ONE HIT WONDERLAND: "I Melt with You" by Modern English

This song used to remind me of cheeseburgers. Now it reminds me of Evangelion.

Stephen Gillie

FOW deserves better. They had a minor one with Denise and Radiation Vibe. Their other big hit is under an appropriately titled fake name of a certain Tom Hanks movie. RIP Adam Schlesinger.

GeddyLeeRoth

KROQ is a joke. Lithium on SiriusXM is the way to go. They’ve turned into the EDM station.

GeddyLeeRoth

"Papa's Got A Brand New Pigbag" has been an actual favorite of mine for a while, it absolutely S L A P S

Christian Reiswig

I had to listen to whatever PIGBAG was. It is fantastic. This video has little hidden bread crumbs that lead to a wonderful place. (I may be high).

Matt Standish

Also, "Dancing With Tears in my Eyes" by Ultravox has the same "the nukes are coming so lets have sex because there's nothing else we might as well do" theme as this.

Specter Koen

As an Angelino with an old car that only gets FM, I can say that KROQ still plays cool underground stuff, but you have to tune in at like 11PM when the suits in charge are either drunk or asleep. Same deal with their main "competitor" KYSR.

Specter Koen

This is one of those songs i've often heard on the radio, but had no clue who did the song until now.

RedBedroomRecords

I thought their version was fine.

RedBedroomRecords

Good band but they wouldn't qualify seeing as they've had multiple top 40 hits:https://www.musicvf.com/Powerman+5000.art

RedBedroomRecords

Yet another song i've never heard of until now.

RedBedroomRecords

I would only add that “Hands Across the Sea” also nudged the Hot 100, getting to 91. Plus the definitive 80s anthem involving making love during a nuclear holocaust is “Dancing With Tears in My Eyes” by Ultravox.

Its weird that the first time I heard this song was in Sky High

YoCallMeRob

This song reminds me SO much of ‘Space Age Love Song’ by Flock of Seagulls. They’re basically both the perfect, uncannily pristine New Wave 80’s songs.

Franco del Rosario

For half a second I confused this with "You Spin Me Round," in that I thought, "Isn't this the band that Pete Burns started in?" before very quickly realizing my mistake.

Meghan Weber

If I could see a video from you on any one-hit wonder it would be "Cars That Go Boom" by L'Trimm or "Supersonic" by J.J. Fad.

Didn't expect this band to be a technical no hit wonder. Got to love how educational this show is. While I know it's considered tacky to do requests (not like that's stopped me in the past), with the Tony Hawk Pro Skater remake coming out in about a month, any chance of "When Worlds Collide" by Powerman 5000? I'm curious to see which factoids you'll dig up on this glorious piece of late 90s cheese.

Adequately Sized Dog

As someone who has been watching you since I was like 14/15 in 2011 and now works at the PR firm that handles Bauhaus/Dead Can Dance, this video was a wild watch for me to see you discussing our clients hahaha

Bowling for Soup did their damndest to ruin this song on the Sky High soundtrack. But the original is so good that they thankfully failed.

Charles Kieser

I’d actually love it if Todd covered more “not really chart successes at all, but still are One Hit Wonders somehow” songs on OHW, like Over the Rainbow by Israel Kamakawiwoʻole, and Man with the Hex by The Atomic Fireballs (Halloween episode preferably). Also, I’ve been inspired by the AVGN just recently to want to request Crash by The Primitives. Also, also, still waiting for an ep on 1234 by Feist,

JasSpy

As an old guy who sought this out in the 80s, this is top notch! Even if though your less than enthusiastic call out to Dead Can Dance, This Mortal Coil, and the not mentioned Cocteau Twins caused me a slight existential twinge.

