Anyone who’s ever worked at a record store that buys and sells used CDs can tell you what titles they see over and over again.  Jagged Little Pill, Cracked Rear View, the entire Cranberries catalog … these are discs that clog the bins coast to coast, as music buyers buy, absorb, and ultimately get sick of these huge mega-hits.  The second type of disc you see a lot is the one-hit wonder album - Vanilla Ice’s To The Extreme or today’s featured artist’s album, Chumbawamba’s Tubthumper.

A loose collective of musicians who had been making music in the U.K. since the early ’80s, Chumbawamba had a number of indie releases under their belt before signing to EMI in 1997.  Tubthumper, their major label debut, was their 7th overall (or so, depending on whether you count live sets or offshoots), so calling them a one-hit wonder, while technically correct in the States, seems a little unfair.  But that one hit, “Tubthumping,” was a doozy, blasting out of radios and MTV for what seemed like an hourly basis.  The single went Top 10 and it brought the album along with it, eventually selling over three million copies.  Trouble is, most people who bought it listened to the hit and had little time for the other eleven songs.

That’s a bit of a shame since at least one other song on the album isn’t bad at all.  It just happens to be the second single “Amnesia,” (download) a charging, horn-accented driving song that should be used as the theme music to some sports highlight show somewhere.  While American radio seemed to embrace the single, sending it fairly high up the airplay chart, singles buyers were nonplussed and the song failed to chart on the Hot 100.  Perhaps it was Alice Nutter’s, um, uncertain vocal that kept it from being a hit.  While a little Nutter went a long way as an accent on “Tubthumping,” perhaps a lotta Nutter was too much.  Or maybe it was the tango break in the middle of the dance/rock hybrid that threw people off. (more…)

Naked Eyes, ABC, Belinda Carlisle, and the Human League are currently crisscrossing the country on the Regeneration Tour, an oldies-revival trek that thankfully isn’t entirely mired in nostalgia, since all the bands involved are performing more than just rote lists of hits. I caught the Regeneration Tour at the Gibson Amphitheater in Los Angeles a couple weeks ago, and I can say it’s definitely worth the time (three hours!) and money. Lost in the ’80s fans will appreciate the deep set lists that have liberal sprinklings of album cuts and even some new tracks.

For example, Naked Eyes not only played “Promises, Promises,” but also “Fortune and Fame.” ABC ran through a couple songs from their latest, Traffic. The Human League made my night by tearing through stellar renditions of “Seconds,” “The Lebanon,” and more songs I’d never dreamed of hearing live. The nicest surprise of the night, however, was Belinda, who, along with some predictable Go-Go’s numbers, had a sizable sense of humor about her standing as an Adult Contemporary solo artist. For example, before starting one tune, she winked to the audience, “You hear this next song these days in supermarkets and grocery stores everywhere.” Cue “Circle In The Sand.”

Another surprise was Carlisle beginning her set with the anthem “Live Your Life Be Free,” (download) the second single from her 1991 album of the same name. While a decent-sized hit overseas, “Live Your Life Be Free” was a complete and total stiff in the U.S., failing to chart. In fact, Belinda’s fourth album was a complete non-starter Stateside, the first single, “Do You Feel Like I Feel?” stalling out at a feeble #73, a sad showing for an artist whose first three albums featured several Top Ten hits.

A rockier than usual single in Carlisle’s solo career, “Live Your Live Be Free” probably didn’t deserve to flop so hard. Sure, Belinda does her usual Stevie Nicks-sitting-on-a-washer-during-the-spin-cycle vocal performance, but the chorus is soaring and sort of sounds like the type of thing Robbie Williams would record ten years later. However, it was hampered by a video that, while high-gloss and gorgeous, was a complete mismatch for the song. (more…)

Throughout the ’80s and ’90s, Morrissey made quite of a bit of noise in the music press (this is back when he deigned to speak with them) about bands he had a fondness for and wished to support. Being a dyed-in-the-wool Moz disciple, I’d usually read about these acts, then shuffle off to the record store to buy a single or album and give them a shot. While the man’s music tends to be on the impeccable side, sadly his taste level is about 50/50. For every truly great band like James or Suede Morrrissey would champion, there’d be an equally vile Kristeen Young or :::shudder::: Gallon Drunk.

But since the man was right about half the time, I have him to thank for introducing me to Echobelly, part of the mid-’90s wave of Blur and Oasis-fueled Britpop. With singer Sonya Madan leading the charge, Echobelly were more than slightly reminiscent of the Smiths, which probably pleased certain cheerleaders of the band to no end. They also had some serious Blondie influences happening — you can hear both in the lead single from their second album, On.

“Great Things” (download) is an upbeat anthem about optimism that broke the band in the UK mainstream charts after their debut, Everybody’s Got One, earned them some indie buzz. Madan’s assured and likeable vocal is a definite highlight.

