Once again, MTV visits the Duke. First up, a network spot for the show Now Hear This: MTV’s Guide to New Music. This program aired on Monday nights and was hosted by golden-maned Adam Curry. “World premiere videos,” voiceover guy says, and we see clips of Keith Richards, Huey Lewis, and the Fresh Prince (aka […]
posted 24 July 2008 in 1988. 4 comments
“Time to visit the Duke,” former Sex Pistol Steve Jones often says on his (excellent) Los Angeles radio show when heading into a commercial break. I had been listening for months before any guest asked him what “the Duke” meant; I had assumed it was a euphemism for the bathroom, but it turns out Jones […]
posted 15 July 2008 in 1988. 6 comments
The break starts with another excellent animated MTV promo. (Whoever was in charge of these must have been having a blast.) This one stars marionettes in a drawing room that appears to be inspired by Marie Antoinette. The sexiest marionette, with a drink in hand and red pants so tight they look like they were […]
posted 24 June 2008 in 1988. 4 comments
MTV plays a promo for a Michael Jackson video debuting on New Year’s Day at 5 pm, 8pm, 9pm, and 10pm: “Leave Me Alone.” In the clips we see, Jackson rides a toy airplane and dances with the Elephant Man’s bones. A stack of newspapers has fake tabloid headlines (“Michael Weds Alien”). I believe in […]
posted 10 June 2008 in 1988. 2 comments
Another commercial break. The first spot’s for MTV’s “Big Bang ’89,” the live party airing later that night, featuring “music and madness from New York and L.A.” (We see close-ups of those two cities on a map, in case we need some help remembering them, or maybe to help us find them in case we’re […]
posted 27 May 2008 in 1988. 1 comment
And we go to a commercial break! First, there’s an MTV promo touting their dedication to new music. “Every major band was a new name at one time,” says a bass voice (moderately portentous, but without enough presence to get movie-trailer work). Then they flash the names of these brand-new bands that they’re backing with […]
posted 15 May 2008 in 1988. 2 comments