EVENING NIGHTCAP: RIP To MTV. You're No Fun, Illinois.

 

 

► MTV, which was a huge part of my formative years, is shutting down all musical programming channels on December 31. Welp, 2025 has been a shit show, so I'm not surprised. MTV debuted in 1981 with the first video "Video Killed The Radio Star" by the Buggles. Fast forward...a lack of foresight and streaming channels killed the MTV video star. Gone are MTV Music, MTV 80s, MTV 90s, Club MTV, and MTV Live. Everything with music is exiting stage left, like Kristen Chenoweth's eye rolling performance in "Versailles".  

Around 1999, MTV began investing heavily in crap reality shows like Jersey Shore, 16 & Pregnant, Pimp My Ride, Punk'd, Teen Mom, and The Osborne's. It ushered the era of vanity as a virtue and trashy behavior as cool. The results are seen with today's society where crass behavior has been normalized and the pursuit of materialism turned into a career track. *unwraps Werthers*. 

In its early days, MTV was responsible for introducing many up & coming artists (especially POC and LGBT) that would otherwise have gone unnoticed by the mainstream. Instead of evolving into what could have been a music streaming  powerhouse channel, MTV gave a middle finger to it roots and turned its back on being a music career launching pad.  It became Moron TV. And, that's the future it will continue to pursuit.  Read More 

Image: aarp.org

Comment: I watched a lot of MTV. It was a big part of my formative years. My 2 favorite hosts were Kurt Loder and JJ Jackson (especially JJ...he was so suave and cool). They were the only hosts that really new the music industry inside & out. They both had a deep knowledge of music and what influenced artists (past and present). The other hosts/VJs were annoying airheads. I especially disliked Martha Quinn, Dan Cortese, Daisy Fuentes, Carson Daly, Karen Duffy, Kennedy, and Downtown Julie Brown. With each year, the hosts and VJs got more vacuous and cartoonish in personality. It was reflective of the slow downward spiral for the channel. RIP MTV. Thanks for the memories. Oh, and for introducing me to 1980's hair bands, grunge, and punk/new wave music. 
 

►The State of Illinois processed 560,000 applications for personalized (aka vanity) license plates. Damn, that's a lot of people who are pissing away money to boost their ego. From that truckload of applications, 550 were rejected for being, "inflammatory, profane or too difficult to read".  Wait a sec: too difficult to read? Huh? How hard is it for the police to read letters and numbers? The Illinois Secretary of State uploaded a funny video showing some of the rejected plates. At least he has a good sense of humour about it. Some of the plates rejected in 2025 include:  Read More

• BBL
• BLUBLN
• BRICKED 
• IBPOOPN
• BDASMOM 
• PRIUSSY  

Comment: I dislike vanity plates and I have no idea why. Maybe it's because growing up, I used to see them on family road trips. When I saw one,  I got frustrated trying to decipher what it said. I would ask my parents and they would just give me a Capri Sun. Back then, seeing a vanity plate was a rare occurrence that only rich people could afford. Nowadays, any chump can afford them. Nothing says "IMADEIT" like seeing a 1998 Ford Festiva sporting vanity plates while it's back bumper is being held in place with rope and duct tape.