MTV Turns 40?! (w/ Jay Jeffers and Daniel Kaufman)

Jay Jeffers (The Partially Examined Life) and Dan Kaufman discuss the beginnings of MTV and their recollections of it, on this 40th anniversary of the music channel.

3:40 - Aug 1 marks the 40th Anniversary of the launching of MTV in its “original iteration.”
6:20 - How Jay and Dan first got into KISS
13:30 - Jay and Dan discuss their personal histories with MTV / The importance of “Thriller.”
34:30 - Was MTV the beginning or the end of something? The 80’s vs. the 90’s. The impact of the Cold War.
51:30 - The atomization of music audiences and the fracturing of youth culture.
59:50 - Youth culture, social capital, and power.
1:18:25 - David Bowie confronts MTV on black representation on the channel.

Links: Rob Tannenbaum’s, I Want My MTV (2012). https://www.amazon.com/Want-My-MTV-Uncensored-Revolution/dp/0452298563
Why MTV doesn’t show music videos anymore. https://slate.com/business/2013/08/why-mtv-doesn-t-show-music-videos-but-does-show-the-vmas.html
David Bowie on black representation on MTV. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XZGiVzIr8Qg&ab_channel=MTVNews
Jay at the Partially Examined Life. https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/author/jay-jeffers/
The Buggles, “Video Killed the Radio Star.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W8r-tXRLazs&ab_channel=TheBugglesVEVO
Molly Ringwald on the cover of Time magazine in 1986. http://img.timeinc.net/time/magazine/archive/covers/1986/1101860526_400.jpg
Dan's essay on “OK Boomer.” https://theelectricagora.com/2019/11/08/ok-boomer/