Never A Dull Moment: Mtv Awards Dances On The Line Of Good Taste
It’s almost an afterthought, but it’s true: They actually hand out awards at the MTV Video Music Awards.
Not that anybody remembers the winners. Viewers can’t forget last year’s creepy Michael-Lisa Marie kiss that opened the show. Back in ‘89, there was Andrew “Dice” Clay getting banned for reciting his perverted poetry. In 1991, recently arrested Pee Wee Herman resurfaced to ask, “Heard any good jokes lately?” A year later, there was Howard Stern’s baring his butt.
Indelible images all. But who won for best video last year? (Don’t strain yourself: It was Aerosmith.)
No, this isn’t the Grammys - and comparisons with the typically staid award shows make the MTV people cringe.
“The perfect show? One we could barely control,” Andy Schuon, MTV senior vice president for music and programming, said last week as preparations started for the 12th annual bash, which airs Thursday at 5 p.m. from Radio City Music Hall. Replay is at 8 p.m., with a pre-show from 6:30-8 p.m.
“But one we can keep on the air,” he continued. “You never know what happens when you put Madonna, Courtney Love, Drew Barrymore and Dennis Rodman in the same room.”
Madonna is a nominee, while her bizarre former beau Rodman is a presenter. Love will perform with her band Hole; she recently bad-mouthed presenter Barrymore in Rolling Stone magazine.
The Red Hot Chili Peppers - bassist Flea stood in his underwear, miming masturbation during the 1992 show - are also due to play live. So are Michael Jackson, R.E.M., Hootie & The Blowfish and Green Day (via remote from Sweden).
Based on past performance, here’s what to expect when MTV airs its three-hour event.
Bad Taste
Last year, Aerosmith’s Steven Tyler swapped masturbation jokes with Madonna, while Roseanne traded insults with MTV VJ Kennedy over who was doing the nasty with Rush Limbaugh. Sensing a theme?
Bare Cheeks
In 1991, Prince - when he still answered to that name - cavorted in a see-through outfit that flashed his butt across America while dancers re-created a Roman orgy. The song he played: “Gett Off,” demonstrating he can’t spell or dress.
Bad Blood
This mostly involves angry middle-aged man Axl W. Rose. In 1989, he was involved in a backstage punch-up with Motley Crue’s Vince Neil (who to root for there?). Three years later, when accepting the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award, Axl sniped, “This has nothing to do with Michael Jackson.” And in 1993, the members of Nirvana got Axl all riled up by mockingly shouting his name after their live performance.
The person on the hottest seat Thursday night is Carol Donovan, whose hand rests on the network’s bleep button. The show airs with a five-second delay; that wasn’t enough in 1992, when Van Halen’s Sammy Hagar blurted out an obscenity.
“It’s really hard to walk that line of good taste without falling over,” said Donovan.