Video Killed the Radio Star

8/3/11 Video Killed the Radio Star
The 80s: MTV, Glam and The King of Pop
Understanding the 80s
SPANDEX & BIG HAIR
1 8/3/11 Culture in the 1980s
•  Politics
•  1981: President Ronald Reagan took office
•  1986: Chernobyl nuclear accident
•  1989: The fall of the Berlin Wall
•  Health and Economics
•  1981: First AIDS outbreak
•  1985: Nancy Reagan’s Just Say No campaign
•  1987: Black Monday stock market crash
•  Entertainment
•  1981: The launch of MTV
•  1985: Nintendo released the NES
•  VCRs and Cable TV hit the mainstream over the decade
The revolution will be televised
I WANT MY MTV
2 8/3/11 Ladies & gentlemen, rock and roll.
•  1981: MTV debuted
•  The format: VJs (video jockeys) playing music videos
•  Center of 80s and 90s pop culture
•  The music
•  New Wave and Synth Pop
•  Pop Icons
•  Glam Rock/Metal
•  Key 80s shows
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1984: MTV Video Music Awards (The VMAs)
1986: 120 Minutes
1987: Headbangers’ Ball
1988: Yo! MTV Raps
New Wave
•  New Wave: a commercially friendly form of Punk
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Disco, pop and Reggae influence
Artistic, ironic lyrics
Catchy melodies
A few of the stars:
•  Blondie
•  “Call Me”, “Heart of Glass”
•  Elvis Costello
•  “Alison”, “Watching the Detectives”
•  The Talking Heads
•  “Burning Down the House”, “Psycho Killer”
•  The Police
•  “I’ll Be Watching You”, “Roxanne”
3 8/3/11 Synth and Dance Pop
•  Synth Pop: punky pop made with electronic instruments
•  Drum machines, synthesizers
•  Developed along side of Techno
•  A few of the stars:
•  DEVO
•  “Whip It”
•  Brian Eno
•  Ambient 1: Music for Airports
•  Depeche Mode
•  Violator
•  Kraftwerk
•  “Pocket Calculator”
•  …and countless 1-hit wonders…
Michael Jackson
•  “The King of Pop”
•  3rd best selling artist ever
•  Brilliant choreographer
•  Major philanthropist
•  Went solo with Off the Wall (1979)
•  Thriller (1983)
•  Best selling album ever…110 million sold
•  37 weeks at #1, 80 in the Top 10, and 7 Top 10 singles
•  Jackson on MTV
•  1st black artist to have a video (“Billie Jean”) played on MTV
•  “Thriller” elevated videos to the level of short films
4 8/3/11 Madonna
•  A figure of female empowerment
•  Sexually liberated
•  A master of media manipulation
•  Used controversy to reset her career
•  80s fashion icon
•  Emerged from NY’s dance culture
•  Music designed for dance
•  Highly choreographed shows
•  Like a Virgin (1984) was her breakthrough
•  The 2nd best selling female artist in rock
Sex, drugs and WAY too much eye-liner
GLAM METAL
5 8/3/11 Men In Tights
•  Glam Metal: (aka Hair Metal) pop metal glorifying booze, sex
and bad-boy behavior
•  Led Zeppelin arena rock meets KISS showmanship
•  An MTV-ready image: make-up, spandex, big hair
•  The Power Ballad: a slow, epic song “for the ladies”
•  The early stars
•  Van Halen
•  Virtuoso guitarist Eddie, and party-boy Roth
•  “You Really Got Me”, “Eruption”, “Jump”
•  Twisted Sister
•  KISS in drag, battled the PMRC
•  “We’re Not Gonna Take It”, “I Wanna Rock”
The Sunset Strip
•  The LA scene was the sleazy center of Glam
•  Rows of night clubs featuring Hair Bands
•  Kicked off by Quiet Riot
•  1st Metal band to get a #1 album, Metal Health
•  A few of the bands
•  Mötley Crüe
•  “Kickstart My Heart”, “Dr. Feelgood”
•  Poison
•  “Unskinny Bop”, “Every Rose Has It’s Thorn”
•  Guns n’ Roses
•  “Welcome to the Jungle”, “Sweet Child O’ Mine”
6 8/3/11 The PMRC
•  The Parents’ Music Resource Center
•  Led by Tipper Gore and “The Washington Wives”
•  Made an attempt in 1984 to regulate lyrics
•  The Filthy 15
•  Artists called out for lyrics with violent or sexual content
•  Congressional hearings were held
•  Dee Snider, Frank Zappa and John Denver testified
•  The result?
•  Parental Advisory warning stickers
•  A badge of honor for rebellious rock stars
One word: Nirvana
THE DEMISE OF GLAM
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