He/Him
And your iconic South Park segment
The 90's Billboard #1's Rate (1995-1999): We've come to the end of our road.
- Thread starter Ironheade
- Start date
What the fuck is wrong with (some of) you!!!!
*collapses into pile of muffled sobs*
*raises head*
This was my other candidate for 11.
I thought I could trust you, @londonrain!
*returns to sobbing and plotting revenge*
*collapses into pile of muffled sobs*
*raises head*
This was my other candidate for 11.
I thought I could trust you, @londonrain!
*returns to sobbing and plotting revenge*
londonrain
Staff member
He/Him
Yes, this strange disdain '@londonrain has for a few of these r&b and hip hop classics sure has taken me by surprise too!
londonrain
Staff member
What R&B classics have I not supported? You forget that the main reason I like the genre is because of the quality of the vocals across most of my faves.
I don’t stan hip-hop as consistently as I do R&B, but there are plenty of hip-hop and rap classics I’ve scored highly here (Doo Wop and Mo Money Mo Problems being among the highest scorers). California Love is just one of those songs that got played to absolute death at the time and I just never took to it. The main vocal part is processed too much for my liking. As for going off at parties... what can you actually do when it comes on? It’s not exactly a dancefloor filler.
she/her
Don't you all go moaning at @londonrain. I gave this song a one as well.
Mostly because I consider it a butchering of a decent funk record.
Mostly because I consider it a butchering of a decent funk record.
He/Him
The Boyz II Men songs here got a higher score from me than you surprisingly...
@Empty Shoebox, it's in jest - we love the LondonRain ;)
@Empty Shoebox, it's in jest - we love the LondonRain ;)
londonrain
Staff member
The funk is the reason it got the one point that it did.
I'm pretty sure I docked points for that talk box.
Yes, but I suspect my Boyz II Men scores are higher when you compare them to my ballot average. I didn't give out 9s and 10s as freely as you did!
he/him
Also @Ironheade, you say that the East Coast has won the rap battle, but you're forgetting Coolio, who is still going strong unless I'm mistaken! (The song isn't crossed off yet on my bingo card)
Oh God, Gangsta's Paradise and Mo Money Mo Problems are going to be the next two, aren't they. Shame on all responsible.
ohnostalgia
Staff member
She/her
Yes to this. Just because it's Madonna doesn't mean it's good.
Well, some of you lot predicted it was coming. Some of you lot even wanted it. (Those people are cops.)
Sorry, lads. You're getting knocked down, but you won't be getting back up again this time.
38. Tubthumping - Chumbawamba
Average: 7.031
Highest score: 10 x 10 (@Ironheade , @DJHazey , @Sprockrooster , @berserkboi , @marie_05 , @Filippa , @Conan , @K94 , @ohnostalgia , @unnameable )
Lowest score: 1 x 0 (@soratami )
Weeks at #1: 9 consecutive airplay (#6 on the Hot 100)
Year-End Hot 100: #69 (1997)
Firstly, I've got to tell you this. If all you know of Chumbawamba is “Tubthumping”, you are missing the hell out. Because this is an incredibly interesting band, and I can't recommend that you guys explore the rest of their catalogue heartily enough. They have a thirty-year career behind them, fifteen years before their one big hit and fifteen after it. Their musical range spans from the bruising anarcho-punk of their earliest work, to their 90's experiments with dance music and sampling, to the glossy pop of the “Tubthumping” years, to the stripped-down English folk of their last days. They left the respectable indie label One Little Indian to sign with the mega-conglomerate EMI, got a worldwide smash hit out of it, and funnelled all the money they got from it into worthy left-wing causes. Then they dumped a jug of water over John Prescott's head, encouraged their fans to shoplift their album, and followed up with WYSIWYG, a sprawling attack on the vapid mass culture they had made themselves a part of (and sworn to destroy from the inside). And through it all, their ferocious anarchist views remained as strong as ever, and with their many public stunts and irreverent take on things in this here neoliberal hellscape we call Earth, they've proven themselves some of music's sharpest, most gifted political satirists. It's quite the legacy they've got – one that certainly shouldn't be reduced to just the song we're talking about today.
