‘1999’: The music video MTV weirdly played for 24 hours straightNow the premier purveyors of exploitative reality TV dross, it is easy to forget that MTV was once a major power within the music industry, lauded by record company executives for its power to make or break an artist on the strength of their music video output. MTV was a little ahead of its time when it first emerged in 1981, at which time music video was still a largely unexplored art form. Specifically, it was MTV’s second channel, M2, who played the video on a loop, seemingly as a means of exercising its apparently wild, free-spirited nature, in comparison to the by-then firmly established MTV. Now, I’m sure you can connect the dots yourself, here, but M2 played ‘1999’ for 24 hours on January 1st, 1999, in an effort to usher in the new year while simultaneously paying homage to a classic music video and an undeniably incredible track. After all, being played on a loop for 24 hours doesn’t even register in the top ten of weirdest Prince stories.