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Here's a surprise: Instead of celebrating its 20th anniversary by repackaging, say, the contrived spontaneity of
The Real World or the "Party down, dude!" vapidity of
Spring Break, MTV is marking this milestone with a boxed set of music videos--the channel's
raison d'être in the first place, of course, but pretty much an afterthought in recent years. And an impressive undertaking it is, with more than 50 selections spread out over four DVDs. They're arranged chronologically on their respective discs, which are divided by category: "Rock" (with 16 videos ranging from Robert Palmer to Godsmack, it may be the most interesting of the lot), "Pop" (the most fun disc, with 15 largely trivial but irresistible tracks by Tears for Fears, Elvis Costello, and others), and "Jams" (the most wide-ranging disc of the set, with a 15-track mix of rap, hip-hop, soul, and R&B). The fourth DVD, entitled "Bonus Beats," is the only one not available separately; while it's the shortest of the four (28 minutes), it's also the coolest, with six superb tracks by Moby, the Chemical Brothers, and others covering techno, acid-house, and other electronic dance styles.
There will undoubtedly be disputes about these somewhat arbitrary choices, or complaints about some of the omissions (what, no Madonna or Michael Jackson?). But those are the very things that make MTV20 worthwhile; in eschewing the obvious, the compilers have put together a package that's consistently surprising and engaging. Bonus DVD features are limited (some background info on the artists, along with a "Pop-Up Video"-style on-screen option) but effective. And seeing those MTV animated logos, commercial bumpers and other promos again is a joy. --Sam Graham
