No doubt MTV’s “120 Minutes” is best remembered for its late-’80s/early-’90s host Dave Kendall — who created the show in 1986 — and mid-to-late-’90s announcer Matt Pinfield, who is helming the relaunched version of “120.” But in the early years of the program, MTV trotted out a revolving door of hosts, including Kevin Seal, Downtown Julie Brown, Carolyne Heldman and even original VJs J.J. Jackson and Alan Hunter.
For this week’s installment of “120 Minutes” Rewind, we take a look at one of those early shows via this seven-and-a-half-minute reel, uploaded by mrbriefcaseVHSBeta, of Hunter’s hosting segments from the episode that aired on Sept. 28, 1986 — just seven months after the show’s premiere. The opening, as you can see, features a skit of sorts with Kendall prepping Hunter — encased in what appears to be a gold lamé suit — for the night’s broadcast.
The clip posted here doesn’t feature any of the videos, but if you’d like to see what was aired that night, here’s the playlist, according to The 120 Minutes Archive:
Playlist: “120 Minutes,” 9/28/86
TSOL, “Colors”
Walk the West, “Lonely Boy”
Descendents, “Kids on Coffee”
The Cure, “Boys Don’t Cry”
James, “So Many Ways”
The Housemartins, “Happy Hour”
Gene Loves Jezebel, “Heartache”
The Bolshoi, “A Way”
Bang, “Summertime”
Cactus World News, “The Bridge”
The Go-Betweens, “Head Full of Steam”
The Bodeans, “She’s a Runaway”
R.E.M., “Fall On Me”
The Wind, “Good News, Bad News”
UB40, “Our Own Song”
Cryin’ Out Loud, “Live It Up”
Level 42, “Leaving Me Now”
Bronski Beat, “C’mon! C’mon!”
Timbuk 3, “The Future’s So Bright, I Gotta Wear Shades”
Christmas, “Big Plans”
The Rainmakers, “Let My People Go”
PREVIOUSLY ON SLICING UP EYEBALLS
- ‘120 Minutes’ Rewind: The The’s Matt Johnson talks to Kevin Seal — June 11, 1989
- ‘120 Minutes’ Rewind: Sonic Youth in studio with Dave Kendall — summer 1990
What a horrible playlist. Cactus World News? Cryin Out Loud?
Some great tunes: So Many Ways, Head Full of Steam, Fall On Me. Very Eclectic selection.