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Shan ~A~ Wants Their MTV!
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MTV (originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable television channel. It was officially launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a division of Paramount Global.
The channel originally aired music videos and related programming as guided by television personalities known as video jockeys, or VJs. MTV was one of the American cable channels which was available in other countries that became a cult hit across the world and was one of the factors in cable programming's rise to fame and American corporations overwhelmingly dominating the television economy in the 1990s. In the years since its inception, it significantly toned down its focus on music in favor of original reality programming for teenagers and young adults.
Since the late 2010s, MTV has devoted its programming schedule to select programs, primarily Ridiculousness, which in June 2020 aired "for 113 hours out of the network's entire 168-hour lineup".
MTV has spawned numerous sister channels in the United States and affiliated channels internationally, some of which have since gone independent. Approximately 90.6 million households in the US received MTV as of January 2017.
Complete ONE of the following:
🎸1. Read a book published or set in the 1980s.
🎸2. Read a book where a character visits or lives in New York City.
🎸3. Read a book with sisters included.
🎸4. Read a book with a 1, 6, and 8 in the publication date.
I'm posting this early, but remember that your first book can't be completed until on or after March 1st. 👍🏻
Prompt Name: IntroductionBook: Think Outside the Boss
Author: Olivia Hayle
Date Read: 03/01
Pages: 357
Task: Read a book where a character visits or lives in New York City
How it Fits: Set in New York
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In the 1970s, music television focused on live performances, with shows such as The Midnight Special, In Concert, and The Old Grey Whistle Test. Numerous major musical acts had made music videos to accompany their songs, including the Beatles, Bob Dylan, and Queen, but the concept and format had not been widely established.
In 1979, executives at the newly formed Warner-American Express Satellite Entertainment Company felt teenagers were an overlooked and potentially lucrative audience, and hoped to develop a television format to target them. MTV's original format was created by the executive Robert W. Pittman, later the president and CEO of MTV Networks. He tested the format by producing and hosting a 15-minute show, Album Tracks, on New York City's WNBC-TV in the late 1970s. Pittman's boss, Warner executive vice president John Lack, had shepherded PopClips, a TV series created by the former Monkees member Michael Nesmith, whose attention had turned to the music video format in the late 1970s.
Complete ONE of the following:
🎸1. Read a book published or set in the 1970s.
🎸2. Read a book with an MPG of YOUNG ADULT.
🎸3. Read a book where the author's first name starts with an R.
🎸4. Read a book you knew you'd like within the first 15 minutes of starting.
Prompt Name: History: BackgroundBook: Always Someone's Monster
Author: Lani Lynn Vale
Date Read: 03/05
Pages: 265
Task: Read a book you knew you'd like within the first 15 minutes of starting.
How it Fits: I was hooked from the beginning
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On Saturday, August 1, 1981, at 12:01 a.m. Eastern Time, MTV was launched with the words "Ladies and gentlemen, rock and roll", spoken by John Lack and played over footage of the first Space Shuttle launch countdown of Columbia (which took place earlier that year) and the launch of Apollo 11. The words were followed by the original MTV theme song, a rock tune composed by Jonathan Elias and John Petersen, playing over the U.S. flag changed to show MTV's logo changing into different textures and designs. MTV producers Alan Goodman and Fred Seibert used this public domain footage as a concept; Seibert said that they had originally planned to use Neil Armstrong's "One small step" quote, but lawyers said that Armstrong owned his name and likeness and that he had refused, so the quote was replaced with a beeping sound. A shortened version of the shuttle launch ID ran at the top of every hour in different forms, from MTV's first day until it was pulled in early 1986 in the wake of the Challenger disaster.
Complete ONE of the following:
🎸1. Read a book set at least partially in space.
🎸2. Read a book with a flag on the cover.
🎸3. Read a book with an MPG of HISTORICAL or HISTORICAL FICTION.
🎸4. Read a book published in August of any year.
Prompt Name: History: LaunchBook: Not My Kind of Hero
Author: Pippa Grant
Date Read: 03/18
Pages: 326
Task: Read a book published in August of any year
How it Fits: Aug 15, 2023
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The first music video on MTV, which at the time was only available to homes in New Jersey, was the Buggles' "Video Killed the Radio Star". It was followed by Pat Benatar's "You Better Run". Occasionally the screen went black when an employee at MTV inserted a tape into a VCR. MTV's lower third graphics near the beginnings and ends of videos eventually used the recognizable Kabel typeface for about 25 years; but they varied on MTV's first day, set in a different typeface, and including details such as the song's year and record label. MTV's on-air programming was originally produced from the Teletronics studio facility at West 33rd Street in Manhattan, New York; programming was uplinked to satellite from a facility in Hauppauge, New York that also served as the uplink for sister networks Nickelodeon and The Movie Channel (originally, then-owner Warner-Amex Satellite Entertainment had planned to uplink MTV from a facility located at the studios of WIVB-TV in Buffalo, New York, where Nickelodeon and The Movie Channel had been uplinked; said facility was planned to be expanded to handle MTV's needs, but the deal with WIVB fell apart when Warner-Amex was unable to reach a deal with channel 4's ownership concerning a long-term lease). MTV later moved studio facilities to Unitel Video's complex located on 57th Street (ironically located across the street from the CBS Broadcast Center, owned by future corporate sibling CBS) in 1987, remaining until 1995 when MTV chose to begin producing studio content in-house.
