I was 4 years old, my sister was to be born in 20 days. My dad came up to my room to get me and bring me down to the TV room to watch the premier of MTV. It was a few minutes til midnight. I remember looking at the clock and seeing how blurry it looked to me. I sat on my huge, soft green/brown couch with my dad and MTV was born in front of our eyes. Video after video we watched, til about 2am. I fell asleep on the couch (after a spout of energy from dancing around the living room floor). I don't remember anything but the first video. I remember dancing for what seemed like hours though! :)

I don't remember when MTV premiered but I do remember what a cool video channel they were. You could sit there all day and see awesome videos one after another........now you are lucky if you see one a day :( They still play videos don't they?

I was living in England at the time, and we didn't even have cable TV let alone MTV! I can remember hearing about it from other kids who came to our school and told us all about the BITCHIN' cable TV channel that played all music, all the time...My how times change. No, Not Man..MTV is no longer Music Television. It is crap now, and (maybe do to my age) VH1 seems to play more Videos than MTV... ~Rain

I too have found myself watching VH1 more than I ever have. I really enjoy Behind the Music and Where are they now?.

Many years ago, I heard a joke, about how to know if you are getting old. One of the things listed was "When VH1 becomes "cool", you are getting old" Does this mean we are getting old, VH1 is getting cooler or MTV just plain SUCKS now? <font size=+4 font color=red>EMPTY V!</font> is what I call it!

Whats even more depressing is when your favorite songs (some of them hard rock) are played on 'soft rock stations' and referred to as oldies. What I hate is these dj's and vj's today that don't have their band information straight. Thsi dumb chick fresh out of college was on the air last weekend. "And it looks like Van Halen is getting yet another lead singer ...first it was 'van halen' then it was Sammy Hagar... Screech um hello dumb chick it was DLRoth!!! This is the same dumb chick that thinks Free Falling was Tom Petty's debut album but it is sooooo insulting. Canada didn't get a 24 hour video station until a year after mtv and it was considered a 'pay channel so I still didn't get it. So I had to live with Friday Night videos and staying with friends but thats all I used to watch when I got the chance - it sucked you in all those lovely images. : )

I agree RT...Mtv is crap..but VH1 is damn good with their Behind The Music episodes! VH1 is much more interesting and oriented towards the "older" generation..whereas MTV caters to the gangsta wanna be's roaming the malls! LOL

I am getting older (34) but <font size=+2 font color=yellow>MTV STILL SUCKS!</font> :)

Empty V! hahaha If there was an MTV forum here, that's what I would call it.. hehehe Ahh, let's see.. I agree, Rain Taylor.. Oh, and about the girl from MTV. Yeah, what a nut. Van Halen. hehe Why bother? And Tom Petty. hehe Another one.. She's gotta get her facts straight. I bet MTV is run by all people who don't even know she made the mistakes... Well, I don't watch much TV but VH-1 is what I watch when I do and I am 28.. MTV is nothing anymore. And it IS aimed at the 'gangsta' wannabe's...

I have nothing against rappers or the people who listen to it but I definitely think rap played a huge part in making most of the 90s a really dark period in the music that was being pumped out.

I agree. I even like some hip-hop but not a real lot. It helped change things to what they are now. Especially our biggest radio station Hot 97. It changed from dance to rap and everyone followed in its footsteps...

My favorite radio station out of Toronto that I listened to religiously in the mornings went from top40 to NEWS! It was so sad. Tom Rivers did this amazing morning show, with skits and tunes that made it not so bad to get out of bed and go to school in minus 30C weather. : )

I know how that feels.. When my ex and I first moved in together, there were these morning show people on our favorite radio station and they were really great. Then one day it was just gone. It actually takes alittle something out of your day...

I definitely agree with you there Zel...rap DID play a large part in the dark days of music. I don't have anything against it or the people who listen to it..I don't like it..and what I really don't like is when young white teenagers in suburbia attempt to be gangsta wanna bes. It is almost a mockery in a way of the black culture...AND people should be THEMSELVES..not something else. I don't know what the problem is with our world..many people are too afraid to be themselves.....

