One Hit Wonders of the 90s (Part 40)

Hello, dear reader. I have a favour to ask you. The original post begins after all of the asterisks, if you want to skip this.

Now that the One Hit Wonders of the 90s series is over, I'm not going to be doing my weekly revisiting of all these posts (I had to do that to add the new post to the bottom). Thus, I won't be able to catch any broken picture links or deleted videos any more. Yet I want these posts to be as good as possible.

Please, if you happen upon one of these posts, or if you take a walk through a whole bunch of them, let me know if you find anything that doesn't work. You can leave a comment, or you can send me a message using that handy "Contact Me" page linked above.

Also, feel free to let me know what you think of the post or any of the videos!

Thank you.

**************************

Forty weeks.

A lot can happen in 40 weeks. Hell, a baby can be conceived *and* born in that time!

And in that time, I've conceived and birthed the monstrosity that is known as the one-hit wonders of the 90s list. Yes, my dear reader, you've been the witness to history. Not only have you seen me make somebody laugh (something that has never been done in the span of human existence...or, well, my existence, anyway), but you've also seen me complete a 40-week project without *any* gaps.

That's right, my plot to take over the world has had many starts and stops

but these posts have come out like clockwork.

We have now reached the end of the line. Week 40. The final edition of...

THE ONE HIT WONDERS OF THE 90S!!!!!!

We're gonna have a party!

But no silliness allowed!

Hey, that means you! Get out of here!

Stupid people who can't read the signs.

Now, I don't want you to overindulge or anything. Or I will take away your key...boards.

So why don't we put some music on? What would you like to hear? The greatest hits of William Hung? William Shatner does techno? The greatest dance classics of Luciano Povarotti?

Tough! You don't get to choose. This is my party. And I say we're going to listen to...

the final edition of the show! I'll bet you forgot that we're not done yet, didn't you?

As usual, you can find the list here. And, since this is the final edition, I really don't give a shit whether you go look or not.

Here we go!

1) Fastball: "Out of My Head" (#20)



My wife was a big fan of Fastball, so I heard a lot of their stuff early in our marriage. I had forgotten that this song was really their only hit. Actually, they had one other one ("The Way"), but Wikipedia says something like it was only on the Top 100 "Airplay" chart that they hit #4 (whatever the hell that means).

I really do like this song, and the video's pretty cool too. How can you go wrong with family memories?

Ok, maybe if you're the Manson family, but other than that?

Here's "The Way," which is my favourite Fastball song, and the one I would have thought would be their biggest hit (and it was, if you go by "airplay" charts, and maybe we just all should just for our own piece of mind?)



2) Lou Bega: "Mambo No. 5" (#3)


5Lou Bega - Mambo Number 5
Uploaded by djoik. - Explore more music videos.

Anybody who was listening to pop music at the time knows this song, as it was *everywhere*. Literally. I think I found it in my clothes hamper one night (I didn't bother to ask what it was doing there. I just picked it up on a piece of paper and threw it outside. You know, because I can't kill any of God's creatures. At least it's not as icky as a spider, anyway).

This is ultimately a silly song about *lots* of women, all who seem perfectly all right with being one of "the group" of Lou's ladies. Or at least he's paying them lots to smile at him and shake their booty for him.

And there is *lots* of booty in this video! I was having KC & the Sunshine Band flashbacks.

No, not from the music, you idiot!

Whoops. I didn't mean to call you that. Please, come back! It...it...it was the booze from the party that made me do it. It will never happen again.

As an aside, I've never wanted to be a trumpet so badly in my life. Whew!

I just love the music in this song. The words are pretty worthless and silly, but you can really dance to the music. In fact, this might be the theme song for our last episode party. I'll just try and make up my own words.

No, don't wait up.

3) Len: "Steal My Sunshine" (#9)



(Yay, Vevo!)

This song was *so* overplayed when it was popular that I quickly became tired of it. It really overstayed its welcome, like when Uncle Lou comes to live with you for a while because Aunt Helen threw his worthless ass out, and you keep running into him on his nightly naked jaunts to the toilet?

Ok, maybe not *that* bad (Uncle Lou is hard to beat), but you know what I mean.

That being said, I haven't heard the song in a while, and now that I've been removed from it for a while, it's actually not that bad. The beat is kind of infectious and the beach imagery in the video is pretty cool. I would suggest turning down the sound if you watch it more than once to get out of the Winter doldrums, though, as otherwise the song might just put you back into that mood.

4) Ideal: "Get Gone" (#13)



We can't leave the 90s without one of these musical groups!

Sorry buddy, but those earrings along with that jacket? It...uh...just doesn't work. Let's leave it at that. It looks like a cat exploded on it.

Maybe I shouldn't make fun. Maybe it did? That would actually be kind of traumatic, wouldn't it? Not to mention pissing the cat off.

Yeah, kind of like that.

It seems to be the formula, though. Get 2-4 great looking guys, come up with some really soulful songs, rinse, and repeat.

Sadly for some, the "repeat" part became the hurdle they couldn't get over.

Is there anything to set this song or this group apart from any of the others? I can't think of anything.

I guess Ideal followed its own advice after this song.

