37 years ago today. 2021 was the first full year of Much without music videos with the last remaining block, Retro Lunch dropped in March 2020. It had gradually drifted over the past few years into a sitcom/animated sitcom rerun channel
Much Music was a great channel. At one time it was better than MTV with more diversity in music as opposed to MTV which in the later part of the 80's and early 90's showed the same few videos over and over. I was able to learn about a lot of great music through this channel. Sadly, it followed in the steps of MTV and became a shell of its former self. At least I have the memories of Much Music in the late 80's and early 90s when it was exciting and not so predictable.
I know,us then-teenagers used to go wild when Much Music would be "free" the odd weekend or week on our local cable providers because music videos were the novelty of the day to watch.
Very different. I recall in the very early days of Canadian music videos bands used to make two music videos for the same song one for Canada and one for the US market if it had a hint of being liked there. The Canadian one may just be a live concert or in studio goofing around but the US one was polished to the max.
August 31, 2018 Much Music will have been on the air for 34 years, and nothing is the same anymore. And like MTV they're not even playing anything that's even close to being related to music.
As an American, I have to say I had barely ever heard of MuchMusic. I didn't even realize there was a Canadian version of MTV. But now I've fallen down a UA-cam rabbit hole....
Much music especially during the 1990s early 2000s blew away anything that mtv put out. I started watching on direct tv in the states. While mtv was showing garbage, much music showcase many great Canadian artists like Matthew Good. Much music was very much on the edge and had bands like massive attack. Im very grateful to mm broadening my music library.
Not just that but they don't even have anything close to being about "music" on there. Just an hour of music videos if you're lucky enough to find anything that's worth watching.
Yes, it's unbelievable how they have very little musical content today. Bell Media seems to want MUCH to follow MTV in the U.S. where it's all about taking more and more music and videos away each year.
Remember when Cable TV channels did what they did? now they have reality shows on science channels and western on the Science fiction channel. No wonder many people unplugged their cable-TV service.
In the late 1970s there was "The New Music" show even before Much Music actually five years before. A lot of it interviews with bands since music videos were rare. One was an interview with U2 in a diner and Bono had orange hair, I can't find that one but here is a sample of the show ua-cam.com/video/SV4FWTJ8TJw/v-deo.html
For at least a year, there would be a number of transitional effects that would go on to be featured in Microsoft Power Point. One of their more popular ones was the tip-over, where the frame would tip upward on its very corner and another one would enter tipping downward on its opposite corner.
Classy to launch the station with a bit of history. . . Does ANYBODY remember one of MUCH's early promos - I think before it even launched - that showed a guy running home through the snowy streets so he could get to his television on time? Shoving people out of the way, think Peter Gunn theme was playing in the background. . .
Actually,Test Patterns was somewhat music related because of Dan Gallagher(R.I.P.) hosting the Power Hour as well as it having some music trivia in it.
Now this is what Muchmusic is all about. It was called "The Nation's Music Station" and now I call it "The Shittiest Channel I've ever had the displeasure of subscribing to."
I wouldn't have even cared one way or the other until I was 11 or 12. Muchmusic didn't even exist in my house until about 1987 when it became a basic cable channel. :P Now I want to get Much More Retro so badly because it's the only TV station, along with much vibe and much loud, that appear to be playing music videos.
I also remember when they broadcasted reruns of the Monkees & Partridge Family during the early 90's.Even though they were music oriented,the CRTC eventually stepped in and demanded they take them off the air due to their lack of Canadian content.
@@DisneyStudioNetwork They didn't say shit because the ISP were making assloads of cash off the backs of internet users via ridiculous package rates. They still are to this day.
Muchmusic used to rule. From 1984 to 2005, it played and focus on one thing...MUSIC. Anything music related from videos, concerts, live appearance and music shows dedicated to genres ( rap, hip hop, metal, punk, dance )..Muchmusic was the nation's music station it promoted itself. What a shame it is now, a disgrace of a station that doesn't do anything but promote soap opera bullshit. Anyone growing up in the 80's and 90's, like me..thank goodness we did.
