Frank Ocean, whose music sort of defies genres, first made a splash in the music world a few weeks ago when it was announced that the mellow singer with R & B underpinnings announced that he was bisexual. Tonight, though, marked what I can only assume was his live television debut. While he didn't perform the song I am most familiar with, Lost, he has garnered all sorts of buzz from his MTV VMA performance of Thinking About You.
Frank Ocean makes his network television debut Saturday, September 15th where he will be the musical guest on the season debut of NBC's Saturday Night Live. The smart money is on Frank Ocean performing both Lost and Thinking About You.
Showing posts with label MTV. Show all posts
Showing posts with label MTV. Show all posts
Thursday, September 06, 2012
Monday, September 13, 2010
What's happening right now?
After basically cutting myself off from society for ten days via some conventiently requested vacation time beginning on Labor Day weekend, I am having a hard time re-integrating myself in to society as a whole. I returned from a few days on Minnesota's North Shore of Lake Superior to return to nothing short of a mess. Bags to unpack, laundry to tend to, a stack of mail to sort, bills to pay and an over-extended financial situation which seems to get progressively worse but I know it seems far worse than it is.
The big payoff after driving nearly 800 miles over the course of four days was catching about half of the MTV VMAs. I always look forward (seriously) to that two hour slice of music on MTV each year because rarely does the average person get to sit down on their couch and see our nation's musicians/artists in their element. The most rewarding was Lady Gaga. I didn;t catch her acceptance of th Video of the Year award from Cher as she asked soemone to hold her meat purse but I did see her accept an award earlier where she apologized for being slow getting to the stage due to the weight of her dress.
I simply assumed that the dress was made of heavy rubber but now it seems that all corners of the internet have been talking about Lady Gaga's meat dress. Maybe my eyes are just that bad that I mistook a meat dress for one made of rubber or maybe her dress was made of beef jerky. That would account for the dark, almost black color I saw but I'd be tempted to eat the damn dress if I were sitting near her. Am I alone is mistaking her dress for being made of something other than meat?
The big payoff after driving nearly 800 miles over the course of four days was catching about half of the MTV VMAs. I always look forward (seriously) to that two hour slice of music on MTV each year because rarely does the average person get to sit down on their couch and see our nation's musicians/artists in their element. The most rewarding was Lady Gaga. I didn;t catch her acceptance of th Video of the Year award from Cher as she asked soemone to hold her meat purse but I did see her accept an award earlier where she apologized for being slow getting to the stage due to the weight of her dress.
I simply assumed that the dress was made of heavy rubber but now it seems that all corners of the internet have been talking about Lady Gaga's meat dress. Maybe my eyes are just that bad that I mistook a meat dress for one made of rubber or maybe her dress was made of beef jerky. That would account for the dark, almost black color I saw but I'd be tempted to eat the damn dress if I were sitting near her. Am I alone is mistaking her dress for being made of something other than meat?
Friday, August 06, 2010
The Jackass 3D trailer is amazing
I'm probably not in the demographic which the Jackass franchise is geared at but I was when the show first aired on MTV and it actually stands the test of time.
I literally laughed so hard that I had tears in my eyes, not to mention those streaming down my face. It's that good.
JACKASS 3D
If this appears too classless for your refined tastes, check out the classy photos of Minnesota at MinnPics.
I literally laughed so hard that I had tears in my eyes, not to mention those streaming down my face. It's that good.
JACKASS 3D
If this appears too classless for your refined tastes, check out the classy photos of Minnesota at MinnPics.
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Another cable TV spinoff
Cable television is easy to figure out from a programming aspect. Find a hit show, produce endless spinoffs. Bam!
It's the formula for success. Particularly at the former music channels like VH-1 and MTV. Laguna Beach begat The Hills. Hogan knows Best gave us Brooke Knows Best. Rock of Love gave us Daisy of Love (and everyone on both shows various STDs). Flavor Flav's dating shows gave us Charm School. See? It's all about the spin-off.
But what about some of the older shows? I'm thinking of Pimp My Ride from earlier this decade on MTV. It would have been a piece of cake to spin off. The possibilities of items which could be pimped are endless.
Particularly this one.
Dammit MTV, if you don't run with this one and whatever you interpret it to mean you are bigger fools than I had ever guessed.
It's the formula for success. Particularly at the former music channels like VH-1 and MTV. Laguna Beach begat The Hills. Hogan knows Best gave us Brooke Knows Best. Rock of Love gave us Daisy of Love (and everyone on both shows various STDs). Flavor Flav's dating shows gave us Charm School. See? It's all about the spin-off.
But what about some of the older shows? I'm thinking of Pimp My Ride from earlier this decade on MTV. It would have been a piece of cake to spin off. The possibilities of items which could be pimped are endless.
Particularly this one.
