Re: Alternative Year End #1 Battle

[Keith3000]

I decided to go through the biggest alternative tracks of the past few years. (I'm not really sure if '98 and '99 are correct.) Which of these do you like best? Interesting how they were all successful on the pop chart as well.

It's hard for me to choose my favorite...I think they're all excellent songs. I'll vote for Third Eye Blind, though Incubus, Dishwalla, and 3DD are really close...

[singingsparrow]

Third Eye Blind and Dishwalla are both very close, but Third Eye Blind I believe has the best year-end #1 of the past decade or so.

Third Eye Blind: Semi-Charmed Life: A
Dishwalla: Counting Blue Cars: A-
Red Hot Chili Peppers: Scar Tissue: B+
3 Doors Down: Kryptonite: C+
Incubus: Drive: C (They are a great band, but this single is just plain bland compared to their other rreleases)
Puddle of Mudd: Blurry: C
Trapt: Headstrong: C-
Marcy Playground: Sex and Candy: F- (By far one, if not THE worst Alternative single ever)

Sincerely,
Noah Eaton

[BFMR]

1. Marcy Playground - Sex & Candy
2. 3 Doors Down - Kryptonite (REALLLY CLOSE)
3. Incubus - Drive
4. Dishwalla - Counting Blue Cars
5. Puddle Of Mudd - Blurry
6. Third Eye Blind - Semi-Charmed Life
7. Red Hot Chili Peppers - Scar Tissue
8. Trapt - Headstrong

[FreakyFlyBry]

1. 3 Doors Down - Kryptonite A+
2. Third Eye Blind - Semi-Charmed Life A+
3. Dishwalla - Counting Blue Cars A
4. Red Hot Chili Peppers - Scar Tissue A
5. Marcy Playground - Sex and Candy A-
6. Incubus - Drive B+
7. Puddle of Mudd - Blurry B+
8. Trapt - Headstrong C-

[tico]

Wow, all great songs but only one winner! The one winner would be Puddle Of Mudd.

[crash46]

1. Incubus - Drive: A+
2. Dishwalla - Counting Blue Cars: A
3. Red Hot Chili Peppers - Scar Tissue: A
4. Third Eye Blind - Semi-Charmed Life: A-
5. Trapt - Headstrong: B+
6. Marcy Playground - Sex & Candy: B+
7. 3 Doors Down - Kryptonite: B+
8. Puddle Of Mudd - Blurry: B

[jond7699]

Drive

[Radical347]

Wow, Dishwalla was #1 in 1996. :o I started listening to Alt. in 2000 or so and I have yet to hear them played even once on any alternative station.

1. Dishwalla - Counting Blue Cars: [blue]A[/blue]
2. Third Eye Blind - Semi-Charmed Life: [blue]A-[/blue]
3. Incubus - Drive: [blue]A-[/blue]
4. Puddle of Mudd - Blurry: B
5. Marcy Playground - Sex and Candy: B- (It used to be much higher until I realized it made no sense, yet for some reason I still like it)
6. Trapt - Headstrong: C+ (Well, it's tolerable again)
7. 3 Doors Down - Kryptonite: C+ (I can't get over how horribly bland this, or any of their other songs, is. The only one of their songs outside of a C range now is "Be Like That" which is equally bland but lyrical genius.)
8. Red Hot Chili Peppers - Scar Tissue: [red]F-[/red] (Of all songs of the past decade, this is only second to Lady Marmalade. Everything that could possibly go wrong in a rock song, went wrong here. Can someone please tell me what's likeable about this song because I've been trying to figure out why for the past 4 years and have not even been able to think of one reason.)

[Deleted]

1. "Counting Blue Cars" (by far. Not that this isn't a good group of songs but most of these are just "good" and I love "CBC".)
2. "Drive"
3. "Blurry"
4. "Kryptonite"
5. "Semi-Charmed Life"
6. "Scar Tissue"
7. "Headstrong"
8. "Sex And Candy"

[DuckHead]

Actually, R&R's year-end Alternative Charts had Fuel on top in 1998 with "Shimmer", and Lit on top in 1999 with "My Own Worst Enemy".