As programming chief, Robert W. Pittman recruited and managed a team of co-founders for the launch that included Tom Freston (who succeeded Pittman as CEO of MTV Networks), Fred Seibert and John Sykes. They were joined by Carolyn Baker (original head of talent and acquisition), Marshall Cohen (original head of research), Gail Sparrow (of talent and acquisition), Sue Steinberg (executive producer), Julian Goldberg, Steve Lawrence, Geoff Bolton; studio producers and MTV News writers/associate producers Liz Nealon, Nancy LaPook and Robin Zorn; Steve Casey (creator of the name "MTV" and its first program director), Marcy Brafman, Richard Schenkman, Ronald E. "Buzz" Brindle, and Robert Morton. Kenneth M. Miller is credited as MTV's first technical director at its New York City-based network operations facility.
Within two months, record stores were selling music local radio stations were not playing, such as Men at Work, Bow Wow Wow and the Human League. MTV also sparked the Second British Invasion, featuring existing videos by British acts who had used the format for several years (for example, on BBC's Top of the Pops).
MTV targeted an audience of ages 12 to 34. However its self-conducted research showed that over 50% of its audience was 12–24, and that this group watched for an average of 30 minutes to two hours a day. As the PBS series Frontline explored, MTV was a driving force that catapulted music videos to a mainstream audience, turning music videos into an art form as well as a marketing machine that became beneficial to artists."
Complete ONE of the following:
🎸1. Read a book with an MPG of MUSIC.
🎸2. Read a book where the title is on the lower-third of the cover.
🎸3. Read a book written by a British author.
🎸4. Read a book that takes place within a two-month timeframe.
Prompt Name: History: 1981 - 1992Book: Smoke Bitten
Author: Patricia Briggs
Date Read: 03/24
Pages: 352
Task: Read a book where the title is on the lower-third of the cover.
How it Fits:
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MTV's earliest format was modeled after AOR (album-oriented rock) radio. It underwent a transition to emulate a full Top 40 station in 1984. Fresh-faced young people hosted its programming and introduced videos. Many VJs became celebrities in their own right. MTV's five original VJs in 1981 were Nina Blackwood, Mark Goodman, Alan Hunter, J. J. Jackson and Martha Quinn. Popular New York DJ Meg Griffin was going to be a VJ, but decided against it at the last minute. The VJs were hired to fit certain demographics the channel was trying to obtain: Goodman was the affable everyman; Hunter, the popular jock; Jackson, the hip radio veteran; Blackwood, the bombshell vixen; and Quinn, the girl next door. Due to uncertainty around the channel's success, the VJs were told not to buy permanent residences and to keep their second jobs.
The VJs recorded intro and outro voiceovers before broadcast, along with music news, interviews, concert dates and promotions. These segments appeared to air live and debut on MTV 24/7, but they were pre-taped within a regular work week at MTV's studios.
Rock bands and performers of the 1980s who appeared on MTV ranged from new wave to soft rock and heavy metal including Adam Ant, Bryan Adams, Pat Benatar, Blondie, the Cars, Culture Club, Def Leppard, Dire Straits (whose 1985 song and video "Money for Nothing" included the slogan "I want my MTV" in its lyrics), Duran Duran, Eurythmics, Peter Gabriel, Genesis, Daryl Hall & John Oates, Billy Idol, Michael Jackson, Billy Joel, John Mellencamp, Mötley Crüe, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, the Police, Prince, Ratt, Ultravox, U2, Van Halen and ZZ Top.
In 1984, more record companies and artists began making clips, realizing the popularity of MTV and the growing medium. To accommodate the influx of videos, MTV announced changes to its playlists in the November 3, 1984, issue of Billboard that took effect the next week. Playlist rotation categories were expanded from three (Light, Medium, Heavy) to seven: New, Light, Breakout, Medium, Active, Heavy and Power. This ensured that artists with chart hits got the exposure they deserved, with Medium being a home for established hits still on the climb up to the top 10; and Heavy a home for the big hits – without the bells and whistles – just the exposure they commanded.
Flashdance (1983) was the first film whose promoters supplied MTV with musical clips to compose promotional videos, which the channel included in its regular rotation.
