MTV turned 30 years old at a minute past midnight today. After a voiceover saying,”Ladies and gentlemen: rock and roll!” and some promotional pieces, they overturned the music business with their very first video: The Buggles, and “Video Killed the Radio Star.”
Lyrics:
Video Killed the Radio Star
(The Buggles)I heard you on the wireless back in ’52
Lying awake intent at tuning in on you
If I was young it didn’t stop you coming throughOh-a oh
They took the credit for your second symphony
Rewritten by machine and new technology
And now I understand the problems you can seeOh-a oh
I met your children
Oh-a oh
What did you tell them?Video killed the radio star
Video killed the radio starPictures came and broke your heart
Oh-a-a-a ohAnd now we meet in an abandoned studio
We hear the playback and it seems so long ago
And you remember the jingles used to goOh-a oh
You were the first one
Oh-a oh
You were the last oneVideo killed the radio star
Video killed the radio starIn my mind and in my car
We can’t rewind we’ve gone to0 farOh-a-aho oh
Oh-a-aho ohVideo killed the radio star
Video killed the radio starIn my mind and in my car
We can’t rewind we’ve gone to0 far
Pictures came and broke your heart
Put the blame on VCR*You are a radio star
You are a radio starVideo killed the radio star
Video killed the radio starVideo killed the radio star
Video killed the radio starVideo killed the radio star
(You are a radio star)
Video killed the radio star
Video killed the radio star
(You are a radio star)Oh-a oh
Oh-a oh
Oh-a oh
Right on its heels, the incomparable Pat Benatar: “You Better Run.”
Lyrics:
You Better Run
(Pat Benatar)Whatcha’ tryin’ t’ do to my heart?
Whatcha’ tryin’ t’ do to my heart?
You go around tellin’ lies
And now you want to compromise
Whatcha’ tryin’ t’ do to my heart?
You better run!
You better hide!
You better leave from my sight! YeahWhatcha’ tryin’ t’ do to my soul?
Whatcha’ tryin’ t’ do to my soul?
Well everything I had was yours
And now I’m closin’ all the doors
Whatcha’ tryin’ t’ do to my soul?You better run!
You better hide!
You better leave from my sight! YeahI love you oh, I love you so
Can’t you see it? Don’t you know?
I can’t stand your alibis
Your tellin’ lies, you drive me wild! YeahI said, what are ya tryin’ t’ do to my head?
Said, whatcha’ tryin’ t’ do to my head?
Well now I’ve gotta draw the line
Cause you ain’t gonna take my mind!
What are ya tryin’ t’ do to my head?You better run!
You better hide!
You better leave from my sight!
You better run!
You better hide!
You better leave from my sight!
Let me go! YeahI said go away, and leave me alone!
I can’t stand you no more!
Moonrat , irrepressible but stubbornly non-blogging , still pops up on Twitter and Facebook from time to time. She did so today with a link to the Gawker site: a three-minute video history of MTV (not embeddable, alas), documenting the rise, decline, and further decline.
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* Some sites say that the proper abbreviation here is “VTR,” for “video tape recording” (vs. C-for-cassette). That’s probably more generic and hence maybe more “accurate,” i.e., it doesn’t put the blame on a specific technology. Commenters here seem to focus on a lip-reading, insisting that the singer clearly forms a T at that point. Okaaaaay… Either way works for me!
