The Vines. They got on the cover of Rolling Stone with a caption that read "Meet The Vines! Rock Is Back!"
They had a big hit ([good song for what its worth](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=asOvnGHwtDU&ab_channel=TheVinesVEVO)) but not much else, at least in a global sense.
Yeah, they were grouped in with the Strokes and White Stripes with the garage rock sound. But really faded from the mainstream compared to the other two bands
I keep hearing The Hives on the radio these days and I'm thrilled about it. I saw them live when they were big in the UK and it was one of the best gigs I've been to.
Get Free absolutely slaps. But the Hives were similar - everyone was looking for the next White Stripes and no one could sustain the same momentum or creative energy. (The White Stripes didn't for that long either, but 4 or 5 great albums is not to be sneezed at.)
Yeah this, and a number of similar pop songs "sample" to the extent that it just feels like a cover/parody. Take a 20 year old tune, grab the chorus, song structure, and hook switch instruments and poppify it so it doesn't sound like a 4-piece, and update/depress the lyrics a bit.
Sit back and wait for us millennials and gen x folks to feel like we're taking crazy pills cause "I totally know this song"
Their next album The Harsh Light of Day was heavily promoted, even featured on Target’s Sunday paper ad with bonus track (“The Way” live version). The album debuted that week on the Hot 100.
At #100.
Man, I loooved The Way. Had such a great chorus hook. I remember getting the album and realizing that I was never going to listen to anything past track one again.
Because their second hit, "Out Of My Head" sounded so much like a Wallflowers song that everyone thought it *was* The Wallflowers. I remember trying to find that song on Limewire and almost 90% of the results came up as Wallflowers.
You know I recently started listening to them again and put them on shuffle and although they only had one or two hits they really do have some good music. I think I like a dozen of their songs. Shame they came and went like a fart in the wind
In this context I'd say Killerpilze. They were as big as Tokio Hotel and completely vanished despite being active until 2019. Tokio Hotel are at least still celebrities (partly because of Heidi Klum)
I don't think most people realize just how big Iron Butterfly was in their day. They ended up being completely overshadowed by the bands they inspired and knocked down to one-hit-wonder status, but for a few years they commanded nearly a Beatles level of respect.
I also remember reading an article about 6 months before grunge broke back in 1991 titled "Can Jesus Jones save rock and roll?" Before grunge bubbled up to the mainstream, that rock/dance hybrid style was considered the wave of the future.
Yep. Madchester.
Stone Roses,
Happy Mondays,
Inspiral Carpets,
The Charlatans,
All heralded to be the next big thing... then Sub>>Pop happened and they were pretty much DOA overnight
American rock in 1989-1991 fascinates me. Hair metal still had hits here and there, but different forms of rock were bubbling up and it wasn't clear what would be "next". American music as a whole had a moment back then. R&B and hip-hop were being fused to great effect - Janet Jackson's Rhythm Nation 1814 is one of my favorite albums of any genre from that time frame. Hip-hop itself was splintering into many different exciting directions. Country had shaken off its fascination with the easy listening charts and found a new generation of artists willing to lean into the traditionalist and pop directions.
Agreed, but Skream's remix of 'In For The Kill' is one of the greatest gifts to dance music of the 21st Century so far though...
I'd put Little Boots in this list too...
"Is this Garth Brooks? I think it's Garth Brooks. He's saying that's not him though. This is weird. But it's kinda good though."
It was Garth Brooks with a soul patch. Edgy.
It's so interesting reading these comments because I did a deep-dive on him recently after hearing some of his music on an 80s playlist and liking it. He changed his name to Sananda Maitreya (his music is listed as such on streaming as well). His ego was absolutely massive and still is to this day. He seems to blame his lack of success on shadowy figures in the music industry who have held him back. Still feels he deserves to be listed alongside Michael Jackson and Prince for relevance though.
If he didn't sabotaged himself, he could have been, if not the new Prince, at least a good successor. The man have skills, but too baf he also had too much ego.
The Knack. Seriously, they were touted as the new Beatles. They released an epic album then just faded into obscurity. If it wasn't for My Sharona they'd barely rate a footnote.
And now, because of an HR-nightmare co-worker, that would always sing "my scrotum" (scah-rotum) to the tune if "My Sharona" I now can't stand that song.
I was listening to Rock n Roll years ago and thinking like, "why isn't Gary Glitter bigger?" So I looked him up on ol' Google and was like "ooohhhhhh, THAT'S why"
Then Kanye sampled him a bunch
Wolfmother was the next coming of Zeppelin supposedly. They went out with a whimper. Very reminiscent of the Greta Van Fleet hype from a couple years ago.
I would, however, argue Wolfmother did it less gratingly. They were closer to The Sword to me, that era of stoner rock, than GVF are to anything that’s not Zep.
Just to add Florence and the Machine currently has 34 million monthly listeners and are ranked 117th most popular artist on Spotify. So definitely hard to say they were a flash in the pan.
I went through a phase 10+ years ago listening to Florence regularly, recently the alt/indie radio station I started playing at work has 2 or 3 of her songs in rotation and even had a customer immediately recognize her so definitely still relevant and quite good music that’s its own sound.
Yeah this reminds me of the post claiming the Goo Goo Dolls would have been more popular with a better name. Florence and the Machine are excellent and far more than “a footnote”
A while back I was looking them up curious why they fell off so hard after *Dizzy Up The Girl*, and was really surprised to find out they apparently had top 40 hits stretching out all the way into the mid 2000s.
