Best Video Aired On MTV's First Day - The Poll

my family took a road trip in august of 81 to visit friends who had moved to ohio. they were housesitting for their neighbors next door. their neighbors had cable. and the newly minted mtv. my brother and i didn't see much of ohio that trip. i'm sure it is lovely though.

Blotto, of course.

"I Want To Be Lifeguard" deserves it's own thread.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6KhXbtUldqg

Man, indie rock is fucking BORING now. Why doesn't my generation get a Blotto? Why does Scotto get Blotto and we get Band Of Horses?

Spoke too soon! Blotto's still around!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DeCrv6McT9Q

Best video: "Once in a Lifetime"
Best song: hell also probably "Once in a Lifetime"

do love that Blotto song, though. And "We Don't Talk Anymore" is so underrated.

Where the hell is Rainbow's "All Night Long" on this list, though? I swear I saw that video a half-dozen times when VH1 Classic did that re-airing of MTV's first 24 hours thing. Also that Rockestra! video with Paul McCartney, Pete Townsend and just about everyone else from rock history.

This list makes me miss MTV -- and my youth -- a lot.

"Ashes to Ashes" is my fave video ever, so that. Runners up: "Rapture" and "Once in a Lifetime."

yeah "Ashes" or "Rapture" or "Once In A Lifetime" probably the latter for me.

1981 was the first summer I lived in New York and a lot of the city wasn't wired for cable yet so we couldn't actually get MTV but my parents out in Ohio were on the "Qube" and they had it. Couple years later my mom -- a devotee of PBS Masterpiece Theatre etc etc and lifelong non-fan of rocknroll -- confessed that she "secretly" watched MTV during the day and thought that Boy George and Thompson Twins were "cute."

fascinating playlist, among other things confirming my memory that early 80s AOR was pretty much the pits of pop history. reo speedwagon were a menace to society.

Yeah, it's weird, Madison, WI had MTV immediately, and I guess it took a couple more years to get to Minneapolis and other bigger cities.

"Once in a Lifetime" = one of my favorite videos ever.

A fight between "Video Killed The Radio Star", "Ashes To Ashes" and "Once In a Lifetime". I cannot see any other video being able to get a lot of votes here, at least not if the video itself counts more than the music.

Voted for Talking Heads.

I realise "Rapture" has a following too, but, hey, the video is nothing special, is it?
Personally I don't like the song either, but I know most hip-hop fans will do.

My brain says "Once In A Lifetime" but my heart says "Brass In Pocket" for that part where all the guys in the band point at the SPECIAL.

xpost they will?

Not the best, but when was the last time you heard Robert Palmer's awesome "Looking For Clues"?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1S9Or_bEGQI

Once In A Lifetime is the obvious ringer here, but that's not stopping me from voting for Take It On The Run.

Rupert Hine had a solo hit?

Love how early MTV was hung up on obscure Rod ("Ain't Love a Bitch"!)

Voted for "Ashes to Ashes."

"ooooooooooooooooooooooo he's here again...!"

I have never heard of:

"Little Susie's on the Up" by Ph.D.
"Savannah Nights" by Tom Johnston
"Lucille" by Rockestra
"Remote Control/Illegal" by The Silencers
"Hold On to the Night" by Bootcamp
"Victim" by Bootcamp

Not that I could hum those Lee Ritenour or Michael Stanley Band songs. But I've at least come across their names. Apparently I should know that Rockestra thang. What about the others?

There are some fascinating if not downright goofball juxtapositions here despite MTV's racist ass programming. Yeesh - I wonder how the ride from Carly Simon to Iron Maiden went. And I never saw any Robin Lane or Shoes videos on MTV despite being a pretty early and freakishly religious viewer. And Kate Bush too not that I think of it.

Or perhaps BECAUSE of MTV's racist ass programming...

Thank You for Being a Friend" by Andrew Gold

what will become "The Golden Girls" theme?

Why doesn't my generation get a Blotto?

Your generation does get a Blotto...they're called The Spinto Band
http://youtube.com/watch?v=4qzVyaCq_LE

Love how early MTV was hung up on obscure Rod played the 60 music videos that existed.

"Iron Maiden" by Iron Maiden. DUH!

Rod Stewart benefited greatly by making over 20 videos before the advent of MTV

Haven't seen 65% of these, haven't heard of 15% of these, probably would find nothing of interest in seeing Robin Lane and Shoes and Nick Lowe even tho the songs are fine, and everybody knows "Once In A Lifetime" is gonna win anyway. But what the best ones here (like Bowie and Talking Heads) demonstrate is how much cooler videos were when they were actually shot on video.

Also: Didn't MTV get around to "Bohemian Rhapsody" on the first day?

white people lolz

It took three years for MTV to play videos by black people, remember.

("Rat Race" was apparently white enough though)

one step ahead...of all the early MTV vids, that was the one that haunted me during my childhood.

Alfred, I think "Ain't Love a Bitch" was a Top 20 or 30 hit.

vote for tusk. sexy stevie doin twirls, usc marching band and beardo lynds coked out at dodger stadium.

I think "Ain't Love a Bitch" was a Top 20 or 30 hit.

it peaked #22 -- second-tier, no?

tusk 2nd-ed.

baker street, honorable mention to we don't talk anymore

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

Did any videos by black people exist back then? I'm sure MTV would've played them if there were.

I am a bit surprised they didn't play "Accidents Will Happen", "Fade To Grey" or "Vienna" on that first day. I mean, considering how few videos existed at all in mid 1981, one would at least have expected them to play all the best ones.

Kate's like almost nakies in "Man with the Child in His Eyes"!

Had to go for Video Killed the Radio Star even though I hated the song at the time (I was an idiot). 'Once In A Lifetime' is so overplayed I couldn't bring myself to vote for it.

Did any videos by black people exist back then? I'm sure MTV would've played them if there were.

Of course. "Super Freak" is one notable omission. I'm sure there are hundreds more.

Also, it depends on how you're defining "video." Black artists were featured in Scopitones and well before that in short film subjects.

Assuming your post wasn't a joke, that is.

It wasn't.

^^let me not to the marriage of true minds admit impediments

Wrathchild

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