DOGPILE ON BRITNEY (And Other MTV Reactions)

I won't add to the shit storm that is the reaction to Britney Spear's performance on the MTV Awards. I will say that I watched... I made a point of tuning in, and (like the rest of the world) I was underwhelmed.

Yes, she seemed tired, under-energized and gave a half-ass performance. Yes she seemed pathetic relic; a has-been version of her former glorious self. But the same adjectives could (and should) be applied to the ceremony itself. Yes, the MTV Awards are a tired old show. And perhaps this was bound to happen. I mean, how long can anything remain fresh? How long can a concept continue to appear cutting-edge? How many years can an any institution claim to have the market cornered, when it comes to youthful innovation?

So yes, the Britney Spears we all knew is no more. But watching some of the other, poorly planned barely-performed entertainment on this year's MTV Awards all I could thing was, "how sad," and how I used to love watching the show. And no, I'm not saying this just because I'm older now. I genuinely love some of the music and performers honored at last night's ceremony.

Simply put: there was no opening act that could have saved the show - there is no opening number that could have resurrected the once-great Moonman ceremony - there is no way to restore anything past its prime. Moving the show to Vegas, while an improvement over the pathetic ceremony hosted in Miami a couple of years ago (you know, the one where Eva Longoria taunted and teased the storm, saying a little rain wasn't going to keep her from partying... that little storm named Katrina), the move on served to prove how desperate the producers must have been. There was nothing added to the show by moving locations. And Sarah Silverman, while charming at the MTV Movie Awards, seemed mean an callous this time around. But I don't know what I expected... this is, after all, the ceremony honoring music videos on a channel that doesn't even bother to play music videos anymore.