Modern Rock #1 Hits of 1996

I love 1979 and most of the rest of these are awful so that one.

Tracy Bonham, "Mother, Mother"

UGH UGH UGH

yeah my challops vote would be swallowed but it's 1979

worst song here would make a better poll actually

should i bust out my No Code stan status here

it's pretty sad that "Where It's At" didn't hit #1 but "Pepper," "Standing Outside," "Novacaine For the Soul" and "What I Got" all did.

I love 1979 and most of the rest of these are awful so that one.

― wolf kabob (ENBB), Friday, May 25, 2012 10:53 AM (4 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

If the Tracy Bonham song had been "The One" rather than "Mother, Mother," though . . .

I'm with you, dude. Pearl Jam for me. The problem with "1979" is Billy Corgan singing it.

"Wonderwall"

i got nothin here at all

these polls are just making me realize how intolerable "modern rock" from the past is to me today

I liked lots of stuff on 94 and 95 but this is where it really drops off the cliff for me. "What I Got" wins for me, and it's not even a song I'd listen to on purpose, just something I'd cheerfully bob my head to if it came on the radio.

the rock/alt sections of my top 100 singles of '96:

Top 100 Singles of 1996:

1. Spacehog - "In The Meantime"
3. Cake - "The Distance"
4. Marilyn Manson - "The Beautiful People"
5. Soul Coughing - "Super Bon Bon"
6. Smashing Pumpkins - "Tonight, Tonight"
7. Mariah Carey - "Always Be My Baby"
13. Beck - "Where It's At"
14. Soundgarden - "Burden In My Hand"
15. Oasis - "Don't Look Back In Anger"
16. Rocket From The Crypt - "On A Rope"
21. Counting Crows - "Angels Of The Silences"
22. Stone Temple Pilots - "Big Bang Baby"
23. Dave Matthews Band - "So Much To Say"
24. Metallica - "Hero Of The Day"
28. Social Distortion - "I Was Wrong"
29. Bjork - "Hyperballad"
31. Dishwalla - "Counting Blue Cars"
32. Pearl Jam - "Who You Are"
33. Geggy Tah - "Whoever You Are"
35. Smashing Pumpkins - "Muzzle"
36. The Chemical Brothers - "Setting Sun"
37. Kula Shaker - "Tattva"
38. No Doubt - "Sunday Morning"
39. The Squirrel Nut Zippers - "Hell"
40. Red Hot Chili Peppers - "Aeroplane"
41. Matchbox 20 - "Long Day"
42. Tori Amos - "Caught A Lite Sneeze"
44. Jewel - "Who Will Save Your Soul"
46. Tracy Bonham - "Mother Mother"
47. Goldfinger - "Here In Your Bedroom"
48. Semisonic - "F.N.T."
50. Alanis Morissette - "Head Over Feet"
51. The Cranberries - "Salvation"
52. Stabbing Westward - "Shame"
53. Weezer - "El Scorcho"
54. Rage Against The Machine - "Down Rodeo"
55. The Verve Pipe - "Photograph"
56. MxPx - "Chick Magnet"
57. R.E.M. - "Bittersweet Me"
58. Soul Coughing - "Soundtrack To Mary"
59. Semisonic - "If I Run"
61. No Doubt - "Spiderwebs"
63. Sponge - "Wax Ecstatic (To Sell Angelina)"
66. Chavez - "Unreal Is Here"
67. Smashing Pumpkins - "1979"
69. Pearl Jam - "Leaving Here"
71. Kula Shaker - "Hey Dude"
78. Primitive Radio Gods - "Standing Outside A Broken Phone Booth"
80. Everclear - "Heartspark Dollarsign"
81. The Wallflowers - "6th Avenue Heartache"
82. Lush - "Ladykillers"
83. Sebadoh - "Willing To Wait"
84. Hootie & The Blowfish - "Old Man & Me (When I Get To Heaven)"
85. Van Halen - "Me Wise Magic"
89. Rage Against The Machine - "Bulls On Parade"
91. Blues Traveler - "But Anyway"
92. The Refreshments - "Banditos"
93. Superdrag - "Destination Ursa Major"
98. Local H - "Bound For The Floor"
99. Sublime - "What I Got"
100. Smashing Pumpkins - "Zero"

There was real good modern rock in '96 though! It just wasn't hitting #1.

Well from that list Lush - "Ladykillers".

The '96 song I play most often these days is "Un-break My Heart."

I know I've been hating on Alannis a lot but "Head Over Feet" is the only song that I ever sort of maybe liked. It's kind of sweet.

^^

these threads making me wish i had my headphones at work

Alanis Morissette, "Ironic"
Oasis, "Champagne Supernova"
Cranberries, "Salvation"
Tracy Bonham, "Mother, Mother"
Dishwalla, "Counting Blue Cars"

all-time worst sequence

I can't remember the Dishwalla song because I just keep thinking about that song that went "Tell me all your thoughts on God, cause I'd really like to meet her". Was that them? If not it must have been around the same time.

That indeed is the song you're thinking of.

It's a weird love/hate year for me, where I realize the difference between what I love ("Wonderwall," "1979," "Salvation," "Pepper," "What I Got," "Swallowed") and what I have no desire to ever hear again ("Champagne Supernova," "Counting Blue Cars," "Down") is pretty small and maybe can just be chalked up to adolescence.

I really do love how many of these songs are some guy rasping over a loop.

wait you love "Salvation"?

oh hell yeah.

seriously, anybody who has beef with the fast, hard two minute cranberries song with trumpets apparently hasn't heard 85% of cranberries songs.

it's basically a rocket from the crypt song

was that a trumpet or Dolores O'Riordan

I have never heard this Dishwalla song before in my life

Primitive Radio Gods for me. Never liked 1979, and No Code has some way better tracks.

Everything else listed is gross.

oh never mind yes I have

I have never heard this Dishwalla song before in my life

i have a hard time believing this, and expect you're in for an OH THAT SONG unless this was written while listening to it

lol xpost

this is when KJEE in Santa Barbara started sucking

"Swallowed" would probably be my second place.

seriously, anybody who has beef with the fast, hard two minute cranberries song with trumpets apparently hasn't heard 85% of cranberries songs.

― da croupier, Friday, May 25, 2012 11:10 AM (1 minute ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

it's basically a rocket from the crypt song

― da croupier, Friday, May 25, 2012 11:10 AM (1 minute ago) Bookmark

haha otm

Yeah but RFTC was way better.

seriously though; Oasis? really, everyone?

at least we are spared "Don't Look Back In Anger" on this poll

'Novocaine For The Soul'.

"Don't Look Back in Anger" as a title sums up this period of college radio well.

i wonder if it's true that "champagne supernova" was arranged to simulate someone having an orgasm in the listener while they lie there bored

it's like spanish fly in your chardonnay

"Wonderwall" is basically to this poll as "You Oughta Know" is to the '95 one, it's fine to hate it or be sick of it but there's not really any way to look at this lineup that it's not in the upper half

I was weirdly really, really into that Tracy Bonham song when it first came out. For some reason that I couldn't possibly explain now.

Actually, my vote will probably wind up going one of several embarrassingly enjoyable songs by bands that I generally dislike. "Salvation" is maybe the only Cranberries song I like after their first couple of singles (although, admittedly, that's probably because Dolores' thoughtful and persuasive perspective on doing lines probably kept me off of skid row). And I really like the sound of "Swallowed", which is probably largely thanks to Albini.

