Sticking It To The Much
Today, I wrote a rant about how much MuchMusic sucks on Torontoist. I have been saving up the rage to write it for a few years now (since December 2005, as I mention in the article).
I feel my "MuchMusic sucks" rant is somewhat unique in that it is not based on a disdain for youth and music television in general. I actually love MTV Canada. It is quality stuff. I get into it briefly in the article, but I don't think I stressed enough that MTV Live is fantastically written and programmed. The hosts—particularly Dan, Jesse, Aliya-Jasmine, Daryn, Diane—are always enthusiastic and keep their banter surprisingly intelligent. The Hills Afterparty is maybe my favourite show on television.
MTV is smart and relevant because it is geared toward an internet-savvy youth. Young audiences today demand quality entertainment and culture programming because they can easily find it online. You'd think that MuchMusic would have caught on to that, but instead they seem to be pretending that the internet never happened. As a result, you have 19 hours of the same Girlicious episode per week, and the same season of So You Think You Can Dance on repeat for a year and a half. You have Hilary Duff dropping into your studio every month for an interview. You heap accolades on Simple Plan because they show up to your awards show. You have an increasingly bored and indifferent body of viewers, and you should probably be ashamed of yourself.
Photo by steveisaac.