Craig Marks and Rob Tannenbaum

; ~ DUTTON Contents

Introduction: "Ridicule Is Nothing to Be Scared Of" 15

PART 1: PICTURES CAME AND BROKE YOUR HEART

"VIDEO KILLED THE RADIO STAR" TO "THRILLER" 1981-1983

1."It's the Greatest Thing in the World" 25 FIRST GLIMPSES OF MTV

2. "I Didn't Know How to Plug in a Light" 30 MUSIC VIOEOS (ONLY THEY WEREN'T CALLED THAT) IN THE 19705

3. "We Were Just Idiots in Hotel Rooms" 38 JOHN LACK, BOB PITTMAN, AND THE CREATION OF MTV

4. "What's a VJ?" 55 HOW MTV HIRED ITS HOSTS (INCLUDING A CASE OF MISTAKEN IDENTITY)

5. "A Total, Unmitigated Disaster" 64 MTV LAUNCHES WITH THE BUGGLES, BLOTTO, AND THIRTY ROD STEWART VIDEOS

6. "Girls Sliding on Poles" 70 THE FIRST DIRTY MUSIC VIDEO

7. "A Hail Mary Pass" 73 HOW $1 SAVED MTV FROM BANKRUPTCY 8 I CONTENTS

8. "Midgets, Models, and Trannies" 85 THE FIRST VISIONARIES AND VICTIMS OF THE MUSIC-VIDEO ERA

9. "Pouting and Shoulder Pads" 113 EFFEMINATE BRITISH BANDS SPREAD WEIRD HAIRCUTS ACROSS THE U.S.

10. "Shut That Door!" 131 OFFICE SEX AND POWER STRUGGLES AT MTV

11. "They Figured Out a Whole New Persona" 144 HOW THREE GNARLY OLD DUDES BECAME UNLIKELY VIDEO STARS

12. "Girls Belong in Cages" 149 METAL TAKES OVER THE AIRWAVES

13."That Racism Bullshit" 165 MTV'S AOR FORMAT COMES UNDER FIRE

14."I'm Not Like Other Boys" 173 MICHAEL JACKSON SAVES A STRUGGLING NETWORK FROM ITSELF

PART 2: I PLAY MY PART AND YOU PLAY YOUR GAME

"BURNING UP" TO "HERE I GO AGAIN" 1983-1987

15."The Two M's" 189 MADONNA TOUCHES MTV FOR THE VERY FIRST TIME

16."You Got Char-as-ma" 197 PRINCE, BRUCE, BILLY IDOL, AND THE GODS OF 1984

17."He's Got a Metal Plate in His Head" 221 MTV AND VAN HALEN TEAM UP TO NEARLY KILL A SUPER-FAN

18."Wannabe Cecil B. DeMilles" 225 EVERYTHING-BUDGETS, IDEAS, HAIR-GETS BIGGER

19."Why Don't I Just Take $50,000 and Light It on Fire?" 240 THE BACKLASH AGAINST MTV

20. "Don't Be a Wanker All Your Life" 245 "DO THEY KNOW IT'S CHRISTMAS?," "WE ARE THE WORLD," AND LIVE AID

21. "A Whopping, Steaming Turd" 250

THE WORST VIDEO EVER MADE CONTENTS 9

22. "A Wedding Dress with Nothing Underneath It" 256 MADONNA TAKES-AND POPS DUT OF-THE CAKE AT THE FIRST VIDEO MUSIC AWARDS

23. "No Cable Network Is Worth $500 Million" 260 MTV GETS NEW OWNERS; THE FOUNDING TEAM TRASHES A HOTEL, THEN HEADS FOR THE EXIT

24."Gacked to the Tits" 269 TWENTY-FOUR STORIES ABOUT DRUGS

25. "They Diss the Beatles" 273 RUN-DMC AND THE BEASTIE BOYS SMUGGLE RAP ONTO MTV

26."We Put Fincher on the Map" 285 RICK SPRINGFIELO, CHRISTOPHER CROSS, AND THE HUMBLE BEGINNINGS OF A GENIUS

27."There I Am, with My Rack" 301 THE RISE OF THE SUPERDIVAS, MALE AND FEMALE

28."The Legion of Decency" 313 CENSORING VIDEOS, FOR FUN AND PROFIT

29."Hickory Dickory Dock, This Bitch Was. 320 BACKSTAGE AT THE VIDEO MUSIC AWARDS

