songs that weren't a bands biggest hit, but have gone on to be their legacy song and biggest iTunes seller

the Charlie's Angels reference in "Independent Women" might have hurt its long term appeal

yeah that was always a bit unnecessary

had no idea Afroman had a another hit, but am enjoying the aptly titled Crazy Rap now

charming lyrics

Enola Gay has about twice the streams of If You Leave, which surprises me, and more than Souvenir, Joan of Arc and Maid of Orleans combined as well.

They didn't really have any 'hits' by most (if not all) metrics, but I find it funny that Be Your Own Pet's biggest Spotify song by a large margin is "Becky", which their US label purposely cut from their second album for being "too violent".

Was it on this borad or elsewhere where there was a funny discussion yesterday of OMD’s early sartorial changes?

Found it: Joy Division: Classic Or Dud?

I guess the popularity of Frozen and 4 Minutes is a shock, but more so; how far down the list Holiday and Into The Groove are.

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FVLTlvAVIAAAoxK?format=jpg

at least Frozen is good

Hung Up?

What's the story with Material Girl being #1? I loved it when I was a kid but it didn't feel like top-tier canon as I grew up.

“4 Minutes” is surprisingly high, I agree, but “Frozen”’s popularity shouldn’t come as a shock at all. It has been revived on TikTok in recent months by way of a sort-of-trap remix by producer Sickick, and this had led to a whole cottage industry brazenly overseen by Madonna herself. for one, it gave her an opportunity to jump on the afropop train - she hired Fireboy DML for one of the remixes of the remix:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HxKRdL1N9os

(many people in Nigeria are *not at all* happy about the imagery here)

more here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frozen_(Madonna_song)#Sickick_remixes

who would have predicted Madonna and Prince having fewer monthly listeners than Kate Bush?

Hung Up?

too low!

"Hung Up" is a great song, but only insofar as "Gimme Gimme Gimme" is a great song— without the ABBA hook, it's nothing. That said, the melodic line of "Gimme Gimme Gimme" is so good that it occasionally brings tears to my eyes, so I love "Hung Up" as unreservedly as I love "Gimme Gimme Gimme."

Alice In Chains' 4th biggest Spotify track (after "Man In The Box", "Would?", and "Rooster") is "Nutshell", an EP cut from Jar of Flies that's outpaced all of their more well-known acoustic cuts.

It was briefly mentioned above, but I was quite surprised to learn that The Offspring's most streamed song from the 90s is "The Kids Aren't Alright", by quite a wide margin over #2 ("Self Esteem"). Their actual most streamed song is their 2008 comeback hit "You're Gonna Go Far Kid"

fun fact-- the Offspringer's ex-drummer (fired for not vaxxing) plays on Tim Pool's shitty song:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MOfvaUwWi2k

I feel like "The Kids Aren't Alright" is the only Offspring song I've heard on the radio in the last 10 years. I can definitely see it having more long term success despite being less of a hit at the time than some other songs.

And I guess that would be the case for a lot of songs in this thread, songs that maybe don't make as much of an impression initially but that for whatever reason have more staying power.

Yeah, the two Americana singles I remember from the radio at the time are "Pretty Fly..." and to a much lesser extent "She's Got Issues".

Was "Original Prankster" a single? I seem to remember it was.

On the next album.

"Original Prankster" being their attempt to make that "Pretty Fly..." lightning strike twice.

Bryan Adams' "Summer of '69" got to number 5 in the US, but it didn't break the top 40 in the UK and my recollection is that it wasn't played on the radio much when I was young - "Run to You" was his signature song from that period. It sold nowhere near as well as "Everything I Do", but according to Last.fm it's his most-streamed song. I'm not sure how broad Last.fm's charts are.

The same charts show that Nik Kershaw's "The Riddle" is his most-streamed song, which is curious. I've always assumed it was more a historical curiosity than something people actually listened to. "Wouldn't it be Good" was his masterwork. But people really do prefer "The Riddle". Perhaps they're still trying to work out what it means. I've always liked the chord progression. It goes all wiggly, as if he was showing off.

I could go the rest of my life without streaming anything by Bryan Adams.

Pulling up "The Kids Aren't Alright"...Yeah, I know this from a bunch of ads and Movie/TV soundtracks.

The long, slow ascent of Summer Of 69 in the UK is a mysterious thing, and I’m not sure how it happened.

American emigrants, no doubt.

