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R.I.P. Vh1
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Rock of Love Tour Bus courtesy of Vh1.com
Much derition was (and is still) handed to MTV when they decided to forego every single moment of music programming. In the early 1980's MTV continued what Friday Night Videos had begun - create scatalogical images to further flesh out the musical experience. With one spin of "Video Killed the Radio Star," MTV had started a revolution. Kurt Loder and Downtown Julie Brown ushered us into a pulsing neon land of short attention spans and there was no turning back.
The disappearance of videos happened so gradually that you may not have realized that MTV had completely obliterated the format. A "Singled Out" here and a "Remote Control" there masked the fact that we were entering a video-less existence. At least we still had Vh1. Right?
Oh so very wrong. Whereas Vh1 used to be a more civilized version of MTV's punk youth posturing, it has now faded into a playground for post-adolescent walking punchlines. And it has to be one of the most disconcerting transitions of my short lifetime. Instead of watching Sting wax (croon) poetically over "Fields of Gold" we get strippers popping their breast implants during hideous attempts to impess an aging rock star that used to headline MTV.
In a way Vh1 has become the refuge for the original MTV viewers. Though "adult contemporary" music used to cater to the thirty-something crowd, that palate has certainly changed. Now these young professionals prefer escapism filtered through Flava Flav's grill. Conversely, the original Vh1 viewer has apparently moved onto the likes of the "700 Club" and the Home Shopping Network.
If you're over 40, I would like to offer a sincere apology that a younger generation has selfishly kidnapped your vh1 when they grew bored with their own MTV. I'm sure I'll feel the same sinking feeling when I turn on Vh1 in 10 years and see Miley Cyrus shooting ping pong balls out of her hoo-hah.
Questions/Comments: todd.ayres@ymail.com
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