Remembering MTV’s Remote Control – More Relevant Than You Think
source: http://www.popbunker.net/2009/11/remembering-mtvs-remote-control-relevant/#
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- drunkenhopfrog
- added this
***entire article at the link
Likely overlooked by most in entertainment news this weekend was the death of Ken Ober at the age of 52. Ober had been working in Hollywood for more than 20 years, more recently working as a producer and writer.
However, for those of us who watched MTV as a “music television” station whose content was based almost entirely on music videos or shows based around music videos, Ken Ober was the straight man on one of the first shows that not only addressed pop culture but was based entirely around it, Remote Control. Again, for the under-25 set, this may be hard to comprehend, but MTV in the 1980s was basically a visual radio. There were a smattering of hosts (”VJs”) that would sometimes be seen (but were often just voiceovers while an MTV animation played) and the occasional show based on music videos (like the Top 20 Video Countdown, which went over the top videos of the week; Dial MTV, which was the precursor for TRL but with Adam Curry in front of a greeenscreen instead of a live studio audience, and various genre-related shows like 120 Minutes for alternative music, Headbangers Ball for hard rock and metal, and Yo! MTV Raps for hip-hop.) Occasionally you’d have stoic Kurt Loder pop in with a little bit of music news, but that was pretty much it.
***entire article at the link
Likely overlooked by most in entertainment news this weekend was the death of Ken Ober at the age of 52. Ober had been working in Hollywood for more than 20 years, more recently working as a producer and writer.
However, for those of us who watched MTV as a “music television” station whose content was based almost entirely on music videos or shows based around music videos, Ken Ober was the straight man on one of the first shows that not only addressed pop culture but was based entirely around it, Remote Control. Again, for the under-25 set, this may be hard to comprehend, but MTV in the 1980s was basically a visual radio. There were a smattering of hosts (”VJs”) that would sometimes be seen (but were often just voiceovers while an MTV animation played) and the occasional show based on music videos (like the Top 20 Video Countdown, which went over the top videos of the week; Dial MTV, which was the precursor for TRL but with Adam Curry in front of a greeenscreen instead of a live studio audience, and various genre-related shows like 120 Minutes for alternative music, Headbangers Ball for hard rock and metal, and Yo! MTV Raps for hip-hop.) Occasionally you’d have stoic Kurt Loder pop in with a little bit of music news, but that was pretty much it.
***entire article at the link
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- groups:
- Movies, TV and Film
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- tags:
- MTV, Remote Control, ken ober
