Finally got a chance to see the 2002 MTV Video Music Awards. Unfortunately the re-runs in Europe are edited down for time (more commercials) and for content by US broadcast standards, something we're not used to here.
I was proud to see that two of my buddies from 'back then' produced the show.
Beth McCarthy Williams, must've gotten married, since she was Beth McCarthy as a director at MTV. Directing VJ-segments is a pretty shitty job, but can be fun if there's the right amount of vibe between control-room and stage. Beth was an ace at using the PA system. We fought a lot and gave each other glaring looks, but I think secretly we both knew we had mutual respect. I wasn't surprised to hear that Beth later went on to direct Saturday Night Live. Perhaps the most prestigious directing job in broadcast television.
Alex Coletti was a punk from Brooklyn who started at the absolute bottom at MTV, as an associate producer doing VJ segments. Please understand that being an actual VJ is already lower than whale-shit on the showbizz ladder, imagine how well Alex was treated.
Alex's vibe was always live music, found in its purest form in seedy clubs in the Village. Its no surprise he pioneerd the Unplugged series.
As I saw his name flash across the screen's closing credits I remember being new to the city myself. Patricia and I had just moved from Holland to NY in 1987, talk about your culture shock. Alex invited us to his birthday party in Brooklyn, which he held at the same club where 10 years earlier Travolta did the hustle in the movie Saturday Night Fever.
I'm impressed and proud of Beth and Alex. Guys, this years' awards sucked much less than they used to :)
4:38:46 PM 
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