Today, I decided to dig to the back of my CD collection, and found Hootie and the Blowfish Cracked Rear View.
Insofar as I can tell, they were critically (then popularly) a joke because their music had no substance. It was meaningless fluff.
But as far as meaningless fluff goes, this is definitely on the higher end. Catchy, simple guitar, strong beat, lyrics that (for the most part*) aren’t cringeworthy bad, juvenile, or out of their element. They revel in being a trifle. And really there’s nothing wrong with that. It’s not difficult music, it’s not masturbatory “look what I can do with my guitar!”, it’s not pretentious. It’s sincere, easy singalong pop. And I think that drove the critics crazy. How DARE people want four chords under forgettable mellow vocals that they can belt along with and not care if it’s out of tune?
Now, no band can honestly get away with “I’m such a baby, yeah, the Dolphins make me cry.” But Hootie is one of the few bands that can make you not mind.
I am glad that the band is still together and still coming out with music every once in a while, and that despite the general consensus against them, finding some radio play. Recently (most recently, even though it was January 04) I really did enjoy their “Goodbye Girl” for the TV version of the Neil Simon play. Again, just good easy to digest pop.
*The “racism” issue songs on the album (Namely, “Drowning” and “Look Away”) are hopelessly simple for their subject matter, and it really seems like the boys (presumably primarily singer Darius) don’t have the emotional depth to pull off anything serious.
I don’t remember seeing critics reviews of it. I came to the conclusion that it’s meaningless, trite pop all on my own. It’s in the same category as Creed, Matchbox 20, and Collective Soul. Although I suppose that they are closer to being a listenable band than the others since if you just tweaked their musical style a bit they wouldn’t be a bad “jam band.”
I agree. I was in high school at the time it came out and liked it. Nothing too deep, but easy for a kid to enjoy. Now, whenever I hear them, it brings back instant and detailed memories of those times, people and places. So they will always have a nostalgic fondness with me due to associations if nothing else.
I think they were just overplayed to the point that lots of people got tired of them.
I’m not ashamed to say that I own the disc and still listen to (and enjoy) it once in a while. But then, back when it came out, I wasn’t listening to the radio often enough that I heard the hits several gazillion times each.
I think the problem is that now, ten or so years later, nobody know what to think of a black man who isn’t singing about bitches and hoes and bling. And I don’t think he says “fuck” even once on that album. What’s wrong with that guy?
AAAAAAggggghhhhh!!! I was in Columbia, South Carolina, the epicenter of Hootiness, when they hit the scene. Their songs were on every station, at least every other song on the playlist. Could not get away from them…make them stop make them stop MAKE THEM STOP!!! Only Mostly Dead, that’s 3 years of therapy down the drain. Just kidding.
Amusing aside: A week before I moved out of Columbia I found out my apartment was 2 down from where Mr. Rucker lived. The apartment I rejected. Early signs of psychic powers? Is it too early to get a 1-900 number?