5) Clint Black & Lisa Hartman Black: "When I Said I Do" (#31)



It's another part of the Country invasion!!! These people are like cockroaches: you stamp out a couple of them, and then you find another one deeper in your house. This one went to #31! Away with you! Away!!!!

It's Country, so of course it's sappy as all hell. You know that you either get sappy love song or silly (sometimes both!). They also seem to love real-life married couples doing duets too.

Yeah, yeah. It's a beautiful song and all that. But once again, I have no idea why this song made the crossover but none of Black's others did.

A burble in the space-time continuum?

Maybe!!!

6) Kevin Edmonds: "24/7" (#10)



(Yay, Vevo!)

Wow, the end of the decade is bringing us an example of *everything* from the 90s!

Ok, this video did *not* need the Bonnie & Clyde motif. And the video's a total indictment of the police! I mean, really. Ten cars following them down a lonely desert road, and they lose him and his companion? Are they incompetent? On the take? Stupid?

That being said, Edmonds may be kind of hunky and everything, but he's no Bandit.

Wow, did I just make an "old folks" statement? "Everything was better in my day, Sonny! Eh? What's that? Let me turn up my hearing aid."

7) Mo Thugs Family: "Ghetto Cowboy" (#15)



How can we end the decade without a rap hit? At least it's kind of original (though all of the bad words are being bleeped out, so you really can't get any idea of what he's "singing" about).

Give them props for that.

The song still sucks, though.

8) Marc Nelson: "15 Minutes" (#27)



And we end the decade on a soulful note with a song that's blatantly sexual! For some reason, this song just does not match a sci-fi video motif. What was the director thinking?

And what is that woman wearing? Plastic boobs? Is that what we're doomed to see in the future?

Ok, I'm listening to the words to this song, and they're actually *very* bad. All I've got is 15 minutes. "No time to talk. Just come and bring me off." Um, excuse me??????

Yeah, sister! You tell him!!!

They have devices for that, don't you know. Besides, she's busy making you breakfast. And cleaning the house (or do you call that the "Living Pod?") And what have *you* got to do that's so important, Mister High and Mighty Soul Singer????? Fifteen minutes?

Did your hand fall off?

Lady, I feel for you. Trapped in that Habitat Dwelling with a loser like this guy.

I don't think I want to know what's been edited out of this song.

*shiver*

And there you go! We have now come to the end of the decade. The 1990s went in cycles, starting with some decent one-hit wonders, then sinking into some kind of rap funk that just made doing these (and perhaps reading these) kind of depressing. Then we got out of that in the later 90s and the music quality vastly improved.

Soul music one-hit wonders seem to be sprinkled all over the decade, as artists tried to capitalize on the success of groups like Boyz II Men, Bell Biv Devoe, and the like.

The musical battlefield was littered with the decaying remains of these artists, successful for a brief moment in time, but then forgotten.

Or, sometimes even worse, remembered for only the one thing despite trying to become more than that.

Of course, some of them deserved to become one-hit wonders, and you wonder how even *that* song became popular.

What have I learned after 40 weeks of this? Not to mention all of the 80s ones I have done?

That it actually takes a lot to make your ears bleed.

Oh, you were expecting something about "perseverance" and "regularity" and the like? I did learn those too.

But the ear-bleeding thing is the most important part.

Speaking of "regularity," I'm going to take next week off. It's been 40 weeks (actually, 39 weeks, as I did the first two episodes in the same weekend) of doing this every Sunday (or every weekend, if I had to do a Saturday one) without fail, and I want a break.

And then....



We move on to the 2000s!

That's right. We're going to just keep on moving forward, never looking back (because this might be gaining on you)

And since we're now in the 2010s decade, I can safely do a 2000s decade countdown.

Will the music be any better?

Can it get any worse?

Don't answer that.

Those of you who have stayed around through all 40 episodes, I thank you very much. I hope you've enjoyed these as much as I've enjoyed writing them. You can leave your comments (and your cash, because I've got bills, you know) at the bottom of this post to let me know what you've thought of them.

I appreciate my regular commenters, and I hope you stick with me through the next series!!

So the party is winding down, the bouncers are starting to let any riff-raff in (both this guy:

and this guy

and I have mastered the "pictures in parentheses" grammatical conundrum!!!! I rule!!!!!) and it's time to call it a night.



Don't forget to clean up after yourselves, though. On this blog's budget, I can't afford cleaners.

I also have some...personnel issues to deal with.



He is so fired.

See you in two weeks!



One-Hit Wonders of the 90s
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5
Part 6
Part 7
Part 8
Part 9
Part 10
Part 11
Part 12
Part 13
Part 14
Part 15
Part 16
Part 17
Part 18
Part 19
Part 20
Part 21
Part 22
Part 23
Part 24
Part 25
Part 26
Part 27
Part 28
Part 29
Part 30
Part 31
Part 32
Part 33
Part 34
Part 35
Part 36
Part 37
Part 38
Part 39
Part 40

One Hit Wonders of the 90s (Part 39)

Hello, dear reader. I have a favour to ask you. The original post begins after all of the asterisks, if you want to skip this.

