Re: TV Alert (July)

Monday
Rob Zombie - Letterman
She Wants Revenge - Leno
Susan Tedeschi - Conan
HIM - Kimmel (though I wish it was HiM instead)

Tuesday
Wolfmother - Letterman

Wednesday
Hard-Fi - Leno
Jack's Mannequin - Ferguson
Cloud Room - Carson Daly

Thursday
Jewel - Ferguson
Death Cab for Cutie - Conan

Friday
Goldfrapp - Letterman
30 Seconds to Mars - Carson Daly

i love this...but why isn't it called T(P)V alert???

Monday 10th
Fray - Letterman
Soul Asylum - Leno
Tuesday
Echo & Bunnymen - Ferguson
Costello/Touissant - Conan
Sonic Youth - Kimmel
Wednesday 12th
Wreckers - Letterman
Smoosh - Kimmel
Lil Ed & Blue Imperials - Conan
Thursday
Band of Horses - Letterman
Dashboard Confessional - Leno
David Lee Roth - Conan
Friday
Morningwood - Leno

Monday 17th
Seether - Leno
Tuesday
Ray Davies - Leno
Sweet & Hoffs - Conan
Wednesday 19th
She Wants Revenge - Ferguson
Thursday
New York Dolls - Conan
Friday
Jewel - Ferguson

Monday 24th
Taking Back Sunday - Leno
Buzzcocks - Ferguson
BRMC - Carson Daly
Flaming Lips - Kimmel
Tuesday
Yellocard - Conan
Rock Kills Kid - Carson Daly
Elected - Kimmel
Tapes n Tapes - Letterman
Thursday 27th
Spinners - Letterman (yes, those guys)
Friday
Seether - Ferguson
Taking Back Sunday - CD

There's also been that Elvis Costello concert with Death Cab for Cutie, Fiona Apple and Billie Joe Armstrong that's been on VH1 Classic several times this week. Rather nifty.

VH1 Classic has also been marking the 25th anniversary of MTV by replaying the first hour of MTV. Pretty cool seeing what was actually on that first hour - everyone knows the first video MTV broadcast was the Buggles, but then after that was "You Better You Bet", Robin Lane & the Chartbusters, Split Enz, Pretenders, etc. mixed in with Styx, 38 Special, Cliff Richard and sundry crap. But it's been cool seeing all of it.

Considering what a completely worthless and profoundly evil dungheap MTV eventually turned into, it's kind of nice to be reminded how fun it actually was when it started out.

Fascinating! Big thanks breno - now trivia fans know what the 2nd and 3rd artists ever shown on MTV were (Pat Benatar & Rod Sewart). And what awful videos they were! Really funny - the vets like Sir Cliff, Rod, The Who, obviously wanted nothing to do with this video business. Their static camera-bolted-to-the-ground performance clips had me wondering, What IS this so-called "MTV-style editing" I've been hearing about?

The New Wavers clearly relished the new canvas they had to paint on - that Buggles one is still pretty good. And at least one vet, Todd Rundgren, made the most of his opportunity with a video tribute to the Surrealists.

Also of note are the complete unknowns (Ph.D?) who, nonetheless, earned a footnote in music history by being in MTV's first hour.



Post Edited (07-30-06 22:05)

I see that tomorrow (August 1) VH1 Classic is broadcasting the entire first 24 hours of MTV.

I think the first hour was enough for me. But anyway, it starts at midnight (eastern time, I'd guess). The news release lists some of the videos which will be played, including "I Wanna Be a Lifeguard" by TP faves Blotto.

One of my all time favorite TV moments happened when John Lydon and Keith Levene were guests on the old Tomorrow show with Tom Snyder. Lydon and Levene were totally disrespectful to Snyder, dissing his show and him. Snyder was really pissed off. I remember Howard Stern was interviewed by him a decade later and brought out the same anger in Snyder by his antics.

I remember that I got into the Undertones via watching their video for "It's Going to Happen" on MTV back in the day. It wasn't so much the video that got me hooked (which was basically a outdoor performance shot to the best of my memory), but the song itself, which is still one of my favorites.

Hmmm. I'd said I didn't think I needed to watch the entire MTV First 24 hours, but considering that it just went directly from Robert Plant & Rockpile doing "Little Sister" to Kate Bush "Wuthering Heights" I may need to rethink that.

How did something that started out so right go so terribly wrong?

Quote

How did something that started out so right go so terribly wrong?

That's easy!
At startup, the future of the concept was uncertain and few cable affiliates picked it up. They had little-to-no advertising revenue. Game labels saw it as an opportunity to promote acts that weren't already successfully promoted through traditional channels or that needed a little push. Hence, it was (somewhat accidentally) underground.

When it took off (and expanded exponentially) it became the de facto promotional outlet for all labels (of popular music). At that point the labels were able to get stingy about who had big budgets for videos (and you can thank Jacko for the spiraling budgets) and who would get their vid promoted. More importantly labels no longer had to give away their vids for free. MTV, in turn, had to seek major advertising and beacme Marketing Tele Vision.