#1 modern rock hits of 1997

what a shit heap.

a nightmare i never want to relive

good christ

(voted discotheque)

better than now.

1. chumba
2. everclear
3. 3rd eye

the only three songs i could listen to without wanting to punch myself into unconsciousness are "Sex And Candy," "The Impression That I Get" and "Lakini's Juice."

I'm gonna go with Lakini's Juice just because it was such a sick move for Live to come back from the wussiest, lamest radio crossover schlock record with a totally weird, aggro HELMET rip-off, like 4 years after Helmet failed to crossover

better than now.

― xhuxk, Sunday, May 3, 2009 3:40 AM (8 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

when you're right, you're right.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Number_one_modern_rock_hits_of_2008

i can't tell you how half of those songs go.

why do people like 3rd eye blind? that song is terrible.

My friend calls Third Eye Blind music "Dubba Dubba" music because of this:

Third Eye Blind - "Semi-Charmed Life"

fucking duh

The late '90s was such a bad time for music, I wish people would stop talking about it.

Walking on one Headlight.

I smell sex and candy, but I get up again, I'm not the only one. well I will. I would die for you, and we can drive it home like a birdie in the sky. I want something else, I think you like to be the victim. That's the impression that I get.

Bosstones, easy peasy.

Worst mixtape ever. Seriously, what a nightmare.

There are only three tolerable songs here -- the two by U2, and "Push".

when you're right, you're right.

Well, I'd say each list has about a 25% hit rate (= about three decent songs), but even though I haven't heard every song on the 2008 list, I'm willing to bet the farm that none of them are even 0.00001% as horrible as "Sex and Candy".

"Fly" obv

SUGAR RAY & SUPERCAT FLY TRIBUTE THREAD

What is with the 3eB apologists on this board. I just saw them at Bamboozle and I almost puked in my mouth

I must admit I have the hook of "The Impression That I Get" stuck in my head fairly often and don't mind its presence

Surprised to see no Radiohead songs in there, but it's "Staring At The Sun" then. A great song from a not-so-great album.

third eye blind, and it ain't even close

Oy, slim pickins indeed.

Going with "Walking on the Sun" if only for that organ hook (which was originally someone else's, right? Perez Prado or somebody?)

What is with the 3eB apologists on this board. I just saw them at Bamboozle and I almost puked in my mouth

Contrarian for contrarian's own sake.

Surely, I praised them on AMA as the best American band I had heard for ages, but I quickly realized that I was wrong. "Semi Charmed Life" is still a nice and catchy pop song, though, but nothing I'd vote for here.

U2 - "Discothèque"
Live - "Lakini's Juice"
Wallflowers - "One Headlight"
Mighty Mighty Bosstones - "The Impression That I Get"
Sugar Ray - "Fly"
Everclear - "Everything To Everyone"

^^^ wouldn't change the channel on any of these today. There's better singles from that Everclear album though, and I'd trade "Impression" for "Rascal King."

For years and years "Discotheque" was the only thing I'd give U2 as a decent song.

Vote is a tossup between "One Headlight" and "Fly." OH seems like a final manifestation of something deeply mid-90s (grungey attitude, Hootie palette - "Old Man And Me" is contemporary with this stuff)... whereas "Fly" points the way to the sunny hits of the last few years of the decade. Hrm.

Smashmouth easy, Bosstones 2nd

ha ha, i always remember why i was so into grindcore and hardcore when a poll like this comes up.

also voted for the only band i remotely respect, that being the Chumbawumba.

C'wamba, for subversive jarhead vibe

i don't know when this came out (probly 98 or so), but i actually owned this at the time:
http://fusionanomaly.net/negativlandchumbawambaabcsofanarchism.jpg

so we can all at least agree that the Verve Pipe is awful

Followup single "Villains" was okay but "The Freshman" is horrible. I'm sure there's a thread that heaped systematic abuse on it, don't know if it's recent or old but it definitely involves a lot of people from the Verve Pipe's hometown complaining that they'd been flogging that same song for ages.

The Verve Pipe's "The Freshman" vs. Pearl Jam's "Last Kiss"

well, The Freshmen is. this - http://www.last.fm/music/The+Verve+Pipe/_/Spoonful+of+Sugar - is pretty bad too, but not in the same way.

xp

"Villains" though might have some of the most banal lyrics ever visited upon alt-rock:

And as i'm searching for the story
subscription card falls to the floor
i'm losing interest more and more

To pick it up i'm bending over
out of the corner of my eye
I see a pair of blazing thighs

I straighten up to look her over
and up my back a shooting pain
it's bound to settle in my brain

Beats the maudlin dickishness of "Freshman" though.

About half of these are better than almost everything that's currently on Top 40 radio, and about 2/3's of these were top 40 crossovers which does not happen nearly as often these days with modern rock hits.

what i genuinely like = "Semi-Chamred Life" is in my top 100 singles ever, so thats my obvious vote. I hear "Sex And Candy" as a Pavement ripoff, and I've never had problems with bands trying to sound like Pavement. I'm okay with "#1 Crush" and "Impression." "Tubthumping" is really catchy.

"One Headlight" is almost good except it's so fucking slow and repetitive and I kinda hate the production.. If it were 3 minutes instead of 5 I'd enjoy it a lot better. I keep hearing "Fly" by Sugar Ray at the grocery store and it makes me want to punch babies. I hope I never hear that Everclear song again. For a few weeks maybe 2 or 3 years ago, I thought I would give the singles on U2's "Pop" album another chance, which was a big mistake.. I fucking hate "Lakini's Juice." I can imagine those dudes sitting around in the studio while recording being all like "Yeah man! this song fukin ROCKS!" and nodding their heads to this piece of shit they were putting together.. Oh by the way, speaking of Live I could have sworn the godawful "Turn My Head" also charted as a modern rock #1.. but I guess not.

"Push" and "The Freshmen" are interesting cases because I know their shitty, but what changes for me over time is simply how shitty.. Sometimes I can deal with them in small doses, and other times it hits me right in the gut.. omg painful..

"Lakini's Juice" C or D?

"Photograph" by The Verve Pipe is a good song.

what a shit heap.

