I want my MTV: the uncensored story of the music video revolution

Introduction: "Ridicule Is Nothing to Be Scared Of"

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"

First Glimpses of MTV

2. "I Didn't Know How to Plug in a Light"

Music Videos (only they weren't called that) in the 1970s

3. "We Were Just Idiots in Hotel Rooms"

John Lack, Bob Pittman, and the Creation of MTV

4. "What's a VJ?"

How MTV Hired its Hosts (including a case of mistaken identity)

5. "A Total, Unmitigated Disaster"

MTV Launches with the Buggles, Blotto, and Thirty Rod Stewart Videos

6. "Girls Sliding on Poles"

The First Dirty Music Video

7. "A Hail Mary Pass"

How $1 Saved MTV from Bankruptcy

8. "Midgets, Models, and Trannies"

The First Visionaries and Victims of the Music-Video Era

9. "Pouting and Shoulder Pads"

Effeminate British Bands Spread Weird Haircuts Across the U.S.

10. "Shut That Door!"

Office Sex and Power Struggles at MTV

11. "They Figured Out a Whole New Persona"

How Three Gnarly Old Dudes Became Unlikely Video Stars

12. "Girls Belong in Cages"

Metal takes over the Airwaves

13. "That Racism Bullshit"

MTV's Aor Format comes under Fire

14. "I'm Not Like Other Boys"

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"

Madonna Touches MTV for the Very First Time

16. "You Got Char-as-ma"

Prince, Bruce, Billy Idol, and the Gods of 1984

17. "He's Got a Metal Plate in His Head"

MTV and Van Halen Team Up to Nearly Kill A Super-Fan

18. "Wannabe Cecil B. DeMilles"

Everything-Budgets, Ideas, Hair-Gets Bigger

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

The Backlash Against MTV

20. "Don't Be a Wanker All Your Life"

"Do They Know It's Christmas?," "We are the World," and Live Aid

21. "A Whopping, Steaming Turd"

The Worst Video Ever Made

22. "A Wedding Dress with Nothing Underneath It"

Madonna Takes-and Pops Out of-the Cake at the First Video Music Awards

23. "No Cable Network Is Worth $500 Million"

MTV Gets New Owners; The Founding Team Trashes A Hotel, then Heads for the Exit

24. "Gacked to the Tits"

Twenty-Four Stories About Drugs

25. "They Diss the Beatles"

Run-DMC and the Beastie Boys Smuggle Rap Onto MTV

26. "We Put Fincher on the Map"

Rick Springfield, Christopher Cross, and the Humble Beginnings of a Genius

27. "There I Am, with My Rack"

The Rise of the Superdivas, Male and Female

28. "The Legion of Decency"

Censoring Videos, for Fun and Profit

29. "Hickory Dickory Dock, This Bitch Was . . ."

Backstage at the Video Music Awards

30. "I'd Like to Thank My Cheekbones"

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"

120 Minutes and the Rising Up/Selling Out of Alternative Rock

32. "Martha Was Heartbroken"

MTV Finds A New, Mouthier Squad of VJs

33. "A True Television Network"

The New Boss Orders Up A Riotous Show that Forever Changes the Network

34. "That's What Hype Can Do to You"

Club MTV Launches the "Upskirt Shot" and a Pop Scandal

35. "The First Time I Smelled Freebase"

MTV Parties Down at Spring Break

36. "I Brought Snowballs to the Desert"

Sucking Up to MTV's Laddish New Power Broker

37. "People in the Hood Rushed to Get Cable"

How Ted Demme Did, Didn't, Maybe Did, and Absolutely Did Create Yo! MTV Raps

38. "We've Always Loved Guns N'Roses"

Chicks and a Snake, Headbangers Ball, and the Return of Hard Rock

39. "Those Harem Pants Came Out of Nowhere"

Rap Busts A Move into the MTV Mainstream

40. "Ego-Fucking-Maniacs"

Michael Bay, Cher, and All 9:08 of "November Rain"

41. "I Want to Have a Nickname"

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"

Superstars and One-Hit Wonders Stage A Dance-Off in Your Living Room

43. "Your Manager's an Asshole"

Fistfights and Pyro Farts: War Breaks Out at the Moscow Peace Festival

44. "Kermit Unplugged"

An Acoustic Music Show Morphs into a Worldwide Megabrand

45. "Silly, Superficial, and Wonderful"

Cindy Crawford and Jon Stewart Bring Beauty and Laughs to MTV

46. "Tired of Cheap Sex Songs"

R.E.M., U2, and Van Halen (!) Elevate the Art Form in the Nineties

47. "A Monkey Could Do It"

Pauly Shore and the Third Generation of VJs

48. "A Pep Rally Gone Wrong"

"Smells Like Teen Spirit," Grunge, and the Hair Metal Apocalypse

49. "You're No Better Than a Rabbit!"

Fearless Twentysomethings Shape A Presidential Election

50. "Getting Out of the Music Business"

This is the True Story ... of What Happened When the Real World ... Took Over MTV ... and Made Music Videos ... Obsolete

51. "Let's Get Crazy Tonight"

Tears, Tequila, and Broken Glass: MTV VIPs Celebrate the First Decade

52. "Fat City"

The Bubble Bursts on Music Videos' Golden Era

53. "You Have No Idea How I Miss It"

Fans, Stars, Staff, and Detractors Reflect on the Video Age

Acknowledgments

Cast of Characters

Index