The first video the network ever aired was pretty meta — fittingly so, considering all the Gen-X viewers it inspired. “Video Killed the Radio Star,” by British synthpop group The Buggles, aired on August 1, 1981 — the official debut date of Music Television. True to its word, MTV then proceeded to kill the radio star. Some 20 years later, once it mostly stopped playing music videos, it would pretty much kill the video star too. At least we still have Snooki.
Top 10 MTV Moments
For everyone who remembers when MTV used to play music videos, the news that the cable channel had removed the phrase "Music Television" from its logo only made its long metamorphosis into a reality-tv channel official. TIME takes a look at some of the best moments in MTV history.