When I started the Buddy Holly article I noted that the word "flight" was in the first sentence so I assumed it was about his death considering that what most "Buddy Holly" articles are about. This was instead about the beginning of his career, something I'd never really looked into before. I think it's really interesting that Buddy Holly, like Chuck Berry, defied racial boundaries by playing at The Apollo.
I really enjoyed MTV's first broadcast and the article about MTV's 10th anniversary. I love pop culture so MTV is something that I find very interesting. I knew that "Video Killed the Radio Star" by The Buggles was the first music video on MTV but I had no idea that Pat Benatar's "Precious Time" was the second. The first video I saw on MTV happened to be "Mmm Bop" by Hanson.
The New York Times article had a negative opinion of MTV saying "It's a circumscribed sphere where youth, pleasure, noise, fashion, mild rebelliousness and consumption are all connected -- a concentrated version of commercial television pitched at a young audience that, judging by MTV's advertising, is fueled by sugar, burgers and chips. Anyone who took MTV literally would be nearly as warped as someone who believed soap operas were documentaries." But MTV is so much more than that. MTV was the catalyst to what pop culture is today. In my opinion MTV has furthered generational identity and has allowed music another medium. Image has alway been apart of music history hence, Elvis Presley's "swingin'" hips, The Beatles hair cuts, Johnny Cash's identity as the "Man in Black". All MTV did was spread pop culture's image to a broader audience. It mentioned how MTV favors "pretty people" and excluded "Wood Goblins" by Tad from their line up because Tad was too ugly. Tad isn't uglier then Boy George. The difference is "Wood Goblins" is a terrible song and a creepy video while "Karma Chameleon" is catchy. Although MTV today isn't as focused on music as it used to be it still serves as a platform for new musical icons.
You make a convincing argument for the positive effects of MTV, Ellie. Indeed, image was always tied to music.
ReplyDeleteAs for Tad...well, he was big influence with the alterna-grunge crowd in the early 90s, but I never really "got" him, despite the critical acclaim he managed to muster. I'd gladly take a well-crafted pop song (like "Karma Chameleon") over that slow, lumbering stuff.
>>I think it's really interesting that Buddy Holly, like Chuck Berry, defied racial boundaries by playing at The Apollo.<<
Chuck also played the Apollo (and I believe was one of the first rock ' rollers to do so), but as a black man, the racial boundaries weren't quite the same for him. He had more than enough trouble trying to play for integrated audiences in a time when segregation was still the norm.