Quick history lesson: On Aug. 1, 1981, one minute after midnight Eastern Time Music Television (MTV) gave us its first images which were the space shuttle Columbia launched countdown footage and the launch of Apollo 11 with a voiceover saying, “Ladies and gentlemen, rock and roll.” Then an astronaut placed a flag with the MTV logo changing colors. And with that, the 24 hour music video channel was born.
The first music video to play on this fledgling channel was the appropriately titled “Video Killed the Radio Star” (1979) by the Buggles.
Even though MTV popularized the music video they have always existed in some form. A predecessor to the channel was the music video show “PopClips” (1980-1981) created by the Monkees’ Michael Nesmith. The show aired on Nickelodeon.
Before “PopClips” and MTV music videos were known as promotional clips. The Beatles can be seen as an early example of utilizing promotional clips; in doing research, many articles pointed out how the visuals and music were used in their films “A Hard Day’s Night” (1964), “Help” (1965) and “Magical Mystery Tour” (1967).
But once the fab four stopped touring in 1966, due to exhaustion and their sound becoming more experimental making it difficult to replicate live, the band made promotional clips (they were also doing this pre-not touring) to send out various shows instead of making live appearances. Well-known songs by The Beatles to have a video attached are “We Can Work It” and “Day Tripper” (both 1965), “Strawberry Fields Forever” and “Penny Lane” (both 1967).
The video for Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody” (1975) was first shown on the show “Top of the Pops” (1964-2006).
As I mentioned before MTV was revolutionary here was to see your favorite musicians from the comfort of your couch. This was the channel that helped solidify the image and stardom of Madonna and where the 14-minute music video for Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” (1983) first premiered.
But a lot has changed since 1981 MTV doesn’t play music videos anymore (MTV Classics still does) just a lot of reality TV.
The music video gave another way for fans to see musicians they like without having to go to a concert. But with social media you have more access to your favorite celebrities. You can see them document their life in real time. My TikTok for you page has been filled with four different angles of the same three Coachella performances (Lana Del Rey, Chappell Roan and Sabrina Carpenter).
So with the wide use of the internet and streaming services making music easier to access I have always wondered if the music video is still necessary. Well I still think so. The visual aspect of music is just as important as the song. When you think of The Beatles do you picture them in their Sgt. Pepper costumes? When you think of David Bowie do you picture Ziggy Stardust or the lighting bolt painted across his face?
The visuals of the musicians give a way to make them identifiable to their audience. And the music video is an extension of that.
YouTube is my way of watching music videos and they still rack up billions of views. I can vividly remember waiting for the premiere of the “Thank U, Next” video (Ariana Grande, 2018) with friends at school. That music video broke the record and became one of Youtube’s most watched music videos within 24 hours of its premiere.
I remember watching the premiere of Taylor Swift’s “Look What You Made Me Do” at the 2017 MTV Video Music Awards with my mother.
They teased that music video the entire broadcast. Every time Swift releases a new video the internet is buzzing wondering what it will look like.
When Miley Cyrus was starting to slowly distance herself from her Hannah Montana/Disney image that made her a household name she released “Can’t Be Tamed” (2010) and its accompanying music video.
Cyrus fully shedding her Disney image can be seen in her first post Disney album “Bangerz” (2013) where she traded her long brown hair for a bleached blonde pixie cut.
More ways we saw Cyrus trying to have a more mature image is through the videos for “We Can’t Stop” and “Wrecking Ball” (both 2013). Both videos got the media talking about Cyrus’ move towards a more provocative public image.
And who can forget the career defining music videos of Lady Gaga and Beyonce. Some videos that always come to mind when I think of them are “Telephone” (2010, both of them are in it), “Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)” (2008, Beyonce) and “Poker Face” (2008, Lady Gaga).
So in our social media-dominated world, the music video still has a lot to offer in showing artistic expression.