@CelesteK Yeah remember the little shows they had? Rockflash, Spotlight, The Power Hour, the Game show Test Pattern???The annual "Fromage" show was awesome too...Now it's just "T and A" - all Americanized...(I do not hate Americans, don't get me wrong)
Wow, the birth of what was once was a great music station. MuchMusic died 2005, what a shame. Maybe one day it would return to playing good music from all genres, instead of behaving like MTV. Well at least I got to witness MuchMusic in the 90s (and the 80's via my dad's old tapes).
@CelesteK I was afraid people would get the wrong idea when I wrote that comment. Ok, I AGREE with EVERYTHING you said because I experienced the time when Muchmusic was all about the music because I started watching in 2005. What I'm saying is that I'm still a teenager though and no matter how many dramas they put on it, they at least play SOME music videos and at least have some stuff I like because it's still aimed at me. I'm saying it's better than other channels but still crappy.
@CelesteK Actually you see, I'm old enough to have watched Much back when they were playing nothing but music videos all day(2005 actually) and I did. Yeah after that things started to change. But I'm still in my teen years so it's the only thing thats interesting to me.
@cakecrumb095 I remember when Muchmusic first launched in 1984. That was when the art of music videos was launched into the limelight and it wasn't all about who looked the best on camera. Music video was a form of art that was designed to launch a band or music artist and to make money. Curt Smith from Tears For Fears says that these huge corporations aren't getting behind the older bands and artists because they want to launch the careers of the younger bands and artists.
I was 17 the summer of '84 and I remember seeing MuchMusic for the first time at our apartment in Cabbagetown Toronto and thinking "Holy shit! This is cool!" ...now everything is dogshit because of the over-saturation of visual media and music and the people who perform it aren't cool anymore.
well, just like any new TV (free-to-air or cable) station, mistakes were probably the order of the day on much's 1st broadcast...@3:00-3:22 for example, they suddenly cut to a live shot of the studio while everyone at much was waiting to go live on "citypulse" with gord martineau (because i saw the monitor on one of the TV cams switch briefly to a "citypulse" feed)... this summer, it's going to be 25 years since this all happened...too bad it's an entirely different atmosphere now...
It's not even called MuchMusic anymore. Since 2013, it's just been called "Much". They did this so the could easily distance themselves from anything music-related. Seems like now..."Much" really isn't much anymore. They should call it "NotMuch".
Oh, but it is still much better than MTV, in the fact that they play, um, you know, actual music. They used to show Muchmusic on satellite in the states, and I miss it terribly.
@cakecrumb095 And quite frankly I'd rather support the older bands than the newer bands and Disney brats who think that that they can sing and dance when they can't.
@CelesteK I dunno. I feel like Foster the People do a great job of saying important stuff or at least having meaning in their music rather than just party or something. I do agree though, I'm kinda tired of hearing about Disney teenie boppers. Bleh...I mean as a teen I don't even find that stuff interesting anymore.
This was back when i was a kid and much music was good and played videos all day long, with occasional interviews with bands! Now in 2012 it SUCKS!!!! all these stupid shows instead. how is that a music station. Everything sucks now! Even movies and television are re-making all the old stuff from the 80's becuase thats when things were good. Sometimes when i look at movies, tv. and music today....i really start to believe we are in end times!
I don't know what everyone is talking about the reality shows on MUCK. You must be thinking of MTV. The only show I watch on MUCH these days is Video on Trial, and that is hit-or-miss.
@cakecrumb095 It's okay. I was afraid that you weren't going to understand what it was that I was I was saying and start yelling at me. The reason why I'd rather put my money into the older bands is because the older bands say things in their music. I don't know that the younger bands are capable of doing that. :)
@cakecrumb095 But you see I'm much older than you and, OMG I was hoping that I wouldn't find myself saying this, I remember when all Muchmusic did was play music videos all day long hence the by-line "The Nation's Music Station." I guess now with the advent of You Tube and other sources of video downloads music videos aren't particularly relevant anymore.
