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EDIT: Found it! But you can keep on suggesting stuff if you want to.  On and off for seven years now, I've been building a YouTube playlist of catchy hit songs from 1996-2002, a period that was packed wall-to-wall with earworms, but isn't too fondly remembered for the actual quality of the music. You know the stuff - boy bands, pop punk, nu metal, post-grunge, boatloads of one-hit wonders of every style. It's taken so long to put together for three reasons - I have a one-per-artist limit for more variety, I only put Cerebral Bore-grade earworms in it, and I leave out tunes that grind my gears just a bit too much. I stopped at 60 for a couple of years, but a couple of weeks ago I decided to re-check some stuff I'd passed over before, and ended up going on a spree that got me all the way to 99. But finally, I just can't dive any deeper. https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLuCwCcvRTm7Hn2qV8Ou1mq19Q4sWoCYLe The only set-in-stone rules are that it has to be super catchy, and been at least a minor hit in the U.S., Canada, or Europe at the time of release - no songs that got popular later on through memes or revivals or ads. I'm flexible with the year of release - there are some songs that had the single come out '95 or '03, but the album '96 or '02, or the other way around. It's also ok if it released just outside the cutoff, but clearly charted inside it. Here are code: )It might help to focus on country and R&B - I went through a ton of popular artists in these genres, but almost everything I heard was bland. Still, I feel like there are some really famous songs there that I missed. Might also be some European dance club hits that have really famous melodies but the name is lesser known. P.S. CHECK THE PLAYLIST/REJECT LIST CAREFULLY BEFORE MAKING A SUGGESTION!!!! And remember, NO repeat artists! Synthetic Hermit fucked around with this message at 07:18 on Oct 15, 2021 |
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Oct 2, 2021 11:37
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Should've been Dr Jones over Barbie Girl imo.  Only Happy When It Rains maybe? Or not enough of an earworm...
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Oct 2, 2021 14:38
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mfODYOp41ww I mean, why wouldn't you
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Oct 2, 2021 21:43
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https://youtu.be/V9Wv4SCBiTE
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Oct 2, 2021 21:58
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Sway Grunt posted:Should've been Dr Jones over Barbie Girl imo. I really like several Aqua songs, but I DESPISE Doctor Jones. >_< Sway Grunt posted:Only Happy When It Rains maybe? Or not enough of an earworm... Yup. Venomous posted:I mean, why wouldn't you I mean, I could include "Pussy", but I have some slight standards. Pretty groovy, but not super catchy.
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Oct 3, 2021 01:46
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For a moment I thought I had it, but sadly Wikipedia informed me that Cotton Eye Joe actually came out in '94 and the album it's from in February '95, so that wouldn't work I think. Virtual Insanity? No, not catchy enough. What was that instrumental dance track where the music video was raindrops on a window of a moving car or something like that. That had a catchy yet vaguely melancholic hook. edit: Does Drinking in L.A. work? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OQsQZvsR_QI Sway Grunt fucked around with this message at 15:05 on Oct 3, 2021 |
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Oct 3, 2021 14:08
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^ Yeah, Cotton Eye Joe was one of the last tracks I thought of before making this thread. I might've DQ'd it anyway for being too obnoxious, though. I ran the gamut of Jamiroquai's eligible hits; Little L is the catchiest, but still not quite there. Drinking In L.A. and Astounded don't have the goods either.
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Oct 4, 2021 00:51
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This one is close. It's catchy while I'm listening to it, and the video is VERY 1998, which helps. But all that sticks in my head after I turn it off is the word "suave" and a tiny bit of the beat. I also feel it wouldn't survive many listens before getting stale. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WPiEbYSF9kE P.S. What tipped me off to it. :P Synthetic Hermit fucked around with this message at 10:51 on Apr 6, 2022 |
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Oct 4, 2021 02:06
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Checked out another Sash! track, "Adelante". It's a nice try, but it doesn't fully grab me. It sounds a bit "droning" for lack of a better word. The generic beat is part of the problem. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gFQ01Fs952o
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Oct 4, 2021 06:08
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Not catchy enough: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uhqRMzoyV4g
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Oct 4, 2021 08:06
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ok but seriously tho: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=50kP4S0peAs I mean you could insert literally any S Club 7 tune from the period in there (S Club Party and Bring It All Back are also contenders imo), but this is my favourite by them alternatively, if S Club 7 does nothing for you, have their supposed rivals at the time: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4NO-h9PFum4
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Oct 4, 2021 08:25
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^ I considered S Club 7 when I started the playlist. But they just don't have the instantly recognizable eternal earworm quality. Anyway, I found it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=znlFu_lemsU I knew I was on to something when I suggested focusing on R&B. I actually looked up Mary J. Blige a few days ago, but missed this one because her singles list on Wikipedia was split between 1990s/2000s, and I didn't keep scrolling. :P The video that tipped me off. Thanks for the suggestions, everyone.  Feel free to keep 'em coming if you want.
