MTV Launches Site Telling Viewers What Music is Playing While They're Not Playing Music

Have you ever watched an episode of MTV's The Real World/Road Rules: Gauntlet 3 or Two-A-Days and wondered what song that was playing in the background? MTV has remedied that situation by launching Soundtrack.MTV.com, a real-time guide to what music is being on MTV within the confines of the show that's airing. For example, The Paper played Mother Love Bone's "Chloe Dancer/Crown of Thorns" in one of their episodes. If you were unfamiliar with the song, you could go to the aforementioned website and they'll tell you what was just played on MTV. Plus, they'll let you stream it and purchase an MP3 of it. Additionally, the Soundtrack page is looking to infringe on MySpace's turf by encouraging new bands to post their music on the site and create profile pages. The site will also monitor top bands and songs and feature new artists. Essentially, it'll do everything you'd expect the actual channel to do instead of showing marathons of American Gladiators.

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Song Stories

“All Along the Watchtower”

The Jimi Hendrix Experience | 1968

Jimi Hendrix got hold of Bob Dylan's early John Wesley Harding tapes and in late 1967 recorded a version of "All Along the Watchtower" with the Experience in London. Dissatisfied with that first development, Hendrix brought those tapes with him to New York in early 1968 when he began work on Electric Ladyland. Eddie Kramer, Hendrix's engineer at the time, told Rolling Stone that Hendrix "was still looked upon by his basically white audience as the mammoth black guitar hero. There was a constant fight within him to expand himself." Hendrix's successful take on Dylan's work has long been recognized by the songwriter. "I liked Jimi Hendrix's record of this and ever since he died I've been doing it that way," Dylan wrote in the liner notes to his Biograph box set. "Strange how when I sing it, I always feel it's a tribute to him in some kind of way."

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