3 posts tagged “mtv”
Like everyone else, I was deeply saddened by Michael Jackson's death last week. He has influenced everyone from late 80's boy bands like New Kids On the Block and New Edition to modern-day "Michael's" like Justin Timberlake and Rhianna. While Don McLean wrote "American Pie" as a way to commemorate "The Day the Music Died" when Buddy Holly, the Big Bopper, and Ritchie Valens died in a plane crash, I truly believe that Jackson's death marked the day that all of pop music died -- especially that of the music video.
MTV and VH1 are now networks filled with reality television and other throwaway entertainment. If an artist does release a music video, it usually has a story and a budget -- something we can credit Michael Jackson with having a hand in after the release of "Thriller." But something else Jackson managed to do with music videos that no other artist really can do is take something basic and make it entertaining.
Case in point, the video for "Rock with You." This video has no story line or angle; it's just Jackson clad in sequins and belting his heart out. Yet, this video is a million times more entertaining then anything I've seen in the last ten years. Plus, even though he is wearing sequins, he is pretty damn cute! Something else most male performers can't pull off.
They say that the true test of a great singer is when he or she is singing by his or herself with no accompaniment. While Jackson revolutionized the music video by making it epic, at his core, he really didn't need all the special effects and makeup: he was rather brilliant when the video only consisted of himself.
I know I'm risking future parody in a music video for bashing Eminem, but after recently catching the video for his new single "We Made You," I couldn't help but notice that he is yet again resorting to making fun of celebrities and other people in the news -- for no reason whatsoever.
This time, he takes aim at Sarah Palin (about six months too late), two summer blockbusters (Star Trek and -- the pre-ordained hit -- Transformers sequel), and finally -- my beloved "Rock of Love." I haven't exactly examined the lyrics behind the song, nor can I make any inferences about what he's trying to say. But hasn't Eminem kind of become a Weird Al figure, where he parodies people and calls it a career (the only difference is that Weird Al rules!)? Eminem has been doing the same old schtick for years and I couldn't help but say to myself upon watching this music video: "Really, Eminem?" He's still making fun of Britney Spears after nearly a decade on the scene. We get it. Let's move on.
Say it ain't so!
After 10 years of screaming girls and a slew of awkward celebrity moments (my favorite: Mariah Carey singing "Heartbreaker" via the phone via the shower!), TRL (Total Request Live) is calling it quits. The show will culminate with a two-hour finale in November, according to reports from Entertainment Tonight and a bunch of other publications with a slow news day.
TRL was an after-school staple for Generation Y. Strangely enough, many of the bands and singers who are still around today got their start stumbling through a painful conversation with Carson Daly. Justin Timberlake, Christina Aguilera, and Jesse Camp all went on to movies, Grammy Awards, and a warm meal. Even Carson Daly himself went on to bigger and better things. I just can't remember what his show is called and whether it's still on the air.
Anyway, with the passing of TRL, I feel a passing of my childhood, plus the passing of MTV actually showing music videos. I'm sure TRL will be replaced with an hour installment of Room Raiders or Next. Yet, I will miss the pop-up corner shot of a girl screaming her request into the camera, followed by the obligatory blood-curdling scream. Ah, the memories.
