I Still Want My MTV

Who knew there was something as cool as the Mississippi Grammy Museum in Cleveland, Mississippi? Not me. I could hardly resist making the drive over to Cleveland from Greenwood one cold afternoon in January 2023 and found I had the place virtually to myself. The main display that month was the 40th anniversary of MTV, a staple of my youth, so it was fascinating to get a little bit of history on the network (which no longer plays music videos) and tour the other exhibits. These included: instruments belonging to The Edge, Bruce Springsteen, Poison, Oasis, Bon Jovi, Lynyrd Skynyrd, and countless other artists, costumes and outfits worn by Taylor Swift and Sting, and a complete library of album covers from all the Albums of the Year throughout Grammy history. Very cool, Cleveland.

A Grammy Award behind glass in the museum foyer.

A guitar played by The Edge during U2’s Unforgettable Fire era, circa 1984.

A dress worn by Taylor Swift to one of the Grammy Award shows.

An acoustic guitar used by Poison.

Taylor Swift’s costume from her music video of “The Man.”

I remember all those faces from watching countless hours of Music Television as a young idiot, er, as a youth.