I Want My MTV!

MTV launched in August of 1981. Back then, the channel was dedicated to playing music videos 24/7. This was before it morphed into the unrecognizable reality TV creature that it became, starting when “The Real World” was about the only show of it’s kind.  Frankly, now- a -days I’d be hard pressed to find the channel without looking at the on-screen guide.

Yet back then, in the 80’s, I not only wanted my MTV, but I made myself a nuisance to every single person I knew who lived in a city or town nearby that already had cable. 

You see, Danvers was the last, and I do mean the last, town for miles around to get cable television.  Nashoba Cable finally began to wire homes in 1988; seven long years after the advent of MTV and VJ’s.

There had been protracted legal battles and contract negotiations between the Town of Danvers and Nashoba Cable that I have long since forgotten the details of, and in any case, they are irrelevant to my story.  My story is about begging time on people’s sofas and hogging their TV screens just so I could see my favorite rock bands performing their songs instead of just hearing about music videos and being left with a longing and empty feeling in my soul. 

Oh, was I jealous of my friends from Beverly, Saugus, Salem, Peabody and Lynn, but I wouldn’t admit that right out.  Rather, I’d try to convince them their Saturday night or Sunday afternoon would be much better spent parked in front of the boob-tube tuned to MTV then actually out doing something fun with their time.

For awhile, before I had my own car, I nagged one friend to drive me to her aunt’s house in Beverly to the point that our friendship was in jeopardy.  Then I bought my car and could drive myself. Eventually, the aunt started drawing her drapes and pretending she wasn’t home. I got the hint. I moved on to other friends, and used my wiles to persuade them that their favorite band would soon be the next video on the schedule and they wouldn’t want to miss it.

The problem was, this only worked oh-so-many times with my friends because they could watch music videos any darn time they wanted. I soon realized I’d have to cultivate more 'out of town' friendships. This point was driven home to me even more, when at age 18 I actually rented a motel room on Route 1 just so I could watch a Rush concert in it’s entirety!  I had an MTV addiction fueled by the fact that it was unavailable in my own hometown that was still entrenched in the dark ages of three or four VHF channels and a few UHF, most often snowy-static filled channels.

I considered moving out of Danvers.  I really did.  I would have too, if Mike hadn’t come into my life in a fast and serious manner, and we decided to save up to get married.  We got married on June 2^nd, 1985, and lived with my parents for the first year.  Then we bought our condo, at Wildewood of Danvers in 1986.  Guess what? There was still no cable in Danvers, still no MTV. 

By that time, though, we’d had a VCR for awhile, so we could rent a limited selection of music videos and shows. Our VCR remote was attached to the VCR by a cable that was so short that you had to sit quite close to the TV to be able to use it. Besides, we were newlyweds setting up our first home, and had other things to do with our time than watch TV.

Come 1988 the town of Danvers finally got cable, and I believe the cost was about $10 or $12 a month.  Guess what again? There was no cable at our condos for another several months.  By the time we finally did get it, the novelty of MTV had worn off and the station itself had begun to change its format, gearing the music towards mostly pop-tunes.  Rock was dead as far as MTV was concerned.

Now, here we are in 2011 and this week marked Mike and my 26^th wedding anniversary. MTV is a shadow of its former self. Nashoba Cable is long gone, having been replaced by Cablevision and now Comcast.  In the meantime, at our house, we’ve had our DirecTV period, our Comcast phase and these days quite are happy with Verizon FIOS, until yesterday when a notice came that our rates are going up.

While I plan to make a phone call and attempt some consumer/provider negotiations, I don’t expect to win my case.  If they really wanted to keep me as a customer, they’d find a way to turn back the hands of time and give me re-runs of the original MTV from 1981-1988 on its own channel so I could watch until my heart’s content. I want it complete with the original VJs. And no, VH-1 Classics or any other such wannabe doesn’t do it for me.

I know Verizon has no control over MTV present or past, but a girl can dream. After all, some part of me that longs for my lost youth still cries “I Want My MTV."