@jodicoady Of course I remember all of that. It was better back then than it is now. It's catering to the now generation. But still the s shit that they're airing now? :P
Muchmusic became like a rock star who fails to adapt to a changing music landscape. Instead of trying to work with the internet and how that was changing how people consume entertainment, they just gave up and started airing reruns of old sitcoms and really bad reality shows. I was fine with Pimp My Ride and the odd show like that as long as the format stayed relatively the same. It didn’t. Keeping your presentation fresh is always important, but the format worked. They had relatable VJs. UA-cam doesn’t have that. You are your own VJ there. That’s what Muchmusic forgot. The VJ was the most important part of the presentation, along with Speaker’s Corner and the other things they did to engage viewers. Again, UA-cam doesn’t have that. They don’t have a channel with a daily music countdown with a VJ to introduce the videos and make them more personal. But corporations are impersonal by nature, so they don’t get that part of it. So dumb everything down, play it safe and don’t offend anyone. Steven Kertzner AKA Ed The Sock left when he saw what was happening. The same thing happened to local sports and news TV and radio stations in Canada. All the idiots in Toronto fired all the great people working in places like Vancouver and Calgary who had personality and told stories, and brought in their safe, bland, pretty 30 and 40somethings with personal trainers in outfits designed by Z Zegna pressing on a touchscreen. And now they’re coming for UA-cam.
you bet...but music on MTV canada is practically non-existent--mainly due to CRTC rules regarding its content (if i'm not mistaken)--compared to much...:)
i remember when much music play ren and stimpy and the CRTC (Canadian Radio-Television & Telecommunications Commission) told them to take it off cause it was't music orientated .then they put on ..WTF guess the rules have changed now remember the game show Test Pattern and Beavis and Butt-head so they didnt all ways play music but it was close enough and much better then the crap thats played now .think everyone show write the CRTC and find out what's going on now with both much music and MTV
JD Roberts look funny in this now but then he went on to become an news anchor then moved to another news post I don't know what he is doing now don't watch the news these days it sucks and most of the videos today suck too or maybe its the music. With a few exceptions of course....Mmmm? I won't name them but one is COLD LOL
Ya I know he is now doing press conference work at the White House daily briefings but he used to be on Canada AM i think then went to the US and was part of the left CNN news network for a time bad move lol then now of course Fox more right end other side of the news media moguls.
No it didn't. Back in the day Much Music used to play all kinds of great stuff. Then after 2005 it turned into a festering pile of dogshit. :( They don't even play music videos all day, everyday, anymore and they succeeded in alienating their entire viewership.
It's weird that nobody under the age of 40 can appreciate how big MuchMusic and MTV were. No UA-cam back then. No Spotify. MuchMusic was huge!
Yip no internet either no iPhone
37 years ago today. 2021 was the first full year of Much without music videos with the last remaining block, Retro Lunch dropped in March 2020. It had gradually drifted over the past few years into a sitcom/animated sitcom rerun channel
The Enemy Within...
Much Music was a great channel. At one time it was better than MTV with more diversity in music as opposed to MTV which in the later part of the 80's and early 90's showed the same few videos over and over. I was able to learn about a lot of great music through this channel. Sadly, it followed in the steps of MTV and became a shell of its former self. At least I have the memories of Much Music in the late 80's and early 90s when it was exciting and not so predictable.
I have a 6 hour tape of MuchMusic from 1988!
I know,us then-teenagers used to go wild when Much Music would be "free" the odd weekend or week on our local cable providers because music videos were the novelty of the day to watch.
Yeah that and First Choice Superchannel
It's so strange looking back on this .... Canada was so different then ... I miss it dearly
The transitions were what made this station this station.
Very different. I recall in the very early days of Canadian music videos bands used to make two music videos for the same song one for Canada and one for the US market if it had a hint of being liked there. The Canadian one may just be a live concert or in studio goofing around but the US one was polished to the max.
Much Music had been a Pay TV channel until it became a part of the basic cable package in 1988-or at least in my neck of the woods.
RIP Neil Peart! Fitting the first music video played was by Rush.
August 31, 2018
Much Music will have been on the air for 34 years, and nothing is the same anymore. And like MTV they're not even playing anything that's even close to being related to music.
Wow, so much better than it is now!!!
As an American, I have to say I had barely ever heard of MuchMusic. I didn't even realize there was a Canadian version of MTV. But now I've fallen down a UA-cam rabbit hole....