Skyklad I couldn't agree more. I was dating this guy in 92 and what turned me off more than anything was his copying of african-american gangsta talk. It was a huge turn off because he knew nothing of the culture from which all this music came from. I think music always reflects the sign of the times in what is going on within the global or national scheme and yes it was a dark period but some of the situations going on in areas of North America were and I imagine still are pretty brutal. It just really dampened the sound that I grew and loved in the 80s. I had heard a person at one time suggest that the music from the 80s was in total denial of reality because our reality until 89 was so unsure. The cold war was at its peak, we witnessed terrorist bombings, and hijackings - Music was an escape. I always loved Alphavilles song Forever Young but the words now are really haunting as to the uncertainty of our future. and On that note.... I'm going to look for that MP3 lol.

I agree with the both of you. There are serious problems within the white race right now.. Atleast in America. Black people have alot of pride in who they are. This is very much unlike white people. White people who like rock 'n roll, to me anyway, show the most pride in who they are. The dance community sometimes seems to admire the Latin community. I think the best dance music comes from Latin people (these are my opinions only) and I think the best R&B/Hip Hop comes from the Black community. Each has their own specific groove. Rock 'n Roll belongs to the white community. I'm not exactly sure why so many white kids want to be black. I suppose they see how much pride they have and want to feel that too - but what kind of an answer is that? Maybe some people feel the need to act like black people in order to show they are not prejudice.. This is also the wrong approach... Life is odd...

cultural bifurcation I think is why. Regardless of race, ethnicity or culture all kids have problems and I think for many the cohesiveness of gang members and the brotherhood portrayed in movies and music is a little of what everykid is looking for. Instead of finding it their own way they look to merge into another culture. I could be wrong here but kids in the early 90s seemed to be having a huge identity crisis and so were the 20 somethings otherwise we never would have had grunge lol.

I think there should just simply be a Rock 'n Roll monster (!!) that comes around and SMASHES everyone into smitherines and only stops when people agree to like Rock 'n Roll again! :p

LOL that goes right back to the muppets! remember that big hairy guy that would come and trash the band - lol Yes definitely but then we'd have nothing to complain about either. We need the crappy music to show people how great eighties music IS. : )

I really enjoyed this conversation, and have kept out of it...and now I don't even have solid thoughts on the matter. I think we should move this section to a "Culture" section...but hey, what's begun has begun. Anyhow, culture is weird. A korean child grows up in texas with a hillbilly accent and has a rebel flag on her pick up, a black boy grows up in New York and dresses in jeans, dyes his hair blue, and wears glitter eye shaddow and listens to industrial/trance. I grew up in S.FL, had friends of all economic standings, knew whities that thought they were black. I couldn't stand them at the time, but I realized that they grew up in predominently black neighborhoods where all their friends spoke with black/gangsta lingo. They knew nothing but that, and their parents didn't care. It is not sad, it is just culture...mostly based on economy. I grew up low/middle class, and had a mom that cared how I pronounced things, and I went to private school the first few years of my life, where I learned to read. Just a different culture. Culture fascinates me. I love rock and roll, I love freestyle, I love rave/trance, and I love classic rock. I dressed like a glammer, like a hick, like madonna, and eventually...like myself. I think all these people are going to figure out who they are in time. It sometimes takes mimicing others to learn about yourself. Like a child mimics their parents until he/she forms an identity, style, and even speech pattern. Influences are everywhere, some wear them well...others become them one at a time so they are never consistant. I think at one time, everyone was this chameleon...changing with the wind...but that was our growing years, our middle school and late elementary school years. Some develope faster than others and grow into their identity quick. I have seen so many different people grow. I still live in the same city I was born it...and I am a people watcher. It fascinates me. None of you are wrong by the way...these are my opinions as you have yours. I respect everyones' opinions. I sometimes love life...a lot.

