One-hit Wonders Part 3: 90s Alt Rock


The 90s were such an interesting time. Music wasn't pop , but it wasn't rock, so what the heck were we supposed to call it? Ooh, "alternative." Alternative to what though? Music that was garbage? Hey there was a band called Garbage! But we digress: check out our favorite 90s one-hit wonders that are awesome, crappy and everywhere in between.

1) Emf - "Unbelievable"
Any song that begins with comedian Andrew Dice Clay yelling, "Oh!" has got our attention. Any song that has a chorus consisting solely of the title is an instant one-hitter.

2) Chumbawamba - "Tubthumping"
"I get knocked down… but I get up again; you're never gonna keep me down!" Well, until this song fades away into inevitable nothingness.

3) Blind Melon - "No Rain"
We feel slightly unjustified putting this song (remember the sunny video with the dancing bee girl?) on our list, because we're sure had singer/songwriter Shannon Hoon not passed away from a drug overdose, the band would have gone on to great things. Tears.

4) Spin Doctors - "Two Princes"
They had a #7 hit with "Little Miss Can't Be Wrong." What? You've never heard of it? Exactly. Little known fact: John Popper of Blues Traveler was in the band's original lineup.

5) Crash Test Dummies - "Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm"
This Canadian group definitely didn't trick us into thinking they'd land a follow-up hit. It did however spawn a great parody by "Weird Al" Yankovic.

6) Len - "Steal My Sunshine"
No joke, we love this song (by yet another Canadian group) and get excited every time we hear the intro. They had potential for another hit, but no dice.

7) Proclaimers - "I'm Gonna Be (500 miles)"
Scottish identical twins. Need we say more? It also was the theme to a really cute 90s movie you may know and love, Benny & Joon.

8) Lisa Loeb - "Stay (I missed You)"
"You say I only hear what I want to." We say we hear a cute pop ballad that we still remember every word to 14 years later.

9) The Rembrandts - "I'll be there For You"
This song was never even released as a single and only made it to #17 on the U.S. Billboard charts, but Monica, Ross, Rachel, Chandler, Phoebe and Joey etched it onto her brains forever.

10) New Radicals - "You Get What You Give"
Remember the critical acclaim behind this band when they broke on the scene? Personally, we always felt they were wannabe named droppers ("Beck, Hanson, Courtney Love and Marilyn Manson") trying to catapult themselves to fame. And now we pat ourselves on the back.

Other Alternative tracks in the one-hit wonder vault:
Lou Bega - "Mambo No. 5"
Edwyn Collins - "A Girl Like You"
The Verve - "Bitter Sweet Symphony"
OMC - "How Bizarre"
Harvey Danger - "Flagpole Sitta"
Marcy Playground -" Sex and Candy"

Stay tuned for One-hit Wonders, Part 4: Hip-Hop Edition!