6/365 Video Killed the Cable Network

Ladies and Gentlemen, Rock and Roll
I heard you on the wireless back in fifty-two
You owned us from the first broadcast
birthed a culture worthy of your name
you were safe haven for us
redefined our genres
re-purposed our tv rooms for dancing
told us what our music was meant to become
planted your flag on our moon
We wanted our Mtv.

Ears thrumming in the glow of your cathode rays,
You drew us together
long-hairs and crew cuts
new wave punks and rappers,
top 40 girls with big hair and far too much eyeliner
pale boys in all black,
also with far too much eyeliner
you called to us
collected us from every radio frequency
brought us home
 to one channel
to you

Your Headbanger's Ball was a metalhead's dream
Yo Mtv Raps brought the street to the country
You even played Weird Al for us nerds
120 Minutes told us
"Never mind the Mainstream"
pumped Ramones into our blood
and Ministry to our brainstems
while "alternative" slowly became oxymoron
But when the spans without music became
most of your day
your brand became another chain store at the mall
and now we do mind the mainstream
Yes, we mind it very much.

We ignored the critics
Pushed the warnings of Jello Biafra to the backs of our mind
but they lingered.
We never quite forgot.
Remote Control was the first sign
it doesn't matter that we liked it
You lost your mission
forgot what the M was about
and now look at yourself.
Sixteen and Pregnant
I Used to be Fat
and Jersey Shore
You are proud of this.

They once tried to name my generation after you
But this is your legacy.
You are a joke that keeps on telling itself
and still doesn't get the punchline
You are bad taste and irony incarnate
Carson Daly's stalker ex-girlfriend
You are Ashton Kutcher and Snookie
You are Beavis, and Butthead
And you are also a revival of Beavis and Butthead
You are every attention-whore drama queen housemate
who likes to get naked on the Real World,
a show which is so clearly nothing like the real world
that it has become a parody of a parody of itself
And we knew this full well
when you called us
sent your Mtv Docs crew
to check out our poetry scene
We thought, "finally
Mtv may redeem itself
if only for a day"
And then you reported it was a Ron Paul Rally!

Fool me twice.
thinking "docs" stood for "documentaries"
the way the "M" once stood for music
the way Rock the Vote once stood for anything
they way your network once stood a chance
of being relevant.

You fools.
You have lost this generation.
they get their music from iTunes
their politics from Facebook, and
they'd rather watch "Charlie Bit Me" on Youtube ten times
than sit through a single episode of "I Just Want My Pants Back"
and if you ask a kid today what a VJ is
they won't know
but they'll be pretty sure it's something really dirty.

And they'll be right about that.
and neither of you will see the irony.
Like when you predicted the future
Video killed the radio star...-