A Facebook friend posted the song Stacy’s Mom on their wall and said, “Remember them?” And I thought, “Of course I know Fountains of Wayne, I have three of their CDs and they’re awesome.” But then, I realized to the majority of the public they are just another One Hit Wonder.
Anyone else fans of bands like that? FWIW, not going to Lawyer you if the band in question may have technically have more than one hit. Basically, I am thinking of Bands that are generally known for one or two songs but really have a great back catalog.
Timbuk3. They were together for eleven years and released six albums with a lot of good music. But the only song people remember is “The Future’s So Bright, I Gotta Wear Shades”.
Joan Osborne. Many great songs but most people only know “One of Us”. (It probably hurt her career that she waited five years to release her second album.)
the La’s - best known (to most foks, only known) for the alternative radio hit There She Goes. They broke up before their debut album was even released, which is a shame as it was a very good record filled with some great, catchy, clean “British Invasion”-influenced power pop (and recorded at a time when retro-mid 60s was still a fresh novelty).
I was trying to change that only last week by by humming “Hairstyles and Attitudes” at the office. And at home. And at the grocery store. (Handily defeating the grocery store’s attempt to replace it with “Twentyfive or six to four”. It was a particularly virulent earworm.)
James has a lot of good stuff besides “Laid” and “Sometimes”, both off their fantastic 1993 Laid album. I didn’t hear more than those two songs here in the States. Bill Forman’s Amazon review for Laid called them “a chronically underrated band”.
Other favorite tracks of mine: Destiny Calling, Runaground, Sound, and Next Lover. They write good lyrics and are to me like a more upbeat Radiohead.
Whoa! I actually thought that was a Sixpence None the Richer original. SNTR probably deserve better but I have no idea since I only ever heard this song and Kiss Me.
I’m going to sound like a broken record and mention Norwegian popsters a-ha. Yes, “Take On Me” is the 80s in a nutshell, but they were together for 25 years (they announced their breakup last year) and were huge in Europe, South America… basically everywhere but the U.S. And of course, they are major influences on bands like Coldplay… and even Kanye West mentions them as an influence (I have to be honest, I can’t hear it in his music).
It’s a case of making it big way too quick and being too good looking. I think people wanted to fit them into a boy band narrative, when they were anything but.
“The Sun Always Shines on TV” charted in the U.S. so they are technically not a OHW.
Seems to me that Warner Bros. just gave up on them in the U.S. Their last two albums, Analogue and Foot of the Mountain would have done well here, I think.
Mine is more of a ‘‘two-hit wonder.’’ Alien Ant Farm was most known for their cover of ‘‘Smooth Criminal’’ and got some airplay from ‘‘Movies,’’ but their entire body of work is face-rockingly awesome and original. Definitely one of the most underrated bands that I know of.
I’ll go along with this. When I think of bands that were just on the cusp of greatness, the La’s come to mind. Too bad they imploded–they had so much promise.
Past members of The La’s:
Lee Mavers
John Power
Mike Badger
Phil Butcher
John “Timmo” Timson
Jim “Jasper” Fearon
Bernie Nolan
Tony Clarke
Paul Rhodes
Tony Russell
Barry Walsh
Paul Hemmings
Mark Birchall
Peter “Cammy” Camell
Iain Templeton
John “Boo” Byrne
Chris Sharrock
Barry Sutton
Neil Mavers
James Joyce
Lee Garnett
Edgar Summertyme
Jay Lewis
Nick Miniski
WTF!? That’s at least two new members for every year they’ve been together.
Faster Pussycat was known for House of Pain, but they had some other good stuff…Bathroom Wall, Don’t Change that Song.
Siagon Kick is best known for Love is on the Way but Body Bags is sooo much better. (sorry for that shitty Beyond The Law cut, it’s the only one I could find on YouTube.)
The Grateful Dead is the classic example of this. I believe the only Top 40 hit they ever had was “Touch of Gray,” but they have a huge back catalog, including a number of classics like “Sugar Magnolia” and “Truckin’”, not to mention an enormous fanbase and tours that consistently sold out.
Marcy Playground’s self-titled 1997 album is an awesome record. But Sex and Candy is the only song anyone will ever hear from it. It’s probably the least good song on the whole album.
