Streaming Killed The Video Star
Plus: Calley Nelson of Star Card’s live show experiences!
Howdy! Welcome back to the Rue Defense Tape Club newsletter.
In today’s newsletter:
Streaming Killed The Video Star 📺
Showdown: Calley Nelson of Star Card 🌟
📺 Streaming Killed The Video Star
That’s it. It finally happened: MTV has stopped broadcasting music videos. It’s the end of an era that honestly has seemed like it’s been over for quite some time at this point.
Personally, I haven’t found much value in music videos for at least the last five years, and I’ve talked about it on various episodes of The J-Card Podcast (and probably other pods I’ve guested on that I can’t be bothered to track down right now).
I’m of the opinion that, with how accessible filmmaking equipment is (see: your phone) and how savvy your average person is to shooting, editing, etc these days, you can fully DIY a pretty stellar video. And sort of a parallel thought to that: if you’d like to make something truly “pro”-feeling, you’re probably better off saving up money and really going all in on making something cinematic (like a short film with three of your songs as a throughline, for example).
Regardless of how you decide to approach it, the root of it is that people just don’t really watch music videos anymore. And MTV realized it. Of course, those of us of a certain age are sure to be heartbroken, but luckily, there’s some good news! Someone created an MTV-inspired collection of over 27,000 music videos (using IMVDb) that’s organized into a few channels and randomized. They call it MTV Rewind and promise, “No ads, no algorithm, no login, just pure random discovery”.
I took it for a spin and went to the 90s channel where my first five videos that came up were Prince, Dr. Dre, Aladdin, Kenny Chesney, and Steps (who I guess were a British pop group, I wasn’t aware). Definitely a motley assortment, but it’s refreshing to have a truly random “shuffle” function; Sp*tify could never.
So, yes, it may be the end of MTV, but now we’ve got MTV Rewind, and for music video purists… it might be better!
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🌟 Showdown: Calley Nelson of Star Card
On our Showdown segment, we dig into artists’ experiences playing live.
Today we’ve got Calley Nelson from NYC-based Star Card. We highlighted Star Card in our favorite releases of 2025, so if you haven’t heard it, put on Trash World below while you read some of Calley’s live show experiences.
**Oh, and Star Card are playing some live dates over the next few weeks, scroll down to find those below Calley’s answers!**
First show you played
Where: Old Bag of Nails Pub, Westerville, Ohio
When: I was in college, must have been 18 or 19
I remember being extremely nervous. I was playing bass and singing back-up in my boyfriend’s pop-rock band, Facets. I remember not being able to hear what I was playing at all and praying that I was playing everything right (I probably wasn’t.)
Favorite show you’ve played
Where: At a friend’s loft in Bushwick
When: Spring of 2025 on my birthday!
After a year of playing out as Star Card and feeling so nervous constantly about being a front person and taking up so much space, this was the first show where I felt able to let loose and not worry so much about convincing anyone to like my band. It was just friends there rooting us on, what more could you want? Our dear friends in the NY noise rock scene, Eugene the Jeep, Play with Friends, Painted Faces and Moth Eggs, also played.
Worst show you’ve played
Where: Bridge & Tunnel
When: Summer of 2024
Not naming names but I loaned my amp to some douchebag in another band at this show and during their set he put his beer on my Fender Twin, knocked both the amp and the beer over, then did gain feedback shit my amp. I was like wtf dude this is the most expensive thing I own, you’re going to knock it over and then fuck it up after I did you a solid letting you use it? There are moments where you realize you’re not in the same tax bracket as the bands you play with—especially living in NYC—and this was one of those moments.
Most surprising show you’ve played
Where: a squat in Bushwick
When: Summer of 2023
A member of a famous Pitchfork band wanted to host our first show at his apartment. We were so stoked. When we showed up, the place looked abandoned, but our friend who booked the show assured us it was the right place. There was no running water so you had to flush the toilet with a bucket and mind the holes in the floor unless you wanted to disappear through the rotting wood and into the basement. The show was in the garage, and all the gear was broken.
It was our friend David Drucker (aka Painted Faces)’s birthday and we learned one of his songs (“Keep on Rocking in The Freak World”) to surprise him. The cops broke up the show midway through his set, as he was playing the song we were going to surprise him with. We didn’t get to play that night, but we’ve kept that song in the set ever since for good (or bad?) luck.
The sweatiest show you’ve played
Where: The Meadows, Brooklyn
When: Summer 2025
We played at like 3pm on the hottest day of the summer, I could barely keep a grip on the neck of my guitar, we were so sweaty! It was our first festival, a power pop / indie situation called Bazooka Fest. I saw bands I listened to as a teen, like Elf Power and Pains of Being Pure at Heart, and just a huge slew of newer bands full of amazing songwriters.
Most impactful show you’ve played
Where: Warehouse3 in Swarthmore, Pennsylvania
When: December 2025
This was the first show where I was chatting with people after our set, asking people who they were there to see, and they said, “You!” Being in a new band and learning that people found out about you through friends or on the internet feels outrageously cool.
Go see Star Card live!
Jan 14 @ Gold Sounds, BK, NY
Jan 17 @ Silver Stream, Montclair, NJ
Jan 19 @ Upstairs at Abyssinia, Philly, PA
More on IG: @_starcard
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Thanks again, and talk to you soon!
-RDTC
I remember you mentioning you hated music videos on that podcast. I think back in the mtv era, the music videos were basically shot on phones by amateurs. Some of those best music videos are really bad visually :)
Today’s music video is TikTok and instagram. And the technical ability, as you say, to make a stellar video has increased 100x.
The point of the music video was to sell the record anyway I think, which yeah, that’s what social media does.
Great newsletter! I’m enjoying these.