I don't know. There was a lot of much better alt stuff in '96 (obvs) and I really didn't have much time for the radio at that point.

i actually missed that pearl jam song upon first scan, it is really good but prob not enough to sway me

"Wonderwall" is basically to this poll as "You Oughta Know" is to the '95 one, it's fine to hate it or be sick of it but there's not really any way to look at this lineup that it's not in the upper half

OTM

I was weirdly really, really into that Tracy Bonham song when it first came out. For some reason that I couldn't possibly explain now.

OTM

though i think "swallowed" and "salvation" are late high-points for the assclowns who made them, I have to vote for "Pepper"

Hey, better than the last list. Three new favourites: "Pepper," "1979," and "Standing Inside a Riddle Wrapped Around an Enigma Cascading Down the Mountain of History." I'm a little tired, so "Pepper."

The '96 song I play most often these days is "Un-break My Heart."

― go down on you in a thyatrr (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Friday, May 25, 2012 11:03 AM (13 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

feel like we've had enough time to get over '96 to the point where this should be true for everybody

The Butthole Surfers hit Top 40 Airplay. This is 1996 and I must celebrate it.

perspective:

1. Beck: Odelay
2. Fugees: The Score (Ruffhouse/Columbia)
3. Sleater-Kinney: Call the Doctor (Chainsaw)
4. DJ Shadow: Endtroducing . . . DJ Shadow (Mo' Wax)
5. Los Lobos: Colossal Head (Warner Bros.)
6. Steve Earle: I Feel Alright (Warner Bros.)
7. Stereolab: Emperor Tomato Ketchup (Elektra)
8. Amy Rigby: Diary of a Mod Housewife (Koch)
9. Tricky: Pre-Millennium Tension (Island)
10. Pulp: Different Class (Island)
11. R.E.M.: New Adventures in Hi-Fi (Warner Bros.)
12. Everything but the Girl: Walking Wounded (Atlantic)
13. Patti Smith: Gone Again (Arista)
14. Wilco: Being There (Reprise)
15. Cassandra Wilson: New Moon Daughter (Blue Note)
16. [File Under Prince]: Emancipation (NRG)
17. Iris DeMent: The Way I Should (Warner Bros.)
18. Me'Shell NdegéOcello: Peace Beyond Passion (Maverick/Reprise)
19. Nearly God: Nearly God (Island)

"Swallowed" is a horror

I really like the sound of "Swallowed", which is probably largely thanks to Albini.

I really think Bush in general would have a far better rep if they could somehow keep Rossdale the riff-maker from Rossdale the singer

Is Pearl Jam into their sensitive-guy phase yet? Add them to the Green Day list.

I really think Bush in general would have a far better rep if they could somehow keep Rossdale the riff-maker from Rossdale the singer

doesn't that sum up most acts from this era?

that entire bush album sounds amazing and yeah it's all albini

xp Looking at the Billboard 100, my most played 1996 song -must- be No Diggity, then Digging on You because I play CrazySexyCool all the time. I can dig it. /groan

the time between this pearl jam song and the first creed song must have been a painful time for some rock fans

Not just Gibby, but Lou Barlow made Top 40 Airplay this year. Their Alternapop Crossover Changed My Life.

Yeah, I totally remember it being really weird that both BS and Sebadoh got top 40 that year.

Folk Implosion, ya mean

Oh! What was it then, Natural One?

I am 90% certain razorblade suitcase and pinkerton came out on the same day

Amazing that Garbage didn't get their first and only #1 until the next calendar year.

What was it then, Natural One?

yup!

Kids Sndtrk iirc

I am 90% certain razorblade suitcase and pinkerton came out on the same day

― Grimy Little Pimp (Jimmy The Mod Awaits The Return Of His Beloved), Friday, May 25, 2012 11:26 AM (30 seconds ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

what a day!

Primitive Radio Gods for me. Never liked 1979, and No Code has some way better tracks.

^^^

finally some alternapop that passes aero's grammar test

I have that PRG song in my head now but I don't now, nor have I ever known the words so it's just nonsensical humming going on. ARGH! Also, I associate this with that White Town song that was big around then even though they don't sound alike.

You know the largely-forgotten '96 alt-radio song I remembered recently and realized is pretty effing tight? Imperial Drag - "Boy Or A Girl".

YOUR WOMAN IS GREAT

Yeah, it's a good song. Was the Sneaker Pimps big hit also around then?

I think of Sneaker Pimps as very early '97.

The Saint soundtrack

btw LimbsKing i believe you said you're new here, and i would like to welcome you and make a friendly suggestion to a) jump into the conversation on your threads more and b) try to space these things out a bit so that we don't have 3 very similar threads at the top of new answers at the same time.

"electronica!"

YOUR WOMAN IS GREAT

― that is a weird thing to bring up over lean cuisine (DJP), Friday, May 25, 2012 11:29 AM (1 minute ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

not as great as your mom amirite

Nuh uh, I love it!!

This is helping me pass this horribly slow day at the office before a long weekend quite nicely.

These threads, I mean.

i too have no problem with the board being clogged with 90s nostalgia

hey i have no prob with the threads, i'm just saying that having so many in action at once is both confusing for the people reading them and probably annoying for those that aren't

OK, thanks for the tip. I wasn't sure of the protocol... nor did I think that these would become so popular.

I loooove Your Woman. And 90s nostalgia!

Folk Implosion! I tried to find 'Kingdom of Lies' which was the only song I really knew by them and it wasn't on iTunes. Jerks.

There was a video for Natural One. It had earthworms in it or something along those lines.

have we ever polled The Saint soundtrack?

WE REALLY SHOULD

Your Woman is one of the best songs of the 90s of any genre.

never mind

The Saint: Music From The Motion Picture Soundtrack

xp Hah!
I found solace in 'Why Would I Want To Die' by Grandaddy. Same mood! :)

here's what was going on at #1 on the R&B chart in 1996

January 6-27 Exhale (Shoop Shoop) Whitney Houston
January 20-27 Before You Walk out of My Life / Like This and Like That Monica
February 3-March2 Not Gon' Cry Mary J. Blige
March 9-April 20 Down Low (Nobody Has to Know) R. Kelly featuring Ronald Isley
April 27 You're the One SWV
May 4 Always Be My Baby Mariah Carey
May 11-June 22 Tha Crossroads Bone Thugs N Harmony
June 29 You're Makin' Me High / Let It Flow Toni Braxton
July 6-20 How Do U Want It / California Love 2Pac featuring K-Ci and JoJo / featuring Dr. Dre and Roger Troutman
July 27 You're Makin' Me High / Let It Flow Toni Braxton
August 3-10 I Can't Sleep Baby (If I) R. Kelly
August 17-24 Twisted Keith Sweat
August 31-September 14 Hit Me Off New Edition
September 21 Twisted Keith Sweat
September 28-October 5 If Your Girl Only Knew Aaliyah
October 5 If Your Girl Only Knew Aaliyah
October 12 Last Night Az Yet
October 19-November 9 No Diggity Blackstreet featuring Dr. Dre
November 16-23 Pony Ginuwine
November 30-December 21 Nobody Keith Sweat featuring Athena Cage
December 21-28 I Believe I Can Fly R. Kelly

lol @ Modern Rock

OK, thanks for the tip. I wasn't sure of the protocol... nor did I think that these would become so popular.

