There are some songs that burrow into your brain and make themselves at home — and right now, for me, it’s Video Killed the Radio Star by The Buggles. Released in 1979 (well before I was born, thank you very much), it somehow manages to feel like part of my pop culture history.
Maybe it’s the dreamy synths. Maybe it’s the fact that it sounds like it’s being beamed in from a glittery neon future-past. Or maybe it’s the lyrics — a mournful, dramatic little ode to the death of one era and the birth of another.
Whatever it is, I can’t stop listening to it. On repeat. For days.
But here’s the real kicker: it was the very first music video ever played on MTV. August 1, 1981. That line — “we can’t rewind, we’ve gone too far” — felt almost prophetic. Music and media were about to change forever. Suddenly, the radio star had to compete with makeup, lighting, and awkward choreographed shoulder rolls.
Even though I didn’t live through that shift, something about it still hits me right in the nostalgia. Maybe because I saw Video Killed the Radio Star on Dancing Stage (you know, the chaotic dance mat game that turned your living room into a rave-slash-cardiac event). Or maybe because, like so many of us, I feel a weird sort of longing for eras I never actually experienced.
🎤 Daisy’s Corner: “They really said ‘new technology go brrr’”
HELLO. It’s me. Daisy. And listen, I don’t care if this song came out before I was even a thought in the universe — it SLAPS.
Also, shout out to whoever choreographed the Dancing Stage version because I nearly dislocated my knee trying to hit the left arrow on beat. But worth it. Always worth it.
PS: If MTV launched with Video Killed the Radio Star, I fully expect my future media empire to launch with something equally chaotic. Maybe The Ketchup Song. Or Crazy Frog. Just to keep the bar nice and low.
Asten Does Nostalgia 
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