Feel your brain is seeping through your ears? Think you’re not thinking anymore? Do you feel your thoughts deflate? Then you must be watching VH1. If it’s not Flavor Flav it is the new “I Love New York”. Both of which wouldn’t have been even considered a couple of years ago when VH1’s slogan was “Music First”.

Get a life. Theirs? So that is what VH1 has come to. Just always being in celebrities lives, trying to be more like them, always wanting to know who’s dating who or which celebrity has the next adult film out. Where did all the music go?

How could a channel that was based on classical rock go so wrong? Did MTV, who started VH1, expect it to become so trashy? You know it is bad when the actors from VH1 seem to fit better as contestants on Jerry Springer.

However, isn’t Jerry Springer one of the most watched shows? Sadly enough, we like sleazy. We laugh at sleazy. Sleazy, trashy, television sells. Apparently, that is what VH1 has found out.

“Ridiculous shows [“Flavor of Love” and “I Love New York”] with stupid people, but I can’t help but watch,” Annie Segaro, junior, said.

The season 1 finale of the show Flavor of Love became VH1’s highest-rated show ever. The show attracted 6 million viewers who tuned in to see Flavor Flav’s final decision, as he chose Hoopz, Nikki Alexander, after eliminating 19 other single ladies. The show was the highest-rated telecast among all basic cable programs. He later did another reality dating show after Hoopz and he broke up. As a result, semi-finalist New York, Tiffany, decided to make a reality dating show of her own called I Love New York.

With such a fan base, it is no wonder Vh1 continues with their “CelebReality”. Yet, what happen to all the cool Behind the Music shows? All those interesting documentaries that we had been accustomed to watching. They are only played in time gaps between celebrity reality shows.

“People need lives. We’re wasting our own lives watching people like Ron Jeremy and Chyna Doll instead of going out and doing something with our own lives,” Melissa Vargas, junior, said.

In defense of VH1, their website does supply a lot of music and music related content. Nevertheless, it is also littered with VH1’s new focus on the ridiculous lives of washed out celebrities.

Nowadays you don’t even have to be a celebrity to be on a CelebReality show. You can be a total nobody and still be famous. Look at the show I Love New York.

“I Love New York is like a car accident, you can’t help but watch it,” Talia Brenan.

“Celebrity Fame Game” has to be bad. It’s a bunch of no-one-cares-about-your-life-anymore celebs trying to win the fame game, while on television, so in reality, they all win. It is pathetic that people watch this. It’s pathetic that it’s on TV. Literally the idiot box. I never like to refer to it as that, for one can learn things, but with such shows running I have to say it’s a pretty stupid box. Out of all the boxes out there, it is the stupidest. At least cardboard boxes don’t have crappy, brain deflating, shows.

“Americans are obsessed with celebrities. They don’t care so much about the art they produce. Paris Hilton is a perfect example, who cares about some dumb heiress’ sex life? America apparently,” Pedro P. Rivero, senior, said.

Shows that people enjoy, without brain seeping, are shows like “Best Week Ever”. It is comedic and informative. Though it does sometimes focus on celebrities, it usually has a ludicrous spin and it is celebrities, not has-beens. Also, they talk about news. It is a perfectly balanced show, but most importantly, people watch it. A lot of people watch it. You can have a lot of viewers and do them justice. Do TV justice.

Those types of shows are interesting and funny without people spitting on others. So why is it that TV has to stoop that low for viewers? It goes back to trashy sells. As much as we hate to admit it, if we are passing a TV and we hear yelling and name calling we are going to stop and investigate. It is human nature, I guess. That doesn’t mean that all of us will sit through the entire season, let alone the entire episode.

“I stopped watching VH1 because it started sucking. It stopped being about the music and started being about celebrities,” Mitchell Lichtman, senior, said.

Some people actually enjoy watching VH1 as it is.

“I think some shows are funny like I Love New York I like laughing at it,” Jesse Cordoba, junior, said.

Whether you like the new VH1 or miss the old classier shows, the point is, they use to be all about the music, and now is more about the cat fights.

“It’s kind of inevitable when people lower their standards for TV,” Lola Duffort, freshman, said.

Lower their standards? Then I must say, the bar is low, pretty darn low.