Column | I wasted my childhood watching music videos, but I learned about sex and ideology at the same time

I used when I was in elementary school, I spent a confusing amount of time watching music videos. In my memories, I didn’t do much else but sit and watch the music videos offered by the MTV and The Voice channels.

My heaviest consumption of music television took place in the mid-2000s, i.e. the last years before the internet became the primary viewing platform for music videos. At the same time, music videos of my childhood idol could also be seen on TV by Ruben Stiller hosting In the record board and aimed at school-aged children Kids Top 20 in the program.

The latter in particular seems like a completely absurd concept these days. Let’s explain to the zoomer who watches in the tender care of algorithms that until a while ago we were looking forward to it Tea Charcoal weekly clips of music videos presented on cheap-looking stages.

Music videos fascinated me because they opened a window into the strange world of adults for a couple of minutes. Watching music TV made the developing brain go into overdrive.

by the Maroon 5 band This Love -music video was the first sex education I received at the age of seven. Vocalist by Adam Levine and his girlfriend at the time Kelly McKeen the frolicking referred to a mystical act just enough that the simulated jörniming left an indelible psychosexual memory trace.

Rammstein America’s in the same year, a video parodying the dominance of American culture taught ideology criticism. “Sure,” I thought, picking my nose at the TV, “we all live in America!” Later I started reading Slavoj Žižek too analyzes of capitalism and ideology as forces shaping the perception of reality, but I had already gotten the basics from the German band’s video.

of PMMP little brother –the cover’s music video in 2006 forced to face the end of childhood. At the end of the video, I cursed the dog abandoning his dog friend to the lowest hell and cried. The trauma of growing up that all children go through happened to me while Finnish rock was playing.

Youtube when the profit expense started at the turn of the 2010s, my own following of new music videos also decreased. Kids Top 20 ended in 2009, The Voice channel was merged into Kuto in 2012.

Since then, I’ve settled into my own 1990’s video vibe. At Ysäri Mark Roman too and by Michel Gondry directors like made music videos a true art form, and no similar ambition has been seen since.

However, 2000s videos have their own significance as part of my childhood.

The music videos that pressed their thumbs into my plasticine brain confused, excited, broadened my thinking. Name a random song from 2003-2008 and I’m likely to have an intimate anecdote or interpretation of its music video.

I don’t remember much about the elementary school curriculum. For example, I never learned the multiplication table by heart.

The teachings of the pop videos I watched around the same time, on the other hand, have drilled deep into the foundations of my psyche.