Futile soul search forces MTV to Hijack Reality

Despite being 23 years old (almost pensionable age in the youth-obsessed world of pop) and appealing to a distinctly non-counterculture market size of 406 million households, MTV assures us that it is as ‘irreverent, cool and innovative’ as ever.

To prove it, the network has teamed up with London groups Hi-Res! and Precursor to produce Hijacking Reality, a multimedia resource that is intended to inspire MTV’s local channels across 64 countries.

Sadly, we’re not allowed to reproduce this visual inspiration, but here’s a snatch of MTV’s manifesto from the book: ‘If we walk away from the music we walk away from the soul of MTV. It is the bloodstream.’

Or, as Spinal Tap’s David St. Hubbins put it: ‘It was never about the music. It was about being about the music.’