When MTV Didn't Mean Moronic Television

I used to live for MTV. The channel's golden years perfectly dovetailed with the time period when I first really beacme a music nut; actually it helped to fan my obsession. I remember the first video I ever saw on the network ("Possession Obsession" by Hall & Oates, not exactly a classic, but still.) I remember beingdevastated when a lightning storm fried my cable on the day of Live Aid and I was forced to watch the coverage provided by the clueless networks. And, tellingly, I remember whining to anyone who would listen when the network began broadcasting a British sitcom called The Young Ones. Why would they take time away from showing my beloved videos to air this garbage? Wasn't this supposed to be Music Television? Little did I know what was in store.

Somehow, all the damage that the network has done since then hasn't quite erased my nostalgia for the good old days. I would religiously watch the Top 20 countdown to see who was moving up and down. I would laugh at the quaintness of "classic" clips like "Bohemian Rhapsody", never realizing that "cutting-edge" clips like "Hungry Like The Wolf" would soon look like antiquated relics themselves. And I would patiently wait for a "Sneak-Preview" video or, even better, a "World-Premiere Video".

Would you believe there was actually a time when MTV would run ads for when they wouldpremiere a brand new video? It's almost impossible to fathom now. And I remember how they advertised "Money For Nothing"and its computer animation as a must-see event.

For me, that song is the epitome of MTV in its heyday. Back when it could excitea music-lovingkid just by promising a new video was on the way. Back when it dared to play music for every audience, not just 12-year-old girls. Back when it could boost a veteran rock band like Dire Straits to ridiculous levels of stardom simply by airing a clip that was probably done on a Commodore 64 for a song that openly mocked the very network on which it played.

These days, innovation at MTV is measured by the levels of crassness to which it can sink. They even screwed up the Video Awards, which seemed like the last safe haven for music on the network.

Whenever I hear "Money For Nothing" these days, I think about how MTV once was, and how it always should have been. Of course, to watch the video, I have to go to You Tube. MTV wouldn't play it in a million years.