Showing posts with label Matchbox 20. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Matchbox 20. Show all posts

Saturday, May 8, 2021

Adult Album Alternative (AAA): Top 100+ Songs from 1996 to 2021

Adult Alternative, 1996-2021:

Top 100+ Songs

In 1996, Billboard magazine lanched the adult album alternative (AAA) chart. The radio format is a spinoff of the album-oriented radio format rooted in music from the ‘60s and ‘70s. AAA includes some of that genre’s most noted acts (Eric Clapton, John Mellencamp, Tom Petty, The Rolling Stones, Bruce Springsteen), but expands to include a variety of genres generally broader than most other radio formats, encompassing alternative rock, alt country, folk, jazz, and blues.

Here are the top 100+ AAA songs based on most weeks at #1. Songs with the same number of weeks on top are ranked based on most points in Dave’s Music Database. All songs spending five or weeks on top have been included on this list.

Click here to see other genre-specific song lists.

Click here to see other genre-specific song lists.

    16 weeks:

  1. U2 “Beautiful Day” (2000)

    15 weeks:

  2. Coldplay “Clocks” (2002)
  3. Kings of Leon “Waste a Moment” (2016)

    14 weeks:

  4. Adele “Rolling in the Deep” (2010)
  5. The Wallflowers “One Headlight” (1996)
  6. Matchbox 20 “Bent” (2000)
  7. Matchbox 20 “3 A.M.” (1996)

    13 weeks:

  8. Gotye with Kimbra “Somebody That I Used to Know” (2011)
  9. Santana with Rob Thomas “Smooth” (1999)
  10. Jack Johnson “Upside Down” (2006)
  11. Pearl Jam “Just Breathe” (2009)

    12 weeks:

  12. Train “Drops of Jupiter (Tell Me)” (2001)
  13. Beck “Dreams” (2015)
  14. Dave Matthews Band “Funny the Way It Is” (2009)

    11 weeks:

  15. Coldplay “Viva La Vida” (2008)
  16. Portugal, the Man “Feel It Still” (2017)
  17. Mumford & Sons “I Will Wait” (2012)
  18. The Lumineers “Ophelia” (2016)
  19. Jack Johnson “You and Your Heart” (2010)
  20. KT Tunstall “Hold On” (2007)

    10 weeks:

  21. Sarah McLachlan “Building a Mystery” (1997)
  22. George Ezra “Budapest” (2013)
  23. The Black Keys “Fever” (2014)
  24. Death Cab for Cutie “Soul Meets Body” (2005)
  25. Jack Johnson “If I Had Eyes” (2007)
  26. Jack Johnson “Good People” (2005)
  27. David Gray “Fugitive” (2009)

    9 weeks:

  28. U2 “Vertigo” (2004)
  29. Coldplay “Speed of Sound” (2005)
  30. Train “Calling All Angels” (2003)
  31. Hootie & the Blowfish “Old Man & Me (When I Get to Heaven)” (1996)
  32. The Black Keys “Go” (2019)
  33. Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats “You Worry Me” (2018)

    8 weeks:

  34. Lorde “Royals” (2013)
  35. Green Day “Boulevard of Broken Dreams” (2004)
  36. Snow Patrol “Chasing Cars” (2006)
  37. The Lumineers “Ho Hey” (2012)
  38. Coldplay “Paradise” (2011)
  39. Milky Chance “Stolen Dance” (2013)

  40. R.E.M. “The Great Beyond” (1999)
  41. Michael Franti & Spearhead “The Sound of Sunshine” (2010)
  42. Counting Crows “Hanginaround” (1999)
  43. The Lumineers “Stubborn Love” (2012)
  44. The Head and the Heart “All We Ever Knew” (2016)
  45. Norah Jones “Sunrise” (2004)
  46. Tracy Chapman “Telling Stories (There Is Friction in the Space Between)” (2000)
  47. Death Cab for Cutie “You Are a Tourist” (2011)
  48. Death Cab for Cutie “Gold Rush” (2018)
  49. David Gray “You’re the World to Me” (2007)
  50. Serena Ryder “Stompa” (2013)
  51. Nathaniel Rateliff “And It’s Still Alright” (2020)

    7 weeks:

  52. The Fray “You Found Me” (2008)
  53. The Black Keys “Lonely Boy” (2011)
  54. New Radicals “You Get What You Give” (1998)
  55. Sheryl Crow “Soak Up the Sun” (2002)
  56. Eric Clapton “My Father’s Eyes” (1998)
  57. U2 “Staring at the Sun” (1997)
  58. U2 “Window in the Skies” (2006)
  59. Coldplay “Every Teardrop Is a Waterfall” (2011)
  60. Kings of Leon “Radioactive” (2010)

