intelligence. People who respond when the rest of the world is going left by going right. People whose dreams matter to them and, later on, come to matter to the rest of us."

So, yeah. MTV has now become the establishment. If you're turning 25 that's inevitable.

But I kinda liked their spirit...at least back when they played music in the 80's.

And okay, I'm a bit old school on this one. I remember:

Martha Quinn & Adam Hunter.
Headbanger's Ball.
Yo! MTV Raps.
The debut of "Thriller," back when Michael Jackson's incredible talent overshadowed his freak-show life.
Beavis & Butt-head.
Live Aid.
Madonna, Dire Straits (Money for Nothing is still a great video), & U2.
Grunge.
MTV Spring Break.

And, that was about the time I outgrew MTV. Sure, there were some occasions I checked back in on Daria, Punk'd, the Newlyweds & The Osbourne's, but by-and-large, I'm more of a VH-1 guy now (and in the movie "Click" Adam Sandler plays a 39-year-old guy who gets taunted by teenagers who tell him "Why don't you gome home and watch your VH-1 now, Grandpa!" I gotta tell ya it stung a little bit) with their "I Love the 80's" and "Best Week Ever."

So, Happy 25th Birthday, MTV...but it's really more of a "thanks for the memories" kind of thing than a "keep on pressing" kind of thing. When you're 25, you're pretty much just settling down and becoming the man instead of sticking it to him. But happy birthday just the same.