While we were digging our car out of the snow, we listened to most of Part 1 of Slate Culture's Exploration of One Hit Wonders which provides the "chart-nerd's perspective" on whether an artist/song combination should get forever widely branded with this tag.
You can listen through if you want, but we immediately noticed a few flaws that were not taken into account.
The podcast primarily focuses on VH1's 100 Greatest One Hit Wonders special from 2002 hosted by William Shatner, which occurred right around the time VH1 gave up on playing "Top 100" specials that aired videos, pivoting to a series of 2-minute documentary-style Behind the Music segments. We determined at some point in the mid-00s that VH1 did not use methodology based on numbers or chart positions for any of their "100 Greatest" specials, but instead they typically opted to determine its then-current placement in the pop culture canon.
The host of the podcast doesn't seem to understand this. VH1 is not Billboard. So in pretty much every instance, "pop culture" was used to determine these placements -- not numbers.
We vividly recall having initial problems with the VH1 series as well. When they aired their "100 Greatest Hits Of The '90s" or whatever it was called, they egregiously excluded "Gangsta's Paradise" and "November Rain" -- two songs which were both crowned MTV's #1 video of the year on the New Years Eve of their respective video years. So yeah, we get it. This was the same era of VH1-revisionism that endlessly tried to convince the world that the dancing baby gif from Ally McBeal was something that literally anyone cared about at any point during the '90s.
Our definition of a true, pure one-hit-wonder is a song/artist combination that is inseperable, where an artist is pretty much only remembered for their signature song -- a phenomenon that was a lot more common in the '50s, '60s and '70 than in the subsequent decades. But VH1 didn't really reach back that far into history because their target demo was Gen X Millennial cusps. So most of the show was '80s and '90s singles.
A pure one-hit-wonder has virtually no substantial chart history outside of one song. So this means that one must examine not only the Hot 100, but the other charts as well -- including album charts and placements outside of the United States.
The Slate podcast and VH1 agree that Faith No More's "Epic" is a one-hit-wonder, but their fanbase loves the albums Angel Dust and Album Of The Year, which both charted really well upon their releases. So this means Faith No More is not a one hit wonder.
Biz Markie may have charted only once with "Just A Friend," but he's also respected among the greats of hiphop's golden era. And if you wanna get technical about it, he has an uncredited singing cameo on Jay-Z's "Girls Girls Girls" from 2001 which reached #17. Biz Markie is not a "Whoomp There It Is."
Gary Numan's "Cars" should only count as a one-hit-wonder if you ignore any other countries outside of United States. The podcast host called "Are Friends Electric" a flop. It was released after "Cars" hit #1 but only reached as high as #105. But the host neglects to mention that it was a #1 hit in the UK for four weeks. Xenophobic much?
Vanilla Ice is probably a good example of a one-hit-wonder that we would grant despite our vivid memories of hearing "Play That Funky Music" and "Satisfaction" on our local Top 40 station. (We have a cassette of KC101 from Summer 1990 where they play both of these songs.) We know he had other charting hits, but no one remembers those songs. Yes, we remember them. And we know the numbers prove that Vanilla was not technically one-hit. But he is. He just is. Because fuck you, that's why.
The title of the podcast episode is literally "One And Done," which means these acts have no history beyond one song. So yeah, Los Del Rio and Right Said Fred are great examples obviously. But Gary Numan never stopped touring. Faith No More had dates scheduled as recently as last year. You can't call legacy/longevity acts "One and Done." Lou Reed is not a one-hit artist. You can't just look at one chart from right after a single's peak in popularity and make an assessment based on this one factor.
It's possible this nuance is explored in the "Part Two" section of the podcast, but we realized our clutch broke again during the snowstorm and now we have to figure out how we're going to find the money to get this paid for. So yea, we're done here.
“It’s been a while. Lots to talk about. I’m glad you’re still here.” Wait, so she's singing to the listener? Hey, that's pretty cool, although it might be less awkward if we pretend she's still singing to that dude from the "Anytime Anyplace" video. P.S. Her best Diana Ross tribute since "Doesn't Really Matter."
An extreme juxtaposition: On one side, this is an incredibly musical punk song with an intro that sounds like it might be paying homage to The Smithereens or Marshall Crenshaw. Nine seconds later, all hell will break loose. *SCREEEEEEAM.* Don't get it twisted: "I Fucking Hate Sports" isn't rage based around misplaced teen angst. It's a depressingly intense frustration with an inability to find a place that fits. And yes, catharsis helps.
