I can’t think of the last time I turned on MTV. I’m pretty sure we have it on our cable package, but a few years back it seemed like the thing that WASN’T on there was music. Just reality crap followed by more reality crap.

This makes me sad.

I remember as a pre-teenager BEGGING my parents for cable, and the only thing I wanted was my MTV. Well – our house wasn’t wired for cable. Then one way day, construction crews dug a trench up Bernal Rd. and finally cable was available in our area. But my parents still wouldn’t have any of it (pay for TV???). We finally got it just before moving to Roseville, and I think I packed in a few good years of watching MTV in those months before the move. I remember having MTV on and doing 7th grade homework. I felt so hip and cool. And what told me that I was REALLY cool? 120 minutes did.

I loved staying up late to hear stuff on 120 minutes that wasn’t playing on KSJO. This is where I discovered New Order, Jesus and Mary Chain (a band name that I wasn’t sure I could mention around my parents) and probably most significantly for me, I discovered the ‘Birdhouse In Your Soul’ and the two Johns from Brooklyn. I still remember the first time I saw They Might Be Giants – in all their geek glory and – and feeling a little comforted. They were quirky and smart and I wanted to learn the accordion. I don’t know if they made me feel less geeky, but I suddenly didn’t mind being as geeky.

Anyways – 120 Minutes put out two compilations in the early 90s, and I think they provide an amazing snapshot of 80s alternative music (pre-Nirvana / grunge). After spending most of the late 80s listening to Guns-N-Roses and learning every Led Zeppelin record (what was on the radio in San Jose mostly and at the Tower in Campbell) 120 minutes showed me the alternate universe of rock music, and these two discs are (while corporate and released on Warner Brothers) two of my favorite

mix discs’ in my stack. It jumps around in style (Faith No More => Violent Femmes), yet makes some beautiful (even though obvious) connections at the same time (Joy Division => New Order). These discs were my first introduction to the Cocteau Twins and The Stone Roses, and at the same time there are tracks on here by The Ramones and the Red Hot Chili Peppers (covering Stevie Wonder). In other words – it feels like a mix disc made by a friend for a friend in a strange way, a little bit familiar, as well as the harder to find stuff that they know you are going to like. Some Camper Van Beethoven, then some Modern English. Some X, and some XTC (and can I say – I first heard ‘Dear God’ while asking some of the same questions to myself… ah, teenage angst).