411 Music Fact Or Fiction 09.17.09: All About The VMAs

Posted by Ben Czajkowski on 09.17.2009

This week, 411Music's editor, Mitch Michaels battles it out with Mac Scarle over the VMAs. Does President Obama owe Kanye West an apology? Were Kanye's actions really that surprising? And did Beyonce's video really deserve to win and was her gesture to Taylor Swift a good move? Plus, Lady Gaga: channeling Marilyn Manson? And where the rock videos?

 

 

 

 

 

 

Welcome to 411Music Fact or Fiction: week 111!

It's been a hell of a week for music news, specifically around the VMAs. If you've been hiding under a rock or being held hostage since this past Sunday night, you've missed some of the more odious moment in television and music history.

And why the fuck are "video music awards" hosted on a reality television channel? That's beyond me.

So, it's time for the staff to weigh in, on record, about their reactions to the events that took place on that fateful September eve. In this corner, we have, standing at 6'7" and weighing as much as a tank, your editor and commander-in-chief: Mitch Michaels, reigning champion and god among men. He squares off against the rookie, Mac Scarle, whose still cutting his teeth as a 411Music contributor.

Alright, let's do this!

READY?! FIGHT!!

Round 1

Question: President Obama owes Kanye West a public apology for calling him a jackass.

 

Mitch Michaels: FACT.

I'm not one of those people who are going around crying that "we have a national economic crisis, we have a healthcare crisis, why is the President watching TV?" Grow the fuck up.  I'm not going to pretend Obama was at the White House kicked back in his lazy boy and watching the VMAs on Sunday night.  The dude is our first rock star President - he's media savvy.  You don't think this guy picks up a newspaper?  Watches the news every morning?  He IS the news - even his wife shows up on the cover of Us Weekly like once a month.  Obama wants to see what kind of publicity he's getting because he wants that second term.  And, if you did watch the news on Monday morning, what else was everyone talking about but Kanye?  But yeah, I don't think Obama should be throwing in on this fight - he's still the President; there's still some dignity in that.  If anything, I see this as very calculated.  Does anyone remember a certain other knee-jerk comment made by Obama when some crazy asshole in Boston wouldn't show a cop his ID?  Perhaps this public shaming of Kanye is a way to shake that racially motivated side-picking memory.

Mac Scarle: FICTION. 

What?  No.  Fiction.  From what I've heard those comments were supposed to be off the record.  Say what you will about the President's politics - that's neither here nor there in this case - but from what I've been able to gather these last few years Obama is, by most standards, a pretty regular dude.  Those sentiments (if my Facebook news feed is anything to go by) are shared by a pretty substantial majority of the population.  This isn't some foreign leader or diplomat, he's not causing an international incident.

Score Card: 0 for 1

Round 2

Question: Beyonce's amazing display of class toward Taylor Swift to give Swift the moment she deserved was an amazing gesture on the part of the former Destiny's Child member.

Mitch Michaels: FICTION.

Amazing, Ben? Remember when I mentioned "calculated" on the first question?  NO ONE in the music world is more calculated than Beyonce (and that includes her husband).  There is no warmth behind that woman's eyes - she is all drive and ambition.  You can bet your ass that the second she heard her name involved in that Kanye debacle, she was thinking of ways to distance herself from the stink of it. With over two hours to think about it, that was the clear career decision to make - if I'm up there for an award, let Taylor speak.  Beyonce has a million MTV VMAs (ok - nine).  She also has seven Grammys and has been macking on the Golden Globes and Oscars in recent years.  You think she's going to lose anything by giving up her 30 seconds of thanking the fans and her director?

Mac Scarle: FACT. 

Fact, but at the same time, it was also kind of expected.  Beyonce's a pretty classy gal, and really she didn't ask for any of this to happen.  She didn't have to do it, sure, and that's what makes it so nice, but when I read about this in the 411Music post-show recap it wasn't really anything that blew me away.

Score Card: 0 for 2

Round 3

Question: Lady GaGa's shocking and overly dramatic performance was reminiscent of Marilyn Manson's odd behavior.

 

Mitch Michaels: FACT.

That's a great comparison, actually, because both GaGa and Manson in their heyday are/were about using shock over substance.  Everything Lady GaGa does screams "Pay attention to me!" Had she simply done "Paparazzi", I think it would have been some great performance art.  But with all of the crazy outfits, the Kermit the Frog bullshit on the red carpet AND the weirdo performance, all you see is a publicity hound.  More people were talking about her red mask on Monday morning than her evisceration.  But as long as they were talking, right GaGa?

Mac Scarle: FACT. 

Fact, but only in the same way that Manson's own behavior was a reminiscent of every other shock rocker that came before him.  I kind of thought the whole tampon motif was a pretty interesting statement to make, considering all the (wildly untrue) rumors that have been flying around the internet concerning her sexuality in the last month or so.  I'm sure that was no accident.  I wouldn't call any of her performance "shocking," though.  It takes a hell of a lot to shock me anymore, and being shocking just for the sake of it is just kind of desperate.  Not really a surprise coming from her though; she definitely isn't adverse to attention.

