Asides

’90s one-hit wonder videos

Got a CD in the mail by The Break and Repair Method. Quick research (read: a visit to the band’s MySpace page) reveals this is a side project of Matchbox 20 guitarist Paul Doucette (dude, give up your day gig and put all your eggs in this basket!) featuring a wide array of friends who lend their talents to various songs. Reading the names is like reading a Who’s Who of mid-90s MTV videos – Tracy Bonham (“Mother Mother”), Nina Gordon (ex-Veruca Salt, “Seether”), David Levita (Alanis Morrisette), Roger Manning (Jellyfish, Beck), Rusty Anderson (Paul McCartney), Jeff Russo (Tonic, “If You Could Only See the Way”), Ryan Macmillan (The Push Stars), and Matt Beck (Dog’s Eye View).

And, did I mention that Doucette is married to Moon Unit Zappa?

All these names got me thinking of the one-hit wonders of the ’90s, particularly the mid-90s (of which many of these performers were members of).

Remember this song?

[youtube]http://youtube.com/watch?v=03VklMOkraU[/youtube]

Or this one?

[youtube]http://youtube.com/watch?v=oWeehnYPP18[/youtube]

Or this one?

[youtube]http://youtube.com/watch?v=CKl_7zK3fbI[/youtube]

I know fans of these bands will argue that they were more than one-hit wonders the same way I’ll argue that Blind Melon and Veruca Salt were more than one-hit wonders, but to the average music consumer, these bands are known for one hit, and one hit only.

You can’t embed YouTube videos in the comments section but can put in the URL if you want. Or, if you want to embed videos or see what other one-hit videos from the ’90s people remember, head over to this message board thread on Donewaiting.com.

Nevermind cover star is all grown up

Every couple of years a story pops up about the kid who served as the cover model for Nirvana’s Nevermind album. NPR caught up with the now 17-year-old Spencer Elden to find out how his photo was chosen, the reaction his friends have when discovering it was him on the cover of Nevermind, and what he’s up to now.

This quote from the story is pretty funny:

“Quite a few people in the world have seen my penis,” he says from his home in Los Angeles. “So that’s kinda cool. I’m just a normal kid living it up and doing the best I can while I’m here.”

You call this a tour???

Why, I remember back in MY day when bands would jump into a van and play 45 shows in 42 days and would hit 4 or 5 cities in Ohio alone! Those days, for the most part, are gone, at least for the “veterans” who chose to announce “tours” that consist of under 10 shows that are strategically located in major markets like New York, Chicago, and L.A.

Juliana Hatfield’s fall “tour” to promote her forthcoming CD, How to Walk Away, will bring her to the following locations:

09/09 Washington, DC IOTA
09/10 Philadelphia, PA World Café Live
09/12 New York, NY Bowery Ballroom
09/14 Boston, MA Brattle Theater
09/23 Seattle, WA Triple Door
09/24 Portland, OR Aladdin
09/25 San Francisco, CA Café Du Nord
09/27 Los Angeles, CA Largo

Check out 2 new tracks from How to Walk Away (the rootsy “My Baby,” “Shining On”) on Juliana’s MySpace page.

New Stereolab single – “Three Women”

How about some new French pop to throw on the iPod? Here’s the first single from Stereolab’s Chemical Chords due in stores on August 19.

DOWNLOAD: “Three Women”

What? You want tour dates too? Got ’em, my friends and here they are:

9/20 Detroit Bar (w/ Atlas Sound) Costa Mesa California
9/21 Glasshouse (w/ Atlas Sound) Pomona California
9/24 La Zona Rosa (w/ Atlas Sound) Austin Texas
9/26 Variety Playhouse (w/ Atlas Sound) Atlanta Georgia
9/27  40 Watt Club (w/ Atlas Sound) Athens Georgia
9/29  Cat’s Cradle (w/ Atlas Sound) Carrboro North Carolina
9/30  9:30 Club (w/ Atlas Sound & Chessy) Washington D.C.
10/01 The Fillmore @ TLA (w/ Atlas Sound) Philadelphia Pennsylvania
10/02  Irving PlazaNew York New York
10/03 Irving PlazaNew York New York
10/04 Irving PlazaNew York New York
10/06 Paradise (w/ Monade) Boston Massachusetts
10/07  Club Soda (w/ Monade) Montreal CAN
10/08  Phoenix Concert Theatre (w/ Monade) Toronto Ontario CAN
10/09  The Crofoot (w/ Monade) Detroit Michigan
10/10  Vic Theater (w/ Monade) Chicago Illinois
10/12  First Avenue (w/ Monade) Minneapolis Minnesota
10/14  Gothic Theatre (w/ Monade) Englewood Colorado
10/17  Showbox (w/ Monade & Richard Swift) Seattle Washington
10/18  Wonder Ballroom (w/ Monade & Richard Swift) Portland Oregon
10/19  Commodore Ballroom (w/ Monade & Richard Swift) Vancouver CAN
10/21  The Fillmore (w/ Monade & Richard Swift) San Francisco California
10/22  The Fillmore (w/ Monade) San Francisco California
10/23  Henry Fonda Theater (w/ Monade & Richard Swift) Los Angeles California
10/24  Belly Up Tavern (w/ Monade & Richard Swift) Solana Beach California