'I want my MemesTV!': Memes for Music Nerds Missing the Days When MTV Actually Played Music

Author image for Elna McHilderson
Elna McHilderson • Managing Editor
Oct 27, 2026 8:30 AM EDT

Remember when music videos used to dominate your regularly programmed television shows? Those were the days! You would come home from school, click on Pop-Up Videos, and call your BFF Jill on the landline to talk about how hot Justine Timberlake looked in his new video. Can you believe he and Britney broke up? Omg, is "Cry Me a River" about her? This is crazy. The drama! The lore! I need more music videos to feel like I'm included in these celebs' deep and dark secrets! Or it was "Baby Boy" by Beyoncé and Sean Paul, and you were just dancing along. Ahhh, just back when MTV and VH1 actually played music on their channel. 

Wow, just got caught in the world of millennial nostalgia for a second there… Anyway, I miss music videos. I still have YouTube for that, which is nice and all, but I miss the days when you could just turn on your TV and BAM, there was Kelly Clarkson singing "Since You've Been Gone" running through the airport, and even though you're like 12 and have basically no life experience, you can relate. 

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    This is what all björk fans look like to me... horse watching björk's pagan poetry music video on tv interested engrossed alternative music fan
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    the DJ playing early 2000s RnB at the club has me drink texting my man like this B C ERE YOU AT? HOLLA WHEN YOU NORGA
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  • Don't get me wrong; when MTV started having those insane reality shows, I was all in. Next, Parental Control, Room Raiders- I loved watching those shows. Would I want to act a fool in front of the entire world on TV for a man like Bret Michaels or Flava Flav? No, probably not. But did I religiously watch these shows? Yes, yes, I did. These were the days, though, when music and trashy TV had balanced airtime. I could get my fix of insanity and then cool off with core-memory art making. You're going to tell me that Michel Gondry's video for Daft Punk didn't absolutely blow your mind?? Grow up. 

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    Linkin Park: let's make the video look emotional and epic. 2001 CGI: @irememberthatshit
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    Look at this photograph of a photographer taking a photograph of a man holding a photograph singing about looking at this photograph LE Filte
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    No more toxic friendships No more toxic relationships. Only toxic by Britney Spears
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    nobody: music videos in the 90s 33
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    Today's kids will never know why the desert was so lit in the 90s
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    MTV USED TO PLAY MUSIC sure grandma let's get you to bed
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    Iconic music videos portrayed by spongebob Thriller VOGUE The Twist Michael Jackson Madonna Chubby Checker Sledge Hammer Is there life on Mars? Poker Face Peter Gabriel David Bowie Lady Gaga t Bohemian Rhapsody I want to break free Queen Queen Piece of my Heart Janis Joplin
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  • I'm not saying music videos aren't a thing anymore; there are still plenty of artists making captivating music videos. Chappell Roan, Billie Eilish, Harry Styles, and so many others are making music videos you simply can't stop talking about. Truly great art! And with a budget like that, I HOPE you're making good stuff. Remember the entire Lemonade music short film by Beyoncé? That changed my brain chemistry.

    I'm just saying, we're lacking a channel that just gives you top-notch (and also ridiculous-notch) music videos. There are apps that are trying to bring it back, like Watch Ice Cream, but they're not as big as MTV and VH1 were back in the day, and I miss that community. It was glorious. So I will do what any millennial would do when they're sad about something: meme about it! 

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    Society if MTV would have just kept playing music
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    When you meet somebody that you used to know:
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    One of the best YouTube comments Ed Sheeran - Lego House [Official Music Video] Molly Weasley RONALD WEASLEY! HOW DARE YOU GO INTO A MUSIC VIDEO WITHOUT MY PERMISSION! YOUR FATHERS NOW FACING AN INQUIRY AT WORK AND IT'S ENTIRELY YOUR FAULT! Oh and Ed Dear, congratulations for realising a new amazing song!
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    me in public: my headphones: RIES
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    are they reaching for 3,490 comments Niki Their flat iron prob ☑
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    Pov- Watching VH1/ MTV before going to school UILI S LG
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    When she said "stop callin stop callin" I felt that
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  • What was your favorite music video growing up? I couldn't possibly narrow it down to one, but I truly loved the ones that told a story. The ones that were just fun visuals and groovy, dancing sequences were great too. Heck, that's probably why dancing videos on TikTok do so well these days! But the ones that had a story were something else. You already related to the song, and then pairing it with the perfect storytelling visuals truly made you feel like you were a part of the lore being sung about. I cried watching “Lucky” by Britney Spears, I learned the dance from “Stop Right Now” by the Spice Girls, and I'm still doing that today with new music videos! 

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    Me making sure the music on my story is perfect (nobody cares): 15 MEME ZAR +00000000000000 NE BELAIRE ROSE
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Tags

Vh1 humor Music harry styles millennials britney spears pop stars mtv comedy music videos funny
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