The channel also rotated the music videos of "Weird Al" Yankovic, who made a career out of parodying other artists' videos. It also aired several of Yankovic's specials in the 1980s and 1990s, under the title Al TV.
PSAs and promotion of charitable causes and NFPs were woven into the MTV fabric. In response to the AIDS epidemic, MTV initiated a safe-sex campaign in 1985, believing that many youths would be more open to the message there than from their parents. Its safe-sex campaign continues today as "It's Your Sex Life."
Complete ONE of the following:
🎸1. Read a book that has been made into a movie.
🎸2. Read a book where the MC is part of a charitable cause.
🎸3. Read a book with up to 5 people on the cover.
🎸4. Read a book where the title could be considered a parody.
Prompt Name: History: Original VJs & FormatBook: East of Eden
Author: John Steinbeck
Date Read: 04/12
Pages: 601
Task: Read a book that has been made into a movie.
How it Fits: Has a movie adaptation
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1986 brought the departures of three of the five original VJs, as J. J. Jackson moved back to Los Angeles and returned to radio, while Nina Blackwood moved on to pursue new roles in television. Martha Quinn's contract was not renewed in late 1986 and she departed the network. She was brought back in early 1989 and stayed until 1992. Downtown Julie Brown was hired as the first new VJ as a replacement. In mid-1987, Alan Hunter and Mark Goodman ceased being full-time MTV veejays.
Complete ONE of the following:
🎸1. Read a book with a character who moves to a new line of work.
🎸2. Read a book with a character who moves to a new location.
🎸3. Read a book where the MC is known by a nickname, like Downtown.
🎸4. Read a book where the MC is known for a catchphrase, like "wubba, wubba, wubba."
Prompt Name: History: Some Early ChangesBook: Playboy Pilot
Author: Penelope Ward & Vi Keeland
Date Read: 04/16
Pages: 300
Task: Read a book where the MC is known by a nickname, like Downtown.
How it Fits: Carter is known to his coworkers by Trip
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From 1995 to 2000, MTV played 36.5% fewer music videos. MTV president Van Toffler stated: "Clearly, the novelty of just showing music videos has worn off. It's required us to reinvent ourselves to a contemporary audience." The network launched MTV Radio Network in 1995 with Westwood One. Despite targeted efforts to play certain types of music videos in limited rotation, MTV greatly reduced its overall rotation of music videos by the mid-2000s. A 10pm programming block for top shows and specials was created and called the 10 Spot. Dana Fuchs was the promo voice actor and writer for ads promoting these shows.
Complete ONE of the following:
🎸1. Read a book published or set from 1995 - 2000.
🎸2. Read a book with an MPG of CONTEMPORARY.
🎸3. Read a book from a series with 10 or more distinct works.
🎸4. Read a book where the MC's first initial is found in DANA FUCHS.
Prompt Name: History: 1995 - 2002 ~ Shift from MusicBook: Accidental Attachment
Author: Max Monroe
Date Read: 04/17
Pages: 422
Task: Read a book with an MPG of CONTEMPORARY.
How it Fits: MPG Contemporary
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MTV would venture into adult animation, with shows like Beavis and Butt-Head, Celebrity Deathmatch, Undergrads, Clone High, and Daria each becoming cult classics. Daria also included two full-length television films: Is It Fall Yet? and Is It College Yet?, which originally aired on MTV in 2000 and 2002, respectively. The 1996 Beavis and Butt-Head film Beavis and Butt-Head Do America aired on MTV in 1999 after previous objections from show creator Mike Judge. MTV also spawned the paranormal reality TV genre with the broadcast of MTV's Fear in 2000.
Complete ONE of the following:
🎸1. Read a book tagged ADULT or HORROR.
🎸2. Read a book where the title starts with a letter in DARIA.
🎸3. Read a book that has been adapted into a television series.
🎸4. Read a book where the author's first AND last initials are found in MIKE JUDGE.
Prompt Name: History: Adult AnimationBook: Mexican Gothic
Author: Silvia Moreno-Garcia
Date Read: 04/20
Pages: 320
Task: Read a book tagged ADULT or HORROR
How it Fits: MPG Horror
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Beginning in late 1997, MTV progressively reduced its airing of rock music videos, leading to the slogan among skeptics, "Rock is dead." Two years later, in the fall of 1999, MTV announced a special Return of the Rock weekend, in which new rock acts received airtime, after which a compilation album was released.
By 2000, Linkin Park, Sum 41, Jimmy Eat World, Mudvayne, Cold, At the Drive-In, Alien Ant Farm, and other acts were added to the musical rotation. MTV also launched the subscription channel MTVX to play rock music videos exclusively.
Complete ONE of the following:
🎸1. Read a book where a character is skeptical about something.
🎸2. Read a book that takes places at least partially in the fall.
🎸3. Read a book with the words OF THE in the title.
