A new music television?

Week of March 10, 2008

There's now a new contender in the world of alternative music television. Pitchfork assembled the resources to launch their own broadband channel, and we can't wait. Is this the future? Also this week, more 120 playlists for the archive, obscure music trivia #3, and you can now watch the series finale of 120 Minutes right here.

THIS WEEK'S NEWS

If any music news story is right up our alley, it's this one. Pitchfork is going to attempt to make themselves the new Music Television. It sounds exciting and promising. Here's the press release from their web site about the upcoming Pitchfork.tv channel...

The 24-hour music network was such a great concept. What happened? Given music's nearly inexhaustible supply of notable artists and genres, there are no limits to how deeply it can be explored. But despite all the footage we've seen of high-profile rock and pop artists hitting their creative strides, similar documents of independent artists are far less accessible, if they exist at all.

In recent years, independent film networks have dedicated themselves to the respectful and intelligent treatment of classic and underground cinema. But independent music has never had a permanent home. So today, we're proud to announce the April 7 beta launch of Pitchfork.tv, the first-ever music video channel dedicated to documenting independent music as it happens. As a visual extension of the music coverage Pitchfork has provided for more than a decade, and a means of updating and advancing the music television format, the online channel will bring you closer to the artists you love, through original mini-documentaries, secret rooftop and basement sessions, full concerts, exclusive interviews, and the most carefully curated selection of music videos online.

In addition, Pitchfork.tv will become the first online video channel to screen full-length feature films, vintage concerts, and music DVDs free of charge. From the Pixies' 2004 reunion tour film LoudQuietLoud and Todd Phillips' notorious GG Allin documentary Hated, to Jimmy Joe Roche & Dan Deacon's acid-drenched visual art piece Ultimate Reality, Pitchfork.tv will highlight a different film each week in its entirety.

This content is just the beginning. With one of the web's largest, crispest, and highest-resolution displays, Pitchfork.tv truly invites full-screen viewing. And, with all content available on-demand, we're putting you in control of the music you want, how and when you want to see it. Soon, we'll add personal playlist capabilities, so you can watch all your favorites in a row. And later this year, as part of a massive redesign effort, Pitchfork.tv will integrate with its parent site, presenting innovations and further advancements to the world of online music journalism.

Like Pitchfork itself, Pitchfork.tv is an independent company with no investment dollars or special interests, allowing us the freedom and control to stay true to our creative vision. We've waited decades for a music channel that respects our intelligence and reflects our ideals. Now that the technology is here, we're finally able to do it the way that people who really care about music have always wanted to see it done.

Look at that! I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm pumped for this. I know Pitchfork has a reputation of being pretentious indie snobs, but in this case, I think it's a good thing. It looks like they're going to work hard to put together a great music channel. If it fails, oh well. But if it's a success, it could resurrect alternative music television.

120 MINUTES PLAYLIST ARCHIVE

The show may have ended five years ago, but the archive never dies. This week, we've got a ton of new stuff. Chris E. opened up his vaults and sent us 7 new playlists. Here's what we got:

June 4, 1995 - Better Than Ezra
May 28, 1995 - Peter Murphy
May 21, 1995 - Henry Rollins & Jerry Lee Lewis
May 14, 1995 - Faith No More
October 2, 1994 - Liz Phair & Casey Rice
September 18, 1994 - Lewis Largent
July 24, 1994 - Luna's Justin Harwood and Dean Wareham

That's a total of 367 playlists now! If you have any more, full or partial, from anywhere in the history of 120 Minutes, e-mail us using the link at the bottom of the page.

OBSCURE MUSIC TRIVIA #3

We've done this obscure music trivia twice before (see #1 and #2), and now it's time for round 3. This time, Keven F. has conundrum that he needs help with. Can you figure out what this music video is? If you have even the slightest clue, comment now!

Year: circa 2000. Video was clay animation. The main characters and the world is grey. The main character works in a factory and is unhappy. He ends up inventing a light which he puts inside himself. The rest of the characters then want one of the lights - the main character then becomes rich - but in the end is still unhappy. Would greatly appreciate the help to find out the artist.

As always, if you have an obscure music mystery of your own that you'd like solved, shoot us an e-mail and we'll put it on the site. Again, the link's at the bottom of the page.

120 MINUTES SERIES FINALE

The very last episode of 120 Minutes aired on MTV2 on May 4th, 2003, from 1 AM to 3 AM eastern time. The show was hosted by MTV2 VJ Jim Shearer, and he was joined by former 120 Minutes hosts Dave Kendall and Matt Pinfield. It was a great event featuring some of the best videos and memories from the history of the series. However, MTV2 never promoted or repeated the show, so it got lost in time. Until now, that is. We've got the FULL video of the 120 Minutes finale!

That's all for this week on altmusictv. Enjoy the NCAA tournament, March Madness, or Sports Christmas, whatever you want to call it. We'll see you back here in a few weeks.