Now, with that said? I love “Tubthumping” to bits and will not hear a word said against it.
I will say this. As one o' them bleeding heart pinkos myself (libertarian socialist, not anarchist like Chumbawamba, but it's alright, we're comrades anyway)... I cannot stand to listen to a lot of left-wing protest music, especially on the punk side. So many artists get so wrapped up in getting their message across that they forgot the necessity of writing a decent tune. But Chumbawamba sure didn't forget that, with “Tubthumping” coming off as both magnificent pastiche and sterling example of a shameless pop hustle. They retain a link to the early 90's dance music that they once experimented with, in that extra-groovy post-Madchester beat; there are grace notes of hip-hop in the stuttering bass drum and of acid house in the lacing of tambourines on the chorus, but it has a thumping yet light-footed quality to it that is all its own. The guitar production sounds equally massive, with the bright and colourful smears of distortion slathered across the chorus sliding easily into the subtle acoustic strums, faint and in the back but ever-present, supporting the verses. The song ratchets up the build towards the chorus beautifully, with the twitchy single guitar notes scraping across the smooth pop synthesizers in the background, with the quicker half-spoken delivery from the male vocals playing off against the female crooning before the chorus explodes. The trumpet solo in the middle eight is perfectly placed, with the slow and melodic lines of its first part giving way to quicker blasts synchronized with the fast double piano chords, in a way that builds up anticipation for the chorus again, but in a striking and inventive way where just inserting another repetition of the verses would have been too much. And there is, of course, that one part that everbody remembers: the “I GET KNOCKED DOWN!” chant. Yeah, it's stupid and obvious and repeats like crazy. But you know what? It sounds bloody good. It's an anthem, it's a bolshy statement of purpose, it's made to be chanted on football terraces the world over, so instead of taking away from it, those qualities only enhance it. Sloganeering doesn't need to be subtle; in fact, it's usually better if it isn't. If you are in a communal setting where this song is played and can resist yelling along to that, you might want to check for a pulse. The exuberance and power, the production on the vocals making it sound like a crowd of thousands is screaming it even when it's only one band, is impossible to deny. You believe it, categorically; nothing is going to keep this lot down.
But forget music! Let's talk politics. (No, wait, come back!) Working out where exactly “Tubthumping” fits in with Chumbawamba's radical left outlook is a little tricky, considering that on the face of it, it seems to be just a big dumb drinking song. I've seen plenty of people trying to read some deep meaning into it, even starting from its title. Fairly convincing analyses have been made of it: anything from that it's taking the mickey out of the fratboy culture that it so often soundtracked, to that it's about old leftists sitting around drinking and rehashing past glories instead of actually going out and fighting, to that it's about New Labour and its betrayal of working-class leftist principles (the John Prescott stunt would seem to be pretty compelling evidence for this). Someone on a forum somewhere even tried to link it to the Troubles, using the “Danny Boy” vocals as evidence and arguing that the “next door neighbour” part referred to Ireland. But for me, this critiques mostly miss the mark. What do I think? Well, I can do no better than to say what band member Boff Whalley had to say about it.
