"Who is this for?" Teen girls making their first shipping amv was my first thought. My fondness for a lot of these minivan songs can be directly tied to nostalgic feelings for old amvs that have disappeared off the face of the earth.
That actually makes me kind of sad. I was never into AMVs myself, saw maybe five of them, but I know they were a big subculture of early RU-vid. We've kind of gotten used to the thought that everything on the internet is forever, but the thought of having nostalgic memories for some obscure AMV that you can never find again is a bit of a downer.
This is gonna sound strange, but, having never seen their faces before I had always assumed it was a Latin or Hispanic name, like Juan or Jose. You know, "Haron."
@@Drogon7102 How about this one? "Record Collectors Are Pretentious Assholes." Yes, that's a real album name and I love it. Another fun one is "Two Dogs Fucking."
Honestly Teenage Dirtbag is just a very well-crafted song. It's got a strong narrative that pits the main character as the underdog, a lot of songwriterly details to it (keds and tube socks, Iron Maiden tickets), and - like Todd said - there's a resolution to the story where the characters end up together. Also that hook is absolutely killer and sticks in the brain for a very long time. I can absolutely see why it's getting retrospectives written about it 20 years later.
It's one of the favorite songs of my girlfriend who unlike me wasn't even alive when it came out. Maybe that has an impact since I connect with it being in elementary school and for her it's maybe actually the song.
I can definitely see why Brendan B Brown, the lead singer and songwriter, has carved out a decent career writing songs for various power pop and pop-punk bands. He's got a knack for hooks and easy but compelling lyrical details.
One became the GM of the awesome Post Modern Jukebox and the other now lives with Kevin Spacey. Those are two life choices that couldn’t be more different.
Minivan Rock is a fitting name, I personally call it the Disney Channel Rock because that's the type of music their mid 2000's shows had for theme songs.
Disney channel rock comes in 3 forms. A. The soft pop rock like this B. Upbeat, overproduced power pop like Hilary Duff, and Hannah Montana C. artists who have a mix & match genres into their typical style of pop rock, namely Aly&AJ who dabbled in country, CCM, folk pop, Sunshine pop, electronic rock, alternative rock, power pop, even some hard rock, listen to their 05 song Rush, the chorus has a lot of Crush 40 in it
Just for the record: I remember this song because I had a soft spot for the hook, but it wasn’t huge in the US. It wasn’t extremely popular like Eminem or whoever.
Same here in the UK - my reaction to most of these tends to either be 'wtf this band/artists isn't a 1 hit wonder?!' or 'who?!?'. But I still watch all of them. Love Todd's snarky insights
The term minivan rock immediately resonated with me because I'm extremely nostalgic for this kind of music, and I actually do primarily associate it with being a kid riding in the back of my mom's minivan. If it was played on adult alternative radio in 2003 I probably love it even if it's mediocre or sucks. Love this song by the way!
Honestly, the term minivan rock resonates in the "goddammit I spent most of my life as a music fan thinking I had cool, eclectic taste in music and this term basically describes my taste in music to a T and now I realize how lame I've always been and I'm kind of having an identity crisis here GOD I love the concept and I hate them so much for making it a thing!"
When you said “this story is going to go places” I immediately got a sinking feeling. I’m still not recovered from learning what became of Meredith Brooks through your videos.
For me, minivan rock is the type of anonymous and polished rock music of the late ‘90s/early ‘00s that easily pops up or you can imagine popping up in teen movies and TV shows of the era with “Crazy for this Girl” being a prime example of this.
Minivan rock is making somewhat of a comeback right now, too! You only need to listen to recent singles by Soccer Mommy and Beabadoobee to hear that sound’s influence to this day.
@@dmidkif Honestly, I think that song might be the *exact crossroads* of minivan rock and "mall punk" (lightweight, carefree pop punk from around the same time frame, e.g. Blink 182, Sum 41, Avril Lavigne, etc.). It's got the pop punk chords and starry-eyed wanderlust about leaving home for kids getting into diet anarchy, but enough of a generic crush narrative about Average Self-Insert Girl Fantasy that it can hit big with their moms as well. Plus, it's got a violin solo, which is _way_ more than any 90s alt-pop act ever did with their cellos. I think there were probably enough of these songs to warrant a sub-subgenre, so since it involves minivans _and_ malls, I propose that it should be called "carpool pop." (Though I would also accept parking-lot pop, mall-walk pop, or even wander pop. It is hard to find a good word for driving to and hanging out at a mall.)
