SCOTT OTT, the very, very funny humorist of Scrappleface fame (see post below) has started a serious Website called BoycottMTV.

I can't say I blame him after February 1st. But what's sad is just how far MTV has fallen. As I wrote last Monday:

MTV is played out. It used to be fun in the mid-80s, back when it actually showed videos. If you've got VH-1 Classics on your cable or satellite system, you can actually see how tame much of those videos from the mid-80s were, and often how much fun. Then, perhaps with Madonna's success in mind, MTV decided it needed to shock--really shock--people. Instead, ultimately, it merely anesthezied them. And once Madonna released her Sex book, shocking the masses was pretty much passe, anyhow.

I don't grimace a whole lot when I turn on my radio and listen to classic rock, alternative rock, hard rock and new rock stations. And other than the cheese-factor, I don't gnash my teeth when I watch VH-1 Classic. But MTV, which started it all, is seriously past its freshness dating. Which is probably the biggest reason why so many people boycott it today. Just ask that other arbiter of hip youth culture, Bart Simpson.

UPDATE: On the other hand, let's not be too hasty here...