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MTV at 30: Once so hip, now so lame (8/2/2011)
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TMC
Aug 19, 2012, 4:55:31 AM8/19/12
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http://www.periscopepost.com/2011/08/mtv-at-30-once-so-hip-now-so-lame/
The 30th anniversary of MTV has prompted a nostalgic look back at how
the channel’s promotion of game-changing, edgy music videos that
shaped a generation. And it’s led others to mull the sad demise of the
once achingly hip channel.
Shaped Generation X. Amanda Marcotte at Slate’s XX Factor blog
reminded readers that MTV helped shaped the sensibilities of a
generation: “MTV was not only my constant companion throughout my
entire youth, but arguably it had the single biggest impact on the
aesthetics and pop cultural attitudes of Generation X, the irony-
loving generation.”
Reality killed the video star. Writing at ABC News’ On the Record
blog, Alan Raible lamented the once avant garde channel’s sad decline:
“It was a bastion of hip cultural significance. Now, whenever I turn
on MTV, it makes me depressed. What does the M stand for these days?
It surely isn’t music … Music has been replaced by horrible ‘Reality’
TV.” Raible expressed his sadness that MTV “had a place and it’s
essentially removed itself from its own niche in a punishing quest to
celebrate mediocrity.” Raible blamed the “corporations” who “don’t
care about being edgy and bettering the culture.”
“MTV has become limp and useless. It has become one of the most
insignificant channels on your cable box. It has lost its essence and
lost its focus. It has lost everything that used to make it great,”
slammed Raible.
Last decade has been unremarkable. Amy Schriefer at NPR gave a luke-
warm appreciation of the channel’s recent history, complaining that
“not much has been added to the narrative in the last decade.”
Considering MTV’s decision to programme more retro content, Schriefer
suggested that “maybe MTV is demonstrating that inevitable sign of
aging: defining yourself by the best of your past.”
The anniversary has sparked a flurry of best-of lists. TIME took a
look back at the three decades’ worth of music videos and profiled the
30 best all-time music videos, all of which can be watched here. David
MacNamee at The Guardian’s Pulse blog chose his own top 30 MTV
moments: He put the Kanye West versus Taylor Swift VMA awards howler,
“in which the world’s most powerful male pop star forever crowns
himself King of the Douchebags,” as number one moment.
http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/entertainment/2011/08/opinion-happy-30th-birthday-mtv-i-wish-you-still-mattered/
It’s been 30 years since the Buggles busted out “Video Killed The
Radio Star,” announcing the birth of MTV. For years (or at least into
the early nineties) MTV was a great source for music programming. It
was a bastion of hip cultural significance. Now, whenever I turn on
MTV, it makes me depressed. What does the M stand for these days? It
surely isn’t music. You can really only find music on there during
odd hours throughout the day. Music has been replaced by horrible
“Reality” TV. “Jersey Shore,” “The Hills” and “Jackass” have
dominated over the years. But where is the music? MTV had a place
and it’s essentially removed itself from its own niche in a punishing
quest to celebrate mediocrity. (Maybe that’s what the M stands for!)
For the most part, radio doesn’t do its job anymore. The corporations
that run the majority of radio stations do not care about musical
innovation. They don’t care about being edgy and bettering the
culture. They just care about spoon-feeding the public the same bland
twenty songs. This is why so many people have turned off the radio
and turned on their ipods. MTV has acted the same way. It’s a missed
opportunity. They could be bettering the culture and educating the
public by giving exposure to lesser-known, worthy bands. Instead they
are giving us shock-TV like the awkwardly controversial teen show,
“Skins.” For a brief period between 1996 and 2002, all hope wasn’t
lost. They created MTV2 and it was at first very much like the
original MTV. Free-form music with VJs announcing the songs and
giving facts. Suddenly and sadly, MTV2 suffered the same fate as its
older brother and became the home for countless episodes of “Pimp My
Ride.” While I welcome the announced return of shows like “120
Minutes” and even “Beavis and Butt-Head,” I wonder if these new
incarnations will be watered down shadows of the originals. No one
seems to care about the music anymore. That’s a real shame. MTV has
become limp and useless. It has become one of the most insignificant
channels on your cable box. It has lost its essence and lost its
focus. It has lost everything that used to make it great. Artists
still make music videos. Youtube helps friends pass music along to
each other and helps songs spread like wildfire. If your friend
recommends something to you that you haven’t heard, you might decide
to buy it. After all, a great video is like an artfully done
advertisement for a record. But lately, even youtube is letting us
down. Really, it’s the record labels’ fault. VEVO (the label-
sanctioned and approved section of youtube) has become an unholy
monster. The main problem with VEVO is that often it limits where you
can embed videos. So many people share videos on Facebook and other
social networking sites. Now, under the tyranny of the VEVO behemoth,
most videos redirect you to youtube where you are forced to sit
through an ad before you watch your video. It’s not very user-
friendly. Youtube may be the new technology and that may be why MTV
ultimately gave up its position. The truth is, MTV in its peak form,
as a free-form, eclectic place to view music videos and learn about
new music ruled! Now it is a shell of its former self. It needs to
step back up to the plate. While I applaud its 30th birthday, I note
it with a sense of sadness. “Reality” killed the video star.