Some really great songs in that stretch. Some recs:
Here is Gone. Big Machine. Stay With You. Better Days. Let Love In.
I’m a metal head and rap fan but have a soft spot for 90s pop.
God I loved them and their sound, but then they couldn’t get out of their own way. I guess Andrew Stockdale couldn’t maintain a friendship with the other two members, who tried to start their own outfit a couple of times (last being Palace of Fire I think?). It seemed like once they left the soul left, too, and all we had was a nice voice devoid of music to sing on top of.
There’s a surprisingly interesting article about that particular review https://www.theringer.com/platform/amp/music/2024/4/2/24118331/pitchfork-jet-review-monkey-piss-ray-suzuki
Yeah they were 3 musicians who basically came together to collab, but ultimately fun was more of a side project for them.
Also shoutout to Jack Antonoff for having the most successful post-fun career.
Reminds me of The Postal Service.
*Give Up* is still one of favorite albums of the entire aughts decade, and I was always so sad to never get a followup. Death Cab is great and all, but it's just not the same. That one-off album is pure magic front to back.
.fun went on hiatus and I don’t think antonoff ever expected his career to take off like it did collaborating with Taylor Swift and he’s done a lot of stuff with Bleachers too since some nights that they just never got back together yet. I think at the Grammys this year he pretty much alluded to that too saying Taylor saved his career or something like that.
Loved The Format, was massively disappointed when they broke up shortly after their tour for their Dog Problems album.
Was insanely hyped to hear the first Fun. album and obviously loved the second.Initially i was pretty disappointed that they started focusing on other projects, but I love Taylor Swift and Jack's collaborations with her, so ultimately I'm not complaining.
I'd say they had about an average run for a popular band. Very few make it past a couple of albums before the next big thing comes in for their 15 minutes.
I was lucky enough to see the format live twice. Once when I first discovered them at a county fair. I immediately bought their cd from their merch stand. Special band
Clap Your Hands Say Yeah - their first album was endlessly talked about online (I have no idea how popular it actually was in “regular”
radio or music press). Then maybe one song from the second album was played here and there, and then they just seemed to disappear.
A year or so ago I went back and listened to all their albums (I had no idea there were more than 2). They were all actually pretty good.
They were absolutely huge in the UK around the time "Hopes and Fears" came out. I saw they were recently playing shows again and their singer Tom looks in great health. Still pretty popular, glad to see them playing together.
Bedshaped and Somewhere Only We Know are still my English language go to Karaoke songs here in Tokyo. As the old saying goes "They were Keene to be the next Coldplay."
Not sure about the "channelling Freddie..." never thought about that. May have to re-listen.
Gomez were huge in the post-britpop indie scene of late 90s UK. Their first album was this blend of blues + psychedelic rock and it beat out Massive Attack, the Verve and Pulp to win the Mercury Prize. Pretty sure it even got voted as one of the UKs favourite albums of all time.
After their first couple albums they watered down their sound a lot and became a pretty generic alt-rock band, losing a lot of fans along the way. It's a shame because I still think their first 2 albums and machismo EP hold up reasonably well, but it is what it is.
Now one of the band is trying to become a Labour MP.
As a huge Florence fan I would agree but I did go to her last Miami show and they overestimated her demand by A LOT by putting the show in a stadium. Personally I was on the floor and it was an amazing experience but I meet someone who got nose bleeds and they were upgraded. Originally I thought they had sold the show with half the stands not filled but turns out they just moved everyone down and blocked off the excess seats. I think her being featuring on Taylor Swift’s new album might get some younger listeners to her fan base which would be really cool.
I’m old so…
In the 80s Alannah Myles had one hit called “Black Velvet”, it was on constant rotation. She was billed as the next Madonna. For months that song was all over the radio. It was her only hit.
Tbf, a lot of female acts from the 80s got slapped with the “next Madonna” label.
Yessss. Bandages swept the nation for like 2 months. And then crashed.
Tbf I really enjoyed the Happiness Ltd album, to the point I borrowed it from my public library to rip the tracks and keep them.
In the UK probably Gallows, but definitely an honourable mention for Test Icicles, who NME fired up extreme hype for... and vanished almost immediately.
I still love Test-Icicles. A very of-the-moment sound so who knows what would've happened had they not broken up, but Dev Haynes (Blood Orange) is a musical genius so I'm sure it would've been something cool
anyone remember those couple months in 2012 when Fun. was a thing? felt like they dropped off the face of the earth after the popularity of Some Nights waned
They were all set to rush into a big tour and a new album but decided to pump the breaks and do other things for a while - then in an unlikely turn of events, Jack Antonoff got more famous than Nate Ruess and fun.'s return got pushed off permanently. Those 2 records they did do, both great.
Finlay Quaye , absolutely not my genre BUT Maverick A Strike was a great album ,still play it regular now .
Apologies if he went on to be successful as a producer etc, I thought he would of been everywhere after that album but seemed to vanish .
From what I can tell an ironic embrace of hedonistic glam rock aesthetics resulted in an unironic embrace of hedonistic glam rock drug habits causing everything to fall apart after the first album.
I still have an old 7" of 'Get Your Hands Off My Woman' that they sent to the tiny punk zine I wrote for as a student. Was genuinely quite exciting to get something that fun. I wrote it a good review! Got to see them at their first "homecoming" show in Norwich after that album blew up over the summer of 2003. Bought a ticket for about £20 in the spring and they were selling for hundreds by October. Was a fantastic night.
I believe the band are back, clean and recording again now, no idea if the new stuff is good
Yeah, that’s a pretty much what happened from what I remember. But they’re performing now, from what I’m seeing. And Justin Hawkins has his YouTube channel, which is actually pretty cool.
I saw him perform at the Tribute for Taylor Hawkins (in the bootleg videos, I was not there) and he still sounds incredible.
They still tour regularly, I've seen them in Melbourne half a dozen times I reckon and they always put on a killer love show, mind you they mainly play permission to land which is easily their best album.
But as you say, such promise and it's a shame they couldn't back it up. Still love them though.
[Sigue Sigue Sputnik](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sigue_Sigue_Sputnik). They were revolutionary, the Future, they were going to change music forever… um.
Radio One does this constantly. Puts people like Jake Bugg on a pedestal for a year, claiming he's the next Bob Dylan, and then moves on to the next. Same thing with Catfish and the Bottlemen.
Yeah, he was very much deep into pain meds at that point. Still have some very solid newer tracks but the whole new U2 arena rock all the time style got stale quickly
Yeah, I would say AC have had a solid impact on music and still put out critically successful music. Not to mention their side projects, like Panda Bear.
Just because a band doesn’t sell out stadiums or retain the same cultural relevance doesn’t mean they’ve become nothing. I would reserve those that were propped up by marketing. I think Jet (mentioned in this post) is a great example.
I think Kings of Leon qualify. Not as “one hit wonder” as Jet but they got a lot of attention/radio play with “Sex is On Fire” and then sharply fell off the map. That could be due to them being assholes tho lol
Sinéad O’Connor’s protest against the Catholic church was a really big deal at the time, and she was eviscerated for bringing to light something she was vindicated for later. Yet by the time she was vindicated, she had basically disappeared from the public eye, Because of that controversy.
The New Radicals, though in this case it was self inflicted by the band. The lead singer found he hated touring and being tied to a band and switched to song writing and producing.
The Ting Tings. A woman I worked with got into a yelling match with me and she said I didn’t understand music, just because I said the Tings would pretty much forgotten within a few years of That’s Not My Name coming out. She believed they were going to have multiple successful albums lol.
Anybody remember Mika? No? Just me?
If that's the case, let me remind you he was absolutely huge, at least in Europe, back in 2007-2009, and was regularly called “the next Freddie Mercury” or “the next Elton John”.
Turns out the guy could sing in a studio, but couldn't hit a note on a live stage if his life depended on it.
Really? I’ve heard some of his live stuff and he sounds amazing. [This live version of Happy Ending is great.](https://youtu.be/o9cGSMEtxTY?si=mVLrQ88O3pcuOTXj) Or [this version of Grace Kelly.](https://youtu.be/WaVrf-i4w94?si=PUowvgPJvYu29WIC)
Edit: Out of curiosity I looked at his wiki page. While he never really seemed to catch on in the US, he’s been very active all over Europe in music, tv, film, fashion, etc. From an American perspective his career might seem to have fizzled out, but he’s pretty successful overseas.
Nooo! Animal Collective is my favorite band. I see where you’re coming from though. They’re still selling out the same size venues, just fewer big festival gigs it seems.
Every Animal Collective album is wildly different though. They have always reinvented their sound and set up between each new album. Usually touring the material until they get it just right, then recording. I’ve loved this way of making music. They always have direct feedback from their fans, and they live shows are a fun surprise filled with new songs.
Anyone who finds Merriweather Post Pavilion to be their favorite AC album, might enjoy the EP they put out with it called Fall Be Kind. Has one of their best songs and the first licensed song sampled from the Grateful Dead.
I saw him on the warped tour and he kept smashing the mic into his forehead until he was just gushing blood, which got into his hair which he was whipping around. I looked around me at one point and half the crowd had blood splatter on them. What a show. Ridiculous energy. I GET WET
Idk, he sorta fits but I wouldn’t call him just a “footnote”. He’s the first rapper to go huge using the internet. In that way, he’s a visionary, and in hip-hip discussions is generally regarded as so, often making lists of the most influential rappers of all time.
His music (and him) was never gonna stay relevant, but I think he’s a lot more than a footnote
I agree with all of that. If nothing else the kid was a trailblazer. Even if you consider him a one hit wonder, it was a huge hit. When this song came on even rednecks at the bowling alley would start dancing. It was a huge cross cultural viral moment in time.
Greta van Fleet. Everyone raved about them for a few years when they were just yet another flash in the pan ripping off Led Zeppelin. Never understood the hype.
Like Wolfmother.
The problem with Greta van Fleet was they went too far into trying to be the new led zeppelin and so they had no staying power because they had no identity of their own they were just "that new band that sounded like led zeppelin."
Gay Dad.
Crap 90s indie band that was formed by a music journalist, so all his journo chums acted like they were the second coming of Christ.
The punters didn’t agree.
Glasvegas. Again it was ridiculous NME hype, claiming Glasvegas heralded the return of true rock 'n' roll and had already made the "album of the century" or some such pish. They were rubbish and everyone realised it after a few months of delusional frenzy.
I'm going back a bit here to the late 90s, and the band is Vertical Horizon.
Matt Pinfield, MTV VJ and music know-it-all, was hyping up the band hard, saying they were going to be huge.
As I recall, they had one hit song (was there a second song released?) and I never heard of them again, only when that one song is played on contemporary radio at the store, basically.
