Pop Culture Reunion: MTV's Original VJs Now Promoting New Book

This week (on Wednesday, May 8, 2013), at a Barnes & Noble store in Tribeca (New York City), four of the original five MTV VJs will be in town for a book signing to coincide with their new book "VJ: The Unplugged Adventures of MTV's First Wave" (specifically, Martha Quinn, Mark Goodman, Nina Blackwood, and Alan Hunter ... unfortunately, the last of the original five, J.J. Jackson, passed away the evening of March 17, 2004 in Los Angeles of an apparent heart attack, he was age 62).  For details on the New York book signing, visit http://store-locator.barnesandnoble.com/event/78149 .  I saw news of the book signing in one of the free newspapers that circulate whose primary focus is pop culture news.

I mentioned this as a forthcoming book in my June 20, 2012 post entitled "Music Still on MTV" (the short link is http://goo.gl/XgIL6).

The press release announcement at the time the original VJs signed their book deal read:

"This publication will mark the first time Nina Blackwood, Mark Goodman, Alan Hunter and Martha Quinn give their uncensored accounts from the front lines of the cultural revolution that was MTV. Among the highlights will be the VJs' never-before-told stories about getting, doing, and ultimately leaving the most coveted job of the decade; the truth behind Roger Daltrey's demands to visit MTV; days and nights spent partying with Van Halen; the 'Paint the Mutha Pink' contest with John Cougar Mellencamp that went toxic; joining the mile high club while flying to see the band Asia play at the Budokan in Japan; and all true tales of hair styles gone horribly wrong as a new kind of broadcast medium was being created hour by hour and day by day — all perfectly set against the era when you would still call into your answering machine from a pay phone."

Needless to say, for a brief window of time, we're likely to be seeing more of these original VJs to promote their new book.

NPR's Pop Culture Blog put the new book in perspective, writing (see http://n.pr/12e0wdj):

"Unfortunately, much of the book either feels bafflingly irrelevant (who cares what Nina Blackwood voted for or whether Martha Quinn got good grades, really?) or like a much too late attempt to wring scandal from the idea of hanging out with rock stars. They seem to be the last to know that 'I did cocaine with David Lee Roth' is no longer a particularly juicy thing to say, and neither is 'Steven Tyler hit on me once.' We assume these things. We got it. But when they get to talking about MTV itself, their stories seem awfully small."

However, as my June 20, 2012 post noted, the fact that MTV even calls itself "M" TV is laughable these days, since there's almost no music anywhere to be found on the network, which has become best known for producing trashy reality shows about Jersey Shore vacationers, speed dating and Teen Moms.  The simple truth is that while MTV likes to view itself as having its finger on the pulse of today's American youth, the reality suggests otherwise.  MTV is but one of hundreds of channels to pick from nowadays, so it might not even be a cultural touchpoint it was with kids of earlier generations.  I noted how Nathaniel Brown, senior vice president of communications for MTV was quoted as saying:

"MTV as a brand doesn't age with our viewers.  We are really focused on our current viewers, and our feeling was that our anniversary wasn't something that would be meaningful to them, many of whom weren't even alive in 1981."

That was in reference to the fact that dissed its own 30th anniversary last year.  Honestly, I don't understand why MTV even bothers with the MTV Video Music Awards show anymore, but its a tradition that the network has maintained, which supposedly helps it stay relevant with today's youth.  (In September 2013, YouTube announced it would host its own Video Music Awards, see http://youtu.be/9ckE_S5Y5QM).

After the VJ's started making the rounds to promote the new book, they appeared on Howard Stern's satellite radio show, and Nina Blackwood revealed she thinks MTV has strayed a bit too far from it's musical roots for her tastes.  She told Howard Stern:

"Never in my wildest imagination did I think that MTV would become this. I'm not a fan of reality shows, no matter what channel. I wish that MTV had continued in a musical vein, not playing videos all day long, but at least have music at its core like Behind the Music or airing concerts. Keep some music credibility."

To catch that brief clip on YouTube, visit http://youtu.be/yUyYo1uq2gk.  Time magazine had a nice story about 32 MTV factoids (one for every year of MTV's existence) — taken from the book and Time's conversations with the original VJs (see http://ti.me/10GriIb for the article).  Among the interesting factoids was that MTV VJs weren't paid very well.  Alan Hunter's goal was to make $550 a week, as much as a Broadway chorus boy.  He started off making slightly less than that: $27,000 in his first year as a VJ.  Martha Quinn learned that Mark Goodman made a lot more than she did back in the day (then again, he was also an experienced DJ on the radio, and Martha wasn't).

Nowadays, though, there actually ARE viable alternatives that resemble what MTV used to look like before its flush down the toilet to where it is today.  Specifically, in Feburary 2013, a new "network" delivered via the internet emerged: Fuse TV [http://www.fuse.tv/] and on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/fuse.  Indeed, Fuse has even recruited a number of MTV veterans (see http://nyti.ms/110TNXY and http://nyti.ms/1797WlY for more details) to work for it.