Hey, Carly Rae likes you. She really, really, really, really likes you. She told us. And her smiley repetition isn't just confined to single word mantras. "One more time" singalongs strategically recur throughout E•MO•TION, and the "Making the Most" instance is probably the one where we wish she had opted for a hint of variance. It feels like 80% chorus, but it's perfectly structured otherwise: The bridge builds to a grand slam, representing the pinnacle of Carly Rae's big night. The last 15 seconds utilize "the ominous minor-key outro" motif, a cue that may or may not have derived from "Lovefool." It goes by quick, but it might be the most mysteriously satisfying moment from any recent pop record.
How exactly did this song generate such a viciously negative reaction? Are we crazy? Was this the No Jacket Required of 2015? As a standalone single without the context of the three names attached, there's really nothing objectively shitty about it. Had it been sung by Taylor Swift or that Shotgun Annies thing (or whatever Miranda Lambert's group is called), it would have been heard by completely different people, framed in a different context and thus judged as a song instead of a headline. And besides, we'd rather hear Rihanna sing something like this than almost any modern country singer. It's probably the only recent simple-guitar-&-vocals jam we can recall with so many buried weird noises. 
We have no "Best shows we saw in 2015" list this year. But Beak> in Bristol would have been an easy #1. We imagine this show had almost nothing in common with 
Sigur Ros goes pop. Slow motion playgrounds. 55 degrees. Overcast skies. Beach Music sounds very "rite of passage." "Thorns" specifically is the earliest point in someone's life when they can observe a sunset or a cloud formation and perceive it as a perfect gift. The song's cryptic lyrics and title suggest an allure that leads to prickly stings. 
Winner of the "Best Song Called 'Hello' of the Year" Award. Without releasing any new albums or singles of his own between 2004 and 2009, Andre 3000 remained the grand champion of guest rappers. His effortless flow assisted jams like 
Jute Gyte's impressively prolific catalog of free Bandcamp releases focuses on two genres: Blackmetal and ambient. The whole of his blackmetal catalog resembles a balloon with a diameter of several lightyears infinitely expanding far past what was previously deemed imaginable. In this case, it's the first noisy blackmetal on our radar that features a creepily sped-up series of music boxes played simultaneously, with rhythm and atonal dissonance occurring by virtue of controlled chaos. 
"Sour diesel" refers to a weed strain. Thank you Rap Genius. When old people complain "there's no good rap anymore," please remind them that Redman still fills his albums with classic-sounding jams, just as high quality as his radio hits from 1995. Some artists prefer to change with the times, while others aren't finished exploring the sounds that earned them their original fanbase. 
Earworm alert: That 16-note intro tends to stick. Class of 2015’s singer-songwriter VIPs not only fuel our hope for the future of this genre but lead the pack with a notable lack of pretention unseen since at least 15 years ago. Out of all of them (which includes names like Alex Giannascoli and Taylor Ross), Ellen Kempner’s songwriting development - dating back to 
The vocals seem vulnerable to analog peaking upon entering the red. We highly doubt any of the music on E•MO•TION was taped, but this one aspect (also obvious on a few other songs) raises our suspicions. Also, the Rap Geniuses revealed that two of this song's co-writers were formerly in Boston's own The Click Five, who along with Fountains Of Wayne's Adam Schlesinger are responsible for 
The waging war in this humble place against the forces of darkness where Satan's seed is, the zip code of this evil place is the mark of the beast: 666. The ritual begins slowly, working around the circular room. After all 33 candles are lit, the dark spirits may receive the signal to enter. A slow, dark mass fills the atmosphere, overtaking everything in its path with spirits working their way in and out, left and right. There's no escaping it. "Slow Death," The Deadbeats' finest epic, is the opposite of an exorcism. It invites the demons in. [Note: The song is actually so satanic that it's one of the few jams on Hot Mix 2015 completely unavailable outside of legal streaming services.]
Make way for Bristol's smiley-est rock band as they challenge the punk aesthetic and stretch the rules of what to expect from a punk 4-piece. Their records proudly insert elements from not only UK-punk but also power-pop, grunge, and campfire singalongs. The key-change in "Dreams" is one of their catchiest moments, kinda like how Ash used to do it back in the mid-'90s on singles like 
A good old fashioned punk-rock double LP finally graces its presence upon the 2010s. Forgive us, but records like Screaming Females' Ugly from 2012 always kinda felt more like a CD-length album expanded to 2 LPs, while Tenement's Predatory Headlights actually feels like a sprawling magnum opus a la Zen Arcade complete with odd experiments and a well-paced tracklisting. It's a grand and impressive complete statement, which might be why we've yet to notice many reviewers cherry picking their own personal stand-outs. We're nerdy for singles though, and plus we still make mixtapes. Gravitating towards the late-'70s Americana of "You Keep Me Cool" was def a cool selection for some fiery summer mixes. Or wait, maybe it was a hot selection for some icy mixes?
