How MTV2 Changed My 30-Something Life

At some point in the past twenty years, MTV lost me.

Yes, admittedly, I was thirteen years old when it launched; which means I’m no longer part of the demographic its programmers, nor Mountain Dew, nor SEGA, really care about. But what had happened to the station that I loved so much, the station that gave me my first short haircut (a cross between Olivia Newton John’s and Sheena Easton’s), college major (broadcast journalism — so I could be like Martha Quinn), and rebellious courage ("Pappa, Don’t Preach")?

Sometime after Real World: San Francisco, but before Loveline, MTV — which I believe still stands for music television — stopped showing music videos. At least, it wasn’t showing them during timeslots when people like me (i.e. people with full-time jobs) were watching. I’d glance at it now and then, usually via a muted box in the corner of the gym, but hadn’t seen anything compelling in years. By the time Jackass had nubile young pranksters diving into pools of feces for laughs, I had tuned out completely.

Then, one magical Tuesday evening in May, a nice man from Time Warner Cable (which, interestingly enough, is owned by AOL Time Warner, the company that owns this website; and no, I don’t get discounts) arrived at my door with a slim black box tucked under his arm. It didn’t take long for my new digital television (a.k.a. DTV, natch) to be installed, and in a matter of minutes, I was joyously surfing past Animal Planet, over to Sundance, through HBO +, S, F, C, Z and L, finally settling down on channel 128: MTV2. It was like bumping into a childhood sweetheart in the produce aisle. I fell in love all over again.

I want my MTV2

I hadn’t realized how much I missed my MTV. You see, I don’t drive a car to work, I don’t listen to the radio, I don’t read music magazines. As a result, I had (though I would have never admitted to this) completely lost touch with pop music. Each September, I’d devotedly watch the Video Music Awards (a.k.a. the VMAs) pretending to care whether Limp Bizkit or Eminem won for Video of the Year, but really, I was just a poser. The snippets of the videos they’d show while announcing the nominees was about all I would see of these artists.

But lo and behold, after only three months, MTV2 is breathing life back into the portion of my cerebral cortex once reserved for top-forty music. Slowly, my viability as a Name That Tune contestant or a good karaoke party guest is returning. For example, the other weekend, on a compulsory Friday afternoon exodus from the city, I impressed a carload of friends by quickly identifying songs on Z100. "Wait," I said to a passenger whose fingertip was steering towards the "scan/seek" radio button. "That’s Tool. I like this song."

MTV2 is almost exclusively dedicated to the airing of music videos. Granted, after a few days of repeated observation, it becomes apparent that it’s dedicated to airing the same forty or fifty music videos over and over again. But the charm of a four and half minute orchestrated visualization remains the same and reassuringly, the art form hasn’t changed much in twenty years. True, the special effects have gotten better — Peter Gabriel’s Claymation has been replaced with Matrix-like maneuvers and other Hollywood-quality tricks. For example, Tool’s guitarist Adam Jones worked as a special effects designer for movies like "Edward Scissorhands" and "Terminator 2." Their video "Schism" is a mini-masterpiece.

A brief theory of music videos

But for the most part, the plots remain the same. About half of all music videos fall into a category mostly aptly called Angry Males, Angry White Guys being the largest subset of this group. Usually, it’s not immediately clear what’s causing the said-male’s consternation, though often a sad looking model-like female is present. Sometimes the anger is directed towards her, other times, it’s on her behalf. She’s depressed, over a guy (an angry white guy), or maybe she’s a single mom or physically abused or suicidal, but, gee, she’s cute. Never underestimate the potential of Angry Males: Staind’s "It’s Been Awhile," and Linkin Park’s "Crawlin" are in the top ten.

The second largest music video genre is the Pimps & Hos. These music videos are about sex and the sexual prowess of the artist. It could be male or a female, and though it originated in early rap and hip hop videos, it’s no longer reserved exclusively for those musical styles. And you don’t have to be traditionally sexy to indulge in this occasionally ironic form of self-worship. Missy "Misdemeanor’ Elliot, Moby, Madonna, the Lady Marmalade quartet (the masturbatory Ms?). Oh yes, it helps if you have car in the video.

Perhaps the easiest video for a band to make is the Block Party. This is often an element used by Angry Males and Pimps & Hos, but it can stand alone if done well. Simply take a band, equip it with instruments and amps, place it in a public space, add thirty to one hundred fans eager for a moment of fame, and presto! See Sum 41s "Fat Lip" for this week’s edition.

The remaining videos can be divided into two opposing categories: the Literalists and the Nonconformists. The Literalists take the lyrics to their song, and act them out, almost frame for frame. It’s not a bad way to do it; in fact, often you can’t get the damn song out of your head after seeing one. Think of the classics: Michael Jackson’s "Thriller," Bowie’s "Lets Dance," even Janet Jackson’s new single "Someone to Call my Lover." You’ll never forget them.

And then there's transcendence…

But they won’t rock your world. That’s what the Nonconformists are for. You see, the original programming concept behind MTV and now MTV2 is really genius. You can’t help but keep watching, because maybe, maybe the next video, the one after the commercial break, will be a Nonconformist, one that will stop you in your tracks, make you slackjaw with its originality, innovation, and bravery. It doesn’t happen often, maybe one of thirty hits the jackpot on a good night, but when it does…. Ahhhhh. These are the true artists. Fatboy Slim’s "Weapon of Choice" directed by the Nonconformist King, Spike Jonze and featuring a tap dancing Christopher Walken. The fully animated band Gorillaz’s "Clint Eastwood." Anything by Bjork.

MTV has always been aware of the pre-orgasmic state it must keep its viewers in order to keep them watching. Knowing that it is not what’s playing, but what’s playing next that matters, they’ve created a completely addictive program for MTV2, called Control Freak. While they’re watching the show, viewers are encouraged to log onto mtv.com and chose what video they’d like to see next. They’re only given three possible selections — let’s be realistic here. As the current video is playing, the three contenders for the next round battle it out on the right side of the screen. The main video shrinks to make room for the three competitors, but who cares? I wanna know if Aerosmith is going to beat out the Chili Peppers again.

MTV celebrates its 20th birthday this week, pulling out gems from its archives and spawning waves of nostalgia and "What ever happened to…." chatter. I’m staying clear. I’d much rather live in the highly anticipated near future, discovering new bands (right now, I’m watching Godhead’s take on "Eleanor Rigby" — when did the Beatles start allowing Angry Males to do covers of their songs?) and all the modern day joys and angst that goes with them. I’m going to log onto mtv.com, cast my vote for the Viewers Choice Video Award, maybe even take a stab at "Control Freak." What can I say? I’m just a TSMTV (thirty something music television viewer). Word.

Angela Matusik is the editor of InStyle.com