Now that the One Hit Wonders of the 90s series is over, I'm not going to be doing my weekly revisiting of all these posts (I had to do that to add the new post to the bottom). Thus, I won't be able to catch any broken picture links or deleted videos any more. Yet I want these posts to be as good as possible.

Please, if you happen upon one of these posts, or if you take a walk through a whole bunch of them, let me know if you find anything that doesn't work. You can leave a comment, or you can send me a message using that handy "Contact Me" page linked above.

Also, feel free to let me know what you think of the post or any of the videos!

Thank you.

**************************

It's almost here! You are now holding, in your cute little hand (if you're on an iPad or something, at least), the penultimate episode of the one-hit wonders of the 90s!

Are you ready for the extravaganza? The party to end all parties? You remember the Millenium, don't you? (I don't, but for other, more alcohol-related reasons).

This will surpass that! Easily!

The Rapture?

Ok, maybe it won't be *that* big, but you will be in rapture as you're reading it!

(Look at that. He's gone stiff with pleasure!)

(Note to self: check with psychiatrist about this whole "falsely building up expectations" problem you've been having)

Anyway, enough about next week. It's time for this week's edition. I don't want this week's participants to feel slighted or insulted in any way (even though they most likely all suck).

I don't want to play favourites, and I don't want them to think that they're being overlooked because of next week.

Though I do have to say that next's week participants do look awesome, don't they? Oh, yeah, you haven't gone to look yet, have you? GOOD!!!!

Actually, neither have I, so I could be talking out of my ass.

Which is actually quite painful and irritating.

Here we go!

1) Sporty Thievz: "No Pigeons" (#12)


Sporty Thievz - No Pigeons ( TLC COVER )
Uploaded by icecreamm91. - Watch more music videos, in HD!

Uh oh. Not a good way to start.

Gee. Even when they try to sing, they give me a headache. And the lyrics are asinine, too. This is supposed to be funny?

NEXT!!!

2) Joe Diffie: "A Night to Remember" (#38)



Ok, what's with this Country invasion? We had the ramparts manned against the Rap country invasion (here's one of our warriors now)

but we didn't even think about defending ourselves from the Country....uh...country.

But here comes another one sneaking through! We stopped him at #38, but still...we'll have to get the CIA and Special Forces involved, I think.

Like most country songs, the title has a double meaning: the usual meaning of "night to remember" when talking about a night with your sweetie. And then the "remember" part because the guy's remembering a love that's now gone.

Funny how so many country songs have plays on words as titles. Brooks & Dunn's "Refried Dreams," anybody?

Anyway, the song itself isn't that bad, but there's nothing here that's different from any other Country song, so I'm not sure why this made the transition to the Pop charts. It's certainly not *bad* (unless you hate that Country twang to begin with), but I just have to wonder why it happened this time.

I am actually kind of a Diffie fan, from back when I listened to Country music. Here's my favourite song of his. It's a lot more fun than this tear-jerker is, though.



3) Eric Benet: "Spend My Life With You" (#21)


Eric Benét&Tamia-Spend my Life with You
Uploaded by ineptique. - See the latest featured music videos.

(The Youtube version exists, but the sound quality is terrible)

Is that supposed to be snow that's dousing them at the end? Certainly looks like feathers. I guess that indicates there was a bit of a wild night, eh?

This is actually quite the beautiful song, and it's no surprise that this song is used (or was used, anyway) at so many weddings. It's a perfect fit.

And, let me be totally serious for a moment.

This song goes out to my blogging friend, Duane Scott, because he's getting married today! In fact, the ceremony is going on right this minute. All of my best wishes for a long and happy life together, Duane! You totally deserve it.

Would anybody believe that I actually planned this song to come up on this fateful day? Thirty-nine weeks ago, I knew that this song would be very important on this very day. They weren't even engaged yet!

Because I am just that good.

And now back to the comedy ("Is that what you call it?" - The Peanut Gallery)

4) Citizen King: "Better Days (and the Bottom Drops Out)" (#25)


Citizen King - Better Days
Uploaded by WBRNewMedia. - Explore more music videos.

(Damn you, Warner Brothers! "Embedding disabled?")

It took a while, but I actually remember this song! Yeah, the guy's voice is kind of grating, but the song itself actually isn't too bad.

It's fun in the "if you can't laugh, you'll cry" manner, a humorous commentary on a down-and-out lifestyle, with dead-end job and all of that. It's probably a bit more poignant right now, but in the boom-days of the late 90s? It was probably funner.

I love the video, though. It just adds to the lightness of the mood. This guy's taking life as it comes. And really, is that a bad attitude to have?

Ok, maybe not if you're Lindsay Lohan or something, but otherwise, it's pretty good.

5) Tal Bachman: "She's So High" (#14)



(Yay, Vevo!)

While I kind of stopped listening to pop music around this time, the wife and I would sometimes have music videos on late at night while we were reading, surfing the Net, or whatever.

I officially hate this song because it was *so* overplayed.

She's so high and wonderful, but she steals a clown's balloons? I sense there are...issues...with her. Sure, she gave them to a little girl, but does that make it any better?

The song's silly, the video's stupidly silly, the production values suck, and I see no point in the whole thing.