*Canadian emigrants

Are those last.fm charts UK-specific? Because there's a country of 1B people that fucking love Bryan Adams and "Summer of '69" in particular (10yo article but still relevant): https://www.thestar.com/news/world/2011/02/11/bryan_adams_star_burns_brightly_in_india.html

From this year: https://www.firstpost.com/entertainment/as-bryan-adams-releases-his-15th-album-heres-a-love-letter-to-indias-favourite-canadian-rocker-10436661.html

https://slate.com/podcasts/hit-parade/2022/09/pop-chart-flops-can-turn-into-latter-day-classics

What do you call a song that bombed on the charts back in the day, that now booms out of radios and streaming apps nationwide? Chris Molanphy has a name for these songs: legacy hits. Elton John’s “Tiny Dancer.” Etta James’s “At Last.” The Romantics’ “What I Like About You.” Peter Gabriel’s “In Your Eyes.” Talking Heads’ “Once in a Lifetime.”

Many catalysts can change a song’s trajectory, from movie scenes to stadium singalongs, wedding DJs to evolving tastes. Sometimes the hivemind just collectively decides that this Whitney Houston hit, not that one, is her song for the ages.

Join Chris as he explains how the charts sometimes get it wrong, and how legacy hits correct the record—and counts down 10 of his favorite flops-turned-classics.

To me the canonical Offspring song, the one that comes attached to their name, is "Come Out and Play," had no idea it had been surpassed by others.

The canonical Bryan Adams song SHOULD be the never-equalled "Cuts Like a Knife," but there's no justice, even in Canada.

“Once in a Lifetime” feels like a song that was “ahead of its time,” if there ever was one.

The video got fairly heavy play back in the day. It was definitely a departure from their previous work.

There are many records from 1983 (and from the earlier ‘80s) that I can assure you were massive hits despite what Billboard says, bc I was a teen watching MTV and they were In heavy rotation, or even occasional rotation but we all knew them bc we would watch MTV or TBS’s ‘Night Tracks’ for hours at a time. “Cuts Like a Knife” is one such record. I know every split second of that video. I know every bead of David Byrne’s sweat from the “Once in a Lifetime” video. There are many records like that. US radio was lost at sea in those days, that’s why many classic tunes have low chart placings.

We watched "Teletunes," broadcast on UHF out of Broomfield, Colorado, late into the night. They were far more adventurous than MTV; I remember seeing videos like "Fish Heads" and "The Man in the Dark Sedan." They always signed off with "Goodbye to You" by Scandal; I can still picture Patty Smyth's pout.

‘Night Tracks’ was also better than MTV bc they played black music and dance music

xp to Josefa

exactly, and that is just looking at it from the US. I always like to broaden the focus when it comes to hits and charts.

really, how much of a ‘flop’ was “What I Like About You” when it reached #2 in Australia and was a top 10 hit in the Netherlands and (nearly) Belgium? it was a smash hit to Dutchies of my generation.

same thing with “Once In A Lifetime”. sure, it just missed the Hot 100 in 1981, but it was a bona fide hit in the UK, Ireland (top 20), Australia, NL and Canada (top 30).

well, of course, but the article's about their American chart success

…and probably several other (European) countries too (and possibly in other places as well)

xp to myself

‘Night Tracks’ was also better than MTV bc they played black music and dance music

― Josefa

otm, pretty sure the first time I heard Jeffrey Osbourne

The blackest Denver TV usually got was Prince.

I might be a little too young (wasn't listening to much radio in 81) but I very clearly remember seeing "Down and Out in Beverly Hills" in the theater and when "Once in a Lifetime" came on I was just like holy shit WHAT IS THAT? That movie is from 1986 so I must have already known "Burning Down the House," which WAS a legitimately huge hit in the US, but I don't think I even understood it was the same band.

well, of course, but the article's about their American chart success

DAOIBH used the live version of "Once in a Lifetime" iiirc -- and it still sounded otherworldly. 1985-1986 was the peak of the Heads' American ubiquity.

http://wp.production.patheos.com/blogs/sickpilgrim/files/2016/01/david-byrne-dance.gif

Damn it

http://wp.production.patheos.com/blogs/sickpilgrim/files/2016/01/david-byrne-dance.gif

And to tie this in to the Roxy Music thread, their singles from Avalon were played to death on MTV. That was before I realized they were the “Love Is the Drug” band. But “More than This” was a hit in any practical sense of the word among US teens. Billboard tells us that Avalon was a relatively disappointing non-top 40 album (although it’s now certified Platinum).

Elton John’s “Tiny Dancer.” Etta James’s “At Last.” The Romantics’ “What I Like About You.” Peter Gabriel’s “In Your Eyes.” Talking Heads’ “Once in a Lifetime.”

minus etta, these were all staples for me growing up. 81 baby, so huh dunno.

slate article is good and i'm here for it.