How MTV Shaped Gen X Culture Overnight

WEBVTT

1
00:00:10.679 --> 00:00:12.679
Welcome back to the gen X Experience. Thank you so

2
00:00:12.759 --> 00:00:15.000
much for joining me. This is the podcast where we

3
00:00:15.199 --> 00:00:19.079
rewind the memories, relive the culture, and celebrate what it

4
00:00:19.160 --> 00:00:21.559
meant to grew up in the nineteen seventies and eighties.

5
00:00:21.600 --> 00:00:24.679
I'm your host, Eric Thompson, and today we're dialing the

6
00:00:24.719 --> 00:00:30.440
time machine to August first in nineteen eighty one, a

7
00:00:30.519 --> 00:00:35.119
day that literally changed everything for a generation. Do me

8
00:00:35.159 --> 00:00:38.280
a favorite. Please share this friends and family, especially those

9
00:00:38.320 --> 00:00:45.719
who are part of the gen Xers generation. Those first words,

10
00:00:46.520 --> 00:00:50.920
you know, the ones the launched MTV. The first words

11
00:00:50.920 --> 00:00:57.799
were ladies and gentlemen, rock en roll, then a rocket launch,

12
00:00:57.880 --> 00:01:01.320
a man walking on the moon, and a brand logo MTV.

13
00:01:02.759 --> 00:01:05.519
Suddenly music wasn't just something you listened to with something

14
00:01:05.640 --> 00:01:11.120
you watched. I can remember it vividly because growing up

15
00:01:11.159 --> 00:01:13.920
in Iowa didn't have a lot going on on the

16
00:01:13.959 --> 00:01:17.760
television channel on the TV, and all of a sudden,

17
00:01:17.799 --> 00:01:24.079
there is this I want my MTV. Tonight, we're going

18
00:01:24.120 --> 00:01:27.799
to revisit the birth of MTV, the way it shaped

19
00:01:27.920 --> 00:01:33.280
our fashion, our language, our celebrities, and our entire culture,

20
00:01:34.200 --> 00:01:37.040
and maybe, just maybe we'll figure out why it mattered

21
00:01:37.079 --> 00:01:41.359
so much to us gen xers. So grab your remote,

22
00:01:41.480 --> 00:01:45.000
picture the giant wood frame TV in the living room

23
00:01:45.040 --> 00:01:48.560
and less rewind to when the music revolution came through

24
00:01:48.560 --> 00:01:55.519
our screens. Imagine it's midnight, October one, nineteen eighty one.

25
00:01:55.560 --> 00:02:00.439
Cable TV is still a novelty, only a few million

26
00:02:00.439 --> 00:02:06.079
households even have it. And then on this strange new

27
00:02:06.159 --> 00:02:09.919
channel comes an opening sequence featuring a space shuttle launch

28
00:02:10.719 --> 00:02:13.319
in the American flag on the moon, and then the

29
00:02:13.360 --> 00:02:18.560
words music television, the very first music video. What was it?

30
00:02:19.719 --> 00:02:23.800
Do you remember? Before I mind you, I did want

31
00:02:23.840 --> 00:02:25.400
to tell you that I was going to tell you

32
00:02:26.520 --> 00:02:30.400
where I was when Elvis Presley died, at least when

33
00:02:30.400 --> 00:02:33.599
it was announced on the news. I was in my

34
00:02:33.680 --> 00:02:37.000
house alone in Cory, Iowa, and it popped up on

35
00:02:37.039 --> 00:02:42.840
the screen breaking news Elvis Presley died. So I ran

36
00:02:42.919 --> 00:02:46.840
across the yard over to our neighbor's house named Pappy

37
00:02:47.639 --> 00:02:51.639
my Davis, having coffee with him. I said, Hey, Elvis

38
00:02:51.680 --> 00:02:55.520
Presley's dead, and the old guy looked at me and says,

39
00:02:56.240 --> 00:02:59.680
I don't give a blank about Elvis Presley. So there

40
00:02:59.680 --> 00:03:03.479
you go. That's where I was when the announcement came off. Okay,

41
00:03:03.520 --> 00:03:09.159
back to the very few. First music video was by

42
00:03:09.240 --> 00:03:16.080
the Bugles. Video Killed the Radio Star could not have

43
00:03:16.120 --> 00:03:19.360
been more perfect of a song. The irony was baked

44
00:03:19.400 --> 00:03:23.800
in music would never be the same again. At first,

45
00:03:23.919 --> 00:03:26.840
hardly anyone could see it. MTV was only available in

46
00:03:26.879 --> 00:03:30.840
small markets, mostly in New Jersey, so this was eighty one.

