24 Hours of Love
Encyclopedia
__FORCETOC__24 Hours of Love was a special programming stunt that aired live starting on September 21, 2002 on MTV2
. The official premise of the show was that rock star Courtney Love
would do a live broadcast for 24 hours in a row, and that she would be in full control of the programming on MTV2 for those hours.
Around this time, MTV2 had a number of hour-long specials, in which celebrity guests were interviewed by a VJ and were able to pick what was described as their favorite videos. However, many of the videos chosen were all in that month's current video rotation, leading some viewers to suspect that the guests were only given a short list of videos they could choose from as opposed to any video in MTV
's library.
The 24 Hours of Love special added to the suspicion among these viewers. This time, it was promoted that a celebrity was to be given full control of the channel for a 24 hour period to air anything she wanted. However, in reality, Love would discover it was difficult to air music videos that were not already in rotation on MTV2. In addition, the show was broadcast live, and Love was an over-the-top personality who was unafraid to speak her mind and complain about the actions of the channel.
press release to the Associated Press
read as follows:
During the week before the broadcast, Love heavily promoted the show. While appearing on the Howard Stern
radio show, she stated that she would be airing any video she wanted and that she was interested in videos by female rock artists. In an interview for USA Today
, she claimed that she would also be airing the movies Performance
and Times Square
, and she had also mentioned bringing in clips from other movies.
, which meant since MTV2 had low power television broadcast affiliates, it would have been unable to air that film without risking punishment with the FCC
, and the condemnation of the network's advertisers.
Between the guests during the whole 24 hours, there were Albert Hammond, Jr. and Fabrizio Moretti
from The Strokes
, Ryan Adams
and Eve
, besides phone conversations with artists like Cameron Crowe
and Michael Stipe
.
's "Electrical Storm" aired twice in a two-hour period. At the time, "Electrical Storm" was in heavy rotation on the channel.
About two hours into the broadcast, Love took a live phone call from friend and musician Moby
, who informed her that the videos she was introducing were either not airing or were being cut off after a few seconds. Annoyed, Love demanded they re-air the videos that were cut off.
Less than an hour later, Love began apologizing, claiming that she was told MTV did not have most of the videos she wanted to air, and that it had just been explained to her that the record labels had erased those videos, not realizing they would have any value years later. However, around that time, sister channel VH1 Classic
regularly aired some of the videos that Love said MTV2 no longer had in their possession. Sometimes when Love introduced a video, the wrong version would air, and Love herself would cut it off and again apologize to the viewers.
A third of the way through the broadcast, Love was irritated that very few of the videos she had asked for were available, and she began screaming that she wanted to see a video by the group Heart
. After MTV2 told her hours earlier that they did not have any Heart videos, suddenly an 80's Heart video was found and aired. From that moment forward, videos that Love wanted to see finally started airing, such as Traci Lords
' "Fallen Angel
".
video and it aired for a few seconds, Love interrupted it to apologize for airing it, and subsequently asked MTV2 to air something else instead. Some viewers who taped the show claimed that Love interrupting the video was not live at all, but actually taped hours earlier, and was a clip of her interrupting a different video.
From that point forward, only videos in MTV2's current rotation aired. Early Sunday morning, Love had to take a nap. Instead of continuing to air the special live as promised, MTV2 re-aired an MTV Unplugged
episode with Nirvana
, followed by edited highlights from moments earlier in the broadcast, mixed with current rotation videos that were edited into the show. By the afternoon, Love was awake again, but was in no mood to continue the special. She spent the last few hours nearly in tears on the couch. She was nearly unable to interview scheduled guests and no longer challenged what videos aired.
MTV2
MTV2 is a cable network that is widely available in the United States on digital cable and satellite television, and is progressively being added to analogue cable lineups across the nation...
. The official premise of the show was that rock star Courtney Love
Courtney Love
Courtney Michelle Love is an American rock musician. Love is the lead vocalist, lyricist, and rhythm guitarist for alternative rock band Hole, which she formed in 1989, and is an actress who has moved from bit parts in Alex Cox films to significant and acclaimed roles in The People vs...
would do a live broadcast for 24 hours in a row, and that she would be in full control of the programming on MTV2 for those hours.
Background
By 2002, longtime viewers of MTV2 were complaining that the channel was no longer airing obscure and lost music videos as it had done when it was still M2, the name given to the channel from 1996 to 1999. Instead, they noticed the channel began airing videos that had current pop success or were well-known retro videos from the 80's and 90's.Around this time, MTV2 had a number of hour-long specials, in which celebrity guests were interviewed by a VJ and were able to pick what was described as their favorite videos. However, many of the videos chosen were all in that month's current video rotation, leading some viewers to suspect that the guests were only given a short list of videos they could choose from as opposed to any video in MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
's library.
