Modern Rock #1 Hits of 1996

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.