During the earlier days of MTV there was a lot of controversy that surrounded the network, but the use of music videos had a very large impact on our modern pop culture. Bands like U2, Duran Duran, and many other famous groups got their exposure through MTV. The use of music videos gave a visual aesthetic to music that went beyond the interpretation of the listener. It gave the audience a chance to see how the musician visualized their song.
I was also interested to hear about the impact of hip hop, and it this form of music was implemented through programming on MTV. Originally the hip hop show YO! aired at 2 a.m. because the network executives at the time were concerned about the impact of hip hop as seen through society at the time. That was until the YO! received incredible ratings, and MTV started airing it every day at 3 p.m.
What I really got from the podcast is how big a part music videos played as an art form, and how it transformed the music industry at the time. Famous producers like Michael Bay gained their initial notoriety from music videos. This visual aspect of musical storytelling through videos gave people like Michael Bay their start and their artistic expression, and he has gone on to make epic films including most recently the Transformers franchise.
When I was an adolescent I could count on being able to come home after school and watch music videos of artists like Live, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Nas, A Tribe Called Quest, and Green Day. This gave me the chance as a viewer and listener to appreciate music in a totally different way. In a way that incorporated the visual with the audio, and this gave me a totally new aesthetic feeling and appreciation for music. Even if the music video seemed weird, gothic, or off putting, these videos still gave me the ability to sense an artist’s song in the way they wanted it to be presented to the viewer. This allowed me to tap into feelings that couldn’t be achieved by just listening to the song. To me that is the beauty of music videos, and today the only place where I can see the videos I want is by watching them on Youtube. So it is sad to see how MTV has changed their programming because musicians and record companies today have less incentive to make music videos, an art form that ironically you barely get to see on a network called “Music Television.”
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