Have you ever found yourself muttering, “I’ve turned into my mother”?
You know, that first time you catch yourself telling your kids to “turn down that racket” or lecturing them on the merits of “real” music—like the genius work of Bananarama, Tone Loc or AC/DC?
One of the original MTV VJs, Alan Hunter, has a few things to say about that.
Hunter is a co-author of the 2013 tome “VJ: The Unplugged Adventures of MTV’s First Wave.” A recent North Shore transplant as his wife completes her Ph.D. at Northwestern in Evanston, he finds himself in the primary role of dad to two grown and two young children. Here’s what he has to say…
On the impact of MTV on music:
“I think with MTV, we learned change is good and change is inevitable,” Hunter says. “We were always one step ahead of the audience.” It also opened the door to artists that otherwise would not have been as successful.
“Madonna (as an example) was phenomenally talented but also extremely savvy. She managed her career like a business, like a CEO.” And thanks to that innovation, “we now have Lady Gaga, who’s taken it to another level altogether.”
The downside? “Everybody wants to be famous now,” he says. “You’ve got people saying, ‘Well, I can play an instrument, I can do that too.’ MTV came along and provided another element—the visual element—sometimes successful, and other times, an abysmal mistake. After MTV, (once-anonymous musicians) were mobbed everywhere. The image became very important.”
If social media had existed in the early ’80s like it does today:
Hunter says some of the more socially conscious musicians, such as Peter Gabriel, would have used it to spread the word. And rappers would have been heavy users. But in the end, social media is underscoring a half-life for some musicians’ careers. “(Bands) would have (risen) quicker and died quicker,” he says. “Twitter would have diminished the novelty of peoples’ images. Now we get Instagram 30 times a day from Rihanna.”
On parenting today:
“You’ve got to be more creative,” Hunter says. “I would say there are obviously so many forces working on children that our parents didn’t have to deal with … Around every bend you’ve got something to talk to about with your kids.”
What about the shocking stuff? And the bombardment of social media?
Hunter notes that today’s kids are not as afraid of alternative lifestyles as previous generations, and they embrace creativity readily. “I try to understand it even when it sounds like a negative,” he says, recalling the shock and awe of the ’80s and ’90s. “Gene Simmons, Marilyn Manson… It’s all theater. With an open atmosphere of communication, there’s no better time to be a parent. I’m trying to look at all this stuff (Facebook, Twitter, YouTube) as tools and a window into their life.”
Want more from Alan Hunter? Don’t miss him this weekend, Saturday, Dec. 7 at 27 Live in Evanston talking about his new memoir. Buy tickets here.
