120 Minutes is back... for two nights only!

It has been years since the final episode of 120 Minutes on MTV2. I can now confirm that the axing of 120 Minutes was a clear indicator for the decline of music television. After it had gone, broadcast music television did not have much to offer for the music enthusiast, as also the rest of MTV2's original programming was taken off air. As we know today, this coincided with the internet becoming ever more important, developing into the integral part of music discovery culture that it is today. But having instant access to everything does not replace the most important aspect of an eclectic programme on tv like 120 Minutes was: curation. Music tv confronted you with new stuff. Instant new musical loves as well as those things that needed some getting used to before you came to appreciate them. Optimally served in small doses, mixed in a foundation of hyped tracks and treasured classics.

If you are among those who still miss the greatness of 120 Minutes, there is good news. MTV brings back 120 Minutes for a single night: Monday 5th May, 11pm on MTV Classic. This is following an even more important and interesting event, as 120 Minutes for the first time hits the cinema screen in East London. The Hackney Picturehouse is hosting a unique night of 120 Minute goodness on the 24th of April 2014. It includes a feature length set of videos, curated by the original programmers of 120 Minutes. The night continues as some of the show's talent from both on and off the screen make it to the stage in the cinema. Finally, a special tribute club night will take place in the cinema's event space, the Hackney Attic, as the show's original programmers get behind the decks.
I'm massively looking forward to it. Not only can I enjoy some 120 Minute quality music videos (and on a cinema screen... how cool is that?), but I will also be amidst people who miss the good days of music television as much as I do. Tickets are on sale now on the Hackney Picturehouse web site. This is strictly not to be missed.

In other news, I have launched my own web-based music tv channel. But that will be subject of another blog article...

New blog features "Gonzo Loves..." playlists

Has anyone noticed that "Gonzo Loves..." is now on every night? Well, it is. Either at midnight or 1am. Those shows beginning at 1am are ad-free. It is no replacement for 120 Minutes, it's just not the same thing. Unlike 120 Minutes, Gonzo Loves... will only ever show you the newest stuff, no classics, no late discoveries. On the other hand, Gonzo Loves... does show some of the rubbish you were really safe from when watching 120 Minutes. But then, it's the best we've got right now on MTV TWO. The hottest new videos are first (sometimes only) on Gonzo Loves...

With Gonzo Loves... on every night now, I created a sibling to this blog: find the playlists of every show* since GL came on nightly, which happened on 6th September, on "The Other Night on Gonzo Loves..."

(* except 12th September, which went missing due to technical difficulties. And there was no edition on 15th September, due to the MTV VMAs.)

You want 120 Minutes back? Put the message on your Facebook profile!

I have put together a Facebook application: "BRING BACK 120 MINUTES" will let you add a box to your profile page, which can display your comment on the situation. To add some social networking to it, you can configure it to display comments of your friends or anyone else. It also shows a link to the online petition, and if you wish, it displays the number of signatures on it.

So to keep yourself and your friends up to date... add "BRING BACK 120 MINUTES" to your Facebook profile!

http://apps.facebook.com/izo-minutes/
http://www.facebook.com/apps/application.php?id=74625086872

The online petition has passed the 500 mark!

Hi, everyone!

The online petition "Keep 120 Minutes on MTV2" has surpassed the number of 500 signatures. Have a look at the page, and you will not only see that the list of supporters has become rather long. The comments that many of the signers left there with their virtual signature are at least as impressive.

So go and spread the word for the good cause. And if you haven't done so already, sign the petition! It's on tinyurl.com/120minutes.

PS: If it takes a speech more inflammatory than this one here to convince you to go and sign the petition, read my blog article on the Fly Magazine's web site.

Minutes of the Misery (or: "How The Futureheads' First Day got played 6 times during one show")

...only to be surpassed by Kings Of Leon's Sex on Fire, which got 7 plays.

