The OFFICIAL Unofficial Achewood Message Board
Trivial Pursuits => Arts & Entertainment => Topic started by: Nabubrush on June 26, 2007, 05:28:44 am
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What do you think is the greatest one-hit wonder? Please don't make it within the last five or ten years, as there's always a possibility those folks will put something else together.
I propose:
Biily Paul's "Me and Mrs. Jones". (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vlgJnnTEXi0&mode=related&search=)
Note: this is a terrible clip, but I had to include it for the cigar.
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Oh man, I definitely have to throw "Come On Eileen" by Dexys Midnight Runners. Textbook def of a one-hit-wonder.
**EDIT: Damn you, TOUAMB and your sweet siren song! I should be PACKING! Also, I will provide delicious pizza and beer, so you guys should come up and help me haul my shit to the warehouse! ;) It's only about 2 pallets worth of boxes...no furniture.
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Not within the past ten years? That disqualifies... almost all the music I listen to!
Anyway, if we're talking about individual songs, I'll bend the rules a bit and nominate Fastball's "The Way" and Primitive Radio Gods's "Standing Outside a Broken Phone Booth With Money In My Hand." Both incredible songs, both never matched by their bands.
In terms of artists, can I nominate Thomas Dolby? If you like New Wave, he has a remarkable catalogue outside of his mildly-gimmicky hit. Then again, half of what I listen to could be classified as "artists who had one gimmick hit and released other, much better albums into obscurity." (Moxy Fruvous, anyone?)
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I love the Fruvous. Love love love.
Growing up as a frustrated artsy type within a three hour drive of the Canadian border listened to a whole lotta Fru and was shocked to discover that once you pass the customs booth...
Moxy Fruvous is not an obscure jam band with strong doses of politics and humour that you and the other people at the coffeeshop's open mic night can feel superior amoungst yourselfs about knowing and...
Instead they are a one-hit wonder from fifteen years ago that everyone hates not even because they actually dislike but rather just because it is so completely overexposed that whether it is good or not no longer matters, they're just sick of hearing about it.
Just like some people pretend that The Simpsons is no longer funny just because you can watch two hours of it every afternoon in syndication.
It's not that it's no longer funny, it's just been everywhere all the time for so long that you almost WANT to say it's no longer funny.
If you stand on the border with a Fruvous CD and shift your weight, back and forth, you can have a thousand people turning your nose up at you and then three middle class kids with acoustic guitars that they don't know how to play giving you a sly wink.
It's wild, it's wild.
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And I was that middle class kid.
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I got to say, The Simpsons is no longer funny. Watch an episode from season six and one from today and tell me it is the same style of comedy. It is just Family Guy with a glorious past.
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It wasn't even a hit, so much as a video that MTV played a lot back when they were desperate for videos to play: "AEIOU Sometimes Y" by Ebn-Ozn (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KlzEpRmJgv4). Just because it's so fuck*ng weird. Skunk Boy on the Fairlight and David Lee Roth's Artsy Nephew on vocals. The Eighties were just silly.
The follow-up (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-nxV99Q0Otc&mode=related&search=) is even weirder.
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There's Harvey Danger's Flagpole Sitta, except I love everything else they've put out just as much, so I am always trying to get people to listen to them. So far, I have succeeded in converting at least two or three people.
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There's Harvey Danger's Flagpole Sitta, except I love everything else they've put out just as much, so I am always trying to get people to listen to them. So far, I have succeeded in converting at least two or three people.
Can'd for reminding me of Harvey Danger. I've nearly played a hole in Where Have All the Merrymakers Gone?, and I really need to pick up their other albums.
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A friend sent me a mix of Bubblegum Music. It's so fun.
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There's Harvey Danger's Flagpole Sitta, except I love everything else they've put out just as much, so I am always trying to get people to listen to them. So far, I have succeeded in converting at least two or three people.
I know a girl who sang backup on that. She's got a gold record in her basement for it.