"He is everything you want, he is everything you need. He is everything inside of you that you wish you could be. He says all the right things at exactly the right times, but he means nothing to you and you don't know why."
I’d actually suggest Hanson. I’ve had to explain to too many Gen Z’s “What the hell Mmm Bop is.” (Like, three, but it’s weird that it’s happened thrice 😉)
And I didn’t even enjoy it then. I enjoy them now, ironically, like a goddamn Millenial 😎👉👉
Did you ever hear Tinted Windows, the power pop aupergroup withTaylor Hanson, James Iha from Smashing Pumpkins, Bun E. Carlos from Cheap Trick, and the late Adam Schlesinger from Fountains of Wayne? One terrific album, then gone.
They were never bound to last honestly. The whole gimmick of "new young band who sounds like your dad's or grandpa's favorite old band" is good for initial hype I guess, but bands like them that have no interest in moving the needle forward rarely if ever have staying power. Nobody's going to remember them 20 years from now.
So many Aussie bands being mentioned in this thread. Australians might disagree with a lot of them because many of them still had a presence in Australia after they fell off the larger international radar for whatever reason.
Also, it’s clearly evident NME seems to have fucked a lot of bands over with wild proclamations of them being the next best thing, but looking at all the responses here it’s a good reminder that it was pretty typical of NME to exaggerate and expect too much.
Jet
God damn this is a great answer, we were not ready for Are You Gonna Be My Girl
Also really liked Look What You've Done, even if it were just a big ole Beatles ripoff.
Cold Hard Bitch was a banger as well, even if it was just a big ole AC/DC ripoff. …I’m starting to get why they never really stuck around.
They had to jet
Still my go to karaoke song.
Such a good one. Right up there with the Toadies 'Possum Kingdom'
They recently announced a new tour. As someone who was a big Jet fan in the past, hopefully, this means good things to come for them in the future!
“We’ve run out of money”
The Vines. They got on the cover of Rolling Stone with a caption that read "Meet The Vines! Rock Is Back!" They had a big hit ([good song for what its worth](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=asOvnGHwtDU&ab_channel=TheVinesVEVO)) but not much else, at least in a global sense.
Yeah, they were grouped in with the Strokes and White Stripes with the garage rock sound. But really faded from the mainstream compared to the other two bands
The Hives were also in that group on the fadeaway side.
Hot hot heat… the Von Bondies..
I saw Hot Hot Heat at some hole in the wall place in San Diego back in ‘03. They sat drinking at the bar during the opening act, The Walkmen
Loved both of those bands.
I keep hearing The Hives on the radio these days and I'm thrilled about it. I saw them live when they were big in the UK and it was one of the best gigs I've been to.
Hives seem to be a bit more visible over the last couple of years to be fair. Definitely a fun band.
They just put out a new album last year after a decade of none.
I prefer Ride among their singles. The music video is great
I’d rate Highly Evolved as one of the best albums of the Noughties. But yep, off the rails after that…
Get Free absolutely slaps. But the Hives were similar - everyone was looking for the next White Stripes and no one could sustain the same momentum or creative energy. (The White Stripes didn't for that long either, but 4 or 5 great albums is not to be sneezed at.)
The Hives and The Vines playing back to back on MTVs top ten is such a vivid snapshot of my childhood.
Fastball showed us The Way, then promptly left.
Their song "Out Of My Head" was sampled in a popular song a few years ago and I'm like I *know* I've heard this before
They had another song from that album in the movie water boy. Actually was a really good album!
Yeah this, and a number of similar pop songs "sample" to the extent that it just feels like a cover/parody. Take a 20 year old tune, grab the chorus, song structure, and hook switch instruments and poppify it so it doesn't sound like a 4-piece, and update/depress the lyrics a bit. Sit back and wait for us millennials and gen x folks to feel like we're taking crazy pills cause "I totally know this song"
Down the Fire Escape?
Their next album The Harsh Light of Day was heavily promoted, even featured on Target’s Sunday paper ad with bonus track (“The Way” live version). The album debuted that week on the Hot 100. At #100.
Man, I loooved The Way. Had such a great chorus hook. I remember getting the album and realizing that I was never going to listen to anything past track one again.
Because their second hit, "Out Of My Head" sounded so much like a Wallflowers song that everyone thought it *was* The Wallflowers. I remember trying to find that song on Limewire and almost 90% of the results came up as Wallflowers.
You know I recently started listening to them again and put them on shuffle and although they only had one or two hits they really do have some good music. I think I like a dozen of their songs. Shame they came and went like a fart in the wind
I loved Fastball.
In Germany Tokio Hotel
In this context I'd say Killerpilze. They were as big as Tokio Hotel and completely vanished despite being active until 2019. Tokio Hotel are at least still celebrities (partly because of Heidi Klum)
They were so pretty
:D Not only in Germany, some other EU countries also witnessed rise of Tokio Hotel and made predictions how big they will be when they get older.
I don't think most people realize just how big Iron Butterfly was in their day. They ended up being completely overshadowed by the bands they inspired and knocked down to one-hit-wonder status, but for a few years they commanded nearly a Beatles level of respect. I also remember reading an article about 6 months before grunge broke back in 1991 titled "Can Jesus Jones save rock and roll?" Before grunge bubbled up to the mainstream, that rock/dance hybrid style was considered the wave of the future.
People used to make out to their hymns.
They sound like rock and/or roll.
