You're browsing all posts tagged The January Man

1988 Countdown: Commercial Break #27

(New to the countdown? Catch up here.) Time to visit the Duke. Let’s dispatch this commercial break quickly so we can get back to the videos sooner rather than later. We kick off with the eighth appearance of the frequently played promo for “Big Bang ’89”: live performances from Robert Plant, Poison, Winger, Cameo, Hall […]

posted 5 June 2018 in 1988. 2 comments

1988 Countdown: Commercial Break #25

(New to the countdown? Catch up here.) Time to visit the Duke. The ads kick off with the network’s frequently deployed spot (the seventh time on a once-per-hour schedule) for their “Big Bang ’89” program (the New Year’s Eve live program playing a few hours later). I’ve noted previously that Robert Plant had the best […]

posted 31 July 2013 in 1988. 2 comments

1988 Countdown: Commercial Break #23

(New to the countdown? Catch up here.) MTV visits the Duke. First, the stoned intern in the control room has cued up the Bon Jovi promo again. It includes footage from the “Wanted Dead or Alive” video–and an actual lighter being held up at a concert! Only a few years later, that would feel anachronistic. […]

posted 9 February 2011 in 1988. no comments yet

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: Commercial Break #19

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. 4 comments

1988 Countdown: Commercial Break #18

We kick off with an MTV promo, repeating from about three hours ago, for their show Now Hear This: MTV’s Guide to New Music. “On this week’s special year-end wrap-up,” Adam Curry says in voiceover as we see the members of R.E.M. doing their “Stand” jumps, “we’ll take a look back at world premieres, the […]

posted 17 March 2010 in 1988. no comments yet

1988 Countdown: Commercial Break #16

(New to the countdown? Catch up here.) We head to a commercial break with a fifteen-second MTV bumper: lots of revved-up stock footage from the early twentieth century, superimposed over what appears to be flickering pages from textbooks. There’s a director with a megaphone, an old gramophone, men in hats operating film cameras, an orchestra […]

posted 2 December 2009 in 1988. no comments yet

1988 Countdown: Commercial Break #14

Time to visit the Duke. MTV replays their promo for “Michael Jackson Sunday”; as you might expect, it plays very differently now than it did a few months ago. “He’s been bad,” says the MTV Voiceover Guy. (A clip from “Bad” plays.) “He’s been smooth.” (A “Smooth Criminal” clip.) “Now he takes his own image […]

posted 24 September 2009 in 1988. 4 comments

1988 Countdown: Commercial Break #12

If you’re new to the countdown: I’m plowing my way through actual videotapes of MTV’s year-end countdown broadcast on 12/31/1988. If you want to catch up from the beginning, you should probably start here. On a plate, there’s a piece of white bread in the shape of an M. It’s soon covered with a dollop […]

posted 11 February 2009 in 1988. no comments yet

1988 Countdown: Commercial Break #9

A lonely bugle plays over an image of Jon Bon Jovi–who’s looking morose, with his left hand on his cheek. Maybe Jon’s run out of bottles, and hence no longer knows what day of the week it is. “Bon Jovi on the road,” says the Voiceover Guy. “They play their guts out.” The image changes […]

posted 7 October 2008 in 1988. no comments yet