🎸4. Read a book where the MC plays music of any kind.
Prompt Name: History: Return of the RockBook: One Hot Italian Summer
Author: Karina Halle
Date Read: 04/23
Pages: 384
Task: Read a book where a character is skeptical about something.
How it Fits: Grace is skeptical of how accepting Vanni and his mother would be of her relationship with Claudio
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In 1997, MTV introduced its new studios in Times Square. MTV created four shows in the late 1990s that centered on music videos: MTV Live, Total Request, Say What?, and 12 Angry Viewers. A year later, in 1998, MTV merged Total Request and MTV Live into a live daily top 10 countdown show, Total Request Live, which became known as TRL. The original host was Carson Daly. The show included a live studio audience and was filmed in a windowed studio that allowed crowds to look in. According to Nielsen, the average audience for the show was at its highest in 1999 and continued with strong numbers through 2001. The program played the top ten pop, rock, R&B, and hip hop music videos, and featured live interviews with artists and celebrities. In 2003, Carson Daly left MTV and TRL to focus on his late night talk show on NBC. The series came to an end with a special finale episode, Total Finale Live, which aired November 16, 2008, and featured hosts and guests that previously appeared on the show
Complete ONE of the following:
🎸1. Read a book that would make it into your Top 10 reads.
🎸2. Read a book with something square on the cover.
🎸3. Read a book with at least 2 numbers from 2008 in the publication date.
🎸4. Read a book where the author's first AND last initials are found in CARSON DALY.
Prompt Name: Total Request LiveBook: Undead and Unworthy
Author: MaryJanice Davidson
Date Read: 04/24
Pages: 285
Task: Read a book with at least 2 numbers from 2008 in the publication date.
How it Fits: Published June 24, 2008
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From 1998 to 2003, MTV also aired several other music video programs from its studios. These programs included Say What? Karaoke, a game show hosted by Dave Holmes. In the early 2000s MTV aired VJ for a Day, hosted by Ray Munns. MTV also aired Hot Zone, hosted by Ananda Lewis, which featured pop music videos during the midday time period. Other programs at the time included Sucker Free, and BeatSuite.
Complete ONE of the following:
🎸1. Read a book where a character sings.
🎸2. Read a book with a question mark in the title.
🎸3. Read a book set in a hot climate.
🎸4. Read a book where the MC has a job you would like to take over for a day.
Prompt Name: History: Other ProgramsBook: The Project
Author: R.L. Mathewson
Date Read: 04/25
Pages: 263
Task: Read a book where the MC has a job you would like to take over for a day
How it Fits: MC is CEO
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Around 1999 through 2001, as MTV aired fewer music videos throughout the day, it regularly aired compilation specials from its then 20-year history to look back on its roots. An all-encompassing special, MTV Uncensored, premiered in 1999 and was later released as a book.
Janet Jackson became the inaugural honoree of the "MTV Icon" award, "an annual recognition of artists who have made significant contributions to music, music video and pop culture while tremendously impacting the MTV generation." Subsequent recipients included Aerosmith, Metallica, and the Cure.
Complete ONE of the following:
🎸1. Read a book that covers more than 20 years in its timeline.
🎸2. Read a book where the MC's first AND last initials are the same.
🎸3. Read a book that has won a major award.
🎸4. Read a book where the author has made significant contributions as a writer.
Prompt Name: History: Milestones & SpecialsBook: Hands Down
Author: Mariana Zapata
Date Read: 04/28
Pages: 550
Task: Read a book where the MC's first AND last initials are the same.
How it Fits: MC is Bianca Brannen
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Over the next decade, MTV would engage in channel drift, gradually expanding its programming outside of music videos with programming lightly or heavily related to music. MTV became known for its reality programming, some of which followed the lives of musicians; The Osbournes, a reality show based on the everyday life of Black Sabbath frontman Ozzy Osbourne and his family premiered in 2002 and would become one of the network's premiere shows. It also kick-started a musical career for Kelly Osbourne, while Sharon Osbourne went on to host her own self-titled talk show on US television. Production ended on The Osbournes in November 2004.
Complete ONE of the following:
🎸1. Read a book with a predominately black cover. {Your discretion.}
🎸2. Read a book that was published over a decade ago.
🎸3. Read a book with a Z in the title.
🎸4. Read a book where the MC has a wife and a daughter.
Prompt Name: History: 2002 - 2010 ~ Reality TelevisionBook: Firestarter
Author: Stephen King
Date Read: 05/06
Pages: 564
Task: Read a book that was published over a decade ago.
How it Fits: Published September 29, 1980
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While music videos were featured on MTV up to eight hours per day in 2000, the year 2008 saw an average of just three hours of music videos per day on MTV. It's been speculated that the rise of social media and websites like YouTube as an outlet for the promotion and viewing of music videos led to this reduction. During this time, MTV hired Nancy Bennett as Senior VP of creative and content development for MTV Networks Music. As the decade progressed, MTV video blocks would be relegated to the early morning hours. During his acceptance speech at the 2007 MTV Video Music Awards, Justin Timberlake implored MTV to "play more damn videos!" in response to these changes.