But otherwise, it's not that bad.

6) Chely Wright: "Single White Female" (#36)



(Yay, Vevo!)

More Country???? We're still holding the line, but they're starting to seep through. I'm running out of fingers to plug the holes in the dyke! What happens if there are eleven?

Is it just me, or does the whole bus motif of the video not fit this song? Wright's going on about "looking for a one-woman man" and all of that junk. But the situation in the video, the woman's never even spoken to this guy. How does she know he'll fit what she wants? Is she telepathic? Body language? Is she just in lust, and to hell with the one-woman man stuff?

And I'm sorry, but this guy is stone-cold dense. She's eyeing him like one of these

(Ladies, don't say I never do anything for you)

but he doesn't notice? Even when she tries to read over his shoulder...TWICE! Really, girl, is this the kind of intelligence you want in a man?

What, the song? Oh, yeah, it's pretty good. Another Country music "play on words" song title and all of that.

But Chely's hot, and she's got a really great voice too.

So that makes it easier to like.

7) Garth Brooks (as Chris Gaines): "Lost in You" (#5)


Trailer provided by Video Detective

Ah, yes. The completely failed "Chris Gaines" experiment. What the heck was he thinking?

If Brooks was trying to create a thoroughly unlikeable "rock" singer who looks more strange than intriguing, then he succeeded! The voice sounds like a man changing his voice, rather than a new voice (does that make sense?). It just looks and feels so fake.

The song is horrible (how did it get to #5?) and thankfully, Brooks and the production company put Gaines out of his misery very quickly.

I love this quote from the Gaines Wikipedia entry:

"The album received mixed reviews, and fan response was often bewilderment: "they didn't think that [Brooks] was playing a role, they simply thought he'd lost his mind.""

The reviewer who said that goes on to say that the album wasn't really that bad, and if it had been released as a Garth Brooks "first Pop album" instead of this whole Gaines stupidity, it probably would have done ok.

It might have done ok, but if this song is any example, it would have still blown.

And there you have it! Sorry to end on such a bad (and extremely stupid) note, but you know I don't have any control over these (except for that wedding song mentioned above, don't ya know). But now you have a week to mull over the stupidity that is Chris Gaines.

You know you've been dying to. Or at least those of you who were saying something other than "Who the hell is Chris Gaines? Or Garth Brooks, for that matter?"

Now I have to go prepare for next week. I have to get the fireworks, for one thing.

No, not *that* type of fireworks. This kind!

Oh, I give up.

I really need to hire new interns. Sometimes, you just have to do things yourself.



One-Hit Wonders of the 90s
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5
Part 6
Part 7
Part 8
Part 9
Part 10
Part 11
Part 12
Part 13
Part 14
Part 15
Part 16
Part 17
Part 18
Part 19
Part 20
Part 21
Part 22
Part 23
Part 24
Part 25
Part 26
Part 27
Part 28
Part 29
Part 30
Part 31
Part 32
Part 33
Part 34
Part 35
Part 36
Part 37
Part 38
Part 39
Part 40

One Hit Wonders of the 90s (Part 38)

Hello, dear reader. I have a favour to ask you. The original post begins after all of the asterisks, if you want to skip this.

Now that the One Hit Wonders of the 90s series is over, I'm not going to be doing my weekly revisiting of all these posts (I had to do that to add the new post to the bottom). Thus, I won't be able to catch any broken picture links or deleted videos any more. Yet I want these posts to be as good as possible.

Please, if you happen upon one of these posts, or if you take a walk through a whole bunch of them, let me know if you find anything that doesn't work. You can leave a comment, or you can send me a message using that handy "Contact Me" page linked above.

Also, feel free to let me know what you think of the post or any of the videos!

Thank you.

**************************

Happy Halloween, everybody!!!

Yes, that time of ghouls and goblins, werewolves and witches (Disclaimer: no denigration of Wiccans or other "witches" is intended, inferred, implied, or any other "i" word that will keep the lawyers and ACLU off of my back).

Where was I?

Oh yeah.

It's Halloween!

Yes, that time of skeletons and zombies, jack-o-lanterns and vampires (Disclaimer: no denigration of residents of Transylvania, relatives of the real Count Dracula, or any other people with hematophagy is intended, inferred, implied, or any other "i" word that will keep the lawyers and ACLU off of my back).

Where was I?

Oh yeah.

It's Hallow....ah, screw it.

It's this week's edition of the One Hit Wonders of the 90s! *looks around for any lawyer types*

You know, I'm doing this post and I realize something. I say "Self," (because I always start talking to myself by addressing myself), "I'm hungry."

And then I get something to eat.

Now I'm ready to go!

As usual, you can find the list of one-hit wonders I'm taking this from here. Do you think if I glare at you, it will make you not look?

Yeah, that should do it.

Here we go!

1) Vengaboys: "We Like to Party" (#26)



This music was pretty popular in the late 90s, used in lots of different venues. So it's surprising the song itself only hit #26.

It really does start to make you feel upbeat, doesn't it?

Vengaboys? Those are some of the hottest "boys" I've ever seen! Wooo!

