Saving Music Video, One Song at a Time

As if Pete Wentz—Fall Out Boy bassist, newly married husband of Ashlee Simpson and dad-to-be—weren't busy enough, now he's moonlighting. On Fridays this summer, Wentz, 29, is hosting "FNMTV," a show that aims to take MTV back to its roots as a home to music videos. He spoke to Oscar Raymundo:

Hello?
Hey, you want to know what? I've read NEWSWEEK since I was 12. Which part of the magazine is this for?

Newsmakers.
Oh, everyone always gets hammered in that section.

Apologies in advance. How did you get MTV to play music videos again?
Most people pitch reality shows to them, like, "Check this out. My friend is going to live in a bucket for a week." It's kind of a novel concept to have music videos.

Which artists get played on your show?
We like to have at least one that you might not expect, like the Ting Tings or No Age.

So not, like, the Pussycat Dolls.
Obviously, you have to deal with the network. MTV has given me full access to their video vaults. I'm allowed to play a couple of videos that I just want to play.

Which Ashlee Simpson video would you play?
The video that had the best direction was "Invincible," but I would probably play "La La."

You own bars in New York and Chicago?
Yeah. Most of my friends are not famous people, and it's hard for me to talk my way into getting them into the clubs. So it's more fun to make our own club.