"Summer Girls" And Other Music Memories

This morning the radio station was introducing a list of "The 5 Whitest Songs Ever Recorded."

Not on the list, but receiving an honorable mention was "Summer Girls" by LFO. I hadn't heard this song in years!!! It's one of those songs that's so incredibly ridiculous that I love it just because it makes me laugh. And now it's stuck in my head.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r1dfEf1qOt4

New Kids On The Block had a bunch of hits
Chinese food makes me sick
And I think it's fly when girls stop by for the summer, for the summer
I like girls that wear Abercrombie and Fitch
I'd take her if I had one wish
But she's been gone since that summer, since that summer

The radio station is so right. This song has absolutely no soul whatsoever! But it brings back memories of being in college -- this was the summer between my Junior and Senior year -- 1999. Can't believe that was 10 years ago!

As I recall, there were a lot of mindless but memorable songs popular around 1998-1999.

... Baby One More Time (Britney Spears)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_bsniYwSaWg
Who can forget the very first Britney single? Remember the school girl outfit? I remember watching this video and thinking, "holy shit, that's the little girl from the Mickey Mouse Club!" Little did I know that more of them would surface afterwards... Christina, Justin, J.C., Kerri Russel, Ryan Gosling...

Genie In A Bottle (Christina Aguilera)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WG_m6h-XvMo
... And the second Mouseketeer appears on the scene.

The Bad Touch (The Bloodhound Gang)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iTW8oUV8Aq0
Often referred to as "The Discovery Channel Song." The guys I went to college with really, really, really got into this song. Really.

Believe (Cher)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B5xsiKBJGW4
Didn't this song kinda revitalize Cher's career? I still hear it all over the place. I can't forget the huge blonde wig and blue contact lenses. Drag queens rejoice!

Candy (Mandy Moore)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_e4e-eXWbbs
I remember thinking this was such over-produced studio drivel. Remember the lime green VW "new" beetle? I used to hate how she pronounced "candy". Cand-ay-yay-yay Ugh. But it totally launched Mandy Moore's career.

Every Morning (Sugar Ray)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HWpp2SIWbnE
Ah, who could forget Sugar Ray? They had a number of lovable fluffly pop songs, then they disappeared. Then Mark McGrath popped up as the host on that Pussycat Dolls show a couple years ago. Now he's hosting Extra.

Larger Than Life (Backstreet Boys)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uewJN__RykY
Okay, I'll admit it... I actually liked this song. I might have been somewhat of a closet Backstreet Boys fan. Like all boy bands, I hate the sappy "crying about a girl" songs, but I tend to really like the upbeat dance songs. The Backstreet Boys had some well-written pop tunes, even though many were musically trivial.

Livin' la Vida Loca (Ricky Martin)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MmwzEhwScug
Enough said.

Bills, Bills, Bills (Destiny's Child)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sgiiRuEWoYY
I remember some of my guy friends hating this song because they thought it was about women expecting men to pay for anything and everything they wanted. Actually, Destiny's Child was all about female empowerment, which I appreciated, but for me, their songs fell somewhere between catchy, danceable fun, and seriously nauseating.

Everything Is Everything (Lauryn Hill)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qGUsF-Whb1g
Whatever happened to Lauryn Hill???

Mambo No. 5 (Lou Bega)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hfvJOL1gpic
I always hated this song, but I still hear it sometimes. The lyrics are repulsive and mind-numbing, but it's got a catchy beat and a retro vibe. Damn you, Lou Bega.

No Scrubs (TLC)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Av7m_Pgt1S8
Like Summer Girls, this song made me laugh with delight because I thought it was so stupidly silly. I don't want no scrubs, a scrub is a guy that can't get no love from me, hangin' out the passenger side of his best friend's ride, tryin' to holler at me! Hell yeah.

Praise You (Fatboy Slim)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ULVQOneeZE
Remember the music video for this? It was classic, in a stupid "routing for the underdog" sort of way. They still play this on the radio in my area on a regular basis.

What's My Age Again (Blink-182)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rCjbphQH2iE
Their lyrics were humorous, their songs were catchy. Apparently they're trying to make a come back now. I'd just be happy if Angels & Airwaves disappeared for good.

The World Is Not Enough (Garbage)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tYbLR67_F9E
This was the last Pierce Brosnan Bond movie that I saw in the theater. The line "Christmas only comes once a year" was enough to drive me away from the series forever. Thank Gods for Daniel Craig. In addition, this was the last time I saw Garbage in the limelight. I love Garbage. It was the height of their popularity when this movie came out, but after this, they released the album Beautiful Garbage, and it all went downhill from there. (I still love the song Bleed Like Me, even though nobody else seems to.)

Coffee & TV (Blur)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kWUil383us4
Okay, so I'm only mentioning this for the video with the little claymation milk carton. Was that not the best? I love Blur, but in the U.S., the only song of theirs anyone seems to remember is Song 2. Occasionally my local radio station plays Girls & Boys.

Canned Heat (Jamiroquai)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hGjC0wbUXzk
No matter how cheesy and faux-disco it sounds, it makes me smile and gets me moving. I can't listen to this without dancing. I freakin' love this song! (Sort of reminds me of Disco Stu from The Simpsons. "Disco Stu likes disco music.")


Ahh.... There was some "good" music out during those years. Almost makes me want to create a new mix or playlist of music from 1999. Maybe I'll do one for each year during the last decade. That would be fun. :)

There, I'm done being nostalgic now.