Support NeoGAF

[Vieo]

IMO, today's MTV sucks majorly. The shows they broadcast these days pretty much suck majorly too. It seems 'reality TV' has taken over everything. I remember the Real World use to be pretty good and entertaining because there really wasn't anything like it on, but now that a slew of spin-offs have infiltrated the programming lineup, it pretty much degraded the show itself. I mean, Punk'd is great and all, but I've been there already with 'Candid Camera'. Celebrity Cribs is great and all, but I've been there with 'Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous'. Gone is the MTV I knew that use to pioneer edgy stuff like Beavis and Butthead, Liquid Television, The MAXX, Aeon Flux, and Celebrity Deathmatch. It's as if innovation has been squelched. I find myself watching VH1 more these days.

And while we're on the subject of Music Television, let's talk about today's music videos. All I have to say is, the art of making a music video has been lost on all but a few of this generation's artists. When you see a video, it's supposed to have you talking about it the next day at the watercooler or in the cafeteria. 1980's and early-to-mid 1990's videos trash the crap that's spewed out today. It used to be that in a video, they would spend more money on the setting/backdrop than the clothes/jewelry/accessories. Today, it's the exact opposite. When I see a video, I almost feel as if I'm watching a commercial for whatever brand label that artist is currently being paid to push.

WTF happened!?

 

[karasu]

Cool is an illusion. MTV just proves that the word is constantly thrust onto anything new with the slightest bit of value.

 

[8bit]

WTF happened!?

You're getting old. MTV was never cool.

 

[DCX]

It's not really MTV anymore, it's more like ETV. MTV2 is more like MTV Hell, even VH1 isn't like MTV Lite, i watch for the great shows like I Love The XXs and The Reality shows etc.

DCX

 

[MC Safety]

You're getting old. MTV was never cool.

Gah, you beat me to it.

Fun Fact: I am old enough to remember when MTV played music videos!

 

[demi]

 

[Vieo]

You're getting old. MTV was never cool.

Fun Fact: I am old enough to remember when MTV played music videos!

Damn you! I'm only 23.

If I'm getting old, does this mean everything that I loved in the past at some point in time will only end up changing to meet the demand(what is considered "in"/"hip") of a generation of punk teenagers that don't know the meaning of the word "entertainment"?

 

[Star Power]

MTV became totally irrelevant when they took 120 Minutes off of the air.

 

[Gantz]

They pay my bills so they're cool with me

 

[DCX]

They pay my bills so they're cool with me

Hmmm....so what do you d...forget it, it's just MTV :lol

DCX

 

[MIMIC]

I mean, Punk'd is great and all, but I've been there already with 'Candid Camera'. Celebrity Cribs is great and all, but I've been there with 'Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous'.

Well, it's not like those programs are syndicated or something.

 

[shuri]

We just outgrew their demographic

 

[Tommie Hu$tle]

We just outgrew their demographic

Bing and 0

 

[WrathOfOtaibah]

MTV's demographic is this:

1) Spoiled rich white (you can tell its for whitey) boys and girls whose parents make six figures a year.
2) Drama queens (notice how every girl on MTV's shows are pissed at one time or another? They're just appealing to their base)
3) Kids who get everything handed to them by their parents who don't object to spending 100 grand on a Sweet 16 party.
4) Those who are full blown materialists.

If you're not in any of these demographics, then MTV won't be for you.

 

[SpeedingUptoStop]

MTV just stopped being cool when they started playing terrible music (Backstreet Boys, N Sync) and stopped appealing to the rock fans. They basically dropped every demographic short of teenyboppers with an IQ below 20. Their only good recent shows (last 8 years) shows: Jackass and Viva La Bam. Otherwise: CRAP,CRAP,CRAP, repeat.

 

[Space Age Playboy]

The original post is correct. MTV used to be a lot cooler and better. It's not about growing out of it, the quality has dropped and the image has suffered. Beavis and Butthead was the epitome of coolness back when it came out, even 30 somethings who were still with it liked that show.

Now it's fake bullshit "reality" TV with the drug addict Osborne family. And where are the hot babes anyway? They used to have Daisy Fuentes and Jenny McCarthy.

 

[Flynn]

If you ever see it on Frontline, watch The Merchants of Cool an interesting doc about selling image to youth in America.

 

[way more]

If you ever see it on Frontline, watch The Merchants of Cool an interesting doc about selling image to youth in America.

I wish they did a follow up to that superb piece. I always wanted to have the job the guys did in that doc.