Short attention span theater
When did whole music videos become too much for viewers to digest? I've been mildly disappointed while watching VH-1's countdown of the 100 greatest songs of the past 25 years. I have some quibbles with what's on there (no surprise there), but I'm more upset that the shows have offered little more than token video clips and bits and pieces of the song. Instead, each entry features a bunch of talking heads yammering about how great/influential/whatever the song is. The nostalgic interview nuggets work for the addictive I Love the '80s, but I want something more substantial if you're going to be counting down the "greatest" songs.

There is a saving grace to the countdown, thanks to VH-1 Classic's accompanying show that shows all of the videos in their entirety right after the regular VH-1 show ends. It's both fun and a little jarring to see Missy Elliott's "Work It" followed immediately by "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)," or the great 1-2-3 combo of "Tempted", "Hot in Herre" and "My Sharona", but then again, a random shuffle of my MP3s would yield the same results. The only thing missing to VH-1 Classic's coverage was a number attached to the start of the video, but that's what the Internet is for (or at least taking notes during the actual countdown.)

The whole process made me nostalgic for days when countdown shows actually showed the whole video with little adornment other than the place on the chart. VH-1's Top 20 Countdown, usually buried early Sunday mornings now, goes in and out of songs quickly, especially those not in the top 10. TRL is even worse, inserting insipid comments from its viewers and cutting much of the videos short to boot. I could be wrong, but didn't those kids vote to see all three or four minutes of a video? I guess that's what the digital-tier channels like MTV Hits are for now. In an ever-expanding cable/satellite universe, I guess the "mother" channel is just a gateway for full or niche coverage on other channels. I guess it's a matter of time before ESPN Outdoors becomes a full channel. No wonder no channel or show will get a big rating anymore.