Arts & Entertainment
 

Morons rule even MTV2

Great bands buried under fluff when viewers get to vote for top music videos

Stay Sick

Jason Gagnon

You may think it takes a lot of time and effort for me to find something really infuriating. Well, turning on MTV2 and watching its preposterously named 22 Greatest show does the job all too well. 

But first, let's focus on the channel's previous good points. When it first appeared, it seemed like a beacon of hope to underground music fans who didn't want to watch bloated pop videos. At first, MTV2 began playing videos of bands on independent labels whose work would have otherwise been neglected by the Viacom corporate entity. Now, it's like MTV2 is a non-stop hip-hop channel with some poor original programming in between the blocks of 50 Cent and Chingy videos. 22 Greatest is one such program.

The show allows viewers to vote for their 22 favorite artists or albums of a specific time or genre and then a video jockey counts them down with comments from other artists, journalists and music industry scumbags. Usually it is VH1 that boasts the most head-scratching countdowns, such as their Women in Rock (more pop stars than actual rockers) and of course, 100 Most Shocking Moments. (Really, who is shocked that Nikki Sixx of Motley Crue overdosed or that Jerry Lee Lewis married his 13-year-old cousin?). 

On one episode of 22 Greatest, viewers were treated to some intellectual praise for Phish. The woman interviewed said that with careful observation, one can see that Trey Anastasio's guitar playing incorporates trigonometry into its music. Hmm, that's an interesting point. However, when you actually do look at his playing you notice that he's only playing scales. Does that mean that surf-rock pioneers like the Ventures and Dick Dale also used complex mathematical devices in their songwriting, too?

Even better, the countdown somehow managed to include the Adidas-obsessed Korn, who, Matt Pinfield believes, has a really unique bass sound. Sorry, bro, it's just down-tuning and has been done for years.

It was shocking to hear Pinfield spout such industry-charged dribble (he's an artist and repertoire guy now) when he used to provide great insight to alternative music on 120 Minutes.

The blame cannot solely rest with the poor fools who must discuss the fictitious worth of these bands. The viewers themselves vote for them online with pre-determined selections. Still, why vote for No Doubt if Blondie isn't an option? Or Nirvana without being able to choose the Pixies?

What is incredibly baffling is that viewers continually vote hacks like Limp Bizkit and Linkin Park onto these lists. Really, what is special about these bands? Why do they deserve any success or acclaim? Furthermore, how in the hell do they top R.E.M. on the list? Well, if you're looking for answers, I have none. Until inspiration strikes I'll just beat my head against the wall and try to erase all memories of this horrid show.

Gagnon writes a weekly column on all things sick.
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