MTV Killed the Video Star

I've added some new videos to the sidebar menu, and I thought perhaps the last few posts were too impersonal. So, that being said, I'd like to ask you: What are your favorite music videos? I grew up in the golden age of music video: the 1980s. It's hard to believe that the 80s could be the golden age of anytyhing, but it's true. People like Madonna and Michael Jackson were made for MTV. And, to be fair, MTV pretty much made the both of their careers in that period. Ever since MTV blasted off with the Buggles’ “Video Killed the Radio Star,” the music video has become a part of our culture. Even though, as I assume you know, the medium has become less visible in recent years. Fast forward nearly twenty years. People began complaining a few years ago how ironic it was that MTV no longer played videos. Wrong! The Backstreet Boys, N Sync, Britney, and countless others were constructed through the medium of video. You have to ask yourself one question: was it worth what we've had to put up with over the last decade just for the video's sake? Were we asking for it by allowing a visual medium to control our perception of good? Ultimately, the answer is yes. Pop music changes and works in cycles and the boy band explosion at the turn of the century was almost necessary. Grunge had died out and a new, brighter sound was bound to emerge. That's why the advent of Youtube is so important - well, relatively speaking. While MTV has grown out of showing what are essentially three minute infomercials for bands, Youtube is now the place through which new careers can be made. The band Okay Go, whose video "Here it Goes Again" is on the list at right, exploded after posting their video to Youtube.

Some of my Favorite Videos: