In 1999, specifically the summer of 1999, the songs that dominated the charts and captured hearts included “Livin’ la Vida Loca” by Ricky Martin, “Genie in a Bottle” by Christina Aguilera, “No Scrubs” by TLC, and “Scar Tissue” by the Red Hot Chili Peppers. The summer also brought the disaster that was Woodstock ’99, while fear was lurking over Y2K and whether we’d see another day.
In the middle came a song that stole a little sunshine and gave it to those who listened. A song that is happy, sad, and thought-provoking. A perfect balance of what life is like.
“Steal My Sunshine” by Len was released on a sunny June 22, 1999, as the lead single from their third studio album, You Can’t Stop the Bum Rush. The album title is a nod to Public Enemy’s 1987 debut studio album “Yo! Bum Rush the Show.”
Len, an eclectic Toronto-based band formed in 1991, is led by Marc Costanzo, also known as the Burger Pimp and Mumble C, on vocals, guitar, and production. His sister Sharon, known as “The Big Sha,” provides vocals and bass. Supporting members include Derek “D-Rock” MacKenzie on DJ duties, Brien Bennett on keyboards, and Michael “DJ Moves” Simpson on turntables.
Marc Costanzo is the primary songwriter and revealed the inspiration for “Steal My Sunshine” came while he attended a music festival.
Costanzo stated, “I was at an outdoor electronic music festival up north, like a rave, and I just got caught up in the night. The song is about how I felt, and then it was exaggerated by the fact that I’m sitting in the middle of a field looking at the stars, about 1,000 feet away from the stage, watching everybody dancing at 3AM. And I wrote part of it on my leg and a lot of it on a napkin.”
“We went back to my house and Brendan Canning from Broken Social Scene was DJing and played More, More, More by Andrea True Connection. I ended up sampling it that morning and looped it, it sounded great. Somewhere in the next couple of days I recorded it, I know Deryck Whibley from Sum 41 was there in the room when I put down the lyrics. It’s just a song about what happened that night of the party,” said Costanzo.
The song sung by Andrea True Connection that captured Costanzo’s attention was “More, More, More,” a disco hit from 1976 that was written by Gregg Diamond.
“Marc credits me but to be honest I was doing a bit of drugs back then,” recalled Canning. “Certain memories aren’t quite as clear.”
“Marc just dragged me out of bed and into the studio one morning and said, ‘Do you want to sing on this?’,” Sharon Costanzo recalled. “Later, he told me he was going for that Human League vibe and had always wanted a song like that, but I had no idea that’s what it was about. And as soon as we recorded the song, it was done for me. We both liked it, but then I never thought about it again.”
“It was under my bed until the day we had to mix it,” said Costanzo. “The reel was actually unwound under my bed, with dust all over it. It’s a good song, and I like it, but it’s just a song.”
“This album is a happy album and it feels good,” recalled Sharon. “In the ‘90s, we went through a lot of angst music, very dark introspective whining… It had its merits, but I think people are sort of ready to party.”
The song was rediscovered, mixed and found its way to the soundtrack for the 1999 crime comedy film “Go,” which featured a strong cast including Sarah Polley, Katie Holmes, Jay Mohr, Timothy Olyphant, and Melissa McCarthy in her film debut.
The Go soundtrack represented late 1990s youth culture and was the first official release of “Steal My Sunshine” on March 30, 1999, two months before being released as a single on June 22. The soundtrack features No Doubt’s lead track “New,” Fatboy Slim’s “Gangster Trippin’,” and Natalie Imbruglia’s “Troubled by the Way We Came Together”, but the attention went to track 2 “Steal My Sunshine.”
“Everyone was gung-ho about the new No Doubt, but Len is what really grabbed me,” says Aaron Axelson, MD of San Francisco’s Live 105 (KITS). “Not only is it fresh and connected with a hip movie; the song is a great balancer in a sea of Kid Rock and Korn,” said Billboard.
Things were looking up
Billboard stated, “It’s hard to imagine that no one has thought of using the instrumental hook of Andrea True Connection’s ’70s hit ‘More, More, More’ to beef up a new concoction. Here, however, the quintet Len does so to grand effect. Somewhere between pop and modern rock, this all-about-summer track featuring a back-and-forth male-to-female vocal is uplifting, clever, and instantly appealing. Its melody line, verse construction, and memorable hook make for what should be an absolute breakthrough for this hip, talented act. Modern rock would do well to embrace this track, while top 40 would be missing one great party not to join in the fun.”
“It’s a perfect summer song,” said Kim Monroe, music director of modern rock station KNDD Seattle.
“[Len has] a super-catchy single right now that sounds a little different because of the trade-off between the male and female vocals. Another reason why the band is hot right now is because they’re young, they’ve got a good image, and they look like they’re cool,” stated Dave Seamons, rock buyer for Tower Records in downtown New York.
“The record label sent it to KROQ, and we’re listening live, and KROQ right there said, ‘This is gonna be the song of the summer!’ And we were like, ‘Holy shit.’ Probably the most influential station in the world. So when they said that, every station picked it up. A week later we’re in a cab driving down Sunset, and from the time we went from North Hollywood to Santa Monica, we heard the song maybe five times going past us in a car. And right there, we knew something was going on,” said Costanzo.
The song’s success demanded a visual counterpart. A budget of $150,000 was given to the band to film a music video in Daytona Beach, Florida. A total of 23 people, including band members and friends, made the trip. Costanzo co-directed the video and the shoot lasted one week with most of the budget spent on alcohol. The band was not allowed to ride proper motorbikes and were given scooters instead.
Billboard noted that “Len has also entered into co-promotion with the Motorrad North America scooter company, whose scooters are featured prominently in the ‘Steal My Sunshine’ video. The promotion includes giveaways of the same model of scooter seen in the video, with the contest being held in 15 markets.”
“Len has achieved the rare feat of being selected by both MTV and VH1 as a new act to watch. At the same time that the ‘Steal My Sunshine’ video is in ‘Buzzworthy’ rotation on MTV, Len is one of VH1’s ‘Inside Track’ acts,” stated Billboard.
“And this was a song that wasn’t supposed to be cool at all. This was almost a joke. Not a joke, but almost like — ‘Ha, disco beat! Ha, raspy voice! Ha, girls singing about being all in space! Aha, let’s see if we can combine those things together! It’s never gonna work!’ You know? And then suddenly you’re like, ‘What the fuck just happened, I’m on fucking MTV,'” stated Costanzo.
“The only reason I do this is my brother’s standing beside me,” Sharon Costanzo said. “I don’t do hip-hop, but I love it, especially the kind of rap they do, really up, party tracks. I mean, anything I can shake my [booty] to, I’m down with.”
Costanzo said, “If we turn out to be a one-hit wonder, that doesn’t mean we’ll think any less of our music. We’ll still be making beats and records years from now. Even if the record company drops us, we’ll still be making music.”
“We have a lot of songs like ‘Sunshine,'” Costanzo said. “I’m not saying that they’re all hits or are going to be hits, but we have 30 songs like that lying around, and that was one we just picked out of a bunch,” said Costanzo. “And it was recorded on eight-track! That’s a really low-quality format to have a Top 40 single on.”
The band set out on its first U.S. tour with 200 shows lined up. In July 1999, one of the band members tried to run across the U.S.-Canada border with a 40-ounce beer in his hand while being chased by border guards. The stunt resulted in Len being barred from entering the States, forcing them to postpone their tour and cancel their August 6 appearance on “Late Show With David Letterman.”
Despite this setback, they eventually resumed touring, but completed only 80 shows before making their decision. “Here’s the deal: when you have that kind of a quick single blowing up, you sell a million records in what, six months? When it goes that fast off one single, and you have no other singles — we knew there was no other single. We were surprised there was even one single,” said Costanzo. “So we were looking at this whole bigger picture of what’s gonna happen next, and we knew it’s over in terms of generating more money from the rest of the album. So we just kind of backed out in terms of being public figures. We had 200 shows planned, and after 80 shows, we turned the tour bus around and went home. I went back to my house in BC and just hung out with my friends. We were just like, ‘We need to go home, I’m sick of this shit.’ Our manager and the record label said, ‘You can’t do this.’ And we’re like, ‘Well, we just did it.'”
“Steal My Sunshine” left a lasting cultural impact since its release in 1999. The song peaked at #9 on November 13 on the Billboard Hot 100 and proudly became a one-hit wonder. Its presence in pop culture has endured, with the song appearing in numerous TV shows such as Parks and Recreation, Mr. Robot, That ’70s Show, and the movie The 40-Year-Old Virgin.
“The second that song blew up, it’s not my song anymore. I was a part of it, I was there. But the fact that it does what it does every year, you know, movies, commercials, whatever, has nothing to do with me. It has to do with the people that have a connection to it, you know?,” said Costanzo. “It feels like it has so much more power than me as just one individual.”
