Millions of teenagers all across Ameica watch MTV. In doing this, they have also depleted whatever reason and logic there is in the world.
MTV as everybody knows stands for "Music Television". Yet if you go to it you will see it is more like MACBSTV (Modern American Culture and Bullshit Television.) Why am I so striking on what used to be my favorite music channel?
Because if you watch MTV long enough you see it is not about music at all. It is all just another channel devoted to yuppiedom, sleaze, bad music and the American way.
MTV was created in the early 1980's because somebody discovered bands who had music videos to promote the sales of their albums sold at least 40% more records than bands without one. This piece of information sparked interest to make a channel devoted to and for music video and music news.
But like communism, this utopian idea attracted some bad vibes. Soon, MTV "creations" like Duran Duran were selling millions of records on MTV status alone. Pop-Metal (a la Warrant, Bon Jovi) began to dominate MTV as all videos then appeared to look the same, eithe they had dancers, blow-died guitarists with rollercoaster solos, o just dances and lights and ounds, occasionally with very unusual themes. MTV started to promote things that had nothing to do at all with music, with shows like "House Of Style." It even started it's own "movie Awards" showcase.
Hopefully, with the grunge and underground revolution of 1991, MTV slightly shifted it's focus to the more musical perspective, to the beliefs and perspectives of the people of the music scene (as they always did.) Artists then like Nirvana had an iconolastic, "FUCK MTV BECAUSE OF ITS CORPORATISM" attitude that inspired a musical and media revolution. While there were even more great relations with the musical/artistic values of the videos, there was still "House Of Style" and their own award shows, but they were strictly now MTV "traditions" that had to be shown. To show how equal, generous and balanced MTV was in the days of yore, they had different shows covering different styles of music. "MTV Jams" covered the rap/r&b circut, while on Saturdays at midnight MTV showed it's metalfest "Headbanger's Ball" program. Extra shows like "Beavis and Butthead" and the great "Liquid Television" offered viewers more variety and programmers more experimentalism. Slowly, more shows like "Lip Service" were being made. Shortly before this MTV made it's long heralded program, "The Real World". Change was on the horizon, but it was never imminent.
Then, it all changed.
It is said that "those who don't acknowledge the past are doomed to repeat it." Shortly after the death of Nirvana's Kurt Cobain, MTV dropped it's iconolastic, indivdual qualities so excersised by the music scene then, and like it always has done, gave in to what is popular at the moment. They eliminated "Headbanger's Ball", "Beavis and Butthead" and other shows that defined the era, and even quit showing videos from bands that were not either rap, r&b, dance, or alternative.
It was around this time that it all rotted down. MTV invented the show "Singled Out", as well as an entirley new facelift that heightened all the worst values of the generation it is programmed to. How else can you explain the show, "My Life As a Porn Star"?? Or "Road Rules"?? What the hell is "Undressed" but a slinky sleazy perverted show that feeds the raging hormones of prubescent teens? MTV perfected it's patented, "PLAY IT TO DEATH" video formula, thus starting and ending the careers of bands like Eve 6, Marvelous 3, Third Eye Blind, dance groups Britney Spears, NSYNC (whom their record company paid an unclosed sum of money to play their smash hit "Tearin' Up My Heart" over and over again until it fabricatedly became the biggest shown video ever), Backstreet Boys, as well as shocker Marylin Manson (ending his career), and beginning the dawn of a new age in ultra-corporate rap where 3 weeks is the ultimate lifespan for any artist (a la DMX, Master P, Scarface, 2Pac, Keith Sweat, J-Rule.) They now have shows were you have to "guess" what objects are in a music video and other idiodicies like that.
MODERN MTV HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH MUSIC, BUT IT HAS ALOT TO DO WITH CASH, SEX, MEDIA, AND VIDEOS.
Because so many teenagers watch MTV on a daily basis, they let IT chose the music for themselves. And what do they play now on MTV??
It has turned into what it was in the past. Exploiting trends (at least they were, "retro" at that time, right?) and MTV creations is what MTV has always done best. IT NEVER REALLY WAS MUSIC TELEVISION. REMEMBER, IT WAS CREATED FOR CASH PURPOSES ONLY. The sad thing is now, America's majority ideas perfectly represent all that being shown, exploited, and cashed on at MTV, Media Television. I say if the government wants to keep it's youth away from "corruptive entertainment" they destroy MTV first before attacking violent games, music, or movies. But MTV is the largest cable network in the world. It generates millions, almost billions of dollars around the world and in the U.S. It's almost like the government wants a cetain number of educated people.
At least there is still VH1, who are really in it for the music. "Behind The Music" kills anything MTV ever created. Or are they? Even VH1 is turning ever so rapidly to satisfy the teen mainstream audience... BECAUSE THE SAME COMPANY OWNS BOTH OF THEM.
Will Corporate Music ever die?? Yes, but only if MTV changes again, and realizes what it has done to the Music Business itself. But good music is not what anybody is interested in. Only a new "sensation" or trend is.
MTV's president said last year, after it was discovered more people watched MTV than ever before, that "people watch it for the music. The music is what made MTV so famous."
WRONG. MTV is what made MTV famous. MTV now is about the MTV generation, not the music. It has even become it's own corporation- How can you explain MTV stores, merchandise, or MTV Movie Productions?
