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Sound Check: Music videos have gone the way of the 8-track

Mike Damante

Remember when MTV showed videos and had original programming that was edgy and innovative? It’s been a while. You can attribute this trend to the slow death of the music video. MTV’s lack of emphasis on music and its habit of replacing videos with hours of reality and scripted reality programming have taken a toll on the videos that still exist.

Music videos used to be artistic expressions and extensions of the music. Now they are barely viable and on the brink of extinction. The MTV Video Music Awards have become a joke. None of the videos nominated merit any artistic value whatsoever. Instead of videos that tell a story, the nomination lists read like the Billboard top 20. It is a popularity contest worse than a high school yearbook "Superlatives" section.

Michael Jackson’s epic video for "Thriller" (directed by Hollywood’s own John Landis) was the quintessential music video, and you don’t see many like it anymore. Maybe the artists aren’t motivated to make creative videos because they aren’t going to be seen by a large audience.

The ‘M’ in MTV no longer stands for music, it stands for "moronic." The programming it are marketing lacks substance. Shows like My Super Sweet 16 are pure evil, teaching preteens and teens that if your parents don’t buy you the car you want, they don’t love you. This notion of extreme materialism is poisoning the minds of our easily impressionable youth.

Roshan Bhatt

The music video is a lost cause. It almost seems like a lost art form. How many memorable videos have we seen in the past year? The past five years?

I’ve gotten used to the fact that the music channels most people have in their homes (MTV, VH1) only play videos during unreasonable hours, and most people making them aren’t doing a great job of keeping us impressed.

Now, many groups tend to create uninspired performance-based videos, which are good for one or two viewings, but are essentially a waste of anywhere from $10,000 to $1 million. On the other hand, you have hip-hop artists with flashy cars and of course, the token video vixens.

A few artists are doing great things with the music video in general. First and foremost, I have to send a shout-out to Kanye West. The man just has a great vision, as apparent in recent hits "Flashing Lights" and "The Good Life." Other good videos are Panic at the Disco’s "Nine in the Afternoon" and Lupe Fiasco’s recent viral hit, "Hip-Hop Saved My Life."

I try to catch music videos of as many bands and artists I enjoy as possible, but I’m usually reduced to surfing Youtube or Dailymotion for them. How often do you find yourself flipping to MTV or VH1 and catching your favorite artist’s music video? Sure, if you happen to flip to either channel after 2 a.m., you may be lucky enough to catch one. Realistically speaking, you’re far more likely to catch a riveting re-run of Parental Control or a Flavor of Love.

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