MTV: UNCENSORED
Edited by Jacob Hoye
Compiled by David P. Levin and Stuart Cohn
Pocket Books
On August 1, 1981, one of the largest cultural phenomena in pop culture was born: MTV. The network’s twenty years of establishment have produced some of the greatest moments in rock n’ roll history.
MTV and Pocket Books commemorate this pop culture milestone with the publication MTV: Uncensored, a stunning full-color book filled with never-before-told stories and rarely-seen photos from world famous photographers like David LaChapelle, Mark Seliger and Frank Micelotta.
MTV: Uncensored serves as an oral history of the network’s illustrious 20 years, filled with anecdotes, stories, and behind-the-scenes revelations from the people who experienced it, including the stars, producers, and production assistants. Contributors to the book include such unmistakable stars as Britney Spears, Jon Stewart, Steven Tyler, Marilyn Manson, and Snoop Dogg.
Former and current MTV VJs and news department honchos, however, offer the most riveting stories behind the success of the world’s biggest music and youth culture machine. Just like the network it’s covering, the book starts off at a refreshingly creative pace. An uproarious “interview” conducted by the brilliant Chris Connelly (a true pioneer of entertainment journalism) with the M (as in MTV) is one of the highlights in MTV: Uncensored.
The book never forgets MTV’s roots, as anyone who has stamped their imprint on MTV over the last 20 years is featured in the book. Groundbreaking shows such as “Yo! MTV Raps” and “Spring Break,” plus the “Choose or Lose” pro-social campaign, which urged young people to become politically aware and active, have their own spread in the book. But most importantly, the book shows that MTV’s experimentation (which still exists) in creativity offered a great growth spurt for not only the network itself but for television in general.
Written and designed in conjunction with MTV’s programming department and award-winning creative team, this 288-pager relives the best of the last 20 years and reveals stories and images never seen in print nor on the air.
MTV: Uncensored serves as a yearbook to MTV’s first 20 years. Madonna’s memorable performance of “Vogue” at the 1990 Video Music Awards (along with countless other MTV VMA shots), the network’s signature moon man planting the MTV flag, are both captured in this book along with many other beautifully shot pictures. One of the biggest photo shoots in MTV’s history is also captured in this colorful hardcover book: a David LaChappelle “TRL” class photo, for which everyone from ‘N Sync to Fred Durst to Lenny Kravitz to Jennifer Lopez all gathered under one roof.
But it’s the behind-the-scenes work in the photo, which was exclusively printed, that was truly an eye-popper. MTV VJ Ananda Lewis, who was on the scene for the shoot, snipped: “I really like Christina and I don’t like what’s happened to her now that her career has blown up. I met her before that and she seemed so humble and down to earth. I just thought she would keep that.” As Lewis went on to note that Aguilera was one of the last stars to walk onto the shoot she explained, “She scans the crowd to see where she wants to sit and Britney’s [Spears] right here lying down and Christina went “Uh-uh,” shaking her head, and walks to the other side.”
Other juicy tidbits include the 1995 MTV VMA’s where the news department wrangled the difficult-to-interview Madonna for a post-show chatfest. Courtney Love interrupted the interview throwing compacts and makeup at Madonna (all on live TV). Then-MTV newswoman Tabitha Soren, who was on the scene along with Loder interviewing the Queen of Pop, relives the experience: “Madonna was totally trying to be graceful. But her publicist was going ‘Cut! Cut! Cut! Get her out of there! Get Madonna out of there! I don’t even want her in the same shot as this train wreck.”
Wonder why everyone refers to Michael Jackson as the “self-proclaimed King of Pop?” Look no further than MTV newsman Kurt Loder. Apparently Jackson had sent out a release where the press had to refer to him as the “King of Pop.” Loder found that “this was just really offensive.” Loder coined the phrase during one of his news segments and has since become an international practice.
The book has just enough dirt on the stars without going overboard and making it seem like a tawdry tabloid. Its compelling humor moves the book along at a rip-roaring pace. “[You haven’t lived until you’ve] watched a puzzled audio tech wondering where, exactly, to attach a lavaliere microphone to a barely clothed Lil’ Kim. (Clip it on a nipple? Nail it to her head?),” Loder quips.
MTV: Uncensored is an indispensable book for any pop-culture junkie. It offers insight by those who mattered into the proliferation of MTV and it’s rich history in pop culture. It eschews the superficial and fake and tells the stories as they were meant to be told-candidly and without remorse.