YES. That right there, that is your political meaning. That sing-along quality, the unsubtlety and bluntness, the sloganeering lyrics, those in and of themselves are a manifesto as to what Chumbawamba are about, to the point that it isn't necessary for the lyrics to go into them. It's about Chumbawamba deflating any expectations that their new mass audience might have about “anarchism” or “leftism”, taking it out of the hands of the cloistered group of leftists that sees any attempt to make it accessible to a wider audience as a betrayal, and sneaking it into the hands of everybody who just liked catchy tunes. (Look at the album's liner notes! You can call “Tubthumping” lacking in political content, but those sure aren't.) And it is also about a sense of community and solidarity with one another, the prevalence of layered vocals in the song serving as a musical representation of such. It even extends to the ending of the song, where the boisterous male chants overlap with the sweet female vocals and lines from earlier in the song are piled on top of each other – like a group of friends holding each other up through tough times, “singing when we're winning”. As the spoken-word part at the beginning of the album says, music doesn't matter, "not compared to how people matter", and the way they completely overwhelm the production speaks to that viewpoint beautifully. This might be a stretch, but I could even take it down to the eclectic mash-up of pop, rock and dance with a punk attitude, showing that nothing is off-limits here, all are welcome at the table. In short, they are the 99%, and that's about the best attitude that a band looking to tear down capitalism can have, a representation of how it should all be. (Yeah, that's just my personal view, but let's run with it.) This isn't some austere, ponderous leftism full of theory and jargon: this is a fun, friendly take on it that you can crack a few beers to and have everybody wait for the chorus so they can sing along, leavened with humour and uber-catchy pop melodies. That this bunch of firebrand reds had that welcoming populist spirit to them really warms the cockles of my heart. “Tubthumping” is for the proles, and I'm damn glad of it; both an ironic swipe at beer-swilling lad culture and its associated drinking songs, and a brilliant example of the same on its own terms. I just love the spirit of the whole thing... is it a 10 on a musical level? Maybe not. But just for the sentiment, and for soundtracking a lot of good times and better times? Yeah, I'm gonna do it. 10 it is!
Rooneyboy (3.5) - Written about "the resilience of ordinary people" Not patronising at all then? (They did start out living in a squat...)
Spiral (3) - It's novelty wore off 20 years ago. (I dunno, the novelty of an anarchist dance-pop band never quite wears off... I mean, there's not many others, are there?)
Mike (2) - Like Born Slippy, this is very much "of its time" and milked that time for all it was worth. No need to ever hear it in 2018.
Empty Shoebox (3) - If we put to one side the fact that this song is clearly garbage, the group were pretty iconic. Advising people to steal CDs, pouring water over John Prescott at the brits, supporting striking dockworkers etc. (And let's not forget Scab Aid! - Ed.) But none of that counts here, so we go back to the song. Which is garbage.
japanbonustrack (7.5) - Is this the host's 11? (Nope. Thought about it, though!)
əʊæ (6) - Turns out I knew this after all. This is an unpleasant listen but not eliciting straight up hate... I don't know, I'm just left with a feeling of what-the-fuck-was-that-ness. (Me too. But I love it.)
Mina (5) - This song is so bizarre.
iheartpoptarts (7) - This song is so random. But it’s fun. What the heck is tubthumping? Watch it be one of those “turn turtle” things which turns out to be a real phrase. (Verb: "to promote something or express opinions vociferously". Which is certainly what Chumbawamba spent thirty years doing.)
mung_bean (7) - Most of these points are for nostalgia, let’s face it.
ohnoitsnathan (9.5) - Overplayed, but still a decent song.
bleedingheart80 (9) - Come on, how can you not love this song? Play it at a club and I'm sure it will be a hit. (Play it on repeat, and for each time they mention one of the drinks in the pre-chorus, take a swig of the appropriate one! *DOCTOR'S NOTE: DO NOT DO THIS IT WILL KILL YOU*)
K94 (10) - Had to give this full marks. Like it’s almost unintentionally great and deceptively full of pop sensibility. They did that (and nothing else). (Well, there's that small matter of the fourteen albums they released in their career...)
Filippa (10) - This is pure joy and happiness. It never fails to put me in good mood.
berserkboi (10) - Boptastic!
Ray (9) - I loved the brief period when Chumbawamba convinced people they were a feelgood pop band. (I do like a good bit of subversion.)
Sprockrooster (10) - This song has the most iconic intro, but even more brilliant is the masc shouting versus the high pitched female parts. (Oh, Danny Boy, the rate, the rate is calling...)
