"by the way, which one's pink?"

all my life, i've been a fan of pink floyd, so hearing that that the "heyday" lineup (roger, david, nick, richard) were getting back together for a one-off performance for Live8 in london was, to say the least, intriguing.

and you know what? they put on a tremendous show if you caught the performance on AOL.com. it was a stripped down version of the band, unlike the ridiculously over-the-top production they put on tour from '87 on. gone were the loads of additional musicians, save a second, rhythm guitar player and a backup singer. and they ripped! roger waters was clearly bursting (and nearly self-destructing) with nervous engery, but, damn, that added to the fun! seeing the members of pink floyd smiling? together? spontaneously? unheard of! especially from those stuffy bastards. and that was the fun of it. dave gilmour can still play a mean guitar, the band was tight and alive, and it was worth ever second if you caught it.

except on MTV, where they cut away during the guitar solo of "comfortably numb." i'm sorry, but that's the last straw—i want to jam a soup spoon in my head when i think about how disrespectful it was—the last nail in the coffin of what used to be a truly groundbreaking network. it's now gone and turned itself in to a second-rate, talentless network full of wannabe assholes, sluts, drunks and absolute morons willing to fuck their mother if it'll get them on TV. but it's "reality!" yeah, if reality is exploiting every stereotype available by putting people on TV who put on the role of "frat boy," "gay guy," "hip-hop dude," "sorority chick" and "depressed goth/outsider/ugly duckling." i've a feeling that they've forgotten how to act when the camera looks away...

what the hell happened? are you saying you can't move those commercials back a little bit (oh, i don't know, somewhere in one of those spots where you don't show music anymore, maybe...) so floyd can finish their set? the backlash has been swift and definite, and i'm thinking that MTV has lost it. and for what? for $$$.

don't get me wrong, i'm fine with the idea of a business wanting to do well and be successful financially, but when nobody knows who's in charge anymore, and when MTV (and every other network) is part of a conglomerate of faceless suits, i'm kind of leery of anything they do that's supposed to smack of artistic merit. how can that happen when it has to go through standards and practices? oh, unless steve-o is stapling a crocodile to his nuts.

how about something truly offensive, like music videos by progressive musicians taking some real risks, and (gasp!) playing instruments instead of saying "babe" over a techno track?

oh, wait. THAT is truly offensive. good music can just change your life for the better. wouldn't want to see that on MTV.

wouldn't sell...