Song of the Week - The Hits That Never Were

By: Charbarred | in: Music |

Elliott Smith

We’re doing Song of the Week a bit differently this time. I bet everyone has that one song in their record collection that sounds like a top 40 hit, but never really made it to the charts. We’re celebrating some of these songs this week, in hopes of kick starting everyone’s weekend with the tunes that really should have rocked the charts.

D Thompson
Amplifier by The DB’s
The dB’s were a real gem in the rather gem filled field of pop music in the early eighties. In fact, American radio was so far behind the pop scene from 1978 to 1983 that it’s a particularly rich seam to mine when looking for unjustly ignored tunes. Still, of the hundreds of worthy songs passed by, “Amplifier” seems the most cruelly ignored. Peter Holsapple’s song is so catchy it just plain hurts to hear it and the lyrics are one in a million. I ‘ve listened to this song so many times since I first laid ears on it in 1982 I’m tempted to just start typing it out from memory but it’s probably better to just let you listen.

Charbarred
Big Dipper by Built To Spill
I bought both “There’s Nothing Wrong with Love” and “Perfect from Now On” about 11 years ago on the same day. I was visiting New York and the discovery of my would be all time favorite band was more exciting to me than the seeing The Empire State building. “Perfect from Now on” moved me to tears, while “Big Dipper on “There’s Nothing Wrong With Love” made me dance around in my hotel room. I played it as loud as I could on a pair of $5 speakers. To this day, I still react to it the same way.

Kendall
What I Can’t Describe by The Transplants
The Transplants are made up of Tim Armstrong (Rancid), Travis Barker (Blink 182) and their friend Rob Aston. You would think that with a line up like that, there would be a hit song. They had a mild hit with “Diamonds and Guns” thanks to a shampoo commercial, but I have always thought that “What I can’t Describe” could have been a big crossover hit with the alternative/hip hop crowd. It’s one of those summertime feel-good songs.

Alibastard
Believe ESP by Deerhoof
It’s obviously unrealistic to think that ingenious music would be Top 40 material with the current radio dictatorship helmed by Rupert Murdoch. But “Believe ESP” is a song whose hook is so catchy, and whose tone is so mysterious and infectious I know I have trouble getting it out of my head. Minimally the tune accrues layers, using an abbreviated bridge to melt seamlessly into what I guess you could call a chorus, though all of it assembles in a fashion too organic to even seem premeditated. Bestill my heart.

Lee H
It Gets Me Going by Spymob
In 2001 Chad Hugo, Pharell Williams (AKA The Neptunes) and Shay Haley released the rock album In Search of…under the moniker N.E.R.D. It was only released in parts of Europe and Asia. The general consists of the few critics that heard it was pretty much: “It sucks, The boys should stick to Hip-Hop.” Rather than scrap the project and pretend it never happened they enlisted a four piece band from Minneapolis called Spymob and rereleased the album the following year. Instead of being a complete flop the album went gold. Anyone doubting Spymob’s importance need only listen to N.E.R.D.’s sophomore album in which Chad and P decided to play their own instruments. Spymob soon signed to The Neptunes’ imprint Star Trak and went to work on their album Sitting around Keeping Score. With the thumbs up from Pharell Williams, the biggest hit maker of the millennium this side of Timbaland, Spymob should have been huge. Sadly in 2004 Star Trak’s parent company, Arista folded and Star Trak lost the bulk of their acts. Sitting around Keeping Score was released in ‘04 with no label backing and even less fanfare. Most people say they sound like Steely Dan with a little funk added to the mix. Anther big band of 2004 that fused rock, pop and funk: Maroon 5. It all comes down to timing I guess.

RustyCat
Between the Bars by Elliott Smith
I think Elliott Smith like his song, Between the Bars, got the attention he deserved but not quite hit the charts. Between the Bars was featured on Elliott’s Either/Or album and on the Good Will Hunting soundtrack. It’s one of my all time favorite songs, I think I heard it a thousand times and it’s definitely Billboard top 40 material. It would have been nice to let Elliott enjoy more fortune and fame before he left us, but I guess he was always stuck…well…between the bars (I know, too much cheese).

So what’s your undiscovered hit?

