The Presidents of the United States of America - Video Killed The Radio Star (Music Video)

What this video is

Released in 1998 as part of the soundtrack to The Wedding Singer, this cover by The Presidents of the United States of America represents the era's dominant tendency toward ironic nostalgic recycling — a Seattle alternative band covering a synth-pop landmark about media obsolescence, for a film set in the 1980s, during the height of MTV's commercial power. The original Buggles track was famously the first video…

Why it matters

This video represents a convergence of 1990s alternative rock, soundtrack-era pop commercialism, and meta-textual nostalgia. As a cover of the song that launched MTV, produced for an MTV-era video format, it encapsulates the channel's own complex relationship with its founding mythology. The…

The director

Doug Pray is an American documentary film director, producer, editor, and cinematographer known for exploring subcultures. He holds a BA in sociology from Colorado College and an MFA from UCLA's School of Film and Television. Early in his career he directed…