Echobelly worked a second single from On, “King of the Kerb,” (download) the most Blondie sounding of the group’s set of songs. While it hit the Top 40 in the UK, it wasn’t quite the smash “Great Things” was and outside of some airplay on MTV’s Alternative Nation, America just wasn’t interested in Echobelly. (more…)

Years before Eminem fantasized about killing his baby mama, another white rapper was crafting hip-hop joints about killing annoying passersby and setting fire to buildings in the dead of night with orgiastic pyromaniac glee. Dallas’ Mark Griffin took art rock, industrial beats, alternative, and hip-hop to create uncategorizable tales about modern life and the ones who can’t cope. College radio caught on first, playing “Truth Is Out Of Style” from Griffin’s first album, Hell With the Lid Off.

A year later, Griffin explored more mature and unsettling themes with his second album, Welcome to My Dream. Commercial alternative radio took a few tentative steps towards embracing MC 900 Ft. Jesus, as the single, “Killer Inside Me” (download) got some airplay and plenty of late-night MTV exposure. A dark journey into the mind of possibly the world’s most casual serial killer, the song provided the perfect soundtrack for fans of Bret Easton Ellis’ American Psycho. While there was definitely an bleak vibe, Griffin also cut the gloom with plenty of ironic humor, so you weren’t quite sure exactly where he was coming from.

It was Welcome to My Dream’s second single that got the most attention, though. “The City Sleeps” (download), a song from the point of view of a hopeless arsonist, got quite a bit of alternative radio action, making MC 900 Ft. Jesus one of the first popular white rappers (after the Beastie Boys and two-thirds of 3rd Bass).

Griffin recorded another album, One Step Ahead of the Spider, when fate struck. The video for “If I Only Had a Brain,” was showcased on an episode of Beavis & Butthead, where Beavis did a hilarious imitation of the song’s bassline (”Dum, da dum, da dum, da dum dum dum”). Sadly, instead of being known for paving the way for Eminem, this seems to be the mainstream’s only point of reference for MC 900 Ft. Jesus.

These days, Griffin DJs in his spare time and works as a clerk at Borders. Seriously. So, next time someone tries to sell you on a Borders Rewards membership, remember “Killer Inside Me” and smile politely when you say, “No, thank you.”

“Killer Inside Me” and “The City Sleeps” did not chart. 

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Here’s one I’ve been saving because … well, I’ve been too lazy to break out the USB turntable.

1994 was a great year for the Breeders. Last Splash had just turned platinum and “Cannonball” was crossing over from Alternative Nation to Top 40 radio, something completely unthinkable today. Sadly, it would also be the final year of the group in its most popular form, as success screwed with the band’s heads. But for a time, the Breeders could do no wrong. So if the band wanted to release a single available only on 7″ vinyl, then heck, sure! And make sure the vinyl is lime green! Okey dokey, Deals! Oh, and we only want to put one new song on it and not one, but two covers. Genius! And we’ll make a video to promote the B-side, not the A-side. Um, sure!

“Shocker in Gloomtown” (download) was one of the two covers on the Head to Toe single, a song originally by fellow Daytonians Guided By Voices, who also appear in the video, peering through the garage windows. It’s also the shortest and best track on the single, an under two-minute blast of punk hooks, raw production by Dinosaur Jr.’s J. Mascis, and almost remedial guitar as Kelley Deal learns to play in front of all of us. (more…)

Knoxville, Tennessee combo Superdrag’s 1996 major-label debut, Regretfully Yours, will always remind me of driving. Y’see, I was finishing up college at Cleveland State University, which was about a 40-minute drive from my place in suburban Elyria, Ohio. Not exactly a hotbed of culture, mind you. Luckily, Regretfully was about the perfect length for the one-way trip, so that final semester of school, I would use it as my driving music. By the time that last song hit, I knew it was time to start looking for parking (of course, I could play it all the way over again by the time I’d find a spot on a busy Wednesday).

I came across Superdrag the same way most of the alternative nation did, via the video for their first single, “Sucked Out,” (download) which got some pretty heavy airplay on the MTV Buzz Bin days. The Wikipedia page for Regretfully Yours says “Sucked Out” was about the record industry, and taking a listen to the lyrics, particularly the chorus of “who sucked out the feeling,” it’s tough to argue that assessment.

“Sucked Out” was cute for a while, but after quite a few listens the hoarse screaming on the chorus nearly crosses over into novelty territory. I much preferred the follow-up single, “Destination Ursa Major,” a tasty power-pop rocker with another nifty video to match: (more…)

Since we’ve got the Ocean Blue on the brain, we should probably take a look at the band most commonly associated with them to the point of being an almost slavish imitation. Drawing from the same influential well of Echo & the Bunnymen, the Smiths and the Railway Children, comparisons to the Blue were inevitable — throw in the fact that One was produced by then-recently exiled Ocean Blue keyboardist Steve Lau, and the point is almost indisputable.

