120 Minutes

Last updated
120 Minutes
Mtv2-120Minutes-Logo.jpg
Created by Dave Kendall
Presented by Kevin Seal (1986-1987)
Dave Kendall (1988–1992)
Lewis Largent (1992–1995)
Matt Pinfield (1995–1999, 2011–2013)
Jim Shearer (2002–2003)
Country of originUnited States
No. of seasonsOriginal: 17
Revival: 1
No. of episodesOriginal: approx. 839 [1]
Revival: 15 (aired)
Production
Running time120 minutes (80–90 without commercials)
Original release
Network MTV
ReleaseMarch 10, 1986 (1986-03-10) –
May 4, 2003 (2003-05-04)
Network MTV2
ReleaseJuly 30, 2011 (2011-07-30) –
February 1, 2013 (2013-02-01)

120 Minutes is a television program in the United States dedicated to the alternative music genre, that originally aired on MTV from 1986 to 2000, and then aired on MTV's associate channel MTV2 from 2001 to 2003.

Contents

After its cancellation, MTV2 premiered a replacement program called Subterranean . A similar but separate MTV Classic program, also titled 120 Minutes , plays many classic alternative videos that were regularly seen on 120 Minutes in its heyday.

120 Minutes returned as a monthly program on MTV2 on July 30, 2011, [2] with Matt Pinfield as host. [3]

History

The early years

120 Minutes' 120 Minutes' most recognisable logo used during Matt Pinfield's tenure from 1995 to 1998. 120Minutes.png
120 Minutes' 120 Minutes' most recognisable logo used during Matt Pinfield's tenure from 1995 to 1998.

120 Minutes began on March 10, 1986. [4] [ unreliable source? ] [5] For the first ten years of 120 Minutes, viewers could see artists as varied as The Jesus and Mary Chain, Bronski Beat, New Order, The Replacements, The Verve, James, Slowdive, Weezer, Robyn Hitchcock, The Stone Roses, Oasis, 10,000 Maniacs, Blur, Butthole Surfers, Radiohead, KMFDM, Kate Bush, Ramones, XTC, Morrissey, The Smashing Pumpkins, Kitchens of Distinction, Sarah McLachlan, They Might Be Giants, Dinosaur Jr., Rage Against the Machine, Hüsker Dü, The Offspring, Sparklehorse, and Bad Religion. Nirvana's music video for "Smells Like Teen Spirit" received a world premiere on 120 Minutes, but soon proved so popular that the channel began to air it during its regular daytime rotation. For a time in the mid-1990s, a companion program called Alternative Nation aired every weeknight on MTV.

From MTV to MTV2

As time went on, and MTV found television reality series like The Real World immensely profitable, the program found its time slot pushed further back. As this was happening, the program's playlist was becoming more and more mainstream, playing the likes of Sum 41 and Staind, and the program was more frequently preempted (usually without any warning) for reruns of The Real World, Loveline , and Undressed before being removed from the airwaves in the summer of 2000. In 2001, the program returned to the airwaves on MTV2, where it returned to the style of music it was known for. [6]

Cancellation

On May 4, 2003, the program was canceled with no formal announcement from MTV2. Jim Shearer, the current host at the time, shared the screen with the creator of 120 Minutes, Dave Kendall, as well as Matt Pinfield. [6] The two "classic era" hosts shared their favorite videos from over the years (a full playlist for the final episode can be found here [7] ), finally ending with the selection of Siouxsie and the Banshees's "Kiss Them for Me" as the final video aired. [8]

120 Minutes with Matt Pinfield

120 Minutes made its return to MTV2 on July 31, 2011, at 1 am ET. Matt Pinfield reprised his role as the host and the program was formally called 120 Minutes with Matt Pinfield. The revived program initially aired on a monthly basis, but returned to a weekly format in late November 2011. It aired Fridays 6 am-8 am on MTV2. In addition to videos and interviews from alternative rock and indie rock artists, the program also featured music from underground hip hop, alternative hip hop, electronica, turntablism, and dubstep artists. 120 Minutes also aired as a two-minute clip in a series called 120 Seconds which can be seen on MTVhive.com.

120 Minutes was taken off the MTV2 schedule without announcement. The last airing was February 1, 2013. A two-hour indie block called Artists to Watch took its slot during the same Friday 7AM-9AM ET block. However, that program stopped airing as of May 2013.

As of 2018, MTV's sister channel MTV Classic (formerly called VH1 Classic) airs a similar program with the name 120 Minutes (formerly called "The Alternative") on its Sunday midnight time slot (on which the original show aired). This version of the show, however, has no host and highlights more well established alternative artists of the 1980s and 1990s; mostly replaying videos that originally aired on MTV.

