Iron Butterfly- "In a Gadda Da Vida"
www.youtube.com/watch?v=uGmkM4v9AaYLove this freaking song. That’s the bottom line. Great mood piece. It’s actually giving a little extra gusto to my gift-wrapping alone party in the floor. Way to kick off the round! And how in the world can you have a name like Iron Butterfly and only have one hit?! Insane. The name alone should have charted them more than once, especially considering the era.
La Roux- "Bulletproof"
www.youtube.com/watch?v=EUsbpmQ9-mcTricky for me because I associate more than just this song with La Roux. Still, I understand the requirements for the category so I’m not denying this as a “one hit wonder” or anything. (It’s just a pet peeve when some are considered “one hit wonders,” and I always think back and say, “Nooooo! They had another couple of released singles!”) But, back to the song, I love the video and what went into it, but man, I really can’t get into this song. I think it’s the trendy catchphrase use that gets to me the most. The whole song pivots around a phrase that high schoolers throw around all the time like they’re all that, but it does more to annoy me than anything. The song obviously plays to that and caters to that, and it just hits me the wrong way. (Not cutting on the song-chooser with my comments, because I know none of you all are like that. Just saying that the song gives me those associations and that’s why the lower ranking.) It’s one of a million types of those songs that just grabs hold of “what the kids are saying these days” and makes a buck off of it.
High schoolers: “Oh, here’s a song that reflects who I am as a person. Let’s play that.”
Dad: “You’re 15 and in the marching band. You asked for a convertible for St. Patrick’s Day and you hide all the generic brands of food we buy under your bed just before your friends come over.”
High schoolers: “See, adults be hatin’. Waaaaaahhhh!!! *sob* *sob* *pout and sob* *goes and gets a tattoo of Rosie the Riveter in a halter top: ‘I Can Do It Myself, Thank You Very Much’*.”
Joan Osborne- "One of Us"
www.youtube.com/watch?v=QOw7EuiFz0kGosh. This song is soooo difficult for me. There is a Joan Osborne song that I totally totally totally love to death out there, and everytime someone hears this one and says, “Oh yeah! I love this song! Nice!” I want to go straight to the forehead slap. So again, judging the song just for what it is, I don’t love it, I gotta say. I’ll tell you why: I never really got the song. I don’t understand the attempt at irony that every other grunge or alternative song of the era was so much better at (in my opinion). It seems like the rest of the gang got the memo that asking the question posed in the song doesn’t really make any sense, even in the context of the same song. Seems to defeat its own irony by putting the general population (which is usually slammed or mourned over, not elevated in songs like this) on a pedestal and sympathizing/empowering rather than crooning. (Yeah, we’ll show the cosmos! Let’s bring it down to OUR level! Yeah, that’ll show ‘em!) Also, the “yeah. yeah. yeah yeah yeah” sarcasm would have been so so so much more well-received by me if Nirvana hadn’t already done it years earlier for the same purpose and effect. It’s something I typically would love and give credit to in a song like this, but even from the first time I heard it, I thought that line was a little bit too imitation for me. Sorry, but at least I tried to justify my take on it all. She’s so much better when she’s just flat out ROCKING IT and shattering my soul with some cracked vocals.
Michael Penn- "No Myth"
www.youtube.com/watch?v=h1BGebtVHzMI’m so glad you went with a pick that’s a little under the radar. Whenever I hear One Hit Wonders as a category, I think everyone’s reaction is to go straight to annoying tracks like Lou Vega, Right Said Fredd, Toni Basil, and such that were one-hit wonders for a reason. This is quality, and it’s a track that has a little more nostalgia to it and less novelty. That’s how to play the game there, so I’m glad you had that effect in choosing something like this. Still don’t think of him as a one-hit wonder, but still, I understand how the category was set up, and it still applies. Good job.
Nick Gilder- "Hot Child in the City"
www.youtube.com/watch?v=tsE7W4RRdNgThis song is supposed to be annoying and outdated, right? Right? I know that it is, yet I cannot think of it as such. Over the top, but I can’t help it. It doesn’t get overplayed these days, and that helps it’s case. It captures an era wonderfully, and I’m glad this song hit number one back in the day rather than some other options that were out in that year. So yeah, I know I’m supposed to think this is cheesy and discredit it, but I can still listen to it and get behind it. Nicely done as far as I’m concerned! Also, HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA@the 2:20 – 2:29 mark!!! Gets me everytime! Oh gosh, that’s my exercise for the day right there: getting a good laugh out of that. (Don’t worry—it’s a good kind of laugh.)