Fuse, which is owned by Cablevision's Madison Square Garden unit, has been building up its news division and introduced its "Fuse News" show in February, with a roster of hosts that includes Alexa Chung (formerly of the MTV series "It's On With Alexa Chung") and correspondents like Jack Osbourne (of MTV's reality series "The Osbournes").  Indeed, Fuse News resembles what MTV looked like once upon a time.

Nina Blackwood and Mark Goodman (respectively "the hunk" and "the video vixen," according to each other) -- talked to public radio about the new oral history book entitled "VJ: The Unplugged Adventures of MTV’s First Wave" which can be listened to below or by visiting http://www.wnyc.org/story/299400-mtvs-first-vjs-tell-all/.


In any event, in reviewing "VJ: The Unplugged Adventures of MTV's First Wave" by the original four MTV VJs, NPR eloquently closed (see http://n.pr/12e0wdj) by saying:

"It's hard to remember now, but at one time, MTV really was watched just like commercial radio was listened to: you would turn it on and see what came around, and if you particularly liked a video, you'd wait a while and hope you heard it. That's what half the slumber parties of my adolescence were about: waiting for Michael Jackson or Duran Duran.

We don't wait very much anymore. It's not just that this model of MTV largely went away, or that getting most of your music listening through the radio faded. It's that the entire idea of ephemeral availability — that you would have to sit and wait for something to be played for you, and that at other times you had to do without it — is simply not how people expect to digest much of anything anymore. The VJs who believed they were at the beginning of the age of the music video were actually at the end of the age in which innovation in music would involve giving people new ways to wait for you to play the music they wanted to hear."

For anyone longing for a dedicated music network like MTV used to be, I would suggest visiting Fuse TV [http://www.fuse.tv/] and/or on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/fuse.  You might just like how music television has evolved in today's era of on-demand content delivery, anytime, anywhere.

For their part, the original MTV VJs (Martha Quinn, Mark Goodman, Nina Blackwood, and Alan Hunter) apparently host a satellite radio program on Sirius/XM channel 80s on 8.  Initially, I thought their book might be interesting reading.  But now that its available and the reviews are starting to roll in, it seems the Craig Marks and Rob Tannenbaum's book "I Want My MTV: The Uncensored Story of the Music Video Revolution" might just be the better read (I already read that one).  I'm not saying you shouldn't read this, but let me remind you that you can always borrow the new "VJ: The Unplugged Adventures of MTV's First Wave" for no cost at your local public library.  However, you might just have an opportunity to actually meet the VJs (and let's face it, we all thought they had the coolest jobs ever, didn't we?!) at a book signing near you.  Visit their website at http://www.80svjs.com/ for locations and other information.


Author P.S., October 21, 2013:  MTV and VH1 might have launched music television, but there's a reason they don't play music videos and concerts anymore -- not enough people watch them. These days, they're available on-demand via YouTube and other online channels.  Now, however, rapper and media mogul Sean "Diddy" Combs thinks he can change that with a little help from the internet.  He's launching a new network today called Revolt TV that he says will play rap, hip-hop, and maybe even some country "if it's funky enough, baby."  As of October 2013, the new network had gained carriage on Comcast and Time Warner Cable.  Catch the Marketplace Morning Report story for more details at http://bit.ly/16qqwUh.

Music Still on MTV

The title for today's post comes from a line in Bowling for Soup's song "1985" (check out their video at http://youtu.be/K38xNqZvBJI).  August 1, 2012 marks the 31st Anniversary of MTV. MTV revolutionized the way we looked at music and the VJs were a big part of shaping that vision, for a time, anyway.

A website called "80s VJs" dot com [http://www.80svjs.com/] has links to the original five MTV VJs, many of whom now have Satellite Radio shows (sorry, VJs, but I don't like retro radio enough to pay for it!!  I may have wanted my MTV, but to pay for the audio-only, not so much)!  Still, the fact that MTV is IMHO a shadow of it's former self, having all but divorced itself from the "M" (for music) part of it's acronym means I rarely tune in any more.

MTV: Forever 21?

The intro to this section comes from a cheesy teen retailer known as Forever 21.  Apparently, MTV agrees with that.  MTV itself didn't really even acknowledge the network's own 30th anniversary (see HERE).  Note this quote from Nathaniel Brown, an MTV executive:

"MTV as a brand doesn't age with our viewers," explained Nathaniel Brown, senior vice president of communications for MTV, who confirmed that there were no plans for an on-air MTV celebration. "We are really focused on our current viewers, and our feeling was that our anniversary wasn't something that would be meaningful to them, many of whom weren't even alive in 1981."

Of course, I no longer fit into the "youth" demographic anyway, but that seems a bit ironic, doesn't it?  After all, isn't this the same network that once ran a series called "I Love the '80s"?!

