This week’s song is one of the lesser known hits from a very well known band. That band being Barenaked Ladies which have sold over 5 million records in the US and have charted a number one hit in 1998 with “One Week.” “Shoebox,” released in 1995, is the first single off of their third studio album, Born on a Pirate Ship, which also features one of their most popular hits, “Old Apartment.”
The single was also featured on the Friends Original TV Soundtrack, a album which of course features the famous theme song for the show, “I’ll Be There for You” by The Rembrandts, but also such classics as “It’s a Free World, Baby” by R.E.M and “I Go Blind” by Hootie and The Blowfish.
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This next song was picked in part due to the fact that I heard Pearl Jam’s newest single, “Just Breathe“, which is their first single in a while where I stopped and thought, “Hey, this is pretty good.” It’s definetly different, and kinda has a country vibe to it, but very enjoyable nonetheless. It is definitely worth a listen.
That being said, on to this week’s song, “Corduroy” by Pearl Jam. One of my favorites from the group, “Corduroy” is still played on select radio stations every now and then, despite the fact it was never released as a single. The eighth song of their third studio album, Vitalogy, “Corduroy” has that classic grunge sound that will have you mumbling along to the lyrics and stomping your feet to the beat. It has a very memorable opening and fairly unique in the fact that it has no repeating chorus or verses.
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After about a six month hiatus, Rizzo Music is back and better than ever. Armed with the new Wordpress platform, www.rizzomusic.com is here to bring you more of your favorite 90s music.
This week’s song, “Clumsy” by Our Lady Peace, was chosen in honor of Our Lady Peace’s fairly new album, Burn Burn, that I have seen advertised heavily throughout imeem.com. The album was released July 21, 2009, their first album in about four years. Needless to say, it was a welcome return to a band that has topped the Rock Charts for the last decade and a half.
By now, you probably have heard the single, “All You Did Was Save My Life” and I can’t say that it blew me out of the water, but it takes a step back in the right direction from the singles released in their previous album, Healthy in Paranoid Times, a album in which I found to be fairly disappointing at times.
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The new music video for Better Than Ezra’s first single off of Paper Empire was released today and I have to say that I thoroughly enjoyed watching it. I might even go as far to say that I liked the music video more than the s, although they do compliment themselves very well. The stop motion animation fits perfectly for the song and it is well directed.
I don’t have much more to say other than enjoy it. You can read my review of Paper Empire or my post on “Absolutely Still” if you are up for further reading. Enjoy it.
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Armed with new drummer, Michael Jerome, and long time bassist, Tom Drummond, lead singer Kevin Griffin is getting set to release Better Than Ezra’s seventh studio album. The new album, entitled Paper Empire, will be available to the public on May 12th, 2009. Fortunately, I was able to get my hands on it early. I am excited to share with Better Than Ezra and 90’s music fans alike, what is in store this time from the boys from New Orleans.
The album kicks off with a song many of you may be familiar with, “Absolutely Still“. The first single off of Paper Empire, “Absolutely Still”, was released a few weeks ago and according to Kevin, the music video has already been recorded and they even have a few behind the scenes pictures of the shoot on their myspace page. It continues to grow on me every time I listen to it. The second track, “All In”, is definitely a concert song. I can picture Ezralites singing along to this one at the next concert. My favorite line is “The moral to the story / There really isn’t one / The bottom of the line / Is to have a bit of fun.”
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The next song on the countdown of the Top 100 Songs of the ’90s is from a band that needs no introduction. R.E.M. is one of the most popular alternative rock bands ever and while they peaked in terms of popularity around 1994, they have been a force in the rock music scene pretty much since their breakout hit in 1987,”The One I Love”. From 1987 to 1996 they released six albums, all of which were certified platinum in the United States. Although they never reached the coveted #1 ranking on Billboard’s Hot 100, they came very close in 1991 with “Losing My Religion” and their highest position to date at #4. They have an astonishing twelve Top 10 songs on the Mainstream Rock Charts and ten Top 10 songs on the Modern Rock Charts.
“Man on the Moon” was the second single released off of their critically acclaimed eighth studio album, Automatic For The People, in 1992. The song mixes in references to Sir Issac Newton, Charles Darwin and Moses, with the main topic being the late-great entertainer Andy Kaufman. The song inspired the name for the 1999 film “Man on the Moon”, a biopic of Andy Kaufman, and was used in promotion of the film.