[3] [9]

List of 120 Minutes hosts

The following MTV VJs hosted 120 Minutes on a regular basis. [6]

120 Minutes albums

Never Mind the Mainstream

In 1991, two CDs were released entitled "Never Mind the Mainstream: The Best of MTV's 120 Minutes" volumes 1 and 2 and featured many songs featured on the program. Artists included Red Hot Chili Peppers, Echo & the Bunnymen, Julian Cope, R.E.M., Sinéad O'Connor, Ministry, Depeche Mode, Sonic Youth, and Violent Femmes. The title referenced the Sex Pistols' landmark album Never Mind the Bollocks , but fortuitously recalled the title of Nirvana's Nevermind album which was released near-simultaneously.

Volume One:

  1. Red Hot Chili Peppers – Higher Ground
  2. Soul Asylum – Sometime to Return
  3. The Stone Roses – Fools Gold (Single Edit)
  4. The Mission UK – Wasteland
  5. Bob Mould – See a Little Light (CD Bonus Track)
  6. The Church – Under the Milky Way
  7. Cocteau Twins – Carolyn's Fingers (CD Bonus Track)
  8. Julian Cope – World Shut Your Mouth
  9. Sinéad O'Connor – Mandinka
  10. Sonic Youth – Kool Thing
  11. Robyn Hitchcock & The Egyptians – Balloon Man
  12. World Party – Put the Message in the Box (CD Bonus Track)
  13. XTC – Dear God
  14. They Might Be Giants – Ana Ng
  15. Camper Van Beethoven – Eye of Fatima (Pt. 1)
  16. Modern English – I Melt with You (CD Bonus Track)

Volume Two:

  1. R.E.M. – Orange Crush
  2. Public Image Ltd. – This Is Not a Love Song
  3. Ramones – Do You Remember Rock 'N' Roll Radio?
  4. X – Burning House of Love (CD Bonus Track)
  5. Ministry – Stigmata
  6. Morrissey – Everyday Is Like Sunday
  7. The Jesus and Mary Chain – Head On (CD Bonus Track)
  8. Echo and the Bunnymen – The Killing Moon
  9. Joy Division – Love Will Tear Us Apart
  10. New Order – The Perfect Kiss
  11. Depeche Mode – Personal Jesus
  12. The Sugarcubes – Birthday (CD Bonus Track)
  13. Hüsker Dü – Could You Be the One?
  14. Faith No More – We Care a Lot
  15. Violent Femmes – Gone Daddy Gone
  16. Wire – Eardrum Buzz (CD Bonus Track)

120 Minutes Live

In 1998, an album was released by Atlantic Records featuring 14 of the best and most memorable live performances on 120 Minutes from the 1990s.

  1. Oasis  – "Supersonic"
  2. Morphine  – "Honey White"
  3. Porno for Pyros  – "Kimberly Austin"
  4. Evan Dando  – "It's About Time"
  5. P.J. Harvey  – "C'mon Billy"
  6. Weezer  – "Undone – The Sweater Song"
  7. Violent Femmes  – "Kiss Off"
  8. They Might Be Giants  – "Particle Man"
  9. Sex Pistols  – "Pretty Vacant"
  10. Bad Religion  – "American Jesus"
  11. Victoria Williams with Lou Reed  – "Crazy Mary"
  12. Björk  – "Aeroplane"
  13. The Verve Pipe  – "Villains"
  14. Radiohead  – "Fake Plastic Trees"

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">MTV2</span> American pay television channel

MTV2 is an American pay television channel owned by the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global, through PMN’s MTV Entertainment Group Subdivision.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">VH1</span> American cable television network

VH1 is an American basic cable television network based in New York City. It was created by Warner-Amex Satellite Entertainment, at the time a division of Warner Communications and the original owner of MTV, and launched on January 1, 1985, in the former space of Turner Broadcasting System's short-lived Cable Music Channel. The channel is currently owned by Paramount Global.

NickMusic is an American pay television network and spin-off of Nickelodeon that mainly carries music video and music-related programming from younger pop artists that appeal to Nickelodeon's target audience, with some videos edited for content to meet a general TV-PG rating applied across the network's broadcast day, or replaced with a lyric video instead.

Jim Shearer is a VJ and was host of the VH1 Top 20 Video Countdown and was the "music expert" on VH1's morning show Big Morning Buzz Live. Currently, Shearer is a host on Sirius XM's VOLUME channel.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Box (American TV channel)</span> American television network

The Box, originally named the Video Jukebox Network, was an American broadcast, cable and satellite television network that operated from 1985 to 2001. The network focused on music videos, which through a change in format in the early 1990s, were selected by viewer request via telephone; as such, unlike competing networks, the videos were not broadcast on a set rotation.

120 Minutes is an alternative rock music video program that debuted in August 2004 on VH1 Classic and currently airs on MTV Classic. The program follows a similar format to that of 120 Minutes, which aired on MTV from 1986 to 2003.

<i>Headbangers Ball</i> Heavy metal music television program

Headbangers Ball is a music television program that consisted of heavy metal music videos airing on MTV and its global affiliates. The show began on MTV on April 18, 1987, playing heavy metal music videos from both well-known and more obscure artists. The show offered a stark contrast to Top 40 music videos shown during the day.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Matt Pinfield</span> American VJ, TV host and radio personality

Matthew Pinfield is an American television host, disc jockey, and music executive. He first reached national prominence as a VJ on MTV. He served two stints as the host of the alternative music program 120 Minutes, from 1995 to 1999 on MTV and from 2011 to 2013 on MTV2.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">MTV Rocks (British and Irish TV channel)</span> 24-hour alternative music MTV network channel

MTV Rocks was a British pay television music channel that was operated by ViacomCBS Networks UK & Australia. Its programming consisted of 24-hour non-stop rock/alternative music.