Dammit MTV, if you don't run with this one and whatever you interpret it to mean you are bigger fools than I had ever guessed.Hint: Pimp My Wife could be about blinging out your tired, old wife or it coud be about turning your wife in to a streetwalking prostitute turning tricks for a pimp who ain't afraid to slap a ho.
Now that I've covered how to televise pimping of wives, check out the killer photos at MinnPics. If you don't I'll come up with more bad TV show ideas.
Friday, September 26, 2008
MTV DOA w/o TRL
If you haven't heard yet, MTV is canning its final bastion of music seen in the daytime hours. For ten years, Total Request Live (TRL) was viewed by "musicians" as a launching pad for the million-plus selling CDs -- and that was just in the first weke of release. It was a show that brought us a wheelbarrow full of boybands and the much-maligned late-90s bubblegum pop of Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera and a host of others who are now pitching "reality" shows to MTV and VH1.The other thing which MTV's TRL did was give the vapid she-shores and man-whores of the "music" world a platform to show the zit-faced adolescnets of America how mentally retarded they are. Without TRL, how will celebrities/"entertainers" pimp their whorishness?
In all actuality, TRL did little for the music world. Sure, it tapped in to what music school-age teens were listening to but what is viewed as popular by one person is viewed as the bottom of the barrel crap by another. Thus, popular is losing its shine and becoming harder to cast a wide net to draw in an audience. Popular, as a phrase, isn't even popular. Think about websites. Think about TV channels. There's something out there for every damn interest, sub-interest, fetish and genre and the same goes for music.
Sure, TRL was still a great way for artists to grab some major on-screen time but that only matters if the people watching are actually interested in music. The caveat there is that MTV hasn't been the place for music videos since TRL began. TRL could easily be blamed for making MTV into the vast reality wasteland that it is today because while it focused on music, it usually showed only snippets of videos and instead focused on the celebrity aspect of the musicians and interviewed them.
Will most notice when TRL vanishes in November and is replaced by repeats of "My Super Sweet 16"? I tend to think that while MTV has vanquished music now entirely from its programming, it still needs to program music because as a cable channel it is drifting dangerously towards sameness with a whole host of other cable outlets and the edginess of music is what differentiated the channel in the past. Without music at its core, it's only a matter of time before it's overtaken by a channel like Nickelodeon or Disney.
Sunday, September 07, 2008
The one where I find something wrong
If you haven't been paying attention, I oftentimes find something wrong with various things. In the past I've found fault with Christmas, Catholicism, the weather, TV, MTV, music, kids, adults, politics, my car, drivers and the way that things go down in the business world.
You'd think that I can always come up with something topical to berate with the world being a complete trainwreck but it's not always that easy.
In fact, today I actually have something positive and constructive to say, in a roundabout way, of course.
First, a disclaimer. In my unending attempt to "stay in touch" with "whippersnappers" I've set forth a goal tonight as I write this during a commercial break. I am determined to watch the 2008 MTV Video Music Awards (VMAs) hosted by British actor Russell Brand (the VMA host, if you got lost in the past few words) in their entirety. It's what I assume all the young 'uns to be doing tonight and I don't want to fall out of touch.
The performances thus far (rapper Lupe Fiasco just led out to a commercial break) has been sorta meh. That is, to say, that they've fit the mold of what MTV has become. Would the awards have more relevance if they were broadcast on a cable outlet that focused on all things music? I have to think so. The VMAs seem to be in touch with only a small segment of music fans. When was the last time that MTV's VMAs (or any music awards show for that matter) had any sort of relevance or were seen as appointment viewing? Yeah, I don't remember either.
Maybe it's due to the fact that music itself has fragmented to such a multitude of sub-genres. Maybe it's the fact that at least some of what is viewed today as "mainstream" in terms of music is nothing short of dull, lifeless garbage that sells only because some desperate teenagers want to be viewed as cool and fit in among their peers.
At least VMA host Russell Brand (remember, British actor, sorta crazy hair) has chops as a comedian which is something the stale feeling 2008 MTV VMAs have been lacking (it's supposed to be fun, not stuffy like the Grammys) though this year's Hollywood set on the Paramount Studios backlot looked both small and cheap. The last high point, thus far, has been that of commercial-time performer Travis Barker. His skills behind the drum kit are unparralleled and it's niche-type performances like his with DJ AM that are needed to keep the VMAs at least somewhat fun.
One thing I think we can all agree on is that the world could do without the untalented Britney Spears winning more unjustified awards when there are a whole host of other performers who can actually sing without the use of thousands of dollars of software to make their voice less than mildly irritating. What I'm saying is that she is a performer, not an artist. She CAN'T SING.
Honestly, though, who cares about my opinion, share yours. Did you watch? Have you ever watched the VMAs? Which of the artists who were nominated or performed is your favorite?
If music isn't your thing, maybe photos are. Check out MinnPics, featuring the best photos from all over Minnesota!