47
00:03:31.000 --> 00:03:33.879
I think we got it in Iowa like an eighty four,

48
00:03:34.759 --> 00:03:40.520
least in Marshalltown, so people weren't seeing it at first,

49
00:03:41.280 --> 00:03:44.319
But within months cable providers across the country were getting

50
00:03:44.360 --> 00:03:48.759
bombarded by teenagers chanting the new slogan, remember that I

51
00:03:48.840 --> 00:03:54.639
forgot the I want my MTV. Who was an I

52
00:03:54.680 --> 00:03:57.120
can see him, I can hear it, but that became

53
00:03:57.240 --> 00:04:01.280
the slogan of the song, can't believe I forgot the band.

54
00:04:01.319 --> 00:04:04.400
I'll figure out next time. And when we got it, Wow,

55
00:04:04.479 --> 00:04:06.800
it was addictive. For the first time we could see

56
00:04:06.800 --> 00:04:10.000
our famous bands performing in way ways radio could have

57
00:04:10.039 --> 00:04:13.599
never given us. It was the site sound style all

58
00:04:13.719 --> 00:04:19.639
rolled in won and you can for me, who are

59
00:04:19.680 --> 00:04:23.079
the first ones? The first videos that you can remember

60
00:04:24.160 --> 00:04:26.800
that you felt like, really blew them up in the

61
00:04:26.879 --> 00:04:31.319
market because he IMTV wasn't just playing songs, it was

62
00:04:31.360 --> 00:04:34.439
telling stories and made rock stars larger than live. Think

63
00:04:34.439 --> 00:04:37.519
about it. On the radio. You heard Michael Jackson right

64
00:04:39.279 --> 00:04:42.879
b MTV. You saw him dance, you witnessed the Moonwalk,

65
00:04:43.399 --> 00:04:47.279
you felt the spectacular, the spectacle of Thriller. And without

66
00:04:47.319 --> 00:04:51.240
timby MTV, Michael might have been big, but without but

67
00:04:51.360 --> 00:04:55.600
with MTV he became a global phenomenon. Same way with

68
00:04:55.680 --> 00:04:59.800
Twisted Sister, I believe, the same way for me, Ozzy

69
00:05:00.000 --> 00:05:04.240
Osbourne and and Dawkin and Van Halen and all these

70
00:05:04.240 --> 00:05:08.160
people went from being genre music to being with video

71
00:05:08.920 --> 00:05:11.800
seen by everybody who was just watching MTV that just

72
00:05:11.959 --> 00:05:17.279
mixed the different genres together. Same way with Madonna. Madonna

73
00:05:17.319 --> 00:05:23.000
couldn't still can't sing well. Her videos weren't just songs,

74
00:05:23.879 --> 00:05:26.639
they were her performances. And of course as she pushed

75
00:05:26.639 --> 00:05:30.079
the boundaries and shaped fashion, all of a sudden, the

76
00:05:30.120 --> 00:05:33.800
little teenage girls had they could visualize it. They could

77
00:05:33.879 --> 00:05:36.519
see what she was singing about and the identity that

78
00:05:36.959 --> 00:05:41.399
Madonna was selling. And unfortunately every teenage girl wanted lace

79
00:05:41.439 --> 00:05:46.680
gloves and teased their hair. Duran, Duran, big one there.

80
00:05:46.800 --> 00:05:50.800
MTV gave us them. Riding boats across Sri Lanka, Prince

81
00:05:50.839 --> 00:05:54.759
turned funk into pure cinema and even weird arts of

82
00:05:54.839 --> 00:05:59.480
videos that made you scratch your head start keeping you

83
00:05:59.560 --> 00:06:03.240
glued to the screen because you're like, what are they saying?

