With Bottom Feeders we take a look at the songs on the Billboard Hot 100 that only got a little love. It’s an A-Z look at songs that charted no higher than #41 in the decade. Take a listen, enjoy and comment. And don’t forget, information on the top 40, airplay and bubbling under charts are on pages 2-3.
Section 1: The Ass End
The Tuesdays
”It’s Up To You” 1998, #55 (10 weeks) (download)
Tuesday is a boring day, isn’t it? It’s not like having a case of the Mondays and not nearly as famous as hump day. And we don’t TGIT either. It’s like Thursday really; just there.
The band would have also been just there for me back in 1998 if WTSR hadn’t had them in heavy rotation. Then again, all four of these ladies from Norway were hot and that made a difference to me back in 1998 for sure. And of course, there’s lots of immature conversations being had when one of the members of the group is named May Hole. However, that said, ”It’s Up To You” is still a damn good song.
Tina Turner
”Why Must We Wait Until Tonight?” 1993, #97 (2 weeks) (download)
”Missing You” 1996, #84 (9 weeks) (download)
Since I’m an 80s guy, when I think of Tina Turner, I go back to ”What’s Love Got To Do with It” ”We Don’t Need Another Hero” and ”Typical Male.” I don’t picture her as this sensual singer like she’s trying to pull off in ”Why Must We Wait Until Tonight?” which makes it terrible awkward for me to listen to. That smokey voice doesn’t work well on that one. And this one was written by Bryan Adams and Mutt Lange, which isn’t obvious at all.
”Missing You” has to be one of the worst covers of the decade. She took a great song and absolutely destroyed it. And really how many times can you say Tina Turner destroyed a tune and mean it in a negative way? #Turnerfail
Shania Twain
”Whose Bed Have Your Boots Been Under?” 1995, #87 (19 weeks) (download)
”(If You’re Not In It For Love) I’m Outta Here!” 1995, #74 (9 weeks) (download)
”The Woman In Me (Needs the Man In You)” 1995, #90 (15 weeks) (download)
”God Bless the Child” 1996, #75 (5 weeks) (download)
”Come On Over” 1998, #58 (10 weeks) (download)
”You’ve Got A Way” 1999, #49 (13 weeks) (download)
I really think you can pinpoint the major change in style of country music turning into pop music, back to the ultra sexy, Shania Twain. While I still think the blame belongs mostly on the shoulders of Mutt Lange, Shania did her best to blur the lines starting with her third record, 1997’s Come on Over. But 2002’s Up! was really the point where everything in country music felt different, as she released the same album, three different ways; country style, pop style and um, in the style of Indian film music. She also really liked cheesy Jim Steinman length song titles and exclamation points!
T.W.D.Y. featuring Too $hort, Ant Banks, Rappin-4-Tay, Captain Save Em and Mac Mall
”Players Holiday” 1999, #90 (16 weeks) (download)
T.W.D.Y. stands for ”The Whole Damn Yey” and honestly I have no idea what that means. Nor do I know what happened to Captain Save Em or Mac Mall after this song. The only thing that I’m positive of is that ”Lovely Day” by Bill Withers makes for a fantastic sample in hip hop tunes.
Twinz
”Round & Round” 1995, #84 (9 weeks) (download)
Typical G-Funk right here. While twin brothers Trip Locc and Wayniac had very little success overall, you can listen to this and hear everything that was great about that era.
Twista
”Get It Wet” 1997, #96 (2 weeks) (download)
If you know your rap, you know Twista simply because no one else spits like this. Back in 1992 he was recognized by the Guinness Book of World Records as the fastest rapper in the world (since the Guinness Book seems to create a category for any and everything possible, no matter how ludicrous). Twista really wasn’t a hit until ”Slow Jamz” in 2003 so you get one of his early tunes here.
II D Extreme
”Cry No More” 1993, #48 (20 weeks) (download)
All I think about when I see the name II D Extreme is ”To the extreme / I rock a mic like a vandal / light up the stage / and wax a chump like a candle.” That’s unfortunate.
This group does feature Johnny Gill’s brother Randy and a dude with one of the greatest first names ever — D’Extra Wiley.
2 Hyped Brothers and a Dog
”Doo Doo Brown” 1992, #90 (5 weeks) (download)
Could ”Doo Doo Brown” be the best worst song in the decade? Frank Ski was a DJ at V-103 in Baltimore, MD at the time and pulled in his buddy Stanley Evans to do this really dumb/great track. The dog’s name was Rhondo V. Haus Fokwulfe.
2 In A Room
”El Trago ”the drink”” 1994, #86 (6 weeks) (download)
I had no idea 2 In A Room had anything hit the chart other than ”Wiggle It” back in 1990. It’s amazing that what could really be considered almost a novelty group had even a minor hit four years after a pretty silly tune.
2 Live Crew / Luke
”Pop That Coochie” 1991, #58 (13 weeks) (download)
”I Wanna Rock” 1992, #73 (14 weeks) (download)
”Scarred” 1996, #64 (16 weeks) (download)
”Shake A Lil’ Somethin’” 1996, #72 (15 weeks) (download)
Once you got past ”Me So Horny” and ”Banned in the U.S.A.,” 2 Live Crew songs got a little riduclous. Luke put out a solo record in the middle of this range and tracks like ”I Wanna Rock” were just booty thumpin’ and rehashing of all their hits until that point. Even so, the fact that a group so dirty had 11 songs that at least bubbled under (counting Uncle Luke’s solo tunes) was a pretty nice feat.
2nu
”This Is Ponderous” 1990, #46 (13 weeks) (download)
Last week, we had what I thought was the worst week of the series. This week, maybe the best. ”This Is Ponderous” is without question, totally fucking ridiculous. The vocals were done by Jock Blaney, the production director at KPLZ in Seattle, Washington. When the track was released, the ”group” didn’t even have a name. Supposedly, the DJ introduced this as a group that was ”too new” and there you have your moniker.
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