I like teens. If memory serves, I was a teenager myself once upon a slightly more innocent time. Last night, I spent a few fun-filled hours backstage at the Gibson Amphitheatre in the youthful vicinity of some excellent teens at "Teen Choice 2010" -- which was hosted by that "Teenage Dream" Katy Perry and the guys of Glee and airs Monday night on Fox at 8pm. You can't miss it -- it's the only show that night with Sandra Bullock dancing with Betty White, Taylor Swift lake surfing, and the great Ken Jeong of The Hangover fame killing as our special vampire announcer.
Being part of the Teen Choice experience got me thinking about the fact that as a powerful and influential minority group, teens actually deserve a little more credit for some of their excellent choices. Teenagers are a such powerful group because of a central paradox that was perhaps best explained by Quentin Crisp who once noted, "The young always have the same problem -- how to rebel and conform at the same time. They have now solved this by defying their parents and copying one another." That same paradox can make teens a rather strong voting block -- which may help explain the more than 85 million votes that came in this year at Teen Choice. Politicians ignore our most senior teens -- all those 18-and 19-year-olds with the right to vote -- at their own electoral peril. Based on last night, I think Taylor Lautner should get a stump speech ready.
Until then, here are some of the greatest tunes of all time that were created by, for or about teengers.
SMELLS LIKE TEEN SPIRIT - Nirvana
I'VE GOT A CRUSH ON YOU - Frank Sinatra
THAT'S ALL RIGHT - Elvis Presley
WHY DO FOOLS FALL IN LOVE - Frankie Lymon & The Teenagers
TEENAGER IN LOVE - Dion & The Belmonts
SWEET LITTLE SIXTEEN - Chuck Berry
TEEN ANGEL - Mark Dinning
PLEASE PLEASE ME - The Beatles
MY GENERATION - The Who
I'M A BELIEVER - The Monkees
I WANT YOU BACK - The Jackson 5
I WOKE UP IN LOVE THIS MORNING - The Partridge Family
GO ALL THE WAY - The Raspberries
SHOW ME THE WAY -- Peter Frampton
PARADISE BY THE DASHBOARD LIGHT- Meat Loaf
ONLY THE GOOD DIE YOUNG - Billy Joel
SATURDAY NIGHT - Bay City Rollers
ONLY IN MY DREAMS - Debbie Gibson
STEP BY STEP - New Kids On The Block
JESSIE'S GIRL - Rick Springfield
SIXTEEN BLUE - The Replacements
WELCOME TO THE JUNGLE - Guns N' Roses
BREATH - Michelle Branch
BACK FOR GOOD - Take That
MMMBOP - Hanson
BYE BYE BYE - 'N Sync
HIT ME BABY ONE MORE TIME - Britney Spears
ROCK YOUR BODY - Justin Timberlake
FIFTEEN - Taylor Swift
BABY - Justin Bieber & Ludacris
TEENAGE DREAM - Katy Perry
DON'T STOP BELIEVIN' - Glee Cast
Okay, boys and girls, that's my grown up Teen-centric list -- tell the whole senior HuffPost class, who's on yours?