Over the past 6 months I've been noticing something about my viewing habits that has been irking me of late; I'm avoiding the MTV channel like the plague.

I couldn't tell you the last time I actually went out of my way to go directly to the MTV channel on my TV. It was only by accident that I tuned in the MTV Video Music Awards show, and after watching it [shaking my head in disbelief most of the time] I really wished I hadn't wasted the time. I mean I LOVE Jack Black, but as host he didn't' bring the thunder that he kept promising he'd bring because the writing and timing for introductions and whatnot were all off or wrong. I felt so sad for Jack.

Shakira put on a great performance as did OK GO and The Raconteurs, but those were the only things in the evening worth watching as far as I was concerned. But I trudged on waiting for that "kick ass rock moment" that I knew was going to come that was going to make all the previous crap that I had to sit through worth while and that moment never came...which reminded me why I hadn't been watching MTV for the longest time.

To give you a reference point, the last time I habitually watched the Music Television channel Carson Daily was still a VJ and was engaged to a sweetheart of a girl named Tara, Norris' was a brunette, Loader still anchored the MTV News program [not just the news minute at the bottom of the hour], Matt Pinfield and Iann Robinson added fantastic rock band interviews to the line up of music videos that were running most of the day, and MTV was must watch TV. You would have to watch the Rap and Top Video count downs so you wouldn't be left out of the conversation all your friends were going to have the next day about the new video that premiered. The only TV show programming running on the channel were the Real World and that SayWhat?Karaoke show. [Any body remember the show "The State" that was on in the mid 90's? That show was the SHIT...moving on] This was back when it could still honestly be called MUSIC Television.

But then something happened and MTV changed. Over a very short period of time programming blocks started being filled with comedy show pilots rather than music videos with reckless abandon. In place of the block of rock videos where I would get introduced to bands I had never been exposed to before I was subjected to the likes of Tom Green [who I found to be neither funny nor entertaining] and Real World shows that were no longer reflections of what I thought [and was finding] the real real world to be like, and found myself starting to tune MTV out. For a while I rolled my attention over to the BET channel as I at least knew that at any given time that I tuned the channel in I was going to see a music video, [or a few commercials and then a bunch of music videos] and this was a help. But as with all things, that soon changed and shows like Video Soul and Caribbean Rhythms, and Video Vibrations were replaced by Girlfriends, Access Granted, and syndicated The Parkers.

Before long I wasn't watching music videos anymore because I couldn't find them to watch. If you turn on MTV during the day you are more likely to hit an episode of Pimp My Ride, Laguna Beach, My Super Sweet 16, or the dating game show NEXT than you are to see a music video or making of a music video. If you tune into BET you are slightly more likely to hit a music video but only between the 4pm and 7pm blocks of time and those music programs will have regular television programming in between them. Understanding that broadcasters have to adjust their programming blocks each season I get that MTV needed to evolve. In all honesty I was changing myself at the same time as I'm only a couple of years older than MTV myself, but it still hurt. I grew up with MTV...it was like a younger cousin that would come over the house to play every day after school. My addiction love of music now is founded in large part MTV.

Music is a big part of who I am and how I am to this day. As I write this article I have iTunes running with a playlist of songs that is about 4 hours long. I have a digital music library that is now over 6000 audio tracks and 120 video files in size, and grows a little each week. I have music playing when I play video games, when I'm cleaning the house, when I am designing websites, hell I even have music playing when I'm in the shower. I don't think I would be a happy and functional member of society if I didn't have music, and I know I'm not the only one. So I have a hard time understanding why MTV changed that part of themselves as they evolved, when that music loving part of me never changed during my evolution.

These days I really do avoid MTV like a STD. If I have the need for a music video I'll go directly to VH1 Soul, MTV2, MTV Jamz [as a TV channel last resort], or the iTunes music store to see if there are any videos that I want. Digital music services have really become my protection against being disappointed. Between iTunes, MySpace.com Music Streaming, and Last.FM [when it works on my Mac] I am protecting myself from the let down of tuning in to just to be turned off. But I guess MTV realizes this themselves since they've been making a shitload of changes company wide since the VMA aired and took a public flogging.

This Monday MTV Networks fired Tom Freston who has been at MTV since the very beginning. I doubt getting rid of Tom [who has been reported to be devastated by being fired and I can't say that I blame him] will fix or even make an impact on what is fundamentally wrong with MTV. It just seems like MTV isn't really "interested" in music anymore. The channel seems to be obsessed with wealth and all the trappings of the material life: from the Paris Hilton affliction to Cribs, Pimp My Ride, My Super Sweet 16, and the Iced Out New Years Bash, there isn't anything left in the budget to hype up a band like the Spooks or Little Brother.

You know, the network hasn't used the "I want my MTV" slogan in years and I think it's because even they have realized that no one would "demand it" in the state it's in right now.

I guess the music video network killed the video star. Anyone know what the statute of limitation on murder is?

Labels: Games, iTunes, MTV, Ninjasistah, Videogames