Thank you! You're way too kind.
I am asked about Jesse literally every single day of my life. Seriously! (And it's okay with me.) And I couldn't tell you where he is. There's someone on Twitter who says he's Jesse, but I just don't believe it.
Ha! I'm sorry to hear that. But I'm afraid we were all pretty dumb.
Isn't that MTV30 thing interesting? A guy named Alex Coletti (who's been at the MTV since the '80s) put that show together, and I think it's just whatever he could find. Seriously- there's a Facebook group for those of us who worked there, and he asked us all whether we had any tapes sitting around. A LOT of the old stuff is just...gone.
You know, I agree. Everyone at MTV agrees. But here's the thing: music videos get terrible ratings. We tried it a million different times in a million different ways when I was there. People just don't watch them. MTV is above all a business. It runs on advertiser money, advertisers want ratings, shows rate well, blocks of music videos do not. Simple as that. Heartbreaking!
Everybody knows that the Buggles "Video Killed the Radio Star" was the first music video on MTV. But since MTV no longer plays videos, I'd like to know what the last video played on MTV was.
They do! I swear. It's, you know, 2 to 6am, but still- MTV does actually play music videos. I wish there were more, and at friendlier hours, but there you go.
It was like being in the greatest treehouse in the world. I got to meet the smartest, most talented people in the industry, and I don't mean the famous people. I mean the writers/producers/creative types who worked behind the scenes. We got to travel all over the world and make fun stuff happen, and it was 10 times more fun than it looked.
My fondest memory is my first. When they had officially given me the job and I showed up for work that first day. When I went to that audition, I still had a real job job as an advertising guy. So when MTV offered me a job, I had to give notice at my agency. I worked my real job until 2am the night before my first day at MTV, organizing my files for the person they'd hired to replace me. And then at 7am, a car picked me up and took me to the MTV beach house in Seaside Heights, where Funkmaster Flex was spinning, people in swimsuits were dancing, and interns ran to get me Frappucinos. You can't beat that.
As for celebrities I met: Joe Strummer of The Clash. So important to my musical tastes, so friendly and smart, and so handsome. I fell deeply in love.
I know, right? I'll pass that along to him. He's a good guy.
I guess it's mostly changed in that it doesn't exist now. There are no more V's to J. Jim Shearer (dreamboat!) does the countdown on VH1, and...that's about it. We are extinct.
Good morning! Great question. I struggle with this, as I'm now 40 and struggling to stay hip. Here are my suggestions:
Hope that helps!
I was just talking about this with (watch out! a name is about to get dropped!) Bob Mould. (Interviewed him for NPR's The Sound of Young America- it'll air in early August.) We shared a common concern that indie culture might be dying. Back in my day, you had to go to the COOL record store to get the good records- the indies, the imports. These records' scarcity is part of what made them so special, and the people you met at those stores became your friends. Now everything is available to everyone all the time, and nobody has to do the work. You can be hip without even trying. I can't decide whether that's good or bad.
I DVRd all of it. It's been a busy weekend (because of this: popupchapel.com) but I have spent every spare moment glued to MTV30. What I connected to most were the old station IDs. MTV brought some great visual art to the masses: Keith Haring, Kenny Scharf, Ann Magnusen, etc. I miss that.
I will do pretty much anything if asked. I go out for all kinds of shows. I like to work. My only rule is that I won't audition for entertainment news shows. If I have to make a name out of the first names of a celebrity couple (Brangelina, Zanessa, etc.) I am not interested. Otherwise, I'm down for whatever.
Yeah, I think there's something to that. Artists are connecting with their fans in real time, all day long, and every video is available on demand. So I kind of wonder what there is for kids to get excited about.
I do take issue with your assessment of Solid Gold. Those dancers really gave it their all. You better recognize.
Thank you for noticing that I am rad!
And thanks for your kind words about A Drink With Dave. We have had a blast putting that show together. Internet TV is where it's at.
I don't think references are necessarily a bad thing, I just think you have to do something with them. Otherwise it's just lazy.
It was! It was "You Better Run." They're reairing the first hour of MTV on VH1 Classic today- go check it out.
I'm with you. But again, the ratings indicate that people don't watch music videos. Here's my take: Neilsen doesn't count you as a viewer unless you're tuned in for 15 consecutive minutes. When you're watching videos, you tend to change the channel a bunch. So while anecdotally, we had evidence that people were watching videos (kids knew that "Bye Bye Bye" video backwards and forwards), the hard evidence- the numbers advertisers look at- said videos rated badly. So that was that.
