Keeper Of The Keys (Stroke 9)

[(Artie Ziff)]

Been getting airplay this week, but I can't find a source for release. Long time no hear from these guys.

[My Life Is A Stereo]

3 years was last studio album.

Last song I really liked was from 2004 album "All In" called "My Advice"

[American Idiot]

Holy smoke & a pancake. It really does feel like forever since I've heard something new from Stroke 9, but the last single that even charted was "Kick Some Ass" at #36 back in '01 so I'd really be shocked if this went anywhere. They've had three full length albums and one Greatest Hits released since then, but I don't recall hearing anything on radio since the "Rip It Off" singles.

[(Artie Ziff)]

Good title, Kick Some Ass. Don't think I heard that one.

[jvandyck87]

"Kick Some Ass" is pretty funny. I like how self-aware they are in that song by alluding to how "Anger's today's fashion so let's sing another song about bashing someone's head in" to make fun of the fact that "Little Black Backpack" basically catered to that trend. And "Kick Some Ass" is so obviously of the same ilk, but then retreats from it with the section beginning "But I'm really just a sensitive artist". At the time as a middle schooler, I liked "Little Black Backpack" a lot, and I thought "Kick Some Ass" was awesome too, but at the time I liked it because of how much ass it kicked rather than as the self-parody that I admire it for now (I didn't really get it at the time, I was just like YEAH THAT'S THAT SWEET LINE FROM "LITTLE BLACK BACKPACK"!!! WOOO!!!)

[lockebox]

I haven't really heard anything other than ''Little Black Backpack" from these guys. Another band alongside Barenaked Ladies, Crash Test Dummies, Eve 6, Fastball, Marcy Playground (and so on) to add to the 90's "one and done" list.

[jvandyck87]

One what? If you're calling them one hit wonders, I'd beg to differ in the case of Fastball, Eve 6, and Barenaked Ladies. Fastball was a one album wonder with "The Way" and "Out Of My Head" both doing significant damage at radio. Barenaked Ladies and Eve 6 had each had a big hit on two albums: Barenaked Ladies - "One Week" and "Pinch Me"...Eve 6 - "Inside Out" and "Here's To The Night". Cases could be made for BNL - "It's All Been Done", "Old Apartment", "If I Had A Million Dollars"; Fastball - "Fire Escape"; and Eve 6 - "Promise", "Leech", "Think Twice".

Crash Test Dummies, Marcy Playground, and Stroke 9 I agree with. Other additions to the list might include Semisonic, New Radicals, Citizen King, Len, Nine Days, Dishwalla, and Splender.

[lockebox]

Apr 22, 2010 16:05:32 GMT -5 jvandyck87 said:

One what? If you're calling them one hit wonders, I'd beg to differ in the case of Fastball, Eve 6, and Barenaked Ladies. Fastball was a one album wonder with "The Way" and "Out Of My Head" both doing significant damage at radio. Barenaked Ladies and Eve 6 had each had a big hit on two albums: Barenaked Ladies - "One Week" and "Pinch Me"...Eve 6 - "Inside Out" and "Here's To The Night". Cases could be made for BNL - "It's All Been Done", "Old Apartment", "If I Had A Million Dollars"; Fastball - "Fire Escape"; and Eve 6 - "Promise", "Leech", "Think Twice".

Crash Test Dummies, Marcy Playground, and Stroke 9 I agree with. Other additions to the list might include Semisonic, New Radicals, Citizen King, Len, Nine Days, Dishwalla, and Splender.

One and done. It's an Artie saying. Ok maybe I was being a bit harsh on the three bands you mention, but they all only had one real big hit on Modern rock radio.

[halo19]

Well, in one-album wonders I could see in those artists (Splender, Marcy Playground, Semisonic, Nine Days). The others did just have one shot at the most.

I had their first album. Yawn.

[My Life Is A Stereo]

I have never liked the term one hit wonder especially in relation to bands that might hit one chart with one song but it's not necessarily where they would normally be played.

