RIP TRL

Last night truly marked the end of an era. The era of Total Request Live. Now I know many of you do not share my teeny bopper past... but either way, during the late nineties TRL was totes a main fixture in the face of popular music and culture.

Carson Daly was one of the most recognizable faces for a minute... Constantly having to engage with teeny boppers like Britney Spears and *Nsync, but gallavanting on the side with Fred Durst and Kid Rock. The rockers that made it on the countdown were supposedly more legit than the teen idols, but ten years later, no one knows what their tired asses even look like. And then there was the random cameos made by various Rap and R&B artists - Mya, P.Diddy, Brandy and Monica (the NAMESAKE), among others. I guess I'm talking about the golden age of TRL, when I used to watch religiously, every single day, when fans used to take over Times Square to the point where the place that is already the most annoying on the planet became even more unbearable... the huge window, the waving, the naked Cowboy... it all felt so familiar and so close. But despite living in New York, I never made it to a single taping of the show. And thats totes fine. Except now that chance is officially and completely dunzo, I have to wonder, did I miss out on participating in history?

I'm pretty sure the answer is no. By the end of its run, TRL barely even showed its videos, having the VJs talking straight through them. The show always got me with the sensory overload: the celebrity guests, the screaming fans, the scrolling requests on the bottom of the screen (PLz PLz play J.Lo's "All I Have" bcuz me and my boyfriend Eddie are going thru a rough patch but i want him to know that I still lubs u Babee").

I didn't even mind the middle phase of TRL with Brian McFadden (Nikki Hilton's ex) and Quddus running the show, or that chick Hilary Burton who they found on the street and way later ended up being the star of One Tree Hill (also the Secret Life of Bees, homegirl makes a cameo as young Dakota's mother). But by the end, TRL became unwatchable, and maybe part of that was the fact that I grew up, and no longer had the attention span to watch for 1.5 hours.

Anyway, I didn't actually watch last night, but apparently they brought Carson Daly back home to host... what is that guy up to these days? Besides hosting that late night show "Later" and not being engaged to Tara Reid or dating Jennifer Love? I had an inappropes dream about Carson once in 7th grade, and it was so awkward for me, that I stopped watching TRL for about a week. And in that week, my friends made it seem like i had missed EVERYTHING. What losers. In reality, we all know that back then, that show was nearly identical every single day until videos got "retired." Except that one day that New Kids on the Block was No. 1. Classic Shiz.

Enjoy this video of some of the orig TRL titans (and my personal fave) the Backstreet Boys taking it back and bringing it home for the end of a show that stopped mattering a long time ago, but quite poss was one of the catalyzing forces behind my obsesh with this time period. Also, BSB lookin kinda good again. yikes.

Rewind... Updates! Ola Edition

So... OLA RAY, the gorgeous star of MJ's classic "Thriller" video.. famous for being fly, being the female love interest in the biggest music video of all time, and for having the perfect "O i'm so scared!" face and more importantly, the perfect way of purring, "Oh Michael..." that made you believe that she would even consider going steady with his werewolf azz... Slash that outfit is so fierce and fly, and those red pumps are to die!

What is Ms. Ray up to these days??? AND what does she look like... 25 years later! The answer, my friends:

Yup. That's her. Now, lovers... don't get dejected (and if you were all like "whoa she still is a flyass hunny, by all means, I encourage that!), what did any of us really know about Ms. Ray in the first place?? Here are some fun facts:

1) Ola was born in St. Louis, Missouri (holla! my hometown from ages 3-7! what up, Rue?!)
2) Spent part of her childhood in Japan.
3) Was a Playboy Playmate of the Month at some point in 1980
4) On her first meeting with MJ: "I was getting changed, so I was crouched down halfnaked on the dressing room floor and he came in and giggled." Yikes awwwwkfest.
5) She quit working in the mid-eighties because she refused to sleep with producers in exchange for roles.
6) Now lives were in daughter Iam in Sacramento, CA and hosts parties for Playboy.

Oh Ola. Ohhh Ola.

I find it crazy that it was extremely different to find any stills of homegirl from the Thriller video, and quite significantly easier to find naked booty shots... not the way I've been finna remember one of my first lady loves, Ola Ray.

He's a Smart Guy...

do do dooo do do do do

Homie is set to be in a TV adaptation of Coach Carter next fall... With Ving Rhames playing the title character and Chris Brown, Ashanti, and Cassandra Ventura (Cassie, for all you Bad Boy heads out there) joining the cast. What about Channing!?