A$AP Robbie (7) - Its so weird that Chumbawamba had such a mega hit, but this is quite nostalgic for me, the kind of thing I really liked at the time but haven't really listened to since, so it is properly transportative. (Oh, they LOVED being "popular culture". They said it was the best thing that ever happened to them. Gotta respect them for just letting the inevitable "SELLOUT!" cries bounce off them.)
londonrain (7) - I prefer She's Got All The Friends for the outright sarcasm, but what a banger Tubthumping is. (I just love the WYSIWYG album cover. You think it's just a photo of a cute doggie? WRONG! Gotta love these guys.)
unnameable (10) - Stanning for Chumbawumba because the anarchist horde deserve sympathy for having their cheesiest number be their biggest hit. Their version of “Hanging on the old barbed wire” is my fave by them. (Great stuff. Chumbawamba are awesome at a cappella, by the way.)
WowWowWowWow (9) - There’s something a little bit hilarious about a British anarchist group with seemingly no previous chart success creating a pub classic and sport anthem for the ages, especially in the pre-YouTube days. But a hit is a hit, no matter who brings it to the yard, and I guess we can all relate to getting back up again once we’ve been knocked down. I might give Amnesia a 10 were it in the rate. I suppose the lead singer going on US TV saying that people should steal their record from music shops was not exactly the pathway to future success though… (Ah, but they didn't say all record shops. Just the big ones like HMV and Virgin. Support your friendly local proletarian record shop!)
Hudweiser (7) - A friend of mine had the Chumbawamba album, so I was quite familiar with them at the time. Their political activism was really interesting, but it seems Tubthumping was misconstrued as a binge drinking anthem instead. But a hit's a hit, I doubt they cared too much. Amnesia was better though. (Just in musical terms, I'd agree with you there, honestly.)
DJHazey (10) - This is probably my #3 song in the entire rate. When I think of the 90s and one-hit wonders this will always be the first song that comes to mind. This song really IS the 90s in a nutshell really. My first memory of the song has a story behind it. My circle of friends were working on a science project in 8th grade (early 1998) and we went over to Mike's house after school. Needless to say, we didn't get any work done because we had a staple gun fight, made a bottle rocket out of a Pepsi bottle and lighter fluid and ended up having a wrestling match in Mike's pitch black bedroom later that evening. This is was so stupid because of course we ended up knocking over Mike's fish tank and water was dripping from his second-story bedroom to first floor but no animals were harmed because we saving the fish by putting them in the bathtub. This whole time "Tubthumping" was playing on repeat because we all loved the song. Also, when Mike's parents got home and saw what had happened I remember standing in the driveway, waiting for my parents to come get me, and I could hear Mike's Dad going off in anger so I felt very uncomfortable right then. There is nothing for me to say about the song itself that probably is going to be said by those who love it. Every word is iconic. Every choice of production is genius. "Pissing the night away" is the most unlikely ear-worm in history and young people around the globe all got an education about what drinks to order when they got older (or what to find in their parent's liquor cabinet). Good times. (And with this iconic story, I think we shall leave it there.)
Sorry, lads. You're getting knocked down, but you won't be getting back up again this time.
38. Tubthumping - Chumbawamba
Average: 7.031
Highest score: 10 x 10 (@Ironheade , @DJHazey , @Sprockrooster , @berserkboi , @marie_05 , @Filippa , @Conan , @K94 , @ohnostalgia , @unnameable )
Lowest score: 1 x 0 (@soratami )
Weeks at #1: 9 consecutive airplay (#6 on the Hot 100)
Year-End Hot 100: #69 (1997)
Firstly, I've got to tell you this. If all you know of Chumbawamba is “Tubthumping”, you are missing the hell out. Because this is an incredibly interesting band, and I can't recommend that you guys explore the rest of their catalogue heartily enough. They have a thirty-year career behind them, fifteen years before their one big hit and fifteen after it. Their musical range spans from the bruising anarcho-punk of their earliest work, to their 90's experiments with dance music and sampling, to the glossy pop of the “Tubthumping” years, to the stripped-down English folk of their last days. They left the respectable indie label One Little Indian to sign with the mega-conglomerate EMI, got a worldwide smash hit out of it, and funnelled all the money they got from it into worthy left-wing causes. Then they dumped a jug of water over John Prescott's head, encouraged their fans to shoplift their album, and followed up with WYSIWYG, a sprawling attack on the vapid mass culture they had made themselves a part of (and sworn to destroy from the inside). And through it all, their ferocious anarchist views remained as strong as ever, and with their many public stunts and irreverent take on things in this here neoliberal hellscape we call Earth, they've proven themselves some of music's sharpest, most gifted political satirists. It's quite the legacy they've got – one that certainly shouldn't be reduced to just the song we're talking about today.