You know, when my car breaks down, I get out and dance, too. I'm surprised these impromptu dance sessions don't break out in more rest areas around the country. It would sure make for a break in the long drives each summer!

The Vengaboys were simply huge in Europe, but this is the only song that hit the Top 40. That's kind of too bad, as their blend of Europop and....um, Europop (that's like the blend of races at a Vanilla Ice concert, I guess) is actually quite fun. It lifted my spirits, at least!

Wonder if they'd raise this woman's spirits.

Well, it might take more than this...

2) Jordan Knight: "Give it to You" (#10)



Yay, Vevo!!!!

Oh no! It's a New Kid!!!! *gag* Who let this guy in here?

I see you can get the singer out of the boy band, but you can't get the boy band out of the singer. If he's going to produce the exact same crap as a solo artist as he does with the New Kids, why go solo? Even down to the "Damn! I'm handsome!" attitude.

It's all the same. And it's all vomit-inducing.

I mean, it's no liver and ice cream. But, you know, it's close and all.

3) Everlast: "What It's Like" (#13)



Wow! It's Nickelback before they were popular!!! Except, you know, a solo artist and all.

Actually, this is a pretty good song, and quite poignant if you listen to the words, even if the imagery in the video is as subtle as a nuclear blast.

Still, it's a nice little song about remembering that, as bad as you have it, somebody else has it worse.

(Disclaimer: may not apply if you're married to Marilyn Manson)

4) Fatboy Slim: "Praise You" (#36)



Believe it or not, this is the official video, directed by Spike Jonz. It's a fake dance troupe.

What this has to do with the song? I have no clue.

So we'll just ignore it.

The song itself? I think I could even play the piano on this song once I had it memorized. Ok, that would take a *lot* of memorization, but you get my point.

Still, the sentiment is pretty good, isn't it? We've been together a long time, so I should praise you, shouldn't I? Give you the kudos that you deserve.

This just makes me realize that I have neglected you, dear reader (and yes, that is single digits, I'm sure). I have definitely neglected you! I have taken you for granted, and I want to make up for it.

How does a trip to Australia sound? Yeah? You'd like that? Well, just let me know when you've raised the money and I'll definitely give you the honour of going with you.

You can't beat a deal like that.

Anyway, while this song is good, I had completely forgotten that this was Fatboy Slim. Here's probably his most famous video, though I guess the song never actually did anything (or he wouldn't be a one-hit wonder, would he?).



Who can forget *that*? Especially with the awesome Christopher Walken in it? He definitely looks like he had a lot of fun doing it. This video is widely cited as the best music video of all time. I think it's certainly up there.

5) Dave Hollister: "My Favorite Girl" (#39)


Dave Hollister : My favorite girl
Uploaded by BLACKMUSICS. - Explore more music videos.

"Why the hell you keep paging me?" Yeah, this is definitely the 90s. When was the last time somebody was actually *paged*?

That's funny. She doesn't look like Glenn Close. (Let's see how many people get that reference)

This is actually quite a chilling song, especially if you keep a certain movie in mind. It's rather tame by those standards, but even so, the words just knife right into you, making you feel like you walked into the kitchen to a boiling rabbit (is that enough hints?).

Of course, the woman in the song has nothing on this woman:

No, wait. Sorry about that. That was the last woman I dated when I told her that I was a Star Wars fan.

I meant this woman.

But even so, the woman in the song is pretty creepy.

6) Steve Wariner: "Two Teardrops" (#30)



(You're not missing anything except for the ending music after the rather abrupt cut)

Another country music crossover. Not sure why this song hit the charts and none others did, but there you go.

Ok, I admit. This is a sweet song, but I'm listening to this and I'm covered with syrup! And yes, I'm Canadian, so that syrup is maple, but that's not the point! Never mind the physics of the song, it just strikes me as written with the intention of making people cry, like a lot of country songs that I used to listen to. And I admit, they often did made me cry. But I felt so manipulated afterwards.

Maybe I'm just cranky.

But I'll get out of it.

7) Chante Moore: "Chante's Got a Man" (#10)



Yay! Way to lord it over the other girls, there, Chante! You sound so pleased with yourself too.

Still, the message in the song is pretty good. You're worthy and should wait for the right man to come along for you. Don't settle. Sorry that your man is an asshole. Oh, and I'd better get home to *my* man for some good lovin'.

I'm just sayin'...

Or maybe that's not what she means?

Ladies, please tell me. When you're in discussions about men in general (or your worthless excuses for husbands/boyfriends), do you break out in song when you start arguing?

Because that would actually be pretty cool.

I'm getting mixed messages from this song, actually.

The cool one: Men aren't all the same, and there are some good ones out there.

The bad one: I'm conceited enough that I'm going to keep on telling you about my guy while you wallow in misery with yours.

Which one is the true one?

That's about as hard to fathom as the answer to this question:



(side note: Why is there a naked kid on a Saturday morning cartoon commercial? Just wondering.)

And there you have it! This week's one-hit wonders, and no rap to be seen! I think we might be safe.

But I will definitely keep a look-out. Don't want any of those scary rap artists to come trick-or-treating to your door and breaking out into song (or whatever you want to call it).

Oh look, here's one now!

Go away, you scallywags!!!!

