There was something so free about the turn of century into the new millenium. The year 2000 was much more than four numbers put together. It was a weird transition of writing our dates with "00"s (MM/DD/00), people thought some bug called Y2K would kill all our computers but most of all... it was my most memorable year in popular culture.
I was 14, and I distinctly remember Britney's VMA "Opps I did it again" performance in her sparkly gold thong. I remember Eminem spitting out hits left and right, like "Stan" and "My name is". I remember when I actually followed an entire season of The Real World because the roommates actually hooked up. MTV was KING then, and I loved all of it.
For the past five years, I've been saying that MTV has lost it. Lost its edge, lost its coolness and lost its loyalty from people like me that loved MTV as a teen. In the early 2000s, the VMAs were a HUGE deal, I remember looking forward to all the kick-ass performances and being excited to talk about them at school (Fred Durst and Christina Aguilera, NSYNC and Michael Jackson, Britney and a Snake)... but recently, the VMAs have been luke warm--just excessive, overly expensive stage sets and lip-synching radio hits.
BUT WAIT, before I continue to bash MTV (and its awful shows like Parental Control and Room Raiders)... lately, I've been seeing familiar signs of MTV's return to the top:
- Britney's comeback and Circus Tour
- Eminem's new music video "We made you"
- Rob Dyrdek's taking over of Johnny Knoxville's legacy with Fantasy Factory
- AND, the crack that is The Hills and The City
During my 10-hour binge on The Hills marathon last night (I was in London last fall so missed most of the season. Who would want to miss seeing Heidi wasted!), I couldn't help but feel MTV marketing was back on track. It made me feel all tingly inside when I was sucked into the same Hills teasers played during every commercial break.
Finally, MTV has got me wanting MORE!
**Check out the MTV.com caption for the clip from last night's Hills episode.