Ladies and Gentlemen. The first nightlong edition of 'Friday Night Indie Disco' was on last night. Some of us may have hoped that during a ten-hour long programme, the playlist makers could find the time to smash in some of the more eclectic stuff, that we miss so badly. Maybe a video of James Yuill, some Los Camp! or at least some Baddies (who were not only on 120 Minutes, but also ruled the Myspace Chart lately). Oh what a bad disappointment. The new MTV TWO would rather play the same video seven times within one ten-hour-show than show us something fresh and new.

08:59pm The Killers - Spaceman
09:03pm Vampire Weekend - A-Punk
09:09pm The Strokes - Last Nite
09:19pm Kings Of Leon - Sex On Fire
09:21pm We Are Scientists - Great Escape
09:25pm The Wombats - My Circuit Board City
09:27pm The Chemical Brothers - Hey Boy, Hey Girl
09:37pm The Kooks - Naïve
09:39pm Kaiser Chiefs - Never Miss A Beat
09:43pm The Fratellis - Chelsea Dagger
09:46pm Hot Chip - Over And Over
09:56pm The Futureheads - First Day
09:58pm Franz Ferdinand - Ulysses
10:00pm The View - Same Jeans
10:04pm The White Stripes - Seven Nation Army
10:08pm Arctic Monkeys - I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor
10:16pm The Streets - Fit But You Know It
10:18pm The Killers - Spaceman 2nd play, last played 1h 18min ago
10:24pm Kasabian - Me Plus One
10:26pm The Strokes - The End Has No End
10:34pm Kings Of Leon - Sex On Fire 2nd play, last played 1h 14min ago
10:36pm The Wombats - Let's Dance To Joy Division
10:40pm Blur - Girls & Boys
10:44pm Kaiser Chiefs - I Predict A Riot
10:48pm The Rakes - 22 Grand Job
10:56pm The Maccabees - Latchmere
10:58pm The Fratellis - Creepin Up The Back Stairs
11:00pm The Futureheads - First Day 2nd play, last played 1h 4min ago
11:02pm Kings Of Leon - The Bucket
11:06pm Babyshambles - Fuck Forever
11:16pm Franz Ferdinand - Ulysses 2nd play, last played 1h 18min ago
11:18pm The Kooks - Eddie's Gun
11:24pm Kasabian - Cutt Off
11:32pm The Streets - Fit But You Know It 2nd play, last played 1h 16min ago
11:36pm The Wombats - My Circuit Board City 2nd play, last played 2h 10min ago
11:38pm Arctic Monkeys - Fake Tales Of San Francisco
11:42pm Klaxons - Magick
11:46pm The Killers - Spaceman 3rd play, last played 1h 28min ago
11:54pm The White Stripes - Fell In Love With A Girl
11:56pm Foals - Cassius
12:02am The Strokes - The End Has No End 2nd play, last played 1h 36min ago
12:04am The Futureheads - The Beginning Of The Twist
12:08am Kings Of Leon - Sex On Fire 3rd play, last played 1h 34min ago
12:12am Blur - Girls & Boys 2nd play, last played 1h 32min ago
12:19am The Pigeon Detectives - Take Her Back
12:21am Black Kids - Look At Me
12:25am The Dandy Warhols - Bohemian Like You
12:29am The Streets - Fit But You Know It 3rd play, last played 56 minutes ago
12:35am The Holloways - Generator
12:37am Kaiser Chiefs - Ruby
12:41am Franz Ferdinand - Ulysses 3rd play, last played 1h 24min ago
12:45am Kasabian - Me Plus One 2nd play, last played 2h 20min ago
12:47am Arctic Monkeys - Fluorescent Adolescent
12:49am The Maccabees - First Love
12:55am Late Of The Pier - Bathroom Gurgle
12:59am The Futureheads - First Day 3rd play, last played 1h 58min ago
01:01am Friendly Fires - Jump In The Pool
01:03am The Fratellis - Creepin Up The Back Stairs 2nd play, last played 2h 4min ago
01:07am The Strokes - The End Has No End 3rd play, last played 1h 4min ago
01:11am The Killers - Spaceman 4th play, last played 1h 24min ago
01:15am The Ting Tings - That's Not My Name
01:19am The White Stripes - Hotel Yorba
01:21am The Stone Roses - Fools Gold
01:25am Beck - Devil's Haircut
01:29am Kings Of Leon - Sex On Fire 4th play, last played 1h 20min ago
01:33am Kaiser Chiefs - Everyday I Love You Less And Less
01:35am Kasabian - Cutt Off 2nd play, last played 2h 10min ago
