Another music thread: Songs that should have been huge but weren't

[BYH]

Watching Cheap Trick's "Tonight It's You" on the Classic. This is a perfect ****ing pop song...gorgeous with great melodies, a catchy chorus and a really good beat (you can dance to it!). It's so good it gives me goosebumps. Yet it didn't even make the top 40. WTF?

What other outstanding songs were released as singles yet somehow didn't do much on the charts? Have to make the distinction b/c otherwise this thread will be filled with deep album cuts...which is a whole 'nother thread of its own.

 

[sportschick]

Living in Sin -- Bon Jovi

Let It Go -- Def Lep

 

[BYH]

Bless you, SC.

But Living In Sin hit the top 10, so that's pretty close to huge. It doesn't have the staying power (ha! BYH said staying power!) it should, but it at least hit the top 10.

I heard recently (hi Junkie) that "Faithfully" didn't hit the top 10. That boggles my mind.

 

[sportschick]

It did? Weirdness.

All the Drugs -- Courtney Love

 

[Cracker]

During the Grunge Era of the early 90's, I used to listen to Nirvana's Nevermind and wonder why "Lounge Act" and "Drain You" weren't singles. Both just sound so radio-friendly.

 

[Bob Slydell]

Well, Zeppelin only had one hit, Whole Lotta Love I think it was. So I guess a number of theirs could have been.

 

[Cansportschick]

Fix You-Coldplay

 

[Tom Petty]

november rain should have been the next stairway to heaven. the tune did peak at No. 3, but it should have been so much more.

 

[Songbird]

Tomas, agree on November Rain.

The other song that got rooked out of glory was Fastball's "The Way." It's a great American rock 'n' roll song to drive to.

 

[Tom Petty]

always loved "from the greenhouse" by crack the sky in '86 or '87.

i guess nobody else did, though.

 

[HandsomeHarley]

"What About Me?" - Moving Pictures

"Bobby Jean" - Bruce Springsteen

"The Monkey and the Onion" - 10cc

"Send Her My Love" - Journey

"After the Fall" - Journey

"Sausalito Summernight" - Diesel

"Cage of Freedom" - Jon Anderson

"Who's Behind the Door?" - Zebra

"Morning Dew" - Blackfoot

"The Riddle" - Nik Kershaw

"The Fire Inside" - Bob Seger

 

[zeke12]

Anything on Pearl Jam's Yield, particularly Given to Fly.

 

[Hustle]

november rain should have been the next stairway to heaven. the tune did peak at No. 3, but it should have been so much more.

I remember thinking when I got the Use Your Illusion albums that November Rain was among the greatest songs I'd ever heard. Then it got released, got popular and got overplayed. I saw the song completely differently after that, like nothing's quite as special as the first few times I heard it - not the symphony backing, not the snare drum cadence toward the end, nothing. Occasionally now I can find that pre-release feeling, but sadly it's fleeting.

The same thing happened with "Killing Me Softly" (Fugees version), but I've been able to rediscover it.

Back on topic: I'll add Alice in Chains' "Would?", among many other songs from a superb band.

 

[93Devil]

How about anything from Mute Math, StellaStarr, Pinback, Minus the Bear, Voxtrot, Hold Steady, Clap Your Hands and Say Yeah, The Cloud Room, Built to Spill or The Flaming Lips?

They should all get airtime, but 95 percent of "alternative" stations play the same drivel all day long. 311, Korn or Linkin Park just get played over and over. There is nothing cutting edge if everyone sounds the same.

 

[Songbird]

I'd say 311 is MUCH BETTER than Linkin Park. At least they were 5 years ago.

 

[Cosmo]

"Drain You"

My favorite Nirvana song. Nothing comes close.

 

[tyler durden 71351]

I can't figure out why Spoon aren't really big...they write really catchy, tight pop songs. It's probably something stupid like the songs don't sound big enough for radio, or 16-year-old girls don't think Britt Daniel is cute.
Of course, I used to wonder why Sonic Youth didn't have pop hits in the early 1990s, so what the hell do I know?

 

[Captain_Kirk]

"Black Gold", Soul Asylum

"Drown", Son Volt

"Foolish Behavior", Rod Stewart (although the lyrics, despite being tongue firmly in cheek, are too anti-pc today to allow this song any sort of airplay)

"Someday. Someway", Marshall Crenshaw

 

[Webster]

I'll throw two Bruce songs out there -- "Better Days" and "Long Time Comin' ".

 

[Trey Beamon]

I can't figure out why Spoon aren't really big...they write really catchy, tight pop songs. It's probably something stupid like the songs don't sound big enough for radio, or 16-year-old girls don't think Britt Daniel is cute.

I agree. There's at least three songs on the new album -- You Got Yr. Cherry Bomb, Black Like Me, The Underdog -- that SHOULD be huge.

Maybe it has something to do with Daniel's voice ... definately an acquired taste.