Meme Spirited

Yikes. These "closer in time" games are my favorite because they're so horrifying. P.S. See what Mark Goodman looked like when I ran into him a few years ago HERE. 

The Early Days of MTV

Last night we watched "I Want My MTV," Tyler Measom and Patrick Waldrop's new documentary about the conception and birth of Music Television, and it sure sure took me back. I kind of thought I knew everything there was to know about the topic but was pleasantly surprised by what was revealed, including lots of graphics and ephemera from before the network even launched.

As I’ve said before, I’m sure every generation thinks this way about its own -- but I wouldn’t trade my MTV youth for bobby socks, Instawhores or anything in between. 

Catch it if you can. It's available on demand via A&E and includes Mark Goodman's excruciating interview with David Bowie where the music legend asks why MTV doesn't show more black artists, a 40-year-old moment that doesn't sound much different from what we're still fighting for today.

I Want(ed) My MTV (Sooner)!

High on my list of "abuses" suffered as a child -- just below not having our own tennis court in the backyard -- is that my family's cable company didn't bother to get MTV until June 1982, robbing me of 10 months of REO Speedwagon videos on a relentless loop my MTV. Truthfully, it wouldn't have been so agonizing if my best friend back in Michigan didn't already have it -- in addition to Blondie's "Heart of Glass" and "Rapture" he claimed they showed Carly Simon's "Vengeance"! -- only fueling my anger about our having moved West. 

We've all heard that "Video Killed the Radio Star" and "You Better Run" were the first two clips to air on the nascent channel. Now thanks to this remastered footage of the network's first two hours of programming on Aug. 1, 1981, we can see a fuller picture. The Buggles and Pat Benatar sound great four decades later. But who remembers that the third video was a shitty Rod Stewart song I've never heard of -- or that Mr. Do Ya Think I'm Sexy was also the first artist to be played in heavy rotation. (How embarrassing!) I was a little taken aback by how much Kentucky-fried rock they were playing during those early days -- and not just .38 Special, which at least had hit singles, however bad. It was nice to see that Chrissie Hynde (and the Pretenders) was the second female artist on the air -- and that new wave stalwarts like Split Enz and Elvis Costello were in on the ground floor. Interesting to note that while MTV was not initially friendly to R&B or country music -- which is pretty much all that's left in 2020 -- the station did play a video by Juice Newton, a testament to just how hugely she had crossed over. (The same would happen when Michael Jackson's "Thriller" took over the charts a short time later.) Perhaps most surprising, however, is the number of songs that were played those first two hours that I couldn't pick out of a lineup today (“Little Susie’s on the Top” by Ph.D?. "Mr. Briefcase” by Lee Ritenour"? Any Cliff Richard song!)

So fasten your seat belt and get ready to blast off. MTV is here! 

Watch full screen HERE.

Note that Mark Goodman was the first veejay to host a segment. But because of a technical snafu, the introductory tapes by Alan Hunter, Martha Quinn, J.J. Jackson and Nina Blackwood ran before Mark's opening scene came on.

The videos played during MTV's first two hours:

1. "Video Killed the Radio Star" by the Buggles

2. "You Better Run" by Pat Benatar

3. "She Won't Dance With Me" by Rod Stewart

4. "You Better You Bet" by the Who

5. “Little Susie’s on the Top” by Ph.D.

6. "We Don't Talk Anymore" by Cliff Richard
7. "Brass in Pocket" by the Pretenders
8. "Time Heals" by Todd Rundgren
9. "Take It on the Run" by REO Speedwagon
10. “Rockin’ the Paradise” by Styx

11. “When Things Go Wrong” by Robin Lane and the Chartbusters
12. "History Never Repeats" by Split Enz
13. “Hold On Loosely” by .38 Special
14. “Just Between You And Me” by April Wine
15. "Sailing" by Rod Stewart
16. "Iron Maiden" by Iron Maiden
17. "Keep on Loving You" by REO Speedwagon
18. “Bluer Than Blue” by Michael Johnson
19. "Message of Love" by the Pretenders
20. “Mr. Briefcase” by Lee Ritenour
21. "Double Life" by the Cars
22. "In the Air Tonight" by Phil Collins
23. "Looking for Clues" by Robert Palmer
24. "Too Late" by the Shoes
25. “Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around” by Stevie Nicks and Tom Petty
26. “Do Ya Think I’m Sexy” by Rod Stewart
27. “Surface Tension” by Rupert Hine

28. “One Step Ahead” by Split Enz
29. “Baker Street” by Gerry Rafferty
30. "I"m Gonna Follow You" by Pat Benatar
31. "Savannah Nights" by Tom Johnston
32. "Lucille" by Rockestra
33. "The Best of Times" by Styx

34. "Vengeance" by Carly Simon
35. "Wrathchild" by Iron Maiden
36. "I Wanna Be a Lifeguard" by Blotto
37. "Passion" by Rod Stewart
38. "Oliver's Army" by Elvis Costello
39. "Don't Let Him Go" by REO Speedwagon
40. "Remote Control/Illegal" by the Silencers
41. "Angel of the Morning" by Juice Newton
42. "Little Sister" by Rockpile with Robert Plant

With veejay Mark Goodman in 2018.