Complete ONE of the following:
🎸1. Read a book where a social media outlet is mentioned.
🎸2. Read a book where a major character uses a curse word.
🎸3. Read a book with a male MC.
🎸4. Read a book where the audiobook version is between 3 - 8 hours in length. You do NOT have to listen to the audiobook.
Prompt Name: Big ChangesBook: The Score
Author: Elle Kennedy
Date Read: 05/08
Pages: 384
Task: Read a book with a male MC.
How it Fits: Dean is the male MC
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MTV first premiered a new music video programming block called FNMTV, and a weekly special event called FNMTV Premieres, hosted from Los Angeles by Pete Wentz of the band Fall Out Boy, which was designed to premiere new music videos and have viewers provide instantaneous feedback.
AMTV, an early morning block, debuted in 2009. The block would rebrand as Music Feed in 2013 with a reduced schedule and, unlike FNMTV, featured many full-length music videos, news updates, interviews, and performances.
Complete ONE of the following:
🎸1. Read a book you loved so much you would give instantaneous feedback for.
🎸2. Read a book where the cover has undergone rebranding over time.
🎸3. Read a book with a title written in yellow or gold.
🎸4. Read a book where the MC's first initial is found in PETE WENTZ.
Prompt Name: History: AMTV & MoreBook: Rock Chick
Author: Kristen Ashley
Date Read: 05/10
Pages: 420
Task: Read a book you loved so much you would give instantaneous feedback for.
How it Fits: Definitely one of my favorite books. 5 star read
Mod
MTV would continue to air music programming over the next decade, with the return of MTV Unplugged in 2009, the debut of 10 on Top in May 2010, and Hip Hop POV on April 12, 2012.
MTV Unplugged is an American television series on MTV showcasing musical artists usually playing acoustic instruments. The show aired regularly from 1989 to 1999 and less frequently from 2000 to 2009, when it was usually billed as MTV Unplugged No. 2.0. Since 2009, MTV Unplugged specials have aired occasionally, sometimes online only. Episodes and specials have tended to showcase one artist or group, playing a combination of their hit songs and covers.
Many of the artists who appeared on the show in the 1990s released their Unplugged session as an album, and some of these albums were commercial and critical hits. Eric Clapton's Unplugged (1992) sold 26 million copies worldwide and became the best-selling live album of all time. Other Unplugged albums that went platinum include Mariah Carey's MTV Unplugged (1992), Rod Stewart's Unplugged...and Seated (1993), 10,000 Maniacs' MTV Unplugged (1993), Tony Bennett's MTV Unplugged (1994), Page and Plant's No Quarter (1994), Nirvana's MTV Unplugged in New York (1994), Alice in Chains's Unplugged (1996), Shakira's MTV Unplugged (1999), Lauryn Hill's MTV Unplugged No. 2.0 (2001), Alicia Keys' Unplugged (2005) and Ricky Martin's MTV Unplugged (2006). Some of these albums produced successful singles as well, including Mariah Carey's No. 1 hit cover of "I'll Be There".
The show received the George Foster Peabody Award and three Primetime Emmy nominations, in its original form.
A limited-run reboot of MTV Unplugged came in 2009, featuring six acts, which won the Emmy Award for Best New Approach.
As of 2021, several episodes are available to watch on Paramount+.
Complete ONE of the following:
🎸1. Read a book where the title starts with a letter in UNPLUGGED.
🎸2. Read a book which has won at least 3 awards.
🎸3. Read a book you've been wanting to read since it was published in 2021.
🎸4. Read a book where the MC's first initial is C.
Prompt Name: History: MTV UnpluggedBook: Not the Witch You Wed
Author: April Asher
Date Read: 05/15
Pages: 341
Task: Read a book where the title starts with a letter in UNPLUGGED
How it Fits: Title starts with N
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2009 saw the debut of Jersey Shore, which became a ratings success throughout its run and spawned the "MTV Shores" franchise, but would attract various controversies. With backlash towards what some consider too much superficial content on the network, a 2009 New York Times article also revealed plans to shift MTV's focus towards more socially conscious media, which the article labels "MTV for the Obama era."
Complete ONE of the following:
🎸1. Read a book with a socially conscious major character.
🎸2. Read a book where a president, living or dead, is mentioned.
🎸3. Read a book which has been written about in the New York Times.
🎸4. Read a book with a place-name in the title.
Prompt Name: History: Socially ConsciousBook: The Hunger Games
Author: Suzanne Collins
Date Read: 05/20
Pages: 374
Task: Read a book which has been written about in the New York Times.