That being said, I do have to head off to set up for Halloween. Have to make sure we keep those kids off of our lawns and all that.



And now I have to go wipe my face off.



One-Hit Wonders of the 90s
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5
Part 6
Part 7
Part 8
Part 9
Part 10
Part 11
Part 12
Part 13
Part 14
Part 15
Part 16
Part 17
Part 18
Part 19
Part 20
Part 21
Part 22
Part 23
Part 24
Part 25
Part 26
Part 27
Part 28
Part 29
Part 30
Part 31
Part 32
Part 33
Part 34
Part 35
Part 36
Part 37
Part 38
Part 39
Part 40

One Hit Wonders of the 90s (Part 37)

Hello, dear reader. I have a favour to ask you. The original post begins after all of the asterisks, if you want to skip this.

Now that the One Hit Wonders of the 90s series is over, I'm not going to be doing my weekly revisiting of all these posts (I had to do that to add the new post to the bottom). Thus, I won't be able to catch any broken picture links or deleted videos any more. Yet I want these posts to be as good as possible.

Please, if you happen upon one of these posts, or if you take a walk through a whole bunch of them, let me know if you find anything that doesn't work. You can leave a comment, or you can send me a message using that handy "Contact Me" page linked above.

Also, feel free to let me know what you think of the post or any of the videos!

Thank you.

**************************

We all need distractions in our life, but some of them are worse than others. For example, I was going to start this post 20 minutes ago, but as I was getting all my tabs open (this page, last week's page, the one-hit wonders list, Youtube, Google), I got sucked into watching Youtube videos.

Mainly Zoe, because I'm addicted to Australian accents. It's kind of like heroin addiction, except without the needles.

Oh, and I guess without the bad effects on your body as well, though it does depend on who you're watching. I mean, you could be watching these guys.



So if any of you Aussies would like to call me...

Anyway, where was I? Oh yeah, it's time for this week's one-hit wonders of the 90s post! That hive of hilarity, that bevy of boisterousness, and the analog of alliteration that is the one-hit wonders. You think this guy's funny?

He don't have anything on me.

Of course, I also live in a world overrun by these:

So take it for what it's worth.

We're in the stretch drive of the 90s, heading into 1999 with full speed and no brakes! Everybody get your head inside the window.

As usual, you can find the list here.

And here we go!

1) Shawn Mullins: "Lullaby" (#7)



Yay, Vevo!!!!

This guy sounds like a more mellow Jack Nicholson, doesn't he?

Or is that just me?

She doesn't look to be in the mood for a lullaby, actually. Besides, there's all that booze around to help her sleep! She doesn't need a song from a long-haired, grizzled singer like that.

Though maybe she's into that kind of thing. I don't know.

Los Angeles is "kind of like Nashville, with a tan." I love that line.

Anyway, I actually really do like the song, and the video is quite poignant as well (and it goes with the song!). Mullins does have an interesting voice and the lyrics are very good.

It's just...it's not a lullaby, is it?

Mrs. Canada says, 10 points off for bad word usage.

2) Eagle-Eye Cherry: "Save Tonight" (#5)



Yay, Vevo!!!!

Ok, I said that I was pretty much removed from the pop music scene around this time, but then I get two songs in a row I've heard before! We did sometimes have MuchMoreMusic on as background noise at night, so I think I heard these songs there.

But I digress...

Did he just steal that piece of fruit!!!! Hey, buddy! You eat it, you buy it! No, you can't give it back.

Or,um, you can just consume the store owner like some 50s bad SF movie and then you can have everything for free!

Wow, I'm losing my train of thought here.

Is it just me, or is that one of the most inept robbers ever? Good thing the clerk is too busy singing, or I think he could take him with that meat cleaver.

Ok, I think Eagle-Eye Cherry is taking over the world. This is getting spooky.

Two songs in a row that I also rather like. This one's got a good beat and I can dance to it. I'll give it a 9.

Sorry, I was channeling this for a second.

Incidentally, Eagle-Eye is the son of jazz singer Don Cherry. When I first saw that name, even knowing they're two different people, I couldn't help thinking of this.

Though I would guess the singer is better-dressed.

3) New Radicals: "You Get What You Give" (#36)



Yay, Vevo!!!!

I love this song!!!!

And I *hate* this video. It starts out all kind of cool and everything, but then it turns into some kind of young radical (HA! See what I did there) mall terrorist incident, where they go after the bourgeoisie and start putting them in cages and stuff. Let the animals free! And lock up the guys in suits and ties.

Oh yeah. These people don't know how the fast-food wage slaves live, so let's make them become one and treat them badly!

The song's really nice, too. Live from your heart. You get out of life what you put into it. Express yourself. Yeah, ok, there's a bit of anti-corporatism in the song, but it's pretty mild compared to the rest of the stuff that's actually good in it.

This is wonderful!

So why shit on that message with this horrible video that basically says that anarchy is ok?

Ugh, sorry for the serious rant there. Time to lighten up.



4) Mark Chesnutt: "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing" (#17)



(no video for the song)

Chesnutt takes Aerosmith's hit and hits the Top 40 with it! He's a big country star, but this is his only Pop Top 40 song in his career (hence the "one-hit wonder" tag).

