Jay Jeffers (The Partially Examined Life) and Dan Kaufman discuss the beginnings of MTV and their recollections of it, on this 40th anniversary of the music channel.
3:40 - Aug 1 marks the 40th Anniversary of the launching of MTV in its “original iteration.”
6:20 - How Jay and Dan first got into KISS
13:30 - Jay and Dan discuss their personal histories with MTV / The importance of “Thriller.”
34:30 - Was MTV the beginning or the end of something? The 80’s vs. the 90’s. The impact of the Cold War.
51:30 - The atomization of music audiences and the fracturing of youth culture.
59:50 - Youth culture, social capital, and power.
1:18:25 - David Bowie confronts MTV on black representation on the channel.
Links: Rob Tannenbaum’s, I Want My MTV (2012). https://www.amazon.com/Want-My-MTV-Uncensored-Revolution/dp/0452298563
Why MTV doesn’t show music videos anymore. https://slate.com/business/2013/08/why-mtv-doesn-t-show-music-videos-but-does-show-the-vmas.html
David Bowie on black representation on MTV. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XZGiVzIr8Qg&ab_channel=MTVNews
Jay at the Partially Examined Life. https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/author/jay-jeffers/
The Buggles, “Video Killed the Radio Star.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W8r-tXRLazs&ab_channel=TheBugglesVEVO
Molly Ringwald on the cover of Time magazine in 1986. http://img.timeinc.net/time/magazine/archive/covers/1986/1101860526_400.jpg
Dan's essay on “OK Boomer.” https://theelectricagora.com/2019/11/08/ok-boomer/
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