Did MTV Kill the Video Star?

You can barely find them on MTV, VH1, and MTV2, and they’re starting to be phased out on Fuse. The music video has taken a back seat (well, more like it’s been gagged, blind folded, and crammed in a trunk) to reality shows, celeb-reality crossovers, wannabe celeb-reality crossovers, and Flavor Flav. So the music video is no longer in the mainstream, but does that mean it’s dead? Or can we find it, un-gag it and prevent it from going the way of Billy Batts in Goodfellas?

I started to notice music videos sometime during the early 90s. MTV was exploding in popularity, and broadcast videos throughout the day. They were imaginative, bizarre, meaningful, often offensive, and raw. The bumble bee girl in Blind Melon’s “No Rain,” the mud men in The Smashing Pumpkins’ “Bullet with Butterfly Wings,” the shocking animals and nudes in Nine Inch Nails’ “Closer” and “Hurt,” the abundant symbolism in R.E.M.’s “Losing My Religion” and Nirvana’s “Heart Shaped Box,” and the eerie claymation in Alice In Chains’ “I Stay Away” and Tool’s “Sober” are just a few of the images that are as fresh in my mind today as they were almost fifteen years ago.

But there are two music video behemoths that really define this era. They were influential and invaluable to the art form. One set a tone and initiated a new generation of music; the other caused a controversy that would forever change music videos. I’m talking about Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit” and Pearl Jam’s “Jeremy.”

When I first saw the video for “Smells Like Teen Spirit” I didn’t know what to think. Nirvana didn’t look like bands before it – they didn’t wear spandex and leather jackets. They didn’t even look like they wanted to be a band. And they sounded like something from the sewers – dirty, angst-ridden, and sarcastic. Nonetheless, their sound was full of a heightened sense of injustice and frustration. Kurt Cobain’s senseless lyrics and the band’s semi-punk edge had a gymnasium full of kids rioting. I remember I had never moshed before, but I wanted to be in the middle of that gym, fighting for my life. The video provoked in me a raw emotion, a feeling of “us-versus-them,” that would manifest itself in my early teen years. To arouse any sort of emotion attests to the greatness of a video, but to shape the attitude of a generation makes it legendary.

Pearl Jam’s “Jeremy” had a similar effect but in a completely different manner. Its realistic portrayal of school shootings scared people, throwing many adults into a frenzy. When I first saw the video I thought it was cool. Eddie Vedder sings like a man possessed, and Jeremy, the boy in the video, enacts the ultimate revenge. But the frozen classroom covered in Jeremy’s blood haunted me. After letting it absorb for a while I felt guilty. The boy was dead, the classroom was shocked, but there was nothing left but newspaper clippings to document the shootings. This boy’s life was wasted. Many people understood the message of “Jeremy,” and acknowledged it for its controversial subject matter. Others, however, did not look so deep. Years later the video was accused of influencing several school shootings, including the Columbine High School massacre. I cannot argue that this video did not contribute to those acts of violence, but I can say that I was influenced positively by its message. It was powerful, meaningful, and created a debate. It elevated the music video to a new level, yet may have destroyed it at the same time.

And then with a blast from a shotgun it all ended. Kurt Cobain was dead, and music, along with the music video, would never be the same again. A few years later, after MTV had begun to change its format, we were bombarded with Hanson, The Spice Girls, Brittany Spears, N’Sync, and The Backstreet Boys (it feels wrong even to type those words). As the music became more synthetic, so did the videos. This new breed of video would center on flashy dance routines, partying in clubs, and “in your face” egos. Didn’t we learn anything from the 80s?!

Interestingly, the heyday of the music video occurred during an economic recession. Kids were coming home from college in the late 80s/early 90s without jobs, and were feeling disillusioned. Generation X came of age, and a music revolution began. Grunge hit the mainstream, and with the help of MTV changed the face of music forever. Today we happen to be in another recession. The college/job situation is nearly the same, if not worse. The music is lacking, and the videos are without substance, taste, and imagination. If history is repeating itself, are we on the brink of a new music revolution? If so, is it even possible without any mainstream outlet like MTV?

I posted an article on this subject for two reasons. The first reason was to revisit those videos in the hope of rediscovering some old inspiration. Secondly, I wanted to find a way for people to contribute links, websites, or general information about where to find real music videos these days. I know they’re out there, hidden from anything close to a mainstream audience. So, help me – and your fellow readers – out. Add to the thread, and post some pretty gems, or some rough gems, or some homemade gems, or, hell, just any video that you feel passionate about. Maybe a little exposure will go a long way, and we can stop Tommy DeVito from inflicting that last shovel blow to the head and bring some life back into a dying art form.