Calling BNL a one hit wonder is cringe worthy. Even Splender isn't a one hit wonder they had a song called "Yeah Whatever" chart on Modern Rock before "I Think God Can explain".

A lot of people misuse a band being BEST KNOWN for a song with one hit wonder.

[American Idiot]

I really miss hearing all of those bands above on an everyday basis as you could have 12-13 years ago. Shit, seeing the list of these songs really brings back memories from my middle & high school years. Eve 6 is still one of my favorite bands. Their lyrics are some of the most creative I've ever heard and their self-titled album and "Horrorscope" are still some of my all-time favorites. This is an awesome thread so far. Ah, memories :)

[pen]

My favorite Stroke 9 song will always be City Life.

[thisbeautifulmess]

Even considering some of these artists as one-hit wonders, either from a song or album standpoint, is perplexing.

Barenaked Ladies has 7 top 50 alternative songs and 7 top 50 chr songs, plus success at hot ac and adult rock.

Eve 6 has 7 top 50 alternative songs (from 3 different albums) and 3 top 50 chr songs.

Even Semisonic has 6 top 50 alternative songs (from 3 different albums), Dishwalla has 4 top 50 alternative songs (from 3 different albums) and Marcy Playground has 4 top 50 alternative songs. Splender has had 3 songs chart on alternative or chr (monotone is the 3rd). And I didn't even look up what these artists have done additionally at hot ac and adult rock.

While I agree that many of these artists have one "stand-out" song that they will be remembered for, I think the only artist listed so far that can truly be considered a one-hit wonder (from at least a U.S. standpoint) is Len.

[jvandyck87]

The counterargument to that is...what defines a hit? Many would argue that a song that charts or even a song that charts well riding on a major hit's coattails isn't necessarily a hit. Which Semisonic and Dishwalla songs charted on alternative, and do you know how high "Monotone" charted? "Monotone" was my favorite song in 6th and 7th grade. =)

[thisbeautifulmess]

Apr 23, 2010 10:49:07 GMT -5 jvandyck87 said:

The counterargument to that is...what defines a hit? Many would argue that a song that charts or even a song that charts well riding on a major hit's coattails isn't necessarily a hit. Which Semisonic and Dishwalla songs charted on alternative, and do you know how high "Monotone" charted? "Monotone" was my favorite song in 6th and 7th grade. =)

The formatting will probably suck, but I'll try:

Semisonic:
Song Entry Peak WOC
If I run 07/19/1996 38 10
F.N.T. 11/29/1996 35 6
Closing time 03/06/1998 1 26
Singing in my sleep 08/21/1998 10 16
Secret smile 01/22/1999 19 10
Chemistry 01/26/2001 42 5

Dishwalla
Song Entry Peak WOC
It's going to take some time 11/18/1994 30 7
Counting blue cars 03/22/1996 1 24
Charlie Brown's parents 11/01/1996 35 7
Once in a while 07/24/1998 17 12

Splender
Song Entry Peak WOC
Yeah, whatever 04/09/1999 24 20
Monotone 12/10/1999 44 6


And keep in mind that one needs to also consider hot ac and adult rock formats, as these artists later transitioned to those formats.

And I'm not trying to argue that some of these lesser songs are "hits"- I'm just pointing out that the answer isn't black/white and instead there's alot of gray, and alot of times influenced by personal interpretation.

But I still argue that Barenaked Ladies and Eve 6 are outside the realm of personal interpretation and shouldn't be in consideration for one hit/album wonders.

[lockebox]

For the record, I never described any of these bands as "one-hit wonders". I was using Artie's terminology of "one and done", meaning the bands I mentioned had one real big hit on Modern rock radio. A band like Len is probably the only true "one-hit wonder" there, as they've only had 1 charting single.

[(Artie Ziff)]

You've swayed from stalking to plagiarizing. I hope the hacking doesn't come next!

I use that term more to describe an album cycle more than I do to a lone hit on the chart.

Apr 23, 2010 11:19:21 GMT -5 lockebox said:

I was using Artie's terminology...