Well, that's tru, Zel.. Ooops, I just hit enter and now I have to edit this to add to that message. ahh Okay ,hehe. yes, Zel, that makes plenty of sense.. And Mirdonamy - your opinions are welcome as are everyones.. This probably should be moved to a culture section but I couldn't just take these messages and I'm not sure how to fit a culture section in this 80's site.. If you have any ideas, let me know.. The only problems I have with this whole RAP genre and how all these white kids are acting like they lived in the ghetto is the fact that they didn't. They lived with their white parents in their white neighborhoods and all spoke a certain way until a few years ago. Now, they all talk with a different accent and act out and do things that they here in music. The biggest influences in their lives, a few years ago, were Dr. Dre, Snoop Doggy Dogg, Easy E, and some others. Their music talked about shooting their enemies, selling drugs, and treating women like garbage (since their only bitches anyway, right?).. I've been watching these young guys (all my brothers friends) turn their lives into crap because they wanna be just like Dre and Dogg, etc.. My Brother got busted for selling Cocaine to a cop and a few of the others are under investigation for selling drugs to a young boy who died.. These are only a few examples..... I don't dislike any particular kind or person or culture. But I do lack some respect for the young kids who want to mimic the lives of rap stars who speak about 'slinging rocks' (selling cocaine) and 'slappin bitches'.

I think out of all the discussions so far I have enjoyed and gotten the most out of this one. Thanks all of you!

Me too... I love to talk about serious issues because it really helps everyone let out their opinions and learn what their peers think as well. Now that I think of it, I don't really notice any other music genre that really talks about drugs and women as badly as rap does. I see what you mean Sal. I know music is one of the most influential forces on the planet. You can't get your friend to dance, but the music will make him/her start tappin. Lyrics are so important. They need to be meaningful or non-existant. I love fun, silly lyrics...because the meaning behind them is "Lets have fun and be silly." Rappers should really send good messages, because the majority of the people who listen to rap are people that need good influences in their lives. Our parents were okay/good parents so we turned to metal/glam for rebellion...but that was just party music anyhow. I don't know...maybe I am all wrong. But, it does seem like writers need to focus their lyrics a little better. In their personal diaries...they can write whatever the hell they want to.

Sal, I think a good place for a culture section would be under 80's style. I think style stands for a lot more than clothing, especially in the 80s. What do you think?

Hey M..I agree totally...but I'm sure if either one of us were HUGE rap fans that we'd be able to explore the rap underground...becuase there..just like in the metal underground bands can be found that sing about positive things as well. I think the society focuses too much on the popular and mainstream stuff..which just because of shock value gets more attention. My parents do not understand that some of my favourite metal bands (Tourniquet, Believer, Deliverence, Mortification, Nuclear Assault..etc...) actually send out positive messages..just as in the rap community there are artists out there spreading positive messages...ie, Nonchalant..or some spelling like that...I do not like rap one bit..but in each culture and in each style of music there is the good and the bad. We as humans need to focus more on the good...it is difficult at times. Like when I was attending a METAL show and saw all these baggy panted gangsta wanna be's there..that was disturbing..but now I should hope that they will possibly see the strength and power in metal and won't have to conform to what society says you should wear. In US it seems that people are very weak minded..the younger generation seems more led than is able to follow. Maybe I'm not making much sense but I need to be out of here in 2 minutes so I'm trying to hurry. Hopefully some of what I'm trying to say has made it through in this jumbled message..LOL

