Long long ago, in a world much different from ours today, MTV, aka Music Television, was just that –- music television. Whether or not video killed the radio star is still up for debate, but few can deny that the longer music TV is around, the less it’s about music and the more it’s about TV. MTV launched in August 1981 — the very month of my birth — and, like millions of others, I was soon fixated on those mini pop movies, patiently waiting for the latest Bangles video to grace my screen. Now flip on MTV or VH1 and you’ll see not music television, but television about washed-up, or worse, not-quite celebrities. Of course you also have, in some wan attempt to stick with the music theme, shows about washed-up musicians –- sometimes trying to quit the cheeseburgers or the smack, other times just showing off their “cribs.”

So what happened? Reality TV happened, for one thing. And somewhere along the line, music videos became less about the music and more about shaking dat ass. Ironically, Michael Jackson, whose music videos were hailed as some of the first to explore the creative potential of the medium, later made a music video that cost a record $7 million (the video for his and sis Janet’s 1996 single “Scream”). Could MJ and his fab dance moves (and moola) be largely to blame for shifting music television’s focus toward production and entertainment value, and in the process causing us to forget the, uh, music? (Nah, the poor guy’s been beat up enough already. Though while I’m at it, MJ, I’m getting sick of hearing Beatles songs being used to advertise every product under the sun. But I’ll leave that, too, for another day.)

Then, of course, YouTube happened. There’s no sense in sitting there for hours, nose pressed to the screen, waiting for that cherished music video. As long as you have Internet, you can find what you want when you want it. This also means MTV and similar networks don’t have to cater to a certain music genre and risk turning off viewers who don’t like Top 40 or R&B, or whatever they’re labeling alternative music these days. They can simply focus on delivering what everyone wants to see, regardless of musical preference, and apparently, in today’s world, that’s reality television.

Because we have to be the ones to seek out music videos these days, artists have to work much harder to ensure that we do. Smart artists, like Radiohead and the Arcade Fire, have found ways to capitalize on the online platform by creating interactive, often revolutionary videos. Other artists, like The Decemberists, have held contests to get fans involved by making their own videos. In a YouTubin’ world, these fan creations just might be the ultimate fate of the music video.

Recently I came across the video for Deerhoof’s “The Perfect Me,” a single from last year’s Friend Opportunity. We first witness the setting: a large, lofty old house. Singer Satomi Matsuzaki’s blurry face is the next thing we see. As the video progresses, Matsuzaki holds everything from a teddy bear to a cactus frond in front of the camera, obscuring our view. When we do see her sing, those lips never quite match the song. It’s as if she’s saying, “Yeah, I’m lip-syncing. So what? That’s what people do in music videos, right?”

The irony continues in the mismatched drums and guitar bits that follow, coupled with the band members’ coy, knowing looks. So why mention this scrappy, poorly made video which only seems to prove that the music video is a dying artform? Well, by bucking the traditional music video rules –- slick production, the feeling that the band is “really playing,” and, above all, taking one’s self seriously –- the Deerhoof video ultimately puts the focus back on the music itself. And somehow that seems just about right.Illustration by Emberly Modine

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