― proxymuzak (Whiney G. Weingarten), Sunday, May 3, 2009 3:33 AM (9 hours ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

a nightmare i never want to relive

― proxymuzak (Whiney G. Weingarten), Sunday, May 3, 2009 3:36 AM (9 hours ago) Bookmark

voted Chumba fwiw

I'm gonna go with Lakini's Juice just because it was such a sick move for Live to come back from the wussiest, lamest radio crossover schlock record with a totally weird, aggro HELMET rip-off, like 4 years after Helmet failed to crossover

This followed up this single with "Turn My Head" which is actually wussier than "Lightning Crashes" ..

"Staring," 3EB, "Fly," Smash Mouth, "Tubthumping" still sound OK, though I wouldn't call any of it great. I voted Chumbawamba.

Ha, I totally voted for "The Freshmen".

Am not hearing the Pavement-Marcy Playground connection.

FOR THE LIFE OF ME I CANNOT REMEMBER

Marcy Playground were from the small suburb that my parents moved to after raising me mostly in the city. one of the songs on their first album is about a girl who threw herself into a shallow creek near my house.

also, one of my friends at the time of 'Sex & Candy' was in a cover band of sorts and the talent show committee wouldn't let them do that song. so they made it 'Cheese & Candy,' which is something i've never failed to roffle at.

Water 4 the Pool was so much better than the Verve Pipe.

semi-charmed life is a bad song btw

doo-doo-doo doo-doo-doo-doo

"Semi-Charmed Life" is one of those songs I can't actually bring myself to hate, mainly because it was rammed into my head so pitilessly for so long that I finally succumbed. I don't blame anyone else for hating it, though.

No love for Garbage?

My favorite Third Eye Blind songs are "How's It Gonna Be" and "Never Let You Go," but they're irrelevant here.

The "Fly"/"Walkin' on the Sun" twosome is better than I remember.

Mighty Mighty Bosstones - "The Impression That I Get"
Marcy Playground - "Sex and Candy"

enjoyed these both at the time for some reason, although the latter didn't sell shit in the UK afaik, lol being 13. Voted Bosstones, although Dickie Barret's voice is fairly lolworthy.

No love for Garbage?

First album had great singles, this one was a bit of a chore to get through.

"Sex and Candy needs to be heard twice. First to be like, 'What a lazy little tune; that's interesting to hear on the radio." Second to realize, "Wow, I've heard this but once yet I know all the lyrics." And that's all. It's a harmless little song.

Anyone who votes for Everclear...fuck man, who are you? a-YEAH-yuh

"Come on now do that stupid dance for me"

I like 'Fly' but the no Super Cat version can eat it.

Most of these songs are decent, some of them are even good. But most don't get beyond that. Voted Tubthumping because it is so fun.

I'm Kilgore Trout
by Kurt Vonnegut
you're never gonna keep me down

I can't even hum "Lakini's Juice."

top 5:
The Impression That I Get
Semi-Charmed Life
Discotheque
Lakini's Juice
Everything To Everyone

bottom 5:
Sex And Candy
Tubthumping
The Freshmen
Push
Walkin' On The Sun

'98 was much worse imo:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Number_one_modern_rock_hits_of_1998

I'd like to imagine some year where that chart rules across the board, but it don't exist.

oh boy, this is the only one of these polls where i actually know every single one of the songs. i still have that verve pipe cd! 'the freshman' is pretty bad, but i wouldn't change the dial if i heard it, for the lols. a better than ezra song would fit really well on here somewhere...

anyone going to rep for "#1 crush?" a bad garbage song imo, but it's gotta be better than 2/3 of this list.

this is easily hird eye blind for me, i honestly don't get the hate. irresistible hook and you don't feel like you have to accept the image of the lead singer looking like a fucktard with his haircut if you submit to it, like you do w/ smashmouth or sugar ray. i don't mind 'walking on the sun' or 'fly' though, probably the only tolerable songs those two bands ever did.

i lold at marcy playground = pavement, uhh no. it's definitely a rip-off though and the band it tries to rip off is named nirvana, when they were 'unplugged' if you will.

"Someday" >>>>> "Fly"

The laziness of "Sex And Candy" is what sounds like Pavement to me.. and the clean guitar sound.. and the near-monotone vocals in the verses. I don't hear Nirvana.

you know what 'push' is pretty good, might have voted for that...

i feel like there was a thing w/ pleasant-sounding but borderline-misogynist songs like 'push' and 'sex and candy' and that excruciating dave matthews single in the late 90s, or was it just those songs? can't really think of any other examples. i just remember being creeped out by the dmb song and thinking it was really weird that matchbox twenty were singing about pushing someone around (and they will, and they will). and then taking them for granted. wtf? maybe it was about something else, or a parody, idk. rob thomas seemed above that sort of thing, you know?

man i'll be sure to send this thread to the next friend of mine who's like OMG THE 90s WERE AWESOME

"tubthumping" vs. MMB out of a really, really dismal list

id probably listen to most of these if they came on the radio :/

re: rob thomas, then again

http://www.exposay.com/celebrity-photos/rob-thomas-2006-clive-davis-pre-grammy-awards-party-sgtK3N.jpg

actually "discotheque" isn't terrible i suppose. i even bought the album because of that song!

I never thought I'd defend Matchbox 20 but I thought it was obvious that the protagonist of "Push" wasn't meant to be likeable (any more than e.g. the protagonist of "Every Breath You Take"). The most sympathetic view might be that he's at least recognizing his faults.

1998 definitely much more adult-oriented...maybe should save further discussion for the inevitable thrad.

As I've attempted to argue before to no avail (Marcy Playground: Classic or dud?), Marcy Playground have much, much better songs than "Sex and Candy."

"Number One Crush" was riding the Romeo & Juliet soundtrack, right? I dunno, all of the Version 2.00-era singles had the feeling of being the third or fourth single sort of pushed out to ride the momentum of some previous super smash that turns out not to actually be on the album.

and you don't feel like you have to accept the image of the lead singer looking like a fucktard with his haircut if you submit to it, like you do w/ smashmouth or sugar ray

Curious how this works - are you saying TEB guy doesn't produce this effect, or just that he doesn't look like a fucktard?

(But do they actually pronounce "around" like "ay-round" in Florida?)

I much prefer Version 2.0 (in my college paper I called it "The Parallel Lines nineties, lol) to the debut!

