From: utzoo!decvax!genrad!linus!allegra!eagle!mhtsa!alice!npoiv!npois!hou5f!ariel!vax135!cornell!uw-beaver!eli
Newsgroups: net.music
Title: Re: A Query on MTV
Article-I.D.: uw-beave.574
Posted: Wed May 11 11:32:22 1983
Received: Sat May 14 01:19:20 1983
References: <409@rlgvax.UUCP>

Relay-Version:version B 3/9/83; site alice.UUCP
Posting-Version:version B 2.10 gamma 4/3/83; site uw-beaver
Message-ID:<574@uw-beaver>
Date:Wed, 11-May-83 11:32:22 EDT
Organization:U of Washington Computer Science

MTV programs primarily a CHR format ("Contemporary Hit Radio").  This is
essentially top-40 with "new music."  Some of the main differences between
MTV and local CHR radio stations are the video aspect, the nationwide
distribution and the power of MTV to >make< hits.

Personally I find that certain videos make a tremendous impact on me, some
positive, some overwhelmingly negative.  For instance, I found that after
viewing "A Flock of Seagulls" on MTV, I couldn't listen to their music
anymore without picturing how incredibly wimpy they look.  (As well as how
incredibly cheap the production of their video was).

As to Mr. Grunewald's assertion that not many bands are producing videos
yet, I disagree.  Just about every local band in town (Seattle) has
produced at least one video, some more.  Some of them are of the often
boring liveshow genre, but alot of them are rather creative affairs.
(One, "Body Waves" by The Young Executives, was in MTV's light rotation
for a short while).  This seems to be true of just about all of the major
music scenes I'm in contact with.

More the problem seems to be MTV's insistence that their audience is not
interested in getting too far out on a limb musically, and so they don't
take advantage of the huge number of interesting videos available to
them.  Michael Jackson had to dominate every chart in existence to force
MTV to play him.  Jeez!

I expect MTV to have some competition one day, and just as with radio,
they can slug it out with their promotions and obnoxious Dj's and jingles,
while their formats remain almost identical.  I'm waiting for noncommercial/
college video channels.

I think most videos burn out much more quickly than the records themselves.
Very few of them stand repeated viewing... and it seems that the majority of
the ones that could be seen over and over are only to be found in clubs with
video capability, and not MTV.

			... uw-beaver!eli


Ps.  Does anyone else believe that MTV "VJ" Mark Goodman is actually
     "Welcome Back Kotter"'s Juan Epstein?