There's this infectious little station promo VH1 has in rotation right now, you may have seen it. It's another clipfest filled with retro-style animations and a slew of singers from the 80's, 90's, and the current decade. But the real hook is in the music. It starts off with a high-pitched six-note hook that sounds like somone put too much helium in their Moog, which is looped and then layered with some studio-work guitar and the refrain "come, come on, come on get up and dance with me." (Apparently it's a remixed version of The Sounds' "Dance With Me")

I find it utterly irrestiable; it's what a good pop song should be: light, catchy, and yet a level of sincereity that gives it slightly greater meaning than the simplicity of the music and lyrics would first suggest.

It's fitting, in some way I have yet to fathom, that I find myself enjoying this promo. I seem to have become a bit of a VH1-junkie in the last few weeks. The station seems to have found a way to tap into the people who've outgrown MTV. A large part of that seems to be by tapping into the nostalgia market and sucking it dry, though they throw in enough Britney Spears and Paris Hilton to stay trendy.

But I have to admit when it comes to channel surfing, VH1 is always a preferred stop. The past week I got suckered into watching the first two seasons of "The Surreal Life" which, like that damn promo spot, was just intriguing enough to keep me from chaning the channel despite being composed of elemnts I usually can't stand.

It's sad to realize you're part of a demographic. You can proclaim your individuality and your anti-establishment creed all you want but ultimately, in the fractionization of mass media, there's a corporation out there that has figured out to broadcast exactly what appeals to you. You are not a snowflake. You may not be the lowest common denominator but, in the end, you really are just another statistic in some corporations demographic landscape.

Another case in point: the gonzoiation of A&E and Bravo. Remember when these stations were the "arty" networks? Now Bravo has "Showbiz Mom's and Dads"; and how such shows as "Family Plots" and "Aline" qualify as Art 7 entertainment (well, it is entertaining) I have no idea. (Yes, that last parenthetical joke was specifically for Noah. Hi, buddy.) I suppose what gets me is that it's such a blatant admission of lower standards so they can grab a bigger piece of the viewing audience. (But isn't that the name of the game?)

There's a far more cohesive point to all this, but despite what the time-stamp says, it's well after midnight and my brain is losing coherency worse than normal. But it's been too long since I posted and there's something about that VH1 promo spot that keeps looking in my brain. I'd rather this didn't devolve into a post decrying the MTV-culture and the loss of attention-spans and oh, isn't reality TV such crap, blah blah blah; there's already plenty of those rants out there. So let's just say I appreciate the irony in a TV station using a song that asks you to get up in dance when all that station really wants to do is keep you glued to the couch.