The 24 Hours of Love special added to the suspicion among these viewers. This time, it was promoted that a celebrity was to be given full control of the channel for a 24 hour period to air anything she wanted. However, in reality, Love would discover it was difficult to air music videos that were not already in rotation on MTV2. In addition, the show was broadcast live, and Love was an over-the-top personality who was unafraid to speak her mind and complain about the actions of the channel.
Promotion for the event
In the days leading up to the event, MTV2 insisted that Love would have full programming control. The official ViacomViacom
Viacom Inc. , short for "Video & Audio Communications", is an American media conglomerate with interests primarily in, but not limited to, cinema and cable television...
press release to the Associated Press
Associated Press
The Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
read as follows:
During the week before the broadcast, Love heavily promoted the show. While appearing on the Howard Stern
Howard Stern
Howard Allan Stern is an American radio personality, television host, author, and actor best known for his radio show, which was nationally syndicated from 1986 to 2005. He gained wide recognition in the 1990s where he was labeled a "shock jock" for his outspoken and sometimes controversial style...
radio show, she stated that she would be airing any video she wanted and that she was interested in videos by female rock artists. In an interview for USA Today
USA Today
USA Today is a national American daily newspaper published by the Gannett Company. It was founded by Al Neuharth. The newspaper vies with The Wall Street Journal for the position of having the widest circulation of any newspaper in the United States, something it previously held since 2003...
, she claimed that she would also be airing the movies Performance
Performance (film)
Performance is a 1968 British crime drama film; the film was produced in 1968 but not released until 1970. Directed by Donald Cammell and Nicolas Roeg, Performance stars James Fox and Mick Jagger of The Rolling Stones in his film acting debut.-Plot:...
and Times Square
Times Square (film)
Times Square is a 1980 film starring Trini Alvarado, Robin Johnson, and Tim Curry. The plot of the film essentially embodies a punk rock ethic - misunderstood youth forming a band and, through music, articulating their frustrations toward adult authority, personified in the film as parents, the...
, and she had also mentioned bringing in clips from other movies.
The event itself
On Saturday, September 21, 2002, at 8 p.m. ET, 24 Hours of Love went on the air live with Courtney Love and a friend named Ursula. At this time, Love again explained that she would have full control of the programming. However, the movies and movie clips were no longer mentioned. A unconfirmed account claims that Love was not told until immediately before the broadcast that MTV2 did not have the rights to air those movies. Additionally, the film Performance had an X ratingX-rated
In some countries, X is or has been a motion picture rating reserved for the most explicit films. Films rated X are intended only for viewing by adults, usually legally defined as people over the age of 17.-United Kingdom:...
, which meant since MTV2 had low power television broadcast affiliates, it would have been unable to air that film without risking punishment with the FCC
Federal Communications Commission
The Federal Communications Commission is an independent agency of the United States government, created, Congressional statute , and with the majority of its commissioners appointed by the current President. The FCC works towards six goals in the areas of broadband, competition, the spectrum, the...
, and the condemnation of the network's advertisers.
Between the guests during the whole 24 hours, there were Albert Hammond, Jr. and Fabrizio Moretti
Fabrizio Moretti
Fabrizio Moretti is the drummer of the American indie rock band, The Strokes. Fabrizio’s side project with Rodrigo Amarante of Los Hermanos and Binki Shapiro, entitled Little Joy debuted on Rough Trade Records...
from The Strokes
The Strokes
The Strokes are an American indie rock band formed in 1999 in New York City. Consisting of Julian Casablancas , Nick Valensi , Albert Hammond, Jr. , Nikolai Fraiture and Fabrizio Moretti ....
, Ryan Adams
Ryan Adams
David Ryan Adams is an American alt-country/rock singer-songwriter, from Jacksonville, North Carolina. Initially part of the group Whiskeytown, Adams left the band and released his first solo album Heartbreaker in 2000...
and Eve
Eve (rapper)
Eve Jihan Jeffers , is an American rapper, songwriter, record producer and actress. Her first three albums have reached a total of over 8 million albums sold worldwide. She has also achieved success in fashion as she started a clothing line titled "Fetish." She won a Grammy Award in 2002 for the...
, besides phone conversations with artists like Cameron Crowe
Cameron Crowe
Cameron Bruce Crowe is an American screenwriter and film director. Before moving into the film industry, Crowe was a contributing editor at Rolling Stone magazine, for which he still frequently writes....
and Michael Stipe
Michael Stipe
John Michael Stipe is an American singer and lyricist. He was the lead vocalist of the alternative rock band R.E.M.Stipe is noted and occasionally parodied for the "mumbling" style of his early career as well as his social and political activism. He was in charge of R.E.M.'s visual image; often...
