I Want My MTV
The Uncensored Story of the Music Video Revolution
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Narrated by:
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Luke Daniels
About this listen
Remember the first time you saw Michael Jackson dance with zombies in "Thriller"? Diamond Dave karate kick with Van Halen in "Jump"? Tawny Kitaen turning cartwheels on a Jaguar to Whitesnake's "Here I Go Again"? The Beastie Boys spray beer in "(You Gotta) Fight for Your Right (To Party)"? Axl Rose step off the bus in "Welcome to the Jungle"?
Remember when all you wanted was your MTV?
It was a pretty radical idea - a channel for teenagers, showing nothing but music videos. It was such a radical idea that almost no one thought it would actually succeed, much less become a force in the worlds of music, television, film, fashion, sports, and even politics. But it did work. MTV became more than anyone had ever imagined.
I Want My MTV tells the story of the first decade of MTV, the golden era when MTV's programming was all videos, all the time, and kids watched religiously to see their favorite bands, learn about new music, and have something to talk about at parties. From its start in 1981 with a small cache of videos by mostly unknown British new wave acts to the launch of the reality-television craze with The Real World in 1992, MTV grew into a tastemaker, a career maker, and a mammoth business.
Featuring interviews with nearly 400 artists, directors, VJs, and television and music executives, I Want My MTV is a testament to the channel that changed popular culture forever.
©2012 Craig Marks and Rob Tannenbaum (P)2012 Brilliance Audio, Inc.Listeners also enjoyed...
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In The Comedians, comedy historian Kliph Nesteroff brings to life a century of American comedy with real-life characters, forgotten stars, mainstream heroes and counterculture iconoclasts. Based on over 200 original interviews and extensive archival research, Nesteroff's groundbreaking work is a narrative exploration of the way comedians have reflected, shaped, and changed American culture over the past 100 years.
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Performance issues
- By E. A. Smith on 09-02-19
By: Kliph Nesteroff
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Dynomite!
- Good Times, Bad Times…Our Times - A Memoir
- By: Jimmie Walker, Sal Manna
- Narrated by: Jimmie Walker
- Length: 9 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
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>Born into the violence of South Bronx ghetto life, the comic pioneer of TV’s Good Times fame offers a hilarious and politically charged review of his career as one of television’s first hugely successful Black stars. From opening for the Black Panthers and getting his first Tonight Show spot to becoming the first “Black” TV sitcom star, having comedians David Letterman and Jay Leno writing jokes for him, recording number-one comedy albums, and opening for rock n’ roll bands in 50,000 seat stadiums, Walker’s career hit all the highs.
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An transparent story of a socially but funny American icon.
- By John Lucasey on 05-08-21
By: Jimmie Walker, and others
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Alice in Chains
- The Untold Story
- By: David de Sola
- Narrated by: Sebastian York
- Length: 12 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Alice in Chains was the first of grunge's big four - ahead of Nirvana, Pearl Jam, and Soundgarden - to get a gold record and achieve national recognition. With the charismatic Layne Staley behind the microphone, they became one of the most influential and successful bands to come out of the Seattle music scene. But as the band got bigger, so did its problems.
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Disappointing!!!!
- By Rob on 12-23-16
By: David de Sola
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Let’s Go Crazy
- Prince and the Making of Purple Rain
- By: Alan Light
- Narrated by: Fred Berman
- Length: 7 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Purple Rain is a song, an album, and a film - each one a commercial success and cultural milestone. How did this semiautobiographical musical masterpiece that blurred R&B, pop, dance, and rock sounds come to alter the recording landscape and become an enduring touchstone for successive generations of fans?
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A Must-Read For Any PRINCE Fan
- By Bryan K. Chavez on 05-06-16
By: Alan Light
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Me, the Mob, and the Music
- One Helluva Ride with Tommy James and the Shondells
- By: Tommy James, Martin Fitzpatrick
- Narrated by: David Colacci
- Length: 7 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
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Everyone knows the hits: "Mony Mony," "I Think We're Alone Now," "Crimson and Clover," "Crystal Blue Persuasion." They are nuggets of rock and pop history. However, few know the unlikely story of how these hits came to be. Tommy James had been performing in rock bands in the Michigan area since the age of 12. Prompted to record a few songs by a local disc jockey in 1964, Tommy chose an obscurity titled "Hanky Panky," which became a minor local hit that came and went.
