MTV is Music Television No More

News of MTV's rebranding today makes me feel old. After 20+ years, it's dropping the "music television" reference in the logo and just becoming MTV (see new logo on the right). Granted, they haven't been playing videos in years, but somehow this seems like the end of an era.



Now, I'm going to totally date myself here, but I have treasured memories of discovering MTV for the first time while visiting my parents' friends in Seattle, with their amazing cable package and big screen TV. This was probably around 1982 or 83. I loved music as a kid, and the addition of visual stimuli really grabbed my impressionable mind.



The format was simple -- music videos 24 hours a day/7 days a week. I don't want to do the entire stroll down memory lane, as that's what Wikipedia does, better than I could. MTV was a critical cultural influence (besides mainstream video, remember 120 minutes, Yo! MTV Raps, Headbangers Ball, and animated features like Liquid Television, Beavis and Butthead, Aeon Flux, and Daria?), and while it still is, the goal and focus of their programming has really changed.

So I guess it shouldn't come as a total shock that MTV would want to get a new image for a new decade, and a new generation. But it makes me a little misty-eyed to see the MTV that I knew go the way of the do do. And that makes me feel really old.

MTV's first video was the Buggles' "Video Killed the Radio Star" and apparently, now the Video Star is dead too.




Peace out, Music Television.