Does Anyone Remember The Box?

Okay...how is it that I am the only person who remembers The Box? Seriously...WTF? I know it existed because I remember getting bitched out by my dad for using it back in high school. (The Fresh Prince said it best...parents just don't understand.) Neither Google nor Jeeves remember The Box...though Wikipedia seems to say think that The Box became MTV2.

For all of you non-believers...The Box was a video jukebox that allowed you to order the popular music videos for like $4.99 or something outrageous like that. Think TRL only you didn't have to listen to Carson or see a bunch of dumb girls scream over *Nsync for the billionth time and with ALOT of static. It was only accessible on network TV so that meant that I had to disconnect the cable in my room to watch it (which no doubt caused the static). Hence my father's frustration...First...what the hell was The Box? Second...why in the hell was he paying for cable if I was just going to disconnect it? Third, what made me think that my "keen fashion sense" enabled me to fuck around with a bunch of live wires? (Not my words...his.) That should have been the end of my brief affair with The Box...yes? No...in true Millie form...I got my friends to order videos and watched them on my TV. This lasted for about three months until all of my buddies were banned from using it too!!! I am guessing that someone else's dad was bitching about it at a game or something and my dad ratted us out. Nevertheless...it was great while it lasted.

So what made me think of this? Well it started a few weeks ago when I was discussing the classic video for The Backstreet Boys song "Everybody (Backstreet's Back)". Before I continue...can anyone please explain to me where in the hell they were back from? They had like one song before Everybody so it made absolutely no damn sense. But I digress....Moving on. So Dino and I were discussing the finer points of the song and the video and I mentioned that I ordered the video several times back in the days of The Box. He stared at me blankly and said that he had never heard of The Box. So I asked the other resident of the office who retains useless information regarding bad music and he had no clue about the video (my reenactment of the monster dance in the video did not bring back any memories but it did inspire a great deal of laughter) or The Box.

So this launched my quest to find The Box. I am sorry to say that it has been a fruitless effort. Super Pop Culture Legends Andrew or Victor...if you can offer anything...it would be greatly appreciated because Chief and Dino think that I am slightly crazy.

Since I cannot find any good info on The Box...I have decided to celebrate it by recapping a few of the videos that I seemed to watch over and over again. This will shine some light on The Box and all of it's glory.

Backstreet Boys' Everybody (Backstreet's Back) - So I already mentioned this one but it truly deserves its moment. This video was awesome!!! I think that I liked it because it was monster themed and had a Thriller feel to it, only not scary. I think that I knew the whole dance routine back in my prime...though I just remember the whole leg swing...neck rocking part. I could never figure out what Kevin was supposed to be...but I guess he was the best he could with what he had. Let's face it...geeks are not scary!!!! Great video...YouTube it!

*NSYNC's Tearing Up My Heart - So this was my first and all time favorite *NSYNC song. The young lads were fresh and peppy and looked like the guys that I hung out with at school only they sang of luv. I was smitten from the start. How was I supposed to know back then that I really, really stood NO chance in hell with Lance Bass? I was like 15. Whatever. It was a great video.

She Moves' Breaking All The Rules - Okay...for the record...it took me about ten minutes just to remember a damn line from this song in order to Google it to find out who in the hell did it. So as much as I liked it at the time...it clearly didn't have that much of a lasting effect on me. Nevertheless...I seem to remember buying the CD and thinking that they were better than The Spice Girls, which is like saying that a broken toe is better than a broken finger...guess what...they both suck. Anyway, in my young naive days...I thought they were great. I don't know what happened to them...(neither does Jeeves) and I don't know what happened to my copy of their CD. I do know that you can buy the video of their cover of Its Your Love on iTunes but you shouldn't because it is not very good.

Celine Dion's My Heart Will Go On - So thank God that they didn't list which video you requested because this one would have really pissed my father off. I mean, VH1 played the damn thing every hour!!! You couldn't escape it. Nevertheless...I would request it (or convince someone else to) and get all excited when it came on. Just seeing the white glove reach out of the car would get me all emotional because in true girlie form...even the video made me cry. "I'll never let go" either I guess.

Aqua's Barbie Girl - Is there anything that needs to be said with this one? After all...it is summed up by "Life in plastic...its fantastic!"

98 Degrees' Because of You - There wasn't enough static in the world that could cover up young Nick Lachey's amazing arms in this video. (Drew's weren't bad either.) The song was just okay...but it didn't matter. I remember Amanda and I ordering while on the phone together(3-way calling was the bomb!!!!) and watching it with the volume down while gossiping in the wee hours of the morning.

So there it is in a nutshell...my brief love affair with The Box. I look back now and somewhat understand frustration felt by those who got stuck with the bill but that is not the point. The point is that it DID exist and it was briefly enjoyed by the youth of Albuquerque. Much like the child who believes his parents when he is told that Rover has moved to a dog farm where he gets to chase cats all day and eat steak for every meal...I believe that my beloved Box morphed into MTV2. This way...it is not gone...just different. And it means that it continued to bring joy into my life with great programming such as Wildboyz.

Whatever happened to The Box...it is remembered fondly by me at least.

And speaking of boxes...here is Dino in a box!

Why is Dino in a box???? Because we have decided that he is coming to New Haven with me next summer.