The Kennedy Chronicles: The Golden Age of MTV Through Rose-Colored Glasses
Kennedy (one name only, please) was an MTV veejay—or VJ to use the proper nomenclature—during the 1990s heyday of MTV, when it was a “wonderland of musical genres.” In this memoir (of sorts), Kennedy seemingly recalls most everyone she ever met, including Henry Rollins, Howard Stern, Johnny Rzeznik, Courtney Love, Kurt Cobain, Billy Corgan, and many others, while describing how her broadcasting career began at 19, when she was hired as a part-time deejay with absolutely no radio or broadcast experience. This is the story of an enthusiastic, self-proclaimed misfit from Oregon who happened to be at the right place at the right time. Kennedy’s former boss, Andy Schuon, reports that people either loved or hated her. Characteristically, she pulls no punches in writing about the famous people she interviewed. For example, she calls Thom Yorke, the introspective lead singer of Radiohead, “an overly sensitive pretentious ass.” Anyone with an interest in MTV and the culture that it promoted and cultivated will be sure to enjoy this entertaining and irreverent collection of anecdotes and interviews. --June Sawyers