Anyway, some of the network's moves into reality programming, notably the "Real World" in 1992 were pretty unique, although that really was also the beginning of the end to MTV as a music entity.  Unfortunately, the reality TV formula has been copied left, right and sideways by virtually everyone, with shows like Big Brother and a new one called The Glass House.  It's a fad that, fortunately, has ended as TV networks return to genuine programming.  Still, I can't really fault MTV for it's "evolution" away from music completely.

Indeed, in the book "MTV: The Uncensored Story of the Music Video Revolution" by Craig Marks and Rob Tannenbaum, the authors note that even during MTV's earliest days, the network established a history of adapting to what viewers were drawn to (often not by executives' choice, but in spite of it, including the network's warming to Hip Hop and the show "Yo MTV Raps").   It's also worth noting that MTV was barely profitable at one point in the beginning, so decisions about programming based on viewership were rooted in the need to cover expenses.  The evolution away from music, incidentally, wasn't completely driven by execs in the corner office.  In recent years, we can point to technology as a factor that drove the final nail in the "music" part of MTV's coffin.

Today, we can pretty much watch videos on-demand online, so the concept has lost some of it's original appeal as far as a channel dedicated to the concept.  And the mere fact that Jersey Shore's Snooki is knocked-up suggests to me that the reality TV part of Viacom's "youth" channel may be due for a reboot as well.  I mean, really ... teenagers today can pick from hundreds of channels on basic cable, and add to that Roku streaming video players and you have a recipe for a cable station kind of basking in it's former glory, but without a real sense of purpose or mission anymore.  The MTV Video Music Awards still run, but it's yet another awards show in a medium drowning with far too many awards shows anyway.

That's just my humble opinion. Viacom probably doesn't give a $#!t what I think, but when my neices become teenagers, I wonder what MTV's contribution to Viacom's bottom line will be?

Still, for it's time, MTV was revolutionary (the same thing can be said for stereo radio broadcasting).  Evolution is the name of the game for survival, and MTV has proven adept at evolving.  But it still sees itself as cutting edge for youth programming.  I'm not so sure about that anymore.

Separately, in 2009, NPR had a blog post about whether YouTube has become what MTV used to be (see HERE).  Indeed, as the former head of NBC television Warren Littlefield, noted in his interview (see my post on that HERE) regarding television, if you don't like what's on television today, just make it yourself.  Indeed, some are doing just that.  For example, an entire YouTube-based series called "Husbands" [http://husbandstheseries.com/] is now luring enough viewers to be noticed by Hollywood.

Last year, NPR had a segment entitled "The Golden Age of MTV — And Yes, There Was One" which addresses the book I already noted at the beginning of this post, and includes interesting interviews with the authors.  Have a listen below, or by visiting http://n.pr/McqJR4:


I bought the book "I Want My MTV: The Uncensored Story of the Music Video Revolution" by Craig Marks and Rob Tannenbaum, but frankly, I wouldn't especially recommend it.  It's a bit of a boring tome, which was more about the founding of a new business that became MTV, but I don't think it's the best work on this subject (it does, however, have some interesting quotes from many music people you may find entertaining).  Instead, you might decide to wait ...

In January 2012, Atria Books announced a deal with four of the original MTV VJs for an as yet untitled oral history of MTV's defining years during the early '80s (see HERE for details).  According to the press release: "This publication will mark the first time Nina Blackwood, Mark Goodman, Alan Hunter and Martha Quinn give their uncensored accounts from the front lines of the cultural revolution that was MTV. Among the highlights will be the VJs' never-before-told stories about getting, doing, and ultimately leaving the most coveted job of the decade; the truth behind Roger Daltrey's demands to visit MTV; days and nights spent partying with Van Halen; the 'Paint the Mutha Pink' contest with John Cougar Mellencamp that went toxic; joining the mile high club while flying to see the band Asia play at the Budokan in Japan; and all true tales of hair styles gone horribly wrong as a new kind of broadcast medium was being created hour by hour and day by day — all perfectly set against the era when you would still call into your answering machine from a pay phone."

As for me, I have a 25 year high-school reunion coming up in 2 weeks, but reminiscing about MTV isn't going to be on the agenda.  It was something bored teenagers watched at home, when we didn't have friends to visit with.  And, while music on MTV may be history, visiting with old friends, even for one evening, is something we can still enjoy today!

Author P.S., October 21, 2013:  MTV and VH1 might have launched music television, but there's a reason they don't play music videos and concerts anymore -- not enough people watch them. These days, they're available on-demand via YouTube and other online channels.  Now, however, rapper and media mogul Sean "Diddy" Combs thinks he can change that with a little help from the internet.  He's launching a new network today called Revolt TV that he says will play rap, hip-hop, and maybe even some country "if it's funky enough, baby."  As of October 2013, the new network had gained carriage on Comcast and Time Warner Cable.  Catch the Marketplace Morning Report story for more details at http://bit.ly/16qqwUh.