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Oct 4, 2021 09:20
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Synthetic Hermit posted:^ I considered S Club 7 when I started the playlist. But they just don't have the instantly recognizable eternal earworm quality. tbh this is where I completely disagree with you, because Reach has been a personal earworm on and off for the past twenty years or so. Fair enough tho, I did grow up with the tune. anyway, Family Affair is an incredibly solid pick, so congrats to you. Personally if I were going for R&B around that time I'd go for one of these: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oai1V7kaFBk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bxau9B3jOHM https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yp4QI4GkLDo fair dos anyway, congrats on the playlist!
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Oct 4, 2021 09:41
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Congrats on finishing! But yes we definitely have very different definitions of ‘catchy’ haha
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Oct 4, 2021 10:57
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Bonus: If I hadn't found "Family Affair", I would've used Dido - Thank You. I considered swapping out "My Own Worst Enemy" for it, but it's just slightly catchier. Though, both are just barely catchy enough for the playlist. Below them, the least catchy song on the playlist is "Club Bizarre", which really made it in because of the video's seriously late-'90s aesthetics. Bonus bonus: I originally used Sum 41's "Still Waiting" instead of "The Hell Song", but the only good copy of the video on Canadian YouTube got taken down, and the video is half the song in this case.
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Oct 6, 2021 09:28
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Gangsta's Paradise is conspicuously absent imo. e: I am mistaken, it was actually released '95, but was still in #4 position at the start of '96. Which in itself impressive given it was charting as early as mid-August 1995. Holy heck that's some staying power. But I also understand that a date that early might disqualify it. Nam Taf fucked around with this message at 13:32 on Oct 6, 2021 |
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Oct 6, 2021 13:27
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^ Yeah, I considered Gangsta's Paradise early on, but the date was a no-go. Benny Benassi - Satisfaction was also absolute top-tier catchy, but it only technically released at the end of 2002, with all of its chart success being in 2003. Here's another example of "catchy while I'm listening to it, but barely sticks in my head when I turn it off": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-qCDypgAV_E But holy hell, is the song/video representative of the time period or what. 
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Oct 7, 2021 02:21
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Even though I really like several songs on your playlist, overall I really hate this playlist. That said, you completely missed ( or do they bother you?) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DL7-CKirWZE And https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xcWOviMI6Lk This last one sticks in my head for days. It's all hook. Both of these are purestrain 1998. LloydDobler fucked around with this message at 23:31 on Oct 7, 2021 |
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Oct 7, 2021 23:28
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LloydDobler posted:Even though I really like several songs on your playlist, overall I really hate this playlist. I really enjoy some of them, but it also has some of my most hated songs of all time (Clocks, Drops of Jupiter). But catchy is catchy.  Your suggestions are undoubtedly groovy, but they don't have super recognizable hooks. Robbie Williams has a ton of eligible hits though, so I'll take a look at those later. Here's one with a solid hook, but it's still beat by the one song I'm willing to replace, "My Own Worst Enemy": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZIANBamMgas
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Oct 8, 2021 00:19
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^^ K, went though Robbie Williams' eligible hits, nothing with a standout hook. I also went through a classic compilation series that has many of the songs on my playlist, Big Shiny Tunes, but all I came up with (from the acts that I know were, at a minimum, big in Canada) was this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dyOnPbnpLAA It's for sure catchy...but it's sorta annoying too. :\
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Oct 8, 2021 10:40
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Found the one to replace "My Own Worst Enemy"! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LMOKlXfXn50 It's actually one of the catchiest songs on the playlist. I recognized it instantly, but I always thought it was by a more 'name' artist like Destiny's Child or Jennifer Lopez*, which explains why it took so long to come up. *I considered "Jenny From The Block" and "Ain't It Funny" early on, and it would be great to cleanse the playlist of "Clocks" with one of them, but alas, neither of them are catchy enough outside the chorus. I always considered her one of the weaker big names of the time. !
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Oct 9, 2021 10:44
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What i'm finding most interesting about this playlist is how it's a microcosm of the differences between the charts from the US to here in AU. Some of those artists don't stick in my head at all from being in the charts here when the songs came out, and I only know of them from subsequent exposure. For example Default - Wasting My Time only got to 43 here, so it's just basically non-existent in my memory from that period. Kid Rock is in the same boat. For others, certain songs stick in my head as the most quintessential of them from that period. For example, Genie in a Bottle was way bigger in my memory than Dirrty, and so it sticks in my mind way more because I heard it so much more as a kid back then.
