Are-Oh-Vee

Today I feel like reliving some sixth-grade music. Oh, those were days. Maybe. Eh, not really. But I'll be damned if the music wasn't the best thing those prepubescent ears ever heard. I remember thinking I was really in the know back then about music and was a little snot about it (not much has changed, except I have a blog now!) and I owe that to a show that changed my life.

The show was called Are-Oh-Vee and it was on a local public access channel, KDOC, Friday nights at 1 A.M. Are-Oh-Vee played music videos mostly from ska and punk bands like Save Ferris, Zebrahead, The Killingtons, and MxPx, but they also played videos by Björk, Pavement, Kent, and Weezer, which changed my life considerably. I watched the show every Friday because that's how cool I was. Hell, I'd still be watching it if it didn't go off the air in February of '01. That was a sad day for me. Mostly because this was where I got new music. Well, here and this guy that worked at a record store in Fullerton, CA called Black Hole Records and had a (pretty sure) fake British accent and loved Oasis. And when the show ended, it did so very abruptly. The host was signing off and made the error of saying "we'll see you next week" only to catch herself by adding, "Oops. Actually, this is our last show." Then color bars.

Anyway, I remember this band, The Hippos, and the first song below very fondly. They're a ska-punk band that is no longer around, but this song will always hold a place in my heart. Mostly because the first time I heard it in a public space, I told everyone that I had been listening to it for months. Not much has changed.

The Hippos - Wasting My Life

MxPx - I'm OK, You're OK