Occasionally, my television’s reception is good enough that I can be graced with the mysterious appearance of MTV2 without being a cable customer. When it does come in, I try to devote a few minutes to catching up with the counter-cultural “Joneses.” This is no simple task for someone as excitable as I — on my last viewing, I found myself wishing I knew how to crochet so I could knit a noose while I frittered away valuable time jading myself with such counterproductive garbage. For some reason, however, I feel an obligation to commit this stupid act of self-torture.
So this is what music has become? Not everything MTV2 plays is bad, and there is certainly no lack of talent, but the art and the power of music is sadly overlooked. The themes, attitudes and imagery are — for the most part — ignorant, self-centered and self-destructive. There are only a few ways to sell music in a forum like this, and they are all antithetical to the very essence of music. MTV2 uses images of sex, violence, misogyny, physical toughness, excessive wealth and deviant behavior to sell products that make its consumers believe they are rebelling against the system.
To be a success in the pop music world, artists must forfeit their identities to become characters in some fabricated reality. Eminem’s “Without Me” — a painfully common feature on MTV2 — vaguely deals with this very issue. “I created a monster, ‘cos nobody wants to see Marshall no more they want Shady/I’m chopped liver.” Even if Eminem had something positive to say for once, he couldn’t because he has to remain
in character.
Instead of hearing a positive message from a talented artist who worked hard to make something of himself, we have to listen to his sniveling and whining about how tough it is to be him. It’s tough to be anyone. Those who have risen from squalor to a position that reaches as many people as Eminem should feel some sort of vested interest in seeing others experience those opportunities.
Women on MTV2 compromise themselves far more than men do. There isn’t a woman on that channel, ever, who couldn’t be described by words that range from “coquettish” to “slutty.” There is nothing less appealing than a woman dancing around in sexy clothes whose face says that she doesn’t want to be there.
The recent hit by N.E.R.D., “Lap Dance,” illustrates just how women are viewed in MTV’s pseudo-world. The last verse, vomited by Lee Harvey, is so damned offensive that MTV2 had to chop it into a garbled collection of articles and pronouns. After hearing this guy talk and taking a good look at his appearance, I find it highly suspect that his phallus could intoxicate any woman.
Examples of culture gone bad abound on MTV2, and listing all that’s wrong with it only gives those stupid ideas another play. Attempting to censor any offensive material is never the right answer, but something should be done to stop rewarding ignorance. In many cultures, music has a much more religious, communal significance. Why are we allowing such important piece of our community to be taken over and turned into a breeding ground for negative emotions and social ills? Music is a powerful, important piece of a society, and it’s time that someone reached beyond and made something bigger with it.
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