Radio Waves

By Mix 104.7's Jason Parker

jparker@withersradio.net

Who or what is on your life's little "To-Do" list? If you find yourself asking what a "To-Do" list for life is, then keep reading. If you do know what it is, then please skip to the next paragraph. Kind of cool huh? It's like a "choose your own adventure" book. Anyway a life's "To-Do' list is usually made up of certain goals you wish to accomplish in your life. For example, this past summer I got to cross "Cancun" off my list. I don't literally have a list that I keep in my wallet like I did condoms in high school, it's just a mental list of things that I want to do. Your list could consist of travel, fame, knowledge, world domination...literally anything.

One thing that has been on my list the past few years is "FIND OUT WHEN MTV SOLD OUT!" Does it really come as a shock to you that I say this? Excluding TRL, and the wee hours of the morning, how many videos did you see the last time you watched MTV? How many music oriented shows are on MTV? It's not just about videos, it's about a channel called "Music Television" having shows on it like Undressed and WWF wrestling. I would be a liar if I said I didn't watch MTV, everyone does. Even those of you who say you don't, watch occasionally. There is nothing like watching Loveline to make you feel like your sex/love life is normal in comparison to the rather frightening number of those who have some really bad problems.

MTV's problem is that they went from caring about music and videos to caring about marketability. When I was a kid, oh great I'm sounding like my old man. To sound a bit younger, back in the day when I was kicking it as a kid I watched MTV faithfully day and night as video after video rolled. I remember sitting at Imo's Pizza back home in St. Louis with my family and watching Guns N Roses welcoming me to the jungle. MTV was it, hands down. Change is a necessity for anything in life, however when you change the dynamics of something's foundation, whether it be a relationship or television channel the effects can be monstrous.

Wow, that last sentence just confused the hell out of me too! Okay to make it sound less like a term paper...if you f*** with what something is all about then it's going to cause some major problems. I agree that having a variety of programs is vital to a stations existence, but when music is your thing how do people view you when you start showing wrasslin? F*** = fool! I swear. I just wanted to catch your attention.

The MTV video music awards are a tragedy in their own right. The same types of artists win every year, while the same cheap laughs are milked out of the audience by way of the same jokes, while some groups with loads of talent are screwed. The only suprises that happen are when some genius decides to get For instance the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Not only is their CD "Californication" brilliant, the videos for the songs off the album are creative, meaningful, and fun. Which brings me to something that has been bugging me since the Video Music Awards. Why was the video for the title track from Californication not chosen for a VMA? Have you see this video? If not, I suggest you grab the remote as soon as you get home today and turn on VH1. The video is not only creative, but it goes with the theme of the song. There are no choreographed dance moves, no fancy wardrobes, and not a hint of lousy directing. The video in itself, represents exactly what the song is about. It's not just a group dancing around, or an angst alternative band screaming into antiquated equipment in an old abandoned building. Instead it's a music video game. How often do you see a video and think to yourself, that kicks @$$? MTV has truly killed the video star. By letting music video directors get lazy. It doesn't matter if you produce a unique video for a group with real talent, if it's not Britney dancing around in skimpy clothes, or a short blonde gangster wannabe protestingeverything, it won't win an award. So why go all out if mediocre wins the majority of the time?

In a very unscientific survey I performed amongst those employed at Mix 104.7 and our sister stations KGMO 100.7, B-98, and Soft Rock 97.3 the majority said that MTV isn't about the music anymore and that VH1 might be about the music but not everyone cares about what happened to Tom Jones. The general consensus was that neither MTV nor VH1 are about videos. They are about targeting specific age groups. To me MTV seems catered toward the age group of 12-18 and VH1 caters to those in their late 20's to those in their early 50's. So what about those of us who a bit old for MTV and too young for VH1? We could always start a letter writing campaign or something close to it. There I go sounding like my old man again!

By Mix 104.7's Jason Parker