Everything that everyone's been saying makes plenty of sense.. It's just a shame that in the 80's we were rebellious listening to Heavy Metal that didn't have so much negative to it. Atleast not mainstream.. Mainstream rap, atleast when I heard it all the time because of my Brother, was very bad. Dr Dre, Snoop, Easy E - all huge.. All negative.. Anthrax.. What a horrible name.. What crap! Well, check out some of their lyrics... Metallica? Ever listen to the words in Master of Puppets? Death? Oh no, how could that be anything worth listening to? Well, anyways.. I can't make a subsection in the 80's Style area - so would you like to continue this over there? I have a feeling that if we just try to continue it, it'll die. Maybe I should just make a Culture section in general. Shall I? If so, what shall I call it? Culture - Past & Present? I wonder if it would even be active... Let me know! :) Your wish is my command... Well, sought of. :)

Anthrax: "Think! Before you speak or suffer - for your words! Learn! To give respect that others give to you..." Metallica; Master of Puppets (About drugs) Master Of Puppets End of passion play, crumbling away I'm your source of self-destruction Veins that pump with fear, sucking darkest clear Leading on your deaths construction Taste me you will see more is all you need you're dedicated to how I'm killing you Come crawling faster obey your Master your life burns faster obey your Master Master Master of Puppets I'm pulling your strings twisting your mind and smashing your dreams Blinded by me, you can't see a thing Just call my name, `cause I'll hear you scream Master Master Just call my name, `cause I'll hear you scream Master Master Needlework the way, never you betray life of death becoming clearer Pain monopoly, ritual misery chop your breakfast on a mirror Taste me you will see more is all you need you're dedicated to how I'm killing you Come crawling faster obey your Master your life burns faster obey your Master Master Master of Puppets I'm pulling your strings twisting your mind and smashing your dreams Blinded by me, you can't see a thing Just call my name, `cause I'll hear you scream Master Master Just call my name, `cause I'll hear you scream Master Master Master, Master, Where's the dreams that I've been after? Master, Master, You promised only lies Laughter, Laughter, All I hear and see is laughter Laughter, Laughter, laughing at my cries Hell is worth all that, natural habitat just a rhyme without a reason Neverending maze, drift on numbered days now your life is out of season Come crawling faster obey your Master your life burns faster obey your Master Master Master of Puppets I'm pulling your strings twisting your mind and smashing your dreams Blinded by me, you can't see a thing Just call my name, `cause I'll hear you scream Master Master Just call my name, `cause I'll hear you scream Master Master

I remember the first week it was on. Videos from Buggles, Meatloaf, Tom Petty etc. I use to wait all week and sit up all night to watch "Headbanger's Ball." That was back when the "M" in MTV meant music and people still played instruments instead of sampled computer loops.

MTV was so awesome when I was even younger than I am now, currently 18. VH1 always played really soft or old material, and I never liked it. However, slowly MTV began to change, and when they stopped showing LiquidTV I knew it was over. Now, it caters to young teen girls, and people who listen to rap. They try to have sitcoms like a normal network, but they all are terrible, and teens only watch them because MTV is "cool," or so they still think. VH1 has moved to carry the baton MTV dropped with a disturbing thud, but it just isn't the same. It's sad really.
-Kevin

Hey, Whats up with MTVedioless, Im 31, not a baby dude, not an 'ol geezer either. I dont even care about watching MTVanish. Ill say this just once- MTV was cool one long and lonely time ago. Sure, Im a child of the 80s and proud of it, The 80s was sweet! All 10 of those symp band,spandex wearing, bandana around your leg, op, Hobie T-Shirt, Miami vice watchin, long haired, nasty new coke great years~

Now we have people out there who "Rap" yea, wrap there hands around your neck and wallet. They make millions by saying that they have all the cash and your a poor loser!

They say thats music? They cheerfully lay it on you that they have all the Bling , Bling and you anent got a dam thang! They call that a song, They express with great delight that they smacked yo momma in the mouth and took ya ho cause thay got da cash money and yo a** is po' , Whats up with that?? Thats not music and they say they can sing Dog! Well I wish at the least they would try it in tune!!

The 80s were the best of times and if you dont agree then maybe your abit to strung,I mean young or your one of those losers who paid for that wonderful singer, master of song writers and no instrument playing fool who took yo ho!