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Can'd for reminding me of Harvey Danger. I've nearly played a hole in Where Have All the Merrymakers Gone?, and I really need to pick up their other albums.
Their latest is available free on their site, and I definitely recommend it. It took a while to really grow on me, but once it did, it's hard to stop listening to it.
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I know it's breaking the rules since isn't not that old, but clearly Liam Lynch will never have another hit, so whatever. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q3nDQFickqY)
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All of his Sifl N' Olly music was wonderful.
I'd encourage you to pick up the soundtrack.
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All of his Sifl N' Olly music was wonderful.
I'd encourage you to pick up the soundtrack.
QFT!
"Rock and roll friends, turn each others books back in"
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You people are not getting it.
Pure sexy good times. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X5axMyJ_-Z8)
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QFT!
"Rock and roll friends, turn each others books back in"
In a weird synchronicity, that line was playing as this page loaded.
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You people are not getting it.
Pure sexy good times. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X5axMyJ_-Z8)
Most excellent, thank you for that my good sir.
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um. no.
LOVEFOOL. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ddT2QmVnJiQ&mode=related&search=)
My greatest moment on my radio show was playing that song. My banter was so on, and the song was so happy and wonderful.
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Toy Soldiers (http://artists.letssingit.com/martika-lyrics-toy-soldiers-rsjdv4m). I usually can't stand lovey-pop crap, but this one did stick in my 'banks as a genuine one-hit-wonder, and guilty pleasure. I also liked 99 Luftballons (http://artists.letssingit.com/nena-lyrics-99-luftballons-k6t651m). I think Nena may have had some other legitimate english language hits though, so I'm not sure it counts. Reading the lyrics is a trip back to cold war anxiety. I don't miss that at all.
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um. no.
LOVEFOOL. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ddT2QmVnJiQ&mode=related&search=)
My greatest moment on my radio show was playing that song. My banter was so on, and the song was so happy and wonderful.
Also an excellent choice. Dag.
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Like four songs from the first Presidents of the United States of America album.
Stuck in the Middle with You by whoever sings it.
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Stuck in the Middle with You by whoever sings it.
Stealer's Wheel -- half of which is Gerry Rafferty, who had another hit with Baker Street.
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So does it still count?
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Like four songs from the first Presidents of the United States of America album.
Stuck in the Middle with You by whoever sings it.
They had four singles from that album? I only remember "Peaches".
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There was also "Lump" which I only remember because Weird Al did a parody of it and...
Uhm.
Yeah. "Peaches" and "Lump".
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Basically that whole album was a one hit wonder for people probably a year above and below me. I still remember being like 11 or 12 and listening to that cd while my dad got in his last few smokes before he had to coach my baseball team. Listening to that album was my ritual, and the only reason my dad let it in the car was because of his respect for baseball rituals.
Lump, Peaches, Feather Pluckin and Dune Buggy all got at least moderate air time I thought, but could be wrong. Those were the four I was referring to anyhow. Peaches and Lump for sure.
Edit: Plus, come on, the Drew Carey song. But seriously, you have to give them credit for designing those guitars with two and three strings that they could play power chords with by just holding down all strings on any fret. They were a million times better than the power chord bands that got real popular a couple years after them, you have to give them that, at least.
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Naked and Famous is beautiful, but I never heard it on the radio. It's just a great song.
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Blur - Song 2
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Parklife tracks got loads of play where I was at. Plus, the strength of Blur's records and their U.K. popularity, I don't know.
Also, the Presidents of the... also had the single Kitty. So Lump, Peaches and Kitty all got in the top 15. And now that I think about it, I am downloading this record tonight.
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Also, the Presidents of the... also had the single Kitty. So Lump, Peaches and Kitty all got in the top 15. And now that I think about it, I am downloading this record tonight.
I will survive in my Mach 5
In my Mach 5, I will survive
Yeah, yeah.
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Mazzy Star - Fade Into You
Basically I am horrible at this game because I never know if a band/singer had more hits that I just can't recall at the moment. Plus I keep wanting to suggest things like The Coconut Song.