Thanks to "Get Paid," fans of 1998's "bounce rap" trend might be more hopeful than usual for its big 2016 comeback. Sources have speculated that Jay-Z's forthcoming 2016 hit single "Can I Get A (Part 2)" will include the lyric "Can i get a part two?"* while Mariah Carey plans to revisit her "evil bizarro" counterpart previously featured in the video for 1999's "Heartbreaker."* Rap and pop might actually get fun and adventurous again. Also we thought Vince was saying "pocket fulla lean" which is a phrase that apparently doesn't mean anything, but it sounded cool at the time. 
"With an 'S' on your chest / You're feeling like a God." Political or no? Or maybe it's about Anthony Kiedis? You decide. There have been plenty of "why did they even bother" type of reunion records in the past couple years, with Indy Cindy and now Compton as two of the most baffling offenders. Sol Invictus (along with Failure's album released around the same time) was this year's rare instance of a "'90s reunion" record that didn't allow an extended hiatus to stain their nearly flawless discography. Overcoming the odds seems to be a huge factor in these reunions. So now, what's gonna happen with Mr. Bungle? Bare in mind that Trey Spruance DID in fact join FNM to perform King For A Day in its entirely back in 2011, somewhat increasing the almost non-existent odds that a Mr. Bungle reunion might ever happen within our lifetime. 
The salt imagery feels closely related to its album title, Beach Music. So it's possible that "Salt" is the key to this entire record, tying together its surrounding jams with its hugely nostalgic slow-motion cascades of rhythm and melody. Tween-life is when innocent crushes might feel the scariest. It's when friends ride bikes through the woods or down narrow alleys. It's the thrill of discovery and uncertainty and videogames and touching boobs. Not necessarily summery, but definitely full of memories and the creation of future memories. Alex G's records are all the better for including his atypical curveball jams, and "Salt" might be among the very best of those.
Congratulations to Stove, recipient of our coveted "Most Amazing Song Intro of 2015" award. Who knows what was contained within those libations, but the song's fire seems indebted, somewhat mirroring its themes of "wondering if you've made the right choices" and "deciding if it's too late to change" (not too far off from what might have informed Stove's recent re-branding). It doesn't matter if it's called Stove or Ovlov or McGuirk or Guitarmageddon, as long as it's got that smooth Stove seal of approval. That's how you know you're fucking with a quality-ass product. "Jock Dreams" highlights a very strong Side B with all those classic Stove moves you've grown to love over the years.
This contains possibly the darkness beat of 2015, sampled from The Velvet Underground and Nico of all places. But even with that in mind, the most surprising aspect of "Ask Charlamagne" is that Waka Flocka hasn't released a truly great song in over 5 years. We were certain that he had quietly retreated to the has-been camp, content with his unremarkable mixtapes and the millions of dollars he earned from "Hard In The Paint" and "No Hands." His official comeback begins now: "Ask Charlamagne" might be the best song this dude's ever laid to tape, his flow and swagger seemingly reinvented. It's the sound of someone who's had enough of wackness and fakeness, desperate to break away from a trap of cliches, no longer mired in self-parody. We're suddenly (shockingly) very excited for Flockaveli 2.
Track 3 is called "Under Control," while the chorus of track 4 includes the phrase "lose control." So it's possible that these two songs represent the ying and yang of Ego Death, one of the most oddly slept-on releases of 2015, front-loaded with 4 of the absolute best soul jams of the 2010s so far. The sensuous and sultry "Under Control" might have the record's best-sounding live instrumentation, while "Go With It" is anchored by one of the year's best basslines, recommended for any fans of Big Boi & Andre's "Royal Flush."
We're proud of ourselves for figuring out how to do that "O" with the line through it. Not sure who MØ is, but their name is very hard to type on a traditional US keyboard. Annoyingly catchy chorus becomes less grating after the rest of the song reveals itself. Hiring Eric to do their videos was a very good move. 
Cars drive by at night. Headlights slowly work their way across the walls. There's a lot of subtle texture to sort through on Leapling's Vacant Page LP, all of it anchored by careful, delicate restraint. The most immediate tracks - including stand-out "Flesh Meadows" - bordered on the quieter moments from Radiohead's My Iron Lung EP.
White Pony sped up to 45rpms. Word up to drummer Theo Hartlett for such a ferocious performance. We badly wanted to tie this with "Scuttlebutt" from Theo's other 2015 project Spook The Herd, but unfortunately we had to pass due to a certain band closely associated with this website who appears on the B-Side of their split. (We'll embed it below and throw it in the Spotify playlist anyway. Let this be our little secret.)