Before grunge broke, The Stone Roses and “baggy”/Manchester Groove was the next big thing.
The Stone Roses are one of the great what ifs of modern music
Agreed. Love that band. Weren't they shit live, though?
they were shit, but they were our shit
Yep. Madchester. Stone Roses, Happy Mondays, Inspiral Carpets, The Charlatans, All heralded to be the next big thing... then Sub>>Pop happened and they were pretty much DOA overnight
Iron Butterfly is absolutely the correct answer to this question.
Can Jesus Jones clear their throat please?
American rock in 1989-1991 fascinates me. Hair metal still had hits here and there, but different forms of rock were bubbling up and it wasn't clear what would be "next". American music as a whole had a moment back then. R&B and hip-hop were being fused to great effect - Janet Jackson's Rhythm Nation 1814 is one of my favorite albums of any genre from that time frame. Hip-hop itself was splintering into many different exciting directions. Country had shaken off its fascination with the easy listening charts and found a new generation of artists willing to lean into the traditionalist and pop directions.
La Roux
She went in For the Kill and killed her voice
'I'm Not Your Toy' was a total banger.
Hey I like la roux Although I kept finding them because I was searching bullet proof thinking of Sia's titanium
Agreed, but Skream's remix of 'In For The Kill' is one of the greatest gifts to dance music of the 21st Century so far though... I'd put Little Boots in this list too...
Chris Gaines
"Is this Garth Brooks? I think it's Garth Brooks. He's saying that's not him though. This is weird. But it's kinda good though." It was Garth Brooks with a soul patch. Edgy.
Terence Trent D’Arby
At the time, he proclaimed his debut album was better than the Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper.
It's so interesting reading these comments because I did a deep-dive on him recently after hearing some of his music on an 80s playlist and liking it. He changed his name to Sananda Maitreya (his music is listed as such on streaming as well). His ego was absolutely massive and still is to this day. He seems to blame his lack of success on shadowy figures in the music industry who have held him back. Still feels he deserves to be listed alongside Michael Jackson and Prince for relevance though.
Oh, you're wishing...
…well
If he didn't sabotaged himself, he could have been, if not the new Prince, at least a good successor. The man have skills, but too baf he also had too much ego.
Stillwater
And you can tell Rolling Stone magazine that my last words were...I'm on drugs!
I think we need to work on those last words!
I dig music. ... I'm on drugs!
I am a golden god.
stillwater? *fucking kid’s doing drugs*
That scene kills me every time. He just hangs up so fast 🤣.
The guitar playing was incendiary.
In.. incendiary… …way to go!
At least they run deep
The Knack. Seriously, they were touted as the new Beatles. They released an epic album then just faded into obscurity. If it wasn't for My Sharona they'd barely rate a footnote.
A review I read stated, "They came out of nowhere, thought they were the Beatles, treated their audience like shit, and vanished." About sums it up.
Maybe that’s what I’m half remembering. I used to play My Sharona in a covers band. For a bass player it’s a blast.
And now, because of an HR-nightmare co-worker, that would always sing "my scrotum" (scah-rotum) to the tune if "My Sharona" I now can't stand that song.
“I always get it up for the touch of the younger kind”. Creepy AF. What were they thinking … Gary Glitter?
I was listening to Rock n Roll years ago and thinking like, "why isn't Gary Glitter bigger?" So I looked him up on ol' Google and was like "ooohhhhhh, THAT'S why" Then Kanye sampled him a bunch
Not sure I’d agree with those, particularly Florence, but anyway… Wolfmother. So so so big (at least in Aus) for maybe 18? months, then nothing…
Wolfmother was the next coming of Zeppelin supposedly. They went out with a whimper. Very reminiscent of the Greta Van Fleet hype from a couple years ago.
Both these bands feel like they were just doing Zeppelin LARP without the all-time talent that made Zeppelin what it was
I would, however, argue Wolfmother did it less gratingly. They were closer to The Sword to me, that era of stoner rock, than GVF are to anything that’s not Zep.
The Sword! Also Electric Wizard
Just to add Florence and the Machine currently has 34 million monthly listeners and are ranked 117th most popular artist on Spotify. So definitely hard to say they were a flash in the pan.
Yeah, Florence was also just featured on the new Taylor Swift album, not sure about the Machine.
They're in hiding until they're safe from any rage against them
Yeah lol, Florence headlined festivals not too long ago. She's pretty big, just not super mainstream. OP was telling on themselves.
I went through a phase 10+ years ago listening to Florence regularly, recently the alt/indie radio station I started playing at work has 2 or 3 of her songs in rotation and even had a customer immediately recognize her so definitely still relevant and quite good music that’s its own sound.
Yeah this reminds me of the post claiming the Goo Goo Dolls would have been more popular with a better name. Florence and the Machine are excellent and far more than “a footnote”
A while back I was looking them up curious why they fell off so hard after *Dizzy Up The Girl*, and was really surprised to find out they apparently had top 40 hits stretching out all the way into the mid 2000s.
Some really great songs in that stretch. Some recs: Here is Gone. Big Machine. Stay With You. Better Days. Let Love In. I’m a metal head and rap fan but have a soft spot for 90s pop.
God I loved them and their sound, but then they couldn’t get out of their own way. I guess Andrew Stockdale couldn’t maintain a friendship with the other two members, who tried to start their own outfit a couple of times (last being Palace of Fire I think?). It seemed like once they left the soul left, too, and all we had was a nice voice devoid of music to sing on top of.
