[Tiresias]

There's a new music video by J-Lo which is basically a softcore orgy, but which is still pretty tame compared to Lady Gaga, and it made me wonder what lies in store for the music video.

Elvis's pelvis thrusting was shockingly raunchy in the sixties but seems almost quaint today. Since then, artists have pushed the envelope to the limit of what can be aired on television.

What will the next generations of artists have to resort to in order to be edgy? Haven't we reached the final limit of acceptable sexual provocation? Will artists therefore move in another direction? Or will the definition of what is "acceptable" shift... so that maybe one day pole dancing in a thong will seem quaint—but in that case, what in God's name will kids be watching on MTV?

[andi*pandi]

kids these days!! <shakes fist in the air>

It's kind of cyclical, like fashion, what is "edgy." David Bowie>Madonna>Gaga all went through their phases.

Maybe dark thick wool bodystockings with pilgrim hats will be the next new thing.

[The Final Dakar]

C'mon, Madonna in the 80s, Rap videos in 90s... this is something new?

Anyone remember Smack My Bitch Up?

[Shaddim]

Closer? And that was in `89. The unedited version is one of my favorite videos, so very beautiful.


But no, my child's not watching that sort of thing until she's old enough to ask and understand the right questions.

[The Final Dakar]

Originally Posted by Shaddim 

Closer? And that was in `89. The unedited version is one of my favorite videos, so very beautiful.

NIN? That was like '94.

[Shaddim]

If you say so, I don't completely recall chunks of that time period.

[moonmonkey]

Originally Posted by The Final Dakar 

Anyone remember Smack My Bitch Up?

That was never proven, I wish everyone would forget about it.

[Spheric Harlot]

I remember the hullabaloo over 2 Live Crew.

I always thought it was so silly, all these dumb prudish Americans getting their panties in a tiff and giving the lame-ass provocation exactly the vehicle it needed to go through the roof.

[Shaddim]

I blame Tipper.

[Spheric Harlot]

Didn't Nancy start it in earnest?

[Shaddim]

Nah, she started the whole "pot will destroy you and kill your family" thing. Which was equally annoying.

[Spheric Harlot]

Constantly being high on tranquilizers does strange things to your perception of substance abuse, apparently.

I did have Nancy pegged as the "Just Say No" hypocrite, but I thought she'd been involved in the explicit lyrics farce, too.

[Tiresias]

I was aware that my post sounded prudish but I'm not actually making a moral judgement. I'm just interested in the problem on a theoretical level.

You can invoke controversial music videos from the past but the fact remains that each new generation of music videos is more sexually explicit than the one before and that this cannot continue forever because the continuum is finite.

I might sum up the problem this way: Once viewers become desensitized to the most sexually explicit videos it is possible to produce, it will be impossible to be "edgy." The envelope will have been pushed to its final limit.

What will they do then?

[Waragainstsleep]

Originally Posted by Tiresias 

You can invoke controversial music videos from the past but the fact remains that each new generation of music videos is more sexually explicit than the one before and that this cannot continue forever because the continuum is finite.

These things are cyclical. The Romans were decadent, then several hundred years later you got to the Puritans, now we're back the other way with Jersey Shore and easily acessible hardcore pr0n.

Give it a few hundred years and Ahmish Paradise will seriously be considered the height of fashionable music videos.

[Spheric Harlot]

Originally Posted by Tiresias 

I might sum up the problem this way: Once viewers become desensitized to the most sexually explicit videos it is possible to produce, it will be impossible to be "edgy." The envelope will have been pushed to its final limit.

What will they do then?

Maybe just relax?

(Yeah, right)

There will always be sexuality, and there will always be people like the Puritans, who abhor God's creation.

[Shaddim]

I thought one of the big trends nowadays was being asexual.

[lpkmckenna]

I'd like to thank everyone for not posting the name of the JLo music video in question. You've spared my eyes the evils of soft core dancing and stuff, and they thank you.

[angelmb]

Meanwhile in the land of the truly talented people, there is still hope each time something wonderful like this comes out.

Paul McCartney - "My Valentine" (Official Video, ft. Natalie Portman) - YouTube

[ghporter]

Let's all remember that "controversial" has meant different things with different videos, MTV refused for quite a while to run the video for "Sweet Dreams are Made of This" by the Eurythmics because of Annie Lennox's purported androgynous appearance.

[andi*pandi]

thanks for that mccartney video, it was beautiful.

[mattyb]

Originally Posted by andi*pandi 

thanks for that mccartney video, Natalie Portman is fookin beautiful.

There ya go.

[OwlBoy]

There are already other videos trying to be edgier.

SebastiAn - Love in Motion (directed by Gaspar Noé)

[ghporter]

Wow. I just took the time to watch the McCartney video. Wow. I've never seen sign as such an art form before. And Natalie is breathtaking... Wow.