MTV to play more videos …

Though Music Television  doesn’t seem to have too many videos on it anymore — especially with Total Request Live going off the air soon. But MTV is trying to live up to its title, and perhaps compete with YouTube, with the Web site it recently launched. MTV Music  has most of its videos available on the Web, from current hits to classics, like A-ha’s “Take on Me.”

The end of a MTV era

Full Disclosure: I no longer have cable, so maybe things have changed, but in the past 10 years, about the only way you would see a music video on MTV was to catch Total Request Live. I remember when the show first began with host Carson Daly, sitting in a dark room. Actually, I think the show started as just “Total Request.” It wasn’t even live yet. As the show evolved, Daly was moved to MTV’s stellar Times Square studios. Then new, hosts were brought in, and if you were lucky, you would see about 40 seconds to a minute of your favorite video.

But now, people won’t even get to see that. TRL, as it better known, is going off the air in November after 10 years.  According to the Associated Press, rapper Eminem said in a statement: “I’m going to miss ‘TRL.’ … Where else will I be able to start feuds, defend my honor vigorously and act like an angry teenager on national TV? Oh wait … The VMAs!”

I remember being 13 or 14 and watching to see where my beloved Backstreet Boys placed on the countdown. Now I can’t even name one video on the top 10.