Cable channel MTV turns 30 today and I think it's unlikely that any
article noting the event will be able to resist the urge to include some
rant about the lack of music videos on the network.In theory, I understand the complaints. I watched the network from
its earliest days and there was something magical about discovering some
artist or song thanks to the video. As MTV became a commercial success,
it created a huge number of stars whose careers would have been
entirely different without the exposure. Sure, performers such as Paula
Abdul owe their careers to MTV, but it's difficult to imagine what the
careers of musicians such as Michael Jackson would have been without the
video exposure.

Not every music fan who grew up in the ’80s and ’90s knew about it. But for those who did, “120 Minutes” was a weekly ritual.

The MTV alternative rock show was a Sunday night immersion in music
that wasn’t played on mainstream radio. It gave wide exposure to the
unusual, the offbeat and the downright iconoclastic, and earned a
dedicated following. The rest of the week was dedicated to Madonna and
Def Leppard; for fans of the Pixies, Hüsker Dü, Sonic Youth, My Bloody
Valentine and other alternative favorites, there were only those
precious two hours.