FEATURE:
The VHS Club
ILLUSTRATION CREDIT: Hollis Brown Thornton
Creating a Cultural Archive for Future Prosperity
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THIS feature is sort of motivated…
PHOTO CREDIT: @tjump/Unsplash
by the increased uncertainty around COVID-19 and whether things are going to get better soon. It is a scary time, and a lot of people are frustrated that things seem to be going backwards. I have mentioned how it would be great to have every episode of Top of the Pops available on some sort of channel or hub but, as we live in a time when there is so much T.V. and streaming options, it would be great to see a channel or site where we could bring together a lot of the best music! T.V. and culture from the 1980s onward. It might be too unwieldly to have every advert, music T.V. show and interesting bit of pop culture on a channel, and it would be difficult to organise it. One of the saddest things about reminiscing and being nostalgic is that these memories exist only in our mind, and I think it is a shame that we cannot have something implanted into our brain that unearths every memory from our childhood. It is brilliant that we can see music documentaries, quirky adverts from back in the day alongside Top of the Pops and other music shows. Not only are these useful and uplifting for those of us who were alive in the 1980s and 1990s, but it is giving a lot of enjoyment and information to the younger generation. Rather than it being a mere nostalgia trip, I think there should be some archive that definitely splices some cool adverts that make us smile; a sort of MTV/VH1 portal where all the great videos from the time are shown, in addition to documentaries and specials that shine a light on wonderful albums.
ILLUSTRATION CREDIT: Aly Jones
At the moment, there is nothing really like that, and one has to sort of navigate through YouTube and various channels so they can get all of this information. We can stay abreast of everything current in terms of culture because of social media and how many channels we have to put this stuff. Back decades ago, there weren’t those options so, when it comes to archiving, it is a bit more of a mess! I am not sure whether this new sensation, which I have called The VHS Club, will take place online or on T.V., but I think it would be easier having a channel where one could visit. I feel the focus should be on music but, when it comes to adverts, they would sort of act as an old-skool break between shows. This is not just me fantasising and trying to have a big chunk of my past on the screen: other people have been digging episodes of Top of the Pops, features and radio shows that look back at classic albums, and other assorted trips back that remind us of those days. It would be a little tough to go back before the 1980s, but one has two decades of music history to look back on. I think it would be more than a memory trip for so many of us. At a moment where things are quite dark, it would be a big boost in terms of mental-health wellness, and I think there are so many channels and very little in the way of quality.
Also, on streaming services, there are so many programmes that one can be overwhelmed and you never know which are worth watching and whether the recommended shows are worth dipping into. If you love your music, this would be the station to go to, and there would be daily schedules mixing in music T.V. shows like Classic Albums and Top of the Pops, together with music-related shows, documentaries and bits from MTV and other stations. Anyone could save various programmes and create a Favourites compilation, and one would not have to skip the adverts - as they would be pretty awesome, if obsolete. I would like nothing more than, as I said earlier, to have home videos of every moment of my childhood. It would be impractical and impossible, but I’d love to have those memories on hand just so that it can give me a boost now and I could keep a hold of a treasured time. There are fascinating articles that explain how music from the past informs the future, and I feel having this awesome music and culture from the 1980s and 1990s on a T.V. channel would help inspire artists now and absorb into modern culture. One can say that this happens at the moment, but everything is so fragmented and widespread. There are old videos here and there and one sort of happens upon these discoveries. Just a personal thing, but I love some of the T.V. shows of the 1980s and 1990s like Fun House, which can provide a little bit of a distraction from the music.
I just feel that there is a current mood of uncertainty and anxiety that is leading people to look back to the past and embrace music in new ways. Rather than provide an escape and something that is purely for nostalgia, having various T.V. shows, radio shows, documentaries and adverts from two great decades would give a lot of people guidance, strength and focus. We cannot help but live in the present and be aware of what is around us; The VHS Club would offer something we can balance that out with. Maybe (the channel) would allow one to compile their own mixtapes and order them to cassette; some dedicated Top of the Pops channel or option, or there might be a section dedicated to major events from musical history. However it would look, it is a case of combining the archives rather than making new shows, and although it would take a bit of time to get everything together, I feel it would be a winner. I do think that all of us, whether we lived through the 1980s and 1990s or not, appreciates the value of music and memory; how the two are linked and how music has shaped us all. For those of us like me who feels that many memories are slipping away, I would like that fire restoked and burning again, if only so I can look ahead and find some new strength. Education and informative as it is entertaining and healing, I think a new platform that combines two decades of music culture together would inspire a lot of people. Although things are quite hectic and unsure at the moment, T.V. channels and streaming platforms have…
PHOTO CREDIT: @glenncarstenspeters/Unsplash
THE space and time to make it happen.