I wanted to add my appreciation for your support on the It Gets Better project. I live in a rural county where the community standards are anything but gay friendly. There are actually times when I feel I'm in a horror zombie film because even members of a local church shadow me. Yep, I'm typing this as I'm living in the Shaun of the Dead world. Anyway, speaking as one person struggling for acceptance, the more positive gay role models, the better - especially in music.
Aw, my friend. Keep your chin up. You will make it to the other side. The world is changing fast, it IS GETTING BETTER. Push on through.
Churches are supposed to be forces for fairness, and I have faith that once we're past this silly argument over whether gay people should have basic civil rights, they will shake it off and get back to being good.
I love doing karaoke. My standbys are Jermaine Stewart's "We Don't Have To Take Our Clothes Off" and Looking Glass' "Brandy, You're A Fine Girl." I will cold rock a party.
You know what? I have no idea how that works. I don't even know whether they still do those shows. What was your favorite? Mine was "I'm An Inner-City Cheerleader."
One could make the case that Elvis and the Beatles DID emerge in the video era. Their visual styles were as strong as their music. You think Elvis, you think lips and hips. You think Beatles, you think moptops and Ed Sullivan. They both made movies which were essentially long-form music videos. They were pretty revolutionary in that way.
What you cannot experience through television is how he smelled.
Okay!
Favorite video: can't go wrong with Duran Duran's "Save A Prayer." Made me want to go to Sri Lanka or the Maldives or wherever they were.
Worst video of all time? Wow. Maybe Crazy Town's "Butterfly?" Unpleasant in every way.
Music video as an art form is consistently underrated, so I don't know if I have a most overrated.
Most groundbreaking? I'm going to go with Robyn's "Call Your Girlfriend," from 2011. How is she not a superstar?
PS: Thank you for loving me back in the day! You are still free to love me NOW, should you so choose.
You imagine wrong! Most were pretty down-to-earth. My problem, especially with the young ones, is that they were so media-coached. On-air, every answer to every question was designed to say nothing and make everyone happy. If, for example, you asked Britney Spears "what time is it," she would answer "It is my favorite time, which is always right now, because I love my fans." It got a little exhausting.
But off-camera, they were all pretty decent. Being a dick really doesn't get you far.
With The Real World, MTV had its first long-form show with a story arc. And people watched it. Have you seen that first season? It's on Netflix, and I can't recommend it highly enough. It is paced like a Ken Burns documentary, by today's standards.
And I don't know why it's still on. The kids on that show now were born when that show was on the air, and they have grown up being the kinds of people who tell you what kind of people they are. They are the WORST.
Who's your fave and least fave? I loved Julie and Heather in Season 1, I crushed hard on David from Seattle, and I loathe Flora from Miami.
The Hold Steady, Troubadour, 2007. The Hold Steady anywhere, really.
I couldn't tell you what happened behind the scenes, but I can tell you that once my foot was in the door from Wanna Be A VJ, I put all my effort into pushing that mother open. I went to the wrap party, stayed sober and positive and got as many business cards as I could. And then that Monday, I called. And called. And called some more. I figured I'd either hear "NO," or they'd find a job for me somewhere. And they did. But boy, I was shameless about asking for meetings. (Which you really should be, always.)
You probably look different than you did 30 years ago too. Everything changes, everything is cyclical. MTV is not my cup of tea now either, but you never know what's around the corner.
BRIO! I go there with my parents every time I'm home. Good flatbreads. Will you please come say hi next time? And bring better friends?
Oh, me too. I know just enough about reality tv to stay far away from it.
Nice to see Carson (who seems like a genuine fella) finally strike it rich with The Voice!
Man, Carson struck it rich long, long ago. "Last Call" has been on the air for...10 years now? And yes indeed, he is a decent fellow. He's doing great, and he deserves all his success and much more.
MTV might never be the way it once was, but there are some good, smart people working very hard in 1515 Broadway, and I have no doubt that whatever they come up with next is going to be interesting.
Thoughts, comments, suggestions or criticisms about The Post's Live Q&As? Send us an e-mail.
Become a fan of Post Live on Facebook.
Follow @WashingtonPost on Twitter.
