#LaCroix: Marcy Playground - Sex And Candy
I've heard this song on the radio more times than I can count but I've never really paid much attention to what it had to say. I enjoy the instrumentals a lot and it's a nice relaxed rock tinged vibe but it's not a song I've ever felt passionate about one way or another. I don't shut it off when it comes on, I don't actively seek it out. I just nod along to the vibe and don't think too hard about it. It's a pretty decent song though.
#Txashaun: Gnarls Barkley - Crazy
See, this is an interesting case because I think Cee-Lo is one of the few artists who have managed to paradoxically become a one hit wonder twice, both with Gnarls Barkley and solo. I think this was the safer bet because, even though I do love the more explicit version of Cee-Lo's solo hit (if you know, you know) his vocals blend really well with Danger Mouse's production, who really is on top of his game. All this adds up to a song I feel like I really SHOULD like more, not to say I don't like it but I feel like I should LOVE this. It's right there, I can feel this really working for me with a bit more time.
#Booyahhayoob: Trapt - Headstrong
Trapt are awful, they bring absolutely nothing to the table except generic chug-along riffs and the 2nd most problematic Chris Brown in the music scene. And as someone who actually wants to become a legitimate music critic, it pains me to be forced to admit this, but here goes: I love this song. It's a very bad song by a very bad band led by a VERY problematic man, but, 2 things. 1, stuff like this was a big part of my teen years. 2, I'm a Midwesterner, and we all love our butt-rock. I can sit here all day and bash Trapt with some very legitimate complaints but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't singing along with every word during my listen for this game.
#Weetmaster: 4 Non Blondes - What's Up
Now THIS is what I'm talking about! I'm kinda sad this song got memed to death years ago with the He-Man stuff because I believe this is just genuinely a great song and deserves to be viewed as a great piece of music instead of just for the memes. I love jamming along with this whenever it comes on and just belting out the chorus because it's so simple yet so effective.
#Yswimmer96: Nena - 99 Red Balloons
I LOVE THIS SONG! Although I have to say, between the 2 versions of this song, I’ve always preferred it in German. I don’t really know how to explain it other than the lyrics just flow a lot better even if I don’t understand much German, they sound a lot more natural than some of the ones in the English version. That said though, the English version is still great. The guitar line and percussion really CARRY This song because holy hell that instrumental is so punchy and so much fun to throw on, even just on its own without the lyrics at all. As I said earlier, the lyrics in the English version are definitely a little awkward but I can give that a pass since this isn’t originally an English song.
#Ilovetosing: Spandau Ballet - True
So, I wasn’t familiar with this song by name, but 3 seconds in I had to pause for a bit because of the “OHHHH, *THAT* SONG!” moment I was having, lol. I’ve never really paid a ton of attention to what was really going on with this song before because the melody is just so pretty that it didn’t matter much. After a bit of research I find this is actually about a topic I can identify with. Listening with fresh ears and a new knowledge of what exactly I’m listening to leads me to the conclusion that this is absolutely something I am into!
#NewNightmare7: Silver - Wham Bam Shang-A-Lang
This was… weird. Looking into this one further, I can tell this was used in a pretty popular movie but unfortunately I am not familiar with Guardians of the Galaxy whatsoever so I have 0 attachment to this. What I’m getting from the lyrics is some sort of relationship that’s purely sexual, and as an asexual I have absolutely no use for something like that. Not to say I can’t enjoy a song about that subject though. This was weird as I said earlier but also kind of quaint, the instrumentals pretty much carry this song imo. My favorite part was the piercing string notes on the title line; that added a nice bit of punch to this otherwise breezy, fun song about a fling that didn’t work out. All in all I have to say this song isn’t really for me, and I can't see myself really ever getting into this,, but I don’t begrudge anyone who does like this.