Protip: any thread that stokes '90s nostalgia is likely to be a popular thread.

haha lol of course

btw The Jackal soundtrack is super underrated

lol @ that being a DJP thread

August 3-10 I Can't Sleep Baby (If I) R. Kelly
August 17-24 Twisted Keith Sweat
August 31-September 14 Hit Me Off New Edition
September 21 Twisted Keith Sweat
September 28-October 5 If Your Girl Only Knew Aaliyah
October 5 If Your Girl Only Knew Aaliyah
October 12 Last Night Az Yet
October 19-November 9 No Diggity Blackstreet featuring Dr. Dre
November 16-23 Pony Ginuwine

an incredible sequence

xp I think Kingdom of Lies was on the A Life LEss Ordinary soundtrack, which naturally I flocked to post Trainspotting/Ewan McGregor fangirling

Wow 90s rap was so much better than the rock but I never gave it a chance at the time! Except I loved Exhale (Shoop) because I bought the Waiting to Exhale soundtrack for that TLC song. I need to find that TLC song!

I probably listen to "Come On Ride That Train" almost as much as any alternative song from '96, tbrr.

wow i had no idea that "If Your Girl Only Knew" peaked before "Pony"

Oasis, "Wonderwall" - for some reason I willfully ignored these guys at the time - too British?
Smashing Pumpkins, "1979" - loved this album
Alanis Morissette, "Ironic" - ...
Oasis, "Champagne Supernova" - long and boring
Cranberries, "Salvation" - don't remember this at all
Tracy Bonham, "Mother, Mother" - Great angsty '90s one hit wonder - better than all Alanis songs combined
Dishwalla, "Counting Blue Cars" - this is when even 13 year old me started to think alt rock had lost its way. Basically Hootie & the Blowfish alternative. It's still in my 90s iTunes playlist though.
Butthole Surfers, "Pepper" - at the time seemed like a good bookend to "She Don't Use Jelly" - nice guitar riff - I prefer King Missile's "Detachable Penis"
Primitive Radio Gods, "Standing Outside a Broken Phone Booth..." - does anyone really think this song would have been big if the title were 2 words long?
Pearl Jam, "Who You Are" - dreadful
311, "Down" - I admit to liking this song at the time...
Eels, "Novocaine for the Soul" - forgettable
Sublime, "What I Got" - has aged much better than 311 - harmless
Bush, "Swallowed" - gross

I have never heard this Dishwalla song before in my life

i have a hard time believing this, and expect you're in for an OH THAT SONG unless this was written while listening to it

This happened to me, too, with the added twist that for the first five seconds I was like "huh, maybe I've never heard this before, but whoever made this song listened to Document really carefully and have taken pains to construct a guitar/drums opening that sounds like a lost track off that great record" and then the singing starts and OH NO NOT THAT SONG

This whole period was very painful to R.E.M. fans since I think a lot of these groups sincerely and vocally saw themselves as carrying on some version of the R.E.M. project (this is true of Live and Counting Crows at the very least)

to those of us who, haters that were & are, had always disliked R.E.M., this era was a vindication of the hateration we'd been nurturing since Chronic Town

lol you had to wait through TEN ALBUMS to experience some schadenfreude

it was a painful time, I also hated the Smiths though I got over that

tho you have to admit, the payoff for the ten-year wait was pretty spectacular in this case

The '96 song I play most often these days is "Un-break My Heart."

Yes! Although if I had to work off of this list I would probably vote for 1979.

This is pretty dire list. Oasis should walk, but their vote is gonna get split.

Oasis should walk...right off a bloody cliff.

lol "Champagne Supernova" is not going to siphon many votes from "Wonderwall"

This list really is awful, I surprised myself and voted for "Swallowed" - the least awful Bush single and about the only one of these I'd really want to hear right now. I have a soft spot for that Albini recorded Bush album, I think it strikes an interesting tone between their wannabe-arena anthems and some (for radio alt-rock anyway) really cool sounding guitar parts.

i prefer "Greedy Fly" if i have to hear something off of Razorbarf Suitbarf

oh greedy fly is much better obv

Oh yeah, you guys are right, "Greedy Fly" is better. I totally blanked on that being an actual single, because our local radio station at the time played like five songs off the album all at once and I was confused about which ones were really singles.

Hey, y'all remember this?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wk_qO1CqSC0

thought to myself "wonderwall, again!?!" then remembered it was at the top of the charts forever (or at least the mtv trl countdown which was the only "chart" i ever really noticed, later not caring about any) - not that i have a problem with it

anyway:
- hated primitive radio gods + butthole surfers + that eels song about as much if not more than i hated beck
- didn't hate counting blue cars but was a bit wary of it
- love down as long as i don't comprehend the lyrics
- 1979 was ok but i dunno ehhh

...i'd go with salvation. i loved salvation i still love salvation. lol that video

What was that album called? Deconstructed? Who thought an entire album of Bush remixes was a thing that needed to happen. But I guess the "Mouth" remix that was in that horrible Werewolf sequel wasn't awful.

http://www.classificaitaliana.com/imgvideo/TheCranberriesSalvation.jpg

i got bush's "desconstructed" forced on me via columbia house, was not into it but i think it was like dance-y remixes and i hadn't gotten into dance yet

my sister played the Bush remix album over and over.

she was last seen alive in the spring of 1998

to the faithful departed was a pretty good album actually

Even though Bush were nowhere near as massive in the UK as they were in the US, 'Swallowed' still managed to be a hit here and I knew more than a couple of people who were into alt. rock who owned a copy of Razorblade Suitcase at some point or another. On the whole though, and especially since 1996 was the commercial height of Britpop in the UK, they were perceived by Brits as trying too hard to be American.

they were perceived that way by Americans too

they were the Flock of Seagulls of the mid nineties, down to the ludicrous hair and non-entity band mates.

to the faithful departed was a pretty good album actually

― fauxmarc, Friday, May 25, 2012 6:23 PM (5 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

http://jjscoaching.com/wp-content/uploads/ConfusedMan.jpg

they were the Flock of Seagulls of the mid nineties, down to the ludicrous hair and non-entity band mates.

― go down on you in a thyatrr (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Friday, May 25, 2012 6:30 PM (3 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

The British press found it really fucking funny that the bassist used to be in Transvision Vamp, if I remember.

ha I'd totally read a 600-word defense.

xpost

This is a really, really bad list. Comes down to 1979 vs. Pepper though, and I've always loved Pepper for whatever reason so that one gets it.

ha I'd totally read a 600-word defense.

xpost

― go down on you in a thyatrr (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Friday, May 25, 2012 6:35 PM (9 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

If only because it would be funny in ways that the actual album isn't!

It's funny to me that "E-bow" is cited as REM's last big hit, because I don't recall ever hearing it on the radio. OTOH, "Bittersweet Me" was fairly huge here during its run, but then disappeared afterwards.

well, that was back when some bands were big enough that their 1st single would get played to death for at least a few weeks no matter what it sounded like, but there was usually a 'safter' follow-up waiting in the wings to at least attempt to restore momentum

see also: "Hail Hail" trying and failing to save No Code from driving away fans in droves

That's true. I remember reading in Rolling Stone that Warners begged them to have "The Wake-Up Bomb" as the first single.

that '96 RS interview is terrific btw

do u feel the way u hate
do u hate the way u feel

link? (xp)

meanwhile "Electrolite" lives on in supermarkets across the land

xxxxpost:

I don't recall 'E-Bow The Letter' getting much radio play either. I remember the video being broadcast on a couple of shows, but that's it. 'Bittersweet Me' seemed to get more play, but disappeared just as fast if I remember. I remember 'Electrolite' getting the most play out of all of the New Adventures In Hi-Fi songs. I saw the video to 'How The West Was Won And Where It Got Us' only ONCE, and that was a very very late night on MTV. Having said that, I don't rememeber any singles from Monster getting any kind of serious airplay here in the UK aside from 'What's The Frequency, Kenneth?' and 'Strange Currencies'. I recall 'Bang And Blame' getting one or two plays, and I don't remember 'Tongue' or 'Crush With Eyeliner' getting any at all.

well, it might be behind the RS firewall; it was a cover story, I think.

