120 Minutes

History

The early years

From MTV to MTV2

The show began featuring more mainstream artists in the late 1990s, playing the likes of Staind and later Sum 41. In 2000, the show was sometimes preempted for reruns of The Real World, Loveline, and Undressed, before being taken off the airwaves altogether in the summer of 2000. In 2001, it returned on MTV2, where it returned to the style of music it was known for.

Cancellation

Having been gradually relegated to a late night time slot since 2002, the show was canceled with no formal announcement from MTV2 on May 4, 2003. In the final episode, the then host Jim Shearer shared the screen with the show's creator Dave Kendall, as well as Matt Pinfield. The two "classic era" hosts shared their favorite videos from over the years, finally ending with the selection of Siouxsie and the Banshees's "Kiss Them for Me" as the final video aired.

''120 Minutes with Matt Pinfield''

120 Minutes made its return to MTV2 on July 31, 2011, at 1 a.m. ET. Matt Pinfield reprised his role as the host and the program was formally called 120 Minutes with Matt Pinfield. The revived program initially aired on a monthly basis, but returned to a weekly format in late November 2011. It aired Fridays 6 a.m.–8 a.m. on MTV2. In addition to videos and interviews from alternative rock and indie rock artists, the program also featured music from underground hip hop, alternative hip hop, electronica, turntablism, and dubstep artists. In the revival, viewers could see artists as varied as Beady Eye, The Kills, Mumford & Sons, Alabama Shakes, Death Cab for Cutie, Lupe Fiasco and Grouplove.120 Minutes also aired as a two-minute clip in a series called 120 Seconds which can be seen on MTVhive.com.

120 Minutes was removed from the MTV2 schedule without announcement. The last airing was February 1, 2013. A two-hour indie block called Artists to Watch took its slot during the same Friday 7 a.m.–9 a.m. ET block. However, that program stopped airing .

, MTV's sister channel MTV Classic (formerly called VH1 Classic) airs a similar program with the name 120 Minutes (formerly called "The Alternative") on its Saturday/Sunday and Sunday/Monday midnight time slot (on which the original show aired). This version of the show, however, has no host and highlights more well established alternative artists of the 1980s and 1990s; mostly replaying videos that originally aired on MTV.

'120 Minutes' Resurfaces At MTV2 Multichannel News March 17, 2011

List of ''120 Minutes'' hosts

The following MTV VJs hosted 120 Minutes on a regular basis.

• J. J. Jackson (1986)
• Martha Quinn (1986)
• Alan Hunter (1986)
• Downtown Julie Brown (1980s)
• Adam Curry (1987)
• Carolyne Heldman (1980s)
• Kevin Seal (1987-1989)
• Dave Kendall (1988-1992)
• Lewis Largent (1992–1995)
• Matt Pinfield (1995–1999; 2011–2012)
• Dave Holmes (1999–2000)
• Jancee Dunn (2001)
• Chris Booker (2001–2002)
• Jim Shearer (2002–2003)

''120 Minutes'' albums

''Never Mind the Mainstream''

In 1991, two CDs were released entitled "Never Mind the Mainstream: The Best of MTV's 120 Minutes" volumes 1 and 2 and featured many songs featured on the program. Artists included Red Hot Chili Peppers, Echo & the Bunnymen, Julian Cope, R.E.M., Sinéad O'Connor, Ministry, Depeche Mode, Sonic Youth, and Violent Femmes. The title referenced the Sex Pistols' landmark album Never Mind the Bollocks, but fortuitously also recalled the title of Nirvana's Nevermind album which was released near-simultaneously.

Volume One:

1. Red Hot Chili Peppers – "Higher Ground"
2. Soul Asylum – "Sometime to Return"
3. The Stone Roses – "Fools Gold" (Single Edit)
4. The Mission UK – "Wasteland"
5. Bob Mould – "See a Little Light" (CD Bonus Track)
6. The Church – "Under the Milky Way"
7. Cocteau Twins – "Carolyn's Fingers" (CD Bonus Track)
8. Julian Cope – "World Shut Your Mouth"
9. Sinéad O'Connor – "Mandinka"
10. Sonic Youth – "Kool Thing"
11. Robyn Hitchcock & The Egyptians – "Balloon Man"
12. World Party – "Put the Message in the Box" (CD Bonus Track)
13. XTC – "Dear God"
14. They Might Be Giants – "Ana Ng"
15. Camper Van Beethoven – "Eye of Fatima (Pt. 1)"
16. Modern English – "I Melt with You" (CD Bonus Track)

Volume Two:

1. R.E.M. – "Orange Crush"
2. Public Image Ltd. – "This Is Not a Love Song"
3. Ramones – "Do You Remember Rock 'N' Roll Radio?"
4. X – "Burning House of Love" (CD Bonus Track)
5. Ministry – "Stigmata"
6. Morrissey – "Everyday Is Like Sunday"
7. The Jesus and Mary Chain – "Head On" (CD Bonus Track)
8. Echo and the Bunnymen – "The Killing Moon"
9. Joy Division – "Love Will Tear Us Apart"
10. New Order – "The Perfect Kiss"
11. Depeche Mode – "Personal Jesus"
12. The Sugarcubes – "Birthday" (CD Bonus Track)
13. Hüsker Dü – "Could You Be the One?"
14. Faith No More – "We Care a Lot"
15. Violent Femmes – "Gone Daddy Gone"
16. Wire – "Eardrum Buzz" (CD Bonus Track)

''120 Minutes Live''

In 1998, an album was released by Atlantic Records featuring 14 of the best and most memorable live performances on 120 Minutes from the 1990s.

1. Oasis – "Supersonic"
2. Morphine – "Honey White"
3. Porno for Pyros – "Kimberly Austin"
4. Evan Dando – "It's About Time"
5. P.J. Harvey – "C'mon Billy"
6. Weezer – "Undone – The Sweater Song"
7. Violent Femmes – "Kiss Off"
8. They Might Be Giants – "Particle Man"
9. Sex Pistols – "Pretty Vacant"
10. Bad Religion – "American Jesus"
11. Victoria Williams with Lou Reed – "Crazy Mary"
12. Björk – "Aeroplane"
13. The Verve Pipe – "Villains"
14. Radiohead – "Fake Plastic Trees"

Notes

References

References

1. (May 2022). "120 Minutes Season 18 Episode Guide". TV.com.
2. [http://pitchfork.com/news/43351-mtv-brings-back-120-minutes/ MTV Brings Back "120 Minutes"] ''[[Pitchfork Media]]'' July 28, 2011
3. (10 March 2023). "Lewis Largent, Influential MTV '120 Minutes' VJ and KROQ DJ, Dies at 58". Penske Medi Corporation.
4. (April 14, 1986). "Cable Report". Television Editorial Corp.
5. (2021). "The Storyteller". Simon and Schuster.
6. (December 19, 2013). "About 120 Minutes".
7. "Playlists".
8. (2016-02-05). "120 Minutes With Matt Pinfield".
9. Tedder, Michael. (2011-07-29). "Matt Pinfield And 120 Minutes Return To TV; Will The Audience Follow? Village Voice July 29, 2011". Blogs.villagevoice.com.