But anyway, here's my rankings:

1. Kryptonite- 3 Doors Down (2000)
2. Semi-Charmed Life- Third Eye Blind (1997)
3. Drive- Incubus (2001)
4. Blurry- Puddle Of Mudd (2002)
5. Headstrong- Trapt (2003)
6. Counting Blue Cars- Dishwalla (1996)
7. Scar Tissue- Red Hot Chili Peppers (1999)
8. Sex And Candy- Marcy Playground (1998)

[reception]

Puddle Of Mudd "Blurry"

[j]

I love these.

1. Third Eye Blind - Semi-Charmed Life
2. Incubus - Drive

These are tolerable.

3. Red Hot Chili Peppers - Scar Tissue
4. Dishwalla - Counting Blue Cars

The rest are horrible.

5. Marcy Playground - Sex & Candy
6. 3 Doors Down - Kryptonite
7. Puddle Of Mudd - Blurry
8. Trapt - Headstrong

[EvanJ]

I like Third Eye Blind and Trapt and am voting for Trapt because it has 0.

[irice22]

Third Eye Blind

[crash46]

HowieDayFan writes:
Can someone please tell me what's likeable about this song because I've been trying to figure out why for the past 4 years and have not even been able to think of one reason.

Okay. The solos rule, especially the one near the end of the song. There, I did in 20 seconds what you couldn't do in 4 years. ;)

[Radical347]

crash46 said:

Okay. The solos rule, especially the one near the end of the song. There, I did in 20 seconds what you couldn't do in 4 years. ;)

LOL...thanks

[halo19]

Well, HowieDayFan, I bet you'd like 1993's the best, if we went by Billboard: "Regret" by New Order

I'm going to add in the older ones:
1992: U2 - "One": [blue]A+[/blue]
1988: Siouxsie and The Banshees - "Peek-A-Boo": [blue]A[/blue] (although I bet they only went from September on that year-end issue)
2001: Incubus - "Drive": [blue]A[/blue]
1993: New Order - "Regret": [blue]A[/blue]
("My Own Worst Enemy" would be right here)
1989: Love And Rockets - "So Alive": [blue]A-[/blue]
1991: Big Audio Dynamite II - "Rush": [blue]A-[/blue] (why can't modern rock be this creative still?)
1994: Live - "Selling The Drama": [blue]A-[/blue]
1999: Red Hot Chili Peppers - "Scar Tissue": [blue]A-[/blue] (I don't think it deserved 16 weeks, but maybe it does if "Headstrong" spent all those weeks there. but I could have sworn that it was really "My Own Worst Enemy" that got #1, and this was only #5, despite all those weeks)
1996: Dishwalla - "Counting Blue Cars": B+
("Shimmer" would be right here)
1997: Third Eye Blind - "Semi-Charmed Life": B+
2002: Puddle of Mudd - "Blurry": B (pretty good for a band like POM that sucks.)
2000: 3 Doors Down - "Kryptonite": B- (as much as I loved it when it was out)
1998: Marcy Playground - "Sex And Candy": B- (wow, some of these are extremely overrated)
1995: Silverchair - "Tomorrow": C-
2003: Trapt - "Headstrong": [red]F+[/red] (see "Sex And Candy"; this and "Still Frame" are hell. Easily the worst year-end #1, ever)

I know that 1990 was left out, but I can't remember what song it was.

[j]

halo20 said:

I know that 1990 was left out, but I can't remember what song it was.

You also left out 94 and 95.

I can't believe "Regret" hit the Alternative chart, let alone be the year-end #1. :o :o

[crash46]

94 was "Selling The Drama" by Live and 95 was "Tomorrow" by Silverchair, if anyone's interested.