Much music especially during the 1990s early 2000s blew away anything that mtv put out. I started watching on direct tv in the states. While mtv was showing garbage, much music showcase many great Canadian artists like Matthew Good. Much music was very much on the edge and had bands like massive attack. Im very grateful to mm broadening my music library.
Wow... this is really amazing.
Happy Birthday Much Music!
August 31, 2014 Much Music will be celebrating 30 years of broadcast history. I hate what this channel has become. :(
I agree. Corporate interests (Bell Media) have ruined the channel.
Not just that but they don't even have anything close to being about "music" on there. Just an hour of music videos if you're lucky enough to find anything that's worth watching.
Yes, it's unbelievable how they have very little musical content today. Bell Media seems to want MUCH to follow MTV in the U.S. where it's all about taking more and more music and videos away each year.
njam101 I think we should fight to put the music back in Much Music and Much More Music.
Absolutely!
miss much back in the day
Remember when Cable TV channels did what they did? now they have reality shows on science channels and western on the Science fiction channel. No wonder many people unplugged their cable-TV service.
Yep! This is the channel that launched his career. :)
Happy 30th Birthday Much Music!
From vee jay @ MuchMusic to White House Chief correspondent at Fox News.
Perfectly natural transition.
Canada has their own MTV?? I never knew that!
Had it for years :)
Lol
In the late 1970s there was "The New Music" show even before Much Music actually five years before. A lot of it interviews with bands since music videos were rare. One was an interview with U2 in a diner and Bono had orange hair, I can't find that one but here is a sample of the show ua-cam.com/video/SV4FWTJ8TJw/v-deo.html
Me neither!
I miss Erica Ehm (the Erica from back then), there will never be another Erica though Samantha Taylor on Video Hits was great too
Sam came first.
@@AllRequired
Nope.
Erica Ehm was hired when MuchMusic debuted in August of 1984.
Video Hits debuted on the CBC in October of 1984.
For at least a year, there would be a number of transitional effects that would go on to be featured in Microsoft Power Point.
One of their more popular ones was the tip-over, where the frame would tip upward on its very corner and another one would enter tipping downward on its opposite corner.
Classy to launch the station with a bit of history. . .
Does ANYBODY remember one of MUCH's early promos - I think before it even launched - that showed a guy running home through the snowy streets so he could get to his television on time? Shoving people out of the way, think Peter Gunn theme was playing in the background. . .
muchmusic had it all back then, nowadays not so much
Actually,Test Patterns was somewhat music related because of Dan Gallagher(R.I.P.) hosting the Power Hour as well as it having some music trivia in it.
I loved that show. I was devastated when I heard that Dan died.
Our beloved country is only small population wise.
Ouch. But thanks for sharing!
If you looked close enough, around the 40-second mark, you'd see the guy's incisors being broken and his open mouth being a depiction of the M.
Now this is what Muchmusic is all about. It was called "The Nation's Music Station" and now I call it "The Shittiest Channel I've ever had the displeasure of subscribing to."
I wouldn't have even cared one way or the other until I was 11 or 12. Muchmusic didn't even exist in my house until about 1987 when it became a basic cable channel. :P
Now I want to get Much More Retro so badly because it's the only TV station, along with much vibe and much loud, that appear to be playing music videos.
I also remember when they broadcasted reruns of the Monkees & Partridge Family during the early 90's.Even though they were music oriented,the CRTC eventually stepped in and demanded they take them off the air due to their lack of Canadian content.
How did the CRTC responded to UA-cam which killed the TV format of music videos?
@@DisneyStudioNetwork
They didn't say shit because the ISP were making assloads of cash off the backs of internet users via ridiculous package rates.
They still are to this day.
Happy birthday Much music but byeee Leah Miller you will be missed
MuchMusic, the Canadian Version music network of MTV.
MTV : America
MuchMusic : Canada
BTW, I was never born in Canada. I was born in America.
happy birthday much! byee leah :(
Muchmusic used to rule. From 1984 to 2005, it played and focus on one thing...MUSIC. Anything music related from videos, concerts, live appearance and music shows dedicated to genres ( rap, hip hop, metal, punk, dance )..Muchmusic was the nation's music station it promoted itself. What a shame it is now, a disgrace of a station that doesn't do anything but promote soap opera bullshit.
