best song that reached #1 on airplay but was never allowed to chart on the billboard hot 100 1995-1998

Lovefool also classic bcz of its appearance in Baz Luhrmann's Romeo and Juliet which I can't help but love ecstatically in spite of myself...

Gwen Stefani only sounds good on ballads, otherwise she just has this naff hyperactive kids TV presenter vibe, no matter how glammed up or rocked up she is.

The main problem about most of her recent stuff is that it's just too loud plain and simple. One of the worst cases of extreme dynamic range compression overkill in modern music.

Play it on the stereo, and it still sounds like its on the radio... for shame.

I thought you were quoting "Pass the Dutchie" for a moment.

lol

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

The main problem about Gwen Stefani is that it's just too loud, plain, and simple.

Sarah Plain & Loud

I don't think I've ever heard "Fly" before, and I LIKE Sugar Ray.

How is this possible??

Sorry, I thought Sugar Ray was the band that did "Every Morning" and "Closing Time" but it transpires that "Closing Time" is by someone else. And it seems "Fly" was just as big as "Every Morning," which for me was kind of inescapable. I guess I listened to more radio in 1998 than 1997.

Closing Time=Eve 6= I WANT TO VOMIT OUT OF MY EARS

closing time is semisonic

I don't like "Closing Time".

lol. they're so generic I confused the two bands.

cardigans over natalie over no doubt

closing time is better than all these songs

"Closing Time" is fantastic

I like "Closing Time" too! But now that I know it's not by Sugar Ray I'm not sure how much I like Sugar Ray.

Lovefool by a mile.

The main problem about Gwen Stefani is that it's just too loud, plain, and simple.

That too ;)

too many notes

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

It seems so obvious now. Figured 'Iris' would do better.

glad it didn't

"Fly" votes count 8x.

And it seems "Fly" was just as big as "Every Morning," which for me was kind of inescapable. I guess I listened to more radio in 1998 than 1997.

I'm the total opposite! "Fly" was inescapable for me, while I never knowingly heard "Every Morning" until a few months ago.

All around this poll, faith in ILXors crumbled for me.

I went to a 90s dance like a year ago "dressed as" mark mcgrath (white tanktop, saggy 90s jeans, spiked hair which I was unfortunately not dedicated enuff to frost the tips of). fairly well-received. feels like people miss the 90s "good old days" more than they r willing 2 let on.

Then feel free to visit OC anytime. It's like a goddamn Ren Fest for that era around here.

ha

I never liked "Torn." When Ms. Imbruglia started working as a makeup model for Cover Girl or some other drugstore chain, I thought, that's a career that makes a lot more sense for her. The first time I heard "Torn" on the radio, the DJ introduced it by spending a very long time (for non-drivetime radio) describing her amazingly piercing and gorgeous giant blue eyes. So, if your eyes are better than your music, maybe you should be doing something with them. I hope this doesn't sound mean, as she is very pretty, and she seems like a pleasant person, but her music is just dullsville.

And it seems "Fly" was just as big as "Every Morning," which for me was kind of inescapable. I guess I listened to more radio in 1998 than 1997.

I'm the total opposite! "Fly" was inescapable for me, while I never knowingly heard "Every Morning" until a few months ago.

― jaymc, Tuesday, September 28, 2010 6:48 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

i totally missed 'fly' & remember hearing 'every morning' constantly (although maybe not as much as 'someday'

My favorite thing about "Fly" is the little Gilbert O'Sullivan reference.

i heard "fly" (and "someday") way more than "every morning".

torn was one of my first favourite songs i think. i remember being i guess seven years old & on a schoolbus and having vague emotional feelings not at all really related to being torn or in love or anything but just feelin things prompted by this song. i love that sprawling guitar line at the end

fly and lovefool are so great, too

hrrm i don't mind "lovefool" but the cardigans' early tweeness was severely testing (i think good lyrics save this one) - when they made the shockingly good long gone before daylight album it kind of rendered everything before it inconsequential

"fly", dammit. what the hell.

what the hell is wrong with "fly"

No-one knows it in the UK?

The only song Imbruglia's recorded as good as "Torn" is last year's "Want."

most of natalie imbruglia's music may be dullsville but that doesn't preclude "torn" from being terrific, nor do her fantastic eyes.

she is smash city for sure

(a fandom which culminated in a photo being mailed to her of mark mcgrath on a date with soleil moon frye???)

ridiculously slept-on display name fodder

<I>-but anyway, the song's got a spanish guitar solo and that counts for something

-did this really count for something in the 90s?

-There was a lot of flamenco-y sounds in late 90s R&B.

-Fastball's 'The Way'
Fly had that forementioned Spanish guitar flourish that goes off the rails...</i>

"Front man Nick Sjobek once played bass in the Goods, which evolved out of an outfit called Electric Cool-Aid that featured (at various times) Sugar Ray's Mark McGrath and Fastball's Tony Scalzo on vocals"

Source and I believe they toured together as well.

Early NSync as well as South Korea's latest late 90s revival attempt prominently features Spanish Guitar as well. And there were tons of attempts to crossover pop stars from Latin America like Enrique Iglesias as well.

"Torn" for me.

hw tghe fuck did "Lovefool" win this?

There's quite a few songs from the late 90s with vaguely spanish guitar sounding solos that get mixed up in my head "Don't Speak", "Two Become One", "Truly Madly Deeply".

I saw "Lovefool" covered a year or so ago by some ATL hipster band. They also covered a NIN song. Not gonna name the band cos they suck.

Hahah i just watched "Fly" for the first time since it was on the Box in the late 90s. I don't think you could possibly create a music video that screamed LOS ANGELES more.

was sure OMC "How Bizarre" belonged in this club, but its #1 showing was only on the Mainstream chart, and no way was it quite as big as the monster hits in this poll, but still, i feel it's somehow not gotten its proper due in the pop historical imaginary.

it's a great fun song, i don't hear ppl talk about it or whatever but ppl seem to recognize it

I’d like “Torn” a lot better if it went “i don’t care, i had no luck. I don’t really give a fuck.” No, instead it’s “I don’t miss it all that MUCH” which barely even rhymes.

“Lovefool” is great.

Is “Iris” the “I Don’t Want the World to See Me” song? Man they play that a lot on the radio these days.