In a stunning move, MTV has returned to its roots: actual music videos. But don't look for the videos on TV -- now they're online. MTV announced today that they've posted over 16,000 videos, "Unplugged" sessions, and concerts to their new MTV Music site. The videos are nicely presented, with an easy search feature and video quality that rivals YouTube's "Higher Quality." The catalog is deep. Not ultra deep (this ain't MTV2), but there's a lot of back catalog content. For example, they have Yo La Tengo's famous "Sugarcube" video in which the band goes to Rock School:
More favorites after the jump.
Now, just because I can, here are some videos I wasn't expecting to find on the site. Excuse me in advance for distracting you from the remainder of your workday.
Julee Cruise - "Falling" (theme from Twin Peaks):
The Breeders - "Divine Hammer":
Soul Coughing - "Down To This":
Elvis Costello - "Olver's Army":
If you're a software geek, check out the MTV Networks Developer Tools. (Yes, they have an API.)
Now go waste hours! Post your favorite videos in the comments -- you can just post the name, or if you want to post a URL, leave off the 'http://' part.