Matt Pinfield.
Congratulations, Jon!
This week's subject is Matt Pinfield, the legendary radio personality and longtime host of MTV's landmark alt-rock program
120 Minutes.
Born in New Jersey, Pinfield began as a DJ at WRSU, Rutgers' college radio station. In 1984, he began a ten-year stint at WHTG 106.3 in Eatontown, NJ, a popular alternative rock station. He also worked as a club DJ at the Melody Bar in New Brunswick.
In 1995, Pinfield began hosting
120 Minutes on MTV and would probably be its most famous host, noted for his wide encyclopedic knowledge of rock music in general. Pinfield was even
parodied on The Bloodhound Gang's "Fire Water Burn" video.
Pinfield was the vice president of Columbia Records' A&R and artist development from 2001 to 2006, signing Coheed and Cambria and Crossfade. He hosted many radio and TV shows over the years, even a few programs for SiriusXM. Recently, he hosted the long-running classic rock radio program Flashback.
Sadly, Pinfield has had major health struggles. In 2018, he nearly died when he was hit by a car in front of his Hollywood home. The accident split open his head. He survived that disaster, but a month ago, Pinfield suffered a stroke. According to his daughters, he cannot move or make cognitive decisions. Truly a sad situation regarding one of rock music's best friends.
New game next week!