Happy Birthday, MTV! Looking Back On Some Of Their Best Videos Over The Years

Happy birthday, MTV!

44 years ago today, a Cultural Revolution was launched over the airwaves and onto the televisions of unsuspecting music fans.

Unfortunately, MTV is now known for everything but music, housing some of the worst schlock to ever grace a flat screen.

But it wasn't always this way.

Back in the 80's and 90's, MTV was home to some of the most groundbreaking and memorable music videos that still live on in the hearts and minds of music fans everywhere.

In honor of the former music channel's big day, I thought it would be fun to reminisce on some of the most iconic music videos from MTV's heyday.

So, put on your legwarmers, grab the Aquanet, and join me on this brief little stroll down memory lane.

The Buggles, "Video Killed the Radio Star"

The song that started it all, this little ditty was the very first song to premiere on the music channel, debuting at 12:01 AM on August 1, 1981.

This one-hit wonder by The Buggles was actually released as a single in 1979, predating MTV by almost two years.

The song would prove to be prescient though, as it talks about color television bringing about the death of the golden age of radio.

The tone of the song fits the premise perfectly, a wistful tune about the good old days being a thing of the past thanks to "new technology."

If it was written today, it would probably be titled something like "TikTok Killed The YouTube Star," but I digress.

Dire Straits, "Money For Nothing"

This one may not look like much now, but in 1985 the CGI in this music video blew everyone's minds clean out of their skulls.

Dire Straits singer/underrated guitar god, Mark Knopfler, came up with the premise for this song and video while overhearing an employee in a hardware store complain about how easily the guys who "play the guitar on the MTV" can make money and pick up chicks (hence the phrase "money for nothing, chicks for free").

A very relatable complaint, but Knopfler turned the man's musings into arguably his biggest hit.

Fun fact: that falsetto voice you hear singing the dulcet tones of "I want my MTV," is none other than Police frontman, Sting.

The refrain would become a rallying cry for the channel and its place among the cultural zeitgeist.

Aha, "Take On Me"

In terms of sheer impact, this video may be the single most influential in MTV's extensive catalog.

Along the same lines as "Money For Nothing," "Take On Me" was a technical marvel for the time, with the transitions between real video and the stylized "pencil drawing" graphics being so seamless.

With a chorus as iconic as this one has, Aha needed a video to match, and they knocked it out of the park.

This video is so ubiquitous it's even been parodied by Family Guy.

Now THAT'S how you know you've made it big!

Metallica, "One"

I had to stick to my metal roots for at least one of these, and thank GOD for Metallica releasing one of the most influential and thought-provoking videos of the 1980's.

The video for "One" is about as dark as it gets, telling the story of a veteran returning home from war with life-altering injuries.

As far as metal music videos in the 80's went, it was mostly about having a hot chick dry humping your lead singer or a car, so Metallica going for the "soldier experiences horrors beyond our imagination" angle was an interesting choice.

It paid off for the metal pioneers, as they rode the song and its accompanying video to new heights, even being nominated for a Grammy for best Hard Rock/Metal Performance but losing to… Jethro Tull?

Ah, so the music industry has always been run by morons, got it!

Blink 182, "What's My Age Again?"

I had to close this one out with a personal one from my childhood.

By the late 90's, MTV was about as big as Coke and McDonald's as far as brand recognition, and Total Request Live reinvented the channel as a viable viewing option for the next generation of music video lovers.

Around the same time, Blink-182 had burst onto the scene with their seminal Enema Of The State album, and were a mainstay on TRL.

This video was my first introduction to the band, and, as a seven-year-old, I clearly had no business watching it.

It had everything you could ever want from an iconic music video growing up: comical nudity, jokes about "sodomy," hot chicks, and most importantly, a catchy chorus.

I can speak for millions of other 90's kids and Millennials alike when I say MTV introduced us to Blink-182, and we are forever thankful.

MTV may not be what it used to be, but with memories like these, we can all look back on these core memories that will stick with us for the rest of our lives.