Anyone growing up in the 80's and 90's, like me..thank goodness we did.
@CelesteK Yeah remember the little shows they had? Rockflash, Spotlight, The Power Hour, the Game show Test Pattern???The annual "Fromage" show was awesome too...Now it's just "T and A" - all Americanized...(I do not hate Americans, don't get me wrong)
Wow, the birth of what was once was a great music station. MuchMusic died 2005, what a shame. Maybe one day it would return to playing good music from all genres, instead of behaving like MTV. Well at least I got to witness MuchMusic in the 90s (and the 80's via my dad's old tapes).
I have to say, even though Much Music plays nothing but dramas now, it's the only station I watch.
@CelesteK I was afraid people would get the wrong idea when I wrote that comment. Ok, I AGREE with EVERYTHING you said because I experienced the time when Muchmusic was all about the music because I started watching in 2005. What I'm saying is that I'm still a teenager though and no matter how many dramas they put on it, they at least play SOME music videos and at least have some stuff I like because it's still aimed at me. I'm saying it's better than other channels but still crappy.
I don't know about that;music videos often did advocate who looked the best in front of a camera.
@CelesteK Actually you see, I'm old enough to have watched Much back when they were playing nothing but music videos all day(2005 actually) and I did. Yeah after that things started to change. But I'm still in my teen years so it's the only thing thats interesting to me.
@cakecrumb095 I remember when Muchmusic first launched in 1984. That was when the art of music videos was launched into the limelight and it wasn't all about who looked the best on camera.
Music video was a form of art that was designed to launch a band or music artist and to make money.
Curt Smith from Tears For Fears says that these huge corporations aren't getting behind the older bands and artists because they want to launch the careers of the younger bands and artists.
Because they see younger artists as easier to manipulate and make a buck off.
I wished The Daily Show used this clip of J.D. going through the screen last night. That would have really given the audience something to laugh at.
I was 17 the summer of '84 and I remember seeing MuchMusic for the first time at our apartment in Cabbagetown Toronto and thinking "Holy shit! This is cool!" ...now everything is dogshit because of the over-saturation of visual media and music and the people who perform it aren't cool anymore.
well, just like any new TV (free-to-air or cable) station, mistakes were probably the order of the day on much's 1st broadcast...@3:00-3:22 for example, they suddenly cut to a live shot of the studio while everyone at much was waiting to go live on "citypulse" with gord martineau (because i saw the monitor on one of the TV cams switch briefly to a "citypulse" feed)...
this summer, it's going to be 25 years since this all happened...too bad it's an entirely different atmosphere now...
I couldn't even tell you what's broadcasted on Much Music nowadays.
It's not even called MuchMusic anymore.
Since 2013, it's just been called "Much". They did this so the could easily distance themselves from anything music-related.
Seems like now..."Much" really isn't much anymore. They should call it "NotMuch".
@misterspiffy THANKS, I thought that!!!! But I didn't want to google it.
Oh, but it is still much better than MTV, in the fact that they play, um, you know, actual music. They used to show Muchmusic on satellite in the states, and I miss it terribly.
What's that song playing in the first 30 secs?
@cakecrumb095 And quite frankly I'd rather support the older bands than the newer bands and Disney brats who think that that they can sing and dance when they can't.
if you want to see music video's again check out ividsonline
@cakecrumb095 As an adult I find it really insulting that the Disney brats have even attempted to make music in the first place.
Somebody needs to send this to CNN!
@visaman I am 47 years old.
@CelesteK I dunno. I feel like Foster the People do a great job of saying important stuff or at least having meaning in their music rather than just party or something.
I do agree though, I'm kinda tired of hearing about Disney teenie boppers. Bleh...I mean as a teen I don't even find that stuff interesting anymore.
This was back when i was a kid and much music was good and played videos all day long, with occasional interviews with bands!
Now in 2012 it SUCKS!!!! all these stupid shows instead. how is that a music station.
Everything sucks now! Even movies and television are re-making all the old stuff from the 80's becuase thats when things were good.
Sometimes when i look at movies, tv. and music today....i really start to believe we are in end times!
I don't get it. At the moment, the channel aired in both languages?
