Music Television/Insomnia

I remember back in the day when my family finally got cable and I could gorge myself on MTV. Not everyone had cable back then, you know. Or VCRs.

But I'm getting off-track.

I was in junior high, and I would only take breaks from MTV long enough to watch Miami Vice. I was the MTV generation, my friends. VH1 was for lame people, such as grownups.

Then MTV started to lose its luster for me when they bumped hard rock/heavy metal to the Headbanger's Ball...which if I remember correctly was only on from 1 a.m. to 3 a.m. Plus they were starting to have actual shows, like Remote Control. It finally got so bad that the only way you could see videos was by watching Beavis and Butthead.

During my college years, MTV thoughtfully played B & B reruns at 2 a.m., so after leaving the bars at last call, we could hurry home to see Beavis do his Cornholio routine. Few things are funnier than that when you've been drinking all night, let me tell you.

Once I lost interest in Beavis and Butthead, I pretty much stopped watching MTV altogether. Every now and then I'd flip over to it and get pissed off that The Real World was on instead of...I don't know...music.

Bastards.

Within the last year or so, I found myself at the home of all that was lame: VH1. Except it wasn't so lame anymore. Sure, they were playing shows more than videos just like MTV before them, but their shows were mildly entertaining.

Now VH1 is my channel of choice for mindless entertainment. Even if they only play about 10 different videos.

And let's talk about those videos:

* Why won't that Alicia Keys If I Ain't Got You video go away???

* That Avril Lavigne My Happy Ending video is creepy. She looks about 12 years old (well, actually, I think she looks like a ferret, but that's not nice), so pairing her with an obviously older guy is not good. It looks illegal.

* I don't know why, but I can't see the Black-Eyed Peas' Let's Get It Started video enough.

* Or Gretchen Wilson's Redneck Woman. I bought that CD shortly after I first saw it. Not bad.

* Do the hip-hop labels get some kind of bulk discount at Rent-a-Ho? All the videos are of some sort of party with nearly-naked women gyrating around. Nothing wrong with that, but how about a little imagination? Mix it up a bit.

Well, that's all I've got. Make sure to watch the Bon Jovi concert tonight. That alone is reason enough for me to love VH1.

Posted by Jennifer at August 28, 2004 03:27 AM