Total Request Live

I want to see bands like Pavement and Pixies on this show. Why doesn't anyone ever request artists like Tom Waits, or Liz Phair? All I ever see are teen-dreams like Britney Spears. Where's Pedro the Lion? Where's The Dismemberment Plan? Carson, show us the new Alpha video! I wanna see the new Rufus Wainwright cut! Will great bands like King Crimson ever make it on TRL? What about pop giants like Elvis Costello or Wil Oldham? Where are classics like The Beatles, the Stones or the Velvet Underground? Big Star anyone? I want to see Edgar Verese music performed by the late great Frank Zappa, not some pre-pubescent spank rag! If you have to, at least show us Spike Jonez's newest Bjork video, or that Squarepusher video about the Japanese children in the mental ward!

Oh well, I heard they played Beck once...

*sigh*

I used to watch this show for awhile but then it got just plain stupid. What really started to anger me was the fact that all these teeny bopper and boy bands started to always be in the top 10. I mean in the summer and fall of 1999 the backstreet bots were number 3/4 of the time and this very quickly tires this show and makes it very flat and now in 2000 two other familar names dominate the top 10, Eminem and N'sync are always in the top 10 and what is sad is that "the real slim shady" is an extremely dumb song and it was number one quite a few times. I mean when is MtV going to get their head out of the ground and allow some other groups they've banned to be aired such as ICP and Twiztid. I would also like to see some more punk bands like Bad religion or the offspring make it into the top 10. basically this show is for middle schoolers and high schoolers who are into this type of pop music and my advice to America is "don't let boy bands and teeny boppers" take over mainstream music.

I was the the ORIGINAL video editor on the show and I can tell you that we FAKED most of the "call in" requests when the show launched. Me, the producer, co-workers of mine would all call into the editing suite and tape record the so called the "requests" It was originally a "top request for videos" show. where the viewers call in and give their requests, the audio of requests would be played over the intro of the requested video... but it was all a scam. MTV had their own agenda of what videos they wanted to push and we were expected to "create" their desired results. So I would call in, make up a phony name, pick some town and say " yo, I want to hear Limp Bisket" or whatever... and the public was never the wiser.

I've watched this program for about maybe 3 months just to see what they would play. But I have to admit, _some_ of my favorite groups made it like Green Day, The Offspring, and Blink 182. KoRn is okay. But IMHO, those were the only good groups whose vidoes made it on TRL.

Everyday it's the same thing on this show. Either the Backstreet Boys or N'Sync come in first. Also, they play a lot of stuff that only attracts the teeny-bopper genre, such as Britney Spears, Christina Aguliera, Ricky Martin, TLC, some rap, and Mandy Moore! After I realized it was just the same junk, I've stopped watching and gave up on MTV all together.

This show is only for teeny-bopping trendies. And it also seems like Carson Daily literally falls for the boy bands. Why can't they have a special TRL or even a show just like it that only have requests for videos from Nirvana, Smashing Pumpkins, Green Day, The Offspring, Bush, Live, Soundgarden, and some of the old rock groups that have made videos like The Rolling Stones!

Also, another nightmare was that even Hole and No Doubt made guest appearences on TRL and were even in the countdown! This show is only for teeny-boppers who like this type of music. They ought to change the name of this show to, "Total Payola Live"!

I was home today and started channel surfing and Total Request Live was on. Man, this show brings back memories. I was a big fan of this show as an an teen in 98' (I cringe lol) and I have not seen this show since 2001. That's when an already quirky show just became boring to me after so many changes.

A lot of people may not remember but Total Request Live started out not being live in 98'. It was called Total Request with Carson Daly and it first played at night. There was no live audience just Carson Daly sitting down by a TV. The show was 30 minutes long and counted down the top videos of the day. I remember Hanson being #1 all the time with their video "Weird".

Then some thing happened in the later part of 98'. The show moved to afternoons. It went from 30 to 90 minutes long. It got an live audience inside and out. The birth of TRL was born. As a teen this show was fun to come home too. Even though the countdown was shallow and more of an popularity contest and not many good music videos made it but they had a lot of guests and music and it was just fun and cool at the time to us teens. This show believe it or not made pop acts like Nsync and BSB even more popular than they already were. They owned the countdown seriously. If BSB was not #1 than Nsync was and vice versa. But TRL also made grunge metal bands like Korn, Limp Bizket popular too. People who were into pop were introduced to rock and vice versa from the countdown.

Carson Daly became an overnight sensation and was so popular as an DJ they even started an be an MTV DJ contest. I remember when Jesse Camp won the contest. Oh, man watching him was hilarious...he was great.

Then 2001 rolls in and the show just changed. They added a whole lot of DJ's that I could give a crap about. Carson was hardly featured then he finally left. The videos were cut short or never really showed. I guess music just changed in general. I always thought BSB and Britney Spears were horrible acts to be always topping the countdown but I watch today and you have Ashlee Simpson, Hilary Duff, Ryan Cabrera all in the countdown and wow, Nsync, Britney and BSB don't look so bad.

I guess my most reason for stop watching TRL is that I am a teen no more. I just grew up. Whatever it was I will always remember this show at once being really fun to watch as a teen.