01:43am The Clash - Rock The Casbah
01:47am Maxïmo Park - Graffiti
01:51am Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Cheated Hearts
01:55am Franz Ferdinand - Ulysses 4th play, last played 1h 14min ago
01:57am The Strokes - Someday
02:01am The Wombats - My Circuit Board City 3rd play, last played 2h 25min ago
02:03am Oasis - Cigarettes And Alcohol
02:09am Klaxons - Golden Skans
02:13am Bloc Party - The Prayer
02:15am The Rakes - 22 Grand Job 2nd play, last played 3h 27min ago
02:19am Happy Mondays - Step On
02:23am Babyshambles - Killamangiro
02:27am The Streets - Weak Become Heroes
02:31am Kasabian - Cutt Off 3rd play, last played 56 minutes ago
02:35am The Killers - Spaceman 5th play, last played 1h 24min ago
02:40am Justice vs Simian - We Are Your Friends
02:42am Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Pin
02:44am The Kooks - Eddie's Gun 2nd play, last played 3h 25min ago
02:46am The Fratellis - Creepin Up The Back Stairs 3rd play, last played 1h 42min ago
02:50am Pulp - Babies
02:54am Kings Of Leon - Sex On Fire 5th play, last played 1h 24min ago
02:58am Kaiser Chiefs - Oh My God
03:02am The Smiths - This Charming Man
03:04am Maxïmo Park - Apply Some Pressure
03:06am The Strokes - The End Has No End 4th play, last played 1h 58min ago
03:10am The Rakes - 22 Grand Job 3rd play, last played 54 minutes ago
03:12am Blur - Girls & Boys 3rd play, last played 2h 59min ago
03:16am The Futureheads - First Day 4th play, last played 2h 16min ago
03:18am Franz Ferdinand - Ulysses 5th play, last played 1h 22min ago
03:22am The Libertines - Don't Look Back Into The Sun
03:24am Hot Hot Heat - Bandages
03:28am The Killers - Human
03:32am The Maccabees - First Love 2nd play, last played 2h 43min ago
03:36am The Pigeon Detectives - I Found Out
03:38am House Of Pain - Jump Around
03:42am Rage Against The Machine - Sleep Now In The Fire
03:46am Bloc Party - Flux
03:50am Ida Maria - I Like You So Much Better When You're Naked
03:52am Buzzcocks - Ever Fallen In Love?
03:56am The White Stripes - Blue Orchid
04:02am Pulp - Common People
04:06am The Strokes - The End Has No End 5th play, last played 1h 0min ago
04:10am The Rakes - 22 Grand Job 4th play, last played 1h 0min ago
04:12am The Kooks - Eddie's Gun 3rd play, last played 1h 28min ago
04:14am The Futureheads - First Day 5th play, last played 58 minutes ago
04:16am Kings Of Leon - Sex On Fire 6th play, last played 1h 22min ago
04:20am The Automatic - Monster
04:24am Kasabian - Cutt Off 4th play, last played 1h 52min ago
04:28am The Killers - Spaceman 6th play, last played 1h 52min ago
04:32am The Wombats - My Circuit Board City 4th play, last played 2h 31min ago
04:36am The Streets - Fit But You Know It 4th play, last played 4h 7min ago
04:41am Franz Ferdinand - Ulysses 6th play, last played 1h 22min ago
04:43am Interpol - Obstacle 1
04:47am The Prodigy - Omen
04:51am Blur - Girls & Boys 4th play, last played 1h 38min ago
04:55am The Strokes - The End Has No End 6th play, last played 48 minutes ago
04:57am Arctic Monkeys - When The Sun Goes Down
05:03am The Stone Roses - Fools Gold 2nd play, last played 3h 41min ago
05:07am MGMT - Time To Pretend
05:11am Foals - Balloons
05:13am The Futureheads - First Day 6th play, last played 58 minutes ago
05:17am Hot Hot Heat - Bandages 2nd play, last played 1h 53min ago
05:19am Blondie - Rapture
05:25am Cypress Hill - Insane In The Brain
05:29am Editors - Munich
05:33am The Killers - All These Things I've Done
05:37am Franz Ferdinand - Michael
05:41am The Maccabees - First Love 3rd play, last played 2h 9min ago
05:45am Kings Of Leon - Sex On Fire 7th play, last played 1h 28min ago
05:47am Hot Chip - Over And Over 2nd play, last played 8h 1min ago
05:51am The Breeders - Cannonball
05:55am Pulp - Common People 2nd play, last played 1h 53min ago

