What the heck happened to MTV?? MTV used to be amazing!

As a teenager in the early 1980s, I used to spend half my time watching MTV- the music then was cutting edge and the videos were amazing (such as 'Sledge Hammer' by Peter gabriel, 'Take On Me' by Ah ha, etc).
Today, MTV....sucks (to be blunt)
Am I alone thinking that MTV is nowhere near as good as it was in the 80s?

Not much more to add - it sucks, and I haven't watched it since my early years in College - 15 years ago.

But, last time I saw it, it was just one "reality" show after another.... Very lame...

And sadly, VH1 is headed in the same direction.

These days, the "singer" need to look glossy, usually with gold-toned scenery in the background, and use an ice cream cone in a suggestive way and voila: Hit video.

Remember that dark haired pixie who was on there? What was her name? Man I was in love with her.

I don't think they even put music videos on anymore. I've only seen the reality shows whenever I've surfed over the channel. Remember _The Young Ones_? It's pretty boring now. I would come home from school and wait till 4pm when MTV would start broadcasting and watch the videos and they would have shows featuring live recordings of concerts, show the movies like The Wall, have "Music News" and Headbangers Ball. I remember being frustrated because they wouldn't show any hardcore punk rock, only new wave stuff.

and it became the MJ channel.

...no longer have cable, so I can't really weigh in on the current incarnation. I've heard they don't play music videos at all anymore, though. They just have truly stupid TV shows. Beavis and Butthead, anyone?

still says, "my name is cornholio". That is when he got moved to the bedroom away from the tv.

...too late comes to mind there. :)

simple as that

It was AWESOME! The videos were creative and interesting to watch and the variety of music was terrific! They played all styles - rock, pop, R&B, country, metal ... and everything in between. My friends and I were exposed to so many different kinds of music from new bands, old bands and even unsigned bands (on the show, "Basement Tapes").

Damn ... I miss those days on MTV. :-(

VH1 is even worse...

I WANT MY FUCKING MTV...BACK!!!

Some might argue MTV gave a platform to many one hit wonder bands- Possibly, but there were some truly stellar videos back in the early 80s-
I loved the music of the 1980s-
But in contrast, I found the music of the 1990s to be totally forgettable- Give me 1985 over 1995 any day....

Which bands and/or videos that you discovered during MTV golden age were your favorites?
A few of mine are

'Heat Of the Moment' by Asia
'Owner of a Lonely Heart' by Yes
'Shadows of the Night' by Pat Benatar
'Take On Me' by Ah Ha ('Family Guy' did a great spin on this video)
'Sledge hammer' by Peter Gabriel
'Shock The Monkey' by Peter Gabriel
'Abacab by Genesis (I'm a Genesis fan)
'Money For Nothing' by Dire Straights
'Jump' by Van Halen
'Photograph' by Def Leppard
'Rock Me Like A Hurricane' by the Scorpions
'Vacation' by the GoGos
'She Blinded Me With Science' by Thomas dolby
'Beat It' by Michael Jackson
'Billy Jean' by Michal Jackson
ANYTHING by Weird Al Yankovic (all his videos were funny)
'Goody two Shoes' by Adam Ant
'Video Killed The Radio Star by the Buggles (and the 1st video ever played on MTV)
'Do You believe in Love' by Huey Lewis and the News
'Change' by John Waite
'Down Under' by Men at Work
'Mexican Radio' by Wall of Voodoo
'Think I'm In Love' by Eddie Money
'Caught in In You' by 38 Special
'Never Gonna Give You Up' by Rick Astley

The list goes on....
Remember any of these videos from MTV?

Which were your favorites? I know I missed quite a few...

I was a huge Huey Lewis & The News fan in high school (class of 87')- now it astonishes me how few people in their 20s ever heard of him.

love is a battlefield/pat benatar
http://youtube.com/watch?v=j9J9rTZJBmw

billy jean/michael jackson
http://youtube.com/watch?v=YV9pLwZVmGk

easy lover/Phil Collins & Philip Bailey
http://youtube.com/watch?v=npoGEM1BbrY

One or the Unforgiven?

Some awesome stuff has migrated over there.

But the kids like the drama, so MTV gives you 24x7 drama. Blech.

I watched MTV religiously until Sammy Hagar's "I can't drive 55" video came out. My mom saw the scene where the old lady hits Sammy over the head in the courtroom, and that was the end of that.

Around 84' or 85', MTV had a contest where the winner won the chance to see Van Halen live, and hang out with the band back stage.
A few years back I read the account of the winner on what took place- Apparently the band was really nice to the winner, Eddie Van halen gave him a guitar, and David Lee Roth shared his groupies (quite a few apparently) and drugs with the winner.....
I entered that contest- but sadly lost! 8 (

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3MzShg7yXik

(may I be struck dead if this is a Rick Roll)

I agree. MTV used to be great. First video ever played on MTV was "Video Killed the Radio Star" by buggles, which stands the test of time.

there were some really imaginative early videos, considering the lack of money and technology- Ashes to Ashes by Bowie comes to mind.

i also love all the spike jonez videos. this is my favorite.

hey, you gotta love Walken!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R_yADcd7EUU

best video ever!!!

Whether it's music or movies or any form of artistic expression, the minute it gets promoted as a commodity it is doomed. As a music fan, I have enjoyed many forms of the art and always found the best outside the main stream outlets. I've seen purists turn against artists that became popular when there was no change in the artists style or presentation.

With respect to MTV, they are just selling advertising, they don't care what they program as long as it brings enough viewers to justify the commercial ad rates. I was a working fool when MTV started, more than a few years older than you, and I thought it was a great thing at the time. In some respects it was. Viewing it from a different frame of reference, it's just another distraction from what really matters and affects our lives.

Captain Obvious says of course MTV sux compared to what it was. Think of it like a drug dealer, you pull people in with cheap and amazing stuff and once they have a sense of brand loyalty or psychological or physical addiction, you yank the earth from under there feet and tell them the real cost or give them skunk weed.

That's my take on it.

.... Otherwise it's a bunch or really dumb reality shows. (Although at one time I was a really big fan of The Real World). The sub-MTVS (MTV Hits, VH1 Classic etc) show all the videos.

It's been awful for a long time.

vh1 seems to be the video channel these days

But back in those '80s days it was pretty amazing. I had such bigtime crushes on Martha Quinn and Nina Blackwood. Talking Heads had some great videos back then. (Here's one: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=st1lH8zcIuQ) ... it was a great time to find excellent tunes on TV!

...MTV was not worth watching. With nothing but pop-fluff crap and gangsta BS added with it. Of course with the internet dominating the promotion of actual music, its time for MTV to get off the air!!!