"Ask" by the Smiths is practically the same song as this; a jangly pop love song about nuclear apocalypse ("Because if it's not love/Then it's the bomb, the bomb, the bomb, the bomb, the bomb, the bomb, the bomb that will bring us together")

Michael Furey

video's not playing for me, here or on vimeo - anyone else getting that in windows/chrome? (firefox plays fine oddly enough)

matt

Robbie Gray is the rare frontman in this series that kept getting better looking as he aged, imo

Shiny Skunk

I was hoping you would go into more detail about the movie "I Melt With You", considering how you ranted about it on Twitter

Jack Rosen

Sound levels seem a bit wonky; I kept having to turn it down for the music, and turn it up when you were talking. Love that there's apparently multiple love songs about dying in a nuclear explosion; until now I thought it was just The Postal Service filling that niche.

Lanth

Todd could do so many songs from the Valley Girl soundtrack - there's so many good ones to pick. Electric Avenue by Eddy Grant. The Fanatic by Felony. Love that soundtrack.

Megan Johnson

I thought they weren’t gonna deserve better at first. A lyric like “I’ll stop the world I melt with you” is not a lyric you can write more than once.

HEY! Pigbag were great.

Why does Ink and Paper sound like Born to Run?

Triple 9

I know Hershey used it in theirs.

Jon Heiman

Also, love this song, I was familiar with it through the Bowling for Soup cover, so much so that I thought the original song was a cover! Same thing happened with I'm a Believer though...

Editing note: Weird little transition around 3:34. Kinda looks like it froze up for like a half-second?

"Martha Coolidge" wasn't she . . . . Yup! Real Genius. Also, yup - some quality 80's sound right there.

Paul McA

It would be way too on the nose, but this read of the song could fit really well over the credits of Miracle Mile.

Zack Handlen

Those 80s post-punk bands that went in a poppier direction really liked their 12-string guitars, eh? It just clicked for me how many songs from this genre prominently feature it.

Joe G

God this one hit at the weirdest time. Recently broke up with a partner and that was the closest thing we had to “our song.” Also I’ve covered it with my band, which also just broke up, numerous times. What a strange time.

Cameron Kirkpatrick

This song has been used in commercials so much I usually think of Coke even though I dont know if Coke has ever used it I their ads?

For some reason, this song really reminds me of Bad Decisions off the Strokes' latest album - the jangly guitars, new wave bigness, pop hooks, Julian's voice and inflexions, the dichotomy of love/individuality contrasted with existentialism/larger than life decisions. There are slight differences of course (the outros are completely different, the post-choruses), but the resemblance is definitely there.

Alex Vorstermans

I wish you had addressed the German lines!

Terence

Even though as Todd says, they're not technically a one-hit wonder.

So is this song literally the end of Rogue One?

Taylor Abrahamse

Yeah, some editing issues, and some levels issues, but the writing and presentation themselves are top-notch. (Also, my reaction upon receiving this notification : OH, HELL YEAH PUMP THAT SHIT *DIRECTLY* INTO MY VEINS)

Noah Ramon

I first became familiar with this song by a pop punk band off of the sky high soundtrack...also included a great they might be Giants cover of Through Being Cool

Nowhere Girl

I’ve loved this song as long as I can remember and for some reason I always thought it was not fondly remembered and was just basic 80s cheesy pop, and that this video proved me wrong made me so happy. I guess I’m trying to say that while I get that negative reviews are more popular/profitable, hearing you describe what makes a good song truly great is the best of the best

Glitch at 0:53 and again at 1:03, and presumably elsewhere based on the comments

Taylor Abrahamse

Oh motherfucker I forgot to black out that layer. Ugh, I do that sometimes, it'll be fixed in a minute.

Todd in the Shadows

Another way to tell if an artist is a one-hit wonder is if Bowling for Soup covered them. It's tried and true! They've done Modern English, A Flock of Seagulls, Fountains of Wayne, and even if it wasn't their one hit they also covered SR-71 and Edie Brickell.

Isaac Jackson

Todd, love ya, but gotta polish this editing. Lots of you popping into the background over the images and archive footage.

SPBurke

As a lifelong SoCal local, that jab at KROQ was *chef's kiss*.

Patrick Thatcher

You're taking down a really big one-hit wonder on the list. Love your work.