*of the nineties

I definitely knew people who loved the record - I'm just going on the singles - would rate "Stupid Girl" over "Think I'm Paranoid," "Queer" over "Push It," and "Only Happy When It Rains" over "Special" easy.

Actually, I can't even remember "Push It" - it keeps turning into the Salt-n-Pepa song when I try.

Garbage - classic or dud

xxxxxpost ha, that was poorly phrased. i mean i don't see the lead singer as he appears in the music video when i hear the song. 3eb seemed pretty faceless otoh. more than that, smash mouth and sugar ray had a lot of bad associations for me at the time.. it just sounded like music for dumb gel-haired blowhards. i never had the same "sounds-like-music-for______" reaction to semi-charmed life somehow, it was catchy and there weren't any extra-musical associations that set off my gag reflex.

ppl voting 3eB or "push," y'all are crrrazy. ppl voting bosstones, y'all are slightly crazier.

ppl voting bosstones, y'all are slightly crazier.

for real

#1 Crush is my favorite song by Garbage of all time! But it cld be bcz it came out while I was starting to get my first 'wow I am hitting puberty and suddenly having the sexy feelings' which of course were tailed by 'omg those feelings are bad and evil.' AND that song sounds sexy BUT also detached & creepy like crushes were for me at the time.

'Impression that I Get' makes me wish I was listening to 'La Vida Loca.' The only other thing that makes me have this wish is Taco Bell's 'chalupa,' because when I worked there they were introduced to the employees with a training video featuring Ricky Martin singing about how we should be 'living chalupa loca.'

top 5:
The Impression That I Get
Semi-Charmed Life
Discotheque
Lakini's Juice
Everything To Everyone

bottom 5:
Sex And Candy
Tubthumping
The Freshmen
Push
Walkin' On The Sun

uh...what?

I like Lakini;s Juice a lot, even have some love for Sex & Candy...but this is pretty much a Chumbawumba vs. Smash Mouth poll all the way...

those U2 songs are fucking horrible...worst singles of their career?

not objectively or anything, just imo

also fwiw the worst list is most bad to least bad, so i hate "sex and candy" the most

yeah well that song (Sex and Candy) is like the Empire Records of alternapop...total crap but not as easy to hate as you would think

"The Impression that I get" is a very unfortunate #1 single, in that it has somewhat dissociated them in my mind from their finest moment ie appearing in Clueless...

them = bosstones of course...

good lord, some options here. never thought I'd vote U2 in a poll.

geez, they aren't that bad. i wonder how much this is a function of everything 10-15 years old sounding terrible no matter when it is.

Correct.. these songs are stupid, but they're not THAT bad. Except "Lakini's Juice."

I remember hearing all of these on the radio except the U2 ones and the Live one.

Tubthumping is pretty classic and I would probably enjoy hearing it the most now, and Fly is definitely the one song that would transport me back to 1997.

Is there any online source for "Modern Rock" chart placement besides #1's? I remember there was some book a few years ago that had all of these listed. .. I'm kind of interested in seeing what went to #2 in 1997.

Okay I found it.. yeah these songs are just as mediocre..

I think a big part of the problem with 1997 compared to previous years was that labels were trying too hard to push for alt-rock/top 40 crossovers.. whereas previously it happened more effortlessly without having to try so much.

Also: labels slowly stopped making cassette singles, which explained Top Ten album placings for Chumbawumba and Smash Mouth.

dire
almost as bad as those pants
tell me those pants won't come back in style in another 5 years.

thank god limp bizkit came along to sweep the corners free of this bullshit

Mighty Mighty Bosstones - "The Impression That I Get"

just a fun song

semi-charmed life is a bad song btw

― loaded forbear (gabbneb), Sunday, May 3, 2009 1:42 PM (9 hours ago)

no.

3eb's first album is a stone cold classic and while they've given...diminishing returns since, i fully support their existence. iirc they have an album coming out this year that i'm sure i will love for at least a week

"Semi-Charmed Life" is prolly in my top 10 90s songs. I didn't really like it at the time.

Hate "Semi-Charmed," but I'd still rep hard for "Graduate."

'98 was much worse imo:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Number_one_modern_rock_hits_of_1998

disagree. hole and goo goo dolls pwn these chumps.

In 1998, the greatness of "Iris" and "Slide" is almost completely diminished by fucking "One Week" (aka THE WORST SONG EVER RECORDED).

those fuckin' guys

First time I heard "One Headlight," I thought it was a new Pink Floyd song.

"Semi-Charmed Life" was meant as a response to Lou Reed's "Walk on the Wild Side," so I choose that.

What, like "And the colored girls go.. DOO DOO DOO! DOO DOO DOOOOO DOO!"?

I think people are initially drawn to that song because of the sound of it. And then they come to realize that there's a deeper meaning to the story. But I don't think it's really like they identify with it because not that many people have had any dealings with speed addicts. And I hope that you don't, because they're really fucking lame. I think it's a song about always wanting something. It's about never being satisfied, and reaching backwards to things that you've lost and towards things that you can never get. I think everybody has some identification with that. The story line between the people, the demise of this relationship, is just an extreme example of that condition. I think that's what makes people really relate to 'Semi-Charmed Life.' Also we ripped off Lou Reed--(singing) doot doot doot doot doot... "
- Brad Hargreaves

Man, like every Third Eye Blind song has its own wikipedia page with rambling quotes from the band explaining the origins of the songs.

There's a line in the song that says, 'Everyone's got to face down the demons/Maybe today we can put the past away.' It's very much a song about putting the past away.

"People don't know -- they think it's about getting out of high school or something. No, 'My punk ass off the street/ Someone poked you down below.' It's basically because being a male prostitute is a metaphor for how we've all felt like when we're doing something that's way below our station in life.

It deals with a question that we ask ourselves whenever a relationship ends: What does that mean? What it means is that you are no longer intimate, and the transition from friends to acquaintances is a brutal one. Because it reminds us, I think, of all the things ending. 'How's it gonna be/When you don't know me?' There's not an answer to that question.

Apparently dude was an English major and valedictorian of Cal '87, so we should not be surprised by the subtle explication.

While apparently getting over dyslexia and having Attention Deficit Disorder, Jenkins is quite impressive.

also pulls chicks like crazy

thinking more and more about this, #1 crush is the only one of these songs i would put in the miscellaneous section of my ipod today. even 13 y.o. me hated on a lot of these songs (tho would have repped for tubthumping or lakini's juice).

