USA NETWORK
USA Network is an American basic cable and satellite television channel that is owned by the NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment Group division of NBCUniversal, itself a subsidiary of Comcast. Once a minor player in basic cable, the network has steadily gained popularity due to its original programming; USA also broadcasts syndicated reruns of current and former “network television” (i.e., broadcast) series and theatrically-released feature films, as well as limited sports programming and WWE. As of January 2016, USA Network is available to 94.3 million households in the US. (More from Wikipedia)
The first rap song that I remember liking is “The Message” by Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five. I first heard it as a video, probably on the USA Network’s Night Flight program and others like it that showcased cutting-edge music videos. The song came out in 1982, and I likely saw it around that time period. (MTV launched on August 1, 1981, but not everyone had it on their cable system right away, leading to the common chant: “I want my MTV!”).
(September 2016)
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Also on tap this coming year is an overview of New Wave Theatre, a fascinating public-access show that presented LA-area punk rock bands amongst other assorted weirdness that would air at the end of the popular late-night program Night Flight on USA Network. I have poked around on the Internet, and even though all of the episodes are now available on YouTube, not much has been written about the show – the Wikipedia article on New Wave Theatre has basically two or three paragraphs. Thus, I am going to have to do some primary research before I can get this post put together. I do plenty of that with the UARB’s and UARA’s, but for the remainder of the posts, I typically lean on Wikipedia and Allmusic. In other words, that is something else that I have been putting off. I had always hoped to at least keep this up for at least 10 years, but I am not there yet.
(Year 8 Review)