Now, with that said? I love “Tubthumping” to bits and will not hear a word said against it.
I will say this. As one o' them bleeding heart pinkos myself (libertarian socialist, not anarchist like Chumbawamba, but it's alright, we're comrades anyway)... I cannot stand to listen to a lot of left-wing protest music, especially on the punk side. So many artists get so wrapped up in getting their message across that they forgot the necessity of writing a decent tune. But Chumbawamba sure didn't forget that, with “Tubthumping” coming off as both magnificent pastiche and sterling example of a shameless pop hustle. They retain a link to the early 90's dance music that they once experimented with, in that extra-groovy post-Madchester beat; there are grace notes of hip-hop in the stuttering bass drum and of acid house in the lacing of tambourines on the chorus, but it has a thumping yet light-footed quality to it that is all its own. The guitar production sounds equally massive, with the bright and colourful smears of distortion slathered across the chorus sliding easily into the subtle acoustic strums, faint and in the back but ever-present, supporting the verses. The song ratchets up the build towards the chorus beautifully, with the twitchy single guitar notes scraping across the smooth pop synthesizers in the background, with the quicker half-spoken delivery from the male vocals playing off against the female crooning before the chorus explodes. The trumpet solo in the middle eight is perfectly placed, with the slow and melodic lines of its first part giving way to quicker blasts synchronized with the fast double piano chords, in a way that builds up anticipation for the chorus again, but in a striking and inventive way where just inserting another repetition of the verses would have been too much. And there is, of course, that one part that everbody remembers: the “I GET KNOCKED DOWN!” chant. Yeah, it's stupid and obvious and repeats like crazy. But you know what? It sounds bloody good. It's an anthem, it's a bolshy statement of purpose, it's made to be chanted on football terraces the world over, so instead of taking away from it, those qualities only enhance it. Sloganeering doesn't need to be subtle; in fact, it's usually better if it isn't. If you are in a communal setting where this song is played and can resist yelling along to that, you might want to check for a pulse. The exuberance and power, the production on the vocals making it sound like a crowd of thousands is screaming it even when it's only one band, is impossible to deny. You believe it, categorically; nothing is going to keep this lot down.
But forget music! Let's talk politics. (No, wait, come back!) Working out where exactly “Tubthumping” fits in with Chumbawamba's radical left outlook is a little tricky, considering that on the face of it, it seems to be just a big dumb drinking song. I've seen plenty of people trying to read some deep meaning into it, even starting from its title. Fairly convincing analyses have been made of it: anything from that it's taking the mickey out of the fratboy culture that it so often soundtracked, to that it's about old leftists sitting around drinking and rehashing past glories instead of actually going out and fighting, to that it's about New Labour and its betrayal of working-class leftist principles (the John Prescott stunt would seem to be pretty compelling evidence for this). Someone on a forum somewhere even tried to link it to the Troubles, using the “Danny Boy” vocals as evidence and arguing that the “next door neighbour” part referred to Ireland. But for me, this critiques mostly miss the mark. What do I think? Well, I can do no better than to say what band member Boff Whalley had to say about it.
