MTV (40 years today) - the Amiga years..

[eXeler0]

Just saw a documentary about MTV (which just so happens to coincide with the 40th anniversary of the birth of MTV.. )
Besides making me feel old , it also made me reflect the similarities between Amiga and MTV.
I tend to see the Amiga as the solution that existed in the 80s, but as things changed the Amiga lost its niche/edge and faded away.. Something similar happened to MTV and it's peak roughly coincided with the good Amiga years.
Much like Amiga revolutionized the home computer scene, MTV revolutionized how people listened to music, discovered new artists etc.. (The whole video killed the radio star -thing..)
When people today ask "how would you design a new Amiga" its not too dissimilar to ask how would you launch a new TV channel that only shows music videos.. In this day and age, kids watch youtube videos of their fav artists on their phones... A new TV channel doesn't even compute, right?

Another thing I thought about is that there must be a whole bunch of Amiga fans that are also the "MTV generation"..
What are *your* memories and reflections of these two parallel things going on in our lives back in the day.

[acidbottle]

Yeah, for sure MTV was definitely a good place to discover some less known sounds. Trouble is, at least in the early days, it was prohibitively expensive for many households, I knew 2 people who had it right up to the late 90s!

For kick ass eclectic music styles you would turn on John Peel, radio 1!

Anyway, MTV now reflects everything that is a cesspit in todays world, bite sized dumb fuel for the brainless generation (generally speaking). Sorry millennials

[malko]

Originally Posted by acidbottle

[...] Anyway, MTV now reflects everything that is a cesspit in todays world, bite sized dumb fuel for the brainless generation (generally speaking). Sorry millennials

Same can be said for others channels as well (TNT/Cartoon Network not to mention one "kids specialised"). "Analysis & refection" are missing in a too much lot of places... I don't specifically mean "intellectual" but "open your eyes sight".

[bni]

Fond memories of the animation show "Liquid Television" that ran on MTV. It was the same time period roughly that I was using my Amiga 500 back in the day.

Watching it now I think its still interesting, it has a lot of creative 3D animation also, especially its intro with the "bottle".

[acidbottle]

Originally Posted by malko

Same can be said for others channels as well (TNT/Cartoon Network not to mention one "kids specialised"). "Analysis & refection" are missing in a too much lot of places... I don't specifically mean "intellectual" but "open your eyes sight".

its an interesting point to. I have kids and am constantly bombarded by these channels, nick junior etc. Many shows have went from a clear message, like action and consequence style reflection to a no-brained end and no morale twist or guidance.

MTV began its decline in the early 2000s, with less music and more focus on reality tv (though perhaps the channel split its music elements to different channels?). Must confess, enjoyed jackass and happy tree friends mind you

[eXeler0]

Originally Posted by bni

Fond memories of the animation show "Liquid Television" that ran on MTV. It was the same time period roughly that I was using my Amiga 500 back in the day.

Watching it now I think its still interesting, it has a lot of creative 3D animation also, especially its intro with the "bottle".

Agreed, there was nothing else like it.. A forum for creative weirdness..
And the intro itself, I wonder if any Amiga was involved in making it ;-) (Video Toaster + Lightwave etc)

[bni]

I have wondered that myself.

When googling I found out a company called XAOS Inc produced the title sequence, and some other segments.

It seems quite state of the art for 1991? Maybe someone here knows more about XAOS Inc.

[Foebane]

If we're talking about music TV and Amiga, how about ITV's The Chart Show from around 1990? Amigas were used for the GUI every now and then delivering informational tidbits about the pop stars, as in this example clip:

[ Show youtube player ]

[capehorn]

Didn't they also use an Amiga to produce Star Test?

[ Show youtube player ]

[dreadnought]

The original MTV kicked ass. I was lucky, becuse we were fresh out from behind the Iron Curtain, starved for anything from the rotten West, and there were proto-cable TV companies starting at the time (around 1990) and they had MTV too.

In the daytime it was all about pop, which we ignored or poked fun at (at least it was still music thou, not reality TV), but the evenings were full of cutting edge stuff. We used to record music to VHS or straight to tape decks. Themed programs such as Headbangers Balls or Chillout Zone (?) were really great, and Yo! MTV Raps simply unmissable.

There was also a lot of other quality stuff, eg many cult animation seres such as Beavis & Butthead or Aeon Flux. Combined with the heyday of Amiga these were truly halcyon days.

[duga]

Originally Posted by eXeler0

Just saw a documentary about MTV (which just so happens to coincide with the 40th anniversary of the birth of MTV.. )
Besides making me feel old , it also made me reflect the similarities between Amiga and MTV.
I tend to see the Amiga as the solution that existed in the 80s, but as things changed the Amiga lost its niche/edge and faded away.. Something similar happened to MTV and it's peak roughly coincided with the good Amiga years.
Much like Amiga revolutionized the home computer scene, MTV revolutionized how people listened to music, discovered new artists etc.. (The whole video killed the radio star -thing..)
When people today ask "how would you design a new Amiga" its not too dissimilar to ask how would you launch a new TV channel that only shows music videos.. In this day and age, kids watch youtube videos of their fav artists on their phones... A new TV channel doesn't even compute, right?

Another thing I thought about is that there must be a whole bunch of Amiga fans that are also the "MTV generation"..
What are *your* memories and reflections of these two parallel things going on in our lives back in the day.

My reflection is that another parallel thing to Amiga is Guns N' Roses. Formed in California in 1985, most popular product released in 1987, last original product released in 1994.

[Cobe]

Originally Posted by dreadnought

The original MTV kicked ass. I was lucky, becuse we were fresh out from behind the Iron Curtain, starved for anything from the rotten West, and there were proto-cable TV companies starting at the time (around 1990) and they had MTV too.

In the daytime it was all about pop, which we ignored or poked fun at (at least it was still music thou, not reality TV), but the evenings were full of cutting edge stuff. We used to record music to VHS or straight to tape decks. Themed programs such as Headbangers Balls or Chillout Zone (?) were really great, and Yo! MTV Raps simply unmissable.

There was also a lot of other quality stuff, eg many cult animation seres such as Beavis & Butthead or Aeon Flux. Combined with the heyday of Amiga these were truly halcyon days.

Well we had "luck" that we were still under iron "embargo" curtain. Local tvs transmited any western content they wanted free of charge...mtv(I loved Rebecca de Ruvo , Sky(Saber Raider!) and other...