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What a ride - excellent story, well told
- By Dave on 03-25-10
By: Tommy James, and others
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The Gospel According to Luke
- By: Steve Lukather
- Narrated by: Steve Lukather
- Length: 10 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
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In this incisive memoir, Steve Lukather tells the complete Toto story. He also lifts the lid on what went on behind the closed studio doors, shedding light on the unique creative processes of some of the most legendary names in music: from Quincy Jones, Michael Jackson, Paul McCartney, Stevie Nicks, and Elton John to Miles Davis, Joni Mitchell, Bruce Springsteen, and Aretha Franklin. Lukather’s extraordinary tale also encompasses the dark side of stardom and the American Dream. Frank, engaging, and often hilarious, The Gospel According to Luke is no ordinary rock memoir.
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Wow Best Rock Biography Ever
- By Hercules on 09-29-18
By: Steve Lukather
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As If!
- The Oral History of Clueless, as Told by Amy Heckerling, the Cast, and the Crew
- By: Jen Chaney
- Narrated by: Jorjeana Marie
- Length: 9 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
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Will we ever get tired of watching Cher navigate Beverly Hills High School and discover true love in the movie Clueless? As if! Written by Amy Heckerling and starring Alicia Silverstone, Clueless is an enduring comedy classic that remains one of the most streamed movies on Netflix, Amazon, and iTunes even 20 years after its release. In the first book of its kind, Jen Chaney has compiled an oral history of the making of this iconic film using recollections and insights collected from key cast and crew members.
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Awesome book, awful narrator.
- By Anonymous on 08-08-15
By: Jen Chaney
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Robert Altman
- The Oral Biography
- By: Mitchell Zuckoff
- Narrated by: Robert Altman, Warren Beatty, Cher, and others
- Length: 18 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Story
Robert Altman - visionary director, hard-partying hedonist, eccentric family man, Hollywood legend - comes roaring to life in this rollicking cinematic biography, told in a chorus of voices that can only be called Altmanesque.
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Enthralling!
- By Wise & Careful Shopper on 10-17-10
By: Mitchell Zuckoff
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Sing to Me
- My Story of Making Music, Finding Magic, and Searching for Who's Next
- By: LA Reid
- Narrated by: Dion Graham
- Length: 9 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
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Performance
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Story
Legendary music producer LA Reid - the man behind artists such as Mariah Carey, Toni Braxton, Kanye West, Rihanna, TLC, Outkast, Pink, Justin Bieber, and Usher - changed the music business forever. Now he tells his story, taking fans on an intimate tour of his life. Sing to Me is a fascinating journey from Reid's small-town R&B roots in Cincinnati, Ohio, and his work as a drummer to his fame as a Grammy Award-winning music producer and his gig as a judge on the hit reality show The X Factor.
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Wow!! What a journey!!!
- By Marty Cohn on 02-06-16
By: LA Reid
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Keith Richards
- The Unauthorised Biography
- By: Victor Bockris
- Narrated by: Adrian Mulraney
- Length: 20 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
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In 1992, Victor Bockris' celebrated biography was the first to recognize Richards' pivotal role in the legend of the Rolling Stones. Now that book on rock's most incredible survivor has been expanded. Here are the true facts behind Richards' battles with his demons: the women, the drugs and the love-hate relationship with Jagger. His struggle with heroin and his status as the rock star most likely to die in the 1970s. His scarcely believable rebirth as a family man in the 1980s. Illuminated with revealing quotes and thoughtful insights into the man behind the band that goes on forever.
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doesn't comapre to LIFE
- By A. Garofalo on 02-20-14
By: Victor Bockris
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The Improv
- An Oral History of the Comedy Club That Revolutionized Stand-Up
- By: Budd Friedman, Tripp Whetsell, Jay Leno - foreword
- Narrated by: Johnny Heller
- Length: 10 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Story
In 1963, 30-year-old Friedman - who had recently quit his job as a Boston advertising executive and returned to his hometown of New York to become a theatrical producer - opened a coffee house for Broadway performers called the Improvisation. His goal? Simply to make a living, and if all went according to plan, to also make enough professional contacts to be able to mount his first Broadway show within a year's time. Later shortened to the Improv, its first West 44th Street location was in a seedy section of Manhattan's Hell's Kitchen.
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Shockingly tone deaf
- By JenniferW on 06-28-23
By: Budd Friedman, and others
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Easy for You to Say
- By: John Melendez
- Narrated by: John Melendez
- Length: 6 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
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Performance
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Story
Easy For You To Say is "Stuttering" John Melendez's memoir of his childhood being bullied in school for his stutter; his years as an on-air personality with The Howard Stern Show; and his subsequent 10-year career as a writer and on-air announcer for Jay Leno's Tonight Show. It details his famously acerbic relationships with celebrities he interviewed/insulted (Raquel Welch once punched him in the face). In the audiobook, Howard Stern emerges as a surprisingly mean, stingy, and megalomaniacal boss - and Jay Leno as a seeming sufferer from OCD.
