Footage from MTVs classic 1980s era is streaming online, and its a trip

MTV’s first ever broadcast on August 1st, 1981 starts with footage of the Apollo 11 rocket launch. As the rocket lifts off, the footage cuts to an astronaut jumping on the moon, an acid-pop colored flag standing proud as the classic MTV logo shimmered. A music video for The Buggles’ “Video Killed The Radio Star” plays.

It’s an iconic scene, and one that I’ve watched countless times over the last few days thanks to a recent upload on the Internet Archive. Tens of hours of footage, spanning from that very first broadcast in 1981 through the end of the decade in 1989, are streaming for free on the website. Each upload, which started in early April and is being continuously added to, comes with descriptions about which VJ was hosting that...

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