At 12:01 AM August 1st 1981 MTV signed on.

[Myriads]

It's been 30 years, and they no longer play music videos, but once they defined a decades worth of music.

A fan had recorded the entire first 24 hours of the network and is posting it to youtube in 10 minute bites.
Here is the first, which will have breadcrumbs to find the rest if you want to rot your noggin on the sounds of long ago.

Happy Birthday MTV.

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Myriads

 

[Snail Shell]

<object width="425" height="349"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/0oCPNMZuWwI?version=3&hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/0oCPNMZuWwI?version=3&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="425" height="349" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true"></embed></object>

Fixed.

SS

 

[General Zod]

Besides me,who would call their cable company and say,hey.................I want my MTV? 😀

 

[Jagermeistered]

Hey Zod,

Did you have... Nevermind, like you would remember. 😛

 

[goddess_nemesis]

Man, it's hard to believe MTV is 30 years old. I wish it would go back to playing music videos.

 

[Jagermeistered]

Man, it's hard to believe MTV is 30 years old. I wish it would go back to playing music videos.

That's how I'm going to feel in November.

Oh, I think I still have the moves. 😛

 

[milagros317]

Man, it's hard to believe MTV is 30 years old. I wish it would go back to playing music videos.

I thought that only old people like me remembered when they played music videos instead of showing Real World reruns.

 

[SamuelKhan]

MTV as some of us knew it no longer exists. I was done with them when they canceled Headbanger's Ball. Some of us metal heads were at odds with them when they refused to play harder music in favor of the likes of Madonna, Culture Club, Wham!, and other schlock they tried to push on us, just like their friends in Top 40 radio. This also due to their sponsors frowning on the likes of Twisted Sister, Ratt, and Iron Maiden. This shelving of metal would prove futile when Dial MTV revealed what viewers wanted to see:

<object style="height: 390px; width: 640px"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/3WAZ60xA9wo?version=3"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/3WAZ60xA9wo?version=3" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowScriptAccess="always" width="640" height="390"></object>

Not a huge Crue fan. Every douche bag wannabe Tommy Lee in my local area jumped on a piano and "tried" to play the opening. No kidding. Just like every crap guitar reject had that George Lynch hair do. That's when I discovered Metallica, Anthrax, Slayer and the rest of the underground scene.

Another one of their infamous moments is their fetish for wrestling simply because Lou Albano was in a Cyndi Lauper video.

MTV had it's good moments...they introduced me to Rick, Neil, Vyvyan and Mike. Martha and Nina were true hotties. The original VJ's were the best. Their successors were absolute ass kissers.

Then Headbanger's Ball came along!
<object style="height: 390px; width: 640px"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/Z9q04dt9XSc?version=3"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/Z9q04dt9XSc?version=3" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowScriptAccess="always" width="640" height="390"></object>

I remember when Yngwie played that riff when he hosted it...that was cool.

Now it's nothing more than CRAP!

 

[General Zod]

Hey Zod,

Did you have... Nevermind, like you would remember. 😛

Did I have what..................... 😛

 

[Soda Bobinski]

Besides me,who would call their cable company and say,hey.................I want my MTV? 😀

Yeah , too much is never enough :

<object width="480" height="390"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/9tkpoeF9a2s?version=3&hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/9tkpoeF9a2s?version=3&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="480" height="390" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true"></embed></object>

 

[vazzy1000]

I always loved the fact that "Video Killed the Radio Star" was the first music video that they showed. Well played MTV, well played.