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Was expecting more
- By Amazon Customer on 10-25-18
By: John Melendez
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Caddyshack
- The Making of a Hollywood Cinderella Story
- By: Chris Nashawaty
- Narrated by: Peter Berkrot
- Length: 7 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
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Performance
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Story
Caddyshack is one of the most beloved comedies of all time, a classic snobs vs. slobs story of working-class kids and the white-collar buffoons that make them haul their golf bags in the hot summer sun. It has sex, drugs, and one very memorable candy bar, but the movie we all know and love didn't start out that way, and everyone who made it certainly didn't have the word classic in mind as the cameras were rolling.
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Not Really About Caddyshack Until Hour 5
- By William M. on 07-01-18
By: Chris Nashawaty
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The Chris Farley Show
- A Biography in Three Acts
- By: Tom Farley, Tanner Colby
- Narrated by: Therese Plummer, L. J. Ganser, Mark Boyett
- Length: 9 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
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Performance
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Story
The New York Times best-selling biography of an American comedy legend. After three years of sobriety, Chris Farley's life was at its creative peak until a string of professional disappointments chased him back to drugs and alcohol. He fought hard against them, but it was a fight he would lose in December 1997. Farley's fans immediately drew parallels between his death and that of his idol, John Belushi. Without looking deeper, however, many failed to see that Farley was much more than just another Hollywood drug overdose. In this officially authorized oral history, Farley's friends and family remember his work and life.
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Incredibly sad....
- By Marie B on 04-12-15
By: Tom Farley, and others
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In the second half of the 20th century New York was the source of new sounds, including the Greenwich Village folk scene, punk and new wave, and hip-hop. But as the end of the millennium neared, cutting-edge bands began emerging from Seattle, Austin, and London, pushing New York further from the epicenter. The behemoth music industry, too, found itself in free fall, under siege from technology. Then 9/11/2001 plunged the country into a state of uncertainty and war.
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Deeply disappointing.
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The 1990s were a chaotic and utterly magical time for music, a confounding barrage of genres and lifestyles and superstars, from grunge to hip-hop, from sumptuous R&B to rambunctious ska-punk, from Axl to Kurt to Missy to Santana to Tupac to Britney. In 60 SONGS THAT EXPLAIN THE '90s, Ringer music critic Rob Harvilla reimagines all the earwormy, iconic hits Gen Xers pine for with vivid historical storytelling, sharp critical analysis, rampant loopiness, and wryly personal ruminations on the most bizarre, joyous, and inescapable songs from a decade we both regret entirely and miss desperately.
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My Personal View-Harvilla Rules!
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The Ultimate History of the '80s Teen Movie
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The Ultimate History of the '80s Teen Movie goes behind the scenes of a genre where cult hits mingled with studio blockbusters, where giants like Spielberg and Coppola rubbed shoulders with baby-faced first-timers, and where future superstars Sean, Demi, and Tom all got their big break. Music, comedy, and politics all play a part in the surprisingly complex history of the '80s teen movie. And while the films might have been aimed primarily at adolescents, the best tackle universal issues and remain relevant to all ages.
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MTV Ruled the World
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There have been few times in modern music history that an instant shift in how we listen to - and view - music has occurred. However, the launch of MTV on August 1, 1981, was certainly one such occurrence. Instantly, music fans were now “listening with their eyes” rather than relying solely on their ears.
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100 Great Detective Shows
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Thrill to the hardboiled adventures of Ellery Queen, Philip Marlow, Dragnet, The Man called X, Philo Vance, Rocky Fortune and so many more as heroes fight the bad guys. 100 great detective classics in one collection.
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Variable Quaality
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The landscape that the Brat Pack memorialized is rich with cultural themes and significance, and has influenced an entire generation who still believe that life always turns out like an '80s movie. You Couldn't Ignore Me If You Tried takes us back to that era, through Susannah Gora's interviews with key players such as Molly Ringwald, Anthony Michael Hall, Judd Nelson, Andrew McCarthy, and John Cusack, and mines all the material from the movies to the music to the way the films were made to show how they helped shape our visions for romance, friendship, society, and success.
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Brings me back to my teenage years! Fantastic Narration! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
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Turn It Up!