http://www.npr.org/blogs/therecord/2011/08/01/138856761/how-did-mtv-spend-its-30th-birthday
MTV, the television network of youth culture, turns 30 years old
today.
On August 1, 2001, NPR's David Kestenbaum reported on the 20th
anniversary of the network for Morning Edition, detailing highlights
of the first two decades: Madonna rolling on the stage in a sheer
white dress during the 1984 MTV Video Music Awards; 1985's Live Aid
benefit concert, watched by almost 1.5 billion people around the
world; Nirvana's episode of Unplugged; Beavis and Butt-Head; The Real
World; the violence-plagued Woodstock '99; and Celebrity Deathmatch.
Not much has been added to the narrative in the last decade. Total
Request Live limped off the air in 2008; scripted, reality (and
scripted reality) TV eclipsed music programming; issues of censorship
and taste continued with the 2004 MTV-produced Superbowl halftime show
and Jersey Shore; music videos themselves declined briefly in
popularity until faster web connections gave them a new home on
another channel called YouTube.
To be fair, I spent my 30th birthday crying in a corner and wondering
what happened in my 20s.
The network is now reupping pre-2000 programming, bringing back 120
Minutes over the weekend and airing new episodes of Beavis and Butt-
Head in the fall. MTV mobile apps cull a deep video and news archive
giving equally easy to access LMFAO and The Replacements in just a few
taps.
The Madonna-like reinvention isn't a new move. For every generation,
there is another version of MTV. Perhaps the retro approach is another
nostalgia-fueled fad in their evolution (Fellow Viacom network
Nickelodeon is also employing the same strategy with '90s
programming).
Or maybe MTV is demonstrating that inevitable sign of aging: defining
yourself by the best of your past.
But because a birthday should be cause for celebration and gifts,
enjoy these relics of the music video past: the first 10 music videos
played on MTV on August 1, 1981.
"Video Killed the Radio Star" by The Buggles
"You Better Run" by Pat Benatar
"She Won't Dance with Me" by Rod Stewart
"You Better You Bet" by The Who
"Little Suzi's on the Up" by Ph.D.
"We Don't Talk Anymore" by Cliff Richard
"Brass in Pocket" by The Pretenders
"Time Heals" by Todd Rundgren
"Take It on the Run" by REO Speedwagon
"Rockin' the Paradise" by Styx
http://33avenuemiquelon.com/2011/08/01/thirty-years-of-mtv/
Electric word MTV. Used to mean “Music Television” until they lost the
plot. But I’m here 2 tell U there’s something else: The afterlife, a
place of never-ending music and style. A place where U can see your
favorite stars, day or night.
So when U call up that shrink on the Jersey shore — U know the one,
Dr. Pauly D & Associates — instead of asking them how many more teen
moms will beat their moms, ask them how much of your mind, baby, ‘cuz
in this post-MTV life, things are much harder 2 watch than in the
afterlife. In this life, U only have YouTube.
So on this, the 30th anniversary of MTV, don’t let de-elevator try 2
bring U down; go crazy and punch a higher floor!
Are we gonna let de-elevator bring us down? OH NO LET’S GO!!!
http://www.facebook.com/pages/MTV-1981-1989/298314272371
The 30th anniversary of MTV has prompted a nostalgic look back at how
the channel’s promotion of game-changing, edgy music videos that
shaped a generation. And it’s led others to mull the sad demise of the
once achingly hip channel.