A cursory listen to single “Waterfall” (download) reveals all the tricks in Riverside’s bag — the chiming guitars, shimmery production and oblique lyrics that bring to mind a certain Hershey, PA band. Lead singer Keith Kochan’s voice, however, is a little on the thin side, his limited range keeping the melodies throughout the album a little too similar. “Waterfall” did attract MTV’s attention, though, and got quite a few 120 Minutes spins. It didn’t hurt that Riverside’s members looked like they stepped right out of a Guess Jeans commercial:

It’s tempting to say now that you’ve heard “Waterfall,” you’ve pretty much heard the rest of One, since there’s not a lot of variety to be found. Second single “Cinnamon Eyes” tries to break the sameness of the album by adding some more exotic percussion, which was nice: (more…)

Let’s get this out there up right up front: I love this song. Space’s 1997 single, “Female of the Species” (download), is one of the funnest songs of the ’90s, with its kitschy steel drums, Doris Day strings and lead singer Tommy Scott’s camp delivery (particularly on the line “shock, shock, horror, horror, shock shock horror,” which never fails to crack me up). Mixing elements of the Kinks, the Who and early ’90s Blur Britpop, Space concocted a tasty brew that hit big in the U.K. and even crossed over to Stateside MTV and radio.

So the question now is: did Space do anything close to matching this stellar single? Their one-hit wonder status would lead one to instantly assume “no,” but the Spiders album on the whole isn’t half bad. Early indie single “Me and You vs the World” (download) shows up again with all its Kinks charm and “Neighborhood,” the sneeringly comedic “Money,” and the Charlatans UK-ish freakout “Drop Dead” make it well worth the 68¢ it currently sells for used on Amazon. Plus, many copies come with an extra CD with two b-sides and an instrumental version of “Female of the Species” ready-made for car karaoke fun.

Three more albums have followed Spiders, the most recent being 2004’s Suburban Rock ‘n’ Roll, but unlike the bargain Spiders is, check out how much coin the later releases grab. Yowza.

“Female of the Species” peaked at #15 on the Billboard Modern Rock Chart in 1997.

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When Ian McCulloch left Echo & the Bunnymen in 1988 for a solo career, no one really expected the rest of the band to carry on without him, much less attempt to replace him. McCulloch was such a singular rock presence, mixing Jim Morrison brooding with goth attitude (before there was such a thing), that any attempt to slot a new singer in his spot was nearly unthinkable. But the Bunnymen did, in fact, soldier on, and the results were surprisingly good — maybe even better than McCulloch’s glossier solo debut.

While Ian chose to continue the mainstream sound of the Bunnymen’s self-titled 1987 album, the new Echo & the Bunnymen, with St. Vitus Dance vocalist Noel Burke, touring keyboardist Jake Brockman, and drummer Damon Reece (piling on the bad news, original Echo drummer Pete de Freitas was killed in a motorcycle accident in 1989) moved back to the earlier psychedelia of Crocodiles and Heaven Up Here with 1990’s Reverberation. Luckily, the band was poised to catch the zeitgeist of the Manchester baggy sound of the time with tracks like the first single, “Enlighten Me” (download), a trippy mix of sitars, baggy beats and guitarist Will Sergeant’s distinctive guitar riffs. New singer Burke wisely chose not to try to imitate McCulloch’s singing style and the results were catchy and appealing. (more…)

Former New Order bassist Peter Hook has a pretty big set of brass balls. When the band decided to take a break after 1993’s Republic, various members did their own thing — singer Bernard Sumner continued his Electronic project with Johnny Marr, drummer Stephen Morris and keyboardist Gillian Gilbert experimented with more synthpop as the Other Two, and Hook … well, Hook just decided to keep New Order going with Monaco. If he couldn’t use the New Order name, he certainly could use the sound.

Hook’s distinctive high-note bass technique was joined by vocalist David Potts, who seemed to be selected purely for his ability to ape Bernard Sumner’s vocals with Rich Little precision (but accurately, unlike Rich Little — sorry, I couldn’t name another famous impressionist). Just take a listen to Monaco’s modern rock hit, “What Do You Want From Me?” (download) — if there wasn’t an MP3 tag on there identifying it otherwise, you’d swear it was New Order.

The cloning process continued on Music for Pleasure’s second single, “Shine” (download), which improbably manages to be even more New Order-ish than New Order. It’s like Hook took every New Order cliche and combined it in an evil laboratory experiment to create the perfect New Order song. It’s all here — the high-plucked bass, the oblique love-song lyrics, and that distinctive New Order-yet-not voice. Shameless, yes, but perhaps Hook had a lot more to do with New Order’s sound and success than we think? (more…)