SEPTEMBER 14th - Things Were Better In My Day



The 1st MTV Awards (Music Videos) occurred on this day in 1984. Bette Midler and Dan Aykroyd hosted. The Cars won Video of the Year for “You Might Think” while other winners included David Bowie, ZZ Top, Cyndi Lauper, Michael Jackson, Van Halen, and Herbie Hancock. There were awards for editing and cinematography. Madonna gave her memorable performance of “Like A Virgin” as she writhed around the stage floor like a, well not like a virgin. Rod Stewart, Tina Turner, Huey Lewis and the News, David Bowie, ZZ Top, and Ray Parker Jr. also performed. It was like a real awards show. And if you read through those sentences and recognize all of those artists you may have come to the same realization that I have. I am old. I wondered when it would happen. Every generation feels intensely protective of their music. I remember my parents shaking their heads at the stuff I listened to growing up. I don’t know how many times I heard the rap-is-not-music argument from my elders. But the music isn’t what brought me to the realization of my oldness. The 2015 MTV Awards certainly did. Because they were a joke. A station originally devoted to music videos but which now just shows teen dramas and reality TV pretended to know something about music. I actually like a bunch of Miley Cyrus’ music. Kanye West has some great stuff. The Weeknd is the best R&B artist I’ve heard in a long time. It’s not the music. It’s all the other crap. The beefs--real or staged. The language. If you read this blog with any regularity you know that I’m a public proponent of profanity. An unexpected F-word in a song makes me happier than it should, which should probably make me question my maturity. But after watching Miley toss around the f-bomb for three hours with no nuance or skill even I thought she was going overboard. And I get that weed is legal in a lot of places now, and while I think the idea of marijuana as a gateway drug is vastly overblown, I don’t think we need three hours of pot jokes. People have been toking up for a long damn time, no one cares that you can talk about it now. I also understand embracing your sexuality and wearing provocative clothing. But Miley just looked like she cut up holes in clothes from circus performers. I didn’t get it. Then there’s Kanye Maybe-I-Should-Plan-Something-Before-I-Speak West. Less is sometimes more, my friend. I'm President Hopeful. You’re point kind of gets lost when you ramble on for twenty minutes. On that note...I’m old. I discovered it that night. I’m going to reminisce about how things were better in my day. Goodnight.

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