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Introduction: "Ridicule Is Nothing to Be Scared Of" | |
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Pictures came and Broke Your Heart | |
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"Video Killed the Radio Star" to "Thriller" 1981-1983 | |
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"It's the Greatest Thing in the World" | |
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First Glimpses of MTV | |
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"I Didn't Know How to Plug in a Light" | |
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Music Videos (only they weren't called that) in the 1970s | |
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"We Were Just Idiots in Hotel Rooms" | |
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John Lack, Bob Pittman, and the Creation of MTV | |
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"What's a VJ?" | |
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How MTV Hired its Hosts (including a case of mistaken identity) | |
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"A Total, Unmitigated Disaster" | |
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MTV Launches with the Buggles, Blotto, and Thirty Rod Stewart Videos | |
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"Girls Sliding on Poles" | |
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The First Dirty Music Video | |
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"A Hail Mary Pass" | |
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How $1 Saved MTV from Bankruptcy | |
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"Midgets, Models, and Trannies" | |
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The First Visionaries and Victims of the Music-Video Era | |
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"Pouting and Shoulder Pads" | |
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Effeminate British Bands Spread Weird Haircuts Across the U.S. | |
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"Shut That Door!" | |
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Office Sex and Power Struggles at MTV | |
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"They Figured Out a Whole New Persona" | |
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How Three Gnarly Old Dudes Became Unlikely Video Stars | |
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"Girls Belong in Cages" | |
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Metal takes over the Airwaves | |
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"That Racism Bullshit" | |
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MTV's Aor Format comes under Fire | |
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"I'm Not Like Other Boys" | |
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Michael Jackson Saves A Struggling Network from Itself | |
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I Play My Part and You Play Your Game | |
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"Burning Up" to "Here I Go Again" 1983-1987 | |
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"The Two M's" | |
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Madonna Touches MTV for the Very First Time | |
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"You Got Char-as-ma" | |
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Prince, Bruce, Billy Idol, and the Gods of 1984 | |
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"He's Got a Metal Plate in His Head" | |
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MTV and Van Halen Team Up to Nearly Kill A Super-Fan | |
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"Wannabe Cecil B. DeMilles" | |
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Everything-Budgets, Ideas, Hair-Gets Bigger | |
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"Why Don't I Just Take $50,000 and Light It on Fire?" | |
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The Backlash Against MTV | |
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"Don't Be a Wanker All Your Life" | |
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"Do They Know It's Christmas?," "We are the World," and Live Aid | |
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"A Whopping, Steaming Turd" | |
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The Worst Video Ever Made | |
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"A Wedding Dress with Nothing Underneath It" | |
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Madonna Takes-and Pops Out of-the Cake at the First Video Music Awards | |
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"No Cable Network Is Worth $500 Million" | |
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MTV Gets New Owners; The Founding Team Trashes A Hotel, then Heads for the Exit | |
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"Gacked to the Tits" | |
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Twenty-Four Stories About Drugs | |
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"They Diss the Beatles" | |
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Run-DMC and the Beastie Boys Smuggle Rap Onto MTV | |
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"We Put Fincher on the Map" | |
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Rick Springfield, Christopher Cross, and the Humble Beginnings of a Genius | |
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"There I Am, with My Rack" | |
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The Rise of the Superdivas, Male and Female | |
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"The Legion of Decency" | |
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Censoring Videos, for Fun and Profit | |
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"Hickory Dickory Dock, This Bitch Was . . ." | |
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Backstage at the Video Music Awards | |
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"I'd Like to Thank My Cheekbones" | |
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Jon Bon Jovi and Tawny Kitaen take Hair Metal to the Top | |
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Where Do We Go Now | |
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"With or Without You" to "U Can't Touch This" 1987-1990 | |
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"The Island of Misfit Toys" | |
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120 Minutes and the Rising Up/Selling Out of Alternative Rock | |
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"Martha Was Heartbroken" | |
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MTV Finds A New, Mouthier Squad of VJs | |
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"A True Television Network" | |
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The New Boss Orders Up A Riotous Show that Forever Changes the Network | |
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"That's What Hype Can Do to You" | |
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Club MTV Launches the "Upskirt Shot" and a Pop Scandal | |
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"The First Time I Smelled Freebase" | |
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MTV Parties Down at Spring Break | |
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"I Brought Snowballs to the Desert" | |
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Sucking Up to MTV's Laddish New Power Broker | |
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"People in the Hood Rushed to Get Cable" | |
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How Ted Demme Did, Didn't, Maybe Did, and Absolutely Did Create Yo! MTV Raps | |
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"We've Always Loved Guns N'Roses" | |
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Chicks and a Snake, Headbangers Ball, and the Return of Hard Rock | |
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"Those Harem Pants Came Out of Nowhere" | |
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Rap Busts A Move into the MTV Mainstream | |
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"Ego-Fucking-Maniacs" | |
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Michael Bay, Cher, and All 9:08 of "November Rain" | |
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"I Want to Have a Nickname" | |
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How MTV Helped Michael Jackson Elect Himself "The King of Pop" | |
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Nothing Lasts Forever, and we both know Hearts can Change | |
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"Justify My Love" to "Jeremy" 1990-1992 | |
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"Rhythm Nation" | |
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Superstars and One-Hit Wonders Stage A Dance-Off in Your Living Room | |
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"Your Manager's an Asshole" | |
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Fistfights and Pyro Farts: War Breaks Out at the Moscow Peace Festival | |
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"Kermit Unplugged" | |
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An Acoustic Music Show Morphs into a Worldwide Megabrand | |
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"Silly, Superficial, and Wonderful" | |
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Cindy Crawford and Jon Stewart Bring Beauty and Laughs to MTV | |
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"Tired of Cheap Sex Songs" | |
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R.E.M., U2, and Van Halen (!) Elevate the Art Form in the Nineties | |
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"A Monkey Could Do It" | |
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Pauly Shore and the Third Generation of VJs | |
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"A Pep Rally Gone Wrong" | |
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"Smells Like Teen Spirit," Grunge, and the Hair Metal Apocalypse | |
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"You're No Better Than a Rabbit!" | |
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Fearless Twentysomethings Shape A Presidential Election | |
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"Getting Out of the Music Business" | |
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This is the True Story ... of What Happened When the Real World ... Took Over MTV ... and Made Music Videos ... Obsolete | |
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"Let's Get Crazy Tonight" | |
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Tears, Tequila, and Broken Glass: MTV VIPs Celebrate the First Decade | |
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"Fat City" | |
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The Bubble Bursts on Music Videos' Golden Era | |
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"You Have No Idea How I Miss It" | |
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Fans, Stars, Staff, and Detractors Reflect on the Video Age | |
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Acknowledgments | |
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Cast of Characters | |
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Index | |