“I Want My MTV” was once the MTV slogan. Now it’s a rallying cry for a coder who decided they weren’t ready to say goodbye to an era of music video supremacy and built their own MTV Rewind app.
While the MTV network has gradually shifted away from music videos in their programming, one programmer going by the moniker Flexasaurus Rex has created a new MTV Rewind app that allows viewers to relive some of glory days of the music video era.
What Is the MTV Rewind App?
Currently hosted at https://wantmymtv.xyz, viewers are greeted with a huge archived database filled with multiple video channels pulling from six decades of music. At present, nine channels exist — MTV 1st Day, MTV 70s, MTV 80s, MTV 90s, MTV 2000s, MTV 2010s, MTV 2020s, Yo! MTV Raps, Headbangers Ball —along with a Shuffle All option as well.
In total, at press time, just shy of 28,000 music videos had been loaded in just ready to charge up some nostalgia filled goodness. And you’ll find some classic commercials thrown in for good measure.
After clicking on a channel, you are randomly dropped in on one of the videos from that specific era or style of music and you’re just as likely to see some of the bigger clips of the day as you are some of the more obscure videos that populated the era. But if there’s something you’re not vibing on, you can always skip ahead to the next video.
Where Do the Videos Come From?
The disclaimer states up front that MTV Rewind is “an independent, non-commercial archival project.”
The site is not affiliated with, endorsed by or connected to MTV, Viacom or Paramount Global. All music videos that are hosted come from YouTube. MTV and the related logos are trademarks of their respective owners.
Why Was MTV Rewind Started?
Speaking through a Farcaster discussion, Flexasuraus Rex noted, “MTV was a cultural institution that changed music, fashion and youth culture. Then they stopped showing music videos and became reality TV. I felt a wave of sadness when the announcement hit. Nothing felt like it could fill that void. So I started coding. Built it in 48 hours: MTV REWIND.”
Hyping the project as “zero algorithm. zero ads. zero bullshit,” the site provides up to 60 days of continuous playback.
“I’m broke, exhausted and honestly feeling like shit, but thousands are using it and that’s what matters,” adds the coder, later adding, “Press play and see what happens. BECAUSE THAT’S PUNK ROCK AS FUCK.”
Hoping to keep building and growing the MTV Rewind site and database, the coder has launched a Buy Me a Coffee account with various incentive options in which you can financially assist the project.
What About the Current MTV?
Despite a flurry of social media activity about MTV’s demise over the New Year’s holiday, the network is still very much active.
As was announced last year, Paramount revealed their intent to shut down some of the network’s supplemental music channels in the U.K. and Australia which is where some of the confusion came from. This shutdown came to fruition at the turn of the calendar year. But while some MTV-branded channels are no more, the primary MTV channel and some additional spinoff channels are still going strong.
MTV, along with MTV Classic and MTV Live, are still active and available on U.S. cable systems.
READ MORE: See Rockers on the Red Carpet at the 2025 MTV Video Music Awards
To revisit some of the rock videos that have thrived on MTV over the years, check out our rundown of the MTV VMA Rock category winners by year below.
MTV Video Music Awards Rock Awards Winners by Year
Gallery Credit: Chad Childers