httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cw6xesXLIAA&playnext=1&list=PL468EB10CCDE15351

The first ten minutes: although it helped to define youth culture and shape popular music for a solid twenty years, these opening moments are as primitive as ham radio.

MTV launched on this date in 1981 at 12.01 am. The first video was The Buggles’ “Video Killed the Radio Star,” which, even though it’s not a great song, captured the expectant mood of the early 80s when anything seemed possible in popular music. Well, maybe that’s an overstatement. After the jump is the playlist for the first day, and there’s still a lot of the musky recent past hanging in there, such as the crushingly depressing Rod Stewart of the late 70s — and REO Speedwagon; more REO Speedwagon, in fact, than you’d likely want in an entire lifetime.

However, there’s some good stuff in there that made the whole thing seem very new and very promising: Elvis Costello, The Pretenders, David Bowie, The Specials, Kate Bush, Talking Heads, and, uh . . . okay, just those six (sorry, Pat Benetar fans). Sadly, devastatingly, the first appearance by a Canadian band was April Wine. Bryan Adams hadn’t been invented yet.

1. “Video Killed the Radio Star” by The Buggles
2. “You Better Run” by Pat Benatar
3. “She Won’t Dance with Me” by Rod Stewart
4. “You Better You Bet” by The Who
5. “Little Suzi’s on the Up” by Ph.D.
6. “We Don’t Talk Anymore” by Cliff Richard
7. “Brass in Pocket” by The Pretenders
8. “Time Heals” by Todd Rundgren
9. “Take It On the Run” by REO Speedwagon
10. “Rockin’ the Paradise” by Styx
11. “When Things Go Wrong” by Robin Lane and the Chartbusters
12. “History Never Repeats” by Split Enz – MTV Video
13. “Hold On Loosely” by 38 Special – MTV Video
14. “Just Between You and Me” by April Wine – MTV Video
15. “Sailing” by Rod Stewart – MTV Video
16. “Iron Maiden” by Iron Maiden – MTV Video
17. “Keep On Loving You” by REO Speedwagon
18. “Bluer Than Blue” by Michael Johnson
19. “Message of Love” by The Pretenders
20. “Mr. Briefcase” by Lee Ritenour
21. “Double Life” by The Cars
22. “In the Air Tonight” by Phil Collins
23. “Looking For Clues” by Robert Palmer
24. “Too Late” by Shoes
25. “Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around” by Stevie Nicks and Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
26. “Do Ya Think I’m Sexy” by Rod Stewart
27. “Surface Tension” by Rupert Hine
28. “One Step Ahead” by Split Enz
29. “Baker Street” by Gerry Rafferty
30. “I’m Gonna Follow You” by Pat Benatar
31. “Savannah Nights” by Tom Johnston
32. “Lucille” by Rockestra
33. “The Best of Times” by Styx
34. “Vengeance” by Carly Simon
35. “Wrathchild” by Iron Maiden
36. “I Wanna Be a Lifeguard” by Blotto
37. “Passion” by Rod Stewart
38. “Oliver’s Army” by Elvis Costello
39. “Don’t Let Him Go” by REO Speedwagon
40. “Remote Control/Illegal” by The Silencers
41. “Angel of the Morning” by Juice Newton
42. “Little Sister” by Rockpile with Robert Plant
43. “Hold On to the Night” by Bootcamp
44. “Dreaming” by Cliff Richard
45. “Is it You?” by Lee Ritenour
46. “Tusk” by Fleetwood Mac
47. “He Can’t Love You” by Michael Stanley Band
48. “Tough Guys” by REO Speedwagon
49. “Rapture” by Blondie
50. “Don’t Let Go the Coat” by The Who
51. “Ain’t Love a Bitch” by Rod Stewart
52. “Talk of the Town” by The Pretenders
53. “Can’t Happen Here” by Rainbow
54. “Thank You for Being a Friend” by Andrew Gold
55. “You Better You Bet” by The Who
56. “Bring It All Home” by Gerry Rafferty
57. “Sign of the Gypsy Queen” by April Wine
58. “The Man with the Child in His Eyes” by Kate Bush
59. “Message Of Love” by The Pretenders
60. “All Night Long” by Rainbow
61. “Boys Keep Swinging” by David Bowie
62. “Rat Race” by The Specials
63. “Just Between You and Me” by April Wine
64. “Once in a Lifetime” by Talking Heads
65. “Victim” by Bootcamp
66. “Tonight’s the Night” by Rod Stewart
67. “Cruel to Be Kind” by Nick Lowe
68. “A Little In Love” by Cliff Richard
69. “Take It on the Run” by REO Speedwagon
70. “Wild Eyed Southern Boys” by .38 Special
71. “Wuthering Heights” by Kate Bush
72. “Celebrate the Bullet” by The Selecter
73. “More Than I Can Say” by Leo Sayer
74. “A Message to You, Rudy” by The Specials
75. “In The Air Tonight” by Phil Collins
76. “Heart of Glass” by Blondie
77. “Oh God, I Wish I Was Home Tonight” by Rod Stewart
78. “Kid” by The Pretenders
79. “Wrathchild” by Iron Maiden
80. “Come What May” by Lani Hall with Herb Alpert
81. “I Got You” by Split Enz
82. “Sister Disco” by The Who
83. “Fashion” by David Bowie
84. “Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around” by Stevie Nicks and Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
85. “Love Stinks” by The J. Geils Band
86. “Johnny & Mary” by Robert Palmer
87. “Tomorrow Night” by Shoes