30. "I'd Like to Thank My Cheekbones" 331 JON BON JOVI AND TAWNY KITAEN TAKE HAIR METAL TO THE TOP

PART 3: WHERE DO WE GO NOW

"WITH OR WITHOUT YOU" TO "U CAN'T TOUCH THIS" 1987-1990

31. "The Island of Misfit Toys" 353 120 MINUTES AND THE RISING UP/SELLING OUT OF

32. "Martha Was Heartbroken" 367 MTV FINDS A NEW, MOUTHIER SQUAD OF VJs

33. "A True Television Network" 382 THE NEW BOSS ORDERS UP A RIOTOUS SHOW THAT FOREVER CHANGES THE NETWORK

34. "That's What Hype Can Do to You" 396 CLUS MTV LAUNCHES THE "UPSKIRT SHOT" AND A POP SCANDAL 10 CONTENTS

35. "The First Time I Smelled Freebase" 404 MTV PARTIES DOWN AT SPRING BREAK

36. "I Brought Snowballs to the Desert" 411 SUCKING UP TO MTV'S LADDISH NEW POWER BROKER

37."People in the Hood Rushed to Get Cable" 418 HOW TED DEMME DID, DIDN'T, MAYBE DID, AND ABSOLUTELY DID CREATE YO! MTV RAPS

38. "We've Always Loved Guns N' Roses" 436 CHICKS AND A SNAKE, HEAOBANGERS BALL, AND THE RETURN OF HARD ROCK

39. "Those Harem Pants Came Out of Nowhere" 451 RAP BUSTS A MOVE INTO THE MTV MAINSTREAM

40. "Ego-Fucking-Maniacs" 464 MICHAEL BAY, CHER, AND ALL 9:0B OF "NOVEMBER RAIN"

41."I Want to Have a Nickname" 478 HOW MTV HELPED MICHAEL JACKSON ELECT HIMSELF "THE KING OF POP"

PART 4: NOTHING LASTS FOREVER, AND WE BOTH KNOW HEARTS CAN CHANGE

"JUSTIFY MY LOVE" TO "JEREMY" 1990-1992

42. "Rhythm Nation" 483 SUPERSTARS AND ONE-HIT WONDERS STAGE A DANCE-OFF IN YOUR LIVING ROOM

43. "Your Manager's an Asshole" 498 FISTFIGHTS AND PYRO FARTS: WAR BREAKS OUT AT THE MOSCOW PEACE FESTIVAL

44. "Kermit Unplugged" 502 AN ACOUSTIC MUSIC SHOW MORPHS INTO A WORLDWIDE MEGABRAND

45. "Silly, Superficial, and Wonderful" 509 CINDY CRAWFORD AND JON STEWART BRING BEAUTY AND LAUGHS TO MTV

46. "Tired of Cheap Sex Songs" 514

R.E.M., U2, AND VAN HALEN (!) ELEVATE THE ART FORM IN THE NINETIES

47."A Monkey Could Do It" 520 PAULY SHORE AND THE THIRD GENERATION OF VJs CONTENTS 11

48."A Pep Rally Gone Wrong" 526 "," GRUNGE, AND THE HAIR METAL APDCALYPSE

49."You're No Better Than a Rabbit!" 543 FEARLESS TWENTYSDMETHINGS SHAPE A PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION

50."Getting Out of the Music Business" 550

THIS IS THE TRUE STORY ..• OF WHAT HAPPENED WHEN THE REAL WORLD ... TODK OVER MTV .•. AND MADE MUSIC VIDEDS ... DBSOLETE

51."Let's Get Crazy Tonight" 555 TEARS, TEQUILA, AND BROKEN GLASS: MTV VIPs CELEBRATE THE FIRST DECADE

52."Fat City" 557 THE BUBBLE BURSTS ON MUSIC VIDEDS' GDLDEN ERA

53."You Have No Idea How I Miss It" 564 FANS, STARS, STAFF, AND DETRACTDRS REFLECT DN THE VIDED AGE

Acknowledgments 573

Cast of Characters 575

Index 595