MTV’s Fortieth Birthday

 
 
 

Vocabulary

 

riff	DNA (2)	ladies and gentlemen
insider	launch (2)	cutting edge
premier	New Wave	shelf/shelves
fit (3)	wave (3)	quick to catch
thrill	fittingly	catch/caught/caught (2)
album	on the hour	think/thought/thought (2)
genre	barrage (2)	fly/flew/flown (2)
relevant	roar to live	contemporary
roar (2)	describe	symbiotic relationship
global	explode (2)	see/saw/seen
urban	impact (2)	game-changer
suburbs	Hip-Hip	back in the day
award	remember	stood the test of time
reveal	pregnancy	stand/stood/stood (2)
		forget/forgot/forgotten

 
 
 
 
 

Video

 

 
 
 
 

Transcript

 
MTV Announcer: “Ladies and gentlemen, Rock and Roll!”

With those words — and that guitar riff — MTV roared to life 40 years ago.

Bruno Del Granado, Music Industry Insider: “When MTV launched August 1, 1981, suddenly you had this barrage of what they called New Wave from England, because they had videos, and because there was a video culture in England; there wasn’t one here.”

In fact the first video ever played on MTV was from a British band, The Buggles — Very fittingly Video Killed the Radio Star.

But American artists were quick to catch.

Bruno Del Granado, Music Industry Insider: “When Thriller premiered, I think it was December first in 1983, MTV was programmed at every hour, on the hour for 24 hours.

And it was like the albums flew off the shelves.”

From the King of Pop to the Queen of that genre.

Bruno Del Granado, Music Industry Insider: I don’t think Madonna would have been as big globally as she was because of MTV. And I don’t think MTV would have been as relevant, as cutting edge, as contemporary as it was without Madonna. It was one of those symbiotic relationships.”

And another music video game-changer:

Bruno Del Granado, Music Industry Insider: “That was the first Hip-Hop video that exploded on MTV. And after that you saw Hip-Hop move from the urban cities to the suburbs.”

Journalist: “How would you describe the impact on the music industry now that MTV has?”
Bruno Del Granado, Music Industry Insider: “What you see now with Facebook and Spotify and YouTube and Tik Tok. It’s all the DNA that MTV had back in the day.”

And of course the MTV Video Music Awards have also stood the test of time. You remember the Britney Madonna kiss, Beyonce’s pregnancy reveal. And who can forget Gaga’s meat dress? Well the vmas will be back in Brooklyn on Sunday September 12th on MTV, of course.

Happy Birthday MTV. Good times. Thanks All.

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Questions

Nursery Rhymes, Mother Goose Rhymes. MTV started in 31 December 2001. True or false?

Children’s Songs. In the beginning, were most music videos on MTV House and Techno Music from America? Were most music videos created in the United States?

Folk Songs, Folk Music. Was the first music video aired on MTV Bad Romance by Lady Gaga?

Ballad. Having music videos played on MTV was bad for singers and bands. Is this right or wrong?

Pop Music. Who were the biggest stars on MTV? Did only the artists benefit from MTV, or did the artists also promote and popularize MTV as well?

Rap, Hip-Hop. MTV popularized certain music genres. Is this right or wrong?

Hard Rock, Heavy Metal. Is MTV still very popular? Are there modern-day parallels with MTV? What are the modern-day successors or equivalents of MTV?

House Music, Techno Music. Has MTV been completely forgotten? Is MTV still relevant?
 
 
 
Brass Band, Marching Band. Is there MTV in your city? Can you watch MTV on your TV?

Classical Music. Do you and your friends watch MTV? Have you watched MTV? Is MTV popular in your city and country?

Philharmonic Orchestra. Are music video channels popular? Are music videos popular?

Instrumental. Are music videos big business? Are music videos an industry? Is it considered an art form?

New Age Music. What will happen in the future?

Busking, Street Music. Do you, your friends or classmates want to work in the music video industry?