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Back in 1988, I videotaped the MTV year-end top-100 countdown. Back in 2008, I unearthed the tapes and started watching them for the first time in two decades. For the past two years, I’ve been working my way through the broadcast, dissecting every single video, ad break, and Kevin Seal smirk. We’re now five hours [...]
posted 26 August 2010 in 1988. 3 comments
Since we’re halfway done with the countdown, it seemed like an opportune moment to update the demographics of the fifty videos played so far: United States: 30 England: 10 US/UK joint ventures: 4 Australia: 4 New Zealand: 1 Sweden: 1 White: 40 Black: 10 Male: 37 Female: 13 Solo acts: 31 Groups: 19 Number of [...]
posted 17 August 2010 in 1988. 4 comments
While cleaning out my garage, I found an unexpected treasure: videotapes of the MTV year-end countdown for 1988, in its entirety. I’ve been working my way through the top 100, clip by clip, and have now reached the halfway point. The fifth hour: #51: Bobby McFerrin, “Don’t Worry, Be Happy” #52: INXS, “Never Tear Us [...]
posted 16 August 2010 in 1988. no comments yet
(New to the countdown? Catch up here.) Rejoining our final Kevin Seal appearance, we find Seal promoting his hosting job on Big Bang ’89 later that night: “It’s time for me for me to go and start pushing my way through the huge crowds around Times Square. There’s only seven hours to go, you know–I [...]
MTV station ID: we see the MTV logo, barely visible in outline, while a geyser of water spouts from left to right. Then white steam condenses on black rocks, again with the invisible logo–the sections in the M, the TV, and outside the logo were filmed at the same spot, but at different times. Third [...]
posted 21 July 2010 in 1988. 3 comments
(New to the countdown? Catch up here.) Violins saw away as we slowly pan down an antique lamppost. We have time to note the lamppost’s broken pane of glass, its ironwork, and the details of its patina. This shot lasts, no lie, twenty seconds, as if INXS want to destroy MTV’s reputation for quick-cut editing [...]
posted 15 July 2010 in 1988. 4 comments
(New to the countdown? Catch up here.) We hear a horribly dated plinkety synth sound; it sounds like somebody got a new keyboard for Christmas 1987 and left it on the preset. On our video screen: a New York City street scene, specifically a Hot Video Babe walking down the sidewalk. She is walking two [...]
posted 24 June 2010 in 1988. 16 comments
(New to the countdown? Catch up here.) Kevin Seal promotes the “Big Bang ’89” celebration with as little sincerity as he can muster: “Oooh, whee, let’s get some excitement.” He then continues with the countdown: “In at a pretty solid 54 is Whitesnake.” He notes that “Give Me All Your Love” was the fourth video [...]
posted 17 June 2010 in 1988. 4 comments
Once again, we visit the Duke. For the fifth time, we see the hourly promo spot for the “Big Bang ’89″ broadcast. Lots of quick video clips: Robert Plant points to the sky. Bret Michaels flails his arms around. Kip Winger bashes out a chord. Larry Blackmon rocks the codpiece. Daryl Hall grabs a handful [...]
posted 10 June 2010 in 1988. 3 comments
(New to the countdown? Catch up here.) Kevin Seal returns! Over the past four-plus hours, he customarily introduces videos only when returning from a commercial break. But coming out of the Poison video, he has a Bruce Springsteen interview clip to set up. Seal notes that Tunnel of Love was Springsteen’s first studio album in [...]
posted 3 June 2010 in 1988. 5 comments
