We’re so hyped about this month’s PLAYBACK theme that it’s taking over our entertainment, top to bottom! From collecting vintage TV clips to filling our Spotify lists with happy memories…
In the past week we’ve shared a curation of fun Saturday Morning memories, as well as our monthly Spotify Theme Playlist which for March’s assortments is hitting the 1980’s hard. In that respect, I thought it would be fun to share another favorite discovery of mine in the hallowed halls of YouTube: The MTV “Vidcheck”. These are, essentially, edited down hours worth of footage from MTV’s golden years, primarily consisting of everything but the videos – the vintage commercials, the promos for upcoming concerts and specials and, most importantly, the VJ segments chock full of your faves sharing music news and more. (I mean, it’s debatable whether which cover songs the Rolling Stones were adding to their tour set list is major “news” or not, but hey… give them a break, they were figuring this Music Television thing out on their own!) And I know, it seems like a drag to not have the one thing that really defined what MTV was intended to be back in the day, but you know… copyright and all that. At the very least, these vidchecks usually feature a few seconds of each video’s intro and ending, so you can look up the videos on your own! (Or you know, make a playlist… not that I have done that or anything. *cough*)
And so, we bring you a three-act play of classic MTV that, frankly, is the kind of experience you just aren’t going to get on MTV Classic any time soon. (Come on guys. YOU CAN BE BETTER.) At the top of the page, check out a block of footage from the summer of 1985 featuring the late, great JJ Jackson’s primetime slot with some primo promos and a whole lot of Huey Lewis and the News – perfect timing as we celebrate Back to the Future! Then if you want to dig back even further on the timeline check out the 1982 segment below, primarily featuring America’s VJ sweetheart Martha Quinn. (This was less than a year after MTV first hit the airwaves, trivia fans. And on this date, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial had been in theaters for just five days. Raaaaad.)
And last but not least! – for those of you who aren’t quite as old as us fogeys ;), please enjoy this early-90’s collection that recalls the time when music videos and original programming really started to mesh (but before the latter completely took over the channel’s schedule). Plenty of delightful retro VJ action in this one, too – hola, Daisy Fuentes!
(Shout-out to YouTube user Michael Pannoni for curation of all these great clips!)
Which era of MTV really, really takes you back? Got any particular music video or O.G. show that is a fave? Tell us on social with the hashtag #MTVLoot!
