Really, is MTV still relevant?

There was once a time when music videos were being hailed as a new art form, short films based on popular music, and MTV ushered in the new medium with The Buggles' Video Killed the Radio Star. Soon it started to take over. Gone were the days when the music was all that mattered. Now it was all about marketing, and image, and packaging. Artists were now commodities, and individuality gave way to homogeneity. Rock was no longer rebellious. It turned into boring mainstream and one band sounds like another. And videos turned so boring that MTV itself showed less and less of them, opting for shows that featured stupid human tricks.

And as a tribute to that downward spiral, MTV keeps churning out its Video Music Awards. And as if to rub it into the collective faces of what counts as their fans--fans whose tastes they themselves have created--they have foisted this chick on all of them.

And even they were bored.

Mr. Timberlake, in his acceptance speech when he won for some award, said, "I want to challenge MTV to play more videos!" He couldnt have been more wrong. More videos won't revitalize the music industry. More doesnt equal better. It all starts with the music, then after that talent. Bigger budgets and special effects won't do it. Dancing sluts won't do it either. MTV, to really revitalize popular music, should disappear.