The Video Music Awards Are a Waste of Time

Tonight in Las Vegas, MTV will roll out of the red carpet for their annual Video Music Awards show. In my childhood, the VMAs were a huge deal: I would look forward to the show for at least a month. The VMAs are always over the top, and they (used to) feature some really amazing performances.

If you don’t recall or didn’t have cable way back in the day, MTV launched their first award show in 1984.

Tonight, the nominee list is completely lackluster. It makes me wonder why bands and labels even spend the money on music videos these days. MTV never plays them, and the best way to get them aired it seems is on Myspace.

Here’s the sucktastic list of nominees for best group:

Fall Out Boy
Gym Class Heroes
Linkin Park
Maroon 5
The White Stripes

The categories for awards are now stupid. “Best Rock Video” is a defunct category, replaced with such worthless titles as “Most Earthshattering Collaboration,” "Quadruple Threat of the Year,” and “Monster Single of the Year.”

Give me a break.

So, tonight while half the teeny boppers in the world are watching MTV, I’ll be using my precious TV time on something else.

Now, this isn’t to say that past VMA shows were a complete waste. The 1992 show had some killer performances, including Guns n’ Roses with Elton John and the Nirvana incident when bassist Dave Grohl smacked himself upside the head with his own instrument. Plus, Nirvana and Axl Rose got in a big fight during the show which stirred some controversy.

When Guns n' Roses were still a new band, they won the award for Best New Artist in 1988 for their video in support of “Welcome to the Jungle.” The band's performance during that show is now regarded as classic.

Most amusing is the infamous Poison debacle when C.C. DeVille showed up to the 1991 show completely blitzed and couldn’t even pull it together long enough to play the right song. Bret Michaels slugged C.C. offstage after that mess, and suddenly Richie Kotzen was in the band. If I had a time machine, I would suck myself back to 1991 (yes, at about age 11) and watch that incident from side stage.

Also in 1991, Queensryche won the Viewer’s Choice award for “Silent Lucidity.” The band was nominated for a slew of Moonmen in 1991, and were a featured performer at the awards show.

In 1996 Van Halen (with David Lee Roth) presented an award, fueling reunion speculation. Of course it didn’t happen. Much later in 2002, Sammy Hagar and David Lee Roth also teamed-up to present an award.

Here’s Van Halen (with Hagar in happier times, at the 1991 VMA show)

Update on Thursday, September 20, 2007 at 09:44PM by Allyson B. Crawford

This article contains an (unintentional) error. The bassist for Nirvana was, in fact, Krist Novoselic -- not Dave Grohl. Instead of simply correcting the error, I want to prove that the glam mistress doesn't lie about mistakes. Thanks to commenter Chey for pointing out my blunder.

Comments

[Christian Graus]

I saw an ad for this while watching a 'Rock of love' last night. I thought it looked pathetic, but I did note that they were making a big deal about Britney being the key person, I thought her main claim to fame now is how rarely she wears underwear ?

Given the Britneys of this world, I am amazed that anyone is upset that the chick from High School Musical sent her boyfriend some nude photos.

[bob_vinyl]

I'm with you about the awards show. It doesn't matter which one, because not a single one is meaningful to anyone who actually likes music. However, I'm not with about the sucktasticness of the nominees. While you might be able to make a case for the first four, you can't with the White Stripes. I know we differ about a lot of bands, but the White Stripes are undoubtably in the upper echelon of rock music. I can't think of a glam band from the 80s that artistically holds a candle to them. Maybe GnR, but not Motely Crue, Def Leppard or any of their lesser peers.

[Allyson B. Crawford]

Oh, look. Bob_Vinyl and I disagree once again.

Bob, here's the thing: The White Stripes are good songwriters...but their tunes come off sounding like they were recorded in vacuum, or wind tunnel, or over a telephone.

Yes, I like glossy production. Yes, I like big sound. No, I don't like snotty, alternative bands that think it is cool to cheapen their sound because they are elitest. It probably cost the White Stripes more money to record Icky Thump for a raw sound, vs. Def Leppard and over-the-top Hysteria (inflation notwithstanding).

I'm a jeans and t-shirt, domestic beer in the bottle sort of girl in everyting I guess.

--Allyson

[aXe mAn]

This awards show is complete crap! I wish I was around when it actually rocked....

[Rob Rockitt]

They ought to change the name of the network to RTV. All they play is reality tv crap. They forgot what music videos were.

[Eric]

I did like the comment that Justin Timberlake made. "Play some damn videos!"

[Metal Mark]

I don't think that I have watched an awards show. To me music isn't about awards and it's all a joke. The new White Stripes album is very good though. The whole sound and feel just works very well. It's a very solid rock album.

[bob_vinyl]

The thing about the White Stripes is that it's all about the music, not about glossing over imperfections with some production tricks. The whole lo-fi thing isn't about poor production at all, it's about capturing a raw sound and in many cases, that's harder to do than it is to simply clean everything up.

[Chey]

Just though you might like to know...lol....the bassist for nirvana was Krist Novacelic. lol Dave Grohl was the drummer. but yes. i do agree that MTV in general is a complete waste of time. i have never really been into the new VMAs. i just whatch videos of older ones on the internet. i haven't seen anything from this years and havn't whatched all of the last few years. I was whatching rock of love lol instead of the VMAs.lol it was much more entertaining.

[Don Blankenship]

And in a new video released today, rapper Kanye West is seen playing the protective .Lounging around: Kim Kardashian and Kanye West feature in a new commercial plugging the MTV Video Music Awards, which What a waste of time.