84
00:06:03.439 --> 00:06:07.160
Who are these people? Music wasn't just about sound anymore.

85
00:06:07.199 --> 00:06:15.680
Imagine was everything. MTV was the amplifier. I'm sorry. Image

86
00:06:15.759 --> 00:06:21.480
was everything and MTV was the amplifier. But see, MTV

87
00:06:21.560 --> 00:06:27.480
didn't just change music, it changed us. Try to picture

88
00:06:28.160 --> 00:06:31.120
what was life like before MTV and your neck of

89
00:06:31.160 --> 00:06:38.759
the woods. I never watched television. Maybe Saturday Morning cartoons,

90
00:06:39.639 --> 00:06:42.879
maybe a Cubs game with my dad. I just wasn't

91
00:06:42.920 --> 00:06:46.319
something that was a big interest to me. I think

92
00:06:46.360 --> 00:06:49.959
Friday Night had the horror movies, but you know, like

93
00:06:50.040 --> 00:06:55.519
a Frankenstein nineteen fifty version. So television wasn't a draw

94
00:06:55.600 --> 00:06:58.959
to me. And because I was playing baseball, running around,

95
00:06:59.040 --> 00:07:01.519
riding bikes, going to the mall, all over the place.

96
00:07:02.279 --> 00:07:04.600
But then all of a sudden, if I had some

97
00:07:04.759 --> 00:07:07.160
downtime or I created downtime, I would sit there and

98
00:07:07.240 --> 00:07:14.680
watch Ozzy and then eventually def Leppard and Queen Strike

99
00:07:15.199 --> 00:07:21.959
and Iron Maiden and do O and all these guys,

100
00:07:22.319 --> 00:07:25.600
and I started spending more and more time because Suddenly

101
00:07:25.680 --> 00:07:30.040
fashion trends were coming straight through the TV. Hair sprayed

102
00:07:30.600 --> 00:07:36.000
sky high, neon colors, ripped jeans, leather jackets. We didn't

103
00:07:36.040 --> 00:07:37.959
just hear the music. We wanted to look like the

104
00:07:38.040 --> 00:07:42.600
people making the music. It also shaped our language where

105
00:07:42.639 --> 00:07:47.319
it's like totally rad and awesome, spread through J VJ

106
00:07:47.759 --> 00:07:50.480
banter and the shows that surrounded the videos. Remember they

107
00:07:50.519 --> 00:07:55.959
had the VJs, Martha Quinn and those guys. See, so

108
00:07:56.040 --> 00:08:00.560
they did the change. All of a sudden, local farm

109
00:08:00.920 --> 00:08:07.360
surrounded cities became start speaking the same as those in California.

110
00:08:07.480 --> 00:08:11.959
People started dressing the same clothing, clothing stores across the

111
00:08:12.000 --> 00:08:17.839
country carrying the same attire because we were all yeah,

112
00:08:17.879 --> 00:08:24.439
even Mark Goodman, Martha Quinn, Nina Black. I mean, the

113
00:08:24.519 --> 00:08:29.839
VJs became stars. They weren't just announcers. They they were

114
00:08:29.879 --> 00:08:33.759
our cool older siblings, introducing us to the next big thing,

115
00:08:34.039 --> 00:08:38.440
to where what's coming, what bands? Who to watch? I

116
00:08:38.519 --> 00:08:41.279
even had I played in a small band. I remember

117
00:08:41.320 --> 00:08:43.360
I even got my hair like Mark Goodman. But the

118
00:08:43.399 --> 00:08:46.600
problem is the girl left me too long with the

119
00:08:46.639 --> 00:08:48.720
stuff in my hair, and I shrunk up and looked

120
00:08:48.720 --> 00:08:50.559
like a mushroom. So I had to cut my hair off.

121
00:08:50.600 --> 00:08:55.000
So I've been there, done that, but it changed us.