I saw my first show in 1997 and it was the MMB so I have to vote "The Impression That I Get". The other songs make me want to hurt someone.

#1 Crush is my favorite song by Garbage of all time! But it cld be bcz it came out while I was starting to get my first 'wow I am hitting puberty and suddenly having the sexy feelings' which of course were tailed by 'omg those feelings are bad and evil.' AND that song sounds sexy BUT also detached & creepy like crushes were for me at the time.

― fillibustar superstar! (Abbott), Sunday, May 3, 2009 10:32 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

Abbott said everything I feel about this song! I voted for it.

Garbage - #1 Crush
U2 - "Discothèque"
Live - "Lakini's Juice"
U2 - "Staring At The Sun"
Mighty Mighty Bosstones - "The Impression That I Get"
Sugar Ray - "Fly"
Smashmouth - "Walkin' on the Sun"
Chumbawamba - "Tubthumping"

I have fond memories of all of these songs. The only one I ever play now is "Lakini's Juice".

for reference and context purposes, the rest of the top 5's looked like this...

#2 modern rock hits of 1997
Smashing Pumpkins "Thirty Three"

#3 modern rock hits of 1997
Foo Fighters "Everlong"
Tonic "If You Could Only See"
Sublime "Santeria"
Sublime "Wrong Way"
Live "Turn My Head"
Matchbox 20 "3 AM"
Sarah Maclachlan "Building A Mystery"
Bush "Greedy Fly"

#4 modern rock hits of 1997
Fiona Apple "Criminal"
311 "All Mixed Up"
Silverchair "Abuse Me"
The Offspring "Gone Away"
Oasis "D'Ya Know What I Mean"
Depeche Mode "It's No Good"
Meredith Brooks "Bitch"
Smashing Pumpkins "The End Is The Beginning Is The End"

#5 modern rock hits of 1997
Green Day "Hitchin' A Ride"
The Wallflowers "The Difference"
K's Choice "Not An Addict"
Counting Crows "A Long December"
Bush "Mouth"
Oasis "Don't Go Away"
White Town "Your Woman"

there might be a couple missing, but thats most of 'em

I genuinely like about half of those songs.

K's Choice "Not An Addict"

I will forever rep for this song, no matter what.

Smashing Pumpkins "Thirty Three"
Foo Fighters "Everlong"
Sublime "Santeria"
Sublime "Wrong Way"
Bush "Greedy Fly"
Fiona Apple "Criminal"
311 "All Mixed Up"
Silverchair "Abuse Me"
Oasis "D'Ya Know What I Mean"
Smashing Pumpkins "The End Is The Beginning Is The End"
Green Day "Hitchin' A Ride"
K's Choice "Not An Addict"
Counting Crows "A Long December"
White Town "Your Woman"

^^^ no beef whatsoever with any of these

K's Choice "Not An Addict"

I will forever rep for this song, no matter what.

― the freakish wonder of nature that is "Beat Me" (HI DERE), Monday, May 4, 2009 2:53 PM (4 minutes ago) Bookmark

otm. 14-year-old me almost bought that cd like 53 times.

weird that everlong only made #3. greedy fly is also a sickkk jam.

this thread is too much ('96-97 was when I really started paying attention music, particularly modern rock). So right now I'll just third what Abbot said about "#1 Crush".

yeah my qualification to speak in this thread is that i listened to modern rock radio for like 2 hours/day from 95-98.

I kinda think it's weird that "Santeria" only made #3 since I'm pretty sure it's in the alltime top 5 most spins in the history of modern rock radio.

I don't think it's all that weird, considering how quickly that song goes from "pleasant head-nod jam" to "FOR FUCK'S SAKE STOP NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO AAAAAAAARGH"

radio dudes clearly didn't think so. god if i never hear that song again i will die a little bit happier.

Smashing Pumpkins sure were unstoppable then, weren't they?

thanks for that list billstevejim!

what a shit heap.

― proxymuzak (Whiney G. Weingarten), Sunday, May 3, 2009 3:33 AM (Yesterday) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

a nightmare i never want to relive

― proxymuzak (Whiney G. Weingarten), Sunday, May 3, 2009 3:36 AM (Yesterday) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

can't wait until we do 95, 96 and 98

Smashing Pumpkins sure were unstoppable then, weren't they?

Yeah, and that's not counting their other soundtrack hit ("Eye" off of Lost Highway). People were genuinely shocked Adore flopped like it did in '98.

Considering that I was all about Portishead, The Orb, Orbital, Daft Punk, Fluke, The Chemical Brothers, Fatboy Slim, selected Underworld and The Prodigy during this time, this list of songs seems incomplete to me.

thanks for the info, bsj!

for further shits and giggles, these are the top 20 recurrent Modern Rock spins last year for 96/97 (i.e. hits from those years that still get played a ton on rock stations):

Sublime "Santeria"
Sublime "What I Got"
Blur "Song 2"
Sublime "Wrong Way"
311 "Down"
Marcy Playground "Sex And Candy"
Butthole Surfers "Pepper"
Green Day "Time Of Your Life (Good Riddance)"
Sublime "Doin' Time"
Offspring "Gone Away"
Foo Fighters "Everlong"
Rage Against The Machine "Bulls On Parade"
Foo Fighters "My Hero"
Blink 182 "Dammit"
Beck "Where It's At"
The Verve "Bittersweet Symphony"
Days Of The New "Touch, Peel & Stand"
Stone Temple Pilots "Trippin' On A Hole In A Paper Heart"
311 "Beautiful Disaster"
Sublime "Carress Me Down"

those 2 years are probably the most under-represented of the whole 90s as far as MR recurrents, though, which is probably representative of the format's whole identity crisis in that era.

Even though adore isn't a flop by today's standards.

(x-posts)

This is doing a good job of reminding me of how much I grew to hate Sublime.

btw those top 3 (the first two Sublimes and Blur) are the 3 most played 90s recurrents, ahead of "Smells Like Teen Spirit"

those 2 years are probably the most under-represented of the whole 90s as far as MR recurrents, though, which is probably representative of the format's whole identity crisis in that era.

