Sept. 9 was really hyped, with the date being 9-9-99 and with two big events in the entertainment industry — the release of Sega’s new video game system, Dreamcast, and the 1999 MTV Music Awards. I have yet to see the Dreamcast system, except in commercials, but if it’s anything like the MTV Music Awards or the uneventful date of 9s, it will be a huge disappointment and a complete waste of time.

I initially wanted to blame MTV for the lame award show this year, but it’s more likely the industry’s fault. Just look at the acts that performed live: Backstreet Boys, Jay-Z, Britney Spears, TLC and Fatboy Slim. Notice a trend here? They are all products of the studio and don’t convert well to a live show. The talent level is definitely questionable when a live performance ends up being only flashy lights and prerecorded tracks.

The show’s true talent was the presenters. Musicians like the Artist (formerly known as Prince) and Lars Ulrich of Metallica must have known something about how bad the show was going to be when they opted to present only.

Even the presenters looked stupid and awkward because of the stupid introductions they have to read from the TelePrompTers. This is nothing new to award shows, but still as annoying as ever.

Take your pick of any of the above acts, but Jay-Z comes to mind. His montage performance of three of his songs seemed like a free-for-all for him and 10 of his closest friends. They all had mikes on stage and were basically yelling. My advice: stick to the studio.

The worst act had to be Spears’ performance. She obviously pre-recorded her remix of “Baby One More Time.” Her lip-syncing only looked good when put compared to her dancing skills.

Before the awards ceremony, they had a little (pre-recorded!) piece about her going around town trying to find an outfit for the awards show. She should have picked something from her closet and worked on her act more.

Again, this was a trend throughout the night. I think the only live instruments were those used by bands Kid Rock and Nine Inch Nails. Fatboy Slim had a piano, but most of the songs are samples, so that does not really count as much of a live performance. The rest of the acts must have decided that the music wasn’t important, but that visuals were.

I really wondered why most of the “performers” even bothered holding or wearing a mike. Chili of the group TLC made it obvious her vocals were taped when she was dancing and not moving her mouth, yet her voice emanated from the speakers.

Comedian Chris Rock was funny throughout at the expense of everyone there. Rock relentlessly attacked singer/actress Jennifer Lopez, or more accurately, her butt, throughout the evening.

Rock was the sole gem of the evening. He constantly made fun of Latin-music sensation Ricky Martin — justifiably, saying that Martin needed another hit like a crack addict needed another hit.

Rock’s humor was vulgar, racist and mean at times. But at least it was entertaining.

His tasteless cracks on everyone throughout the show were the only reason I don’t feel like I totally killed a couple hours of my life for nothing.

Maybe next year the MTV Music Awards will be more about the music.

Originally posted at NandoNext.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, September 14th, 1999 at 12:00 pm and is filed under Misc Reviews, Music, Music Reviews, Reviews, TV Talk. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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