Score Card: 1 for 3

Round 4

Question: The severe absence of rock videos nods and performances in favor of crappy pop is a direct disrespect to the rock community.

 

Mac Scarle: FICTION.

What, would you rather the awards went to some of the crappy rock songs they nominated?  It's disgusting enough that Green Day - a pop band masquerading as a band with something to say - got one nod, let alone several. Just a glance at the nominees for Best Rock Video shows a pretty damning statement about modern popular rock music - there's really not much on offer there.  It's also worth keeping mind when discussing anything VMA related that this is an awards show not about music, but about videos.  Maybe all that "crappy pop" (which is a pretty subjective analysis in itself) just made better videos this year.  Even as someone who absolutely detests Coldplay, I'd have given them at least one award.  "Viva la Vida" was a pretty excellent video, as long as you press the "mute" button.

Mitch Michaels: FICTION. 

It's a fact that no rock videos were nominated for any major category other than "Best Rock Video".  However, I don't see it as MTV being disrespectful towards the rock community - more a mirror of what's, unfortunately, popular these days.  Both Muse and Green Day put on great performances at the VMAs, but what were people talking about?  Kanye West "ackin a azz" and the way Lady GaGa was dressed.  Music in pop culture is just not about music anymore.  You could argue that it never was, but you'd still have to agree it's less so now than ever.  Look at the top videos - you had Britney Spears naked, Eminem spoofing pop culture, GaGa rubbing her face on a guy's crotch, Beyonce dancing and Kanye having to use a fucking computer and every gigaflop available to make his singing voice sound better than a kindergarten talent show.  There's still a place for rock music today, but rock music seems to have lost its spectacle - and spectacle is what sells.

Score Card: 2 for 4

Round 5

Question: Beyonce's video is clearly better than Taylor Swift's, and Beyonce should have won both categories.

 

Mac Scarle: FACT.

Yes. Unequivocally yes, without hesitation.  Fact, fact, fact.  When I first heard about this whole controversy (at the time, I was busy watching my Chicago Bears shit the bed at Lambeau Field while the VMAs were on), my initial reaction was one of disbelief that Swift was even nominated for a VMA.  Maybe I've lost touch over the years, but Swift doesn't really seem like an "MTV" kind of artist.  Having seen the video since then, and already knowing the absolutely kick-ass Beyonce video pretty well, I can say that there's no way in hell anyone in their right mind would give her that award.  This almost seems like manufacturing controversy on the part of MTV.  The overlooked tragedy in this (though I use that word very loosely) is that by being such a complete douche, Kanye managed to make everyone forget something - he was right.

Mitch Michaels: FICTION. 

Trying to put any fucking logic to the MTV VMAs is like trying to figure out why people liked the "Macarena" - it's futile.  How can Taylor Swift's video be the Best Female Video or Britney's video be the Best Pop Video if Beyonce's is the Video of the Year and she was nominated in both of those categories?  I'll tell you why - because the fans voted and Taylor has more rabid, internet voting fans than Beyonce.  Do you think that Beyonce would have won had Taylor been nominated in that category?  No, and MTV knows that.  The VMAs have different awards practically every year - they drive us to how they want the show to play out.  And that's without even mentioning allegations that they rig the fan voting (or that little Beyonce winning at the end was all completely set up).

Score Card: 2 for 5

Round 6

Question: What Kanye West did by stealing the moment from Taylor Swift didn't really surprise you, based on his track record.

 

Mac Scarle: FACT.

Not a surprise at all, this is a fact.  This isn't the first time he's done this, and he was way meaner to Justice at the MTV Europe awards.  Kanye makes great music (well, he did up until 808s and Heartbreak) but he's also kind of a pompous jerk.  Can't really say I was blown away by this. The bigger surprise, to me at least, was the total outrage that came in its wake.  I honestly had no idea that many people still watched the VMAs.

Mitch Michaels: FICTION. 

I have to admit, I was pretty surprised, despite knowing what an asshole Kanye is.  But "stealing her moment"?  It bugs me people are using that term. Taylor Swift has won tons of awards in her short career already.  She's a professional and she knows who to thank. Now, all of her awards have been for Country and that she picked up something on MTV could be called memorable, but "her moment"?  Nah, I wouldn't give MTV Video Music Award for Best Female Video that much credit.  What Kanye did was stand up and humiliate her in front of the world - I think that's more infuriating than "stealing her moment".  He stood up and said "fuck you fans who voted and fuck you, little white girl - I am going to piss on these awards 'cause I never win".  Kanye has been pissed off at the VMAs for years now.  Look at that line in "Stronger" - "Bow in the presence of greatness/Cause right now thou has forsaken us/You should be honored by my lateness/That I would even show up to this fake shit".  Who do you think that was directed to?  But still, to do it THAT way - to be so classless and humiliate such an innocent bystander in the process - that surprises me.  Kanye is good at getting himself in the news, but this was - you guessed it - poorly calculated.

Score Card: 2 for 6

Anything you agree with? Disagree with? Sound off in the comment section.

Thanks for reading, and I'll see you next week!