From: utzoo!decvax!genrad!linus!allegra!eagle!harpo!seismo!rochester!lee
Newsgroups: net.music
Title: Re: A Query on MTV - (nf)
Article-I.D.: rochester.1563
Posted: Thu May 12 00:00:29 1983
Received: Sat May 14 00:56:10 1983

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Date:Thu, 12-May-83 00:00:29 EDT
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#R:hpdb:-12900:rochester:800004:000:1938
rochester!lee    May 11 21:27:00 1983

Well, like anything MTV has its good aspects and its bad ones.

On the good side, they promote a lot of groups that commercial stations
don't normally play.  I don't know why this is so.  Perhaps it is because
progressive groups tend to have the best looking videos.  From what I see in
Billboard Magazine, the industry believes that MTV has helped sell records
for groups that weren't getting exposure though conventional media.
Maybe when they get out of the red (about now?) they will stop trying.

On the bad side, I too am dissapointed by the lack of black groups-- even
cross-over artists are missing.  On the other side, a group out of NYC (the
Apollo Organization?) is trying to start and urban-progressive alternative
to MTV.

I am not too crazy about the "Vee-Jays".  One or two do an OK job but most
come off very flat and very ill at ease in their jobs.

Even with a limited repertory they could still play more older selections.
This would be helped if they put more effort into doing more of their
own production work.  Sometimes they will record a live stage show but that
is about it.  Even segments from old Beatles movies would be a nice
alternative.

I believe that I have only seen one video in which that band members
aren't seen.  There is no reason to believe that the band members are
the best actors for their own music... or even that actors are
necessary at all!  The one exception is Flash and the Pan's "Media Man"
which was animated and visually re-enforced the points in the lyrics.
I have seen many semi-professional film makers use rock music songs as
a point of departure for visual images.  The range of expression can
only be limited by requiring that band members be in there own videos.
I do realize that MTV basically only shows what record companies send
them but they are fighting for an audience and should try harder.

	"When you are too blitzed to do anything else,
	 there is always MTV"
=lee