^^^ yes, and, arguably, on the pop chart too. Grunge was starting to wane. The line between AOR and college radio practically vanished. Very few Britpop singles crossed over. The boy bands hadn't yet established a beachhead. It was all a lull until the huge album boom of '98 and '99.

totally

the enduring world-enveloping hugeness of Sublime aside

Sublime "Santeria"
Sublime "What I Got"
Sublime "Doin' Time"
Sublime "Wrong Way"
Sublime "Carress Me Down"

i like how each one of these songs is hateable for completely different reasons.

Sublime were kinda cool when they were a "new" thing, but the beer/stoner/football/frat crowd kinda ruined it.. just as they ruined Bob Marley and Pink Floyd (they didn't really need to stretch far to ruin Tupac or Dave Matthews, but they just made me hate those artists more..)

No matter what I will always love Sublime's cover of "Hope" by The Descendents off their 1st alb.

Sublime "Santeria"
Sublime "What I Got"
Sublime "Doin' Time"
Sublime "Wrong Way"
Sublime "Carress Me Down"

Every one of these songs is playing on a jukebox right now.

fyi "Smoke Two Joints" and "Bad Fish" have higher play counts than "Carress Me Down" (songs that have lower play counts but are still way up there are "Date Rape" and "April 29, 1992")

Days Of The New "Touch, Peel & Stand"

probably the only thing yet on the thread that i can muster not one iota of nostalgia for, god this was a drag

I have never heard of Sublime before, I looked up Santeria on youtube and really really like it though.

That lasts for about a week.

"Santeria" is their best single, IMO, although there's something deliciously '90s about "Wrong Way" (trombone solo!).

"Santeria" is nice if you take it just as pretty driving music, only gets shitty if you pay attention to the dicey narrative or invest yourself in the myth of Sublime Guy as this poet of our generation or whatever, a Cobain for people born three years too late.

it would be one thing if either of those songs had lyrics that did not drag them deep, deep into the retarded zone.

And I won't think twice to stick that barrel
straight down Sancho's throat
Believe me when I say that I
got! somethin! for his punk ass

^^^ will admit to having thought this sounded cool as hell at age 15

U2 - "Staring At The Sun"

Still great, voted for this.

I knew this would happen, that 12 years later, I'd be listening to people arguing about the merits of "Semi-Charmed Life" on the interent.

I think the basic problem with the song is the phrase "semi-charmed life," which is so wordy and arch and 90s as to really alienate me from the song. I mean, who says shit like "semi-charmed"?

sry to be glib, but the basic problem with the song is that it blows

i think the fake rap bothers me the most

and the good-BYYYYYEE they stole from Dino Jr's "Start Choppin"

Yeah, but, I mean, I ordinarily would be able to get on board with a good doot-doo-doo chorus, y'know?

i think the fake rap bothers me the most

Are you talking about the verses or did I block a particularly horrid part of that song from my memory?

that's the thing tho--it forces "catchiness" down your throat to compensate for its mundane composition, bad lyrics, and all-time bad vocal performance.

all-time bad vocal performance

"Semi-Charmed Life" vs "Jumper"

Verses, no?

I'm packed and I'm holding,
I'm smiling, she's living, she's golden and
she lives for me, She says she lives for me,
Ovation, She's got her own motivation,
she comes round and she goes down on me,
And I make her smile, It's like a drug for you,
Do ever what you want to do,
Coming over you,
Keep on smiling,
what we go through.
One stop to the rhythm that divides you,
And I speak to you like the chorus to the verse,
Chop another line like a coda with a curse,
And I come on like a freak show takes the stage.
We give them the games we play, she said,
I want something else, to get me through this,
Semi-charmed kind of life,
I want something else,
I'm not listening when you say, Good-bye.

The sky it was gold, it was rose,
I was taking sips of it through my nose,
And I wish I could get back there,
Some place back there,
Smiling in the pictures you would take,
Doing crystal myth,
Will lift you up until you break,
It won't stop,
I won't come down, I keep stock,
With a tick tock rhythm and a bump for the drop,
And then I bumped up. I took the hit I was given,
Then I bumped again,
And then I bumped again.
How do I get back there to,
The place where I fell asleep inside you?
How do I get myself back to,
The place where you said,
I want something else to get me through this,
semi-charmed kind of life,
I want something else,
I'm not listening when you say, good-bye,

I believe in the sand beneath my toes,
The beach gives a feeling,
An earthy feeling,
I believe in the faith that grows,
And the four right chords can make me cry,
When I'm with you I feel like I could die.
And that would be all right,
All right, When the plane came in,
She said she was crashing,
The velvet it rips,
In the city we tripped,
On the urge to feel alive,
But now I'm struggling to survive,
The days you were wearing,
That velvet dress,
You're the priestess,
must confess,
Those little red panties,
They pass the test,
Slide up around the belly,
Face down on the mattress,
One,
Now you hold me,
And we're broken.
Still it's all that I want to do.
Feel myself with a head made of the ground,
I'm scared but I'm not coming down.
And I won't run for my life,
She's got her jaws just locked now in smile
but nothing is all right,
All right, I want something else,
To get me through this,
Semi-charmed kind of life,
I want something else,
I'm not listening when you say,
good-bye.

haha after reading Sublime lyrics, that comes across like Chaucer

you fucking guys

haha after reading Sublime lyrics, that comes across like Chaucer

Bahahahaha

has someone done a "worst line of Semi-Charmed Life" poll? Because man that is full of some duds.

And I speak to you like the chorus to the verse,
Chop another line like a coda with a curse,
And I come on like a freak show takes the stage.
We give them the games we play, she said...

And thanks to Wikipedia, we know these lyrics evolved over time - it's not like he's just ad-libbing this shit! Dude wrote this stuff down!

ts: sublime vs third eye blind

3EB every single fucking time, without hesitation

Chop another line like a coda with a curse

hell, I can imagine Becker-Fagen coming up with this.

I mean, "Jumper" is one of the worst songs ever written and it's still better than "Wrong Way" and "Santeria".

CAN I GRADUATE?

I will admit that Youtube is helping me hate "Never Let You Go" with a fiery passion.

Yeah, that sucked from day one. I liked "Jumper" and "Graduate" though.

Also maybe "Losing A Whole Year," or just the way he says "whole" as "wole."