How it Fits: Written about in the NYT
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/18/bo...
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Shortly after Michael Jackson died on June 25, 2009, MTV aired several hours of Jackson's music videos, accompanied by live news specials featuring reactions from MTV personalities and other celebrities. The temporary shift in MTV's programming culminated the following week with the channel's live coverage of Jackson's memorial service. MTV aired similar one-hour live specials with music videos and news updates following the death of Whitney Houston on February 11, 2012, and the death of Adam Yauch of the Beastie Boys on May 4, 2012.
Complete ONE of the following:
🎸1. Read a book published in February, May, or June of any year.
🎸2. Read a book where the author's FIRST initial is found in MICHAEL.
🎸3. Read a book with a female MC whose FIRST initial is found in WHITNEY.
🎸4. Read a book with a male MC whose FIRST initial is found in ADAM.
Prompt Name: History: MemorialsBook: Always Be My Duchess
Author: Amalie Howard
Date Read: 05/22
Pages: 355
Task: Read a book where the author's FIRST initial is found in MICHAEL.
How it Fits: Lysander
Mod
In February 2010, MTV would drop the "Music Television" branding. The network would still air video premieres on occasion, through both television and real-time interaction with artists and celebrities on its website. Throughout the decade, music programming on the network would be scaled back.
In April 2016, then-appointed MTV president Sean Atkins announced plans to restore music programming to the channel. On April 21, 2016, MTV announced that new Unplugged episodes will begin airing, as well as a new weekly performance series called Wonderland. In July 2017, it was announced that TRL would be returning to the network on October 2, 2017.
Throughout the latter half of the 2010s, it was observed that MTV's daily schedule came to predominantly consist of film broadcasts and frequent marathons of select original programming, similar to other cable networks. In 2020, Reality Blurred criticized the network for its over-reliance on Ridiculousness marathons.
Alongside its unscripted slate, MTV would produce more scripted programming. Such shows included Awkward, an American version of Skins, and a reimagining of Teen Wolf. In June 2012, the network announced the development of a television series based on the Scream franchise. As MTV would pivot back to unscripted programming towards the end of the decade, some of these shows would be moved to other networks.
Chris McCarthy was named president of MTV in 2016. In 2021, McCarthy was named president and CEO of MTV Entertainment Group (which also oversees Comedy Central, Paramount Network, TV Land, CMT, and Smithsonian Channel).
Complete ONE of the following:
🎸1. Read a book with a ridiculous plot.
🎸2. Read a book that is a RETELLING of a Fairy Tale.
🎸3. Read a book where the author has at least three Cs in their name.
🎸4. Read a book where a museum is visited.
Prompt Name: History: 2010 - Present ~ Retirement from Music VideosBook: Beauty: A Retelling of the Story of Beauty and the Beast
Author: Robin McKinley
Date Read: 05/30
Pages: 256
Task: Read a book that is a RETELLING of a Fairy Tale.
How it Fits: Retelling of Beauty and the Beast
Mod
MTV News was the news production division of MTV. The service was available in the US with localized versions on MTV's global network and an online news team. In 2016, MTV refreshed the MTV News brand to compete with the likes of BuzzFeed and Vice, but by mid-2017 MTV News was significantly downsized due to cutbacks.
MTV News content was available from respective MTV websites, Apps, YouTube and on-air.
In November 2018, MTV News began producing daily updates on Twitter titled MTV News: You Need to Know. Later titled MTV News Need to Know, the show has evolved to a digital series that covers trending topics from pop culture to social justice issues to electoral politics and beyond.
MTV News began in the late 1980s with the program The Week in Rock, hosted by long time Rolling Stone writer/music critic Kurt Loder, the first official MTV News correspondent. Since 1990, the opening riff to Megadeth's "Peace Sells" has been the main opening theme for The Week in Rock.
Throughout the 2000s, MTV News began publishing digital editorial content via their website, Twitter feed, YouTube channel and Facebook page, offering information about MTV programming and music/pop-culture news aggregation. In November 2015, MTV introduced a new direction for its news department and hired Dan Fierman, former editorial director of Grantland, as MTV's editorial director and announced it would produce long-form journalism, think pieces and diversify its staff. However, in June 2017, MTV decided to restructure its news division with a greater focus on video, laying off much of their editorial staff. Later years saw a dramatic decrease in content produced by the outlet for its website or other avenues.
The division faced downsizing in the 2000s and 2010s, and was shut down in May 2023.
Complete ONE of the following:
🎸1. Read a book where a major character is a writer of some type.
🎸2. Read a book set in the United States.
🎸3. Read a book published after May 2023.
🎸4. Read a book where the MC is laid off from their job.
Prompt Name: History: MTV NewsBook: Hate You
Author: Ella James
Date Read: 06/06
Pages: 338
Task: Read a book set in the United States.