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Overall
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As an A&R man at Epic Records, Tom Werman helped introduce the world to REO Speedwagon, Boston, Ted Nugent, and Cheap Trick; he also discovered KISS, Rush, and Lynyrd Skynyrd, but his record label passed on all of them. Then, as an independent producer, he oversaw landmark albums by Mötley Crüe, Twisted Sister, Lita Ford, Jeff Beck, Poison, and many more. All in all, his record-making resume includes twenty-three gold- or platinum-selling albums and cumulative sales of more than fifty-two million copies.
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Great behind the scenes descriptions of some historic recordings.
- By MeLisa Owens on 05-28-24
By: Tom Werman
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Runnin' with the Devil
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Van Halen's rise in the 1980s was one of the most thrilling the music world had ever seen - their mythos an epic party, a sweaty, sexy, never-ending rock extravaganza. During this unparalleled run of success, debauchery, and drama, no one was closer to the band than Noel Monk. Throughout Van Halen's meteoric rise and abrupt halt, this confidant, fixer, friend, and promoter saw it all and lived to tell. Now, for the first time, he shares the most outrageous escapades.
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Van Halen ❤️
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By: Noel Monk, and others
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When Giants Walked the Earth
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
They were the last great band of the '60s and the first great band of the '70s. They rose, somewhat unpromisingly, from the ashes of the Yardbirds to become one of the biggest-selling rock bands of all time - and eventually paid the price for it, with disaster, drug addiction, and death.
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Very annoying but tolerable for serious fans.
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By: Mick Wall
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Life in the Fast Lane
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"Surely make you lose your mind . . ." So the Eagles warn us about the outrageous and ruthless lifestyle of the ambitious rock-n-roller. In fact, Don Henley could barely listen to the track "Life in the Fast Lane" when they were recording it. He was so high that it made him sick. The band that embodied the American dream with globe-straddling success, impossibly luxurious lives, and almost supernatural talent also descended into nightmare with betrayal, hate-filled hubris, the skeletons of perceived enemies, brutally discarded lovers and former band mates left unburied in the road behind them.
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Disappointed
- By O'Fallon Doug on 03-20-24
By: Mick Wall
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Memoir of a Roadie
- Axl Said I Made a Great Cup of Tea... Scott Weiland Liked the Carpenters... & Ozzy Drinks Rosé.
- By: Joel Miller
- Narrated by: Joel Miller
- Length: 13 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
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Joel Miller is an ex-roadie for Guns N’ Roses, Poison, Stone Temple Pilots, and the Cranberries. The book is an often-hilarious personal account of a young man in his early 20s trying to be a “good” roadie while also trying to understand life’s big picture. Through the advice of rock stars and career roadies Joel tries to find the pathway to roadie righteousness.
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Meh
- By Jason on 08-20-24
By: Joel Miller
What listeners say about I Want My MTV
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- Book it!
- 03-05-13
The Scandal Of It All
What made the experience of listening to I Want My MTV the most enjoyable?
At the onset of I Want My MTV I knew I was in for a great ride. It was like a time warp back to my early teens. All the cast was set, Madonna, Michael Jackson, Divo and Motley Crue. There were great scandals such as MTV originally being perceived as a white and rock only channel. The corporate battles over rotation and budgets and of course the question of who really started this thing? It was very entertaining to also hear the behind the scenes story on many of my favorite VJ's. What a cast of characters. It was a great plan to create a microcosm of the typical American youth stereotypes. There's the jock, the beauty, the brain and the rebel. It was like a real life version of a John Hughes movie that lost control and became Animal House.
What other book might you compare I Want My MTV to and why?
As entertaining as the book is, it is also a great insight into the nature of a start up business. If you enjoy books about company origins or the history behind a company, this is a book to consider even if you are not a fan of MTV. There are many business lessons to learn from this story. From protecting intellectual rights and corporate battles, to partnering with other industries and raising capital, this story provides a great example of the risks required to get a great idea "off the ground".
Which scene was your favorite?
My favorite scene in the story is when MTV solicits its fans to attack the phone lines and mail boxes of cable operators requesting MTV in their area. The cable companies soon asked for mercy as they were held captive to fanatics demanding, I WANT MY MTV. Even as I write it, what a great marketing scheme, MY MTV. Getting your customers to identify so passionately with your product that not only do they demand it, but they possess it and call it their own. What a great lesson on connecting with your customer and supplying a product to a market that has gone overlooked. In this case, America's youth.
Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?
