They say it’s your birthday…..

Its hard to work in Times Square and not be aware of the presence of MTV, the music video channel that turns 20 today (August 1), finally moving out of adolescence into the welcoming arms of the media status quo. New York’s Mayor Rudy Giuliani is expanding the sidewalks across the street from 1515 Broadway to accomodate all the teeny boppers who line up to scream at visiting MTV rock idols, much in the same way that an earlier generation did for Frank Sinatra when he played the old Paramount Theater which used to be a block away.

MTV has already moved on from being a symbol of youth revolution into a established, if self-conscioulsy hip, arm of an increasingly commercialized music industry. It is now a global channel for better and worse, and should become more of a subject of critical attention than it has been. I certainly welcome Mediachannelers to share your thoughts and reactions. We will soon be adding a new POP CULT subsite edited by musican Polar Levine, aka Polarity 1, to offer more perspectives on the music biz and other popular entertainment industries on a regular basis.

One of the most provocative commentators–and critics– of the commercial music scene is author Dave Marsh, editor of the feisty newsletter Rock and Rap Confidential, a media channel affilliate. Dave and I worked together years ago on the Sun City anti-apartheid music project with Little Steven Van Zandt and 53 other artists. Dave wrote a book about the making of the Sun City album for Penquin.

He has now written his own “salute” to MTV which he sent me. Here’s an excerpt. Dave tends not to mince words.

I WANT MY MTV (IN A COFFIN) (WITH A LID)

Edna Gunderson of USA Today asked what I thought about the 20thanniversary of MTV. I am free, bright and 51, so I hadn’t thought aboutit at all. But my newspaper roots kicked in, and there I was at seven inthe morning, putting together about five times as much as Edna couldconceivably use. In the middle of the afternoon, I saw the 20thanniversary story on the cover of Entertainment Weekly and rapidlyconcluded that if the dummies were gonna speak up, I should, too.

So here is what I told her, slightly altered: Of course, I never watchedmuch of MTV, even back when it still showed music videos most of thetime, because I had already reached puberty when it started. So I guessI’m not really an expert, even though my children were adolescents inits early days, so I was certainly exposed to a lot of it.

And this is what I came to understand: MTV is evil. Its effects areevil, too. Veejays are evil. Reality TV is blatantly evil, as well ashaving about as much to do with “the real world” as Penthousecenterfolds. Jenny McCarthy was evil and so are the game shows. We willall rot in the pits of hell five minutes for every second we’ve wastedwatching MTV, and there are no seconds watching MTV after the first twominutes that are not wasted. I believe this with all my heart and what’sleft of my mind. In rock’n'roll, the main effects of MTV were to destroy the concept ofthe live rock band and the hope of a long career. The money that used togo for tour support, which exposed bands to thousands, has been divertedto making videos most of which are never seen. The idea of careerdevelopment has been tossed out; now we have been quick hits and quickerburnouts. (When’s the last time you heard of a hit music act that lastedall the way to its fourth album? Heard from the Wahlberg brothers, letalone New Kids on the Block, on record lately? And that’s MTV’s biggestsuccess story, give or take Jenny McCarthy, which it would take MTV, notme, to brag about.)

Dave goes on to note that MTV initially refused to program rap, but acknowledges that when it did, that music and the hip hop culture it promoted took off, becoming a dominant cultural presence among American Youth.

It was 20 years ago today…two decades….To borrow a line from Marat Sade, “the revolution came and the revolution went and unrest was replaced by discontent”–or in this case by by more branding and consumerism.

Owner Sumner Redstone, mogul in chief of the Viacomese Nation which owns MTV is boogeing all the way to the bank. Ditto for Mel Karmazin, Howard Stern’s consigliare, the new power behind the throne.

And the Question remains: Whose “REAL WORLD” is it?

Happy Happy Birthday, baby.