How it Fits: Set in Georgia, US
Mod
MTV's logo was designed in 1981 by Manhattan Design (a collective formed by Frank Olinsky, Pat Gorman and Patty Rogoff) under the guidance of original creative director Fred Seibert. The block letter "M" was sketched by Rogoff, with the scribbled word "TV" spraypainted by Olinksky. The primary variant of MTV's logo at the time had the "M" in yellow and the "TV" in red. But unlike most television networks' logos at the time, the logo was constantly branded with different colors, patterns and images on a variety of station IDs. Examples include 1988's ID "Adam And Eve", where the "M" is an apple and the snake is the "TV". And for 1984's ID "Art History", the logo is shown in different art styles. The only constant aspects of MTV's logo at the time were its general shape and proportions, with everything else being dynamic.
MTV launched on August 1, 1981, with an extended network ID featuring the first landing on the Moon (with still images acquired directly from NASA), which was a concept of Seibert's executed by Buzz Potamkin and Perpetual Motion Pictures. The ID then cut to the American flag planted on the Moon's surface changed to show the MTV logo on it, which rapidly changed into different colors and patterns several times per second as the network's original guitar-driven jingle was played for the first time. After MTV's launch, the "Moon landing" ID was edited to show only its ending, and was shown at the top of every hour until early 1986, when the ID was scrapped in light of the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster. The ID ran "more than 75,000 times each year (48 times each day), at the top and bottom of every hour every day" according to Seibert.
From the late 1990s to the early 2000s, MTV updated its on-air appearance at the beginning of every year and each summer, creating a consistent brand across all of its music-related shows. This style of channel-wide branding came to an end as MTV drastically reduced its number of music-related shows in the early to mid 2000s. Around this time, MTV introduced a static and single color digital on-screen graphic mainly grey during on-air and some color to be shown during all of its programming.
Complete ONE of the following:
🎸1. Read a book set in the city, like Manhattan.
🎸2. Read a book that takes place during one season, like summer.
🎸3. Read a book with a very colorful cover, like that M.
🎸4. Read a book where a government agency that goes by initials is mentioned, like NASA.
Prompt Name: Logos & Branding: The Early DaysBook: An American Marriage
Author: Tayari Jones
Date Read: 06/08
Pages: 308
Task: Read a book set in the city, like Manhattan.
How it Fits: Set in Alanta, GA
Mod
Starting with the premiere of the short-lived program FNMTV: Friday Night MTV in 2008, MTV started using a updated and cropped version of its original logo for the 30 years during most of its on-air programming. It became MTV's official logo on February 8, 2010, and officially debuted on its website. The channel's full text "MUSIC TELEVISION" was eliminated, with the revised and chopped down on the logo largely the same as the original logo, but without the initialism, the bottom of the "M" being cropped and the "V" in "TV" no longer branching off. This change was most likely made to reflect MTV's more prominent focus on reality and comedy programming and less on music-related programming. However, much like the original logo, the new logo was designed to be filled in with a seemingly unlimited variety of images. It is used worldwide, but not everywhere existentially. The new logo was first used on MTV Films logo with the 2010 film Jackass 3D. MTV's rebranding was overseen by Popkern.
On June 25, 2015, MTV International rebranded its on-air look with a new vaporwave and seapunk-inspired graphics package. It included a series of new station IDs featuring 3D renderings of objects and people, much akin to vaporwave and seapunk "aesthetics." Many have derided MTV's choice of rebranding, insisting that the artistic style was centered on denouncing corporate capitalism (many aesthetic pieces heavily incorporate corporate logos of the 1970s, 80s and 90s, which coincidentally include MTV's original logo) rather than being embraced by major corporations like MTV. Many have also suggested that MTV made an attempt to be relevant in the modern entertainment world with the rebrand. In addition to this, the rebrand was made on exactly the same day that the social media site Tumblr introduced Tumblr TV, an animated GIF viewer which featured branding inspired by MTV's original 1980s on-air look. Tumblr has been cited as a prominent location of aesthetic art, and thus many have suggested MTV and Tumblr "switched identities". The rebrand also incorporated a modified version of MTV's classic "I Want My MTV!" slogan, changed to read "I Am My MTV." Vice has suggested that the slogan change represents "the current generation's movement towards self-examination, identity politics and apparent narcissism." MTV also introduced MTV Bump, a website that allows Instagram and Vine users to submit videos to be aired during commercial breaks, as well as MTV Canvas, an online program where users submit custom IDs to also be aired during commercial breaks.
Complete ONE of the following:
🎸1. Read a book with a cover that is not very colorful.
🎸2. Read a book where a major character behaves like a donkey's butt. 😬
🎸3. Read a book where the MC uses Instagram, Tumblr, or Vine, etc.
🎸4. Read a book with no characters younger than 30.
