# Best #1 Modern/Alternative Rock Song of the Year: 1998 **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 21, 2014, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-modern-alternative-rock-song-of-the-year-1998/705269 "2014-11-21T17:01:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![woodstockbirdybird](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/woodstockbirdybird/32/7905_2.png) [@woodstockbirdybird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/woodstockbirdybird)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2014, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-modern-alternative-rock-song-of-the-year-1998/705269/1 "2014-11-21T17:01:05Z")
The first year I have to hold my nose before voting. Not a single song here I’d ever willingly listen to, so I’m just going to go with the one I find the least objectionable (which I suspect will be the favorite on this board). Some of my favorite alternative songs from '98 that didn’t make the list (to be fair, many weren’t singles): The Lucksmiths, “Untidy Towns”, The Divine Comedy, “National Express”, Elliott Smith, “Waltz #2 (XO)”, The Aislers Set, “Long Division”, Cinerama, “Dance, Girl, Dance”, Pulp, “Help The Aged”, Belle & Sebastian, “Sleep The Clock Around”. ---
**Author:** ![Nema98](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/d2c977/32.png) [@Nema98](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nema98)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2014, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-modern-alternative-rock-song-of-the-year-1998/705269/2 "2014-11-21T17:21:28Z")
Narrowed it to Fastball and Cake, though I liked a few others. But Cake got the vote. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2014, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-modern-alternative-rock-song-of-the-year-1998/705269/3 "2014-11-21T17:27:18Z")
Like with 1997, I guess I’ll just scratch my head while everyone says how badly this list sucks. I remember most of these songs, and I like just about all the ones I remember. I’m having a hard time making up my mind between six or seven different songs here. I even get a second chance to vote for disco lemonade. ---
**Author:** ![Les\_Espaces\_Du\_Sommeil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/les_espaces_du_sommeil/32/308_2.png) [@Les\_Espaces\_Du\_Sommeil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Les_Espaces_Du_Sommeil)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2014, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-modern-alternative-rock-song-of-the-year-1998/705269/4 "2014-11-21T17:29:14Z")
\*\*Semisonic _– Closing Time_ I really liked it at the time. Still do, to some extent. ---
**Author:** ![SirRay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cc9497/32.png) [@SirRay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SirRay)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2014, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-modern-alternative-rock-song-of-the-year-1998/705269/5 "2014-11-21T18:26:49Z")
I had to go with “Closing Time” because it’s a rather good song regardless of what it is “supposed” to mean (oddly, the music video had nothing to do with birth or fatherhood, but rather two people who keep missing each other as they try to meet up at a nightclub :dubious:) As usual, [the also-rans of 1998 from Playlist Research](http://www.playlistresearch.com/1990s/1998modern.htm) (I looked further into this list, since it doesn’t line up neatly with the Billboard top list - apparently it’s a combination of several different top song lists, as part of some ambitious project or other). Whatever, it gives the also-rans, which among other trends are now reflecting the short-lived rise of Swing (OK, so it was fun to dance modified lindys at a club with my girlfriend at the time, me dressed up rather smartly and her, pretty sexily :D). So for my favorite also-ran, I will peeve everyone off by choosing… Creed’s - “My Own Prison” (HA! :p) ---
**Author:** ![Suburban\_Plankton](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/suburban_plankton/32/219_2.png) [@Suburban\_Plankton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Suburban_Plankton)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2014, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-modern-alternative-rock-song-of-the-year-1998/705269/6 "2014-11-21T19:54:30Z")
I could have voted for 5 or 6 songs off this list, so I picked the local boys: Cake. ---
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2014, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-modern-alternative-rock-song-of-the-year-1998/705269/7 "2014-11-21T20:11:36Z")
I could have voted for a number of these. I suppose none are all-time greats, but I have many on playlists and hear and enjoy them. I voted for Cake. ---
**Author:** ![Eddie\_F](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/22d042/32.png) [@Eddie\_F](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eddie_F)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2014, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-modern-alternative-rock-song-of-the-year-1998/705269/8 "2014-11-21T22:04:24Z")
Another for “Closing Time”, with Fastball hot on its heels. ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2014, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-modern-alternative-rock-song-of-the-year-1998/705269/9 "2014-11-21T22:08:45Z")
