This might get a little tl;dr because I have a tendency to ramble, so this is just fair warning right now.
I was watching a video just now with this music reviewer-type person who was talking about the Top 10 best pop songs of 2010. Basically his whole schtick is that he reviews the huge pop hits of the year. Sometimes he likes them, most of the time he doesn't, but he makes good points every time, I think. And he's kinda funny, too. So on his Top 10 list, he was talking about Animal by Neon Trees, a band I absolutely adore.
Now, if you listen to the radio alot, you probably know which song I'm talking about. And even if you don't, you might recognize it because it was playing in the Camp Vegas commercials here in the States. You know, this one!
Fuck, I love that song. So, yeah, knowing Top 40 radio, it's probably been overplayed to death. I only listen to the radio when I'm in the car (which isn't that much, really), but when I heard this song I loved it instantly. Looked up the video and was quite intrigued by the singer (I like mohawks, okay?), and the fact that they have a girl drummer is pretty cool, too. So I listened to a couple of their other songs, which I thought were quite nice, and bought the album, which I loved almost instantly. And now they're one of my favorite bands. (And this all happened in a span of two months. When I like something, I REALLY like it.)
The aforementioned journalist person was talking about how this song was a breath of fresh air, and I agree. There were many, many incredibly dumb songs that were huge hits, by people who really aren't that talented (not all, I'm just saying some). But this song was cool. Not only was it catchy, but the lyrics aren't really contrived (at least, not to me), and the singer could actually, y'know, sing! :D But then the guy mentioned that they were like The Killers in the sense that they were going to have one huge hit (although The Killers had a couple), and then fall off the face of the earth (ie: never have a huge hit like that again), but really...that's not a bad thing.
Take The Killers, for example: I'm not a fan of them other than the huge singles they've had. Everybody knows the song Mr. Brightside, I mean, God, who doesn't? They played it non-stop at the time. That was the song that got them famous. As far as I know, they haven't that huge of a hit afterwards (and if I'm wrong, feel free to correct me, because I'm sure I am XD). But are they now considered losers now? Not in the least. They have a very solid fanbase, they released another album that I think had pretty damn good reviews (I remember reading a lot of glowing reviews about them online when they released it), and I think they're pretty respected in the music community. And I know a lot of people are really digging Brandon Flowers' solo stuff. Am I saying all of this couldn't if happened had it not been for the huge success of that first single? Not at all. But that certainly helped.
Another example is Panic at the Disco, who I guess you could consider a one-hit wonder. Everybody knows who they are because of their very first single that came out: I Write Sins Not Tragedies. Now, I'm not sure what their exact chart position was, but for me, I heard that song allllll the time in middle school when it came out. And I quite like those guys, so that was fine by me. And I remember they won a VMA for Video of the Year for that song, too. That's really impressive for a brand new band. But I don't think their other singles were as huge, at least compared to I Write Sins. Which sucks, because not only were they even better than I Write Sins (imo), but their videos kicked ass. (Especially But It's Better If You Do. God, I love how campy Brendon Urie is.) They're One-Hit Wonders by definiton, I suppose, but is it a bad thing? Nope. Again, they have a solid fanbase, released a second record that was just as good, and from what I've heard, they're very fun live (I haven't seen them yet. D:). Yeah, they hit a bump in the road when Ryan Ross and Jon Walker left, but that happens with so many bands. And they're good enough to sell out shows, so that's good, too. And now they have a third album coming out, and holy freaking shit, their new song and video KICKS ASS. (again, I LOVE Bden's OTT-ness.) I think they're pretty successful.
Back to Neon Trees. Animal is off their debut album and was their first single. It's sold God knows how many digital copies, was a huge radio hit, and was at the top of the iTunes charts for awhile. But their album came out in March of 2010, and they've had other singles released, but not nearly as successful as Animal. Which kinda sucks, because not only do they have songs that are better than Animal, but they really are talented people. Their acoustic version of Animal is amazing, they did an acoustic mash-up of Baby by Justin Bieber and Stand By Me that I absolutely adore (and I now know all the words to that song, thanks to that cover. Nobody believes me when I say that I've only heard the original TWICE. haha), and they are very good live. I haven't seen them yet, but I've watched countless YT videos, and they're impressive. They sound the exact same and their singer, Tyler Glenn, not only has great stage presence and tons of energy, but sounds really great, too. And he's fucking hilarious, too, so that's a bonus. I've also read a ton of good reviews of their album and live shows, too. They, like The Killers and Panic, have a good fanbase, and the ability to put on a damn good show. Will they ever have as big as a hit as Animal again? Maybe, maybe not. You can say, "oh, they're total one-hit wonders," but who cares? These days, it's all about the singles and not the albums. To me, having a #1 hit doesn't mean you're successful. You're successful if you have a great album, a good fanbase, and are able to deliver live. You're successful if you're able to keep releasing albums that get better and better and better. You're successful if you have a unique sound and are legitimately talented.
So really, who cares if somebody's a one-hit wonder? It's those HITS that make you discover a great band. It was that one hit that made me discover such a great band that I honestly love. So now I just kinda roll my eyes if someone makes that argument. I don't care that they've only had one huge hit, that doesn't mean they're untalented, and that goes for sooooo many artists.
idk. This was long (told ya), but I've been thinking about this for awhile now. This is all just my opinion, so go ahead and disagree. Plus, I kinda just wanted to flail over Neon Trees a little bit. I'm allowed to do that, right? :P If you wanna watch that Top Ten list I was talking about, it's here. It's pretty funny, actually.
And while you're on that site, check out the Nostalgia Critic. His movie reviews are fucking hilarious. Check out his review of IT, especially. It was the first one I ever saw and it made me fall in love while making realize just how stupid that movie really is. Even though that stupid clown still terrifies me. T_T Y U SO SCARY, TIM CURRY? GO BACK TO BEING A SWEET TRANSVESTITE!
If you read this whole thing, thanks. Feel free to agree/disagree in the comments (or troll me, idc) if you want to. And if you want something new to listen to check out Neon Trees, I recommend them. :) (Specifically In the Next Room, 1983 and Farther Down, those songs kick ass.)
(in all seriousness, though, don't troll me. There's a place for that kinda stuff and it's called YouTube.)
ETA: and I just now realized I fucked up my bbcodes just now. Whoops. Sorry, guys. lol
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