MuchMusic in No Rush to Celebrate Its 25th Anniversary

To a certain generation of TV-watching Canadians, names like Erica Ehm, Master T and Rick the Temp conjure the warmest of memories. They brought thousands of teenagers together to dance, swoon and sing along to their favourite music videos over MuchMusic's last quarter-century.

But as "the nation's music station" celebrates its 25th anniversary, there is little left to remind viewers of its past -- 'Rap City ,' 'Countdown' and off-hours 'VideoFlow' are essentially the last vestiges of Much's idealistic beginnings -- so it makes sense that Much won't be marking the occasion.

Where the station began and where it sits today as a youth lifestyle channel is reason enough for MuchMusic to treat this landmark like any other day. It doesn't live in the past, it looks forward to the future -- not to mention that anyone who remembers its glory days likely hasn't tuned in for years.

When the station went on the air for the first time on Aug. 31, 1984, hosts J.D. Roberts -- now known to CNN viewers as John Roberts -- and Christopher Ward introduced Rush's 'The Enemy Within' and ushered in an era of unique programming geared towards bringing interesting music to young Canadians. Classic shows like the heavy metal-loving 'Power Hour,' which Roberts hosted back in the '80s, dance party-centred 'Electric Circus' and all-request program 'R.S.V.P.' were each groundbreaking in their own way, giving play to artists their rival MTV would have ignored.

The station also gave young broadcasting personalities a place to learn their trade and gain supporters. Roberts, of course, went on to much acclaim as a broadcast journalist in the U.S., while Rick 'the Temp' Campanelli works as a correspondent for Canada's version of 'Entertainment Tonight' and Denise Donlon became president of Sony Music Canada and is a member of the Canadian Broadcasters' Hall of Fame.

But long gone are the days when music was the channel's raison d'etre. These days you're more likely to find it airing episodes of 'Gossip Girl' or 'The O.C.' than the latest videos from Sloan or the Tragically Hip. According to its government mandate, at least half of its programming must be music-related, but it satisfies that quota with reality shows like 'disBAND' and 'So You Think You Can Dance,' combined with late-night blocks of Lady GaGa, Britney Spears and Kanye West videos. Its demographic, which was almost entirely unborn when the station first went to air, doesn't seem to mind, though -- they get their music online these days.

But for the nostalgic among us, here's a little blast from the past with Canadian prog-rock legends Rush.