Shaped Generation X. Amanda Marcotte at Slate’s XX Factor blog
reminded readers that MTV helped shaped the sensibilities of a
generation: “MTV was not only my constant companion throughout my
entire youth, but arguably it had the single biggest impact on the
aesthetics and pop cultural attitudes of Generation X, the irony-
loving generation.”
Reality killed the video star. Writing at ABC News’ On the Record
blog, Alan Raible lamented the once avant garde channel’s sad decline:
“It was a bastion of hip cultural significance. Now, whenever I turn
on MTV, it makes me depressed. What does the M stand for these days?
It surely isn’t music … Music has been replaced by horrible ‘Reality’
TV.” Raible expressed his sadness that MTV “had a place and it’s
essentially removed itself from its own niche in a punishing quest to
celebrate mediocrity.” Raible blamed the “corporations” who “don’t
care about being edgy and bettering the culture.”
“MTV has become limp and useless. It has become one of the most
insignificant channels on your cable box. It has lost its essence and
lost its focus. It has lost everything that used to make it great,”
slammed Raible.
Last decade has been unremarkable. Amy Schriefer at NPR gave a luke-
warm appreciation of the channel’s recent history, complaining that
“not much has been added to the narrative in the last decade.”
Considering MTV’s decision to programme more retro content, Schriefer
suggested that “maybe MTV is demonstrating that inevitable sign of
aging: defining yourself by the best of your past.”
The anniversary has sparked a flurry of best-of lists. TIME took a
look back at the three decades’ worth of music videos and profiled the
30 best all-time music videos, all of which can be watched here. David
MacNamee at The Guardian’s Pulse blog chose his own top 30 MTV
moments: He put the Kanye West versus Taylor Swift VMA awards howler,
“in which the world’s most powerful male pop star forever crowns
himself King of the Douchebags,” as number one moment.
http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/entertainment/2011/08/opinion-happy-30th-birthday-mtv-i-wish-you-still-mattered/
It’s been 30 years since the Buggles busted out “Video Killed The
Radio Star,” announcing the birth of MTV. For years (or at least into
the early nineties) MTV was a great source for music programming. It
was a bastion of hip cultural significance. Now, whenever I turn on
MTV, it makes me depressed. What does the M stand for these days? It
surely isn’t music. You can really only find music on there during
odd hours throughout the day. Music has been replaced by horrible
“Reality” TV. “Jersey Shore,” “The Hills” and “Jackass” have
dominated over the years. But where is the music? MTV had a place
and it’s essentially removed itself from its own niche in a punishing
quest to celebrate mediocrity. (Maybe that’s what the M stands for!)
For the most part, radio doesn’t do its job anymore. The corporations
that run the majority of radio stations do not care about musical
innovation. They don’t care about being edgy and bettering the
culture. They just care about spoon-feeding the public the same bland
twenty songs. This is why so many people have turned off the radio
and turned on their ipods. MTV has acted the same way. It’s a missed
opportunity. They could be bettering the culture and educating the
public by giving exposure to lesser-known, worthy bands. Instead they
are giving us shock-TV like the awkwardly controversial teen show,
“Skins.” For a brief period between 1996 and 2002, all hope wasn’t
lost. They created MTV2 and it was at first very much like the
original MTV. Free-form music with VJs announcing the songs and
giving facts. Suddenly and sadly, MTV2 suffered the same fate as its
older brother and became the home for countless episodes of “Pimp My
Ride.” While I welcome the announced return of shows like “120
Minutes” and even “Beavis and Butt-Head,” I wonder if these new
incarnations will be watered down shadows of the originals. No one
seems to care about the music anymore. That’s a real shame. MTV has
become limp and useless. It has become one of the most insignificant
channels on your cable box. It has lost its essence and lost its
focus. It has lost everything that used to make it great. Artists
still make music videos. Youtube helps friends pass music along to
each other and helps songs spread like wildfire. If your friend
recommends something to you that you haven’t heard, you might decide
to buy it. After all, a great video is like an artfully done
advertisement for a record. But lately, even youtube is letting us
down. Really, it’s the record labels’ fault. VEVO (the label-
sanctioned and approved section of youtube) has become an unholy
monster. The main problem with VEVO is that often it limits where you
can embed videos. So many people share videos on Facebook and other
social networking sites. Now, under the tyranny of the VEVO behemoth,
most videos redirect you to youtube where you are forced to sit
through an ad before you watch your video. It’s not very user-
friendly. Youtube may be the new technology and that may be why MTV
ultimately gave up its position. The truth is, MTV in its peak form,
as a free-form, eclectic place to view music videos and learn about
new music ruled! Now it is a shell of its former self. It needs to
step back up to the plate. While I applaud its 30th birthday, I note
it with a sense of sadness. “Reality” killed the video star.
http://www.npr.org/blogs/therecord/2011/08/01/138856761/how-did-mtv-spend-its-30th-birthday
MTV, the television network of youth culture, turns 30 years old
today.