My first issue! (But I actually got it for the Garbage story in the lol "College Section") xpost

hell even "Star 69" got airplay in my neck of the woods

i remember i was just getting into Patti Smith when it came out and i was like "oh jeez guys you're killing me, i was starting to really dig Horses!"

"Star 69" was a top 10 modern rock hit! definitely one of the bigger non-Pearl Jam radio hits without a video at the time

Monster charted like 8 songs in the Modern Rock surveys.

'Star 69' definitely was neither a single here and nor did it get any airplay.

I don't think it was a single here either: one of those things we call airplay or album rock tracks.

http://www.radiohitlist.com/KROQ/KROQ-1996.htm

E-Bow got some perfunctory play in L.A. before drowning...

"Bulls on Parade" was everywhere, did that not qualify as a "Modern Rock" track? Also surprising that "The Distance" didn't hit #1.

LOL at Porno for Pyros' Tahitian Moon in the top 10. I listened to KROQ every day and can barely remember that track.

"Bulls On Parade" only hitting #11 is pretty crazy

tahitian moon got a lot of mtv play

can't wait for 1997, that's when things REALLY go off the rails.

I saw a lot of E-Bow on Muchmusic, I loved it in the same way I love Video Games - laidback melancholia kinda vibe.

1997 - The Verve Pipe, Third Eye Blind, The Wallflowers, Chumbawumba, Marcy Playground, Tonic, "Good Riddance"...good riddance

Smash Mouth

"Swallowed" sounds like Pixies B-Sides.

"Bulls On Parade" only hitting #11 is pretty crazy

The album went #1

oh i know, but the single was pretty inescapable on radio

YO IT'S TIME FOR RAGE

xp I heard "Star 69" on the radio a LOT but more in 95 than 96.. At the time it seemed way easier for non-singles, album-tracks and b-sides to receive heavy spins, depending on how big the artist was.

YO IT'S TIME FOR RAGE

i really think Pearl Jam not making videos, and not releasing some of their more obvious hits as singles, might've opened things up for radio programmers to pick songs they wanted to play

Well, remember too that this was right before the age of Clear Channel (iirc, the bill allowing "Big Radio" was signed in late '96).

"Bulls On Parade" only hitting #11 is pretty crazy

There probably just wasn't as much room for proto-nu-metal rap/rock fusion on the charts back then. It was sorta breaking new ground. It's kinda on par with how "Have You Seen Her?" made it higher on the mainstream charts than "U Can't Touch This" (which is a fact that still stokes massive cognitive dissonance in my brain).

the only way I can explain the chart placement of "U Can't Touch This" in relation to how it conquered culture from my pov is that it was mostly purchased by (or for) elementary schoolers

xp Good call, I'm sure it did have a lot to do with Pearl Jam.. but even with them, "Yellow Ledbetter" was kinda huge by 95/96 and that was a straight up b-side.

it is kind of ominous that the Telecommunications Act of 1996 was passed that year, maybe that really did end up helping to kill off the vitality of alt-rock radio just as much as some predicted

http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lnltp7RyiL1qdau1zo1_500.jpg

I blame these guys for not even tucking in their shirts

yeah or it somehow had more influence on song choice.... they probably figured out some marketing strategy where non-album tracks make the listener more likely to change the station before the next commercial break, or something

as i mentioned in one of the other threads, 94-96 was a big time for songs that had been out for years suddenly bubbling up out of nowhere and becoming chart hits -- "Yellow Ledbetter," Cowboy Junkies' "Sweet Jane," Sublime's "Date Rape"

1979

"Have you ever made out in dark hallways?" is one of my favorite lines to laugh at in music, so "Down".

These threads are reminding me why I bailed on the radio around '94-ish.

the only way I can explain the chart placement of "U Can't Touch This" in relation to how it conquered culture from my pov is that it was mostly purchased by (or for) elementary schoolers

― da croupier, Friday, May 25, 2012 12:46 PM (2 hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

That defines my situation perfectly. I was in fourth grade when "UCTT" became a hit - every kid had the cassette single in my class. It was fun/catchy and parental approved.

I was 15/16 during '96 so this poll does contain nostalgic memories for me, even though I cringe over most of those choices now. Saying that, I did hear that "Standing in a Phone Booth blah blah blah" song a couple months back and I still liked it, so that.

"Have you ever made out in dark hallways?" is one of my favorite lines to laugh at in music, so "Down".

― how's life, Friday, May 25, 2012 6:21 PM (1 hour ago) Bookmark

or, say, played a track from your record collection? it's your mix. congratulations!

to those of us who, haters that were & are, had always disliked R.E.M., this era was a vindication of the hateration we'd been nurturing since Chronic Town

― cosi fan whitford (underrated aerosmith bootlegs I have owned), Friday, May 25, 2012 9:24 AM Bookmark

haha, this is a hilarious revelation to me, because i was describing a certain popular indie rock band to a non-music geek friend and i was like "they kind of sound like REM". (to be fair, my vocab is somewhat limited in these matters.)

From this list I actively like "1979", "Pepper", and "What I Got" and voted for the latter. I liked "Down" at the time but haven't heard it since and suspect it's terrible. This year is notable as the first I started watching MTV (maybe around August or so?) and thus marks pretty much my first exposure to new music other than what the rap/r&b station played or what I picked up ambiently. So I know a lot more of these than in previous years.

the only way I can explain the chart placement of "U Can't Touch This" in relation to how it conquered culture from my pov is that it was mostly purchased by (or for) elementary schoolers

― da croupier, Friday, May 25, 2012 12:46 PM Bookmark

It's because it was only released physically on 12" and not cassette or CD.

yeah i don't think MC Hammer mind a lack of physical singles sales giving him a deceptively low Hot 100 peak when the flipside of that is he sold 10 million fucking copies of that album

Ohh man deez songz sux This pole reminds me why I killed myself durung the 90s

man see u

I feel like the right answer is surely "1979" but I'm far more tempted to vote for "Pepper" or "...Phone Booth..."

(man all these years and I never knew what that Dishwalla song was called or who it was by)

"Electrolite" has an awesome Spike Jonze-directed video with the band upside down, attached to balls & chains, and growing in size.

"1979" is nice but i've never quite understood the fuss over it, it's like my 10th favorite Pumpkins hit (and 3rd or 4th favorite Mellon Collie single, depending on whether "Muzzle" counts)

1979 is a great pop tune, and certainly stands above the rest of this lot, but not so much that it should offend someone deeply if we didn't all do pisstake votes for Down.

while I scatter my spit, I dream of juice

"Down" was a weird buzzkill to me because the preceding 311 single, "Don't Stay Home," was such a pleasant little pop song, the first time I heard it I thought it was They Might Be Giants' follow-up to "Snail Shell"

the rock/alt sections of my top 100 singles of '96:

Top 100 Singles of 1996:

...

― some dude, Friday, 25 May 2012

you make top 100 lists? what a nerd.

oh fuck i've been outed as a nerd, please don't tell my parents

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WWn12lQgO3s

Wonderwall duh....

Eels, "Novocaine for the Soul" - forgettable

― skip, Friday, May 25, 2012 12:11 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

ban

eels all the way

"1979" is nice but i've never quite understood the fuss over it, it's like my 10th favorite Pumpkins hit (and 3rd or 4th favorite Mellon Collie single, depending on whether "Muzzle" counts)

― some dude, Saturday, May 26

It probably has something to do with your personal preference for more upbeat stuff. Some people are more likely to find themselves involved with slow jams or mellow trippy stuff or nostalgia inducing shit or subtle yet emotionally-charged music delivered by a familiar, melancholic voice...

