Empty-V?
By "The Truth"
September 7, 2005
So another MTV Music Video Awards has come and gone. Did you watch? Were you entertained? Were you disappointed? Round-ups have made the rounds in newspapers and on entertainment TV shows. Well now I have something to say about it all (big surprise).
I'm not going to discuss Do Wah Diddy. Not that I don't have an opinion about his hosting skills (or lack thereof) but I think that has been the main focus of many reviews that have come out and I want to discuss a different area: the music. I know, shocking, isn't it? I actually want to discuss the music performed, awarded, and snubbed at this year's MTV Video Music Awards.
Personally, I found the awards to be pretty entertaining. They were eons better than last year's televised train wreck but still miles away from the shows of the past (the ones actually performed on ONE stage in a theater instead of an arena). The 2005 installment of this 20+ year old show was actually pretty diverse. I was pleasantly surprised by the array of performers. However, I knew not to expect the same reactions from our smug media friends. I am now completely used to being "odd one out" when I have any positive feelings whatsoever about anything having to do with today's pop culture. It seems many of today's reporters (all in their late 30s to early 50s I might add) tend to be out of touch and therefore condescending when discussing the current chart-toppers. So I totally expected the negativity to be flowing on the Monday morning after the show. And it was. Over the past week and a half, I have surfed the 'net in search of the common consensus. It seems that many "music industry insiders" and "music enthusiasts" thought the show was terrible. They dogged every performance. They insatiably dogged MTV itself.
The most common gripe tended to be towards the overexposure of hip-hop and the fact that MTV "knows nothing about music anyway since they don't play any". Funny they (meaning the MTV-haters) should bring that up because MTV actually launched a new ad campaign on the night of the awards show which was centered on the actual statement "MTV doesn't play music". The commercials showed various vignettes depicting people having something happen to them that their parents warned them about i.e., face frozen after contorting it in weird ways, palms growing hair after…well, you know. The tagline in the end was "Not everything you hear is true. MTV doesn't play music." So they are obviously aware of the criticism. Do I think it bothers them? Not at all. MTV has evolved way past the days of just playing videos. It's a shame that they did not stick to their original game plan but what company really does? One of the most basic rules in business is that in order stay afloat, you must be open to change. MTV realized that many other channels had popped up during the years since their own inception that also played music, and some of them were doing it better than them. Some had request features which meant that viewers could actually interactively take part in the channel's programming and ask for the next video they wanted to see. Others showcased a particular genre that began to become hugely popular in the 90s: hip-hop. Yet others were able to play videos without kowtowing to the major labels and the restrictions of censorship you must deal with on basic cable. Either way, MTV created a successful brand and has now become more concerned with lifestyle programming. Teen dating shows, car makeover shows, lifestyle reality shows, and pop culture documentaries all have their place on the network. Videos are only shown on TRL and in the early morning.
But back to Sunday's award show. There were a plethora of high energy performances. Green Day, Kanye West with Jamie Foxx, Shakira with Alejandro Sanz, and Kelly Clarkson all tried hard to bring the crowd to its feet. And they did. I did not see any fans looking bored or indifferent in that audience. MTV's new format puts the fans close to stage instead of their fellow artists. I don't like it because it just makes it look like a televised concert to me but I've heard many artists say they actually like it better because their "peers" aren't always as enthusiastic while they are performing. The celebs are more concerned with looking cool, not messing up their hair, or not showing too much love for their competition. But the fans go wild. They have no qualms about going berserk for their favorite artists when they rock the stage.
But even with the variety in this year's performances, I still heard many complaints about the show not celebrating "good" music, or "real" music, or being too hip-hop-heavy. I don't understand that. How are Green Day, Shakira, My Chemical Romance, and Coldplay considered hip-hop? True, 50 Cent, Ludacris, and Kanye West performed, but it's only right. They are big sellers. And they are what the "kids" want. And the "kids" are MTV's target audience. It's as simple as that. That's why I never got the whole "MTV sucks, they don't play music, they only play reruns of The Real World" comments coming from 35-yr. old washed-up musicians and jaded music journalists. Huh? What are you doing watching MTV in the first place? We all know the kinds of programming they have. It's nothing new. Where have you been? Everyone I know from age 12 to 22 automatically turns on MTV when they enter a room. But 35 year olds? No, it's not for them. Maybe if Rolling Stone Magazine had a television station……but that probably wouldn't be "cool" enough for them either.
The one complaint I do get though is when those same aforementioned people say that today's music sucks, isn't real music, or that they miss the awards shows of old. Perhaps that's because the "shows of old" were actually the shows that featured your favorite musicians and videos when you were growing up? Think about it. No music fan is going to name a particular year's award show or concert as their "favorite" if it didn't include the music they actually like. And the popularity of certain genres changes with the tides. If you don't like guitar-heavy Spanish music, you are not going to like watching Santana win a truckload of awards and perform. If you don't like piano-driven pop R&B, you are not going to like watching Alicia Keys win a boatload of awards and perform. And if you don't like hip-hop, you are not going to like watching Ludacris, or Kanye West, or Eminem, or 50 Cent win anything. You like, and enjoy, and feel comfortable watching the artists you've grown up admiring.
Interestingly enough, this is a dispute that has gone on for many, many generations. I mean, think about it. Pretty much, anyone age 30 and above probably complained about the MTV Awards. They don't find Diddy entertaining, and they don't think 50 Cent is talented. However, the artists that they believe make "real" music are not making money off of the same teenagers that watch MTV. And if any of those thirty-somethings actually have children who they try to push their self-righteous "real" music on, well then they are just repeating the vicious cycle we've all fallen victim to. C'mon now. I'm sure there are hundreds of, if not thousands of, parents out there right now trying to push some good ole' 70s rock on their children who would rather listen to Eminem. Or maybe they are trying to convince their 16 year old daughter that Mariah Carey can only mimic the soul and depth of an artist like Minnie Riperton. Then again, when those same individuals were teenagers themselves, their parents probably yelled at them that The Doors or Jimi Hendrix albums that they were listening to were garbage and were nothing like the "real" music of their generation including Elvis Presley and Little Richard. Meanwhile, when those same parents were 40 years younger holed up in their own rooms blasting "Jailhouse Rock", their parents were poking a broomstick into the ceiling screaming at them to turn that junk off and listen to some "real" music like Frank Sinatra or Buddy Holly. And I know for a fact that when Ole' Blue Eyes came out, parents everywhere were disgusted. They said he had no talent and was nothing but a womanizing mobster. He was no Bing Crosby after all. So you see, it's very rare that the younger kids will like what those fifteen to twenty years their senior will like. Don't get me wrong, I know there are exceptions to every rule. College kids near and far still blast Zeppelin and Pink Floyd. But for the most part, the youngsters are listening to Ashlee Simpson, and Kanye West, and G-Unit which is why this week's charts list Kanye West and Tony Yayo in the top two spots while other lesser-known "real" musicians are not even in the top 200. MTV promotes what is on the charts. They invite the popular artists to perform on their show every year. So if you found yourself hating what you saw on the tube this year (when I thought it was actually a pretty good, diverse show), just know that you have become your parents. It's not a bad thing. It's just the truth. So sit back, don't hurt your back, browse the early-bird specials, and work it out people.
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