MTV At 30: A Look Back At Duran Duran

This list of our favorite Duran Duran songs was originally published on Culture Brats on August 24, 2010. We're bringing it back because Duran Duran was such a staple on early MTV. We even included a few tracks from Thank You, which was foolishly named the Worst Album Of All Time in a 2006 Q magazine poll:

17. "911 Is A Joke"
16. "Careless Memories"
15 "I Don't Want Your Love"
14. "Union Of The Snake"
13. "Come Undone"
12. "White Lines (Don't Do It)"
11. "Planet Earth"
10. "Notorious"
9. "Is There Something I Should Know?"
8. "Save A Prayer"
7. "Ordinary World"

MTV Discovers The Internet In 1995

A hard-hitting exposé from MTV News:

The Original MTV VJs Launches

The four surviving original MTV VJs, Nina Blackwood, Mark Goodman, Alan Hunter, and Martha Quinn, have launched a new website called The Original MTV VJs. Like us, they're busy celebrating MTV's 30th anniversary this week. While there will undoubtedly be promotion for their SiriusXM show, there's no word what the site will be like in the upcoming weeks.

In the meantime, go send them some love.

I Want My MTV (Classic Ad 2 Of 5)

Top 15 MTV Unplugged Performances (Nos. 1-5)

To help commemorate our look back at the 30th Anniversary of the launch of MTV, we decided to take a look back at one of our favorite shows to air on the channel, MTV Unplugged.

When the dust settled, we were left with our fifteen favorite performances on MTV Unplugged.

Did your favorite make the cut? Find out below!

Here's the Top Five:

5. Alanis Morissette (1999)

Top 15 MTV Unplugged Performances (Nos. 6-10)

To help commemorate our look back at the 30th Anniversary of the launch of MTV, we decided to take a look back at one of our favorite shows to air on the channel, MTV Unplugged.

When the dust settled, we were left with our fifteen favorite performances on MTV Unplugged.

Did your favorite make the cut? Find out below!

Here are numbers 6-10:

10. Kiss (1995)

Top 15 MTV Unplugged Performances (Nos. 11-15)

To help commemorate our look back at the 30th Anniversary of the launch of MTV, we decided to take a look back at one of our favorite shows to air on the channel, MTV Unplugged.

When the dust settled, we were left with our fifteen favorite performances on MTV Unplugged.

Did your favorite make the cut? Find out below!

Here are numbers 11-15:

15. Fiona Apple (1997)

MTV At 30: Better Album: Thriller vs. Purple Rain

This was our very first installment of Criss Cross Counter Punch and was originally published on Culture Brats on March 29, 2010. But since Michael Jackson and Prince played such a big role in the early days of MTV, we dusted it off for this week's festivities.

* * *

Archphoenix: Don't get me wrong, I love me some Prince, especially Purple Rain. His purple funkness is quite a talented musician. But Thriller remains, for me anyway, the best pop album, pretty much ever.

Thriller is the best selling album of all time. Seven of the album's nine songs were released as singles and all seven songs hit Billboard's top ten list. The album won a record-breaking eight Grammy awards. I know, I know, just because it sells doesn't mean it's necessarily good (i.e. Britney Spears, Justin Bieber, Nickleback, etc.). But in this case, the fact that it still sells ridiculously well 25 years later is a testament to the longevity of the album.

I Want My MTV (Classic Ad 1 Of 5)

MTV At 30: The First 30 Music Videos Played On MTV

MTV debuted thirty years ago today. We're going to be taking a look back at MTV all week long but to kick things off, we thought we'd share the first thirty videos MTV played thirty years ago.

Enjoy!

1. "Video Killed The Radio Star," The Buggles
2. "You Better Run," Pat Benatar
3. "She Won't Dance With Me," Rod Stewart
4. "You Better You Bet," The Who
5. "Little Suzi's On The Up," Ph.D.
6. "We Don't Talk Anymore," Cliff Richard
7. "Brass In Pocket," The Pretenders
8. "Time Heals," Todd Rundgren
9. "Take It On The Run," REO Speedwagon
10. "Rockin' The Paradise," Styx
11. "When Things Go Wrong," Robin Lane And The Chartbusters
12. "History Never Repeats," Split Enz
13. "Hold On Loosely," 38 Special
14. "Just Between You and Me," April Wine
15. "Sailing," Rod Stewart
16. "Iron Maiden," Iron Maiden
17. "Keep On Loving You (Live)," REO Speedwagon
18. "Bluer Than Blue," Michael Johnson
19. "Message Of Love," The Pretenders
20. "Mr. Briefcase," Lee Ritenour
21. "Double Life," The Cars
22. "In The Air Tonight," Phil Collins
23. "Looking For Clues," Robert Palmer
24. "Too Late," Shoes
25. "Stop Draggin' My Heart Around," Stevie Nicks and Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers
26. "Do Ya Think I'm Sexy," Rod Stewart
27. "Surface Tension," Rupert Hine
28. "One Step Ahead," Split Enz
29. "Baker Street," Gerry Rafferty
30. "I'm Gonna Follow You," Pat Benatar

And here are the actual videos from MTV's launch (complete with all the old school commercials from thirty years ago!):

The Launch and "Video Killed The Radio Star"