I believe it says a lot that a band like Smash Mouth is still relevant in 2017. Granted, they released their last studio album as recently as 2012, but in only 5 years’ time, they’ve become known for something other than their music. Much like Nickelback, Smash Mouth have now become a big joke. They are the subject of hilarious memes and other forms of online entertainment. And as we all know, the internet can be a dark, dark place. So sometimes, they’re treated far too cruelly, in my opinion.

Yet more often than not, Smash Mouth continue to receive positive attention during a time when any other 90s band wouldn’t be getting attention at all. The most obvious reason for this is a small song they performed called “All-Star.” Have you seen all of the different versions of this song that exist on YouTube? The answer is probably no because there are SO MANY. Some very talented people have covered the song. Others have made remixes of it with other songs or even mashups of it with movies. It has been incorporated it into almost every other type of media in some way.

One of my personal favorites speaks not only to my inner 90s kid, but also to my love and appreciation for animation. Brock Baker, beloved voice actor and king of impersonations, sang “All-Star” in the voices of numerous cartoon characters. You’d have to be dead inside to not at least crack a smile at his version.

But of course, I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the manner in which “All-Star,” and subsequently Smash Mouth, rocketed to fame. That’d be a tiny animated movie known as Shrek. I was in 3^rd grade when that movie came out in 2001, and holy crap, it was everywhere! It became the anthem for Field Day at my elementary school, on repeat 24 hours a day on the radio, and oh yes, constantly playing on my CD player.

It took me a long time to add other songs by Smash Mouth to my music collection. They really do have some great stuff. “All-Star” was amazing, though, and I’ll admit it: it still is. Even now, when I hear it, I can’t skip it 99% of the time. This just happened yesterday when I was driving home, sitting in traffic after work, and blasting the song for every car around me to hear. Also—fun fact—, I hadn’t learned all of the lyrics until yesterday, which I realized was kind of crazy. I sort of have Brock Baker’s video to thank for that because I’ve watched it over a dozen times since he published it.

I understand if you’re not a fan. I can see how it’s annoying and tiring if you hear it all the time, which if you’re in a car, then you do. Shrek probably didn’t help and only made matters worse, I’m sure. However, I can’t help but love the song even after all this time. Now I can sing it out without missing a single word.