Did MTV really effect rock music or was it just the 80's

kossofffan

Been thinking about the change in quality/style of rock music (for my taste) during the 80's. For me MTV seemed to swing the focus to more main stream sales than staying in 'our' sector of music. Was it the conscious decision of artists, record labels or media?

Yes some bands recognised the extra sales and took it on full bore, ZZ Top, Alice Cooper etc but lets not argue about which album/artist is 'better' as art is thankfully different for everyone!

FOR ME, looking back now the change is obvious in style. Yes many other influences within bands change the dynamics, but lets just stay with the MTV thing.

My random list of 'Last Great Album' followed by 'Went Rubbish Album' (it's just MY opinion) so chill when you don't agree,

AC/DC -   For Those About to Rock 1981 / Flick Of The Switch 1983

Alice Cooper -  DaDa 1983 / Constrictor 1986

Black Sabbath -  Mob Rules 1981 / Born Again 1983

Dio Last in Line - 1984 / Sacred Heart 1985

Iron Maiden -  Piece Of Mind 1983 / Powerslave 1984

Motorhead -  Iron Fist 1982 / Another Perfect Day 1983

Saxon -  Denim and Leather 1981 / Power and the Glory 1983

ZZ Top -  El Loco 1981 /  Eliminator 1983

Of course it's a huge generalisation and just a bit of Sunday morning banter and I do enjoy most of these artists albums post MTV.

Was it MTV that changed it for me? Or a change in my taste. I was 14 in 1980. How do you feel about that era.
What are you 'Last Great/ Went Rubbish' LP's

Any comments or articles regarding MTV would be appreciated too.

Peace and Guinness. X

Freebird

MTV also brought the little known Indie type bands to the fore, which made the old music sound a little dated, just as Nirvana did in the 90's. Trying to stay current doesn't always work for a lot of bands. 

RobDavies

kossofffan said:

Been thinking about the change in quality/style of rock music (for my taste) during the 80's. For me MTV seemed to swing the focus to more main stream sales than staying in 'our' sector of music. Was it the conscious decision of artists, record labels or media?

Yes some bands recognised the extra sales and took it on full bore, ZZ Top, Alice Cooper etc but lets not argue about which album/artist is 'better' as art is thankfully different for everyone!

FOR ME, looking back now the change is obvious in style. Yes many other influences within bands change the dynamics, but lets just stay with the MTV thing.

My random list of 'Last Great Album' followed by 'Went Rubbish Album' (it's just MY opinion) so chill when you don't agree,

AC/DC -   For Those About to Rock 1981 / Flick Of The Switch 1983

Alice Cooper -  DaDa 1983 / Constrictor 1986

Black Sabbath -  Mob Rules 1981 / Born Again 1983

Dio Last in Line - 1984 / Sacred Heart 1985

Iron Maiden -  Piece Of Mind 1983 / Powerslave 1984

Motorhead -  Iron Fist 1982 / Another Perfect Day 1983

Saxon -  Denim and Leather 1981 / Power and the Glory 1983

ZZ Top -  El Loco 1981 /  Eliminator 1983

Of course it's a huge generalisation and just a bit of Sunday morning banter and I do enjoy most of these artists albums post MTV.

Was it MTV that changed it for me? Or a change in my taste. I was 14 in 1980. How do you feel about that era.
What are you 'Last Great/ Went Rubbish' LP's

Any comments or articles regarding MTV would be appreciated too.

Peace and Guinness. X

Some interesting pov's.  

Have to to disgree with the Maiden and Motörhead albums though....

Iron Maiden - Seventh Son 1988 / No Prayer For The Dying 1990

Motorhead - Ace Of Spades 1980 / Iron Fist 1982. 

That's not to say that Iron Fist itself isn't a great track, or that there aren't other great songs post 1980, but as a complete album, Ace Of Spades was never bettered. 

Furthermore....

Metallica - Master Of Puppets 1986 / ...And Justice For All 1988

Slayer - Seasons In The Abyss 1990 / Divine Intervention 1994

FelineGuitars

MTV had a really bad effect on music in my opinion (and remember I was a big fan of a lot of 80s rock and what gets called Hair Metal).

I think it made everybody start listening wth their eyes instead of their ears...

It resigned not so pretty brilliant songwriters and musicians to the background in favour of more photogenic bands

I think bob Dylan would have struggled to get a start in the MTV era
Record labels responded by making bands change their style, jump on the latest trend, and writing an overload of saccharine laced ballads that really didn't fit many bands ethos (although mainstream FM radio in USA played an equally big part of that by only playing stuff that wouldn't rattle the sensibilities of some listeners)

Geffen A&R man John Kalodner was an example of someone who altered many bands beyond recognition to make them MTV friendly - Whitesnake being a prime example .....get rid of the fat guys with beards and get young pretty boy players in .
So out went MArsden and Moody (to be fair Bernie had already jumped ship)and in came the MTV lineup with Vandenberg, Campbell and Sarzo - good players but maybe without the blues background that gave the band their sound.

Maybe Queen summed up MTV well with Radio GaGA...or Buggles did with Video killed The Radio Star

axisus

I never saw it personally.

kossofffan

Your second sentence is absolutely bang on, FelineGuitars. 

littlegreenman

TheBlueWolf

It made music more visually appealing but I'm not sure it made music better.

Winny_Pooh

MTV affected popular music hugely. Its hard to pinpoint exactly how because we dont have an alternate reality to compare with. Either way a different delivery medium (tv in this case) cannot be underestimated. MTV indulged alot of crap but they also thankfully allowed hair metal to die when it was the right time. Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, Soul Asylum can be happy for that. Unplugged was a great trend for acoustic music at the time. Then The Real World and the Osbornes came along. They were generous to alot of dance/electronic music, Marilyn Manson, White Stripes & way too generous to rap.

It would make for an interesting book, I wonder if/how much payola was involved?