Just last week I mentioned that as a wee one I first saw Sonic Youth's Kool Thing video on MTV's Sunday, late-night program 120 Minutes which aired from 1986-2003. I loved that show because it played alternative/indie videos from bands I actually liked, instead of the mainstream stuff and/or heavy metal they played regularly on heavy rotation (back when they still played music videos). Never being a fan of Springsteen, Aerosmith, Van Halen, or ew, Phil Collins, I always looked forward to the weekly 2 hour dose of "alternative" music videos. If, like me, you waited each week to see if they would play The Smiths, Morrissey, The Cure, New Order, Depeche Mode, The Pixies, The The, Siouxsie and the Banshees, or if you fondly remember bands like XTC, Cocteau Twins, Aztec Camera, The Primitives, The Housemartins, Psychedelic Furs, Gene Loves Jezebel, Flesh For Lulu, The Church, The Smithereens, The Damned, The Sundays, Carter The Unstoppable Sex Machine, Nitzer Ebb, The Mighty Lemon Drops, and so on, you should definitely check out tylerc.com/120minutes. The site's creator culled together most of the playlists from the show's run and conveniently links to each of the videos. While you don't see full episodes (so no hosts Dave Kendall or Matt Pinfield) you also don't have to sit through the endless commercials, and you can just click on the clips you want to see.
It's great way to indulge in nostalgia and relive younger couch potato days when U2, REM, and No Doubt were still considered alternative and when "indie" bands, music, and videos were still good - yeah, I'm a geezer... Below is a video by Echo and the Bunnymen (the first band I ever saw play live) that aired on the January 17, 1988 episode. Enjoy!
Comments