A star is born, as is a station

I recently had a wonderful opportunity, one that I obsessed over for reasons both vain and valuable. It was an opportunity to tap into the thoughts of those who I consider my weekly audience — if I may be so bold as to assume your existence — and walk into the belly of the beast of what I consider my weekly subject material. The opportunity was an invitation to attend the "2005 mtvU Woodie Awards," a ceremony dedicated to honoring a most-prized contemporary musical market: the college scene. So, I donned the least-wrinkled collared shirt I owned, put on the jeans without the holes, pocketed a pen, a pad and a Snickers, and took the NJ Transit Midtown Direct line to Manhattan, where I had a date with college rock stardom at Roseland Ballroom.

What I found when I got there was more like a concert than a glammed-up awards show set to be televised at more than 730 college campuses nationwide. There was no red carpet, no E! photo shoot, no excessive fanfare. Instead, there was a communal openness to the "Woodies," even in the presence of the artists who'd apparently come to be honored. The vibe was fresh, youthful and excited, primed, as it were, by the sense that everything happening was in some way the genuine product of student initiative. And indeed it was.

In case you don't know, mtvU is a free cable channel picked up by and broadcasted at colleges and universities across the country. Officially launched almost two years ago in January 2004 — though still mysteriously absent from Princeton's $250 cable package — mtvU was conceived as a way to spotlight up-and-coming artists and emerging talents that may not have acquired huge media attention or a visible audience. It features a barrage of below-the-pop-radar musical acts spanning an impressive variety of genres. mtvU has been at the backs of some of the biggest acts of the past few years, including Modest Mouse, Coheed & Cambria and a little band called Franz Ferdinand, which got its start on mtvU almost a year before the rest of the known universe was rocking to "Take Me Out." This year, mtvU has featured a host of new artists who are already in the process of blowing up. Among this year's lot: Fallout Boy, The Arcade Fire, Motion City Soundtrack, Common and several others. These artists were among those honored at the "Woodies."

The honors doled out at the "Woodies" represent the voices of students, as they were selected through a real-time Internet voting process that tabulated thousands of student votes from across the United States. Awards like "Woodie of the Year" (corresponding to Artist of the Year), "The Breaking Woodie" (Best Emerging Artist), and the "Left Field Woodie" (Most Original Artist) would all rest in eager and visibly nervous hands by the end of the night. But first, there was fun to be had.

My laminated press pass landed me at the foot of not one, but two stages, almost an arm's length from Claudio Sanchez's wild locks and the boom that was supporting a camera that just might have spit my grinning face onto a television screen for my mother to behold in horror. The show kicked off with back-to-back introductory briefs from none other than Lou Reed (of Velvet Underground and "Walk on the Wild Side" fame) and everyone's favorite tornado-chasing/Lebowski-tailing/flaming-wheelchair-cruising character actor, Phillip Seymour Hoffman. After which — much to my personal enjoyment — the recently reviewed act The Go! Team (see my review in Oct. 27th's 'Street') exploded onto the set with a surprise live performance. The dozen or so band members — complete with an array of chanting, grooving background dancers — set the tone for a night of constant activity. A striking solo performance by Matisyahu then followed — truly the highlight of the show — along with strong subsequent mini-sets from Saul Williams and Little Brother. Headlining was the highly anticipated Death Cab for Cutie. Meanwhile, the crowd — composed mostly of local diehards and college press cats like myself — rocked and swayed with the knowledge that it alone had somehow given life to this show.

The nominees and awards were introduced and handed out by student representatives from various universities, all self-proclaimed "Number 1 Fans" and visibly enthusiastic supporters of the mtvU cause. At intervals spanning the entire night, the candidates for "Woodie of the Year" were announced by a cute but increasingly annoying a capella group from Fordham University. Notable winners on the night included My Chemical Romance ("Woodie of the Year"), Motion City Soundtrack ("Left Field Woodie") and Muse ("International Woodie").

By the end of the night, I had acquired a new respect for the visionaries of the college music scene. Upon exiting, my thoughts immediately turned to the question of how these sentiments might (or might not) resonate on a campus like Princeton, where — let's be honest — the musical culture revolves depressingly, lazily and, for some awful reason, complacently around the omnipresence of DJ Bob and biannual visits from ZOSO, VACO and the Holy Smokes. But there must be something that can stir the melodic undercurrent of this campus ... right?

So it was that I entered into super-cool Opportunity #2. In a telephone interview with Stephen Friedman, the General Manager of mtvU, I was able to acquire a deeper understanding of mtvU's greater purpose. As I learned, mtvU programming, unlike much of daily television, has pointed goals and objectives. Whether it comes in the form of $25K student grants to encourage free thinking and musical/production creativity in the college sector, or in the form of a tireless push for activism that ought to (and often does) define the college years, mtvU seems to actually give a damn about those lucky few among us with real emerging talent. In other words, don't look for Britney and Kevin on mtvU; don't look for "mtvU Cribs;" don't look for reruns of the Real World-Road Rules Challenge. Look instead for music that is not pigeonholed by a specific genre or a certain demographic appeal. Look for short-form programming that has a goal couched in promoting general awareness. Look for the next Bono. He may be among the artists; she may be among the audience. Who knows ... there were enough creative-looking types at the awards show alone to convince me that something was brewing.

Friedman put it this way: the primary goal of mtvU's musical outreach is not so much the showcasing of particular bands, but a 24-hour-a-day, seven-days-a-week spotlight of a unique and powerful audience. Here, the audience always holds the real power in the equation. In one sense, the audience provides Bono with his voice, his political clout, even his bravado; it is those fans, concert-goers and promoters who elevate him to global status. But in another sense, the audience is quick to receive the power and, more importantly, the responsibility to affect change once the impetus is set in motion.

Conveniently for us college students, that audience is the group of driven and motivated individuals who you cross paths with on a daily basis right here on campus. That group is the same group who you see campaigning for action against global occurrences of genocide. That group is the same group of students who you saw filibuster at the Frist Campus Center for days and weeks on end. This group is, as Friedman said, "the engine of social change." If these are supposed to be the best years of our lives, and if there actually exists a brand of music that is typically "college", then dig the playlist and allow yourself to be moved to action.

For more information on mtvU — including an exhaustive record of programming, activist efforts, artist exposure and a complete recap of the 2005 "Woodies" (not to mention information about how to bring mtvU to Princeton) — visit www.mtvU.com.