A French language equivalent launched in 1985, Musique Plus.
bluebear1985 musique plus was lauch september 2rd 1986
That "Snappy Song" from 1922> almost anything produced in the last decade!
@crazziebunnie I'd say that Much Music died in 2000 with the advent of the Disney and Nickeloden brats making music.
I don't know what everyone is talking about the reality shows on MUCK. You must be thinking of MTV. The only show I watch on MUCH these days is Video on Trial, and that is hit-or-miss.
I LOVED "Video On Trial"!
Canada, who watches music videos?
@cakecrumb095 It's okay. I was afraid that you weren't going to understand what it was that I was I was saying and start yelling at me.
The reason why I'd rather put my money into the older bands is because the older bands say things in their music. I don't know that the younger bands are capable of doing that. :)
I think that's supposed to be Videotron
Yes, It is
@cakecrumb095 Aside from the New Mickey Mouse Club and their cartoons I haven't watched anything Disney since I was 14. :P
Rise Up by Parachute Club
I wish this was in english.
@cakecrumb095 But you see I'm much older than you and, OMG I was hoping that I wouldn't find myself saying this, I remember when all Muchmusic did was play music videos all day long hence the by-line "The Nation's Music Station."
I guess now with the advent of You Tube and other sources of video downloads music videos aren't particularly relevant anymore.
000
@jodicoady Of course I remember all of that. It was better back then than it is now. It's catering to the now generation. But still the s shit that they're airing now? :P
Muchmusic became like a rock star who fails to adapt to a changing music landscape. Instead of trying to work with the internet and how that was changing how people consume entertainment, they just gave up and started airing reruns of old sitcoms and really bad reality shows. I was fine with Pimp My Ride and the odd show like that as long as the format stayed relatively the same. It didn’t. Keeping your presentation fresh is always important, but the format worked. They had relatable VJs. UA-cam doesn’t have that. You are your own VJ there. That’s what Muchmusic forgot. The VJ was the most important part of the presentation, along with Speaker’s Corner and the other things they did to engage viewers. Again, UA-cam doesn’t have that. They don’t have a channel with a daily music countdown with a VJ to introduce the videos and make them more personal. But corporations are impersonal by nature, so they don’t get that part of it. So dumb everything down, play it safe and don’t offend anyone. Steven Kertzner AKA Ed The Sock left when he saw what was happening. The same thing happened to local sports and news TV and radio stations in Canada. All the idiots in Toronto fired all the great people working in places like Vancouver and Calgary who had personality and told stories, and brought in their safe, bland, pretty 30 and 40somethings with personal trainers in outfits designed by Z Zegna pressing on a touchscreen. And now they’re coming for UA-cam.
you bet...but music on MTV canada is practically non-existent--mainly due to CRTC rules regarding its content (if i'm not mistaken)--compared to much...:)
i remember when much music play ren and stimpy and the CRTC
(Canadian Radio-Television & Telecommunications Commission) told them to take it off cause it was't music orientated .then they put on ..WTF guess the rules have changed now remember the game show Test Pattern and Beavis and Butt-head so they didnt all ways play music but it was close enough and much better then the crap thats played now .think everyone show write the CRTC and find out what's going on now with both much music and MTV
Notice no hip hop ahit back then.
😅
@visaman MUCH. MuchMoreMusic is a little better.
And to think our parents criticized this generation of music and say it was all about show and not substance! LMFAO
JD Roberts look funny in this now but then he went on to become an news anchor then moved to another news post I don't know what he is doing now don't watch the news these days it sucks and most of the videos today suck too or maybe its the music.
With a few exceptions of course....Mmmm? I won't name them but one is COLD LOL
Ya I know he is now doing press conference work at the White House daily briefings but he used to be on Canada AM i think then went to the US and was part of the left CNN news network for a time bad move lol then now of course Fox more right end other side of the news media moguls.
Much's biggest problem was how pretentious they got by 1991. Once the poetry slam/lilith fair crowd took over, I welcomed the eventual demise.
No it didn't. Back in the day Much Music used to play all kinds of great stuff. Then after 2005 it turned into a festering pile of dogshit. :(
They don't even play music videos all day, everyday, anymore and they succeeded in alienating their entire viewership.
Canada's attempt at culture