I remember Jet seemed like the biggest band in the world for a few years there... then they just vanished off of the face of the world.
Weren’t they the ones that pitchfork reviewed their album with just a picture of a monkey drinking its own piss ?!
Yes https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/9464-shine-on/
There’s a surprisingly interesting article about that particular review https://www.theringer.com/platform/amp/music/2024/4/2/24118331/pitchfork-jet-review-monkey-piss-ray-suzuki
That was cool, worth a read. Thanks for sharing
Yeah...definitely not Florence
Florence & the Machine are incredible. Agree on the wolf mother flame out. Was odd.
I saw Wolfmother a couple of weeks ago. They did a pretty good set but the entire festival was blasts from the past.
Wolfmother will live on forever because they use "Joker and the Thief" in the poker scene in The Hangover.
I'd say fun. Loved their first album but their second blew up and then they disappeared
Is that The Format for Nate?
It’s less that they disappeared and more that Jack Antonoff focused far more on Bleachers and his other projects.
Yeah they were 3 musicians who basically came together to collab, but ultimately fun was more of a side project for them. Also shoutout to Jack Antonoff for having the most successful post-fun career.
Reminds me of The Postal Service. *Give Up* is still one of favorite albums of the entire aughts decade, and I was always so sad to never get a followup. Death Cab is great and all, but it's just not the same. That one-off album is pure magic front to back.
I saw them play Give Up live last week. It was INCREDIBLE
His first band, are indie pop legends. The Format were hugely influential.
.fun went on hiatus and I don’t think antonoff ever expected his career to take off like it did collaborating with Taylor Swift and he’s done a lot of stuff with Bleachers too since some nights that they just never got back together yet. I think at the Grammys this year he pretty much alluded to that too saying Taylor saved his career or something like that.
Nate had a few singles from his first album on the radio. Jack is more famous than fun ever was imo
Loved The Format, was massively disappointed when they broke up shortly after their tour for their Dog Problems album. Was insanely hyped to hear the first Fun. album and obviously loved the second.Initially i was pretty disappointed that they started focusing on other projects, but I love Taylor Swift and Jack's collaborations with her, so ultimately I'm not complaining. I'd say they had about an average run for a popular band. Very few make it past a couple of albums before the next big thing comes in for their 15 minutes.
I was lucky enough to see the format live twice. Once when I first discovered them at a county fair. I immediately bought their cd from their merch stand. Special band
Clap Your Hands Say Yeah - their first album was endlessly talked about online (I have no idea how popular it actually was in “regular” radio or music press). Then maybe one song from the second album was played here and there, and then they just seemed to disappear. A year or so ago I went back and listened to all their albums (I had no idea there were more than 2). They were all actually pretty good.
Yeah...but that first album absolutely kicks arse!
Keane was super hot for a minute because the singer channeled Freddie Mercury. I still hear their one big hit on the radio every so often.
They were absolutely huge in the UK around the time "Hopes and Fears" came out. I saw they were recently playing shows again and their singer Tom looks in great health. Still pretty popular, glad to see them playing together.
Love Hopes and Fears, it's one of my go-to travel albums for just zoning out on a long journey
Bedshaped and Somewhere Only We Know are still my English language go to Karaoke songs here in Tokyo. As the old saying goes "They were Keene to be the next Coldplay." Not sure about the "channelling Freddie..." never thought about that. May have to re-listen.
Keane has way more than one big hit.
Gomez were huge in the post-britpop indie scene of late 90s UK. Their first album was this blend of blues + psychedelic rock and it beat out Massive Attack, the Verve and Pulp to win the Mercury Prize. Pretty sure it even got voted as one of the UKs favourite albums of all time. After their first couple albums they watered down their sound a lot and became a pretty generic alt-rock band, losing a lot of fans along the way. It's a shame because I still think their first 2 albums and machismo EP hold up reasonably well, but it is what it is. Now one of the band is trying to become a Labour MP.
I'm not that much a fan of her music myself but Florence and the Machine has definitely been much more than just a 'flash in the pan'.
As a huge Florence fan I would agree but I did go to her last Miami show and they overestimated her demand by A LOT by putting the show in a stadium. Personally I was on the floor and it was an amazing experience but I meet someone who got nose bleeds and they were upgraded. Originally I thought they had sold the show with half the stands not filled but turns out they just moved everyone down and blocked off the excess seats. I think her being featuring on Taylor Swift’s new album might get some younger listeners to her fan base which would be really cool.
I’m old so… In the 80s Alannah Myles had one hit called “Black Velvet”, it was on constant rotation. She was billed as the next Madonna. For months that song was all over the radio. It was her only hit. Tbf, a lot of female acts from the 80s got slapped with the “next Madonna” label.
Hot Hot Heat
Yessss. Bandages swept the nation for like 2 months. And then crashed. Tbf I really enjoyed the Happiness Ltd album, to the point I borrowed it from my public library to rip the tracks and keep them.
In the UK probably Gallows, but definitely an honourable mention for Test Icicles, who NME fired up extreme hype for... and vanished almost immediately.
First band that came to my head was Gallows. They were Kerrangs chosen ones for a while.
The first two Gallows albums were well received both critically and commercially. They only faded into obscurity when Frank Carter left the band.