Ha, I still like "Never Let You Go".

(Thought you agreed with me on that back in the day, Dan?)

I did, which is why my Youtube trolling for the video that only turned up incredibly tooly live performances made me sad. ;_;

"How's It Gonna Be," chaps.

"Never Let You Go"'s guitar hook deserves sampling.

What it means is that you are no longer intimate, and the transition from friends to acquaintances is a brutal one. Because it reminds us, I think, of all the things ending. 'How's it gonna be/When you don't know me?' There's not an answer to that question.

that doesn't top the Verve Pipe guy's explanation of "the Freshman" but it comes close

the explanation of the freshmen is possibly the only thing worse than the freshmen and that's sayin' something.

what does The Freshman mean???

Challops ahead, but Laniki's Juice sounds not dissimilar to the Toadies' 'Possum Kingdom' and I wld choose to listen to the latter every time. (I rly rly hate Live, FWIW.)

In 2001, Brian Vander Ark explained what the song means to him on Verve Pipe's bulletin boards:

"When I was young I knew everything" - We all think we know everything at a young age. I thought I did. I realize I didn't know sh*t until I was 36.

"And she, a Punk who rarely took advice" - How many people do we know like that?

"Now I'm guilt-stricken, sobbing, with my head on the floor" - Something happened that caused this reaction, but I wouldn't want to give that away this early in the song, so let's throw in an some ambiguity:

"Stop a baby's breath, and a shoe full of rice, no" - First of all, forget the NO. Stop a baby's breath is just that. Abort the baby. A shoe full of rice is a result of a wedding. So - stop a baby's breath AND then you stop a wedding. She's pregnant, get her to abort, and then there's no wedding. And you know what?

"I can't be held responsible, cause she was touching her face" - When I wrote this song, The Divinyls had a song out called 'I Touch Myself.' The TV was on, she was touching her face in the video. Very sexy. So, I can't be held responsible because she was trying to be sexy, trying to seduce me, etc.

"I won't be held responsible, she fell in love in the first place" - I didn't tell her to fall in love.

"For the life of me, I cannot remember what made us think that we were wise, and we'd never compromise" - What was I thinking back then? Who am I to put a girl though that? Why was I unable to compromise? Guilty feelings.

"For the life of me, I cannot believe we'd ever die for these sins, we were merely freshmen" - We were just kids, let it go, we all make mistakes, etc.

"My best friend took a week's vacation to forget her" - He needed to get away because of what happened.

"His girl took a week's worth of Valium and slept" - This is why this song is not that strong literally - it's confusing. HIS girl is MY girl. the same girl that had the abortion has now killed herself.

"Now he's guilt-stricken, sobbing with his head on the floor, thinks about her now and how he never really wept he says" - He has the same guilty feelings that I do about the abortion and death.

"We tried to wash our hands of all of this, we never talk of our lacking relationships" - We rarely spoke after the incident - we just tried to forget it. We never spoke of her or the fact that we can't have a decent relationship with anyone since then.

"We fell through the ice when we tried not to slip" - No matter how careful you might be, there are other perils out there.

The girl is real, the abortion is real. the death is not. it's poetic license to make the story more interesting.

lolz doing crystal myth

I CANNOT BELIEVE WE EVER GOT
FORTY CENTS

we were only FRESH-men

I think the basic problem with the song is the phrase "semi-charmed life," which is so wordy and arch and 90s as to really alienate me from the song. I mean, who says shit like "semi-charmed"?

^this. if you've got more of a problem with smash mouth's or mr. bosstone's fratrock voices/hair (what?) than with a song that refers to a "semi-charmed kind of life," there's something wrong with you

should have sung about blended haircuts

oh jesus. xxpost to "freshman" explanation. true story: my freshman year roommate played that song ON OUR FIRST DAY OF COLLEGE. i took a week's worth of valium and slept.

awww i see the "jumper" and "graduate" trump cards were played during my drive home.

It got played to death, but I really liked The Animals vibe that Walkin' on the Sun had.

like the vibe of animals scratching your face off and pissing in your ears?

^this. if you've got more of a problem with smash mouth's or mr. bosstone's fratrock voices/hair (what?) than with a song that refers to a "semi-charmed kind of life," there's something wrong with you

man you are just ~looking~ for shit to hate

hey by request:

ITS TIME

this has to be one of the easiest polls i've ever seen on ILM. semi-charmed life is UNDENIABLE, how are people denying it?

the single solitary bad thing about it is that it's a clear ancestor, spiritually speaking, of "absolutely (story of a girl)".

also, Push may possibly be the finest matchbox 20 single. i mean, top 3 at least. it actually feels beautiful in its proper context, like if i'm at the mall buying socks and it comes on over the sound system. and i'm not about to actually listen to it right now, but i definitely read once that it's not abusive on Rob Thomas' part because he's actually the victim of all the pushing.

this vocal performance gives a feeling, an earthy feeling

also lol 1:35-137

Going with "Walking on the Sun" if only for that organ hook (which was originally someone else's, right? Perez Prado or somebody?)

Perrey and Kingsley's "Swan's Splashdown", but I don't know if the organ-style groove is a moogy recreation of something else. Being P&K, it may well be. The track as a whole is a swinging quacking reinvention of Swan Lake, don't know if the non-Swan bits are borrowed too.

Anyway, can summon some vague pleasant nostalgia for Smashmouth or Bosstones. I would be very happy never to hear Tubthumping ever again. Can't believe how many people (Americans? was it slightly less ubiquitous or more kitschily foreign to non-Britishers?) are repping for it here.

i definitely read once that it's not abusive on Rob Thomas' part because he's actually the victim of all the pushing.

phew, that was close.

i hated "Semi-Charmed Life" that whole summer it was out, but i think it started to grow on me later once i started to hear more stations play the whole album version (which is a good 30-50 seconds longer than the radio and video edits). i think the longer rambling last verse gives it more of a epic "Born To Run" vibe.

re: Matchbox 20, I didn't start liking them until "Disease" and "Unwell" came out and Rob Thomas started singing in a gentler, less aggressively tooly way.