<i>VH1 Top 20 Video Countdown</i> American TV series or program

The 20 is a weekly music video countdown television show that aired on the VH1 cable television network in the United States. The long-running show was first introduced in 1994 as VH1 Top 10 Countdown, part of VH1's "Music First" re-branding effort. Over the years, a variety of hosts counted down the top 10 or 20 music videos of the week. The order of countdown was initially decided by a mix of record sales, radio airplay, video spins, message board posts, and conventional mail. The final episode aired unexpectedly without fanfare on November 28, 2015.

Urge was a discontinued online music distribution service run by MTV Networks. Urge was integrated into Windows Media Player 11.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">MTV Tres</span> American cable, satellite and over-the-air network

MTV Tres is an American pay television network owned by Paramount Media Networks, a subsidiary of Paramount Global.

120 Minutes is a European music television programme that was broadcast nightly at 1am on MTV Two. In the tradition of the American show of the same name, it showcased music videos from "the newest, most innovative acts in rock, left field and electronic music".

Flashback is an American radio show syndicated by Westwood One. Flashback plays a diverse mix of classic rock from the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s. Other show elements include newscasts, classic TV and movie clips, commercials and comedy bits to create thematic segments from the 1960s into the 1990s. The four-hour program is syndicated to over 200 radio affiliates in the United States and Canada.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">VH1 Classic (European TV channel)</span> European music television channel

VH1 Classic Europe was a European music television channel from ViacomCBS Networks EMEAA. The channel primarily featured music videos from the 1970s through to the 2000s (decade), although rare live performances from the 1950s and 1960s could be seen as well.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">MTV Hits (Latin American TV channel)</span> Television channel

MTV Hits Latin America was a 24-hour non-stop contemporary hit music channel from ViacomCBS Networks Americas that debuted in 2008. The format of the network resembles that of the classic MTV Latin America before the addition of other programming to that network in the 2000s and their slow decline of music video programming. The network had a schedule consisted of only videos, interrupted by promotional advertising for MTV Latin America and limited commercials on the network. Like the other digital MTV/VH1 channels, MTV Hits Latin America used to be based on an automated wheel schedule introduced in the first years of MTV2 in the US. This practice, though, has now been reduced, with five themed zones - namely MTV Hits Playlistism, Hitlist, Biggest! Hottest! Loudest!, MTV Classic and Weekend Playlist - being scheduled at predetermined timeslots.

Brian Graden is an American television executive and founder and CEO of Emmy-winning Brian Graden Media, founded in 2013. Its series include Create Together, Escape the Night, HitRECord on TV, Finding Prince Charming, Lance Loves Michael: The Lance Bass Wedding Special, Walk of Shame, Gay Skit Happens, and The Disappearance of Natalee Holloway.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">I Hate December</span> Single by American band Ivy

"I Hate December" is a song by American band Ivy, released on January 12, 1996 by Scratchie Records. The track came from the band's first extended play, Lately (1994). It was written and produced by Andy Chase and Adam Schlesinger, while Dominique Durand also contributed to the lyrics and Peter Nashel handled additional production. While the version that appeared on Lately was not released as a commercial single, a remix was created and distributed as a CD single instead.

120 Minutes is a US television program that aired on MTV and MTV2 from 1986 to 2003.

References

  1. ↑ "120 Minutes Season 18 Episode Guide". TV.com. Retrieved 2011-09-07.[ permanent dead link ]
  2. ↑ MTV Brings Back "120 Minutes" Pitchfork Media July 28, 2011
  3. 1 2 '120 Minutes' Resurfaces At MTV2 Multichannel News March 17, 2011
  4. ↑ "120 Minutes Television Show". TV.com. 2005-06-21. Retrieved 2011-09-07.
  5. ↑ "Watch Every Episode of MTV's '120 Minutes' From The '90s". Telekom Electronic Beats. 2016-02-05. Retrieved 2021-04-19.
  6. 1 2 3 "altmusictv: 120 Minutes archive". Archived from the original on 2009-10-11. Retrieved 2009-07-26.
  7. ↑ "The 120 Minutes Archive | MTV's and MTV2's 120 Minutes". Tylerc.com. Retrieved 2011-09-07.
  8. ↑ "altmusictv: 120 Minutes archive: Playlists: May 4, 2003". Tylerc.com. Retrieved 2011-09-07.
  9. ↑ Tedder, Michael (2011-07-29). "Matt Pinfield And 120 Minutes Return To TV; Will The Audience Follow? Village Voice July 29, 2011". Blogs.villagevoice.com. Archived from the original on 2011-09-12. Retrieved 2011-09-07.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.