Song of the Day: 'Sweet and Low' by Debbie Harry

I have been a superfan for over 40 years and can honestly say a week doesn't go by that I don't discover another old photo, video or interview of my beloved Debbie Harry. (I recently added two newly unearthed interviews from the "Rockbird" era HERE,  a 1983 appearance on "Late Night With David Letterman" HERE and a "Koo Koo"-era clip that comes and goes from YouTube HERE.) 

Today's pick is her third visit to "Club MTV," where the only thing better than her latest dance hit was her flawless face and tight body.

So much better than when she showed up dressed as a New Wave Phyllis Diller to perform "In Love With Love"! (The "French Kissing" appearance has vanished from YouTube ... again.) 

This is just "I Want That Man" being played on "Club MTV." But watch Downtown Julie Brown's face after the guy she interviews, Stephen Nichols, at the very beginning reacts to the song's introduction. (Little things like this meant A LOT back then!)

UPDATE: It just happened again. 

Just stumbled upon this interview Kurt Loder did with Deb -- looking very "Intimate Stranger" -- at a pre-premiere dinner for Madonna's "Truth or Dare" on May 8, 1991. She references the time Madge came to see her at the Roxy back in 1989 -- a concert at which my friend Mark was also in attendance, calling me from a lobby payphone to tell me that he was standing "2 feet away from Madonna, Warren Beatty and Sandra Bernhard!"

Songs of the Day: 'In Love With Love' by Debbie Harry

Debbie Harry is nothing if not reliably awkward. (He co-hosting of "Andy Warhol's 15 Minutes" was legendary.) But I don't think she's ever been more ill-at-ease than on this "Club MTV" performance from 1987, when she was pounding the pavement promoting "Rockbird"! 

This was Deb's second visit to the Club. Unfortunately, the "French Kissin' in the USA" clip was removed from YouTube.



Here she is being interviewed by Laurie Brown on Canada's "The NewMusic" in 1986.



And in a 1987 interview for French TV.

Page 1 Roundup (07/24)

The Daily News: Bronx robbery victim furious her assailant won $3.9 million from city over Rikers Island beatdown

Rare David Bowie demo tape found in bread basket

Tim Tebow out of the minor leagues for season with broken bone in hand (that lord sure works in mysterious ways)

Instagram: Every day is 'ass day' at this guy's gym

New York Post: Stormy Daniels's husband files for divorce

Page Six: Police investigating disappearance of weirdo former MTV VJ Jesse Camp

The New York Times: Drive against gerrymandering finds new life in ballot initiatives 

Fatal BART stabbing is third killing in Bay Area Transit System in a week

The Randy Report: Hot dentist's dance video gets 50 million views in 3 days

The Washington Post: Fox News booked the wrong Democrat on a show -- so she used the spotlight to unload on Trump

TPM: Identities of five witnesses immunized to testify against Paul Manafort

Rep. Barbara Lee of California launches historic bid to lead House Democratic Caucus

GQ: Evans Peters is much 'chiller' than his characters

The Wall Street Journal: Economists can't write economically, driving demand for brevity

Morning Wood

Still haven't gotten a straight answer as to whether there's going to be a second season of Ryan Ferguson's "Unlocking the Truth" on MTV. Remember when everyone's favorite wrongly convicted murderer was OUT OF SHAPE?

Ryan Ferguson Flaunts His 'Less-Defined' Body

I thought Ryan Ferguson's body was incredible when he got out of prison after serving 10 years for a murder he didn't commit. But it seems he's only getting better with age -- despite what he wrote on Instagram -- looking incredible after hosting season one of MTV's "Unlocking the Truth," which has already led to the release of one wrongfully convicted man.

Um, don't kid yourself: you posted it because you look hot as f**k!

Follow on Instagram HERE.

I hope the show is coming back because Ryan finally seems to have gotten rid of this haircut he had, which I'm assuming was in style when he was first incarcerated. 

I Want(ed) My MTV

I used to think I was such a baby for feeling so deprived that my family got MTV in 1982 when my best friend in Detroit had it from the get-go ... all the way back in 1981. But in hindsight, the window when I still cared about music was so short that that was a huge chunk of time! 