The simple 'different strokes for different folks' philosophy makes the publication of self-ingratiating top 100 lists read as attempts at seeking approval from others, or even worse, vainglory for the sake of boasting one's "well-bred" taste to others. But of course it can't all be about that. Finding people that share your musical interests can be rewarding. For instance, when you get a bunch of like-minded people together to poll their favorite songs, your choices get to shine among choices from people preinclined to agree with you (to some extent). And with all that support comes inspiration to listen and criticize more songs to the point where making top # lists could become an enjoyable hobby.

Having found a fraternity that will fuel your common desire to quantify musical subjectivity, you may focus towards the music that predominates your forum. You might also start borrowing opinions from the group mentality; so much so and your musical subjectivity will get hijacked. Some groups are big enough to form a society in which their music taste gets shoved down other people's throats - often in a self-aggrandizing fashion not unlike Pitchfork.

As far as ILX goes, if there are any music here they seem to be doing a good job at keeping their subjectively to appropriate threads. Although, broad-set polls can reveal approval-seeking music lovers and vainglorious critics alike, the latter more likely to engross themselves in some form of group snobbery.

oops

"As far as ILX goes, if there are any music *frats* here..."

"...the latter *are* more likely..."

The simple 'different strokes for different folks' philosophy makes the publication of self-ingratiating top 100 lists read as attempts at seeking approval from others, or even worse, vainglory for the sake of boasting one's "well-bred" taste to others.

i doubt some dude is riding for Goldfinger singles to seek approval from others

psychology never reveals something 100% one way or another

captainderizer

http://images.hhv.de/catalog/detail_big/00093/93414_1.jpg

I know someone who used to wear this on occasion and if you look really quickly it looks like it says dishwalla.

xxpost I'd like to hear more about this..."psychology" you speak of. Sounds fascinating, and well within the bounds of this particular discussion.

Damn, this whole time I thought I was writing top 100 lists out of boredom.

really cracking up picturing a hardcore dj shadow fan getting super indignant that people think he's into dishwalla

xp
if it was boring you wouldn't do it all the time

nono I do it to kill boredom. Or at least thats what I thought until today.

you do things 'out of boredom' to entertain yourself or occupy your time, not to be more bored, you pompous dingbat

xpost

making top 100 lists is hardly in the same vein as crossword puzzles and suduko

plus, people don't go around posting their solved suduko puzzles

it would be if people posted their completed sudokos to the internet all proud

(lol)

why not.. i think it's fun. sudoko is fun too. both are good ways to kill time at lame office jobs.

theres no law that says you have to publicly display a top 100 list.

i don't post my stupid lists to ilx much because yeah i hate to come off all 'look at me!' but since i had just done one relevant to this thread the other day, and people were doing similar 'other good songs from this year that didn't hit #1' lists on the other threads in this serious, i said what the hell, why not risk the scorn of the world's dumbest armchair psychologist.

serious=series

1. wonderwall
2. 1979
3. champagne supernover

disappointed i couldn't vote green day in this one

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

no shots at anyone, obv, but there is something getting a little unnervering about the onion-style I CONSUME SO MUCH POP CULTURE OM NOM NOM going around ILX and elsewhere. That site iCheckMovies is a little weird when I get updates about how many movies my friends torrented that night.

I know this is mad lol coming from the guy who reviews 1000 records in one year, but we're getting into a weird media-hoarding era where there's like imaginary bonus points awarded to the people who have watched/heard/seen the most media; and its more about what you've consumed than if you have actual thoughts about it... I think GRANTLAND MAD MEN POWER RANKINGS are like another indicator of something similar, where its like, you cant just enjoy and think about a TV show anymore, you have to get super granular about everything or youre doing it rong.

i dunno, even as a serial listmaker myself, its all starting to give me anxiety

I know this is mad lol coming from the guy who reviews 1000 records in one year

it is, yes.

prolly put dishwalla fourth and, uh, alanis fifth? this one is kinda garbage

eels, dude, what the fuck is wrong w u.

i don't like that song

there is something getting a little unnervering about the onion-style I CONSUME SO MUCH POP CULTURE OM NOM NOM going around ILX

Dude, have you been looking at some other ILX all these years?

I'm disappointing that you think my armchair psychology comes from a place of scorn, somedude
I thought we could discuss this like adults

94 & 95 kick 96's ass imo

I know this is mad lol coming from the guy who reviews 1000 records in one year, but we're getting into a weird media-hoarding era where there's like imaginary bonus points awarded to the people who have watched/heard/seen the most media; and its more about what you've consumed than if you have actual thoughts about it

But this is a little strawman-y wrt ILX.

i like the 2nd Eels album alright, but "Novacane For The Soul" is just kinda cheesy imo and croup pretty much ruined the band for me after pointing out how much the singer sounds like Collective Soul and/or the "How Do You Talk To An Angel" guy

I ain't got no problem with yer lists, some dude, fwiw. I'm all about, "Hey, we're discussing (narrowly specific topic), but here's (possibly-forgotten examples of things that lie just outside the bounds of this narrowly specific topic)." That tendency sure as hell has a lot more relevance to a thread than, for example, psychoanalyzing people who engage in same.

no lorax is right, i was just waiting for the flimsiest pretense to whip out my list and show everyone how big it is

I would hardly equate music elitism to a pissing contest. You would rarely ever find a nerd or hipster engaging in something so plebian.

I did gloss over another reason why someone would write and publish top 100 lists - being OCD and bored - a much less interesting diagnosis to discuss than vane or attention/approval-seeking (something there certainly isn't a lack of in the hipster community).

The result of hipster publications earnestly tooting these lists is always the same though - elitism at its finest.

there's no inherent elitism to sharing an opinion

CaptainLorax, if you're dizzy or feeling at all nauseated, you may have incurred a head injury of which you are unaware. I would advise that you seek medical attention for what might be a serious concussion before returning to ILX.

ok this thread got me to listen to 1979 for the first time in years. it's a really beautiful song, i wish i had remembered this earlier

the rest of these have not aged well at all

why have i not been posting to these threads more. this is my LIFE man.

pepper owns

I know this is mad lol coming from the guy who reviews 1000 records in one year, but we're getting into a weird media-hoarding era where there's like imaginary bonus points awarded to the people who have watched/heard/seen the most media; and its more about what you've consumed than if you have actual thoughts about it... I think GRANTLAND MAD MEN POWER RANKINGS are like another indicator of something similar, where its like, you cant just enjoy and think about a TV show anymore, you have to get super granular about everything or youre doing it rong.

i dunno, even as a serial listmaker myself, its all starting to give me anxiety

two points 1) i've heard this sentiment in nerddom/critdom since the 90s 2) professional crits are so through the looking glass when it comes to viewing/listening habits that i wish they wouldn't indulge in a lot of you/we talk on the subject, esp when it's the guy who reviews 1000 records in one year

2) professional crits are so through the looking glass when it comes to viewing/listening habits that i wish they wouldn't indulge in a lot of you/we talk on the subject

banner this at the top of every ile/ilm thread

going to the grocery store now -- what should be on my list?

