On 1 August 1981, a revolutionary new television channel made is debut on cable television networks across the country broadcasting a new art form called music videos. The first video was an appropriately named song “Video Killed the Radio Star,” by the Buggles. Music Television, or MTV as it became known, would fundamentally change the music industry by blending both visual and audio art forms and creating what would become a ubiquitous platform for new bands and performers to be discovered. Disco was losing its appeal, punk rock was flaming out, and plain old rock and roll had become stale. People were looking for something fresh and MTV would help give birth to what would become affectionately known as New Wave. Bands such as Duran Duran, INXS, U2, Billy Idol would owe much of their success to MTV. In an industry in which the visual was previously limited to album artwork, videos became as equally important as the music itself and soon all types of bands and performers would jump on the video bandwagon. An entire generation of American teenagers would sit anxiously with their VCRs poised to record their favorite videos. MTV would go on to pioneer the reality TV genre with shows like the Real World and would eventually depart from its music video roots. Nevertheless, for those of us who were teenagers during the hey day of MTV it was a magical time.
Tragedy and Farce 