#Arris: A-Ha - Take On Me
Hell yes! I think it’s general consensus that this is one of the most popular one hit wonders ever, and for good reason. The word iconic gets thrown around a lot on this site but I truly feel this song, especially those synth riffs, have earned the title of iconic. Hell, this song is so transcendant that even songs that sample it end up being amazing, hell just look at Blinding Lights which basically just reversed the main synth line.
#Veigar: Lil Loaded - 6locc 6a6y
Between this and the Judas cover round 1 it's probably going to sound like I have a problem with rap, I really don't though. That said though, I really didn’t enjoy this at all. There's nothing of interest here. It's just the same worn out clichés I've never liked in gangster rap; shooting people, getting money/women, being better than others, etc. I don't like this at all, sorry!
#YoundAndReckless: Qveen Herby - Black Sheep
I deleted the comment on instinct to give you time to re-submit but I will take your initial submission since at least I got one from you. This is very much not a one hit wonder, this wasn’t even a single from whatever EP this was on. If you had submitted Brokenhearted instead, as that’s her one big hit, that would’ve been a valid submission, although if I’m being honest I hate that song so it probably wouldn’t have made that much of a difference. What do I think about this song though? It’s fine. She’s better off solo than with the insufferable Karmin I guess so that’s something.
#JayElVeeIsBack: MC Hammer - U Can’t Touch This
What is there to say about U Can’t Touch This that hasn’t already been said? This song is just pure FUN! MC Hammer didn’t reinvent the wheel here but I don’t think he needed to, he just needed to ride the infectious beat and he did one hell of a job at it. This song is lined with memorable hook after memorable hook, iconic line after iconic line, with the parachute pants from the video and especially “Stop… Hammer Time!” becoming a pretty big part of our culture. This is obviously another song time has been very kind to and has gone down as one of the most beloved rap songs of the 90s for good reason!
#BigBrotherDonny: Lukas Graham - 7 Years
I heard a lot of Lukas Graham at work for some reason, a few of their other songs play from time to time, so I had to double check to make sure they even qualify. Some sources apparently consider them a 2 hit wonder, the other being Love Someone, but that peaked at 70 so fuck it this counts. My thoughts on this are very mixed, on one hand I enjoyed the slower, more melodic tone of the song a hell of a lot (stood out like a sore thumb in the PAINFUL year for music that was 2016.) On the other hand, this song is egotistical as fuck, for a song that’s supposed to be a somber reflection on his life the singer sure does brag a lot about how awesome he thinks he is. The part where the announcer cheers the band’s name is one of the worst possible production choices for this type of song and almost invalidates the heartfelt tone they were going for. Ultimately though, I’m willing to give this a pass because, again, I can tell that it’s meant to be a very heartfelt and personal ballad and it still comes across that way despite a few issues. This song gets a thumbs up from me.
Coming out on top in the One Hit Wonder round is
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. Arris!
I think most people would agree that A-Ha are one of the most iconic one hit wonder acts ever, and they knocked it out of the goddamn park with this song.
As with every competition, someone has to come in last, it was a very tight race between a song that I flat out hated and a song that was mediocre but didn't fit the theme. In the end...
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. YoundAndReckless
Ultimately this song just did not impress me enough to make me overlook the fact that it doesn't even count.
Now, we're 2 rounds in and this does mean we're going to be left with an overall bottom 2 every round here. How the bottom 2 is decided is pretty simple: The player who finishes in last and the player with the lowest average placement overall will be heading into a face-off round. This means that, if you survive the face-off, a strong performance the following round could be enough to drag you out of the bottom whereas one flop could plummet you into the abyss. The bottom 2 will be MAILING me their song choice, not posting it on the blog. The face-offs will keep the same theme as the round's theme but you must submit an entirely new song (one that hasn't been used!) and whichever does the worst will decide who goes home.
Submit your face-off songs ASAP and I will get the elimination blog up as soon as I have them in. Deadline is gonna be 10pm EST but if I get both submissions in sooner I will post the blog sooner.
