In March, MTV Networks heralded the return of one of its most iconic brands, a visual gateway into the hearts and minds of an entire musical generation: 120 Minutes. An immense amount of positive articles and reactions about its rebirth immediately flooded the Internet. First aired in 1986 until its cancellation in 2003, 120 Minutes helped give an identity to a growing musical revolution that would soon embed its identity into the fabric of Alternative Rock via the masterful curator of the genre’s elder statesmen, Matt Pinfield.
Mike Bacon
By Mike Bacon
In March, MTV Networks heralded the return of one of its most iconic brands, a visual gateway into the hearts and minds of an entire musical generation: 120 Minutes. An immense amount of positive articles and reactions about its rebirth immediately flooded the Internet. First aired in 1986 until its cancellation in 2003, 120 Minutes helped give an identity to a growing musical revolution that would soon erupt in the early 90s with the emergence of Grunge.
From there all bets were off, as a new age in rock and roll captured the imaginations of millions and became, ironically, a very viable mainstream commodity. Every week hosts through the years such as Lewis Largent, Dave Kendall and the program’s most revered host, Matt Pinfield, would guide viewers through the ever-expanding Modern Rock maze, equal parts fan and educator. Now the prolific MTV music franchise is set to make its return to MTV2 with Pinfield again as host, as an on-air monthly show this summer and is now streaming with new episodes weekly on MTV Hive (www.mtvhive.com/120) as 120 Seconds.
“I’ve always loved working with MTV and its passionate staff. I am elated and proud to be part of bringing back one of the most influential and longest running music shows in the network’s history,” Pinfield said of the announcement. “Everywhere I go, people from all over the world-talk about how much 120 Minutes shaped their musical tastes and how much they missed it. The show helped expose, and ultimately, break new artists. MTV’s historical role in breaking artists of all genres can never be underestimated.”
“The signature of MTV’s 120 Minutes was the unparalleled passion for and perspective on the latest music and artists that were off the mainstream media’s radar,” said Amy Doyle, EVP, Music and Talent, MTV. “Being able to bring back that music ethos and Matt Pinfield back as host was essential but we also needed to re-invent the 120 Minutes franchise through a multi-screen experience that a whole new generation of music fans would appreciate – and we believe we’ve accomplished that with MTV Hive’s 120 Seconds and MTV2’s 120 Minutes.”
In a recent interview with FMQB, Doyle spoke of the network’s commitment to evolving with its audience and offering multiple means within its platforms that lend themselves to music discovery. These new programs add another distinguished weapon to MTV’s growing online and broadcast arsenal by reaching back into its past while pushing its brand further into the future. The stage has been set to reclaim past glories and embark on new alternative journeys.
Host Matt Pinfield’s journeys through the music industry have taken him from radio DJ and programmer, then kicked off his television career hosting MTV’s 120 Minutes in 1995. He also joined the MTV Music and Talent department and hosted a variety of MTV shows and over 100 MTV specials during his time at MTV. In 2001, Matt became Vice President of A & R and Artist Development for Columbia Records, signing such acts as Coheed & Cambria and Crossfade. Pinfield also continues to one of the main voices behind FMQB Productions ongoing Inside album world premiere radio series. Matt can also be heard in middays with co-host Leslie Fram on Alternative radio outlet WRXP/New York.
The new monthly 120 Minutes television show will be fast-paced and chock full of interviews and videos. Much of the shooting for the inaugural episode of 120 has already taken place and will feature a wide variety of established and developing artists all being subjected to Pinfield’s scary sonic recall and endearing statesman demeanor. It’s that dynamic disposition that has had a significant impact on how people connected with and consumed alternative music in the 90s and early 2000s. Viewers entrusted themselves to the 120 Minutes musical filter and let it help shape their tastes, their appetites and their knowledge of the very best music in the Alternative Rock universe. Today there is a digital blitzkrieg of new artists, almost 10 times as many new Alternative records releases yearly than at the height of 120 Minutes’ heyday. The task at hand is to present the best of the best of this avalanche of Alternative music and educate the masses on today’s most potent and polarizing acts.
The show will also pay homage to some of the genre’s most beloved artists over the last 20 years, and as happens frequently when talking about music with Pinfield, a million different behind the scenes stories pop up involving him and some of the Alt’s biggest acts. Case in point, our conversation about 120 Minutes’ return ranged from everything to current day Scotttish superstars Biffy Clyro, newcomers The Joy Formidable and the Pains Of Being Pure At Heart, to the time when he first learned of Kurt Cobain’s death while hanging out with The Afghan Whigs and current Twilight Singers frontman Greg Dulli at his radio home at the time, WHTG.
“The biggest difference with this incarnation of 120 Minutes is that there will be a lot more guests on each show,” Pinfield explains. “There used to be one or two guests a show, and now you will see me interviewing 5-7 artists per episode and showing videos and performances like we always did.”
Giving rising artists a face and visual identity on television went a long way in establishing Grunge and Alt artists as musical gods before the digital age bumrushed today’s youth and fragmented everyone’s attention spans. The hope is that 120 Minutes can be a catalyst for awareness and exposure to audiences that may have fractionalized their tastes into different genres within the genre, paying homage to the philosophy of the program since its inception.
Of course the Twitterverse and online trending meters will also help gauge and filter what’s out there to help bring the best of what Alternative has to offer to the fore. “The bottom line is there is so much music and information out there now that we will be incorporating social media to the show as well,” says Pinfield. “120 Minutes can be as important as it was before, even with all the choices and information available. Even with the saturation of music today, it will be a good filter and curation to go and check out new music that’s out there.”
[eQB Content by Mike Bacon]