.
Problems with airing videos
As the evening progressed, viewers at home saw Love introduce videos that faded out after a few seconds, replaced by regular rotation videos. While very few of the women rocker videos she said would dominate the show actually aired, U2U2
U2 are an Irish rock band from Dublin. Formed in 1976, the group consists of Bono , The Edge , Adam Clayton , and Larry Mullen, Jr. . U2's early sound was rooted in post-punk but eventually grew to incorporate influences from many genres of popular music...
's "Electrical Storm" aired twice in a two-hour period. At the time, "Electrical Storm" was in heavy rotation on the channel.
About two hours into the broadcast, Love took a live phone call from friend and musician Moby
Moby
Richard Melville Hall , better known by his stage name Moby, is an American musician, DJ, and photographer. He is known mainly for his sample-based electronic music and his outspoken liberal political views, including his support of veganism and animal rights.Moby gained attention in the early...
, who informed her that the videos she was introducing were either not airing or were being cut off after a few seconds. Annoyed, Love demanded they re-air the videos that were cut off.
Less than an hour later, Love began apologizing, claiming that she was told MTV did not have most of the videos she wanted to air, and that it had just been explained to her that the record labels had erased those videos, not realizing they would have any value years later. However, around that time, sister channel VH1 Classic
VH1 Classic
VH1 Classic is a television network, launched on May 8, 2000. It is operated as part of MTV Networks, a subsidiary of Viacom and primarily features music videos and concert footage from the 1970s through the mid-1990s, though it formerly included a wider range of genres and time periods...
regularly aired some of the videos that Love said MTV2 no longer had in their possession. Sometimes when Love introduced a video, the wrong version would air, and Love herself would cut it off and again apologize to the viewers.
A third of the way through the broadcast, Love was irritated that very few of the videos she had asked for were available, and she began screaming that she wanted to see a video by the group Heart
Heart (band)
Heart is an American rock band who first found success in Canada. Throughout several lineup changes, the only two members remaining constant are sisters Ann and Nancy Wilson. The group rose to fame in the 1970s with their music being influenced by hard rock as well as folk music...
. After MTV2 told her hours earlier that they did not have any Heart videos, suddenly an 80's Heart video was found and aired. From that moment forward, videos that Love wanted to see finally started airing, such as Traci Lords
Traci Lords
Traci Lords , also known as Traci Elizabeth Lords and Tracy Lords, is an American film actress, producer, film director, writer and singer...
' "Fallen Angel
1000 Fires
1,000 Fires is the only music album by singer and multi-instrumentalist, Traci Lords . The 1995 CD release was produced by Juno Reactor. "Control" reached #2 in February 1995 and was followed by "Fallen Angel" in September of the same year reaching #11 on the 1995 Billboard Top Dance/Club Songs chart...
".
Apathy rules the airwaves
By dawn on Sunday, September 22, 2002, Love was apparently too fatigued to check to see that the videos she chose were airing. After Love introduced a Samantha FoxSamantha Fox
Samantha Karen "Sam" Fox is an English dance-pop singer, actress, and former glamour model. In 1983, at the age of 16, she began her topless modeling career on Page Three of The Sun, and went on to become a popular pin-up girl...
video and it aired for a few seconds, Love interrupted it to apologize for airing it, and subsequently asked MTV2 to air something else instead. Some viewers who taped the show claimed that Love interrupting the video was not live at all, but actually taped hours earlier, and was a clip of her interrupting a different video.
From that point forward, only videos in MTV2's current rotation aired. Early Sunday morning, Love had to take a nap. Instead of continuing to air the special live as promised, MTV2 re-aired an MTV Unplugged
MTV Unplugged in New York
MTV Unplugged in New York is a live album by the American rock band Nirvana. It features an acoustic performance taped at Sony Music Studios in New York City on November 18, 1993 for the television series MTV Unplugged. The show was directed by Beth McCarthy and first aired on the cable television...
episode with Nirvana
Nirvana (band)
Nirvana was an American rock band that was formed by singer/guitarist Kurt Cobain and bassist Krist Novoselic in Aberdeen, Washington in 1987...
, followed by edited highlights from moments earlier in the broadcast, mixed with current rotation videos that were edited into the show. By the afternoon, Love was awake again, but was in no mood to continue the special. She spent the last few hours nearly in tears on the couch. She was nearly unable to interview scheduled guests and no longer challenged what videos aired.