Where They At?

Seen any good videos lately? I mean on TV. This year is the thirtieth anniversary of MTV, television's first network dedicated solely to the broadcast of music videos. While it's true that MTV was the first TV network, the music video had been around for years before it's inception.

The first music videos were actually made as promotion for the release of new single recordings. One of the very first of these was the Beatles', Strawberry Fields made in 1967. The film showed the band playing, while smashing and pouring paint over a piano. Its jarring juxtaposition of props, such as a table in the middle in an open field, served to lift it to artistic stature.

Some might say that it began with the Monkees, whose TV show first aired in 1966. The show was about a struggling rock band and featured the band performing their songs as video clips included within the show. Two of their hits were I'm a Believer and Last Train To Clarksville. Paul Revere and The Raiders also made music videos in the 60s and one of their hits was Indian Reservation.

On 4th March 1970 a show went on the air in Atlanta called, The Now Explosion. It featured locally produced music videos along with promotional clips from major artists, for hours on end, just like radio. The creators, Bob Whitney and Joe Fields managed to get the show syndicated and it was seen on TV stations across the country. It was eventually picked up by Ted Tuner. Some consider The Now Explosion to have been MTV, 10 years before there was an MTV.

Music videos were being made all through the 70's, many were clips of performances at concerts or local or national TV shows. But that all changed with the release of Pink Floyd's, The Wall in 1979. The video was like a short film. It centered around Pink Floyd and was based on his life from his boyhood days in post WWII England. The video's concept of death and rebirth helped to lift music video to a new level of the music video as art.

It's pure speculation on my part, but perhaps this is what MTV had in mind when it first went on the air. Through out the decade of the 80s, some of the biggest names in music added very note worthy contributions. Many 80s videos featured big name film directors and were at times like miniature films. A story was always being told as the videos often served to augment the music of each artist.

By the 90s, the success of Rap and Hip Hop slowly began to change the formula for a successful music video. Production values remained high, but the content became increasingly sexual and/or violent. But, the music video as art didn't really begin to fade until a new player came on the scene. That player was The Real World, what's been consider as the first really TV show. The show was created in 1992 by Mary-Ellis Bunim and was intended to be a spin on the traditional soap opera. But, budgetary concerns led the producers to cast seven unknown individuals to participate in a "social experiment." The show was a hit with MTV viewers. Over the years the show has spawned many other shows that run along the same lines. And, much of what used to be blocks of music videos has been replaced by Jersey shore, Teen Mom, Diary, and Disaster Date.

Music videos are still being made and they are still a very viable part of an artist's career. The the relevance of the music video as an art form appears to be all but gone. But wait. Youtube.com has become hugely successful, as the music video has moved online. Maybe all is not lost.