1. Iron Butterfly- "In a Gadda Da Vida"
2. Michael Penn- "No Myth"
3. Nick Gilder- "Hot Child in the City"
4. Joan Osborne- "One of Us"
5. La Roux- "Bulletproof"
Van Halen- "Eruption"
www.youtube.com/watch?v=QLX8iY95UgARight out of the gate, I can’t say that I’m typically *fully* behind it. BUT, that IS epic sax! (except it’s guitar, so it rules all the same). I can’t foresee any songs in this category disappointing. All of you are going to pick something that just blows up in terms of a solo, so the songs themselves start doing the balancing. But, if you’re going to be fair, this is a song that encapsulates the genre it represents. Whether you like it or not, you gotta think of yourself as a mark in the crowd and how you’d simply have to feel a twinge in the g-spot area as this happens. It’s kinda like the blinding white light equivalent to opening your eyes after a high at a rock show, I would imagine. Typically hate Van Halen here, but the band’s not featuring singing, so this one automatically moves up on the “like” scale for me.
Dave Matthews Band- "Ants Marching"
www.youtube.com/watch?v=CMrbOgrrbkQGood pick, good song, and good use of the round’s theme. Not going to say that the epic sax here is “better” than in the previous selection, but it seems to be better use of epic sax. It’s in the context of an actual melodic piece with a message, theme, purpose, composition. While “Eruption” is probably a little more impressive I guess, there is composition to this that adds up to a greater overall effect for me. It’s not a knock on the metal genre, because I’d feel the same about a random dissonant flute solo that’s all over the map, no matter how many crazy notes are played. (It reminds me of a lot harp solos in all actuality (stop laughing, I’m serious)—sometimes, there feels like there’s less musicality and more technical finger-work on display, and it makes me think about what the real purpose of music is, especially in a sales context like modern popular music. So yeah, back to this song, I like this choice and what you did in fitting with the theme.
Prince- "I Could Never Take the Place of Your Man"
www.youtube.com/watch?v=W7QYvye95U4Sheila E in the house?! Really?! Color me surprised! Ha! Nicely done right there! How did you automatically think to go with THIS pick?! Originality much? I feel like I’m supposed to downgrade songs like this from Prince, but gosh, he’s such a good performer and charismatic and his songs just sometimes have that intangible factor that just … works, ya know? Not a huge Prince mark all the time, but I’m lying if I deny that x-factor that’s just present in certain songs. And this song is definitely one of those certain songs. I feel guilty about having this ranked about “Eruption,” because Van Halen’s song does have that epic vibe to it, but it goes back to balance and overall production of the song itself, and this song has just more going for it as a whole from where I’m listening. IT ABSOLUTELY RULES!
Wilco- "At Least That's What You Said"
www.youtube.com/watch?v=_XoFMAuA0XUI do like some of Wilco’s work, but just in this particular round, the context doesn’t stack up against some of the other picks. I would say I’d probably give the others a listen quicker than I’d jump to this song on my “gotta hear it” list.
Styx- "Renegade"
www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZXhuso4OTG4Ha! Styx! Ha! Delight! I’m probably the only judge who won’t have this number one. That’s really all you have to say about this pick. It’s that good.
1. Prince- "I Could Never Take the Place of Your Man"
2. Dave Matthews Band- "Ants Marching"
3. Styx- "Renegade"
4. Van Halen- "Eruption"
5. Wilco- "At Least That's What You Said"
Dr. Dre ft. Snoop Dogg- "Dre Day"
www.youtube.com/watch?v=0xS9hvs5F7sWhy do I like Dre so much? I’m not even into his music and collaborators that much. But everytime he does his thing, it’s so good.
Tupac Shakur- "Hit 'Em Up"
www.youtube.com/watch?v=pK0rXbwrYbUUmmmm …. yeah. I imagine Tupac walking into a room full of party-goers and starting this up verbatim and then realizing, "Oh, sorry, wrong party."
Ice Cube- "No Vaseline"
www.youtube.com/watch?v=NkEcNmBPlVgHeeeeccckk yeeeaaaah! It’s the kind of track that makes me wish I could find the groove and sing every single word along with him. Ice Cube has that effect on me more often than not. This song rules.
Fiona Apple- "Sleep to Dream"
www.youtube.com/watch?v=6sdMotA69QQI was totally thinking of this song the other day going through a round of songs selected on here, saying, “Man, I could have picked that song, but I wonder if would’ve gotten over.” Yeah, this song totally rules. Far better than “Criminal” in my opinion. Has such a haunting vibe, like there is totally a subtext to the straightforwardness of the lyrics. It’s like you’re hearing one message, but the music in the background implies something darker and deeper associated with situation she’s describing, especially toward the end of song’s lyrics and as it finally plays out. Creepy.
Kanye West- "Power"
www.youtube.com/watch?v=YOshf_FeG6cGood vibe. Good capturing of the theme. Hate this guy. Can't hate this song.
1. Fiona Apple- "Sleep to Dream"
2. Ice Cube- "No Vasoline"
3. Kanye West- "Power"
4. Dr. Dre ft. Snoop Dogg- "Dre Day"
5. Tupac Shakur- "Hit 'Em Up"