139 videos played.
87 unique videos played.
Videos played once: 69.
Videos played twice: 5.
Kasabian - Me Plus One, The Stone Roses - Fools Gold, Hot Chip - Over And Over, Hot Hot Heat - Bandages, Pulp - Common People
Videos played 3 times: 3.
The Kooks - Eddie's Gun, The Maccabees - First Love, The Fratellis - Creepin Up The Back Stairs
Videos played 4 times: 5.
Kasabian - Cutt Off, The Streets - Fit But You Know It, The Rakes - 22 Grand Job, Blur - Girls & Boys, The Wombats - My Circuit Board City
Videos played 5 times: 0.
Videos played 6 times: 4.
Franz Ferdinand - Ulysses, The Killers - Spaceman, The Strokes - The End Has No End, The Futureheads - First Day
Videos played 7 times: 1.
Kings Of Leon - Sex On Fire

Playlist for Saturday, 31 January 2009

00:58 Cornelius::Fit Song
01:03 The Knife::Hearbeat
01:06 Boards Of Canada::Dayvan Cowboy
01:11 My Bloody Valentine::SWALLOW
01:15 Aphex Twin::Window Licker
01:24 TV On The Radio::Staring At The Sun
01:28 LCD Soundsystem::Losing My Edge
01:32 Belle And Sebastian::Dog On Wheels
01:35 Bon Iver::The Wolves (Act I And Act II)
01:41 THIS MORTAL COIL::SONG TO THE SIREN
01:44 Pavement::Shady Lane
01:47 Hot Chip::Playboy
01:51 Can::Oh Yeah
01:57 DJ Shadow::MIDNIGHT IN A PERFECT WORLD
02:02 Kraftwerk::Das Model
02:06 Björk::Cocoon
02:10 Jeffrey Lewis::Williamsburg Will Oldham Horror
02:16 The Fall::MR. PHARMACIST
02:18 Los Campesinos!::You! Me! Dancing!
02:25 Stereolab::PING PONG
02:28 L.F.O.::Freak
02:35 Saul Williams::List Of Demands
02:38 Sonic Youth::100%
02:40 Mogwai::Hunted By A Freak
02:45 Sigur Ros::Untitled #1
02:51 Sparklehorse::Rainmaker
02:55 Jarvis Cocker::Running The World

Your action required: Sign the online petition!

Hey guys.

I've just found this link over on the 120 Minutes discussion board:

Keep 120 Minutes on MTV2 Petition
(quick link: http://tinyurl.com/120minutes)

Go and sign it! It already has 136 signatures as of the time I'm writing this post.

Cheers, Sven.