> [@RTFirefly](#): > > Like with 1997, I guess I’ll just scratch my head while everyone says how badly this list sucks. I remember most of these songs, and I like just about all the ones I remember. I’m having a hard time making up my mind between six or seven different songs here. I even get a second chance to vote for disco lemonade. Same here. I voted for Sex and Candy, as it was probably my first favorite song ever, though I liked all the other ones. This was right around the time I started listening to music, so I remember all these really fondly. ---
**Author:** ![fiddlesticks](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiddlesticks/32/18129_2.png) [@fiddlesticks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fiddlesticks)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2014, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-modern-alternative-rock-song-of-the-year-1998/705269/10 "2014-11-21T22:53:40Z")
Celebrity Skin was my pick, basically sort of standing in as a proxy for the song Malibu instead. Both songs on that album that had the most obvious assistance from Billy Corgan. I had the Semisonic album with Closing Time too. That just didn’t age well with me when it became a ubiquitous song. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2014, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-modern-alternative-rock-song-of-the-year-1998/705269/11 "2014-11-21T23:24:57Z")
Of these songs, “Celebrity Skin” is my favorite, but it’s a pretty low bar with these choices. ---
**Author:** ![NDP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ndp/32/55_2.png) [@NDP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NDP)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2014, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-modern-alternative-rock-song-of-the-year-1998/705269/12 "2014-11-21T23:54:08Z")
> [@SirRay](#): > > I had to go with “Closing Time” because it’s a rather good song regardless of what it is “supposed” to mean (oddly, the music video had nothing to do with birth or fatherhood, but rather two people who keep missing each other as they try to meet up at a nightclub :dubious:) > > As usual, [the also-rans of 1998 from Playlist Research](http://www.playlistresearch.com/1990s/1998modern.htm) (I looked further into this list, since it doesn’t line up neatly with the Billboard top list - apparently it’s a combination of several different top song lists, as part of some ambitious project or other). Whatever, it gives the also-rans, which among other trends are now reflecting the short-lived rise of Swing (OK, so it was fun to dance modified lindys at a club with my girlfriend at the time, me dressed up rather smartly and her, pretty sexily :D). > So for my favorite also-ran, I will peeve everyone off by choosing… Creed’s - “My Own Prison” (HA! :p) I voted for Cake’s “Never There” but not with a lot of enthusiasm. The songs from the Playlist Research chart are a lot better than the ones here. ---
**Author:** ![Ponch8](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ponch8/32/9883_2.png) [@Ponch8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponch8)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2014, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-modern-alternative-rock-song-of-the-year-1998/705269/13 "2014-11-21T23:57:02Z")
I picked “Closing Time,” because every new beginning comes from some other beginning’s end. ---
**Author:** ![interface2x](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c0e974/32.png) [@interface2x](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/interface2x)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2014, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-modern-alternative-rock-song-of-the-year-1998/705269/14 "2014-11-22T02:13:12Z")
I picked Closing Time because it’s an okay song, but also because I read [this book](http://www.amazon.com/Wanna-Rock-Roll-Star-Machine-Gunned/dp/0767914716/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1416622245&sr=8-1-fkmr0&keywords=jacob+machine+gun+record) by the drummer, which goes pretty in-depth about how that song/album were made and what went into promoting it. Great book. ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2014, 12:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-modern-alternative-rock-song-of-the-year-1998/705269/15 "2014-11-23T12:48:22Z")
Pretty meek and mild list. I LOVE the Barenaked Ladies album that song is from, but I don’t like that song. So, I reluctantly chose Lenny Kravitz – enjoyable artist, not a bad song. ---
**Author:** ![NDP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ndp/32/55_2.png) [@NDP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NDP)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2014, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-modern-alternative-rock-song-of-the-year-1998/705269/16 "2014-11-26T20:14:55Z")
Another thing before this thread drops off the page: 1998 was when it became obvious there was no need to include the “Alternative” in “Modern/Alternative Rock”.