Todd In The Shadows Thread

I absolutely approve of comparing the song's reasons for popularity to "Gangnam Style". I hadn't thought about it before, and it's hard to think of other foreign language songs that hit the same style of appeal as those two. "Macarena" doesn't count - the version released here made the verses more understandable than the chorus, and the dance was more popular than the music.

I'm glad he didn't go for the Simpsons reference. But around the time he talked about Falco's death, I was kinda hoping for the Bloodhound Gang one.

Edit: Two observations on "The Sound Of Musik" come to mind. First, he looks a lot more like Charlie Sheen in that video than usual. Second... a foreign language hit quoting the opening lines of Rapper's Delight? Over a decade BEFORE Las Ketchup?

edited 2nd Mar '17 9:20:05 AM by FalconPain

This has nothing to "Rock Me, Amadeus" but fucking, Train has a song out right now that's topping the charts over here called "Play That Song" that pretty much is lazy, half baked lyrics over the fucking tune of Heart and Soul, of all fucking songs.

Seems for you Amercians it's only like number 41 on the charts but down here it's a topper and I hear it everywhere and I hate it.

Worst is, it sticks in your head because "Heart and Soul" has a genuinely catchy hook which makes the whined lyrics stay in your head forever.

I would love for Todd to tear into it but it's such a banal and bland song I don't think there's much to say about it.

edited 4th Mar '17 4:22:18 PM by PippingFool

There are some decent tracks on the new Train album. "Play That Song" is not one of them, but as mentioned, due to its borrowed hook it's the one you're gonna have stuck in your head.

Figured I'd repost this.

Not sure where to put due to Todd's vague wordings: Marc Cohn and Shawn Mullins.

edited 4th Mar '17 11:14:17 AM by Smasher

Not sure about the binary, I think there should be separate categories of "Didn't Deserve Better Because Honestly They Were Lucky For What Little They Got" and "Didn't Deserve Better Because They Actually Did Pretty Good Just Not With Chart Topping Music"

Chamillionaire doesn't really fit either of those, though.

He does fit the latter, because he did well with business-related matters (just like Toni Basil pursued choreography post-"Mickey")

EDIT: also what Tucker said

edited 5th Mar '17 5:58:00 PM by Pachylad

His verdict for Chamillionaire was (paraphrased) "doing well and really rich, but I wouldn't mind if he had another hit." I would count that as "Deserved Better", song-wise.

edited 5th Mar '17 5:55:49 PM by Tuckerscreator

Also Smasher, before I forget, would you mind me making a Google doc for your list, with an added "Bob Marley clause" (artists that are technically no-hit wonders since they didn't chart on the Billboard Top 40; Marley's peak single was "Roots Rock Reggae" and only at #51) and "Van Morrison clause" (artists that fit both the Hendrix and Astley clause, like Morrison with "Brown Eyed Girl", "Domino" and 3 other songs that were in the top 40 or Radiohead with "Creep and "Nude")

I can't think of anyone who fits both the Hendrix and the Astley Clause at the same time other than Van Morrison. Radiohead doesn't really fit it.

edited 5th Mar '17 6:14:13 PM by Smasher

...Nirvana and Patti Smith (???), surprisingly

BTW (Modest Mouse and Blur should fit under the "Marley clause", together with the Ramones)

Modest Mouse are already a Hendrix. Marley clause = artists with no hits who became super popular anyway.

I think in order to qualify as a Rick Astley, you need either two Top 10 hits or more than 3 Top 40 hits.

By the way, here you go.

edited 5th Mar '17 7:06:27 PM by Smasher

Modest Mouse - "Dashboard" peaked at #61

Blur - "Girls" peaked at #59

Ramones - "Rockaway Beach" peaked at #66

Genre charts are a different story of course, but we're (or at least I am) operating under strict Billboard Hot 100 Top 40 definitions. If we do want to be broad, then we'd count freaking Wall of Voodoo as a true OHW (as opposed to a special case via MTV replays) since "Mexican Radio" peaked at #58, a higher position than those 3 bands I named

Fair enough on that second point I guess

edited 5th Mar '17 6:29:28 PM by Pachylad

Blur are more well known in the US for Song 2, aren't they? That's the only Blur song I've ever heard played in commercials and advertisements. They had a couple of their earlier songs chart fairly high on the US Alt Rock charts, but Song 2 is their most well known hit.

Kind of a shame because it's just them doing a parody/homage of Nirvana and Pavement's style.

edited 5th Mar '17 7:03:39 PM by AdricDePsycho

Never heard the Pavement comparison with that song before, especially since it sounds nothing like Pavement.

"Song 2" does sound at least like early Pavement, when they were influenced by harder rock sounds like Sonic Youth and The Fall (to the point of being considered ripoffs of the latter - at least those who weren't swayed by Pitchfork's 10.0 score of their debut) but later they mellowed and would trade those influences for folksier sounds like Television and Neil Young.

Anyway point still stands, that only got famous on the Alt Rock/Modern Rock (I think that's what it was called back then?) Charts chartwise. Oh, and here's Smasher's and my updated Google Docs of Hendrix, Astley and Marley clauses sofar. Feel free to suggest corrections, additions or changes to our clauses' conditions, whatever (like we've been discussing whether to be stricter on the "Hendrix clause" - do Barenaked Ladies deserve to be there alongside even Norah Jones and blink-182?)

I'm just going by what Albarn said about the song.

I think we are too inclusive on the Hendrix Clause. Anyone else think so? If you look at it you'll see way too many artists. I don't think The Psychedelic Furs qualify, for example.

Also, I removed Daft Punk due to them getting another hit.

edited 7th Mar '17 2:05:37 PM by Smasher

Murder Television's first hit. Sort of.

Wow, that was definitely more interesting that I initially thought. Episodes like that make me so glad One Hit Wonderland exists.

Oh shit, those guys who joined Yes and released their most underrated album, Drama (seriously check it out, it's pretty damn good).

Wait, hold up: that is one of the weirdest rock moments you can think of? It actually kinda made sense why it happened. Anderson and Wakeman were pissed after Yes's previous album Tormato was a critical flop (not helped that it followed their comeback album Going For the One), they butted heads with Howe, Squire, and White about the direction of the music (the latter three wanted it louder), so they left. The Buggles went to Yes about producing an album and they jammed a bit on stuff until they came up with the first track off of Drama, Machine Messiah (furthering the technological themes in their music). They didn't know that Anderson and Wakeman had left until Yes asked them to join, which they did, and because they wanted to hurry up and tour they recorded the album in like two weeks. Most Yes fans hated it because "Not my Jon Anderson and Rick Wakeman", but nowadays it's held as "not that bad". The last track, Tempis Fugit, is probably the best track on the album. The tour was a bust in the UK because "not my Jon Anderson", it was a hit in the US, but Horn's voice went out because they refused to change the key for the older songs to fit his vocal range.

edited 18th Mar '17 10:22:39 AM by AdricDePsycho

Maybe he should have waited until April, because that's when Yes will be getting into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame! (Unfortunately, neither of The Buggles are getting in. There's not enough room for them with all the other, more notable members.)

edited 8th Oct '17 6:46:21 PM by Smasher

Yeah, and Peter Banks and Patrick Moraz still aren't inducted in there even though they were with Yes too.

Ayy! I've been holding out this episode for a while!