122
00:08:55.559 --> 00:08:58.480
By the mid eighties, MTV wasn't just about music videos,

123
00:08:59.799 --> 00:09:03.320
game shows like Remote Control, and I'm at this point

124
00:09:03.960 --> 00:09:07.399
getting toward the graduating in eighty six, I was really

125
00:09:07.440 --> 00:09:12.039
focused on other things. But they started expanding and had

126
00:09:12.080 --> 00:09:16.759
groundbreaking reality TV with real World, animated, animated craziness like

127
00:09:16.799 --> 00:09:20.360
Beavis and but Had. MTV became a cultural hub and yes,

128
00:09:20.519 --> 00:09:23.879
even it even brought politics into our world with the

129
00:09:23.960 --> 00:09:26.879
Rock the Vote campaign, convincing young people that our generations

130
00:09:27.000 --> 00:09:33.279
generation's voice mattered. Now, the controversies with it course serve

131
00:09:33.279 --> 00:09:39.240
as controversies with MTV. It wasn't without its critics. Parents

132
00:09:39.240 --> 00:09:43.519
were horrified. Now see now that I'm older with grandkids,

133
00:09:43.639 --> 00:09:46.519
I'm not a big fan of MTV. I don't watch

134
00:09:46.679 --> 00:09:50.559
MTV and I wouldn't encourage anybody to watch it. So

135
00:09:50.639 --> 00:09:54.200
back then, parents were horrified. Preachers called it the Devil's channel,

136
00:09:54.240 --> 00:09:57.279
Politicians accused it of corrupting the youth. This is what

137
00:09:57.320 --> 00:10:01.240
we're hearing of TikTok today and certain so media platforms.

138
00:10:02.279 --> 00:10:06.120
Some music videos push boundaries of sexuality, violence, and rebellion

139
00:10:06.159 --> 00:10:09.759
in waste television that ever shown before Madonna's Like a

140
00:10:09.799 --> 00:10:14.159
Prayer video outrageous, Twisted Sisters, We're not going to take it,

141
00:10:14.919 --> 00:10:19.559
consider too aggressive. And then there was a debate about race.

142
00:10:19.600 --> 00:10:22.840
Early on MTV as criticized for playing mostly white rock

143
00:10:22.960 --> 00:10:26.080
artists of ignoring black musicians. That changed with Michael Jackson

144
00:10:26.120 --> 00:10:29.440
broke through with Billy Jean, and a sudden suddenly the

145
00:10:29.480 --> 00:10:32.399
floodgates opened. It's for artists like Prince Whitney Houston and

146
00:10:32.480 --> 00:10:38.399
run DMC controversy or not. MTV thrived and we gen

147
00:10:38.840 --> 00:10:45.960
xers ate it up. So why did MTV hit gen

148
00:10:46.200 --> 00:10:50.799
X so hard? Well, think about it. We were there

149
00:10:50.879 --> 00:10:53.399
already the latch key kids. If you want to hear

150
00:10:53.440 --> 00:10:56.559
the podcasts on that, you can go back and download it.

151
00:10:57.679 --> 00:10:59.559
And when we came home to empty houses, we turned

152
00:10:59.600 --> 00:11:01.600
on the T and then there was MTV, all of

153
00:11:01.600 --> 00:11:05.080
a sudden, our constant companion. It was our babysitter, our

154
00:11:05.159 --> 00:11:08.799
style guide in our soundtrack, right in front of our face.

155
00:11:11.120 --> 00:11:13.399
It gave us, like I said, a shared experience. Whether

156
00:11:13.440 --> 00:11:15.799
you lived in New York, Oklahoma or California, you knew

157
00:11:15.799 --> 00:11:20.279
the same videos, the same catchphrases, the same cultural movements.

158
00:11:21.080 --> 00:11:26.399
MTV United US as youth. In many ways, it trained

159
00:11:26.480 --> 00:11:28.840
us for the digital age. We got used to fast cuts,

160
00:11:28.879 --> 00:11:32.879
flashy edits, and three minute attention spans. MTV was the

161
00:11:32.919 --> 00:11:36.440
prototype for YouTube, TikTok and every visual platform that followed.