YES. That right there, that is your political meaning. That sing-along quality, the unsubtlety and bluntness, the sloganeering lyrics, those in and of themselves are a manifesto as to what Chumbawamba are about, to the point that it isn't necessary for the lyrics to go into them. It's about Chumbawamba deflating any expectations that their new mass audience might have about “anarchism” or “leftism”, taking it out of the hands of the cloistered group of leftists that sees any attempt to make it accessible to a wider audience as a betrayal, and sneaking it into the hands of everybody who just liked catchy tunes. (Look at the album's liner notes! You can call “Tubthumping” lacking in political content, but those sure aren't.) And it is also about a sense of community and solidarity with one another, the prevalence of layered vocals in the song serving as a musical representation of such. It even extends to the ending of the song, where the boisterous male chants overlap with the sweet female vocals and lines from earlier in the song are piled on top of each other – like a group of friends holding each other up through tough times, “singing when we're winning”. As the spoken-word part at the beginning of the album says, music doesn't matter, "not compared to how people matter", and the way they completely overwhelm the production speaks to that viewpoint beautifully. This might be a stretch, but I could even take it down to the eclectic mash-up of pop, rock and dance with a punk attitude, showing that nothing is off-limits here, all are welcome at the table. In short, they are the 99%, and that's about the best attitude that a band looking to tear down capitalism can have, a representation of how it should all be. (Yeah, that's just my personal view, but let's run with it.) This isn't some austere, ponderous leftism full of theory and jargon: this is a fun, friendly take on it that you can crack a few beers to and have everybody wait for the chorus so they can sing along, leavened with humour and uber-catchy pop melodies. That this bunch of firebrand reds had that welcoming populist spirit to them really warms the cockles of my heart. “Tubthumping” is for the proles, and I'm damn glad of it; both an ironic swipe at beer-swilling lad culture and its associated drinking songs, and a brilliant example of the same on its own terms. I just love the spirit of the whole thing... is it a 10 on a musical level? Maybe not. But just for the sentiment, and for soundtracking a lot of good times and better times? Yeah, I'm gonna do it. 10 it is!
Rooneyboy (3.5) - Written about "the resilience of ordinary people" Not patronising at all then? (They did start out living in a squat...)
Spiral (3) - It's novelty wore off 20 years ago. (I dunno, the novelty of an anarchist dance-pop band never quite wears off... I mean, there's not many others, are there?)
Mike (2) - Like Born Slippy, this is very much "of its time" and milked that time for all it was worth. No need to ever hear it in 2018.
Empty Shoebox (3) - If we put to one side the fact that this song is clearly garbage, the group were pretty iconic. Advising people to steal CDs, pouring water over John Prescott at the brits, supporting striking dockworkers etc. (And let's not forget Scab Aid! - Ed.) But none of that counts here, so we go back to the song. Which is garbage.
japanbonustrack (7.5) - Is this the host's 11? (Nope. Thought about it, though!)
əʊæ (6) - Turns out I knew this after all. This is an unpleasant listen but not eliciting straight up hate... I don't know, I'm just left with a feeling of what-the-fuck-was-that-ness. (Me too. But I love it.)
Mina (5) - This song is so bizarre.
iheartpoptarts (7) - This song is so random. But it’s fun. What the heck is tubthumping? Watch it be one of those “turn turtle” things which turns out to be a real phrase. (Verb: "to promote something or express opinions vociferously". Which is certainly what Chumbawamba spent thirty years doing.)
mung_bean (7) - Most of these points are for nostalgia, let’s face it.
ohnoitsnathan (9.5) - Overplayed, but still a decent song.
bleedingheart80 (9) - Come on, how can you not love this song? Play it at a club and I'm sure it will be a hit. (Play it on repeat, and for each time they mention one of the drinks in the pre-chorus, take a swig of the appropriate one! *DOCTOR'S NOTE: DO NOT DO THIS IT WILL KILL YOU*)
K94 (10) - Had to give this full marks. Like it’s almost unintentionally great and deceptively full of pop sensibility. They did that (and nothing else). (Well, there's that small matter of the fourteen albums they released in their career...)