Todd, you hit the nail on the head. I was 13 in 2000 and I spent MANY the evening sitting on the floor crossed-legged in front of my floor length door mirror putting on white eyeliner with glitter blush while belting this song. Also, I would be a lying liar if I didn't tell Alexa to immediately play "From My Head to My Heart" this morning and dance like I was wearing JLO Jeans again while sorting through marching band and baseball laundry from this weekend. You took this mom on a journey - so yes, this song was made SPECIFICALLY for me, both at 13 & 34...
Sis, I was 18 in 2000 and I too rocked the white eyeliner and glitter blush combo... While playing this along with NSYNC, BSB, Britney, Christina...... Only I was going clubbing in my low rise J.lo jeans, rocking Glow perfume.... And yeah- I already pulled Evan and Jaron up on RU-vid for a trip down memory lane💖
As for teenage girls not liking '60s-inspired power pop, another one-hit-wonder "we're not a boyband because we play our own instruments" boyband would prove you wrong in 2004 -- the Click Five with "Just the Girl".
Seeing the Title: “I’ve never heard of this song.” Hearing the Chorus: “Wait it’s THAT song? I thought this was made exclusively for soundtracks and commercials.”
I literally thought it was the theme song of a random CW show. I thought I knew it from flipping through the cable channels looking for something to watch
Todd previously theorized that’s why the One Direction songs and the like spend very little time describing the girl, because it’s meant for ALL the girls to insert themselves.
“Unfortunately to my eternal frustration, things that sound like Fountains of Wayne do not tend to become hits.” I've never agreed with you more, Todd.
oh my god I love this song Im so happy you're covering it If you are curious who it resonated with, it resonated with me as an ugly 8 year old when I found it on a now that's what I call music CD, and then when I actually started dating in high school this was my mushy crush song of choice. I liked both boy bands AND this.
I'm like all of you! Saw this guy on a horrible website when I was 16, and still watch each new video as I turn 30 soon. And I still haven't seen his face.
“Unfortunately to my eternal frustration, things that sound like Fountains of Wayne do not tend to become hits.” Kinda surprised you haven’t done a One-Hit Wonderland on them yet Todd. I mean, Stacy’s Mom was by far and away their biggest hit with chart success. Although I have heard they’re more of a cult hit act. So maybe if you did a OHW on them, maybe it could be like your episodes on The Darkness and SemiSonic, where you also use it as a way to showcase their other, maybe more overlooked songs for those of us who aren’t as familiar with them, along with discussing their biggest hit.
Oh man I’d love to see this band covered in OHW, I remember seeing the Stacy’s mom music video when I was literally 5 or 7 and then questioning my sexuality for the rest of my young life (I’m a 22 y.o. woman) so I’m so curious abt their impact
“Who was this for?” Me when I was 11, imagining any boy would ever think so highly of me. So you nailed, Todd. Also for my mom, who was obsessed with the acoustic version of this song that was featured on its single EP. Similar Minivan Rock she enjoyed was “Amazing” by Josh Kelley, husband of Katherine Heigel.
When Todd covers "Teenage Dirtbag" he's going to have to talk about one of my favorite bad early 00s teen romcoms. All those years watching "Loser" on a boring Friday afternoon is going to pay off!
Loser is a highly underrated movie. Sure, it isn't the type of film to get Oscar buzz....but it is a fun story, the leads are relatable and while not as funny as American Pie... Jason Biggs and Mena Suvari both do a fantastic job and show some real on screen chemistry.
"We've Never Heard Of You Either", is a pretty meaningful Album Title for these two, considering that they popped out of the blue for like 2 months at the turn of Y2K. Lets face it these two wouldn't have even gotten one hit if it weren't for Jimmy Buffet.
Tai Bachman and Wheatus came out a strange time for one hit wonders. Tai scored his only hit in 1999 which saw another Canadian one hit wonder Len chart big with Steal My Sunshine. A brief over view on Canadian musicians in the late 90’s could be good for that episode since Canadians such as Alanis and Sarah Machalan we’re hitting big. Given he is the son of Randy Bachman probably helped too and got Bob Rock to produce it is awesome. Wheatus came out in 2000 with their big hit that chatted high in most areas and yet not the hot 100. The early 2000’s contained a lot of weird one hit wonders that weren't just Wheatus but stuff such as Another Dumb Blonde, Feels So Good and Get Over Yourself
The One Hit Wonderland Cycle: Sees thumbnail "Which one is that? I've never heard of it" Clicks video *Todd begins playing song* "Oh, that one! Every word is woven into my Hippocampus"
I feel like “She’s So High” and “Teenage Dirtbag” are more fondly remembered because they’re a lot more endearing than this song. Those two songs have a little something extra that makes them more fondly remembered. This is a perfectly catchy, clean cut sounding pop song and not much else. If this is “minivan rock”, it’s more minivan than rock where those other two examples are more rock than minivan, if that makes any sense. Also, I remember Evan and Jaron being marketed like a boy band back in the day too. The TRL crowd ate it up. I don’t think anyone really saw them as anything else, especially in the wake of an act like BB Mak who very purposely marketed themselves as a boy band with guitars.
