MTV Basement Tapes Bands

When Jersey Shore was just a location for dickbags, MTV used to play this stuff called music and moreso they even kinda, sorta helped a few bands "make it". Even if it was for a few months in the checkerboard/rising sun-muscle shirt year of 1983. We'll start off with the show intro & some pud-pop from Screen Test. Followed by some short clips of bands that only help reiterate the Hardcore/Punk attitude against "that wave-o shit".



In a Seattle area zine about 12 years ago, The Melvins were joking about "all those great Seattle bands...like Rail" Later on Buzz of the Melvins mentioned that Rail did a side project with Ronnie Montrose called Monorail. Apparently there are no Monorail recordings but my friend Big Chief on KZSU will break out the Rail LP every once in a blue moon. This is the tune that won 'em over:


By Thor, it's a pretty cool Angel/Triumph-like sorta heavy pomp rocker. Unfortunately, they never gigged or did a split with 1984's winner, Trak who had this "barely past puberty" mix of The Babys/April Wine & The Osmonds(!?) And really, are you still a "basement band" if you're doing a video on MTV and recording for EMI?

Anyway, more searching gave way to this equally obscure band called Hostage.


Sounds like early Dokken mixed with Malice & Keel and maybe even a super-early Skid Row. Very L.A. but OK sound produced by Bob St. John who did some platters of crap for Extreme & those "Now That's What I Called Music" drink coasters, a few years later. Skinny-tie pop was also represented by President and lest I forget these Memphis weirdos, Dog Police:


Sounds suspiciously similar to Sparks' "Mickey Mouse". Now here's the Moderns - "Serve and Protect" envoking, as several bands in the 80's had - the "computers as dystopian future" theme:



I'll spare you the 1985 Basement Tapes with guest host Billy Crystal and the late Reagan-era Rockers Against Drugs ads.