It's not bad, but he's no Steven Tyler.



Though his dress sense is probably better, he can't beat Tyler in the lip department.

5) Jesse Powell: "You" (#10)



Ok, why'd she look pissed off when she gave the guy her number? Is it a challenge? "If you still call me after I glare at you like that, then it must be love."

Both the song and video are cheesy beyond belief, but at least their hearts are in the right places. It's a really sweet love song, and I can see it become "our song" to millions of couples all over the world.

In fact, maybe that's the plan. Jesse plans on taking over the world. Mind control through love!

And then he'll have his love-controlled minions attack! It will be chaos in the streets.

Or, then again, maybe not. Where are my pills?

6) Joey McIntyre: "Stay the Same" (#10)



Yay, Vevo!!!!

This song is inspiring me!!!

It's inspiring me to hurl, that is.

Ok, it's not bad, in fact it's very sweet (though dogs must have trouble living next to him when he hits those high notes). It's got a very nice message about being yourself, and I guess I should be thankful he's not caging any corporate peons in the video, but c'mon.

I'm getting the sugar sickies, and I haven't had my ice cream yet.

DON'T RUIN MY ICE CREAM, JOEY!!!!

All right, all right. There's nothing wrong with the song. I'm just cranky.

Those kids wouldn't get off my lawn.

7) B*witched: "C'est La Vie" (#9)



Ok, so this isn't a remake of the 80s song? Good to know.

Aren't they a little young for "I'll show you mine if you show me yours?"

What's that? Oh, they're only *acting* that young.

Why does this group remind me of a cross between the Backstreet Boys and the neighborhood "Moms" organization?

This song is just silly fun (I guess). I guess moms have to cut loose occasionally too.

Though most of them don't inflict that on the rest of us.

Ok, here's a better one.



And you know what? They're Irish, and they're pretty damned hot, too.

Yes, it's typical pop junk, but at least it doesn't give that uncomfortable feeling of lusting after a best friend's mom or something.

Not that I'm familiar with that sensation, of course...

And there you have it! Week one in 1999. Three more weeks to go. Will your humble blogger be up to the pressure of finishing these on time? It's getting harder and harder as time goes on, but the inertia keeps things going round and round and round.

What's even better is that we've resisted the rap invasion!!! So let's all celebrate.

But now it's time to begin the day. In fact, I have a speech I have to make.



These new-fangled contraptions. Who can keep them straight?



One-Hit Wonders of the 90s
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5
Part 6
Part 7
Part 8
Part 9
Part 10
Part 11
Part 12
Part 13
Part 14
Part 15
Part 16
Part 17
Part 18
Part 19
Part 20
Part 21
Part 22
Part 23
Part 24
Part 25
Part 26
Part 27
Part 28
Part 29
Part 30
Part 31
Part 32
Part 33
Part 34
Part 35
Part 36
Part 37
Part 38
Part 39
Part 40

One Hit Wonders of the 90s (Part 36)

Hello, dear reader. I have a favour to ask you. The original post begins after all of the asterisks, if you want to skip this.

Now that the One Hit Wonders of the 90s series is over, I'm not going to be doing my weekly revisiting of all these posts (I had to do that to add the new post to the bottom). Thus, I won't be able to catch any broken picture links or deleted videos any more. Yet I want these posts to be as good as possible.

Please, if you happen upon one of these posts, or if you take a walk through a whole bunch of them, let me know if you find anything that doesn't work. You can leave a comment, or you can send me a message using that handy "Contact Me" page linked above.

Also, feel free to let me know what you think of the post or any of the videos!

Thank you.

**************************

It's Sunday again, and there are things I would rather be doing than spending 2 hours writing a funny ("HA!!! Funny? Now *that's* funny!" - The Peanut Gallery) post about one-hit wonders.

You know, things like this:

But, I know that you like this, so I am persevering! (That guy totally deserves it, though, so I may have to go take care of that later).

Yes, it's this week's edition of the one-hit wonders of the 90s. We're concluding 1998 this time, a special year for me. It was the year that my chronic rash finally cleared up.

Oh! And it was also the year I got married. Can't forget that.

As usual, you can find the list I'm taking these from here. I'm not even going to bother telling you not to go. I'll just let you know that if you *do* go, something special might be waiting for you.

Oh, sorry. That was me before the back-waxing.

I mean this.

Here we go!

1) Harvey Danger: "Flagpole Sitta" (#38)


Harvey Danger - Flagpole Sitta
Uploaded by FabCure. - Music videos, artist interviews, concerts and more.

You know, when a song has "sitta" in the title, I immediately think of rap.

Thankfully, that was a wrong assumption today!

Instead, we get a nerdy-looking white guy. Big difference!

"Only stupid people are breeding?" That's actually a funny line.

What a weird song, though. "I'm not sick, but I'm not well." Now I see where Matchbox 20 got the idea for "Unwell."

I'm just kidding, Rob! Please don't sue.

Anyway, this is kind of an enjoyable song if you like a loud, obnoxious rock track (and really, who doesn't?). The video's pretty silly, the lyrics are *really* silly, but I can see why this became popular on the college scene. Looking at their history, it's sad that so many corporate problems got in the way of the release of their music, as they look like they would be a lot of fun in concert.

