Jay Gabler

portable:

Guilty Pleasures: Billy Squier’s “Rock Me Tonite”, MTV And Homosexuality In 80s Pop Music

He would have had a New Coke, but he was afraid that would be too gay.

"Axl [Rose] loved [MTV executive John] Cannelli. He didn’t care John was gay, that didn’t bother him at all."

I’m reading a history of MTV, and it’s reminding me just how recently it was that people felt the need to say things like, “He didn’t care John was gay, that didn’t bother him at all.” For Portable, I wrote about homophobia at MTV.

"My first year [hosting the VMAs], I spent some time hanging out with Cher. A little kid came over and said, ‘Could I have a picture of you all?’ And the picture ended up on the front page of the Globe, with the headline CHER’S NEW BOY TOY. It would have been cooler if it had paid off and I got the punani from Cher. I could tell my grandchildren, ‘See that lady with the feathers on her head? Daddy rocked that.’"

Arsenio Hall, in I Want My MTV: The Uncensored Story of the Music Video Revolution

"Would you like to meet a girl who can suck the chrome off a trailer hitch?"

Fan mail sent to original MTV VJ Mark Goodman