What in the name of Sam Hill (I actually heard he was a nice guy) happened to MTV? Someone told me that they used to play music videos … that they pioneered that whole deal. From the way it looks today, MTV is just a caricature of its former self, and the whole deal just makes me ill.

The only actual times that it plays music videos is either during TRL (Total Request Live), which is a far cry from what its name states, and at the butt crack of dawn playing the same 10 videos that it played during TRL.

I am fully aware that MTV has branched off and has a subsidiary called MTV2 that plays videos virtually all day, but that wouldn’t have been necessary had the network stuck to its original plan and primarily played videos.

One would think (at least this guy would) that if you were to branch off from your original ideals you would give the new concept a different name than the original. I am pretty sure that if Viagra made a product that got stains out of your linens they wouldn’t call that Viagra and change the name of the original product to Viagra 2. There is no sense in that.

I mean, what the heck is a show called “Date My Mom” doing on a television station that is supposed to be music-based? What does that have to do with music? Nothing! I can’t explain how sick I am of seeing Corel’s evil face in the finals of every stinkin’ Real World/Road Rules Challenge (sort of a side-note I guess, but I had to fit her in here somewhere, ’cause she sucks).

I find some of that stuff entertaining, but what happened? In the quest for the almighty dollar, MTV found they had the ability to manipulate the fragile little minds of pubescent teens all across the world.

Its focus has shifted from showing the once respected art form of music videos into a game of commandeering popular culture in whatever direction it feels is monetarily beneficial for itself and its advertisers. It is a pretty sad commentary on the direction we are heading … when money supercedes art.

I don’t think this rant would be complete if I didn’t make mention of MTV’s wimpier and more middle-aged companion VH1. I am pretty sure the last time they played an actual music video was around the time Nixon was impeached and the Chevy Nova reigned supreme.

I do, in fact, find the majority of the programming on VH1 to be entertaining (The Best Week Ever, Surreal Life, etc.) but I do have a tough time with the “Fabulous Life of…” shows.

Since when did the general public care that Usher owns 30 of the exact same pair of jeans and never wears the same shoes twice?

All it does for me is expose the harsh reality that my paycheck is the definition of mediocrity/poverty in comparison to Urrshurs.

I guess in closing I will leave you with this; pop culture used to be something that the masses of common folk decided, not executive big-wigs at MTV.

I am unsure if there is anything that can stop it unless people just stopped watching. That is easier said than done, because that flippin’ Real World show is just too addicting.

Sorensen is a junior advertising major and columnist for The Spectator.