Millennial Mom Plays 1990s Song for Teens—No One Prepared for Their Verdict

Newsweek

3 days ago

Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources.
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A mom, her teenage son, and his best friend have gone viral as the teenagers react to some of the biggest hit songs from the previous generation.
Ramee Sharpe, 40, lives in Illinois, and is mom to 17-year-old Braden, who she described as "attached at the hip" to his best friend, John.
"When you have teenagers, their friends become family because you don't see one without the other," she said.
In recent weeks, Sharpe, John, and Braden have amassed a large following on TikTok after Sharpe's friend Dinah suggested they take part in a trend which sees Gen-Z teens react to music from their parents' day.
And, as Sharpe put it: "That was that. My page went from 13,000 followers to over 60,000 in just a week."
Praising the boys, she called them "hilarious" and said it's been "such a fun way to spend time together," with online followers getting involved by making suggestions for songs in the comments.
One such video has exploded in popularity, as Sharpe decided to treat the 17-year-olds to none other than Bloodhound Gang's The Bad Touch—released in 1999, when Sharpe was 15, and years before the boys were born.
Ramee Sharpe, Braden and John listen to The Bad Touch by Bloodhound Gang.
Ramee Sharpe, Braden and John listen to The Bad Touch by Bloodhound Gang.
TikTok @rameelin
The track, from the album Hooray For Boobies, was notoriously suggestive, and as crude as it was catchy: it hit number one in the charts in multiple countries upon its release.
Braden and John, however, had never heard it before. And in a video posted to Sharpe's TikTok account @rameelin in July, viewed more than 3.2 million times, she stood back and watched as the duo listened for the first time.
As as the lyrics begin, Braden turns to his mom in open-mouthed shock, while she collapses into laughter. Sharpe can't hold back her giggles—and then the incredibly catchy chorus comes on, featuring the lyrics, "You and me, baby, ain't nothin' but mammals / So let's do it like they do on the Discovery Channel." But far from the mortified looks from the beginning of the video, this is the point that sees the boys get hooked, and both start nodding their heads along to the beat.
By the end, both boys are dancing along, and Sharpe is still in stitches watching behind them.
Sharpe explained to Newsweek that her son Braden is a musician himself, writing and performing his own songs under the name Bud Larson Music, which he posts to his own account @BradenLarson.
"Music is literally the heartbeat of our house, so this series has been a great addition to the fun," she said.
The teenagers aren't sure what to think, but are dancing by the end of the chorus.
The teenagers aren't sure what to think, but are dancing by the end of the chorus.
TikTok @rameelin
And TikTok users loved it, flocking to the video—currently standing at close to 200,000 likes—as one commenter wrote that "kids today don't even know what the Discovery channel reference even means!"
"When they started bopping I lost it," another laughed, and none said: "I feel like the horror is slowly fading and they are coming around to our music!"
Others recalled finding the song in their own childhoods, one sharing: "I made my mom listen to this song when I was like eight whenever we went to the zoo because I was convinced it was about animals."
"I had no business knowing this word for word at the age I did," another laughed with another agreeing: "I used to sing this song at like age 9 when it came out and I had NO idea what it was about."
Making the series has been fun for Sharpe and her family, particularly as she started the project with Braden and John amid a difficult time: her oldest daughter moving out of home, and the week of her late daughter Mabel's 15th birthday.
As she put it: "I needed the distraction and lightheartedness this trend has brought to my days."
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