Video killed the radio star; and some rock careers

Remember the song, Video Killed the Radio Star, by the Buggles?? Of course you do. It was the first video played on MTV and a pretty catchy tune, even today. But, I don't think it rang true. Video didn't kill radio, but it did kill some careers and catapulted some others. Think about it; would Duran Duran have been as hot as they were if it hadn't been for MTV? Don't get me wrong; they were good, but their videos were incredible. I think it's fairly obvious that had it not been for MTV, Duran Duran may have had just an average career, at best. Look at them.....they were a very "video friendly" band. They looked good on TV, every guy wanted to be them and every girl wanted to be with them; at least the girls I hung out with! Even Simon LeBon says he couldn't believe how quickly they became stars after MTV played Hungry Like the Wolf! Ok song, but great video! Now, take a guy like Christopher Cross. He was and is a huge talent but other than his self-titled debut, he had very little commercial success. Why? He wasn't MTV friendly so his videos didn't get into heavy rotation. The guy won the Big 4 grammys for his first album and you didn't hear a word from him after that!!

Now, let's talk hair bands/glam metal. Poison. Here's a band, that in my humble opinion, was fair, at best. I'm not now and have never been a huge fan of this band and apparently I just didn't get it. They looked like they were having fun, but they couldn't play very well. I've seen them twice, both times as an opener and I still don't think they're very good. I mean, come on; Talk Dirty to Me?????? Are you serious??? Anyway, this is a band that was very successful and I think it was ALL because of MTV. You couldn't turn on MTV in the mid 80's without seeing 7 Poison videos an hour! Which brings me to Cinderella. Another MTV casualty. Cinderella had the MTV look and were immediately labeled glam metal. And their first album could be labeled that as well. Too bad. Cinderella is some of the best blues based rock around, but as soon as they tried to go back that direction, i.e., Long Cold Winter and Heartbreak Station, they were shunned by the Gods that are MTV. They no longer fit the mold. And Cinderella went by the wayside. I could go on and on, but I'm open to hearing other opinions. They're wrong, but I'm still open to listening!! In the meantime, I think I'll moonwalk across the living room while humming the tune to Billie Jean!!