Back in high school, I had a big thing for songs that were sung quickly, with a fast beat and words that you could barely discern. Songs like Savage Garden’s “I Want You” made me sing fast and without abandon, with everyone around me wondering how I was able to learn the words so quickly. I have always been a fast talker, and songs that were equally as fast made me feel like I actually belonged to our citizenship—something that didn’t happen again until I lived in Spain among other fast talkers like me.

When the Barenaked Ladies—a band that I’m not actually a fan of, at least anymore—came up with their upbeat, fast-talking song “One Week,” I was able to enjoy it once again. I remember hovering over my aunt’s stereo in her basement—likely the same way people did with much better songs twenty years before—straining to hear each word and commit it to memory. This was before it was even on the radio or on films like 10 Things I Hate About You, by the way—I had actually obtained a copy of the song on a CD of mixed music for free from my favorite record/incense/other hippie supplies store.

Had I known how popular the song were to become, I probably would have still enjoyed listening to it and impressing my friends with my quick memorization of the fast lyrics, but maybe not as much. It was much more fun to know something that no one else had heard as of yet. I remember another song on that CD was “Blue on Black,” another to-be hit; but any other song on the CD was virtually still unknown.

If the song were introduced today, would I still love it? I must confess that I likely would, especially since my little girl loves their stupid chimpanzee song. But then again, as annoyed as I’ve been with the band’s overuse in popular culture, films, and television, I just might not. In fact, I would probably change the station.

Many of us are pretty darn sick of them; I remember when they came to my college campus five years ago or so and no one wanted to go. I’m sure it must have been a little embarrassing for the band, but I also went to a school full of rednecks, so they probably just wanted to hear Toby Keith.