162
00:11:39.000 --> 00:11:43.960
So quick remind, Quick, Remind for some fast facts about

163
00:11:44.039 --> 00:11:50.080
MTV's early days. MTV again launched August first, nineteen eighty one,

164
00:11:50.159 --> 00:11:52.879
twelve one am. The first words ever spoken, Ladies and

165
00:11:52.919 --> 00:11:56.440
Gentlemen rock and roll. First video aired was video Killed

166
00:11:56.440 --> 00:11:59.519
the Radio Star by the Bugles or Buggles or whatever

167
00:11:59.519 --> 00:12:02.759
they were. Nineteen eighty three, more than seventeen million homes

168
00:12:02.759 --> 00:12:06.559
at MTV. Madonna, Michael Jackson, Duran Duram were among the

169
00:12:06.559 --> 00:12:09.759
first artists to skyrocket. Thanks to the platform and the

170
00:12:09.799 --> 00:12:12.559
catchphrase I want my MTV became one of the most

171
00:12:12.600 --> 00:12:15.399
successful aut campaigns of the decade. Not bad for a

172
00:12:15.519 --> 00:12:22.440
channel that started with only a handful of cable subscribers.

173
00:12:24.240 --> 00:12:27.080
Now before closing, let me talk to you gen xers,

174
00:12:29.840 --> 00:12:34.679
who are you using for your cell phone service? You're

175
00:12:34.679 --> 00:12:37.559
not using AT and T T mobile verizing because that's

176
00:12:37.600 --> 00:12:40.399
what we've always known, are you? You know they're taking

177
00:12:40.440 --> 00:12:43.480
the money and charging us too much. And using it

178
00:12:43.519 --> 00:12:45.639
for causes that a lot of us don't agree with.

179
00:12:46.799 --> 00:12:49.559
Let me give you a little Let me give you

180
00:12:49.600 --> 00:12:52.879
a little idea here on how you can save money

181
00:12:53.039 --> 00:12:56.919
without buying any phones or getting new phone numbers. You

182
00:12:56.960 --> 00:13:00.759
can switch to a company that's helping vets out. So

183
00:13:00.840 --> 00:13:04.759
do be a favorite. Go over to this website, get

184
00:13:05.000 --> 00:13:09.679
pure talk dot com, get p U r E talk

185
00:13:09.720 --> 00:13:13.000
dot com, get get pure talk dot com. And the

186
00:13:13.039 --> 00:13:19.320
thing is the technology allows us to stay. You can

187
00:13:19.360 --> 00:13:21.759
stay on the same five G network you're on now,

188
00:13:21.799 --> 00:13:26.320
the biggest one in the country. Keep your phone numbers,

189
00:13:26.399 --> 00:13:30.360
keep your phones go month to month, takes ten minutes

190
00:13:30.360 --> 00:13:33.679
to switch over, and the average family saves one thousand

191
00:13:33.759 --> 00:13:36.480
dollars a year. So you're you're saving money, keeping your

192
00:13:36.480 --> 00:13:40.919
phones and phone numbers, getting better customer service, supporting VET causes.

193
00:13:42.399 --> 00:13:48.480
Today's the day to do it. Start supporting VET causes

194
00:13:48.600 --> 00:13:54.200
and start supporting hardworking people because they help, like with

195
00:13:54.320 --> 00:13:57.000
Mike ro to help people get to go through trade

196
00:13:57.039 --> 00:14:01.200
schools and same same cover, same number of bars on

197
00:14:01.240 --> 00:14:05.039
your phone, same phone, same phone numbers, but average family

198
00:14:05.120 --> 00:14:07.399
keeps one thousand dollars a year and not sent to

199
00:14:07.440 --> 00:14:09.600
the cell phone company and you're not going to support

200
00:14:09.639 --> 00:14:13.279
cell phone companies that are against traditional American values. One

201
00:14:13.320 --> 00:14:16.440
more time, go to get pure p U r E

202
00:14:16.559 --> 00:14:19.600
Talk dot com and if you want to get your

203
00:14:20.000 --> 00:14:25.120
second month completely free, you write this down. This is

204
00:14:25.159 --> 00:14:32.399
your code second month completely free. It's f l S

205
00:14:32.639 --> 00:14:35.679
f r e E FLS free. That stands for for

206
00:14:35.799 --> 00:14:39.879
liberties Sake free. Get puretalk dot Com. Promo code is

207
00:14:40.039 --> 00:14:44.240
f l S free no spaces, second month completely free.

