1. When I was a kid, it was my dream to write for Rolling Stone, partly because I was obsessed with music and writing, and partly because I wasn't aware of other music publications. (This was the Midwest in the early '90s–we had indoor plumbing but no Internet.) So MTV's new reality series I'm From Rolling Stone already has me hooked, even though it doesn't premiere until Jan. 7. True, I haven't read Rolling Stone since they put Jar Jar Binks on the cover, and most music fans seem to agree the mag lags a good six months behind the trends and lacks editorial teeth. (Music blog Idolator regularly tracks the number of three-star reviews in the music section with its "Everbody's A Wenner" feature.) But no matter how sucky it gets, it's still Rolling Stone, the original rock magazine, the big kahuna of the industry. It's like Saturday Night Live for comics–now matter how shitty the last episode was, it's still what made you want to do this.
2. That said, I doubt MTV's core audience fantasizes about working for Rolling Stone, or cares about people who do. I can see the average 15-year-old wanting to work for Blender or Pitchfork, but penning a five-star review of the new Mick Jagger record probably isn't a dream gig for the kids these days.
3. I'm also curious how MTV will shoehorn this into its usual reality show format. Landing a byline on a profile of The Roots can't match getting drunk and slapping your psycho roommate when it comes to creating great TV. (Ah, the five-minute trailer includes a scene where one of the writers gets wasted at a party. Can a hot tub love scene be far behind?)
4. I have been a professional (read: paid) music writer for more than 10 years, and I have never met a peer as attractive as any of these folks. (True, I find any woman who has good taste in music incredibly sexy, but these people are imbued with sexiness independent of music taste.)
5. The supporting cast of "I'm From The A.V. Club" would definitely be a lot uglier.