Scribbles About Music: One Hit Wonders: Good AND Bad

I've had Tubthumping by Chumbawamba stuck in my head... on and off the past couple of days... so let's explore some One Hit Wonders!

Now... if you didn't know what a "One Hit Wonder" is... it's a band that had one song that you heard all the time... and then you never really heard from the singer or the band again. Some of my favorite songs are one hit wonders... and I literally do not know anything else from the bands... maybe they broke up shortly after or... something happened where they just weren't hits other than that one song you knew.

So... I'm not really going to do a whole good or bad list... I'm just going to listen to some one hit wonder playlists and then rank it good or bad... but I'm obviously going to start with the one in my head right now.

1. Tubthumping by Chumbawamba- This is bad... it's the easiest song to get stuck in your head because the song basically repeats the same lyrics over and over again. There's a woman singing that's pretty good... the man is just kind of yelling. It is very catchy... but it kind of sucks. I looked up the band last night and apparently they were trying to promote Gender Equality... good job doing that with a song that sounds like it's about losing a bar fight. And they encouraged fans that couldn't buy the album to steal it from their record stores... which is why there are no longer record stores or Chumbawamba's. D+ 

2.Bad Day by Daniel Powter- I used to have great days whenever I heard this song. Like if my day was going bad, I would listen to this song and it would turn out to be better. One time in Gym Class we were playing wiffle ball or something... and I'm not into sports so I really never pay attention or anything... this song played... and the ball just fell into my hand. No lie- you can ask my friend Cristina, we literally talk about this moment all the time. Or... at least once a year. It was pretty bizarre. Anyway, yeah besides the good memories with this song- and the bad memories without this song: the one day I didn't listen to it at that time was the same day they announced Showtime would NOT be picking up Arrested Development for season four- I tried to listen to it objectively and see if I still liked it or not... and I do. Daniel Powter- you are talented! I'm going to look up other songs. I used to have his cd... but I only ever listened to this song. The true sign of a One- Hit Wonder. COME BACK DANIEL POWTER! A- 

3. Laffy Taffy by D4L- I remember them playing this at my school dances... maybe? It's really sexual and I went to Catholic School... maybe I just heard it on MTV. I always thought it was funny... Laffy Taffy isn't the best euphemism... but I guess this was before the Peach Emoji existed. This isn't bad but I can see why it's a One Hit Wonder... it's catchy but it's a little hard to understand and not the best hip hop song or hip hop euphemism... or hip hop one hit wonder... I didn't even finish listening to the song...  C 

4. Breakfast at Tiffany's by Deep Blue Something- The name Deep Blue Something kind of explains everything you need to know about this song. It starts out like this big huge premise of this guy winning the girl back and that it will be epic and romantic and great. And then he just mentions a movie that they both kinda liked and thought that that's one thing they've got. He didn't mention if he saw the movie with her or not. Here are the lyrics to what is arguably the worst chorus of all time:

And I said, "What about Breakfast at Tiffany's?"
She said, "I think I remember the film,
And as I recall, I think we both kinda liked it"
And I said, "Well, that's the one thing we've got"

Yeah... she thinks she remembers one of the most iconic movies of all time... and as she recalls... the both kind of liked it. So that's one thing they've got in common. Great basis for any relationship! I kind of like pickles... so if anyone is out there that kind of likes pickles... call me? 

I thought I'd like this song a little bit more to be honest because I've heard it recently... but I think I've heard it in the way you're supposed to hear this song. This song is ideal if you're walking through a department store... If you just enter and it's halfway over- it's probably a great song. If you're checking out right when the song starts- fantastic! If you're shopping through the whole song... you'll probably get a little bit annoyed. So... yeah. Not a great song, unless you're in that kind of very specific situation. 

C- 

5. Milkshake by Kelis- Here's one I think I'll like a little bit better... this was popular around the time when I was really into music... so I'm biased with this too. It was in Mean girls... a girl sings it about her boobs... I have big boobs... it's just a great song in my opinion. And I think Kelis could have been more successful after this, but I think she went onto different things in her career and personal life... she was on The Chew recently and she seemed like a busy lady loving life... so yeah. Also Pharell wrote this song.  B. 