Justin Time?

Did anyone catch cutie Leuh (well, the spelling's not cute, but still) desperately chasing after Instastud Justin this week on "Catfish"? It had all the markings of a "catfish" -- a troll using fakes photos -- and then even after Nev and Max tried to arrange a meeting, Justin said "absolutely not." Well, because the show needs new twists, they decided to travel from Rochester, N.Y., to Huntington Beach, Calif., anyway to contract the guy -- only it turned out he WAS real! What happened next made no sense whatsoever: He went from standing her up twice then refusing to meet with her even when he knew she was in town to acting like he was ready to have a full-on relationship, encouraging her to move there and even talking marriage -- but something about it just didn't add up for me. Anyone have any inside news or thoughts? 

More photos of the randy Romeo HERE.

Boudoir Confidential

Do you like your porn stars GAY-FOR-PAY?

On the Rag, Vol. 344

A weekly look at what's making news in the free gay mags:

Grab: Meet Barleque winner Brian -- voted "Chicago's sexiest" -- HERE.

Get Out: Briah Bettencourt joins season 30 of "The Real World" as his brother Bruno’s (a main cast member) skeleton / Read HERE.

(Editor's note: Do you remember the last season you watched?)

.

Next: Look out, "Rupaul's Drag Race": Here come NYC girls Miss Fame and Pearl.

Metro Weekly (D.C.): Local artist Scott G. Brooks unveils his first solo show in years / Read HERE.

Echo (Phoenix): Frank Marino’s Las Vegas-based troupe returns to the Valley of the Sun / Read HERE.

Rage (L.A./San Diego): The Art Issue is online HERE.

P.S. Sorry for the delay, I was away this weekend.

Casting Call

A producer asked me to run this, so here you go:

MTV True Life: I'M MOVING OVERSEAS FOR LOVE

Are you moving overseas for love? Not to a country where the wine, coffee and comforts of home abound, mind you. But to a far-flung, exotic locale where the local customs, cuisine and mores differ vastly from your own. Has the love of your life just gotten a job offer abroad that's too good to pass up? Did you fall in love with a local while traveling and are now moving there to join your significant other? Did a semester-abroad fling turn into true love and now you're packing your bags? If you appear to be between the ages of 16 and 28 and fit the scenario above, MTV wants to hear your story! Write to us at Moving4LoveCasting@gmail.com and give us your name, location, phone number, picture, a description of your relationship and situation and how you're preparing for life in a new culture.

It's Sure Hot and Runny

I was kind of a casual fan of "Daria." Loved when Beavis and Butt-head made fun of her on their show -- "Diarrhea!" -- but she was different when she got a spin-off, and I remember thinking it was not quite as good as it should have been. I don't remember much about it now, but this faux live-action film take on it is pretty spot-on!

I Want My (Book About) MTV

A new book by the four surviving orgiainal MTV video jockeys, "VJ: The Unplugged Adventures of MTV's First Wave," is a must-read for fans of early Music Television.  The delicious '80s-lyrics chapter names (I Might Like You Better If We Slept Together: Celebrity Flirtations and Liasions) are just the tip of the iceberg, with stories by Nina Blackwood, Mark Goodman, Alan Hunter and Martha Quinn about:

Doing coke with David Lee Roth -- and how the singer quietly escaped an LAPD bust

The best-kept secret of MTV: the VJs weren't watching the videos -- or paid well

The most disastrous interviews ever: Paul Simon, Frank Zappa and Bow Wow Wow

Why you shouldn't go to John Cougar's place along late at night 

How a member of the Human League ended up asleep in Martha's grandpa's wood shop

How David Bowie helped get black artists on MTV

What it was like interviewing a pre-superstar Madonna at the Limelight and lots more. 

The only way it could be better would be if there had been an index in back so you could flip straight to the pages about certain stars you like, a la "The Andy Warhol Diaries"!

Pre-order the paperback HERE and the Kindle edition HERE.

Some favorite bits:

Martha: I never met Madonna, although I got the celebrity nod from her once on Fifty-Seventh Street when we were walking in opposite directions. She got lambasted recently because it was reported that her camp made the people who worked at the Toronto Film Festival look away when she was walking down the hallway. And she denied it: “Oh, I would never make people turn away from me, that’s outlandish, who would say that?” Well, maybe it didn’t happen then, but I saw that very thing happen backstage at Live Aid: Madonna and Sean Penn were heading to the stage, surrounded by a phalanx of people, and their bodyguards told people they had to turn away. So I know for a fact she would do that.