Less bleeps and bloops than usual. Perhaps this is an indication of what to expect from Radiohead's next record, although it needs a lot more Colin Greenwood. TURN UP THE BASS. [Edit: Can't believe we missed an opportunity to tie in their cover of 
Fun anecdote time: People might not remember this so well, but it was kinda difficult to locate Failure CDs way back in 1997/1998. We special-ordered Magnified from Sam Goody one summer. And then every two weeks we returned and asked them what was taking so long. Months later, we finally got an upsetting phonecall telling us the CD was out of print. It was rough times. Eventually, college started right around the advent of Scour Exchange and Napster. And the rest is history.
We didn't realize it at the time, but Weezer's last album was actually ok enough for us to consider updating our nerdy fanfic 
We promise this was a coincidence, but Felicia also just happens to be one half of Gemma. (See above.) The title track from their As Ever LP arrives abruptly with odd hiccups and sci-fi patches, anchored by a calming Wurlitzer and a classic '60s-style vocal melody reminiscent of Smokey Robinson's best A-sides.
Hardcore fans knew this already, but their bassist John Stirratt (one of the 2 OG's along with Jeff Tweedy) has been responsible for Wilco's signature octave-vox. By all accounts, this guy should be considered "the secret weapon" - or their Michael Anthony, if a Van Halen comparison might suffice. Somebody send this man a beer.
These are tied up because some people think they sound suspiciously similar. Drake's loop of "Why Can't We Live Together" was one of the more inspired choices for any of 2015's actual hits. The original version of "Cha Cha" sampled Koji Kondo's "Star Theme" from Super Mario World for SNES (which was a slowed down version of the 3-second loop played when Mario collects the invincible-star in the original SMB). Perhaps some cease-and-desist action went down, since the sample was changed prior to its availability on legal streaming services. (Granted, this new less-interesting version does actually sound like "Hotline Bling.")
At long last, the Hot Mix finally gets down with some Palm, the 4-piece from Philly who are responsible for the most hypnotic rock album of 2015. Is it "rock" though? Despite their gtr/gtr/bass/drums/vox instrumentation, few (if any) of its songs adhere to traditional rock structure, instead immersed in unpredictable experimentation and loose theme-and-variations not unlike 20th-century classical composers. One of the most engaging live acts of the moment.
This is the opening 17-minute track from the most absurdly chaotic blackmetal album since Mortician's late '90s stuff. (It's actually more insane than that Agoraphobic Nosebleed record from the late 2000s.) 
The drums, sax and vocal parts do not coincide or flow with any specific key (except for the female vocalist, who sounds sorta lined up with the bass). What puts it over the top is the sarcastically absurd dissonance between the guitar and the bass. A giant, depressed fuck-you rage. There's nothing positive about this world at all. It's just chaos, and our lives contain no meaning whatsoever. There's no point of attempting to blend in the traditional sense. We wonder if any commentary on gentrification is intended here. 
Fun fact: It's not a Portishead sample, but rather both jams sampled "Ike's Rap II" by Issac Hayes. The more you know. For your health.
A few of these finger-pick solos sound like Nels Cline is pulling the guitar strings right off the fretboard. Or like Jerry pulling out Tom's whisker. *yoink*
Our Top 2 "drug sequence jams of the year," or "jams for The Dude from The Big Lebowski while floating in outer space." And here come the rainbows. The sun is shining. It's Woodstock 1969. We're so happy Gunk returned after their brief hiatus, and super unexpectedly. Our verbatim reaction was shouting "THERE'S A NEW GUNK???!" seconds after the message dropped in our inbox. (The message was "Greetings, RANCH just released Gunk by GUNK.") And we're equally pumped that we still have no idea what Dungen is singing about. Passing a tab of acid from one foreign tongue to the other. 
J-math-pop-prog. Mathematical precision intact. Not an imperfection in sight.
Stumbling into the karaoke bar.
Ted Leo's 
The "Sugar Ray" one.
Not gonna lie. Nostalgia played a pretty huge part in why we got so excited over "Auction," one of the only decent tracks from Diddy's MMM mixtape (strangely labelled on certain websites as "Puff Daddy and the Family" in preparation for No Way Out 2.) We're just really excited that Puff, Lil Kim and members of The Lox are rapping together again, even though 
Initially inspired by Ovlov, "Ted Rock" was ultimately included on the Derp Swervin' cassette as a tribute to their post-split legacy. We're psyched that Philly Collins managed to pull together a live set twice over the past month despite existing with such a widely distant cast of musicians. Fingers are crossed for more in 2016.
Sremmlife turned out surprisingly solid - slightly better than 
About half of the new songs on The Heart Is A Monster seem like a courageous effort to re-create the sound of Fantastic Planet. It's not so easy to dial-in that level of mastery. Had they not imploded in 1998, Failure definitely could have sealed their legacy with a proper follow-up somewhere around 2000-2001. Our fan-fiction-obsessed "what if" nerdiness imagines something that may or may not have included Failure-style arrangements of