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Oct 9, 2021 14:36
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Nam Taf posted:What i'm finding most interesting about this playlist is how it's a microcosm of the differences between the charts from the US to here in AU. Don't rely on it being a reflection of the U.S. charts, or charts in general. The majority of the playlist are songs I remember being heavily played here in Canada. Default, Alanis Morissette, Matthew Good Band, Barenaked Ladies, Prozzak, Bif Naked, Nickelback, Avril Lavigne, Shania Twain, Celine Dion, Simple Plan, Sum 41, all Canadian acts. Some of them were very popular elsewhere, but some weren't. In addition, some of the songs aren't the artist's absolute biggest hit, but lesser hits that personally stuck with me more. Dirrty is one of those. Another example is Prozzak's "Omobolasire" over "Sucks To Be You". I also avoided hits that I thought were overplayed, hence choosing Eminem's "The Way I Am" over "Without Me" or "Lose Yourself". One pick, "Club Bizarre", was largely for the video's full-on late-'90s aesthetics rather than the song (which IS catchy, but right at the bottom of the threshold). It's a Europe-only hit that I'd never heard of prior to making the playlist. And as you can see in the OP, I left out a few artists that personally irritated me too much. tl;dr It's not a scientific playlist, just a picture of the worms in my particular ear.
Synthetic Hermit fucked around with this message at 09:39 on Oct 10, 2021 |
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Oct 10, 2021 01:22
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drat, I wish I'd seen this 4 days ago, hah. Thanks for putting this together. other songs you might consider: OMC - How Bizarre (1995) Papa Roach - Last Resort (2000) Smash Mouth - Walking on the Sun (1997) Oleander - I Walk Alone (1999) Everlast - What It's Like (1998) Eagle Eye Cherry - Save Tonight (1997) Glottis fucked around with this message at 04:56 on Oct 12, 2021 |
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Oct 12, 2021 04:41
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Glottis posted:drat, I wish I'd seen this 4 days ago, hah. Thanks for putting this together. OMC - How Bizarre | Well, it qualifies (album mid '96), and it's very groovy, but it's too...soft? for my taste. Not sure if that's the right word. It doesn't reach out and grab my ear, it just sits there and mellows out. This one's entirely a personal taste based DQ. Papa Roach - Last Resort | Already on there. Smash Mouth - Walking on the Sun | Already on there. Oleander - I Walk Alone | Not catchy enough. Everlast - What It's Like | Not catchy enough. Eagle Eye Cherry - Save Tonight | Not catchy enough outside the chorus. Some good suggestions, though - keep 'em coming if you want. Although I'm pretty satisfied with the current state of the playlist, I wouldn't mind finding something to replace Coldplay - Clocks, which definitely makes my top 20 most hated songs of all time. Only reason it's on there is that it doesn't have the double-barreled squeaky obnoxiousness of Hanson and Vengaboys.
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Oct 12, 2021 07:11
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Huh, they didn't show up when I loaded the playlist, but that's probably due to some Youtube to Youtube Music nonsense. And I'm sure there's some regional differences there, this is a northern California perspective.
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Oct 12, 2021 10:01
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Sunny Came Home by Shawn Colvin?
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Oct 13, 2021 03:42
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RestingB1tchFace posted:Sunny Came Home by Shawn Colvin? Nice groove. Not an elite-tier earworm, though.
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Oct 13, 2021 10:04
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Stuck on You - Failure Real World - Matchbox 20 Learn to Fly - Foo Fighters Wish You Were Here - Incubus Time - Hootie and the Blowfish
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Oct 13, 2021 16:34
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^ Stuck on You - Failure kind of grating Real World - Matchbox 20 meh Learn to Fly - Foo Fighters meh Wish You Were Here - Incubus meh Time - Hootie and the Blowfish meh (and only barely qualifies; charted very early 1996)
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Oct 14, 2021 08:17
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You aren't actually looking for a 100th song.
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Oct 15, 2021 02:08
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RestingB1tchFace posted:You aren't actually looking for a 100th song. It took forever just to get the drat thing to 60. If it doesn't have a hook that's like a frying pan to the noggin, odds are it's not getting in. Here's one that's a little too slow: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wt88GMJmVk0
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Oct 15, 2021 07:16
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Small (and final) update, I finally decided to purge Coldplay - Clocks from the playlist with Sash! - Ecuador: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9cQlVww0zKo It's the second-least catchy song on it after Club Bizarre, but the vibe of the song and video absolutely defines 1997, alongside Barbie Girl. Also, here are my top five honorable mentions (for catchiness, not necessarily listening quality): 1. Lit - My Own Worst Enemy 2. Dido - Thank You 3. Nine Days - Absolutely (Story of a Girl) 4. Jennifer Lopez - Ain't It Funny 5. Theory of a Deadman - Nothing Could Come Between Us
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Apr 6, 2022 09:22
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One more honorable mention (2002): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NER9ivgeH0M The hook is legendary - I'm not sure how it never crossed my path when making the playlist. However, it gets monotonous quickly. ************ 2023 note to self - Pras - Ghetto Supastar (a case of only the chorus being catchy) Synthetic Hermit fucked around with this message at 18:44 on May 2, 2023 |
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Apr 27, 2022 10:00
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