On August 1, 1981, at midnight, a cable transmitter in New Jersey turned on, and showed a video of the first space shuttle launch, followed by a music video by a little band called The Buggles. Of course, you have realized that the transmitter was for MTV, the cable network that at one time showed music videos, and that video was for the minor hit song "Video Killed The Radio Star".
Fast forward a few years to this goofy little band from Seattle, who got a record deal because they were from Seattle at about the same time as Nirvana and could play their instruments. In all seriousness, they were a really talented, fun-to-listen-to band, and it's good that their city got attention thanks to Nirvana, but they didn't have that kind of sound.
In 1996, MTV held a concert at Mount Rushmore, and invited these fun and talented individuals to perform their very first song. The result was this simple, stripped-down performance that is an instant classic:
The song would go on to be featured on the soundtrack to the Adam Sandler film The Wedding Singer. This performance is far better than any studio version.
Of course, this isn't the only classic cover they did for television. This Ian Hunter cover - like the previous song, originally from 1979 - was commissioned by Drew Carey to be the theme song for his underrated TV show. No, not The Price Is Right.
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