After mentioning how much I enjoyed Dave Holmes’ memoir in my graduate school friend group chat, The Kennedy Chronicles: The Golden Age of MTV Through Rose-Colored Glasses was recommended to me. Kennedy was part of the third wave of MTV VJs; the one that preceded Dave’s. I was not living in the states while she was on the station but I distinctly remember seeing her and her glasses in other forms of media, namely magazines catering to teenagers. Ahem, Sassy. RIP.
In her memoir, Kennedy dishes about her time at MTV and it is quite juicy. Girlfriend names names! Everyone who was anyone during the 1990s grunge scene is mentioned and you can be sure that Kennedy has a story about them. The one that stood out to me was when she mentioned that she advised Gwen Stefani to stay away from Gavin Rossdale, as he was such a dog. At the time of the print in 2013, she admitted that thank goodness Gwen did not listen to her because the former golden couple of music went on to have three precious offspring. Cut to two years later…
One of my favorite – and more hilarious – parts of her memoir addressed her time spent during the first two MTV beach houses. Apparently treatable venereal diseases ran amok among the staff but this was not an issue for her. Kennedy was a virgin during the majority of her time at the station and this was a very well known fact not only amongst her colleagues, but also artists with whom she interacted.
The Kennedy Chronicles address her time in the years leading up to her tenure at MTV as an intern at storied radio station KROQ to the conclusion of her time at the television station. Whereas Dave recounted his youth, his interest in music, and the revelation that MTV was for him, Kennedy did not trace her time back that far. I was interested in reading more about her early story and what inspired her to make the move to Los Angeles for the internship from her native Oregon.
The Kennedy Chronicles: The Golden Age of MTV Through Rose-Colored Glasses by Kennedy