Pop Shots – A Look At The Charts... From 20 Years Ago
Welcome to your weekly dose of pop world musings. Covering all things pop culture, sometimes I do some Billboard singles chart analysis in this column, and this week I'm diving into the charts again, but with a twist. I'm not doing my traditional analysis of the Billboard Hot 100, I'm hopping in my time machine, and going 20 years into the past to take a look at the Billboard Hot 100 from this week back in 1996. In April of ’96 I was about to graduate high school, and with the exception of Celine Dion's "Because You Loved Me" being at #1, there were some truly classic songs getting major radio airplay. Let's take a look back, and have a a little fun. Of course, since this is Pop Shots, you know everything is seasoned with a little bit of attitude.
Mariah Carey’s had a lot of hits over the years, but “Always Be My Baby” has to be considered one of her all-time best. You’d still crank up this upbeat tune if it came on the radio today, and there is absolutely no way a person can hear it without instantly thinking of the tire swing from the video. Completely unrelated: I once saw Mariah up close and personal at a press conference, and she was breathtakingly gorgeous.
Alanis Morissette’s “Ironic” is a song that gave us true irony in that pretty much nothing in the lyrics was ironic in the least. Even though it may have ruined the word “ironic” for an entire generation of music listeners, it’s still a great song, and the video was especially memorable with its car full of Alanises. Here’s hoping there was an indie band back in the 90s named Car Full of Alanises. Heck, I hope there’s an indie band with that name now!
If you weren’t already familiar with Busta Rhymes from his time with Leaders of the New School, or his legendary guest appearance on “Scenario,” “Woo Hah!!” blew your f*cking mind. Actually, even if you were familiar with his earlier work “Woo Hah!!” blew your f*cking mind. You could put this song on today and it would still hype you up so much you might throw the nearest piece of furniture out the window.
This was the world’s introduction to Gwen Stefani, and it would prove to be a song that changed the course of popular music. Twenty years later, No Doubt is considered an all-time great band, and Gwen Stefani is considered one of the best frontwomen in the history of rock. “Just A Girl” was just the beginning.
Some rock bands skew towards the serious. The Presidents of the United States of America skew towards the crazy, fun, and sometimes downright bizarre. I think a lot of people assumed they’d be a one hit wonder with “Lump,” but the band kept the good times rolling, and “Peaches” is a top notch anthem for a top notch fruit.
The first time I heard “Wonderwall” I thought it had to be a cover because it sounded like it was from another era, and it was just so damned good. For all their quirks, quarrels, and curse filled interviews, however, when Oasis were at their musical peak, they were really something special. “Wonderwall” is a perfect example of this.
And with that, my time is up for the week, but I'll be back next week with more shots on all things pop.
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