Prompt Name: Logos & Branding: The Middle YearsBook: Icebreaker
Author: Hannah Grace
Date Read: 06/16
Pages: 435
Task: Read a book where a major character behaves like a donkey's butt. 😬
How it Fits: Aaron is the MCs "friend" and skating partner and he constantly treats her like crap
Mod
On February 5, 2021, MTV began to use a revised logo in tandem with the 2010 version, doing away with the 3D effect inherited from its predecessors (much akin to the current MTV Video Music Awards variant). That logo is revealed to be an alternate variant of the current logo designed by the design agency Loyalkaspar, which pays homage to MTV of the past with the red-yellow-blue color combination and the 3D effect mainly inherited from its predecessor logo. The new logo's rollout was completed in time for the 2021 MTV Video Music Awards.
Complete ONE of the following:
🎸1. Read a book with red, yellow, and blue all found on the cover.
🎸2. Read a book where the letters M-T-V are all found in the title.
🎸3. Read a book which pays homage to something from the past.
🎸4. Read a book where the first letter of every word in the title starts with a letter found in LOYALKASPAR. {3-word minimum}
Prompt Name: Logos & Branding: As of LateBook: Dead Until Dark
Author: Charlaine Harris
Date Read: 06/29
Pages: 292
Task: Read a book which pays homage to something from the past.
How it Fits: Pays homage to the civil war with Bill telling stories about his time as a soldier
Mod
"Video Killed the Radio Star" is a song written by Trevor Horn, Geoff Downes and Bruce Woolley in 1979. It was recorded concurrently by Bruce Woolley and the Camera Club (with Thomas Dolby on keyboards) for their album English Garden and by British new wave/synth-pop group the Buggles, which consisted of Horn and Downes (and initially Woolley).
The Buggles' version of the track was recorded and mixed in 1979, released as their debut single on 7 September 1979 by Island Records, and included on their first album The Age of Plastic. The backing track was recorded at Virgin's Town House in West London, and mixing and vocal recording was done at Sarm East Studios.
The song relates to concerns about, and mixed attitudes toward, 20th-century inventions and machines for the media arts. Musically, the song performs like an extended jingle and the composition plays in the key of D-flat major in common time at a tempo of 132 beats per minute. The track has been positively received, with reviewers praising its unusual musical pop elements. Although the song includes several common pop characteristics and six basic chords are used in its structure, Downes and writer Timothy Warner described the piece as musically complicated, due to its use of suspended and minor ninth chords for enhancement that gave the song a "slightly different feel."
On release, the single topped sixteen international music charts, including those in the UK, Australia, and Japan. It also peaked in the top 10 in Canada, Germany, New Zealand and South Africa, but only reached number 40 in the US. The accompanying music video was written, directed, and edited by Russell Mulcahy. It was the first music video shown on MTV in the US, airing at 12:01 a.m. on 1 August 1981, and the first video shown on MTV Classic in the UK on 1 March 2010. The song has received several critical accolades, such as being ranked number 40 on VH1's "100 Greatest One-Hit Wonders of the '80s." It has also been covered by many recording artists.
Complete ONE of the following:
🎸1. Read a book by a "one-hit-wonder" author.
🎸2. Read a book that has the same title as another book.
🎸3. Read a book with something plastic on the cover.
🎸4. Read a book set in the UK, Australia, Japan, Canada, Germany, New Zealand, or South Africa.
Prompt Name: First 5 Songs: #1 - Video Killed the Radio Star by The BugglesBook: The Secret Lives of Country Gentlemen
Author: K.J. Charles
Date Read: 06/30
Pages: 353
Task: Read a book set in the UK, Australia, Japan, Canada, Germany, New Zealand, or South Africa.
How it Fits: Set in England
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I Want My MTV
Individual, 6-Month Challenge
Tune in on March 1st
If you sang, "I want my MTV," like Sting did in the opening line of the Dire Straits song Money for Nothing way back in 1985, then this is the challenge for you, my friend! And if you just know of MTV because you love reality shows, well, this is still the challenge for you! We'll look at the history of one of the greatest inventions of the 80s - including the songs, the videos, the VJs, and parties, the changes, the controversies - all things MTV.
This is an individual, 6-month challenge where you'll move through the prompts at your own pace. You will make your Completion Posts right here IN YOUR OWN THREAD.
Please use this format:
Prompt Name:
Book:
Author:
Date Read:
Pages:
Task:
How it Fits:
Get ready for that shuttle to launch and to hear, "ladies and gentlemen, rock and roll!"
If you have any questions, please post them in the Video Request Line: Q&A Thread.
Challenge Rules:
🎸 Standard Rules Apply
🎸I will create an individual thread for you prior to the start date.
🎸Your first prompt will be posted on March 1, 2024.
🎸Books must be completed after the prompt has been posted.