Filippa (10) - This is pure joy and happiness. It never fails to put me in good mood.
berserkboi (10) - Boptastic!
Ray (9) - I loved the brief period when Chumbawamba convinced people they were a feelgood pop band. (I do like a good bit of subversion.)
Sprockrooster (10) - This song has the most iconic intro, but even more brilliant is the masc shouting versus the high pitched female parts. (Oh, Danny Boy, the rate, the rate is calling...)
A$AP Robbie (7) - Its so weird that Chumbawamba had such a mega hit, but this is quite nostalgic for me, the kind of thing I really liked at the time but haven't really listened to since, so it is properly transportative. (Oh, they LOVED being "popular culture". They said it was the best thing that ever happened to them. Gotta respect them for just letting the inevitable "SELLOUT!" cries bounce off them.)
londonrain (7) - I prefer She's Got All The Friends for the outright sarcasm, but what a banger Tubthumping is. (I just love the WYSIWYG album cover. You think it's just a photo of a cute doggie? WRONG! Gotta love these guys.)
unnameable (10) - Stanning for Chumbawumba because the anarchist horde deserve sympathy for having their cheesiest number be their biggest hit. Their version of “Hanging on the old barbed wire” is my fave by them. (Great stuff. Chumbawamba are awesome at a cappella, by the way.)
WowWowWowWow (9) - There’s something a little bit hilarious about a British anarchist group with seemingly no previous chart success creating a pub classic and sport anthem for the ages, especially in the pre-YouTube days. But a hit is a hit, no matter who brings it to the yard, and I guess we can all relate to getting back up again once we’ve been knocked down. I might give Amnesia a 10 were it in the rate. I suppose the lead singer going on US TV saying that people should steal their record from music shops was not exactly the pathway to future success though… (Ah, but they didn't say all record shops. Just the big ones like HMV and Virgin. Support your friendly local proletarian record shop!)
Hudweiser (7) - A friend of mine had the Chumbawamba album, so I was quite familiar with them at the time. Their political activism was really interesting, but it seems Tubthumping was misconstrued as a binge drinking anthem instead. But a hit's a hit, I doubt they cared too much. Amnesia was better though. (Just in musical terms, I'd agree with you there, honestly.)
DJHazey (10) - This is probably my #3 song in the entire rate. When I think of the 90s and one-hit wonders this will always be the first song that comes to mind. This song really IS the 90s in a nutshell really. My first memory of the song has a story behind it. My circle of friends were working on a science project in 8th grade (early 1998) and we went over to Mike's house after school. Needless to say, we didn't get any work done because we had a staple gun fight, made a bottle rocket out of a Pepsi bottle and lighter fluid and ended up having a wrestling match in Mike's pitch black bedroom later that evening. This is was so stupid because of course we ended up knocking over Mike's fish tank and water was dripping from his second-story bedroom to first floor but no animals were harmed because we saving the fish by putting them in the bathtub. This whole time "Tubthumping" was playing on repeat because we all loved the song. Also, when Mike's parents got home and saw what had happened I remember standing in the driveway, waiting for my parents to come get me, and I could hear Mike's Dad going off in anger so I felt very uncomfortable right then. There is nothing for me to say about the song itself that probably is going to be said by those who love it. Every word is iconic. Every choice of production is genius. "Pissing the night away" is the most unlikely ear-worm in history and young people around the globe all got an education about what drinks to order when they got older (or what to find in their parent's liquor cabinet). Good times. (And with this iconic story, I think we shall leave it there.)
Full disclosure, I was listening to an episode of Chapo Trap House as I was writing this. Felt pretty appropriate.
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he/him
He drinks a whiskey drink, he drinks a vodka drink, he drinks a lager drink, he drinks a cider drink, he sings TUBTHUMPING TO REMIND HIM OF THE GOOD TIMES WHEN THIS WAS STILL IN THE RATE
Don't cry for me, next door neighbour...
Don't cry for me, next door neighbour...