Ghosts of MTV Past

MTV was always good at creating music sub-brands—YO! MTV RAPS, TRL, 120 MINUTES, UNPLUGGED, etc.—and the queen of them all, which pre-dates the rest and is the only one still around to acknowledge the channel's 40th anniversary year, is the VIDEO MUSIC AWARDS, which did the acknowledging Sunday night by inviting the ghosts of pop stardom past to return for a variety of cameos: opening the show, introducing younger stars, giving out awards, but not, heaven forbid, performing, save for the two old-school New Yorkers, BUSTA RHYMES and ALICIA KEYS, called upon to salute the host city, and the one group of West Coast classic rockers chosen to receive something called the Global Icon Award, which should not under any circumstances be confused with the missing-in-action Video Vanguard Award. Mostly, it seemed, the olds were there to affirm that the kids are still alright, which has always been one of MTV's core messages. (And we now have confirmation, in case anyone needed it, that BILLIE EILISH loves FOO FIGHTERS, AVRIL LAVIGNE and Alicia Keys.) They also served to affirm that this was still MTV you were watching, even if you literally weren't watching MTV. On a network that doesn't have much time anymore for either music or videos, at least on its main cable channel, the Video Music Awards survives as its own ghost of MTV past, presenting awards, performances and viral moments on behalf of a brand that long ago moved on. It's basically a radio/playlist pop awards show, presented with more flair than any other such show. There are winners and losers, the specifics of which have never particularly mattered, though, if you must know, it was a good night for LIL NAS X, JUSTIN BIEBER and OLIVIA RODRIGO. Mostly, it's a barrage of elaborately staged zeitgeist performances, and Lil Nas X, joined by a marching band and JACK HARLOW, and Olivia Rodrigo, who was accompanied by her own romantic rage and ended her set by smashing a camera lens—as good a visual as I've seen on an awards show in a long time—were among those who rose to the occasion Sunday. MTV quickly posted every performance on YOUTUBE, suggesting it understands that most people, including the kids it's trying to reach, have better things to do on Sunday nights than watch MTV, or any TV. Which is to say, for all its faults, the network still has a deep familiarity with the zeitgeist. MTV also understands—even though the show was staged as a fully live, indoor and not socially distanced, event—that there's still a pandemic going on. Masks were prevalent in the audience, and there were plenty onstage too. That's an even more important zeitgeist to be in touch with, and there ought to be an award for that.

Rest in Peace

Influential British folk guitarist (and singer/songwriter) MICHAEL CHAPMAN... Fiddler DON MADDOX, the last surviving member of country pioneers the Maddox Brothers & Rose... Ethiopian singer/songwriter ALÈMAYÈHU ESHÈTÉ, known as the "Abyssinian Elvis," who was a major star at home in the 1960s and '70s and found a new audience in the West decades later thanks to the "Éthiopiques" series... MARÍA MENDIOLA, one half of Spanish disco duo Baccara... Polish soprano TERESA ZYLIS-GARA... HARRY COOMBS, longtime promo exec at Philadelphia International Records.