Can't believe how many people (Americans? was it slightly less ubiquitous or more kitschily foreign to non-Britishers?) are repping for it here.

there's a contingent of Americans who go gaga for fairly normal dancey guitar-pop about the working class, maaaan (and beer) by hyper-britishes

never mind that the vast majority of the masses who pushed the tune up the charts had no idea what it's 'about'

when the revolution comes, it will be smash mouth in the lead XD

there's a contingent of Americans who go gaga for fairly normal dancey guitar-pop about the working class, maaaan (and beer) by hyper-britishes

actually, "tubthumping" didn't sound anything like the other stuff on modern rock radio at the time--it had 3 totally different vocal parts and really grabbed yr attention. then the chorus got stuck in your head and it was pretty much end of story from there.

i'm not talking about the other stuff on modern rock radio at the time

u were trying to explain why americans were repping for it and u were wrong

tubthumping may be dancey but it sure ain't guitar pop

it's not REM, but it's pop with guitars

I really miss those pants.

re "Tubthumping" this song is almost good but it's kinda ruined in the parts where the androgynous chick sings.. didn't like it when i first heard it, but a friend convinced me that the british accent "rapping" part was cool

"Sarah Nutter"

I voted for the Bosstones, but I do have to rep for Smashmouth since every memory I have of 1997 begins with a flashback of driving down Kavanaugh with that organ intro playing.

I don't think I've ever heard "Lakini's Juice" by Live. What's it like.

haha, ok, i have a vague recollection of that video. man, that band started out bad and just kept getting worse. impressive.

Can someone hum a few bars of "Lakini's Juice"?

― roxymuzak, Tuesday, April 1, 2008 7:46 PM Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

Bra DANNG da dik
Bra DANNG da dik
Bra DANNG da dik
ba DUND do DEWW,

(repeat for a while, then get slow n spooky in prep for the chorus:)

doo, doo do doodle oodle doo, doooooo dooooooooooooo

LET ME RIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIDE
BURN MY EYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYES

(etc)

― Doctor Casino, Tuesday, April 1, 2008 9:14 PM Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

OMG

― roxymuzak, Tuesday, April 1, 2008 9:14 PM Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

Yes. I do know this song.

― roxymuzak, Tuesday, April 1, 2008 9:14 PM Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

^^^ really my finest hour

Tubthumping - was totally a novelty/oddball hit! Didn't sound like anything else, that was definitely part of it, obviously fun to sing along to (for a while) and when you get bored of shouting "I GET KNOCKED DOWN!" there's the faster "lager drink" part and the slower "Danny Boy" part - there's just a lot going on. But it's definitely "this is so kooky!", not working class anything. The funny band name, song name (who knows wtf 'tubthumping' is?) and album cover are part of this.

xp lol you need to start a thread where you write out guitar riffs and we try to guess them.

^^ omg yes

xxp:

plus "pissing"!

This would be an easy poll if "Thank U" or "Flagpole Sitta" had made it to #1.

or if either were released in 1997 ?

Oh, wait.

or would it?

Harvey Danger vs. Marcy Playground

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

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

I think I forgot to vote, but it would have been for "Fly" in the end.

Whoa, the Chumba's won a poll?

says a lot about 97. happy w/the strong showing for #1 crush.

terrible

semi charmed life SO robbed

it's an okay tune

I was totally rocking those JNCOs in 1997 but thankfully wasn't listening to any of these songs. OK, maybe the MMB one.

I saw my first show in 1997 and it was the MMB so I have to vote "The Impression That I Get". The other songs make me want to hurt someone.

― ENBB, Monday, May 4, 2009 10:09 AM (2 weeks ago) Bookmark

Ha! At least I'm consistent. I lied in the previous post because that show was in 1995 at Ithaca college. Omar - you might have been there!

at a bosstones show?! why i oughta

however i was in ithaca

I know! It was probably free for you too so I figured there was a sm chance. *shrugs*

the biggest musical act i ever saw in ithaca was merl saunders. i may have seen rusted root but i honestly don't remember if i did.

Oh God I never saw them but that one Rusted Root song the one that goes, "send me on my way . . . " reminds me of my freshman year because you couldn't step foot in a bar without hearing that at least twice.

lets' be clear: there are no winners here

right, considerig "semi-charmed life" didn't win

a hollow victory

Matchbox 20 - "Push" 1
Everclear - "Everything To Everyone" 0

Daaaaaaaaang

probably my favorite Everclear single, shame neither i nor anyone else bothered to vote for it

I like the 0-vote-getting Everclear song wayyyy better than everything on this list except Sugar Ray and TEB.

xp lol you need to start a thread where you write out guitar riffs and we try to guess them.

I started a "Name That Riff" thread once, and it didn't get far!...("School's Out" was the riff in question)...

name that riff

What in the fuck is with you people and that Third Eye Blind song? That was the first instance for me that new music was crap and I was an old man.

I was 23 that summer, btw.

What in the fuck is with you people and that Third Eye Blind song?

Should be new board title imo

i don't worship the 3EB song, but it's definitely the lesser evil of most of the other options here

i would be pretty goddamn happy if i never heard that song again

Yeah, I have pretty much always hated that song.

I'm so glad I voted for "Tubthumping."

I refuse to join the 3EB backlash backlash backlash

great song

I said upthread that I don't mind the 3EB song. I just liked "Tubthumping" better.

Sugar Ray - "Fly" 3

ILM, you disappoint me and Super Cat.

classic duh, not as good as 3eb imo

i heard "fly" yesterday on the way to getting pizza and was like SUMMMMMMMMMMER

if you've got more of a problem with smash mouth's or mr. bosstone's fratrock voices/hair (what?) than with a song that refers to a "semi-charmed kind of life," there's something wrong with you

― loaded forbear (gabbneb), Monday, May 4, 2009 6:51 PM Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

should have sung about blended haircuts

― congratulations (n/a), Monday, May 4, 2009 6:52 PM Bookmark

^^^ in a thread full of lols somehow this is the lolliest for me.

i hated "Semi-Charmed Life" that whole summer it was out, but i think it started to grow on me later once i started to hear more stations play the whole album version (which is a good 30-50 seconds longer than the radio and video edits). i think the longer rambling last verse gives it more of a epic "Born To Run" vibe.

