August 1, 1981: “Ladies and Gentlemen, Rock and Roll” (1 Viewer)

[zamboni]

first heard that one in '78 - i wasn't even 10 years old yet 

Rod’s stomach, spider eggs in Bubble Yum, and Mikey dying from pop rocks and soda were the trifecta for schoolyard entertainment.

 

[otb_lifer]

Rod’s stomach, spider eggs in Bubble Yum, and Mikey dying from pop rocks and soda were the trifecta for schoolyard entertainment.

don't forget Gere

 

[zamboni]

don't forget Gere

Right - that was a bit later for Gerebil though.

 

[otb_lifer]

Right - that was a bit later for Gerebil though.

still rounds out the Superfecta, no?

 

[BassNBrew]

First two hours of MTV programing.

Who was the first video?

OK...seems like a Tim countdown set list.

 

[zamboni]

Another vivid memory is the Sunday Bloody Sunday video at Red Rocks outside Denver. Was always enamored of the venue and finally got to see it last week when I was on  vacation in Colorado.

 

[Leroy Hoard]

first heard that one in '78 - i wasn't even 10 years old yet 

Ladies and Gentlemen, the daily award for best use of an emoji goes to:  otb_lifer.

 

[massraider]

Good read if you have the time:

Rock’s 40 Biggest MTV Moments

The first one I read that I was unaware of was this:

26. Axl Rose and Kurt Cobain Butt Heads at the 1992 VMAs

The schism between bombastic, misogynistic hard rock and socially conscious, ostensibly anti-corporate grunge was on full display at the 1992 VMAs — and who better to represent the opposing sides than Guns N' Roses and Nirvana? The beef began when Nirvana declined Axl Rose's offer to open for GN'R on tour, and Rose responded by slamming Kurt Cobain and his wife Courtney Love during a concert, calling the frontman “a junkie with a junkie wife.” He also suggested that “if the baby [Love and Cobain’s newborn daughter, Frances Bean] is born deformed, I think they both ought to go to prison.” The following week at the VMAs, Cobain and Love asked Rose to be Frances Bean's godfather. Not one for sarcasm, Rose wheeled around and told Cobain, “You better keep your wife shut, or I'm gonna take you to the pavement." Unfazed, Cobain looked at Love and shouted, “Shut up, #####!”

Cobain was great. I've met Axl, and he really has about the same sense of humor and self-awareness these days as he did in this story.  

 

[Tom Servo]

That video was shortly banned due mainly to the transvestite at the end. Didn’t fly very well back then with the suits.

[Austin Powers]
That’s a MAN, baby!

[/Austin Powers]

 

[woodstock]

Cobain's response is just...*chef's kiss*

I'm lol'ing just thinking about it. 

 

[woodstock]

still rounds out the Superfecta, no?

I was sure Barry Manilow was the guy who got his stomach pumped, but I came of age in the later eighties. 

 

[El Floppo]

I was sure Barry Manilow was the guy who got his stomach pumped, but I came of age in the later eighties. 

I'm sure he did, but that was a typical Tuesday, not part of urban mythology.

 

[woodstock]

I'm sure he did, but that was a typical Tuesday, not part of urban mythology.

Kilroy was there. 

 

[zamboni]

Kilroy was there. 

Speaking of, one of my favorite videos from the earlier years was this cheesy slice of Americana.

 

[woodstock]

Speaking of, one of my favorite videos from the earlier years was this cheesy slice of Americana.

I don’t even think I need to click that to know. Righteous song. 

 

[dickey moe]

Rod’s stomach, spider eggs in Bubble Yum, and Mikey dying from pop rocks and soda were the trifecta for schoolyard entertainment.

Come again? 

 

[Pip's Invitation]

I’ve always had a soft spot for Passion, one of the several Rod videos played on day one. Love the masterful bass work by little Phil Chen, who played on the aforementioned Jeff Beck’s Blow by Blow.

The first time I remember seeing Rod was when he performed Do Ya Think I'm Sexy on this TV special in 1979. And what I most remember was that Phil Chen was wearing a Phillies hat. 

 

[Pip's Invitation]

Rod’s stomach, spider eggs in Bubble Yum, and Mikey dying from pop rocks and soda were the trifecta for schoolyard entertainment.

Huh. That one never made the rounds at my school. 

 

[zamboni]

Rod’s stomach, spider eggs in Bubble Yum, and Mikey dying from pop rocks and soda were the trifecta for schoolyard entertainment.

Huh. That one never made the rounds at my school. 

Backstory 

 

[Ghost Rider]

I wish MTV and musicians would bring back videos. They were great.

Actually, there are probably more videos made now than back then.  Musicians everywhere make tons of them nowadays. They are all over YouTube. 

As great as MTV was back in the day, there is no point in them bringing back videos when you can find almost all of them on YT with a few clicks of a mouse.  

 

[northern exposure]

Was it a Rod Stewart video? Seemed like he was played all the time on that channel.

I heard a podcast about the start of MTV and there was a worry that there weren't enough videos being made to support the concept. They had to rely on a lot of videos made by European artists because they had been making short films of their songs for a while before MTV launched. I heard how many of the first videos on MTV's first day were by Rod Stewart, but can't remember. Maybe 15?

(ETA- I see simey had the correct number of 16 later in the thread).

 

[northern exposure]

btw, for those of us who didn't have cable (we didn't 'til the move to Queens in '86), channel 4 up here (NBC) ran a gig called "Friday Night Videos" ... came on 'round midnight, iirc - so, essentially "Saturday Morning Videoes", but who's counting. 

no veejays - just a narrator dude who dropped tidbits - it was what it be. 

dunno if the Kenney Everett Video Show predated it, but that show was a glorious mess of epic proportion (also on channel 4) - do you kids know from Sid Snot & Captain Kremmen?

I remember this and in Canada we had a video show called "Good Rockin' Tonite" that launched in 1983 to compensate for our lack of MTV. We then got our own music video channel ,MuchMusic in August of 1984.

 

[northern exposure]

I found Pop Up Videos interesting with the factiods popping up as the video played. But, I guess that was on VH1.

 

[woodstock]

I found Pop Up Videos interesting with the factiods popping up as the video played. But, I guess that was on VH1.

Same corporate entity, though, I think. Viacom. It was billed as the "adult" video channel, which was not to say it was more salacious, but simply offered different programming in the sense of musical taste.