…when the MUSIC'S over…

Today marks the 25th anniversary of MTV.

I remember staying up with my siblings to watch the first night of MTV and how exciting and breakthrough that moment was. From there in out, our house was an MTV house, watching groundbreaking moments happening all over the world in music. How else, besides buying an entire album of bands you were otherwise unfamiliar with, would anyone have seen the likes of half of what became popular? For instance, I became a HUGE British pop fan and had Banarama, Fun Boy Three among others in my record collection. I wouldn't have had any clue who these people were without MTV.

And then of course, besides my love of hair bands, was my deep, forever love of Duran Duran. Watching their videos made there songs even better since, of course, they weren't bad to look at (JOHN TAYLOR .. JOHN TAYLOR).

Where else would kids that were into Madonna learned to follow ALL of her million looks over the years??

Here are some other time-lines from the Chicago Tribune's RED EYE:

Thriller"
Michael Jackson's first "event" video debuted on Dec. 2, 1983. It was a 14-minute movie with Vincent Price and other frightful creatures that elevated music videos to an art form. Back in March 1983, Jackson's "Billie Jean" was the first video from a black artist to air on MTV.

Madonna
Madonna became a superstar when she humped her wedding veil onstage while performing "Like a Virgin" at the first Video Music Awards in 1984. In 2003, even though her "American Life" album flopped, she showed she wasn't going down without a fight. She planted lip locks on both Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera during the 20th VMAs, making front pages everywhere.

College video
Beginning in 1986, "120 Minutes" became MTV's version of college radio, giving people who preferred their music edgier than Lionel Richie or Debbie Gibson alternative artists such as The Pixies, The Cure, Psychedelic Furs and Echo & The Bunnymen.

Rap blasts off
"Yo! MTV Raps!" hosted by Dr. Dre and Ed Lover, premiered in 1988, bringing rap to the masses and helping make it the dominant music form for young America today. MTV created shows to highlight two other musical forms, alternative and heavy metal, with "120 Minutes" (1986) and "Headbangers Ball" (1987).

Grunge is born
When Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit" video aired on Sept. 29, 1991, it killed hair metal and made grunge the hot new music scene.

Reality ride
The 1992 debut of "The Real World" "invented reality TV," said Robert Thompson, professor of popular culture at Syracuse University. Casting Pedro Zamora (left), who was gay and soon to die of AIDS, in the 1994 season solidified MTV's position as champion of tolerance.

Heh-heh. Cool
"Beavis and Butt-head" debuted on March 24, 1994, telling gross-out stories, bashing videos they played and making the cover of Rolling Stone magazine.

After school special
"Total Request Live" debuted on Sept. 14, 1998, ushering in a new era in teen pop and crowning Justin Timberlake and Britney Spears as king and queen. With host Carson Daly, the show became a true tastemaker on Oct. 22 that year, when "TRL" shut down Times Square for a Backstreet Boys appearance.

Bleepity-bleep-bleep
The first bleeped-out swear word on the 2002 premiere of "The Osbournes" was followed by 58 others. For a while, the confused old rocker, his crabby wife and bratty kids became America's first family.

Chicken or tuna?
"Newlyweds: Nick and Jessica" gave D-list pop singers Jessica Simpson and Nick Lachey what they never gained with their music: fame. The newlyweds became household names in 2003 when a can of Chicken of the Sea confused Simpson, and she asked her hubby, "Is this chicken, what I have, or is this fish?"

Punks and stunts
"Jackass" quickly became MTV's most popular show when it began in 2000, showing Johnny Knoxville and his merry band doing painful stunts such as the human wrecking ball and butt piercing. In 2003, Ashton Kutcher (above) "Punk'd" Justin Timberlake and put the term in America's vernacular.

No confessions
In 2004, MTV tweaked the reality show genre with "Laguna Beach," a docu-soap that unfolded slowly, without scripted set-ups like confessionals and planned trips. Kristin (right) and her "real O.C." pals became instant reality stars.

MTV changed everything, but for itself, its own changes have left this girl a little sad. Of course, everything needs to move on, but it seemed like the time when it was continuous and progressive was replaced with game-shows, reality shows, and a bunch of time-wasters that made me NEVER want to watch again, (though I will say, they did start Beavis and Butthead, the Osbournes and Jackass, which all cracked me up) -- but then it all got out of control. And I know. There is always MTV2 but to me, the epitome of MTV was MUSIC and now its over.