I would hardly equate music elitism to a pissing contest. You would rarely ever find a nerd or hipster engaging in something so plebian.

you don't actually know any nerds or hipsters, do you

i'm not sure lorax knows any humans

no shots at anyone, obv, but there is something getting a little unnervering about the onion-style I CONSUME SO MUCH POP CULTURE OM NOM NOM going around ILX and elsewhere. That site iCheckMovies is a little weird when I get updates about how many movies my friends torrented that night.

a friend and I have been talking for years about a project, it'd have to last five years at least to have any meaning, where you only listen to one album a year. Not just once - daily, maybe, maybe several times a day, maybe only once or twice a week, but just one album. You get to pick, it can be something new that you hold out for the release in March or whatever, or you can go with something you either already like or have been curious about. But one. That is your listening for that year.

that sounds like torture to me. i'd rather abstain from music entirely that be stuck with the same thing over and over.

"The Year Of Living Michael Jackson's Dangerously," now available on Kindle

Yeah, I was gonna say. Torturous. OTOH, I've been doing pretty well with only really listening to a small handful of new albums for the last several years. Between severely diminishing returns and a wealth of old stuff I still haven't properly dug into, I don't feel like I'm missing out at all.

But one. That is your listening for that year.

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51sZMt9C6BL.jpg

Mac Miller is ugly as fuck

Late '95 into '96 was my breakthrough era for discovering alt-rock radio and broadening my tastes beyond Billy Joel, Paul McCartney, Paul Simon, and Bob Dylan....all of whom I still spin more regularly than anything in this list.

Oasis, "Wonderwall" - - - this is easily the best song here but i won't vote for it, god did i hear this thing too many times
Smashing Pumpkins, "1979" - - - very good but never quite got the giganto-praise it got, there are way better songs on this album
Alanis Morissette, "Ironic" - - - good, again not my favorite on JLP but don't mind hearing it, the chorus is just a monster
Oasis, "Champagne Supernova" - - - along with "Triumph" one of the first things that i sat watching MTV hoping they'd play it again
Cranberries, "Salvation" - - - blergh, not the worst thing but the bleating vocal is quite distracting
Tracy Bonham, "Mother, Mother" - - - don't remember
Dishwalla, "Counting Blue Cars" - - - i think i liked this the first 10 or so times i heard it, then soured instantly into deep dislike
Butthole Surfers, "Pepper" - - - okay. kind of coasting on goodwill towards the band at this point. wow is that a dated vocal effect.
Primitive Radio Gods, "Standing Outside a Broken Phone Booth..." - - - dated vocal effects strike again. great sample though.
Pearl Jam, "Who You Are" - - - a grower, solid album track on a solid album, bizarre idea about a single though. 99x went with "red mosquito."
311, "Down" - - - ha, this might've been the first new song to make me sit up and take notice that year, god knows why. "change the channel whenever that wack show the real world's on." i think i'm voting for this although it's no "do you right."
Eels, "Novocaine for the Soul" - - - this is good.
Sublime, "What I Got" - - - separate from how annoying this band and its fans were, this is a good song. i remember being much more fond of an alternate mix or live-in-the-studio version or something that got played a lot more, originally, and has now vanished, am i making this up?
Bush, "Swallowed" - - - bad. almost weird al level parody of sludgy, plodding grunge rock. "greedy fly" or "cold contagious" please.

but yeah would have obviously voted for "bulls on parade" had it made #1

Am I remembering correctly that Dishwalla's "It's Going To Take Some Time This Time" off of If I Were A Carpenter got a good bit of radio play before "Counting Blue Cars" did? At any rate, it was a much better song. Maybe because it wasn't their song.

Sublime, "What I Got" - - - separate from how annoying this band and its fans were, this is a good song. i remember being much more fond of an alternate mix or live-in-the-studio version or something that got played a lot more, originally, and has now vanished, am i making this up?

yeah the drum machine-driven David Kahne mix was the one that was a hit, but some stations also played "What I Got (Reprise)" from the end of the album, which was produced by Paul Leary from the Bhole Surfers and has some of his distinctive WOOOOOOP guitar licks.

I think i might cut J0rdan out of my life forever for saying Dishwalla is better than eels

yeah the drum machine-driven David Kahne mix was the one that was a hit, but some stations also played "What I Got (Reprise)" from the end of the album, which was produced by Paul Leary from the Bhole Surfers and has some of his distinctive WOOOOOOP guitar licks.

― --niccimanewhore (some dude), Sunday, May 27, 2012 11:59 AM Bookmark

Aha!!! yes! This is exactly what I'm thinking of. Way better IMO.

PL also produced/played on the Meat Puppets' "Scum," so the Leary woop was all over radio in that period

"the Leary woop" would have made a decent band name, not sure when though.

But that's super interesting, I love those little things that start to explain how a whole period sort of sounded the same despite notionally different genres and songwriting voices etc.

that sounds like torture to me. i'd rather abstain from music entirely that be stuck with the same thing over and over.

well, that'd be the thing about it: changing your perspective on how you listen, what you listen for. shedding the need for novelty & trading it for intense focus. listening from places besides the pleasure center. picking something that rewards close, sustained attention. this is more a thought-exercise than anything else though, nobody's gonna actually do this, especially not with pop music - if I were going to actually try it it'd be with Dad Lied von der Erde or something

I dunno -- I could spend a year listening to Chic's Risque.

good poll idea btw

I could maybe listen to Royal Trux's Accelerator for a year, but I'm pretty sure I'd never want to hear it again after that.

(Two years away from being back on-topic.)

i read somewhere it was supposed to be something like 10,000 days

-- omar little, Wednesday, August 6, 2008 3:02 PM (2 minutes ago) Bookmark Link

thats awful

― and what, Wednesday, August 6, 2008 3:05 PM (3 years ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

this isn't a comedy.... this movie is fucked up

― and what, Wednesday, August 6, 2008 3:06 PM (3 years ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

well, that'd be the thing about it: changing your perspective on how you listen, what you listen for. shedding the need for novelty & trading it for intense focus.

or you could spend a couple years listening to "air mixes"

PL also produced/played on the Meat Puppets' "Scum," so the Leary woop was all over radio in that period

Which reminds me: was "Backwater" 96? Between that & Peppe/Natural One and Phone booth/Your Woman, I'm thinking once again that 96 might actually be a great year. Also lol that this is the 3rd 1996 thread started in the last few weeks.

Anyways my preferences are p locksteppy:

Pepper
1979
Standing Outside an etc
Novocaine for the Soul
Salvation

"Backwater" was '93-4, but was still reasonably big on the radio in '96.

(Not counting Wonderwall cuz it was on the last poll)

Xp oh wow that's way earlier than I remember it

It was a sleeper hit, not taking off until after the Kirkwoods' guest shot on the Nirvana "Unplugged".

or you could spend a couple years listening to "air mixes"

Acceptable, but you'll outgrow them once you really listen to some Bizkit.

I did gloss over another reason why someone would write and publish top 100 lists - being OCD and bored - a much less interesting diagnosis to discuss than vane or attention/approval-seeking (something there certainly isn't a lack of in the hipster community).

The result of hipster publications earnestly tooting these lists is always the same though - elitism at its finest.

OCD... hm yeah I guess that's me to some extent. I guess it could be worse... I notice a lot of the elitist "my dick is bigger than yours" overtones in the writing on a lot of blogger's "top 25/50/100 albums of the year" lists.

Not necessarily noticing this on some dude's 1996 post... I'm thinking of stuff I saw last December for the "best of 2011" stuff.

I voted for "Swallowed" because "1979" will probably win.

Great thing about a top 100 vs a top 10 at least is time capsule extensiveness of coverage...some dude pulled out stuff like "I Was Wrong" that actually really define how 1996 sounds in my head even though that's not a song that I would have brought to mind.