6. Relax by Frankie Goes To Hollywood- I hope I don't get brainwashed while listening to this song like in Zoolander... I'm always a little afraid of that. Whenever I listen to this I'm like "Is this song about what I think it's about?" And... I think it is... and they still play it on the radio in the daytime. It's just a little weird, gross, obvious... it's catchy... but like did we need this song? Idk what to rate this even. I want to say it's better than the Chumbawamba song... but I think we needed the Chumbawamba song and I don't think we needed this one... so I'm giving it a D. 

7. What's Up? By 4 Non- Blondes- I've always been unsure of this song. I'm not a big fan of the singer... but the lyrics are good... the message is kind of cool. I never knew this was a one hit wonder. There used to be a channel that just played music and would share tidbits about the singer and they said Pink was a big 4 Non Blondes fan... so I'm sure they have other songs than this. Also... if you haven't seen the He Man video of this... I'm sorry.  This time around listening to it... I like the singing a lot more than I usually do... and the lyrics... meh. I can relate though. I think this is written for angsty feminist 25 year olds... that describes me perfectly. I'll give it a B+. 

8. You're Beautiful by James Blunt- This one makes me a little sad. Who would have predicted that James Blunt would become a one-hit wonder? He seemed like he had something going. He should come back or do Broadway or something. He was good. He wrote this about his Ex Wife that divorced him partially because of his drug addiction... very sad story. And it did seem like "Wow, this guy James Blunt came out of no where and now he has this great song." But nope. One hit wonder. Could you imagine if something like Uptown Funk was a one hit wonder? Crazy right? I'm giving this a B+ Because I did genuinely like this song when it came out and I did have James Blunt's Cd... and he was really good. 

9. Butterfly by Crazy Town- I've had this song stuck in my head recently too. It was mentioned on The Most Popular Girls in School, which I've been watching lately. I didn't think I'd like this one very much... but I've gotta say I kind of love it! I think the first time I heard this... the Kangaroo from Kangaroo Jack was rapping it in that movie... yep. A kids movie had a Kangaroo rapping this song,... which was over my head at the time. Good rapping, the lyrics were actually pretty sweet but also kind of sexy... I liked it! I think this might be my favorite from the list... this is what I was most surprised by. The only thing that kind of sucks about it is that Crazy Town is a great band name... and it was totally wasted by this one-hit-wonder band. I would say that's the saddest thing about most of these songs. 4 Non Blondes... also a great band name... what the heck? No one else can go to Hollywood because Frankie did already and he ruined it. At least there are the terrible names too... D4L, Chumbawamba and Deep Blue Something seem like they should be one hit wonders. A. 

10. Thong Song by Sisqo- You know a one- hit wonder is great when it references another one hit wonder in the song itself. This song references Livin La Vida Loca, by Ricky Martin. This is a pretty okay song. I don't really like the word "dumps" in this song at all... it makes me wonder what this song is really about? Do we know if Sisqo is into poop or something? Just kidding... he was in a Disney Movie! That can't be a thing! Lol. This was catchy... not really a forgettable song like Laffy Taffy either... it's The Thong Song. I have to say, I much prefer Sisqo's acting career though. Remember? He played Cuba Gooding Jr's Friend in Snow Dogs. Lol. C+.  

Alright... that's all the one hit wonders I could muster for today... let me know what you think of these songs... was I too harsh? Not harsh enough? I tried to be really harsh with this one, but I didn't totally hate all of the songs. I did just listen to 10 one hit wonders though... that's a lot. Maybe I need to listen to Crazy Town again... because it doesn't seem like I should like it that much. 

There will be more of these to come... and I think I'll even include bands that maybe aren't one hit wonders, but they have a lot of bad songs that are hits on the radio still... so that's a thing. Maybe I'll just do a post about WTF Train about doing this with only train songs... I'm going to need a drink before torturing myself that much though. Lol! 

Byeee! 

-Shannon