How many of you remember staying past midnight to watch a rerun episode of South Park? Or getting hectic about X’s pimping rides and working miracles? Not to mention the music which we played so loud on our TVs so we could hear it from the backyard. Well, MTVis counting on memories like this in light of launching MTV Classic, a rebranded VH1 Classic, as starting on August 1st.
Who's coming back to MTV Classic?
Beloved shows such as “Daria”, “Beavis and Butt-head”, “Jackass”, “Pimp my ride”, “Punk’D”, “Cribs” or “Laguna Beach” are going to be back on primetime.
Not to mention the "most memorable" installments of MTV Unplugged, including episodes featuring Nirvana, Erykah Badu, Oasis, Neil Young, Alice in Chains or Bob Dylan. Just let me get my cassette player and my Gameboy and we can go ahead.
The launching date itself has a deeper meaning, celebrating 35 years since MTV first debuted in 1981. In order to make it even more special (as if it wasn’t enough!), the company plans on replicating the first hour of programming in MTV’s history on the exact same first hour of Classic Channel broadcasting. If by now you were as pumped as I was when I heard the news, you are probably thinking “What about people who don’t have a TV anymore”. Well, MTV got you covered: for the fans without cable, "MTV Hour One" will be available via Facebook Live.
Let’s hope they make it “Video Killed the Radio Star”-authentic!
A diverse portfolio of music and youth culture
"From Beavis & Butt-head to Laguna Beach, MTV’s programming vault is a music and pop culture goldmine with universal resonance. MTV Classic gives audiences a modern and artful home for classic MTV programming and — alongside MTV, MTV2, MTV Live and mtvU — rounds out a diverse portfolio with music and youth culture at its core." Sean Atkins, President of MTV, noted in a statement for Rollingstone.com.
Although many look at this with skeptical eyes and the news have indeed brought a lot of negative buzz, we must acknowledge that what MTV did back in 1981 redefined the way people watched cable television, gave birth to a pop culture, molded an industry and let kids know there’s so much more than Cartoon Network was doing for our animated addiction.
Sure, along the way money and fame rearranged values and priorities, and then technology came along, turning everything upside down, bombarding viewers with options they didn’t knew were possible. The ‘goldies’ did what they could.
With all the Pokémon Go frenzy going on and TV series like Gilmore Girls or Twin Peaks being picked up and brought back to life, I couldn’t help but wonder, are we subtly admitting that before was better?