You really don't have to defend some dude's list with anyone but the guy who paradoxically was really self-righteous about how making & posting lists is a really self-righteous thing to do. Meaning you really don't have to defend some dude's list.

"Backwater" is definitely better than every song in this poll.

i voted for "1979" but only because i didn't see the tracy bonham song. i hope that gets some votes.

yeah I actually didn't hate Mother Mother; iirc it used the soft-loud kind of thing in a way more extreme fashion than most alt-rock radio anthems did.

1979. everything else here is straight garbage.

oh wait i didnt see pepper. that was enjoyable for the wtf-ness of the buttholes on the radio and it's not half-bad in and of itself.

"pepper", half out of affection for the butthole surfers that were, half cuz i really do love it (even now)

also dig "wonderwall", "1979" and the reprise version of "what i got"

despite that, these polls have done a lot to disabuse me of the notion that i enjoy modern rock hits

modern rock #5s through #20s >>>>>>>>>>> modern rock #1s

" I would hardly equate music elitism to a pissing contest. You would rarely ever find a nerd or hipster engaging in something so plebian."

you don't actually know any nerds or hipsters, do you ― that is a weird thing to bring up over lean cuisine (DJP)

I was literally referring to a pissing contest. Not some metaphorical bull shit but some guys whipping out their schlongs in a bar. Maybe you know some nerds and hipsters that do this. I must be going to all the wrong bars.

Or maybe I'm missing out e everytime I avoid an Animal Collective concert

I'm glad you specified, because it's so hard to tell when people use the phrase 'pissing contest' whether they're using it literally or metaphorically. Because both usages are equally common, I find.

You're right Deric. I realized that I'd probably needed extra specification after the fact. But I would never have said hipster/nerds do not engage in metaphorical pissing contests, especiallly since I was referencing Some Dude's jokey post about whipping out his music collection.

Also, Some Dude, your list didn't irritate me in the slightest. I just used it as an opportunity to editorialize hipster nerds and their pitchforks. I can't even remember what's on your list.

Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.

I was confused as to why you chose this thread in particular to do your editorializing, but I understand now: the presence of a list.

Dad Lied von der Erde

slept-on typo by me btw

Drummer for Gay Dad Lied von der Erde.

Was gonna say. Not familiar with the piece, but it sounded like a collaboration between some neoclassical composer and Bright Eyes.

Butthole Surfers, "Pepper" 15

worst song on the list

what a fall from (dis)grace

"Pepper" is actually a good song, it just doesn't sound like the Surfers. It's one of the best Odelay-era Beck tunes.

Ha, I mistook it for Beck the first time I heard it.

x-post - otm

I don't even remember Pepper.

Really? I remember it being on the raido a lot that year. I even remember the video.

they were primarily doing it in texas

pepper has a sneaky-good chorus which is obscured by tedious verses. i still like it ok.

Ok, just looked it up on YouTube. Immediate response: "oh yeah, THAT song."

It was a sleeper hit, not taking off until after the Kirkwoods' guest shot on the Nirvana "Unplugged".

― Hare Kinsey (C. Grisso/McCain), Sunday, May 27, 2012 2:43 PM (6 hours ago) Bookmark

i never really felt like this was true, if only because i heard "Backwater" on the radio before noticing that it was also the Meat Puppets on the Unplugged episode, but it probably is to at least some extent: "Backwater" debuted on the Billboard rock charts in Feb '94, and the Nirvana special aired in November '93. i think given the direction radio was going on in (vs. the commercial prospects of the MPs' pre-Nevermind major label debut), and the fact that "Backwater" doesn't much at all resemble "Lake of Fire" or anything else played on Unplugged, it probably would've done pretty well anyway.

i straight up hate "Pepper," prob more than any other song that year.

listening to Pepper for the first time ever now

this is not worse than "Ironic"

The name Butthole Surfers seemed infuriatingly supid to me even at 16.

i only had the slightest familiarity with BS from "Who Was In My Room Last Night?" being their previous closest thing to mainstream exposure a couple years before that and by even that standard "Pepper" seemed like the lamest corniest thing ever for them to do

what do we think of Too High to Die generally?

pretty good, underrated album imo, i rate it only slightly below their best '80s LPs

yeah I think so too. Like Monster this was a used-CD bin perennial

yeah Too High to Die took me a long time to get into, but once it clicked I saw it truly as a thing of beauty. I love how the "We Don't Exist" chorus is just "Cayenne" sung over and over

Also no way is "Pepper" (or "Ironic") the worst song of the same year that inflicted "Crash Into Me" onto the world.

"sharon got sharice, she was sharin' sharon's outlook on the topic of disease" is the kind of horseshit that will bounce around my brain cells til the day that i die that i can usually blame dexter holland or gavin rossdale for putting in there

yeah "Pepper" is kinda there's-money-to-be-made-and-we-know-how-to-do-this-so-let's-get-paid stuff but it has one Gibby line that's so much in his classic mode that it got a pass from me - "they were all in love with dying/they were doing it in Texas" is BH Cream Corn era acid-evocative, though I consider it you-had-to-be-there stuff; if that band came to your town circa '86/'87 and you saw the show, it left marks on your brain, they were something special for a minute there so when they lost the plot it sort seemed like "pay these guys, they've been working long hours for ten years now"

I dug both Too High To Die and No Joke!. Haven't listened to either in years, though.

I thought I was "supposed" to like the Butthole Surfers and tried to for a long time before I realized that I didn't much. Occasionally decent songs but that's about it.

"Pepper" has some lines here and there that would be good in the right context but that deadpan-staccato-through-a-telephone-receiver-over-shitty-loops mid '90s alt sound makes everything banal and worthless

http://i.saucesome.net/PZ7.jpg

"Pepper" has some lines here and there that would be good in the right context but that deadpan-staccato-through-a-telephone-receiver-over-shitty-loops mid '90s alt sound makes everything banal and worthless

That's the point. Surfers achieved their greatest commercial successes by taking the piss.

i dunno man. what did they do with that 'success'? they only made one more album, 4 years later, and the lead single was basically like "Pepper" but even worse:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JeTyW9zQ-Sg

i mean a lot of bands in that era made kind of silly pop moves but then leveraged that to kind of continue on their own weird path (like, say, the Flaming Lips) but it seems to me like the Surfers just ran into a total creative ditch and never returned

Surfers got a rough ride from Capitol records when they refused to release their 1998 album. By 2001 they were a spent entity. Have to remember that "Pepper" was 15 years into their career.

But I was mainly talking about "Pepper" and "Who Was In My Room Last Night?" which were the closest they had to hits. Both play on the trends of the time and are stupid by even their standards.

leveraged that to kind of continue on their own weird path (like, say, the Flaming Lips)

^^^gibby is bitter about this

xpost

Post-Touch & Go lawsuit karma?

Anyone remember P.? I just this moment remembered they were a thing.

I recently found my Trouser Press 90s book and read the Butthole Surfers + side projects entry. I'm wondering if I should at long last check out the P record

lol "Champagne Supernova" is not going to siphon many votes from "Wonderwall"

― some dude, Friday, May 25, 2012 1:50 PM (3 days ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

I thought this too, but here we are

I

I love "pepper"

When I saw the Buttholez live recently they did it at like twice the speed and just devolved it into noise by the chorus. They def look back with equal disdain and hilarity

I found this out much later, but it was Gabby Hayes singing on "Jesus Built My Hot Rod" from Ministry circa 1991/92.

This guy? That's news to me!

http://www.examiner.com/images/blog/wysiwyg/image/gabby.jpg

Gibby Haynes must be angry someone is going around stealing work from him.

Especially a dude who died in 1969.

