We wanted our MTV, but we got much more: The music video seems to have recently disappeared from television—only to pervade our entire media environment with its accelerated clip and audiovisual onslaught. As what was once an interval, a promotional spot, returns to supplant other modes of perceiving (the long form, the single screen, the analog), we would do well to consider the format’s transformation and resurgence. Artforum asked a range of contributors to reflect on their engagement with music video, from its sprawling contemporary manifestations to its unlikely historical fonts. Directors MICHEL GONDRY and E*ROCK, and artists RODNEY GRAHAM, MICHAEL BELL-SMITH, STEINA, and CAO FEI each take up the features, dead ends, and possibilities of the genre, while curator BARBARA LONDON traces the rise of the music video and its surprising convergence with video art, minimal music, and pop marketing.