Does anyone out there remember when MTV was Music Television?
The reason I ask that question is because these past couple of weeks I've been trying out a free digital cable package that includes the VH1 Classic station. And, frankly, it reminds me of the original concept of MTV — music videos 24 hours a day.
These days, MTV is anything but music. Sure, there are a couple of hours where you'll get the "Spankin' New" videos, which are mainly Limp Bizkit, Britney Spears and a lot of rappers who are beginning to sound like all their counterparts.
It seems the other 23 hours are filled with stupid dance contests, news blocks and this thing called "Fear," which is really "Survivor" and "Blair Witch Project" in a blender.
Oh, sure, VH1 is owned by MTV — as are M2 and the Box, all of which play music videos more consistently. But what happened to MTV itself?
The VH1 Classic channel features a great mix of music videos . . . just like MTV used to. Everything from Duran Duran's "Girls on Film" to Van Halen's remake of the Roy Orbison classic "(Oh) Pretty Woman" — complete with bassist Michael Anthony trussed up like an old Samurai warrior — can be found on VH1 Classic.
The other night on VH1, I even saw Gloria Gaynor's "I Will Survive" and Paul Simon's "Me & Julio Down By the School Yard."
And as a bonus, there weren't any obnoxious VeeJays getting in the way of the video flow.
VH1 Classic is exactly what MTV used to be. Believe it or not, that "M" used to stand for "Music."
I remember when MTV first came onto the scene. It was Aug. 1, 1981, and I was 14.
Although I didn't see the first video played (the Buggles "Video Killed the Radio Star"), I remember sitting in the family room of my stepfather's house in Wichita, Kan., surfing the cable stations.
That's when I saw my first bona fide MTV video. It was a live version of REO Speedwagon's "Keep On Lovin' You."
Now, don't laugh — back then, REO was the toast of the town. Its album "High Infidelity" had claimed the No. 1 slot on Billboard's Top 200, and the "Keep On Lovin' You" single was also climbing the charts.
I thought it was cool to see lead singer Kevin Cronin and the rest of the band cranking out the No. 1 hit single, live.
I remember seeing Van Halen, Styx, Journey, Dexys Midnight Runners, Madness, the Eurythmics, AC/DC, Robert Palmer and Duran Duran on MTV. Sometimes I'd see David Bowie's outrageous "I Am a DJ" and then see Kansas' "Dust In the Wind" right before Styx's "Rockin' the Paradise" and Blondie's "Heart of Glass" one after another.
Back then, the channel was open to everyone. All types of music got on. Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, the Bangles, U2, the Pretenders, Frankie Goes to Hollywood, Menudo and Tears for Fears all made it onto the play lists.
Then again, so did Yes, the Boomtown Rats, John (Cougar) Mellencamp, Bonnie Tyler, the Bee Gees, Flock of Seagulls and Rod Stewart.
There weren't any artists who were dumped because their popularity had run out. I mean, come on, the Bee Gees and Menudo were set up alongside David Bowie and the Rolling Stones. Nowadays, when you see classic rockers like Styx or Van Halen on MTV, the bands are usually in the middle of a lawsuit.
Anyway, back when MTV was an infant, there were no weird game shows like the thankfully defunct "Singled Out." And there weren't any "American Bandstand"-type segments like "The Grind." There weren't huge blocks of specialized videos — rap and teeny-bopper pop — aimed at a single demographic. And the VeeJays weren't supermodel wannabes.
Instead, MTV played music videos 24/7. That's what it was about — music, not the commercialism and consumerism that has engulfed the station today. And music is where VH1 Classic is. Let's hope it stays that way.
E-MAIL: scott@desnews.com