― cumlord millionaire (some dude), Tuesday, May 5, 2009 1:51 PM (1 year ago) Bookmark

This is OTM, I did it at karaoke tonight and it was missing the whole dramatic freakout middle chunk and boy was it flimsy without it.

two things about this poll

my mind was sorta blown my freshman year when one of my good friends was into chumbawumba albums -- seriously had no idea that anyone in america remembered them let alone were jamming their albums on some deep cut shit

also knew a dude here with a 'live' tattoo -- i don't remember the band's songs & i refuse to listen to a song called "lakini's juice"

i'm still incredulous over third eye blind losing this

okay this song is terrible

i don't think i've heard the freakout version and how the hell did "fly" only get 3 votes?

Sugar Ray - "Fly" 3
The Verve Pipe - "The Freshmen" 3

srsly???

I am curious who voted for matchbox 20

i'm surprised "discotheque" isn't up there with more votes. though i can understand the appeal of "tubthumping" as long as we're talking very limited doses.

Sugar Ray - "Fly" 3
The Verve Pipe - "The Freshmen" 3

srsly???

― The Reverend, Wednesday, September 15, 2010 2:31 AM (6 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

Chumbawumba are like the Mekons or something aren't they?

i love that thing at the beginning of the album version of "tubthumping" (which is my fav of these tracks JUST BTW) with the whole "i thought it mattered. i thought that MUSIC mattered. but does it? bollocks. not compared to how people matter." it's like they knew how completely and gloriously they were selling out w/ that record.

lol i like "semi-charmed life" too, esp. since i saw it on like, land before time commercials and shit.

so sad I missed this one.

Great thread. Some dude's "Born to Run" comparison basically defines "Semi-Charmed Life" for me now, I have cited it several times in an attempt to get people to appreciate the song.

can't believe my old thread started the shitheap of the ilx front page this month

WE LEARNED IT FROM YOU, OKAY??????? WE LEARNED IT FROM WATCHING YOU!

u_u

What are you even talking about? Those threads are awesome even if they're completely full of shit.

Thanks for the inspiration! I loves me some modern rock trivia.

Sugar Ray - "Fly" 3
The Verve Pipe - "The Freshmen" 3

srsly???

― The Reverend, Wednesday, September 15, 2010 2:31 AM (6 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

― J0rdan S., Wednesday, September 15, 2010 12:39 AM Bookmark

wtf is a verve pipe

oh come on

there's no way anyone was every lucky enough not to hear "The Freshmen".

no I mean literally what is a verve pipe

Ugh, "The Freshmen" seemed to be ubiquitous for years. It's biggest crime, though, was obscuring the fact that the Verve Pipe had actually put out a pretty decent single beforehand ("Photograph").

we should poll Bands Produced by Jerry Harrison.

xp - lol, oh. I have no clue.

xxxpost

Something you might use to bludgeon Richard Ashcroft to death?

I think it is a pipe... with verve

is it some sort of stupid phallic/sexual slang like Pearl Jam

wait

what?

omg, me too!

In an early promotional interview, Vedder said that the name "Pearl Jam" was a reference to his great-grandmother Pearl, who was married to a Native American and had a special recipe for peyote-laced jam.[18] In a 2006 Rolling Stone cover story however, Vedder admitted that this story was "total bullshit", even though he indeed had a great-grandma named Pearl. Ament and McCready explained that Ament came up with "pearl", and that the band later settled on "Pearl Jam" after attending a concert by Neil Young, in which he extended his songs as improvisations of 15–20 minutes in length,[2] a practice known as jamming.

^^^lies

the only way that story could be better is if a band called Mookie Blaylock sold 10 million albums

have you heard of this Neil Young and this "jamming" that he does lol

xp

I ranked these things, the best modern rock year since 1993.

The summer "Fly" was big I worked the counter at a burger kiosk in a theme park, that fucking song played three times an hour. The only songs that come close to my hatred are Sixpence None The Richer's two hits, which each played more than once an hour on the Safeway store radio when I worked there. Not so bad during normal shifts but twice a month I worked overnight on Friday alone. Just me and Christian pop-rock.

I haven't actually heard "Fly" in 20 years but I'm pretty sure I could karaoke it without lyrics with no trouble.

My roommate from 1997 played bass in a cover band that had "Push" in its repertoire (as well as Better Than Ezra's "Good"). I'd almost put that Wallflowers in the same bland-rock genre with the other two, but I've always loved that song more than I could explain.

Also, I forgot that Smash Mouth ever had another song on the radio. In hindsight, I always used to get "Walking on the Sun" mixed up with Space's "Female of the Species".

remember that smash mouth song "then the morning comes"? basically a rewrite of "walkin' on the sun"

it was also the first big smash mouth hit that was mostly ignored by alternative radio

This was the summer when I started commuting from Ann Arbor to Detroit every day and 2/3 of these songs made up the entire playlist of 89X out of Windsor, Ontario. Smashmouth and the Bosstones are probably the only ones I'd leave on if I heard them on the radio now.

it's so sad how so many alternative stations are basically 'hard' adult contemporary stations now

could have sworn that Shaggy was the guest on "Fly". some Mandala Effect shit going on there.

feel bad that Everclear was shut out here. I only had the two CDs by them but they were a pretty fun group. It's weird that they're fading into obscurity while Weezer continues to be massive. hell, Everclear even recorded an abominable covers album before they did - they even had the good sense to do "The Boys are Back in Town"

loved basically all this shit back in the day. 103.1 the Buzz

Walking on one Headlight.

I smell sex and candy, but I get up again, I'm not the only one. well I will. I would die for you, and we can drive it home like a birdie in the sky. I want something else, I think you like to be the victim. That's the impression that I get.

― james k polk, Sunday, May 3, 2009 3:05 AM (nine years ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

otm

some Mandala Effect shit going on there.

i'm having some mandela effect shit about the name of this effect

This was a pretty damn good year apart from "The Freshman", I still love many of these songs

i don't remember "the freshmen" but i'm sure if i put it on it will be instant recognition

still waiting for the "freshman" voters to explain themselves itt

i just checked and ah its that song. don't really think its thew orst thing on this list

"the freshmen" is a lot of fun to sing at karaoke but no room on earth will ever want to hear it

that reminds me that i did surprisingly well with m20's "long day" a few weeks ago, tho tbf the audience consisted of abt six people and we were all riding a shared late-90s-deep-radio-cut thing, it was great

i have no idea why #1 crush didn't roll this considering it's the only good song on the list