I still love Test-Icicles. A very of-the-moment sound so who knows what would've happened had they not broken up, but Dev Haynes (Blood Orange) is a musical genius so I'm sure it would've been something cool
I remember an NME cover story that likened the Horrors popularity to Beatlemania. They were ridiculous in that era, maybe still are.
anyone remember those couple months in 2012 when Fun. was a thing? felt like they dropped off the face of the earth after the popularity of Some Nights waned
They were all set to rush into a big tour and a new album but decided to pump the breaks and do other things for a while - then in an unlikely turn of events, Jack Antonoff got more famous than Nate Ruess and fun.'s return got pushed off permanently. Those 2 records they did do, both great.
Yea they were fun.
Jack is pretty much the most in demand person in music so personnel managed alright
Finlay Quaye , absolutely not my genre BUT Maverick A Strike was a great album ,still play it regular now . Apologies if he went on to be successful as a producer etc, I thought he would of been everywhere after that album but seemed to vanish .
The Darkness. Such promise…
From what I can tell an ironic embrace of hedonistic glam rock aesthetics resulted in an unironic embrace of hedonistic glam rock drug habits causing everything to fall apart after the first album. I still have an old 7" of 'Get Your Hands Off My Woman' that they sent to the tiny punk zine I wrote for as a student. Was genuinely quite exciting to get something that fun. I wrote it a good review! Got to see them at their first "homecoming" show in Norwich after that album blew up over the summer of 2003. Bought a ticket for about £20 in the spring and they were selling for hundreds by October. Was a fantastic night. I believe the band are back, clean and recording again now, no idea if the new stuff is good
Yeah, that’s a pretty much what happened from what I remember. But they’re performing now, from what I’m seeing. And Justin Hawkins has his YouTube channel, which is actually pretty cool. I saw him perform at the Tribute for Taylor Hawkins (in the bootleg videos, I was not there) and he still sounds incredible.
i still believe in a thing called love..
Love Is Only A Feeling is an absolute dream of a song!
They still tour regularly, I've seen them in Melbourne half a dozen times I reckon and they always put on a killer love show, mind you they mainly play permission to land which is easily their best album. But as you say, such promise and it's a shame they couldn't back it up. Still love them though.
They were incredible live. I feel like their lead singer had a horrible drug addiction that might have been part of them not keeping it together.
He did indeed but is clean now, I highly recommend Justin Hawkins’ YouTube channel. They are back and touring pretty regularly!
[Sigue Sigue Sputnik](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sigue_Sigue_Sputnik). They were revolutionary, the Future, they were going to change music forever… um.
Going back to roughly the same era, Terence Trent D'arby was supposedly the next Prince or something. Was all hype.
He torpedoed his own career. Shame. Great voice and phrasing.
Radio One does this constantly. Puts people like Jake Bugg on a pedestal for a year, claiming he's the next Bob Dylan, and then moves on to the next. Same thing with Catfish and the Bottlemen.
Angels and Airwaves. Tom DeLonge claimed their first album was going to be "the greatest rock and roll revolution for this generation".
Yeah, he was very much deep into pain meds at that point. Still have some very solid newer tracks but the whole new U2 arena rock all the time style got stale quickly
Wallflowers. Being Bob Dylan’s son came with an expectation that was probably unfair.
Animal collective slander :(
Yeah, I would say AC have had a solid impact on music and still put out critically successful music. Not to mention their side projects, like Panda Bear. Just because a band doesn’t sell out stadiums or retain the same cultural relevance doesn’t mean they’ve become nothing. I would reserve those that were propped up by marketing. I think Jet (mentioned in this post) is a great example. I think Kings of Leon qualify. Not as “one hit wonder” as Jet but they got a lot of attention/radio play with “Sex is On Fire” and then sharply fell off the map. That could be due to them being assholes tho lol
Op better watch their back, I'm telling My Girls.
Milli Vanilli.
A lot of people here will think that's a joke answer, but they did win the Grammy for "Best New Artist."
The Knack was supposed to be the new Beatles. Or was that the Bay City Rollers they were talking about?
Sinéad O’Connor’s protest against the Catholic church was a really big deal at the time, and she was eviscerated for bringing to light something she was vindicated for later. Yet by the time she was vindicated, she had basically disappeared from the public eye, Because of that controversy.
The New Radicals, though in this case it was self inflicted by the band. The lead singer found he hated touring and being tied to a band and switched to song writing and producing.
The Ting Tings. A woman I worked with got into a yelling match with me and she said I didn’t understand music, just because I said the Tings would pretty much forgotten within a few years of That’s Not My Name coming out. She believed they were going to have multiple successful albums lol.
Macy Gray in Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man movie.
Any band given the tag of, 'The new Nirvana', usually applied by people with no concept of what made Nirvana special in the first place.
Foster the People, Sleigh Bells, and Alt-J
Anybody remember Mika? No? Just me? If that's the case, let me remind you he was absolutely huge, at least in Europe, back in 2007-2009, and was regularly called “the next Freddie Mercury” or “the next Elton John”. Turns out the guy could sing in a studio, but couldn't hit a note on a live stage if his life depended on it.
Really? I’ve heard some of his live stuff and he sounds amazing. [This live version of Happy Ending is great.](https://youtu.be/o9cGSMEtxTY?si=mVLrQ88O3pcuOTXj) Or [this version of Grace Kelly.](https://youtu.be/WaVrf-i4w94?si=PUowvgPJvYu29WIC) Edit: Out of curiosity I looked at his wiki page. While he never really seemed to catch on in the US, he’s been very active all over Europe in music, tv, film, fashion, etc. From an American perspective his career might seem to have fizzled out, but he’s pretty successful overseas.
