The 2010 VMA's: Kanye vs. Taylor Round II

Here we go again. Last night MTV took its annual break from its habitual airing of guidos fucking and punching each other to prove that the "M" in MTV actually means something. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy the VMA's as much as the next guy, I just disagree with them on nearly every award they give out. But its commercially pop music and pop culture, so I can understand why they don't give out awards based on actual cultural relevance and artistic merit.

Anyways, the show started like they all do; Lady Gaga arrived clad in a fantastic outfit that looked like something out of Final Fantasy, every other ho in the place tried to be Lady Gaga, and MTV's journalists walked around interviewing the celebs who they wished they were (except for Sway it think it is... he's cool). Justin Bieber (who I actually kind of like... I know) did his thing with a cute little performance that was perfectly crafted to fit his teenage heart throb image. Eminem won several awards for that stupid video where he starts flying around like Hancock. Lady Gaga cleaned up as she should have for her video "Bad Romance," proving that good music and art can still win popularity contests. But the real story of the night, the reason most everyone tuned into the VMA's last night, was the largely unresolved Kanye-Taylor saga. What would Kanye do this time? How could he regain popular approval? What did Taylor have to say about the whole thing? With Taylor and Kanye both slated to perform the night was bound to play out very interestingly, and it did.

A year ago, Kanye pulled a horribly arrogant, alcohol and ego driven move that shocked the world of pop culture and just about everybody who saw it (me? hardly). He spent the majority of the following year in a self-imposed exile supposedly doing a lot of introspective thinking and musical creation. Although Kanye did apologize immediately after the incident, he did not deliver a thoughtful and deep felt apology till very recently via his twitter. Last night, however, he didn't simply apologize for the incidence, he explained it. He put it into a much broader context and showed us with a performance what he could not have said in words. He took the stage in classic Kanye fashion wearing a bold red suit with multiple chains as he played a live MPC (drum pad/machine). He rapped, and he sang with and without auto-tune, starting his performance dramatically and ending triumphantly backed by some complimentary pyrotechnics. He turned an apology into an anthem for all the misunderstood "assholes" out there just like him as he sang self-critically "Let's give a toast to all the douche bags," and apologetically "I'm so gifted at finding what I don't like the most." I could go on and on about his performance, but the bottom line is as he took his bow the crowd began chanting his name and continued to long after he exited.

Taylor Swift's performance was less notable due mainly to the specificity of its nature. She forgives Kanye saying "you're still an innocent" (grammar?). As a whole it is good that she has come to peace with the ordeal, but the song has an annoyingly self-righteous air that we've never heard from the little country-pop singer. She forgives him, yes, but it ends up sounding like a lecture from a mother. While Kanye's performance managed to touch on the broader over-arching issues that related to the event, making it seem insignificant (which it was... I mean its the VMA's come on people), Taylor treated it like it was some sort of huge personal catastrophe. In light of her SNL appearance following the incident, in which she joked casually about the interruption, the performance seemed ill timed and melodramatic. It was the sort of song I was expecting to hear from her, but the two artists seem to agree that its time to put the guns down and forget the "Imma let you finish" era of their relationship.

So can we please stop hating Kanye now? He apologized, he called himself a douche, he said he was in the wrong, and he pushed the envelope for hip hop performances at the same time. I mean, really what more do you want from the guy? Last night finally gave us some much needed closure on the Swift and West saga, and its dead now. Looking forward, I think next year we can all finally expect a regular VMA's with no fights, no interesting story, maybe a post-pubescent Bieber, and if we are lucky even more bitchy pop stars riding the success of Lady Gaga. Yay.

NOTE: To see the performances, click the link in the title.