8 ms·

Younger HN readers won’t be able to understand this, but these were some good times, when we had MTV playing music videos all the time without all the silly rea

Younger HN readers won’t be able to understand this, but these were some good times, when we had MTV playing music videos all the time without all the silly reality shows and when the majority of the music video clips had a meaning, were relevant to the song and were well directed.

andrew_ 5y ago
I remember when The Real World first dropped, and after a few weeks VJs spent more time talking about what happened rather than new music. I knew that was the beginning of the end.
- nickthemagicman 5y ago
  I remember when Honey boo boo started playing on the learning channel. I think that marks the beginning of the end of the human race.
  - skeeter2020 5y ago
    Ah yes, I remember when "TLC" stood for The Learning Channel and "A&E" was Arts and Entertainment. Saw an ad for the Smithsonian Channel today and remarked "How long till the dumb down the content and rebrand as The S Network?"
    - nickthemagicman 5y ago
      Playing reruns of that 90's show Dinosaurs.
DashAnimal 5y ago
Younger and international HN readers*. Sorry just doing my part to make the English web less US-centric.
- gerdesj 5y ago
  Mate, get a grip 8) When you are a guest, then behave as such. HN is a US based website. When in Rome ...
- macksd 5y ago
  We had a similar phenomenon on MTV, which made up the bulk of the programming on channel 4, in New Zealand. Is it really that US centric? The UK has their own MTV programming too, don't they?
  - Freak_NL 5y ago
    MTV was definitely not a US-only affair. It was popular in the Netherlands too.
ethbr0 5y ago
9:00 into their first broadcast: "The music will continue nonstop"
trimbo 5y ago
I don't know if you remember this but MTV had very little variety with music videos, at least in those early years. I cannot tell you the number of times I saw "Little Red Corvette"[1] and "Jeopardy"[2] at a friend's house while he insisted on having MTV on for hours. Those songs are etched in my brain for life now. IMO MTV did a really good job of expanding beyond music videos, though I didn't personally watch it past Liquid Television. [1] - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v0KpfrJE4zw https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v0KpfrJE4zw [2] - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yAJNwPWVmNc https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yAJNwPWVmNc
- etempleton 5y ago
  I remember as a kid MTV being entirely music videos and I could watch until they looped to the one song I liked again. Then I remember as a teenager still being mostly music videos, or shows about music, but there were a few others like road rules and real world. And then by the time I was in college it was a channel almost completely devoid of music and that mostly played weird fake dating shows.
- smcl 5y ago
  This limited catalogue did lead to an interesting opportunity though - if you were competent enough and could produce an interesting video you could get a bit more exposure than you could otherwise expect. So things like "Mexican Radio"[0] by Wall of Voodoo emerged, not to mention "Dog Police"[1] by Dog Police. [0] - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eyCEexG9xjw https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eyCEexG9xjw [1] - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=78Y-1plYJuQ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=78Y-1plYJuQ
hellbannedguy 5y ago
The reality shows, and internet clip shows are brilliant on a business level though. All that mindless footage is basically free. You pay a handful of very replaceable hosts, and rake in the viewers. (I watch that show with Rob Dierdrik. (He is not talented enough for a spell check--sorry.) Yes--I find the videos amusing. The commentary is tiring, but I still like looking at Chanel West Coast. I don't think that woman has ever wore the same outfit? Her wardrobe closet must be huge, or they are donated clothes? Yes---I need a life.)
xorfish 5y ago
Look at this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=48bfKs5p4Ik https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=48bfKs5p4Ik Not that bad, but then you realize that there isn't a single cut in the video.
- Jedd 5y ago
  32 years earlier - Underworld filmed a similar length clip for Underneath The Radar [0] in a single cut. [0] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EVrVERNeCPE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EVrVERNeCPE
RickJWagner 5y ago
Yeah, those were great days. MTV was always on the tv at the bowling center, kids would hang around for hours. If somebody had a house party, MTV was sure to be on. It was a big part of growing up at the time.

andrew_ 5y ago

I remember when The Real World first dropped, and after a few weeks VJs spent more time talking about what happened rather than new music. I knew that was the beginning of the end.

nickthemagicman 5y ago
I remember when Honey boo boo started playing on the learning channel. I think that marks the beginning of the end of the human race.
- skeeter2020 5y ago
  Ah yes, I remember when "TLC" stood for The Learning Channel and "A&E" was Arts and Entertainment. Saw an ad for the Smithsonian Channel today and remarked "How long till the dumb down the content and rebrand as The S Network?"
  - nickthemagicman 5y ago
    Playing reruns of that 90's show Dinosaurs.

DashAnimal 5y ago

Younger and international HN readers*. Sorry just doing my part to make the English web less US-centric.

gerdesj 5y ago
Mate, get a grip 8) When you are a guest, then behave as such. HN is a US based website. When in Rome ...
macksd 5y ago
We had a similar phenomenon on MTV, which made up the bulk of the programming on channel 4, in New Zealand. Is it really that US centric? The UK has their own MTV programming too, don't they?
- Freak_NL 5y ago
  MTV was definitely not a US-only affair. It was popular in the Netherlands too.

ethbr0 5y ago

9:00 into their first broadcast: "The music will continue nonstop"

trimbo 5y ago

I don't know if you remember this but MTV had very little variety with music videos, at least in those early years. I cannot tell you the number of times I saw "Little Red Corvette"[1] and "Jeopardy"[2] at a friend's house while he insisted on having MTV on for hours. Those songs are etched in my brain for life now. IMO MTV did a really good job of expanding beyond music videos, though I didn't personally watch it past Liquid Television. [1] - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v0KpfrJE4zw https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v0KpfrJE4zw [2] - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yAJNwPWVmNc https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yAJNwPWVmNc

etempleton 5y ago
I remember as a kid MTV being entirely music videos and I could watch until they looped to the one song I liked again. Then I remember as a teenager still being mostly music videos, or shows about music, but there were a few others like road rules and real world. And then by the time I was in college it was a channel almost completely devoid of music and that mostly played weird fake dating shows.
smcl 5y ago
This limited catalogue did lead to an interesting opportunity though - if you were competent enough and could produce an interesting video you could get a bit more exposure than you could otherwise expect. So things like "Mexican Radio"[0] by Wall of Voodoo emerged, not to mention "Dog Police"[1] by Dog Police. [0] - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eyCEexG9xjw https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eyCEexG9xjw [1] - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=78Y-1plYJuQ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=78Y-1plYJuQ

hellbannedguy 5y ago

The reality shows, and internet clip shows are brilliant on a business level though. All that mindless footage is basically free. You pay a handful of very replaceable hosts, and rake in the viewers. (I watch that show with Rob Dierdrik. (He is not talented enough for a spell check--sorry.) Yes--I find the videos amusing. The commentary is tiring, but I still like looking at Chanel West Coast. I don't think that woman has ever wore the same outfit? Her wardrobe closet must be huge, or they are donated clothes? Yes---I need a life.)

xorfish 5y ago

Look at this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=48bfKs5p4Ik https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=48bfKs5p4Ik Not that bad, but then you realize that there isn't a single cut in the video.

Jedd 5y ago
32 years earlier - Underworld filmed a similar length clip for Underneath The Radar [0] in a single cut. [0] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EVrVERNeCPE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EVrVERNeCPE

RickJWagner 5y ago

Yeah, those were great days. MTV was always on the tv at the bowling center, kids would hang around for hours. If somebody had a house party, MTV was sure to be on. It was a big part of growing up at the time.