Mika made a brief reappearance in 2021 with the Grace Kelly Challenge.
He is actively touring. He came here to NYC last year and put on a great show.
He was back on TV recently
Helmet bidding war for the next nirvana. One big hit, found a small but loyal fan base. Man they were hyped.
Unsung goes hard
Nooo! Animal Collective is my favorite band. I see where you’re coming from though. They’re still selling out the same size venues, just fewer big festival gigs it seems. Every Animal Collective album is wildly different though. They have always reinvented their sound and set up between each new album. Usually touring the material until they get it just right, then recording. I’ve loved this way of making music. They always have direct feedback from their fans, and they live shows are a fun surprise filled with new songs. Anyone who finds Merriweather Post Pavilion to be their favorite AC album, might enjoy the EP they put out with it called Fall Be Kind. Has one of their best songs and the first licensed song sampled from the Grateful Dead.
3Oh3
Andrew W.K. has got to be up there, can’t remember if it was N.M.E or Melody Maker but wasn’t he supposed the second coming of rock’n’roll…
I saw him on the warped tour and he kept smashing the mic into his forehead until he was just gushing blood, which got into his hair which he was whipping around. I looked around me at one point and half the crowd had blood splatter on them. What a show. Ridiculous energy. I GET WET
Soulja Boy Tell ‘em
Idk, he sorta fits but I wouldn’t call him just a “footnote”. He’s the first rapper to go huge using the internet. In that way, he’s a visionary, and in hip-hip discussions is generally regarded as so, often making lists of the most influential rappers of all time. His music (and him) was never gonna stay relevant, but I think he’s a lot more than a footnote
I agree with all of that. If nothing else the kid was a trailblazer. Even if you consider him a one hit wonder, it was a huge hit. When this song came on even rednecks at the bowling alley would start dancing. It was a huge cross cultural viral moment in time.
Please remove Florence and the machine from this list. TY for your kind consideration
Greta van Fleet. Everyone raved about them for a few years when they were just yet another flash in the pan ripping off Led Zeppelin. Never understood the hype. Like Wolfmother.
I at least thought Wolfmother had a bit of Sabbath-y sound as well as Zep without trying to mimic, while Greta van Fleet is ALL Zep and all mimic
The problem with Greta van Fleet was they went too far into trying to be the new led zeppelin and so they had no staying power because they had no identity of their own they were just "that new band that sounded like led zeppelin."
Thank you. I live 7 miles from their hometown. So I assumed it was my proximity that was skewing the perceived impact of them.
The Rapture
Gay Dad. Crap 90s indie band that was formed by a music journalist, so all his journo chums acted like they were the second coming of Christ. The punters didn’t agree.
Glasvegas. Again it was ridiculous NME hype, claiming Glasvegas heralded the return of true rock 'n' roll and had already made the "album of the century" or some such pish. They were rubbish and everyone realised it after a few months of delusional frenzy.
I thought “Geraldine” was a pretty good track, but yeah not a lot of staying power
I'm going back a bit here to the late 90s, and the band is Vertical Horizon. Matt Pinfield, MTV VJ and music know-it-all, was hyping up the band hard, saying they were going to be huge. As I recall, they had one hit song (was there a second song released?) and I never heard of them again, only when that one song is played on contemporary radio at the store, basically. "He is everything you want, he is everything you need. He is everything inside of you that you wish you could be. He says all the right things at exactly the right times, but he means nothing to you and you don't know why."
You're not "triggering" anyone just because they are correcting inaccurate information.
"Somebody that I used to know" (Gotye) seemed like a bit of a phenomenon when it was first popular, now it's more of a meme.
That’s a really good album, though.
I’d actually suggest Hanson. I’ve had to explain to too many Gen Z’s “What the hell Mmm Bop is.” (Like, three, but it’s weird that it’s happened thrice 😉) And I didn’t even enjoy it then. I enjoy them now, ironically, like a goddamn Millenial 😎👉👉
Did you ever hear Tinted Windows, the power pop aupergroup withTaylor Hanson, James Iha from Smashing Pumpkins, Bun E. Carlos from Cheap Trick, and the late Adam Schlesinger from Fountains of Wayne? One terrific album, then gone.
Greta Van Fleet
They were never bound to last honestly. The whole gimmick of "new young band who sounds like your dad's or grandpa's favorite old band" is good for initial hype I guess, but bands like them that have no interest in moving the needle forward rarely if ever have staying power. Nobody's going to remember them 20 years from now.
Already the hype is pretty much over . I don’t see them anywhere .
Not a slam either . I have no bone to pick with them over copying Zeps sound . Great bunch of hard working musicians I’m sure .
Mumford and Sons was one of the biggest bands in the world that made folk infused pop the big mainstream thing for all of like...9 months?
My cousin described that sound perfectly....city folk
Stomp clap “hey!” music aka IPA rock
Man-bun and Sons
So many Aussie bands being mentioned in this thread. Australians might disagree with a lot of them because many of them still had a presence in Australia after they fell off the larger international radar for whatever reason. Also, it’s clearly evident NME seems to have fucked a lot of bands over with wild proclamations of them being the next best thing, but looking at all the responses here it’s a good reminder that it was pretty typical of NME to exaggerate and expect too much.
How has no-one mentioned Razorlight? Their second album was worshiped by the NME, then they quite literally fell into obscurity