But at least they're immortalized on a small blog's list of one-hit wonders, so they can always treasure that at least.

2) Jennifer Paige: "Crush" (#3)



This song made it to #3, and I never heard it. Yes, my removal from the pop scene was complete.

Maybe it's just me, but if the song is about a "crush," shouldn't the video have lots of shots of her pining over a guy? Not her super-happy in a relationship with the guy with the hot chest?

Oh, wait a minute! She's got a crush on her friend's boyfriend. I get it! Ok, so why is she touching the guy so much ("It's just a little crush, every time we touch..."). And is it just me, or is there a shortage of meaningful looks between the two of them in the video? Lots of shots of her with her boyfriend, and her friend with the guy she's got a crush on, but the only meaningful glance is at the end?

I see bad things happening here. It's probably best that she got her feelings out in a mega-hit song so that nobody would be the wiser.

The song? Oh, it's actually pretty good. Paige has a good voice and the music is good as well. It's not something I'm a huge fan of, but I did like listening to it.

It didn't do this to me, at least.

No, that was last night's pizza.

3) Tatyana Ali: "Daydreamin'" (#6)



Oh no! Sugar rush!!!!!

Ugh, then a rap sneaks in. My intelligence level just plummeted.

It helps that she's hot, though.

This just sounds like a sweet song, in that kind of fun, teenage way (and she was 19 when this song came out). At least she doesn't appear to be another actress who decided to try and sing. It sounds like she was an actress/singer who just broke into acting before breaking into singing (and then going right back again).

There's really not much more to say about the song. Take out the rap, and you've got something decent.

Maybe I'm just in a good mood today.

4) Pressha: "Splackavellie" (#27)



Yay, an ode to casual sex! With no strings attached. No wonder this song was so popular. *cough*

This comment on the Youtube page made me laugh: "haha his haircut looks like a helmet with a chinstrap lol" It does!

"He ain't your boyfriend. He ain't your husband. Just somebody you can call when your body needs a fix"

WTF?

Is this normal? Ladies, please tell me. Do you have to have three guys? (Boyfriend, husband, and "splackavellie?") I don't know if there's enough of us to go around!

That being said, if you ever do need one...

I'm here for ya.

5) The Brian Setzer Orchestra: "Jump, Jive, and Wail" (#23)



Yay, Vevo!!!

Man, I love this song. I was so excited when I saw that this would be on today's list. Setzer brings back that old-school music that I just love.

Though I don't think they ever dressed like that! I think I'm getting the vapors.

I'd better wake up or I'm going to miss the song.

I just have three words to say.

"This is awesome."

That is all.

Here's a bonus track for you. Sorry for the poor video quality, but the song's great.



6) TQ: "Westside" (#12)



Yeah, these two hits go well right next to each other, don't they?

This is actually a pretty good song about a guy's childhoood in the ghetto (yes, those gaps you hear in the song are swear words or the N-word, couldn't find a full version that had a video).

Despite that, the song is kind of powerful as a man reflects back to Compton and the "westside".

Of course, it's also an ode to the rap culture (the Tupac memorial at the end, etc), but I guess you can't have everything.

7) Everything: "Hooch" (#34)



Can't find a video for this song.

I kind of like the music, but the song itself doesn't really do too much for me. It's like particle physics: I try and try to "get" it, but I just bounce off of it.

This song doesn't mean anything, and I guess it's not supposed to. It's just supposed to be a cool song to dance to and listen to when you're in a bad mood. Of course, it does nothing to actually *lighten* my mood, but maybe that's just me.

Still, nothing wrong with the song at all. Just a feeling of massive indifference.

Ok, I don't know if I'm *that* indifferent.

8) Ty Herndon: "It Must Be Love" (#38)



Damn it! Another song I can't find a video for.

Herndon is, of course, a big country star, but this is his only crossover hit, apparently. Not sure why. It's not like it was in a movie or something.

Don't you love it when the singer actually talks to the background singers in the song? Isn't that special?

Anyway, it's a typical country love song hit. No better, no worse than any other one. It's kind of catchy if you like that sort of thing, and does take me back to the few years that I did listen to country music.

But I got better...

So we close out 1998 with a bit of a twang! First time we've done that before, I think. We're heading into the final year of the decade. The Millenium's approaching, and the biggest party we've ever seen. Will 1999 be a fitting conclusion?

Or will it be a massive fail?

We'll soon find out!

But I'm off to start my day. It consists of football and hockey, but first, I've got something to do.



Wow, I'm glad there weren't any cameras around when I did that.



One-Hit Wonders of the 90s
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5
Part 6
Part 7
Part 8
Part 9
Part 10
Part 11
Part 12
Part 13
Part 14
Part 15
Part 16
Part 17
Part 18
Part 19
Part 20
Part 21
Part 22
Part 23
Part 24
Part 25
Part 26
Part 27
Part 28
Part 29
Part 30
Part 31
Part 32
Part 33
Part 34
Part 35
Part 36
Part 37
Part 38
Part 39
Part 40