Bloomington High School South, The Gothic, 1985, Page 18

Description:	IIIIIIIIMNew cablechannel:it rocksWith the increase inthe popularity of cabletelevision in 1984-85came the recognition ofan innovative stationknown as MusicTelevision, otherwiseknown as MTV.In the summer of1984, the homes ofSouth students beganto be installed withchannel boxes thatenabled them to receivea wider variety of TVstations including the24-hour music videostation.MTV has had anenthusiastic response atBHSS. Its great! Ilove it! said seniorLloyd Newmann aboutMTV. The consensus ofstudents asked for theiropinions about MTVwas positive.This new musicmedium could give theradio business somecompetition, but radiois a long way frombecoming obsolete.Although somestudents like videosbetter than radiobecause videosentertain with sight aswell as sound, radio stillremains more popularbecause of itsconvenience andportability.MTV can only bereceived through cable,and the music played ismostly popular music.iscellaneous, etc.PlNfc FLOYDME1MUSIC TELEVISION//U/LC1 . AWith radio there is afull range of types ofmusic that can bereceived.The music types onMTV do vary, however,from country to heavymetal, although poptop 40 is aired mostoften. Videos by VanHalen, Madonna, TheCars, Phil Collins, JimiHendrix, David Bowie,David Lee Roth, GlenFrey, and Robert Plantwere the most popularwith South Students.Five V-Jsintroduce the videos onMTV, as well as reportthe latest music newsfrom around the world.Students believe thatthe V-Js are good atwhat they do, and thatthey seem to be at ease.Martha Quinn is thefavorite V-J, while J. J.Jackson is the leastpopular.Along with thevideos, MTV has shownconcert specials andsponsored contestswhich have uniqueprizes. In the summerof 1984, Bloomingtonbecame involved withan MTV contest basedon John CougarMellencamps songPink Houses.A party house,located on North ShoreDrive in Bloomington,was awarded to thecontest winner. Thewinner and 25 of herfriends had a party atthe house with specialguest John CougarMellencamp, whoperformed for them.During the party, thewinner and her friendswith the help of JohnMellencamp paintedthe house pink in honorof Pink Houses.From videos to V-Js,concerts to contests,MTVs impact onpopular music has beenphenomonal, and itcontinues to grow ascable TV grows inpopularity. With itspopularity has comecriticism, and its fullimpact on the musicindustry in the longrun, remains to be seen.As a newcommunicationsbusiness MTV is atremendous success. Atthis point it isquestionable whetheror not a new song willmake the chartswithout a really solidvideo and wide MTVexposure. MTV hasmade its mark.18 Student Life
Source:	http://cdm17129.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/ref/collection/hs-bloomsouth/id/2185
Collection:	Bloomington High School South

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