VJ

March 11, 2013
Although it’s a household word today, when MTV debuted on August 1, 1981, the cable television channel boosted the careers of many rockers looking to kickstart their careers (Madonna), reboot their careers (Michael Jackson), or launch their careers (Duran Duran). In those heady early days, anything seemed possible, and the ability to look pretty in music videos offered many mediocre music acts a shot at fame and fan worship. MTV worked so well because of a group of onscreen video jockeys (VJs), who introduced the music, interviewed the acts, and brought a friendly presence into the living rooms of many fans. In this brilliantly conceived but regrettably dull and lackluster book, Rolling Stone contributing editor Edwards gathers interviews from the original group of MTV VJs—with the exception of J.J. Jackson, who died in 2004—offering a firsthand account of what life and work at MTV were like in those early days. The VJs reflect on their work together, their toughest interviews, their relationships with the musicians who passed through the MTV studios, and the cultural impact of MTV. Blackwood recalls that because of MTV, “musicians got more visually conscious; or self-conscious.” Hunter believes that MTV “presented this vision of American culture, which was tolerant of sincerity and tongue-in-cheek self-deprecation at the same time.” For Goodman, MTV is the “reason you have no attention span. And you can pin reality TV on us, too.” Goodman best sums up the VJs’ halcyon days: “MTV was a trial by fire. We went through this wonderful, terrible experience together and it bonded us.”

April 1, 2013
MTV, the American cable-television music channel, started in New York in August 1981. Among the original VJs, or video jockeys, as they were called, were Blackwood, Mark Goodman, Alan Hunter, and Martha Quinn. In this oral history, these first-wave VJs, celebrities in their own right at the time, tell their personal stories and describe the early days of the channel, including numerous on-air highlights, such as, most famously, Michael Jackson's Billie Jean video, prior to which MTV played the videos of very few black artists unless, like Joan Armatrading or Garland Jeffreys, they sang in the rock genre. They also discuss the cultural impact of MTV and the broadcasting of live concerts such as Live Aid. Behind-the-scenes stories are here, too, such as the time that Bob Dylan invited Quinn to accompany him to Ireland on his private jet and tales about Madonna, John Mellencamp (or John Cougar as he was then known), Cyndi Lauper, Billy Joel, and many others. Fun and gossipy.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2013, American Library Association.)