Anyone else think these guys's post band life would make an amazing movie scenario? Like, some family thing about the two brothers trying to spend time with each other despite the very very strange and different ways they both went.
My mom is *obsessed* with Evan and Jaron, has as much music as she can find from them, and so oddly enough a lot of this I’ve heard and forgotten weren’t standard everyone-knows-them songs
There are a handful of songs on Todd’s channel where I feel the same way. I’m always surprised when I end up enjoying a 20+ min video on a song or band i don’t even know.
"One of the many glorious crush songs floating around the turn of the millennium." That makes me wonder: what's kept you from covering "Crush" by Jennifer Paige? That's a one-hit wonder if I ever heard one and that song's still lingered around all these years later. I heard it and many other entries in the Minivan Rock category all the time as a kid.
A family friend gave me her self-titled album when I was 6, so I have a MASSIVE soft spot for both it and this song. Knew Jaron had that country hit about a decade ago, but hearing about Evan's post-music career was certainly...interesting...Regardless, loved the video, partially because you didn't tear apart one of my favorite childhood songs. That's always nice.
I think the difference between songs like”teenage dirtbag” and “crazy for this girl” is they’re both memorable but the former has a hook you can belt along to yourself in the car and the latter has a hook that sticks out just enough in a soundtrack to be memorable but is pretty awkward to sing. Like even them trying to sing the hook later in the video sounds awkward, but anyone of a certain age can belt out the chorus to Teenage Dirtbag, Vindicated etc. The brothers had a sound that was built for musical montages over CW shows.
Teenage Dirtbag was so much less generic than those other songs, too. Like, his unique vocals and the fact that it’s apparently set in the 80s….or a weird universe where kids in the early aughts go to Iron Maiden concerts. Maybe I’m just trying to justify my unending love for this song.
I am trying to work out what genre Teenage Dirtbag, Vindicated etc. is because those two songs (if you mean the Dashboard Confessional song) don’t sound the same at all.
After hearing how this was going to take a turn, I was somehow expecting the worst. Then Kevin Spacy's name popped up and somehow I was both slightly shocked and immediately underwhelmed.
I called bands in this genera of music, "Nickelodeon/Disney Channel Bands". Usually the Nickelodeon bands were pop bands, but kind of leaned more "For all kids", and they weren't afraid to have a LITTLE bit of a raw, or kid friendly, edge to them. The Disney Channel always played it safe with their bands, and they always aimed squarely at the young girls, with not a SINGLE THING aimed at boys. And the music always played it as safe as white bread. Evan and Jaron fell squarely into the "Disney Channel" variety.
i love this song unironically and all the other late 90s/early 00s powerpop hits tbh also pleeeeease do a video on teenage dirtbag. wheatus first album slaps. it’s like pure undistilled early 2000s high school powerpop, you know the kind i mean, like american pie soundtrack tier stuff
yeah, it's definitely a fun song. also, I'm surprised "Head to My Heart" wasn't a bigger hit. I've heard that song a million times on the radio (back when radio was still relevant).
Holy shit. I remember the song like yesterday but had completely forget who played it, and this unlocked a memory. I was in 5th grade, my mom bought me & my friends tickets to the big annual concert a local mom&kids-pop station put on. These failsons were one of the openers, before Eiffel 65 and Vitamin C. We drove their in my mom’s _minivan._ That’s the point. That’s the whole point. This story is WILD
I remember Tal Bachman's "She's So High" from my first trip, working abroad in Portland, OR back in 1999. All I recall nowadays is that seatbelt alarm ding and the smell of air fresheners. So whatever reads better in the line of "rental car rock" sounds great to me.
I really want to see Todd cover a song from the Early 2010s. According To You by Orianthi in particular seems like it'd be an interesting pick (in no small part because it is a complete and total bop).
You know you’re irrelevant when Eve freaking 6 dunks on you…and you’re a good sport for playing along with it. EDIT: Absolutely love that first album title.
to be fair, Eve 6 has made a comeback as a must-follow Twitter account, like dril or Lil Nas X. musically, they probably won't return to the spotlights, but I doubt they would even want that.
Speaking of Eve 6, did they ever have another hit? Do we get a OHW for them? I remember loving the hit album, but I probably haven't listened to it in 20 years. A few weeks ago I got a weird notion to listen to the followup album and it's just as awful as I remember. Maybe more.
"Minivan rock" was my favorite genre of music when I was a teenager, yet somehow, I have either never heard this song or it's so painfully mid that I have absolutely no memory of it.