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Posted on May 25, 2007

Comments

11 Responses to “Song of the Week - The Hits That Never Were”

Ryan of the RSL Weblog on May 25th, 2007 3:48 am

Gotta go with Deerhoof here but the DBs were a close second. Good topic - keepin’ it fresh!

mozzer on May 25th, 2007 8:40 am

My hit that never was:

Cranes - Paris and Rome
http://tinyurl.com/2ldmeq

When I heard this song in ‘94, I was immediately enchanted.
It’s like entering an old, abandoned house in autumn, after midnight. Not only does a xylophone carry the melody throughout, a bassoon plays a small solo to round out the eerie mood.

Alison Shaw’s shrill, yet breathy vocals illustrate how a porcelain doll would sound if it were demonically possessed. That said, one can see why this never had a chance with mainstream success.

Charbarred on May 25th, 2007 9:01 am

This Cranes song is great. You reminded me of another Cranes song I love but I can’t remember its name…Now I have to go through all their albums to find it…:-(

mozzer on May 25th, 2007 11:08 am

Hey, I just re-read the intro… you were looking for something that SOUNDED like a top 40 hit! My suggestion is more like “I wish it was a hit”.

A little slow on the uptake today…

btw, The Spymob track is terrific! It has all the makings of a top 40 hit.

lynn on May 25th, 2007 1:05 pm

I like them what happened..

Lee H. on May 25th, 2007 2:03 pm

1. Amplifier by The DB’s- Not a big fan of anything 80’s but this one defiantly sounds like it could have been a hit.

2. Big Dipper by Built To Spill- Favorite lyric- “He thought that an Albertsons stir-fry dinner would make his apartment a home.” Big Built to Spill Fan.

3. What I Can’t Describe by The Transplants- They still play this song in L. A. mostly because it’s their hometown and because it has that So-Cal sound. It would have been a hit if it were released in the early 90s

4. Believe ESP by Deerhoof- Deerhoof making a radio hit is like 3 6 Mafia winning an Oscar. Possible. Not probable. I’ll never stop believing though.

5. It Gets Me Going by Spymob- What I love about the song is that if you really listen to it you realize that he’s singing about being a dog. Not only is it funny, it also quite observant. A lot of their songs are like that. And if Lynn is referring to Spymob in the comment the band is on hold and everyone is doing side projects.

6. Between the Bars by Elliott Smith- I think now this would be a hit because some TV show would undoubtedly use it.

The Hits That Never Were » J A M B U Z Z ! ! ! ! ! ! ! on May 25th, 2007 4:50 pm

[…] If you’re new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting! Remember to register to WIN 10 FREE DOWNLOADS by clicking the banner above. Thanks!The Plugg has a great post about music hits that never made it but should have made it. It comes complete with samplings and they are, for the most part, very good. […]

Jason on May 25th, 2007 9:52 pm

8stops7-question, between thieves-despite the rain, Cave in-beautiful son, The Classic Crime-flight of kings, Course of Nature- Caught in the sun, Demon Hunter-deteriorate, Depswa-Prom Song, [Double Drive-Imprint,million people,evenout] Dropping Daylight-tell me, Falling up-Flights, Fighting Instinct-I found forever, [Flipsyde-trumpets,revolutionary beat] The juliana theory-into the dark, Pay the girl-freeze, Sanctus Real-I’m alright, Sevendust-xmas day, Slaves on Dope-so clear, Stabbing Westward-What do I have to do, [supafuzz-confession,anesthsia] Union-love,

MissionChuck on May 25th, 2007 11:04 pm

My undiscovered top 40 hit-Spaceships in The Sky by The Tories. X-files era paranoia smack never goes out of style!!

Giovanna on May 26th, 2007 2:20 am

Built to Spill’s track really has all the features to prove a great hit - cheerful and catchy, it immediately gets stuck into your head! Great find, Char…as usual!

About Deerhoof: I must agree with Lee - their kind of music is too complicated and their tunes too atonal to appeal the average listener’s ear…Thinking outside the box is not always remunerative, and yet I find a subtle pleasure to be part of the lucky élite enjoying their tracks.

To cut the philosophy short, Ali’s utopist choice has just got a new follower: “Believe ESP” definitely is their best song.

I am looking forward to hearing more underrated tracks…I love this idea!