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For this week’s song, I thought I would highlight a great song that truly is 90’s music at its finest. Although The Smashing Pumpkins were an alternative rock radio staple in the mid ’90s, they only reached #1 once on Billboard’s Modern and Mainstream rock charts. They did so in 1996 with “1979″ off of their third studio album, a 2 disc release, entitled Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness. Released in late 1995,Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness, sold over nine million copies and to date is The Smashing Pumpkins most successful album in terms of sales.
This album is basically stacked with good songs and scored 6 Top 10 singles on the Modern Rock Charts which included, “Bullet with Butterfly Wings“, “Muzzle“, “Zero“, “Thirty-Three“, and one of my personal favorites “Tonight, Tonight“. The album sparked their first of nine Grammy nominations and their first win for “Best Hard Rock Performance” for their single “Bullet With Butterfly Wings”.
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This week we celebrate the new single from the boys from New Orleans. “Absolutely Still” by Better Than Ezra is a first taste of their new album entitled Paper Empire. Paper Empire, which is due out May 12th 2009, is their seventh studio album and puts a close to the nearly 4 year drought in between albums. Their last studio album, Before The Robots, is one of my favorite albums of the last ten years and a review of the album can be found here. I will be sure to get a review of the new album up as soon as I can get my hands on it.
Along with the news of the new album and the release of the new single, came the announcement that long time drummer, Travis Aaron McNabb, was leaving the band to continue his gig with the country duo Sugarland. Sugarland, who picked up two Grammys this year, needed a drummer for their live performances and Travis has been filling that void for about a year and a half and is now taking on a permanent role. Filling the void on the other end is new Better Than Ezra drummer Michael Jerome (pictured above-right). I haven’t heard him play yet but both lead singer Kevin Griffin and Bassist Tom Drummond are fans of his drumming skills and have faith that he will be the replacement that the need.
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After shifting operations from 3eb.com to their official myspace page for the release of their new EP, Red Star, it was unclear when and if we would see a new official website. That all changed a few days ago when www.thirdeyeblind.com was officially revealed to the public: a completely fan friendly website. This is a major upgrade from 3eb.com and has everything you would want in a band’s website. The new site’s best features include: lyrics and commentary on the new songs from the Red Star EP, individual blogs from 3 of the band members, and blogging capabilities for fans as well as a fan forum. It has only been a few days since the site was launched and already 882 fans have registered as members.
This news is just one event in a string of initiatives to connect with the fans that have stuck with them through the thick and the thin. There were some very long stretches with no news from the band and now it seems Stephan Jenkins is specifically going out of the way to connect with his fans in ways that was never before possible. He is very much in tune to how technology has impacted the landscape of the internet and has taken these new opportunities to reconnect with fans. You can hear his thoughts on this internet revolution here: Stephan Jenkins on Music and Technology. He seems very passionate about all of these new opportunities and has proved it through the indaba.com contests and his new twitter account among other things.
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This week’s song celebrates one of the most iconic bands of the ’90s, Hootie and The Blowfish. “Time” is one of 5 singles off the extremely popular Cracked Rear View album that was released in 1994. This album sold a remarkable 16 million copies, currently ranked 15th on the United States best selling albums of all time. “Time” is just one of many hits that Hootie and The Blowfish enjoyed in the ’90s, but one of my personal favorites due to its great lyrics.
The Chorus:
Time is wasting
Time is walking
You ain’t no friend of mine
I don’t know where I’m goin’
I think I’m out of my mind
Thinking about time
And if I die tomorrow, yeah
Just lay me down in sleep
I think almost anyone can relate to these lyrics. Very rarely is time on your side and this song drives home that point quite nicely. I felt that it would fit well this week as the uncertainty of the economy rolls on as well as the bitter cold winter.
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90s Grunge Hits
Just pure flannel shirt Seattle grunge music at it’s finest. »
90's Post-GrungeYour favorite late 90s rock. »
90's Pop Playlist
Hits you either want to forget or have come to embrace. »
90's Rap HitsJams to stroll through town with the windows down. »
90's Slow Songs
The best slow dance songs from the 90s. »