My favorite thing is seeing a one hit wonderland title thinking “I’ve never heard of this song” only to instantly recognize it once Todd starts playing it on the piano
Great choice. I really want to see a retrospective on 'If You Could Only See' by Tonic. A post-grunge song that captures the vibe of a rainy night better than anything else I can think of.
Or Jackyl's Lumberjacker, mainly because he gets to talk about how culturally different the midwest and south are to the West Coast when it came to rock, for the people who don't know, when the Hair Metal died for Grunge and Gangster Rap in the West Coast and NYC, over in Georgia and PA they kept the mullet and they grew it longer into like 1995
As someone who was eleven in 2000... yeah, prepubescent girls who thought they were too good for boy bands was probably the audience for this song. Sometimes you just want to be pined for!
This song gave me a flashback to being 12 years old and listening on Kasey Kasem top 40 on Sunday morning while my mom drove us to get Sunday morning doughnuts. 😊
Is it bad that I really like this style of music? It may not be as authentic as other rock genres, but it is also pure and innocent, it's like a window to the past for me. I guess I am a slave to my nostalgia.
Todd, you keep teaching me that all the random songs they played at my first retail job are either actual hits (this song) or at least good songs by genuinely good artists (Singing In My Sleep by Semisonic).
You should do Adrian Belew's 1989 hit "Oh Daddy", a moddest hit for a man who's worked with people like Zappa, Bowie, King Crimson, Talking Heads, Trent Reznor and many more
Never even knew that was a hit lol that song was so sweet it looked and sounded like it belonged on Ants In Your Pants. (If you're not Canadian Ants In Your Pants was a show for children that played music videos of children's artists hosted by a monkey puppet lol we had weird shows up here)
The funny thing is I know Belew's solo career mainly for the two songs he did with David Bowie in 1990 ("Pretty Pink Rose" and "Gunman"); I didn't even know "Oh Daddy" existed.
I heard "Crazy for this Girl" for the first time in several years recently and was struck by how similar it sounded to every other contemporary country song I hear when I'm at the hardware store. It's a shame Jaron didn't just wait a few more years before trying his big country comeback.
Not even The Bouys or Paper Lace? Those seem like real "Who the fuck is this" episodes in my eyes, just like this one was for me. Also Kyper but that was intentional on Todd's part
@@mimkyodar really? I listened to alternative radio every day in the 90's, and I've never heard another Verve song ever. Are you in the US? Not trying to give you shit, I just genuinely didn't know they released any other singles. Now I need to go look up that song lol. After I finish the video of course
So I happened to catch (at midnight 20 years ago, so bear that in mind) an interview on the radio wherein it was stated that the song was revised by the label and it was originally very different. The line "thinking about her constantly" began as "She's got me thinking about a family". It's a song about knowing this is the person for you in a permanent sense but being really unsure at this early date if she feels the same. And then they didn't think it would play to a young enough audience with lyrics like that in there. So the question WHO IS THIS FOR?! is really interesting in that... yeah I think they botched that decision.
Now I've gone on before about how the Y2K-era was a bizarro world for Canadian pop and I'm kind of obsessed with it for that. But on the flip side, CanCon has meant that we are staunchly protective of She's So High, of all things. I know this because, if you live in the Greater Toronto Area like I do, you can regularly hear it on Boom 97.3, a classic hits station devoted to the 60s-90s, but mostly the 80s. There was even one time where - I shit you not - I heard it right after *Stairway to Heaven!*
Here in Norway, our first Idol winner did a cover of it, and it became impossible to find the original (on account that I couldn't remember the name of the original band). I was starting to believe I had imagined there ever was one until Todd mentioned it and the clip from the music video was showed. Do a search for Kurt Nilsen - She's So High if you're curious.
jo_b Canadian Content. It's music that our radio stations are forced to play by law. That's partially how artists like Drake and Bieber have stuck around for as long as they have
At first I was like "what the hell is an Evan or a Jaron?"...Then the chorus played and I immediately had that "ohhhhhhHHhh ITS THIS SONG" moment. Thanks Todd for digging out memories I didn't even know existed edit: I am excited for a potential "Teenage Dirtbag" episode now.
Todd apparently has thr exact right balance of loud, but not TOO loud of a speaking style for my baby to fall asleep, so sincerely, thanks for the two hours of reprieve I got today. Now I have to watch the video again cuz I dunno when I fell asleep.
As a big semisonic fan because of this series, I have a feeling that "from my head to my heart" will slip in my youtube mix between "Secret Smile" and "Singing in my sleep" and I'll hate it because I'll always wonder if I'm giving Kevin Spacey money by proxy
