with all the talk about AMP and MTV 'proper', i find it interesting that
nobody has mentioned M2. we have it on the cable company's 'sneak preview'
station - for the next two weeks. came on for the first time at 12AM this
morning. out of pure morbid curiosity, i decided to watch and take notes.
here's the first hour.
FSOL (dead cities)
PWEI (x y and z)
Moby (go)
Ministry (n.w.o.)
Daft Punk (all around the world)
Tricky (makes me wanna die)
Prodigy (breathe)
Underworld (pearl's girl)
Leftfield (open up)
Depeche Mode (it's no good)
KLF (justified and ancient)
U2 (discotheque [steve osbourne remix])
Orbital (the saint)
Shamen (move any mountain)
okay - it's not Bluespirit or Cheap Knob Gags. it's not Dimitri from Paris or
Biochip C. it's not even Spring Heel Jack or Autechre. but it IS interesting.
seeing an average hour of M2 programming really drives home the impact which
electronic music has had. video is an extremely powerful medium, and it will
be fascinating to note its effect on the music-buying public. i'm not going
to accuse the M2 programmers of anything approaching creativity - some of
these tracks are older and moldier than grandma's wedding gown. but compare
it with an hour of MTV. firstly, it's worth noting that there are no
commercials; there are artsy short self-promotional ads. the ones shown
between these videos were intriguing - shot in grainy B&W in the NYC subway
and spotlighting buskers playing jazz, Marley covers, and traditional Chinese
instruments. definitely not the Madison Ave (with apologies to the Brothers
Quay, who really should know better...) scrapheap from which MTV draws its
promos. some of the other little interludes featured tejano bands playing in
a garishly red room (!) and Seattle kids talking about Hole, Oasis, and...
Tom Waits(!) while a junkie sat on the stairs shooting up.
i hesitate to call it 'experimental'... there's too much advertising savvy on
display. much of the music feels calculated for success. but that doesn't
make it worthless. and the videos were especially interesting... FSOL's
nearly put me to sleep, but i've never been a big fan. Daft Punk's is simply
brilliant - Michel Gondry has devised a sly update of "Rockit" and Numan-oid
robotics. on a set which seems to have been borrowed from Corman productions
like _Galaxy of Terror_, gaudy lights strobe and flash while outrageously
clad actors dance around in circles, up and down the single staircase, in a
ballet which is the perfect complement for the music's repetitive-but-
not-repetitive nature. who will deny Daft Punk their credibility? you can
scoff at the presence of DM and U2; you can have your issues with Moby and
Shamen. but what best-of list last year didn't include DP's I:Cube remix? and
"All Around the World" is pretty damn infectious, too. the video will attract
eyes - but the music will intrigue virgin ears. the same can be said for the
breakbeats in both the Prodigy and Underworld songs (though this has already
been proven).
Okay, so the Revolution IS being "televised," by the very people who
destroyed music (imho) in the first place. my point is that they're
approaching electronic music with a great deal more reverence and
understanding than they showed punk, low-fi, 'indie rawk', or any other
come/go trend of the last few years. you need look no further than the
REMIXed U2 video - where the visuals as well as the song itself have been
completely overhauled and spruced up for maximum danceability. the 'remix',
staple of the DJ culture, is now entering the mainstream - and painlessly.
the programming shows some grasp of history as well, with the book-ending
presence of KLF and Ministry delineating the history which produced
Maverick's 90's incarnation of the Prodigy. after this hour there was even a
George Clinton video... and some old school HipHop. someone at M2 is
thinking.
i'm not saying that this hour of M2 makes me want to trade my Stasis and
Kinesthesia records for _Pop_, _ULTRA_, or even _Homework_; but watching this
so-called 'revolution' from outside of the mainstream is fascinating. M2
gives it some sense of the vitality which i imagine Punk had immediately
post-Sex Pistols. there's energy here - these strange new sounds will
electrify and entice open minds. those who bypass the umpteenth rerun of "The
Real World" for a dose of M2 will find the door opened (just a crack) on a
brave new world of possibilities. surely Plug will be in heavy-rotation when
Nothing rereleases D&B4P. . . Plaid may even ride their Bjork connections
into high-visibilty - if they ever relase something on a wide scale. M2 will
become a gateway - and it's worth watching carefully. the very fact that MTV
even *has* Microstoria and Cristian Vogel videos to show(!!!) should hint at
exactly how interesting things could possibly become.
i hope people found some interest in these ruminations - your thoughts and
reactions are encouraged.
i'll make up for the bandwidth with some choice (p)reviews in a day or so.
thanks for the time.
GuerillaG2-G4/ [BR] VII
bloodrush7@aol.com
...why do i find myself torn between staying upstairs and doing something
productive and watching more M2? and i thought i was immune...