Mark: I wouldn't say this about everybody that MTV played, but I think Cyndi [Lauper] would have made it without videos. She had such an amazing voice, an d the production sounded great on the radio. But the visual element was so strong, and so integral to people getting her -- I think Cyndi and us together made it way more of a culture phenomenon, way faster.

Nina: Julia Louis-Dreyfus put on a blonde wig and did an impression of me [on "Saturday Night Live"]. Her big schtick was that she kept saying things were "hotttt, hotttt." My first thought was that I didn't say "hot"! And I didn't realize I bopped my head all the time, but I actually did do that. I had no idea until she did her bit, though -- nobody ever said anything to me. Why didn't someone stop me? I was a little taken aback by the sketch, and I had to be convinced it was a compliment. Then I realized you've really made it when somebody imitates you. 

'Catfish' Sticks

I have to say, "Catfish: The TV Show" is the most addictive thing on the boob tube today, a veritable train wreck you can't turn away from, as people having online love affairs finally meet in person. Host Nev Schulman -- who gained notoriety when his own Internet romance was documented in the riveting 2010 film "Catfish" -- is irresistible, a winning combination of boy-next-door, hipster hottie and understanding big brother. But it's the stories that will stay with you, as people put themselves in the most vulnerable position imaginable right before our eyes. While most of the secrets are easy to guess -- people lie about who they are and use fake pictures because they're overweight or not very attractive -- some plot twists make "Inception" look straight forward. Here's hoping MTV keeps this one around for a while. Anyone else addicted?

MTV Turns the Big 3-0

Happy Birthday, MTV! Hard to believe you're 30 today -- although you didn't arrive in Phoenix until 1982, so you are still 29 in my eyes (you're welcome)-- until I remember that JJ Jackson is no longer with us, Alan Hunter has filled out a bit, young Martha Quinn is in her 50s, and Nina Blackwood has long been collecting Social Security. And while you've long outlived your usefulness to me, I honestly can't imagine my youth without you. While today's generation probably can't fathom a childhood without the Internet, I'd have hated growing up without the experience of the video "event," when world premieres of the latest from Duran Duran, Madonna and Michael Jackson were water-cooler (OK, outside-your-locker) moments, and having your favorite artist stop by the MTV studios to "guest veejay" for a few hours gave you the feeling that you'd really gotten to know and hang out them. (I still have my videotape of Bananarama at the con! And remember falling in love with China Kantner and the Zappa kids?) Music Television has evolved over the years and that's what it needed to do to stay on the air. But to me, MTV will always be "Black Coffee in Bed" by Squeeze, "I Ran" by A Flock of Seagulls, "Avalon" by Roxy Music, "867-5309" by Tommy Tutone, "Kids in America" by Kim Wilde and "Fantastic Day" by Haircut 100 on a never-ending loop, and that's just fine with me. When you're 14 and out of school for the summer and it's 110 degrees outside on a cool day, MTV was the greatest friend a kid could ever have.

Watch the first two videos ever shown on MTV -- you know you know what they are -- and get to know your veejays in the clip above.

MTV Want to Stop the Hate

Looks like they removed the pro-diversity, anti-hate commercial with the skateboarders in love, but this is effective, too.

Oh, Danny Boy

Given what happened in Rome with Roger Federer, I decided I'd better bring my camera to "Legally Blonde" last night. You just never know who you might run into (lest I remind you about my Didi Cohn incident?). While we did spot one of the stars of my fave TV show (Jesse Plemons, who plays nerdy Landry on "Friday Night Lights"), as the evening wound down it seemed I'd brought my camera for nothing. Afterward Michael and I stopped at Gristede's in Chelsea to pick up some groceries. On the way out Michael (once again) spotted dreamy Danny Roberts of "The Real World" New Orleans fame walking down Eighth Avenue. Like every other gay man in America, Michael and I both have long-standing crushes on the Georgia cutie, so my camera was suddenly burning a hole in my pocket as he strolled just ahead of us. When we all reached a red light, I smoothly turned into a 14-year-old looking for a date to the Sadie Hawkins Dance and blurted out, "Hi. You're Danny from 'The Real World.'" (No shit.) Danny -- who I think had had a few -- was sweet (and did I mention more adorable than ever?) and asked me my name ("Kenny," I blurted out!) and then luckily Michael intervened and asked for the photo op. Danny was thoroughly amused (bemused?) by the whole thing and said in disbelief, "You actually have a camera on you -- right now?!" (Um, yeah.) He sweetly posed for a couple shots (Michael's pretty nervy when it comes to these things -- "One more. One more.") and then he reviewed them in my digital camera display window with me ("That one looks pretty good," Danny said approvingly) and then quietly returned to his own real world.

Previously:

Most Eligible Bachelor

Morning Wood