Before you read these, keep in mind that the YouTube/iPod paradigm isn't permanent.

My comment: In the rush to serve technology/hyperactivity, MTV may be throwing the baby out with the bathwater. There's a point where technology becomes ridiculous, and many in the press/blogosphere are calling MTV out on the game they're playing. Place your bets.

(Hey MTV: Take a page from Daft Punk's playbook. Do you own the technology or does the technology own you?)

Forbes - NYTimes - NYTimes: You Pornographer! MTV Press Release - #2

VMA Lens Recaps: Kanye West "Stronger" Beyonce "Irreplaceable" Justin Timberlake "What Goes Around.." Rihanna "Umbrella" Amy Winehouse "Rehab" Justice "D.A.N.C.E."

         

wow, that virtual VMA link is pretty ridiculous. someone needs to hack it. as for the awards, the basic rule always applies: if you are performing at the show you are guarenteed a VMA...unless you're britney spears...in which case your 90k budget for a 2 day shoot just ain't gonna fly.

         

Actually that "Stronger" article has some really interesting stuff in it that sheds a little light on that whole debate from a while back.

Back in the States, Kanye wanted a little bit more, so he abandoned the story line aspect of the video and decided to just make the clip with the hottest shots possible.

"The video went through so many different stages," C said. "It was a story going on, but it didn't fit. That's when Kanye almost had a brain aneurysm, editing this video for three months. Literally, 10 weeks of editing going back in. Then he still was not satisfied, so he shot more footage in New York."

"We were so far over budget, Hype couldn't shoot no more," Don C said. "So Kanye hired a local crew and he shot at [New York's Jacob K. Javits Convention Center]. The footage with him against the wall with the white glasses, now known as the 'Stronger' glasses, that was shot in New York. But the [director of photography] at this time wasn't Hype's DP, so the shots didn't come out looking as ill as Hype's shots. That's why Kanye distorted the film so it would look like something on TV, like an old tube television with the lines and stuff. He knew it wasn't going to match the Hype Williams footage. Then the special effects came in with robotic arms and glowing starbursts. The editors put all the magic that everybody shot together."

         

NYTimes column just added.

         

13 Signs That MTV Hates You and Video Void from the Onion's AV Club

Two completely different takes, I think. First: The spite!

"..though the network has been steadily declining for some time, it's now past the point of self-parody and approaching the depths of something almost evil. If MTV had a soul, it would be black, empty, and full of quicksand."

Then, finally, the truth:

"For all its ugly baggage, MTV in its prime was very good at making music seem like the center of the universe, and drawing people into the warm glow. Music was still a niche product back then, but at least it seemed like a bigger niche."