I Want My MTV

MTV is always going to be MTV. They'll always have crappy reality shows and annoying VJs. When MTV decided to launch a version of their channel here in Canada, I knew exactly what to expect, which was the same channel as they have in the States except with some required Canadian content somewhere in there. I was correct in my prediction, except for one thing. Somehow, my guess is divine intervention, MTV Canada started booking good bands to play their flagship show MTV Live. Not just good bands, but good, truly independent bands. Bands that MTV's Laguna Beach-loving fans have never heard of. My first notice of this was when Henri Fabergé And The Adorables were invited on to their show for an interview and a live performance. Since that time, it seems like once or twice a week they're having these smaller bands on, such as The Bicycles, Tokyo Police Club, Jon-Rae and the River, No Dynamics, Sailboats Are White (alright, some crappy bands get on), and The Diableros.

Yesterday I went to see a taping of MTV Live with Derrick, because not only was their guest for the day Henry Rollins, but they were having a musical performance by Fucked Up. A lot of kids showed up, pretty much all the benches were full, and though the actual show was sometimes painful to watch, the interview with Henry was good. When Fucked Up were set to perform they moved the seats out of the way and let all the kids down to the floor. It was really cool because they let the kids do their thing and didn't get in the way at all. It wasn't really my type of music, but it was a lot of fun to watch the band and the audience get so into it. At one point, a barriere protecting the stage was broken off and swung around a few times, and it was pretty sharp so you'd think security would come and take it away at least, but they let the kids in the audience take care of it. They were either too scared to get in the middle of the mob of mostly teenage boys, or they just didn't care if anyone got hurt...

Another great thing is that, although they only broadcast the interview and one song from the band on each show, they actually let them play two more, all of which are archived on their website only a few hours later. This really impresses me and I applaud them for their efforts.

Now I still think MTV is a bad channel and I would never watch any of their shows, but the fact that they're doing this one thing right sort of makes up for it. I mean, I can ignore the crap, that is easy to do.

Today, The Rural Alberta Advantage played on MTV Live, and I just think that's amazing.