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1988 Countdown #45: Phil Collins, “A Groovy Kind of Love”

(New to the countdown? Catch up here.) A door opens at the back of a large room. We see a man in silhouette, and a shaft of light illuminating a chair. In silence, the man walks down a staircase into what appears to be a disused warehouse. He gets closer and we see that it’s […]

posted 20 January 2011 in 1988. 4 comments

1988 Countdown #46: Eddie Money, “Walk on Water”

(New to the countdown? Catch up here.) We come back from the commercial break to an interview clip of Mr. Edward Mahoney, better known to you and me as Eddie Money. “I like making videos,” he says, “because it’s an extension of the artist’s personality and, you know, like, on the radio, you don’t really […]

posted 17 December 2010 in 1988. 4 comments

1988 Countdown: Commercial Break #22

(New to the countdown? Catch up here.) Robert Plant’s exploding lightbulb segues elegantly into a clip of a rocket taking off, heralding the sixth appearance of the promo spot for MTV’s “Big Bang ’89.” This time through, I’m admiring the work of the network’s graphics department: crosshairs moving across maps, an animated explosives detonator, grids […]

posted 9 December 2010 in 1988. 1 comment

1988 Countdown #47: Robert Plant, “Tall Cool One”

(New to the countdown? Catch up here.) Forget “He’s hot, he’s sexy, he’s dead”–my favorite rock ’n’ roll coverline of all time came from the perpetually underrated Musician magazine, circa 1988. To the best of my memory, Robert Plant appeared on the cover wrapped in what appeared to be an exotic blanket. In very small […]

posted 24 November 2010 in 1988. 13 comments

1988 Countdown #48: George Michael, “Faith”

(New to the countdown? Catch up here.) Adam Curry: “In at number forty-eight, we find George Michael. He’s had a great year, of course. His Faith tour that everybody went out to see; in fact, MTV covered it, we broadcast two songs live from his show in, what is it, Massachusetts, I believe. And his […]

posted 3 November 2010 in 1988. 14 comments

1988 Countdown: Commercial Break #21

(New to the countdown? Catch up here.) The commercial break begins with the promo for “The Year in Rock 88.” The people deemed newsworthy enough to get a quick video clip of them flashed in this spot: Chuck D. (in a Pittsburgh Pirates cap), Tracy Chapman (looking dour), Keith Richards (with cigarette), Billy Joel (playing […]

posted 22 October 2010 in 1988. 5 comments

1988 Countdown #49: Duran Duran, “I Don’t Want Your Love”

(New to the countdown? Catch up here.) A white-haired judge sits down behind a podium and bangs his gavel, calling the video to order. The footage flies by very quickly: this is the most hyperactive editing we’ve seen so far on the entire countdown. I’m not going to log the hundreds of different shots in […]

posted 14 October 2010 in 1988. 5 comments

1988 Countdown #50: Sting, “Be Still My Beating Heart”

(New to the countdown? Catch up here.) Top of the hour, which means it’s time for the station ID. For years, that meant an astronaut jumping around on the moon, but eventually MTV mixed it up (while keeping the same music). On the last day of 1988, they were showing a three-dimensional M spinning inside […]

posted 16 September 2010 in 1988. 8 comments

1988 Countdown: #75-51 Roundup

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. 4 comments

1988 Countdown: Demographics on Parade

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