“I don’t even understand how people relate to it. When I listen to that song, I just can’t make sense of it. Because there’s nothing right about that song. The elements are all wrong. But that’s why I love it so much,” said Costanzo.
Their sunshine was not stolen.
And perhaps that’s why ‘Steal My Sunshine’ continues to resonate. It’s a song that shouldn’t work, made by people who didn’t want to be famous, that accidentally captured something true about the pendulum of life. This three-minute-and-thirty-one-second burst of sunshine is a reminder that sometimes the best moments are the ones that make no sense at all.
Lyrically: Steal My Sunshine by Len
I was lying on the grass of Sunday morning of last week
Indulging in my self-defeat
My mind was thugged, all laced and bugged, all twisted, wrong and beat
A comfortable three feet deep
Now the fuzzy stare from not being there on a confusing morning week
Impaired my tribal lunar speak
The opening lyrics describe someone disconnected and introspective, inviting listeners into a relatable experience. While the upbeat melody feels fun, the lyrics “My mind was thugged, all laced and bugged, all twisted, wrong and beat” reveal moments of confusion, chaos, and potential influence from outside sources. They describe a mix of thoughts and emotions that feel all over the place, where things don’t make sense and everything feels off.
Feeling “a comfortable three feet deep” plays on the burial depth of “six feet underground.” It’s halfway between the surface and rock bottom, where being overwhelmed by life has become comfortable.
The line “Now the fuzzy stare from not being there” gives an image of being physically present but mentally absent, and receiving confusing stares from those around you.
A spark of motivation shines through with the lyric “And of course you can’t become if you only say what you would have done,” which serves as a reminder that taking action is key to reaching your potential. But the song quickly turns to regret with “So I missed a million miles of fun,” hinting at lost opportunities and unfulfilled dreams when that “sunshine” of inspiration fades away.
I know it’s up for me
(If you steal my sunshine)
Making sure I’m not in too deep
(If you steal my sunshine)
Keeping versed and on my feet
(If you steal my sunshine)
The chorus of “Steal My Sunshine” sounds carefree and joyful but this is where Marc and Sharon together battle confidence and vulnerability. Lyrics like “I know it’s up for me” show personal responsibility for maintaining happiness, but “If you steal my sunshine” warns that happiness can easily be taken away. The lines “Making sure I’m not in too deep” and “Keeping versed and on my feet” suggest a need to stay grounded despite challenges from those who try to “steal sunshine.”
I was flying on the bench slide
In the park across the street
L-A-T-E-R that week
My sticky paws were into making straws
Out of big fat Slurpee treats
An incredible eight foot heap
This verse blends playful moments with a sense of freedom. “I was flying on the bench slide in the park across the street” suggests a feeling of being high or elevated, while “L-A-T-E-R that week” marks the slow passing of time, showing how fleeting moments are part of a bigger experience.
The lines “My sticky paws were into making straws out of big fat slurpy treats” bring a carefree, childlike vibe, symbolizing losing oneself in the simple things, like a Slurpee from 7-Eleven to cool you down on a hot day. The “straws” reference could also allude to cocaine use. “An incredible eight-foot heap” suggests something exaggerated, and “the funny glare” hints at the familiar “fuzzy” and confused stares from the previous verse.
Now the funny glare to pay a gleaming tare
In a staring under heat
Involved an under usual feat
And I’m not only among
But I invite who I want to come
So I missed a million miles of fun
These lyrics express the tension between control and spontaneity. You can’t control everything. By trying to curate the perfect experience and choosing exactly who to include, you may end up missing out on spontaneous fun.
This philosophy extended to the music video shoot itself. “In the beginning of the video we’re on the plane, and we’re going to Daytona, because there were movies in the ’80s that were all about Daytona. And we were like, ‘Let’s go to Daytona! Let’s do that ’80s movie shit!’ We had no permits. We just took permits from other film sets. The guys were like, ‘Let’s plan the next five days.’ And I was like, ‘Let’s not,'” said Costanzo. “We had to shoot at one, because we were too drunk after five and too hungover before one. So we’d wake up, and I’d be like, ‘Let’s get some fucking Harleys!’ But they wouldn’t rent us fucking Harleys, so we ended up with scooters, which I hated at first, but then we were like, ‘Let’s destroy these things.’ We destroyed like four or five of them.”
The remainder of the song repeats the lyrics ‘Steal My Sunshine,’ highlighting the song’s central theme.
