Say Something Nice or Interesting about: Smash Mouth (or possibly Sugar Ray)

we need to have a poll soon: Which post-Nirvana radio rock band succeeded at the Self-Aware Retro Olympics?

you could have Smash Mouth, 311, Marcy Playground, Crazy Town, etc.

i do have to give Smash Mouth props for going with that 60s organ sound. they had a Vox Continental in their "Walking on the Sun" music video. that's pretty cool. and that was in the late 90s. this wasn't that long after Beck had a hit w the similarly 60s fetishizing organ riff for "Where It's At".

i always think of what Mark McGrath would do when I get in a pickle. and invariably the answer has something to do with human trafficking.

Sugar Ray sucks

Smash Mouth (album) Wikipedia article edited anonymously from US House of Representatives https://t.co/gF2C5eCTZZ

— congress-edits (@congressedits) October 19, 2017

your tax dollars at work folks

I always liked "Fly" tbqh

pure fun throwaway song with no pretensions of being anything, and a nice guitar lick

i do have to give Smash Mouth props for going with that 60s organ sound. they had a Vox Continental in their "Walking on the Sun" music video. that's pretty cool. and that was in the late 90s. this wasn't that long after Beck had a hit w the similarly 60s fetishizing organ riff for "Where It's At".

― AdamVania (Adam Bruneau)

And before Smashmouth there was Edwyn Collins with “girl like you”.

I do love those 60’s organ riffs. Right now the only one I can think of is Shocking Blue’s Venus (which is a classic imho). Any other songs that you can think of?

96 Tears ftw

there's a little known band called Doors you might be interested in

I always liked "Fly" tbqh

"All around the world statues crumble for me" is a great line

hated Every Morning as a song but i did enjoy the second hand nostalgia gen x 70s roller disco vibes of that video

The sounds of the Vox Continental, Fender Rhodes and Wurlitzer have never really gone away.

sugar ray's big singles were all diminishing returns attempting to capture the magic of Fly

More like cashing in on the magic of Fly. I imagine the 14:59 album gave them some huge cash.

It was kind of funny how Sugar Ray got a pass from the nu metal crowd in my generation, every morning and someday are too cheesy even for a boy band.

"when it's over" stands on its own two legs as a summer jam imo

xp all three of those songs are great

they did a cover of "Spinning Away" by Eno & Cale for The Beach soundtrack. I was kind of floored hearing that during the movie. "huh, someone did a cover of 'Spinning Away'...", then later "Sugar Ray made this!??"

"All around the world statues crumble for me" is a great line

― brimstead, Thursday, October 19, 2017 12:11 PM (twenty-nine minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

yeah, and the lyrics are full of wonderful non sequiturs

I wonder how many Public Image Ltd fans were hipped to them by Smashmouth?
https://i.imgur.com/5npRlHO.png

i get "falls apart" in my head every time i have a hangover, idk why except i tend to feel like i'm literally falling apart

My friend, who has been to hundreds of concerts before, still insists that a late 1990's Sugar Ray concert was the best concert he ever went to.

I kinda have a fondness for Mark McGrath, he's got this Nic Cage-like thing about him where he can't say no to anything and he does it all with the same coke-driven intensity. He did a Sharknado movie (as a main character, no less!), he joined a weird Christmas band, and now he's palling around with Mike Love for some reason. All this stuff is awful but still, good on him. There's a video of "The Beach Boys" playing "Do It Again" in front of the Capitol and at one point he puts his arm around Mike Love, points to him and says "THAT'S MIKE LOVE!!" (his mic isn't on but you can lip-read this easily). Where else you gonna get that sort of enthusiasm for something so mind-blowingly awful?

McGrath's 4 year stint as a host on Extra! is to date the best thing the show has ever done.

he was also on a massively amusing show called Killer Karaoke. brought in to replace Steve-O!!

do you like this song?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8c4madL-UA0

no, but have known people who probably do, they're alright, they have fun here and there

I will admit that I have somehow seen Smash Mouth live, two times (ask me anything), and they have at least two songs that are pretty good

also pretty cool to have a career resurgence because you were on the Shrek soundtrack and young people are weirdos

sugar ray is playing free in a park near me on 9/3. should i see them?

Harwell could be seen dropping his drinks, swaying back and forth onstage and flipping the bird while cursing multiple times.

“I’ll f—king kill your whole family, I swear to God,” he screamed to one fan in his audience.

Steve Harwell not doing too good...

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/smash-mouth-steve-harwell-hospice_n_64f522b8e4b08f6e30e9813d

what a strange career this band has had, I believe the only original member now is the bass player

wanted to confirm that so I looked up the Wikipedia entry and clicked onto the former guitarist/songwriter to see what he's up to, and that is some kind of supergroup called The Defiant featuring the lead singer of Mighty Mighty Bosstones

so then I wondered what that sounded like and found this

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CUbNkz9tIpU

oof

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ewzs9gfpmu8

double oof

also the new smash mouth singer is no Steve Harwell, somehow

here's sugar ray kissing up to our trump-lite county executive, last night at the park.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3nqDcvogg4I

to be fair he did put on a good series of free concerts this summer incl. judy torres, nice & smooth, southside johnny, boyz II men, lords of 52nd st (bliiy joel's 70s backing band), eli young band, tabou combo, france joli, sugar ray.

no way was there 120,000 people there.

RIP Steve Harwell
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/09/04/arts/music/steve-harwell-smash-mouth-all-star-dead.html

damn, RIP

It’s sad that he had a son who died at 6 months.

https://banhmiverlag.bandcamp.com/album/all-star-mixtape

xpost yeah I'd drink myself to death too if that happened to me

the prospect of losing my daughter terrifies me. I’d probably drink myself to death too. Wasn’t aware of any of this prior to his death and now I feel depressed about the whole situation.

RIP steve. he deserves better than that nytimes obit imo

Music wise “staring at the sun” one of my favorite songs to hear on the radio when I was like 12. Wish that one was more popular with the new generations.

“All star” one of the most fun songs adopted by meme culture, I still see it used and it’s still funny for me. I’m not sure if I’ll be able to listen to it without feeling a bit sad now.

RIP

I definitely dug Walking on the Sun at the time, i liked the retro vibe

RIP

I always thought 'Walking on the Sun' sounds like what the Animals would have sounded like in 1997. Always dug that tune.

yeah that feels kinda otm, i like that

I always assumed it was built around a Doors sample.

now that you mention it, it does sound a lot like "Soul Kitchen"

As mentioned upthread they used a Vox Continental for that 60’s organ sound.

it’s groovy, man