One-Hitters Who Deserve a Second Listen

Hello, and welcome to another installment of Silver Linings, where I look at maligned stuff and find the positives.

I watch a lot of web shows. One of my favorites is a pop music critic named Todd Nathanson, the guy you can (or rather can't) see in the pic above, who goes by the moniker of "Todd in the Shadows." Along with his pop song reviews and countdowns, he produces a side-series called One-Hit Wonderland where he looks at one-hit wonders, listens to the rest of their output, and determines if they deserved to be bigger than just one-hit wonders. To date, he's featured 61 artists. Some deserved more playtime, and some didn't even deserve their one hit.

I thoroughly enjoy that show, and, thanks to Todd, I've been exposed to some great tunes by dismissed artists. The fifteen artists I'm highlighting below got positive endorsements from Todd. After hearing about them on his show, I checked out other songs from them and was very impressed. These one-hit wonders (in the order that they were presented on his show) definitely deserve more spots on your personal playlist.

The most successful music act ever to come out of Norway deserved more than just one hit in the US. Yes, "Take On Me" is one of the greatest songs and videos to come out of the 80s, but they also provided an epic feel to all their songs that I just love. "The Sun Always Shines On TV" brings on the feels, and the theme to "The Living Daylights" had the grand scope that pumped me up for a Bond movie. Though they retired a few years ago, they deserve another chance or two.

Ivan Doroschuk's contribution to New Wave is pure fun. Of course, "The Safety Dance" is an eternal gem, but all of Men Without Hats' tracks from the era were a joy to listen to, particularly "I Got the Message" and especially the always wonderful "Pop Goes the World." Men Without Hats is definitely a group to put on if you want bouncy and upbeat.

Chumbawamba were friggin' awesome! Even if you don't care for "Tubthumping," the rest of those anarchist punks' output explored just about every genre you can think of. I bought their album What You See Is What You Get, and I absolutely loved it! Even the other tracks on the Tubthumper album like "Amnesia" are cool! There's a reason they lasted for thirty years; check them out!

Semisonic now occupy a bunch of spots on my YouTube playlist. Of course I have "Closing Time" there; the song is too perfect not to have it. I also got a kick out of their last album All About Chemistry. That album can be off-putting for those who hate songs about sex, but the rest of their albums are some of the best 90s rock you can find. It's a shame the band is on permanent hiatus; we could definitely use more from Semisonic.

Yes, I love 80s New Wave, and Mike Score's group deserved more attention than just for "I Ran" and the legendarily absurd hairstyle. The rest of the stuff from their first album including "Space Age Love Song" and "Wishing" was catchy as hell, and I also liked "Transfer Affection" and "(It's Not Me) Talking." While the later stuff turned me off, A Flock of Seagulls should be heard for more than just "I Ran."

I don't listen to a lot of folk music, but the rest of The Proclaimers' tracks won me over. Of course "I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)" is about four minutes of pure joy, but other tracks like "Letter from America" and "There's a Touch" just grabbed me. Craig and Charlie Reed did Scotland proud and should get more time on your MP3 player.

I almost never listen to dance music, but I've started making a special exception for Deee-Lite. "Groove Is In the Heart" is one of the most upbeat dance songs ever made, and there are plenty of awesome tracks on all three of their albums. "Picnic in the Summertime" is now a permanent fixture in my summer playlist, and the rhythm of "Good Beat" plays in my head when I'm hitting the punching bag. Deee-Lite's stuff is a perfect jam!

OK, I'm lukewarm at best when it comes to "Lullaby" by Shawn Mullins. It's an OK song, but, as noted above, I'm generally not a fan of folk music. However, I did check out his later stuff, and it's just awesome! Tracks like "Beautiful Wreck" and "Everywhere I Go" provide the perfect blend of country and rock that I found irresistible. If you want actual GOOD country music, Shawn Mullins deserves your attention.

The people at the local Waffle House know that I'm a huge fan of funk, and the fact that I missed so much of Cameo's music is almost criminal. "Word Up!" is beyond awesome, and I also enjoyed Larry Blackmon's stuff from before that (like the smooth "She's Strange") and after that (like the goofy "Back and Forth"). Cameo deserves to be on the same funk pedestal as 80s Prince.

It's almost a shame that Zac, Taylor, and Isaac Hanson are only known for the rather lame "MmmBop" because the stuff they did after that song is some great power pop. I actually prefer other songs from the Middle of Nowhere album like "Weird" and especially the edgier tracks from the later albums like "This Time Around" and "Thinking 'Bout Something." They certainly deserve more playtime than the nu metal crap that was on the radio at the time.

I was late getting into Chamillionaire, VERY late. I didn't even hear "Ridin'" all the way through until a couple years ago, and, yeah, that track crushes! His second album Ultimate Victory also had a bunch of awesome tracks that managed to mix serious issues (namely racial profiling) with wry comedy. "Hip Hop Police" was an awesome example of that. I definitely plan on checking out his mixtapes soon.

Let me make this clear... I F***ING LOVE HAIR METAL! The goofier, the better! The Darkness is the perfect act to remind people just how awesome hair metal can be. "I Believe In a Thing Called Love" is every bit as epic as the best 80s metal, and Justin Hawkins' incredible voice simply MADE later tracks like "One Way Ticket" and "Everybody Have a Good Time." Yes, they're extremely ridiculous, but so was hair metal itself!

It's a shame that the Divinyls didn't get attention in America until their shameless salute to masturbation in 1991 "I Touch Myself." Yes, "I Touch Myself" is an awesome rock song, but their New Wave stuff they did in Australia during the 80s like "Pleasure and Pain" and "Sleeping Beauty" grabbed my attention big-time. Oh, on a side note, Chrissy Amphlett was VERY easy on the eyes as well as the ears. May she rest in peace.

I think my feelings about New Wave are pretty clear by now. Even ignoring the stuff the duo behind The Buggles did with Yes and Asia, there are more worthwhile songs on their first album The Age of Plastic than just "Video Killed the Radio Star." "Elstree" and "Living In the Plastic Age" are also awesome tracks that deserved to be New Wave classics. It's a shame The Buggles only had two albums before they broke up and Trevor Horn moved on to become one of the greatest producers in music history.

"In the Summertime" is the definition of the perfect summer song. Ray Dorset and the always revolving crew of Mungo Jerry didn't do another song like that, but the rest of their skiffle tracks are great, too. I haven't found a single song from them I didn't like. "Lady Rose" and "Hello Nadine" also deserve to become blues standards.

Thanks, Todd, for introducing me to these awesome acts. I look forward to more new favorites on One-Hit Wonderland. Can you think of more one-hit wonders who need more notice? Send me a Tweet, and let me know!