Undercover Brotherz Tryna Holla

Do ya’ll remember New York Undercover? Michael DeLorenzo and Malik Yoba were undercover detectives for the NYPD and were always finding themselves in disturbing and elaborate criminal schemes. I remember watching the show, but I don’t remember actually caring about it. It wasn’t a sick addiction like Law and Order: SVU became for me, during my last years in high school. Maybe it was the lack of consistent marathoning that prevented that from happening.

A couple years ago, my friend Ngozi and I friended Michael DeLorenzo on MySpace and he accepted!! Michael DeLorenzo is apparently trying out his luck as a pop sensation now so… good luck with that, Mike!

Noteworthy: NYUndercover was the first American police drama to feature two people of color in lead roles. And it lasted for longer than a year! Holla! I guess people were really committed to the life and work of Julius Clarence “JC” Williams and partner Eduardo “Eddie” Torres. Delish.

From a previous post, ya’ll already know that Michael used to be a dancer. He totes held his own with the King of Pop as a dancing gangbanger in the epic music video, “Beat It.” Love his muscle tee! And pirouettes! He was also the object of drama, Private Santiago, in one of my fave guilty pleasure courtroom dramas, “A Few Good Men (1992)” with Tom Cruise (I want the truth!) and Jack Nicholson (YOU CAN’T HANDLE THE TRUTH!), Demi Moore, and cameos by Noah Wylie (ER blog post coming soon!) and the ubiquitous KEVIN BACON!

Now, the other dude, Malik Yoba (I should totes friend him on MySpace too. hm) … I unfortunately haven't kept up so much with his career. My aforementioned friend, Ngozi (who has great New York Undercover celeb luck!) had an interaction with Mr. Yoba when she was living here in Fort Greene, recently before she peaced to OR.

It seems that the ashy lipped homeboy stopped the strikingly attractive Ms. Gozanne on the street and said, “I’m sorry but… do I know you?”

Now Malik, we know she’s magnetic and all, but you really need to stop tryin to act like the real question you were asking wasn’t…

“Do you know ME?”

!!!!!!!

Womp (x3).

Can't Hold a Candle to the JET

I was talking to one of my lovebugs the other day, D-Moneyyy, and we were conferencing about the unveiling of my blog and the maturation of MIKE VITAR (who, bt dubs hasn’t yet hit the BIG 3-0! After alla that!). And homegirl had these pearls of wisdom to share:

It’s not like he turned out that bad. I mean, he’s no RALPH MACCHIO. Now, that’s a lost cause.

HAHAHA

Firstly, can I just say how much I love how my friends are so on top of their shit! Loves it, D!!! Such a throwback, aimed to perfection!

Secondly, to give ya’ll a refresher course, Ralph Macchio was the star of the ORIGINAL KARATE KID (that is, pre-Hilary Swank). He was just so adorable in all the right ways, athletic AND working hard to achieve a goal, with Pat Morita, and most importantly, AGAINST ALL ODDS.

Damn. So good. So wholesomely good.

This is how Ralph turned out:

Dizzamn. Do we agree with D- Money?

also - there have been rumors that CHUCK NORRIS was supposed to be in this film as the evil John Kreese. wow. can you imagine the pop culture repercussions of such casting!?

JET SET!

A billion years ago, my bestie Linde started a facebook group at Wesleyan called “I HEART BENNY.” At that point, during my freshman year, I didn’t know her that well, but I came across this group and was just like, “wow who is this genius. This group is so necessary.”

For all of you who don’t know who BENNY is: Watch.

The Sandlot. He was the dreamy, knowledgeable and ridiculously talented young baseballer in a movie filled with doofy little kids with big dreams. And he was a “man” of color.

BENNY "The Jet" RODRIGUEZ, mmm he was IT. I don’t know how many young women and men I’ve bonded with over the years over our mutual love for homeboy when we were kids. And I felt a kindred link with Linde when encountering this facebook group. Also to each and every wunderkind that joined the group.

Benny was played by Mike Vitar, but in our hearts and souls, he’s always BENNY. Even when he was in D2: The Mighty Ducks, as the hockey player who couldn’t figure out how to stop skating once he started, he was always just BENNY. He was the type of dude, that you would look at and be like, “damn. That kid is gonna grow up GOOD.” He was the type of dude that when you see the movies on TV now, that you’re awkwardly and ashamedly drawn to… (yikes. Poss too much info). But where’d he go? And most importantly…

HOW DID HE TURN OUT???

Mike Vitar is now a firefighter… fighting fires, sexy. But Mike Vitar is clearly no longer BENNY. His face looks totally different! Who IS that?!

Judge for yourselves!!