On August 1, 2001, NPR's David Kestenbaum reported on the 20th
anniversary of the network for Morning Edition, detailing highlights
of the first two decades: Madonna rolling on the stage in a sheer
white dress during the 1984 MTV Video Music Awards; 1985's Live Aid
benefit concert, watched by almost 1.5 billion people around the
world; Nirvana's episode of Unplugged; Beavis and Butt-Head; The Real
World; the violence-plagued Woodstock '99; and Celebrity Deathmatch.
Not much has been added to the narrative in the last decade. Total
Request Live limped off the air in 2008; scripted, reality (and
scripted reality) TV eclipsed music programming; issues of censorship
and taste continued with the 2004 MTV-produced Superbowl halftime show
and Jersey Shore; music videos themselves declined briefly in
popularity until faster web connections gave them a new home on
another channel called YouTube.
To be fair, I spent my 30th birthday crying in a corner and wondering
what happened in my 20s.
The network is now reupping pre-2000 programming, bringing back 120
Minutes over the weekend and airing new episodes of Beavis and Butt-
Head in the fall. MTV mobile apps cull a deep video and news archive
giving equally easy to access LMFAO and The Replacements in just a few
taps.
The Madonna-like reinvention isn't a new move. For every generation,
there is another version of MTV. Perhaps the retro approach is another
nostalgia-fueled fad in their evolution (Fellow Viacom network
Nickelodeon is also employing the same strategy with '90s
programming).
Or maybe MTV is demonstrating that inevitable sign of aging: defining
yourself by the best of your past.
But because a birthday should be cause for celebration and gifts,
enjoy these relics of the music video past: the first 10 music videos
played on MTV on August 1, 1981.
"Video Killed the Radio Star" by The Buggles
"You Better Run" by Pat Benatar
"She Won't Dance with Me" by Rod Stewart
"You Better You Bet" by The Who
"Little Suzi's on the Up" by Ph.D.
"We Don't Talk Anymore" by Cliff Richard
"Brass in Pocket" by The Pretenders
"Time Heals" by Todd Rundgren
"Take It on the Run" by REO Speedwagon
"Rockin' the Paradise" by Styx
http://33avenuemiquelon.com/2011/08/01/thirty-years-of-mtv/
Electric word MTV. Used to mean “Music Television” until they lost the
plot. But I’m here 2 tell U there’s something else: The afterlife, a
place of never-ending music and style. A place where U can see your
favorite stars, day or night.
So when U call up that shrink on the Jersey shore — U know the one,
Dr. Pauly D & Associates — instead of asking them how many more teen
moms will beat their moms, ask them how much of your mind, baby, ‘cuz
in this post-MTV life, things are much harder 2 watch than in the
afterlife. In this life, U only have YouTube.
So on this, the 30th anniversary of MTV, don’t let de-elevator try 2
bring U down; go crazy and punch a higher floor!
Are we gonna let de-elevator bring us down? OH NO LET’S GO!!!
http://www.facebook.com/pages/MTV-1981-1989/298314272371
Ubiquitous
Aug 19, 2012, 8:12:33 PM8/19/12
to
tmc...@gmail.com wrote:
>http://www.periscopepost.com/2011/08/mtv-at-30-once-so-hip-now-so-lame/
>
>The 30th anniversary of MTV has prompted a nostalgic look back at how
>the channel’s promotion of game-changing, edgy music videos that
>shaped a generation. And it’s led others to mull the sad demise of the
>once achingly hip channel.
Why did you repost this from last year?
>http://www.periscopepost.com/2011/08/mtv-at-30-once-so-hip-now-so-lame/
>
>The 30th anniversary of MTV has prompted a nostalgic look back at how
>the channel’s promotion of game-changing, edgy music videos that
>shaped a generation. And it’s led others to mull the sad demise of the
>once achingly hip channel.
--
"Re-electing Obama is like backing The Titanic up and hitting the
iceberg a second time."
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