Monday, September 22, 2008

adolescent summers

People are noting the cancellation of the MTV series TRL, which has long showcased screeching teens at their most vapid. But the daily show was a welcome break as a teen during the annual August week the parents dragged my brother and me to a guest house on a beach near Portland, ME. There, just before entering high school, I remember watching the day Tom Green's "Bum Bum Song" hit number one.

That was good television. Many are mentioning Mariah Carey's unscripted entrance, but Tom Green deserves a shout-out. I loved watching his antics as a teen because they were unapologetic, crass and absurd. The day his song topped the list, he ran a victory lap into the squealing masses outside as the cameras, caught by surprise (it seemed) struggled to keep up with him and showed confused security officers struggling to deal with chaos.

After triumphing, Green retired the song to leave room for "real" music videos, even as the canny fool muddled MTV's standard definition by getting footage of a man in a superhero suit with a fake backside into an album sales-boosting category.

Friday, August 27, 1999
1) Tom green - "Bum bum song
2) 'N Sync - "Music Of My Heart"
3) "Britney spears - "(You drive me) Crazy"
4) Lfo - "Summer girls"
5) 98° - "I do (Cherish you)"
6) Christina Aguilera - "Genie in a bottle"
7) Mariah carey - "Heartbreaker"
8) Kid rock - "Cowboy"
9) Jennifer Lopez - "Waiting For Tonight"
10) Orgy - "Stitches"

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