[Radical347]

halo20 said:

Well, HowieDayFan, I bet you'd like 1993's the best, if we went by Billboard: "Regret" by New Order

:o I love it! I figured it would've hit alternative but I had no idea it was #1. I've never heard it there though. :( Come to think of it, I never hear "Regret" that much anyway. Even though it was by far their biggest hit, everyone seems to like their 80s stuff like "Bizarre Love Triangle" and "True Faith" much better.

My ranking of the older ones:

1993: New Order - "Regret": [blue]A+[/blue]
1992: U2 - "One": [blue]A[/blue]
1994: Live - "Selling the Drama": [blue]A[/blue]
1988: Siouxsie and The Banshees - "Peek-A-Boo": B+
1989: Love And Rockets - "So Alive": C- (this song is kinda creepy)
1995: Silverchair - "Tomorrow": D- (I can't think of a better example of a song that both makes me yawn and gives me a headache at the same time)

1991: Big Audio Dynamite II - "Rush": nh/dr

[insect2]

1) Incubus - Drive
2) 3 Doors Down - Kryptonite
Fuel - Shimmer
3) Red Hot Chili Peppers - Scar Tissue
4) Trapt - Headstrong
5) Dishwalla - Counting Blue Cars
6) Third Eye Blind - Semi-Charmed Life
7) Marcy Playground - Sex And Candy
Lit - My Own Worst Enemy
8) Puddle of Mudd - Blurry

[Mega248]

3 Doors Down - Kryptonite [blue]A-[/blue]
Dishwalla - Counting Blue Cars [blue]A-[/blue]
Puddle Of Mudd - Blurry B+
Incubus - Drive B+
Third Eye Blind - Semi-Charmed Life B
Marcy Playground - Sex & Candy B
Red Hot Chili Peppers - Scar Tissue C+
Trapt - Headstrong C

[Mega248]

SingingSparrow said:

Trapt: Headstrong: C-

:o

[Gorminako]

Kryptonite A+
Drive A+
Blurry A
Headstrong A-
Scar Tissue B+
Counting Blue Cars B-
Semi-charmed Life C
Sex & Candy D+

Interestingly, it's the songs this decade that I like much better. I quickly got sick of those last 3 songs. Contrary to what Howie Day Fan says, "Kryptonite" is probably the most interesting, original and least tiresome of all these songs. An excellent song indeed!

"Shimmer" would get an A or A+ and earn a spot in the Top 4, and Lit's song would be dead last in the F range where Lit's songs normally find themselves.

[Gorminako]

Including the older ones that I recognize:
One A
Selling The Drama A
Regret A
Tomorrow C+
So Alive C

How did "Lightning Crashes" by Live not make #1 in 1995? That was huge, much bigger than "Tomorrow". Nirvana's "Smells Like Team Spirit" is another surprise omission. My guess for 1990 would be something by Dépêche Mode, either "Enjoy The Silence" or "Policy Of Truth", both outstanding songs.

[halo19]

The reason why "Tomorrow" was #1 and not LC was because it was released later in the year and stayed on the chart for a long time, whereas LC was more fast rise/fast fall, even after those 9 weeks at #1 on modern rock (using Billboard).

"Smells Like Teen Spirit" made the list at #26 on both 1991 and 1992 year-end lists. It spent one week at #1, so that's not even an "omission".

While I'm not sure, somehow my thoughts keep recurring that it's "Policy of Truth" that got #1. If I found out, I would say that. However, the topic creator made guesses for 1998 and 1999, that were both incorrect, so maybe I could have included that. It's not as good as most Violator songs, but would be between MOWE and SA (probably the weirdest pop crossover ever).

[insect2]

halo20 said:

"Smells Like Teen Spirit" made the list at #26 on both 1991 and 1992 year-end lists. It spent one week at #1, so that's not even an "omission".

It got to #26 in '91? That's pretty impressive since I think it was released in September of that year which would only give it about 13 weeks at the most. And I would have thought it got like 10 weeks at #1 too.