I was curious as to how "Pepper" was received at the time in my old fanzine, so I went back and checked. People like me who were comparatively older (i.e., 30s and beyond) uniformly loved it, giving it 8.0 or higher; people who were in their 20s almost uniformly hated it, except Gavin Edwards. The very youngest person, though, who I think was maybe 17 or 18 at the time, she loved it too. People tended to write very long comments. Most notable exception was Jeff Pike, who wrote "Sell out!" and gave it an 8.0.

HA - Freudian slip... or slip of some kind.

xpost

I liked it enough to buy the album at 18 or 19 or whateverthehell. Same could not be said for "Who Was In My Room Last Night?" (those two songs marking the extent of my BS exposure at the time).

Most notable exception was Jeff Pike, who wrote "Sell out!" and gave it an 8.0.

lol, awesome.

Same could not be said for "Who Was In My Room Last Night?"

This track was so far superior to "Pepper" I was really bummed out that it didn't cross over in the same way.

I always thought the Surfersk second biggest hit was "Hurdy Gurdy Man"

Surfer SK was a really weird comeback album IMO although I know a lot of people stan for it.

I like the compressed distorto-tremolo guitar sound in Pepper, and also the cheesy Bollywood synth strings.

while i always loved the butthole surfers' faster and more rocking songs ("butthole surfer", "human cannonball", "fast") and often at least half wished they'd do a few more of them, i wound up somewhat disappointed with independent worm saloon, their big hard rock move. "strawberry" is all time; love "who was in my room", "dust devil" and "edgar"; like at least a few more - but the constant, industrial-strength pound & grind gets kind of boring over the long haul. the first BHS album that really felt bloated, and unsurprisingly their first that was clearly sequenced for the CD era. nice to see them finally knuckle down and kick some ass, texas style, but i miss the textural variety and experimental weirdness of the early albums.

[/digression]

re: johnny's praise of "who was in my room"

I always thought the Surfersk second biggest hit was "Hurdy Gurdy Man"

i don't think "hurdy gurdy man" charted in either the US or the UK, though i'm not certain. it did get some MTV play. "who was in my room" was at least a minor modern rock hit in the US.

I loved 'Worm Saloon'-era Buttholes-as-metal-band. I bet if they kept that up, they would have never had a "Pepper" but might be still making records for The End or Hydra Head or somethin

I recall "Pepper" as being critically revered.. 95/96/97 had a lot of "finally" moments for long-term 120 Minutes bands finally scoring 1 hit. I don't think the song is worth being ashamed of. It still sounds like they wrote it under hallucinogens, and besides the radio-ubiquity it doesn't really feel like an obvious attempt to sell out or anything.. It fits into their late-period discography nicely.

At least it didn't have acoustic guitar, which is included on most of my least-favorite Butt tracks.

John E Smoke?!?!?

At least it didn't have acoustic guitar, which is included on most of my least-favorite Butt tracks.

― billstevejim, Monday, May 28, 2012 1:49 PM Bookmark

I don't know the song but there is something beautifully Geir-ish about this, in a world where Geir was a big-time Butthole Surfers fan.

I remember when somebody asked Marcus about one of the those Sex Pistols reunion tours (the first one, I think), he laughed and said he didn't begrudge them anything; they did so much to make the world a more interesting place, they were entitled to do whatever they wanted to do.

On a much smaller scale, that's part of what I feel about "Pepper." In the early '80s, the Butthole Surfers were about as far away as one could get from the place where people made hit records and made a lot of money. For a brief period in the mid-'90s, a window had improbably opened whereby they could get some commercial airplay and make a little money. So they wrote a (to me) really catchy song that sounded like Beck; the lyrics were more or less as weird as what they'd always written, albeit less profane (who cares). Good for them.

lol "Champagne Supernova" is not going to siphon many votes from "Wonderwall"

― some dude, Friday, May 25, 2012 1:50 PM (3 days ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

I thought this too, but here we are

― Godzilla vs. Rodan Rodannadanna (The Yellow Kid), Monday, May 28, 2012 12:27 AM (13 hours ago) Bookmark

holy fucking shit, what is WRONG with you people

"Champagne Supernova" is a fine song! Maybe a bit long but it's got some good lines, well-delivered, and a good overall wash of sound. Beats the pants off anything on Be Here Now although I know that's sort of faint praise. I'd basically rather hear it than "Wonderwall" most of the time.

yeah comparing to Be Here Now is totally stacking the deck, let's just say it's the worst of those 10 singles from the first two Oasis albums

It sports one of the grossest guitar solos in the history of gross guitar solos.

No way, it is definitely better than "Roll With It!"

This "oh no! they dumbed down/sold out/whatever!" talk is hilarious to me as someone who's never heard a Buttholes song other than "Pepper" and thinks it's great.

i don't even think they necessarily dumbed down or sold out, it's just horrible and tiresome to me

As popular as it was with Oasis fans in 1996, and even though it had a music video made for it, 'Champagne Supernova' wasn't a single here in the UK. The video recieved a lot of airplay, but there wasn't a single release. I remember one or two people getting confused, because they'd see the video to 'Champagne Supernova' on the music channels and thought it was coming out as a single. See also: 'Morning Glory', which also had a video made for it which also received a lot of airplay in the UK, but only came out as a single in Australia(!)

dr c with the real talk itt weller backing guitar solo 4 lyfe

yeah it's funny how dramatically different Oasis's singles campaigns were in the US compared to the UK. iirc "Morning Glory" was also the first single off the album in the US, or at least the first one i heard on the radio moderately before "Wonderwall" broke huge.

prob cos 'roll with it' and 'some might say' were never really the obvious singles to lead with, tbh- almost as if mcgee was looking to lead off the weak foot wrt singles

This "oh no! they dumbed down/sold out/whatever!" talk is hilarious to me as someone who's never heard a Buttholes song other than "Pepper" and thinks it's great.

― The Reverend, Monday, May 28, 2012 3:11 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

This is what they used to sound like

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4fW0xpoGmEk

stay on board at least for the wet fat at 1:02

*fart

This is what the Eels' dude's gated snare adult contemporary sounded like before "Novacaine For The Soul Patch":

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2BKw2v1q_Oc

I had no idea that people listened to the Butthole Surfers for the lyrics.

That's actually the only thing I've ever heard by him. It was probably my least favorite song on a taped episode of 120 minutes I had in 9th grade. Some day I'll have to get around to listening to Eels.

xp

It's a shame they don't have the actual video. It had a guy jumping, trying to reach a balloon or something.

I had no idea that people listened to the Butthole Surfers for the lyrics.

"By this time I guess you've figured out about Florida
Drink the muddy water in the Vaseline stain
They be makin' tadpoles the size of Americans down in Florida
That be tellin' Julio Iglesias what to sing, now"

I learned much wisdom from them.

Y Kant E Read

LIFE IS WHITE
AND I AM BLACK
JESUS AND HIS LAWYER
ARE COMING BACK

seriously, ten of you like this garbage

Dude, that song is cool. Yeah, some ropey lyrics, but I remind you that this is a poll about modern rock hits in 1996 - - - I think you could get fined back then if your song didn't have a labored, cynical Jesus reference and/or bold statement of personal bleak hollowness.

true but ugh man

His next album was way better and the only thing of his I bother keeping around anymore.

yeah, 2nd Eels album is def their saving grace (although not totally devoid of the qualities i hate about their hit)

Is it embarrassing to admit I like that song?

Although "Last Stop: This Town" is awesome, too... and probably one of the weirder songs to get Modern Rock airplay. Talking carrot video also strange.