Love him or hate him, you have to pity Billy Squire. A very successful music artist who made it as a recording artist. Who was then asked to reveal himself to the world through a video performance set to music. Unfortunately for Billy Squire, his introduction through music video was both an embarrassment and a career breaker. Note to self, if you are ever asked to do a music video, avoid a bedroom shot where you dance around the room like a fool. Billy Squire's story identifies a pivotal point in music history. A point when image became equally, if not more, important than musical talent. A point that some have argued ruined the music industry. Yet more scandal for your listening pleasure.
Any additional comments?
A captivating story beginning to end. I found I Want My MTV to be an uplifting story about making an idea work. In its infancy, MTV sounded like a destined failure or at most a soon to pass fad. Decades later MTV still continues to exist as it redefines itself as generation after generation pass along. In addition to the great story, the narrator does a fabulous job. The approach to the narration is reminiscent to a Behind the Music episode. Very well executed book.
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19 people found this helpful
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- Danny L.
- 11-01-20
Book ROCKED!!
Took me back to the 80’s !! And to hear the executives were just as wild as the artists! Pretty cool!
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- Bill at Torg Stories
- 12-28-12
Brash Entrepreneurship & Behind-The-Scenes of MTV
A high school grad of 1989 and connoisseur of 80s music, I really enjoyed this book. The story spans the time from when the above pictured moon-landing footage was used to promote the network all the way to long after I stopped watching and reality TV took over. Lots of behind the scenes tales about Madonna, Michael Jackson, and bands such as Van Halen, Motley Crue, and Bon Jovi.
The book can become a collage of sorts, drawing heavily on longish quotes from those central to the network. I liked the book about NBC, the Jobs biography, and I hope Netflixed comes to audible soon. My kind of stories!
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7 people found this helpful
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- Flavius Krakdaddius
- 06-17-13
I Miss My MTV
Compared to many of my friends, I didn't even watch MTV that much growing up, but as an adult so many years later, I'm constantly reminded of the network's influence on my life. In a way, this warts and all oral history is like becoming reacquainted with an old friend as an adult, and understanding that person in an entirely new way.
There's a lot of fun behind-the-scenes stuff--excess, decadence and lots of embarrassing hair.This book kept my interest throughout. I was impressed with the wide array of industry figures (including quite a few artists) cited in this book. I also appreciated the wide variety of opinions the authors chose to illustrate controversial (or at least contentious) subjects.
The narration is great, and perhaps most satisfying, the question "Why doesn't MTV play videos any more?" is examined with care.
This well-written, well-researched book could be of interest to anyone who is a fan of pop culture. But to a child of the 80s, this is very close to being a "must-listen."
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4 people found this helpful
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- Chance Moody
- 02-21-22
Perfectly Nostalgic
I consider myself a pretty big reader. I have an endless list of favorite books…. But I am 100% comfortable saying that ‘I Want My MTV’ is my FAVORITE book. Maybe it’s the nostalgia, maybe it’s the hilarious and incredible stories told by the people there… but I adore it.
I’ve read the book several times, the audiobook is incredibly narrated as well… but I believe this is the type of book you can flip to any chapter and it flows just beautifully. So many chapters about so many infamous subjects.
If you were alive during these years and were a big fan of music, you will appreciate this book.
If the narration isn’t what you expo, just give it an hour, you will get used to it and love it I promise.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Cally L Rempis
- 09-29-18
A compelling story that needs to be told!
The whole behind-the-scenes tale of a cultural revolution that nearly never made it off the ground.
Hard-hitting and candid; no punches pulled. Well-read and well-written. Highly recommended.
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- Ty from Baltimore
- 10-07-20
Get this book if you remember old MTV!!!
This book is fantastic! Loved every second of it! Brought back a lot of memories
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- Alex
- 10-17-19
Oh the memories
Loved it. I grew up in the 80's along side MTV and this was a trip worth taking. I recognized almost every video that was talked about, and loved the behind - the - scenes quips and stories, from the VJ's, to the artists, and everyone else that made the magic happen. It's a shame that MTV turned into such shit, but this book was a nice reminder of a time when music and videos were valued and fun.
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2 people found this helpful
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- Adam X
- 11-29-18
I like it
I really like the behind the scenes type of books. very interesting. Loved the vj stories
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- 4XampL
- 11-28-16
Sad and fun - how MTV came into existence and and was ruined.
What a bummer so many young people didn't have the actual experience of MTV. Now they have an experience, but it is just a reality show. There was once a time when going to your TV was great entertainment with musical flare.
Now it's just different, now it's just Internet. We are connected more artificially now. Before we were connected by some kind of invisible yearning to be connected.
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