For a variety of reasons, I’ve spent the last week thinking about obscure songs from the 80s and 90s—more than usual, Â I mean—and I’ve been reminded of some tunes that didn’t get nearly enough attention when they were released.
After the jump, I’m going to anoint two singles that should have been more popular. After you read my selections, tell me which hits you think deserved to be bigger.
(1) “Edge of a Broken Heart” by Vixen
So my friend Sheri is both an actress and a voice teacher who specializes in helping musical theater performers sing rock songs. (Crazy-awesome niche, right?) Last night, she Facebooked that she needed a new rock song for herself—something to audition with that would show her range but not be as overdone as, say, “Hit Me With Your Best Shot.”
Naturally, Sheri and I started chatted about the kick-ass ladies of 80s rock and soul. Lita Ford was invoked, as were Teena Marie, Bananarama, and even Quarterflash. But we hit the motherlode when I suddenly remembered Vixen.
Vixen! Â The all-female hair-metal band! Â They were just popular enough to be noticed—and to warrant their own episode of MTV Unplugged-–but they never quite made it to superstardom.Â
And that’s a shame, because that song up there, “Edge of a Broken Heart,” kicks ass. It was written and produced by Richard Marx (!), so it’s full of catchy pop hooks, but it also has a spiky rock edge. Plus, lead singer Janet Gardner has decent pipes, and she wails the power notes at the end.
“Edge of a Broken Heart” peaked at number #26 in 1988, but it should have gone top ten. It’s not a classic like “Every Rose Has Its Thorn,” but it’s definitely as good as “Unskinny Bop.”
p.s. — Because America is awesome, Vixen is still producing new music. You can find it here.
(2) “Dream All Day” by The PosiesÂ
You may have noticed the 90s music quizzes I’ve posted recently. Obviously, they’ve gotten me thinking about that golden decade of pop, and more specifically, they’ve made me remember songs I haven’t thought about since Chelsea Clinton’s awkward phase. Hello there, Lemonheads! Welcome back to my consciousness, Juliana Hatfield! Nice to see you, The Posies!Â
Do you guys remember “Dream All Day,” The Posies’ only semi-hit? It reached the top five on the modern rock chart in 1993 and had a charmingly low-rent video, but it deserved much more. The earwormy chorus merits national attention, and the grungy-pretty melody is totally a precursor of Gin Blossoms and Snow Patrol. If Bush got to have several big hits, couldn’t the Posies have had just one?
p.s. — One hit may have been all they had in them. Back in those desperate days before iTunes, I bought The Posies’ album Frosting on the Beater just so I could get  ”Dream All Day.” And the rest of the songs… sucked. Remember when people used to do that? Buy a whole album for one song? I feel like everyone I knew had the 4 Non Blondes record, but no one listened to anything except “What’s Up.”Â
p.p.s.– “Chelsea’s Awkward Phase” should be the title of a teen-focused drama on ABC Family.
Your turn! Which songs do you think deserve more love?
7 responses so far ↓
1 Michael Gilboe // Apr 20, 2009 at 1:05 pm
A couple of interesting choices. The Posies Debut album, “Dear 23″ was a much more solid effort, although it didn’t yield even the mildest of hits.
For my, “It’s a Shame” pick, I would have to say the song “Ritual” by Dan Reed Network should have been MUCH bigger than it was. Released in 1988, it was fun-time power-pop rock that was very much Prince meets Bon Jovi… except evidently the powers that be at radio must have decided it had enough of those as “Ritual” stalled at #38 on Billboard’s Top 100 and became their biggest “hit” despite three great albums.
I could name many more great “Should have been hits” songs, and perhaps I will later. I’m curious to see other people’s picks.
2 rev s // Apr 20, 2009 at 2:06 pm
I can get up and sing ‘Flagpole Sitta’ by Harvey Danger at a karaoke night and afterward a dozen people will want to talk to me about the song. The track came out ten years ago and hit 32 in the Top 40 at the time. Simply on a personal-political level, this song still resonates.
I mentioned Matthew Sweet in a music conversation the other day and discovered that I was the only one in the room who owned a copy of Girlfriend or 100% Fun… that was a shame…
3 Kristin // Apr 20, 2009 at 3:22 pm
“Cryin’ ” by Vixen was also awesome and did a little bit better on the charts than “Edge…”
There’s a song that they play frequently at Detroit Red Wings games and I think it’s one of those songs where you hear it and say, “I think I know that…” It’s very catchy. Steel Breeze, “You Don’t Want Me Anymore.” Totally 80′s.
4 Jeff C // Apr 20, 2009 at 4:32 pm
Rev S, I own those two Matthew Sweet albums – and about six other ones, too. Wonderful pop writing and production – he just came along a decade or three too late.
“You Only Get What You Give” by New Radicals was a hit (#41) but it should have been much, much bigger. Like “Beautiful Day” super bowl anthem bigger. Mick Jagger meets Hall & Oates, what’s not to like?
“Edge…” was featured last week on VH1 Classic’s “Top 100 One-Hit Wonders of the 80′s.” I had also forgotten about the song. It is very similar to Heart’s offerings at the time, which I imagine is why Mark loves it so.
5 Jen K // Apr 20, 2009 at 7:20 pm
Underground by the Ben Folds Five. It’s the most fun song ever, even though it’s about being an outcast.
I can get behind Get What you Give, and Matthew Sweet.
Also, I vote One Simple Thing by the Stabilizers. It’s so 80s I don’t see how it didn’t become an icon of the decade.
6 Bunting // Apr 20, 2009 at 10:53 pm
Man, Matthew Sweet. It seems like those records were omnipresent in my friends’ CD collex back in the day, but I haven’t heard a song of his in 10 years, probably.
Nothing else to add, just psyched to hit iTunes and remember college.
7 InfoMofo // Apr 21, 2009 at 10:51 am
Hmm, the way I’m reading you’re question is, “What songs do you wish you could sing at Karaoke and not just get blank stares from most of the audience?”
I think:
Pansy Division – Who Treats You Right?
Obviously the Pansy Division is set up as kind of a niche band, but I really don’t know why some of their songs couldn’t be mainstream.
Boney M – Rivers of Babylon
This was a #1 in Europe in the 70s but only charted 30 in the US. It had a minorly successful Sublime cover that was big in the college circuit in the 90s, but the Boney M version is Euro-pop disco awesomeness.
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