208
00:14:44.559 --> 00:14:47.480
Make the change today to Pure Talk out of Covington, Georgia,

209
00:14:47.639 --> 00:14:52.519
US based customer service veteran own veteran run save a

210
00:14:52.600 --> 00:14:55.679
thousand dollars a year on average without giving up anything.

211
00:14:55.799 --> 00:15:01.159
Month to month second month free, FLS free, f free

212
00:15:01.480 --> 00:15:03.320
is your promo code for second month free. All right,

213
00:15:03.399 --> 00:15:08.840
let's close here. So did MTV kill the radio star

214
00:15:08.960 --> 00:15:18.440
after all? Maybe not people still making albums, but definitely

215
00:15:18.480 --> 00:15:21.720
rewired how we experience music. For gen X, MTV was

216
00:15:21.799 --> 00:15:25.960
more than a channel. It was a lifestyle, a cultural

217
00:15:26.000 --> 00:15:30.039
connector in many ways, the soundtrack to our youth. When

218
00:15:30.080 --> 00:15:33.240
I think back, I can see those iconic logos flashing

219
00:15:33.279 --> 00:15:36.320
across the screen, the VJs laughing between the videos, the

220
00:15:36.399 --> 00:15:42.200
fashion disasters. Remember the mullet the Unforgettable premieres. MTV didn't

221
00:15:42.240 --> 00:15:46.840
just entertain us, it raised us. And while today's MTV

222
00:15:46.960 --> 00:15:49.440
barely resembles what we grew up with, the memories are

223
00:15:49.480 --> 00:15:52.840
burned into our gen X DNA Because once you saw

224
00:15:52.919 --> 00:15:57.000
Michael Jackson moonwalk across the screen or Madonna roll around

225
00:15:57.000 --> 00:16:00.559
the stage at the first MTV Awards, knew the world

226
00:16:00.639 --> 00:16:05.679
had changed and we got to witness it together. So

227
00:16:05.720 --> 00:16:09.039
I do thank you for listening to the gen X experience.

228
00:16:09.080 --> 00:16:11.039
Please share us with your friends and family. I set

229
00:16:11.080 --> 00:16:14.320
up a page for the gen xers up on Facebook

230
00:16:14.399 --> 00:16:17.000
or group if you want to join in. Let's grow this,

231
00:16:17.279 --> 00:16:20.399
Let's share the memories and have a little bit of

232
00:16:20.399 --> 00:16:26.159
fun with this with who I believe. I believe we're

233
00:16:26.200 --> 00:16:32.559
the best generation because we raised ourselves. We are the

234
00:16:32.600 --> 00:16:36.960
tenacious ones that fight on and our country needs us

235
00:16:37.039 --> 00:16:41.120
more than ever as the greatest generation for a lot

236
00:16:41.159 --> 00:16:43.879
of people. And then the Baby Boomers pass away, it's

237
00:16:43.919 --> 00:16:47.279
time for us to be available for a country that

238
00:16:47.360 --> 00:16:50.440
needs stability. That's my take on it. So thanks again

239
00:16:50.480 --> 00:16:52.840
for listening to the gen X experience that this episode

240
00:16:52.879 --> 00:16:57.039
brought to you. Back memories of glued to the television

241
00:16:57.080 --> 00:17:00.320
afternoons or waiting for your favorite video to them on.

242
00:17:01.759 --> 00:17:03.919
Share with your fellow gen xers, and don't forget to

243
00:17:03.960 --> 00:17:11.799
subscribe to Apple, Spotify, iHeart, wherever you get your podcasts from.

244
00:17:11.920 --> 00:17:15.880
Next week we'll head back to Saturday mornings. Don't forget

245
00:17:15.920 --> 00:17:19.240
next podcasts, we're gonna talk about Saturday mornings when cartoons

246
00:17:19.240 --> 00:17:23.720
of sugary cereal and action figures ruled our weekends until then.

247
00:17:23.799 --> 00:17:26.799
This is Ark Thompson reminding you that for gen X,

248
00:17:26.839 --> 00:17:30.799
the music didn't just play, It played on MTV. Take

249
00:17:30.839 --> 00:17:31.000
care