At what particular point did MTV really start to SUCK?

[battleknight24]

Unlike some of you out there, I did in fact used to watch MTV on a regular basis, and I liked most, but not all, of the music they played.

Today... well... no offense to anybody, but I think MTV is a dump truck full of hippo exrement. And I am certainly NOT alone in thinking this.

For those of you that feel the way I do, what do you think set off MTV's nosedive of decent programming? What set everything in motion? Kurt Cobain's death? The Real World? (In my opinion, the Real World is the reason we have so much Reality TV shit today... see my other post...) Singled Out? Believe it or not, a lot of people pin point "Singled Out" as the starting point in MTV's descent.

What do you guys think?


Peace,

[Name removed]

Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Name removed]

1. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[RoyGBiv]

2. Remote Control ...

It was a game show, if you don't remember. Only thing good about it was Kari, and only because she was nice to look at.

That's what started what they now call their "lifestyle" and "variety" programming. The Real World was just one of the last nails in a coffin that was already mostly shut.

What really changed MTV was that they went from being the upstarts, the rebels, unafraid and willing to do anything to being a part of the establishment to *being* the establishment. It's sort of a "hippy turned banker" story.

[Name removed]

4. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[MarkDevin]

3. I was a devoted MTV watcher from 1982-85.

Of course, back then they actually ran music videos.

[Name removed]

5. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[NewWaveChick1981]

17. I was just getting ready to say that!

When they actually stopped showing music videos, the suckiness began. :(

[HarukaTheTrophyWife]

6. The only thing I currently like about MTV is they're an adamant supporter

of gay rights.

[ForrestGump]

7. August 1, 1981

:D

The (Other) Day The Music Died.

Video killed the radio star (wasn't that the first song they played on MTV?)...

[HarukaTheTrophyWife]

8. Yes it was.

You can relive that day on Tuesday, if you have VH1 Classics.

[ForrestGump]

9. The horror...the horror....

Though I do like that stupid song -- nostalgia aside, it's hard not to. :D

[Syrinx]

10. when they played that "Video Killed The Radio Star" video?

[Coonce-Ewing]

11. MTV didn't always suck.

Personally I feel that once they started to segregate their music into time blocks and create format periods that was the downfall as it created blocks of time that only certain audiences would want to watch and others just tuned out. This then brought about the creation of things like The Real World.

Additionally, once they stopped letting Wierd Al takeover for an hour or two every so often, that was the death knell.

[greguganus]

12. I have never liked music videos.

When I listen to music, I want to interpret it my own way, and not have someone else's interpretation running through my head.

[Indy_Dem_Defender]

13. The Real World

with it's constant spin off shows like it, Every time I channel surfing and I come across MTV, the real world is always on, or some show exactly like it. I will admit back in may I watch about 2 hours of MTV, I thought I was watching the real world at first till I found out this show was called "My Sweet Sixteen". This show is about a bunch of rich girls planning their 16th birthday party, I saw like 3 episodes and in each of them the girl's parents are like 60 years old, the brat has a fake tan and jet black hair, a couple of fat sidekicks and the parents end of buy the girl like 90,000. Why would they make more than one episode, each one was a clone.

[BlueIris]

14. April 5, 1994.

After that, there just wasn't that much...there. Some of you here will know what I mean, I hope.

[outofbounds]

15. When they quit playing videos

and got the bright idea game shows, reality shows were what people wanted to watch on Music Television. It really used to be great.

[RetroLounge]

16. Day 2

RL

[asthmaticeog]

18. Right around the time when

everybody noticed that Duran Duran's sales were through the roof in areas wired for cable, and dead everywhere else. Then *every* band started making videos, and MTV became all superstars all the time. But that first year it was on was great - they had to fill a whole day with videos every day, so they played everything they could get their hands on. I got exposed to early R.E.M., the Minutemen, Ramones, Devo, all kinds of great shit, before the deluge of Journey and Huey Lewis videos rushed in and choked out all the below-the-radar stuff.

[democracyindanger]

19. When they fired JJ Jackson.

[mzteris]

20. the day they started.

I NEVER liked it. Watched a few times when it first came out. (I admit absolutely loathe "music videos" as the image gets stuck in my head and that's all I can "see" whenever the d@mn song comes on the radio.)

I wouldn't let my daughter watch it - and have it blocked now for my boys. Most of the videos I had last glimpsed were nothing but sex, drugs, and violence - and nearly all were degrading to ALL WOMEN - and by extension - MEN.

Ok so I'm an "old fogey" so shoot me. :P

[rug]

21. Here:

[Bullwinkle925]

22. At it's inception .....

but that's just my humble opinion.

[electron_blue]

23. I used to love it, then it got carried away with real-world imitators

I am not sure exactly when I quit watching regularly but I think it was about 1995 or 6. I saw it recently, during my 8 months with cable tv experiment, and I was never actually able to catch it in the act of showing a video.

I never had a problem with seeing a video and interpreting the song my own way when I heard it later on. I actually liked the first REal World, but then instead of branching out and inventing something new, they just did the reality-tv genre to death.

[billyskank]

24. I guess when they stopped playing music

I haven't seen it for about three years, but I recall then that all you saw was shows about musicians (as well as shows which had no link with music at all, like Jackass and The Osbournes).

If you wanted music, you had to watch one of the spin-off channels, like MTV Dance or what have you.

[Hosnon]

25. Whenever the decision was made to focus on teenagers instead of growing

with its audience.

[mdmc]

26. 1986

It always pretty much s..u..c..k..e..d...

[graywarrior]

27. Right around the time Jon Stewart was on.

Sometimes when I can't sleep at night, I'll turn it on, but Blind Date always wins over MTV.

[mvd]

28. I watch VH1 for videos instead

or MTV 2. But I most often watch videos online at sites like launch.com. There, you can choose what you want to see. MTV stopped being decent when they went the reality TV route and focused less on music.

[Blue_Tires]

29. circa 1993-1994

the were already playing less and less videos, and iirc, that was when real talk began of having an "MTV 2" channel