You'd think that I can always come up with something topical to berate with the world being a complete trainwreck but it's not always that easy.
In fact, today I actually have something positive and constructive to say, in a roundabout way, of course.
First, a disclaimer. In my unending attempt to "stay in touch" with "whippersnappers" I've set forth a goal tonight as I write this during a commercial break. I am determined to watch the 2008 MTV Video Music Awards (VMAs) hosted by British actor Russell Brand (the VMA host, if you got lost in the past few words) in their entirety. It's what I assume all the young 'uns to be doing tonight and I don't want to fall out of touch.
The performances thus far (rapper Lupe Fiasco just led out to a commercial break) has been sorta meh. That is, to say, that they've fit the mold of what MTV has become. Would the awards have more relevance if they were broadcast on a cable outlet that focused on all things music? I have to think so. The VMAs seem to be in touch with only a small segment of music fans. When was the last time that MTV's VMAs (or any music awards show for that matter) had any sort of relevance or were seen as appointment viewing? Yeah, I don't remember either.
Maybe it's due to the fact that music itself has fragmented to such a multitude of sub-genres. Maybe it's the fact that at least some of what is viewed today as "mainstream" in terms of music is nothing short of dull, lifeless garbage that sells only because some desperate teenagers want to be viewed as cool and fit in among their peers.
At least VMA host Russell Brand (remember, British actor, sorta crazy hair) has chops as a comedian which is something the stale feeling 2008 MTV VMAs have been lacking (it's supposed to be fun, not stuffy like the Grammys) though this year's Hollywood set on the Paramount Studios backlot looked both small and cheap. The last high point, thus far, has been that of commercial-time performer Travis Barker. His skills behind the drum kit are unparralleled and it's niche-type performances like his with DJ AM that are needed to keep the VMAs at least somewhat fun.
One thing I think we can all agree on is that the world could do without the untalented Britney Spears winning more unjustified awards when there are a whole host of other performers who can actually sing without the use of thousands of dollars of software to make their voice less than mildly irritating. What I'm saying is that she is a performer, not an artist. She CAN'T SING.
Honestly, though, who cares about my opinion, share yours. Did you watch? Have you ever watched the VMAs? Which of the artists who were nominated or performed is your favorite?
If music isn't your thing, maybe photos are. Check out MinnPics, featuring the best photos from all over Minnesota!
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
Trainwreck witnessed at VMAs
If you've been living under a rock or just don't care, you may be unaware of some of the best celebrity happenings in the past week or so.
Be thankful that I am anything but timely but at least after reading this you'll be able to join in the hottest water cooler conversations at your place of employment. If you don't have a water cooler, feel free to fill a milk jug with water from the bathroom sink and crouch around it.
The biggest news is Brittney Spears.
Having said that, please hold off on vomiting.
America's favorite panti-less trainwreck (your position has been usurped Lohan) took to a Vegas stage Sunday night wearing something better seen on stage at a strip club and managed to fail at even lip-syncing her new song. She plodded around looking like she hadn't walked since giving birth to, as Sarah Silverman put it, two of the cutest mistakes ever.
At least true artists like Amy Winehouse (the booze-swilling, coke-snorting, 50s throwback via merry old England) have the common sense to realize that they are too trashed to take to the stage and get some help. Spears, though, has turned down all offers for help and fired everyone around her, even going as far as making Kevin Federline look like the responsible party of the former couple.
If Spears, wants to be a viable artist once again, she needs to stay out of the public eye until people forget that she bared her shaved, um, area accidently for the papparazzi, shaved her head too and has associated with that vapid excuse for a person Paris Hilton.
Go away for a year, get in shape, get your life on track and reinvent your musical image.
Be thankful that I am anything but timely but at least after reading this you'll be able to join in the hottest water cooler conversations at your place of employment. If you don't have a water cooler, feel free to fill a milk jug with water from the bathroom sink and crouch around it.
The biggest news is Brittney Spears.
Having said that, please hold off on vomiting.
America's favorite panti-less trainwreck (your position has been usurped Lohan) took to a Vegas stage Sunday night wearing something better seen on stage at a strip club and managed to fail at even lip-syncing her new song. She plodded around looking like she hadn't walked since giving birth to, as Sarah Silverman put it, two of the cutest mistakes ever.
At least true artists like Amy Winehouse (the booze-swilling, coke-snorting, 50s throwback via merry old England) have the common sense to realize that they are too trashed to take to the stage and get some help. Spears, though, has turned down all offers for help and fired everyone around her, even going as far as making Kevin Federline look like the responsible party of the former couple.
If Spears, wants to be a viable artist once again, she needs to stay out of the public eye until people forget that she bared her shaved, um, area accidently for the papparazzi, shaved her head too and has associated with that vapid excuse for a person Paris Hilton.
Go away for a year, get in shape, get your life on track and reinvent your musical image.
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