  61. Dave Matthews Band “Stay (Wasting Time)” (1998)
  62. Vampire Weekend “Harmony Hall” (2019)
  63. U2 “You’re the Best Thing About Me” (2017)
  64. Dave Matthews Band “Where Are You Going?” (2002)
  65. Natalie Merchant “Kind and Generous” (1998)
  66. Dave Matthews Band “Everyday” (2001)
  67. Spoon “Hot Thoughts” (2017)
  68. Snow Patrol “Crack the Shutters” (2008)
  69. John Butler Trio “Better Than” (2007)
  70. Ray LaMontagne “Strong Enough” (2020)

    6 weeks:

  71. Gnarls Barkley “Crazy” (2006)
  72. Sam Smith “Stay with Me” (2014)
  73. Phillip Phillips “Home” (2012)
  74. John Mayer “Waiting on the World to Change” (2006)
  75. Goo Goo Dolls “Slide” (1998)
  76. John Mellencamp “Key West Intermezzo (I Saw You First)” (1996)
  77. Arcade Fire “Everything Now” (2017)
  78. U2 “Electrical Storm” (2002)
  79. Sheryl Crow “A Change Would Do You Good” (1996)

  80. The Killers “Read My Mind” (2006)
  81. Jack Johnson “Sitting, Waiting, Wishing” (2005)
  82. Mumford & Sons “Guiding Light” (2018)
  83. Blues Traveler “Most Precarious” (1997)
  84. Norah Jones “Chasing Pirates” (2009)
  85. David Gray “The One I Love” (2005)
  86. Ray LaMontagne & the Pariah Dogs “Beg, Steal or Borrow” (2010)
  87. Pete Yorn “Life on a Chain” (2001)
  88. Kings of Leon “The Bandit” (2021)
  89. Caamp “Officer of Love” (2020)

    5 weeks:

  90. The Verve Pipe “The Freshmen” (1996)
  91. Primitive Radio Gods “Standing Outside a Broken Phone Booth with Money in My Hand” (1996)
  92. U2 “Sometimes You Can’t Make It on Your Own” (2004)
  93. Death Cab for Cutie “I Will Possess Your Heart” (2008)
  94. Coldplay “Adventure of a Lifetime” (2015)
  95. Rag ‘n’ Bone Man “Human” (2016)
  96. Gin Blossoms “Follow You Down” (1996)
  97. Mumford & Sons “Believe” (2015)
  98. Sheryl Crow “My Favorite Mistake” (1998)
  99. The Black Keys “Lo/Hi” (2019)
  100. Counting Crows “Accidentally in Love” (2004)

  101. Sarah McLachlan “Fallen” (2003)
  102. Collective Soul “Run” (1999)
  103. The Lumineers “Gloria” (2019)
  104. John Mellencamp with India.Arie “Peaceful World” (2001)
  105. R.E.M. “Supernatural Superserious” (2008)
  106. Shery Crow “Anything But Down” (1998)
  107. Dave Matthews Band “I Did It” (2001)
  108. John Mayer “Bigger Than My Body” (2003)
  109. The Avett Brothers “Ain’t No Man” (2016)
  110. Beck “Uneventful Days” (2019)

  111. Paolo Nutini “New Shoes” (2006)
  112. John Mayer “Who Says” (2009)
  113. Leon Bridges “Bad Bad News” (2019)
  114. My Morning Jacket “Feel You” (2020)
Resources and Related Links:

First posted 12/10/2017; last updated 5/8/2021.

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Adult Top 40: Top 100+ Songs

Adult Top 40, 1996-2021:

Top 100+ Songs

In 2016, Billboard magazine celebrated its 20th anniversary of the Adult Pop Songs chart, a chart which it referred to as “Top 40 for people over 25.” They published a list of the top 50 “Greatest Of All Time Adult Pop Songs.” Dave’s Music Database has reworked the list to rank the songs based on most weeks at #1 and then, for ties, by overall points in Dave’s Music Database. All songs which spent at least 5 weeks at #1 are in the list below, pushing this a few notches past a top 100 list.

Click here to see other genre-specific song lists.

    25 weeks:

  1. Santana with Rob Thomas “Smooth” (1999)

    23 weeks:

  2. The Calling “Wherever You Will Go” (2001)

    20 weeks:

  3. The Weeknd “Blinding Lights” (2019)

    18 weeks:

  4. Nickelback “Photograph” (2005)
  5. Matchbox 20 “Unwell” (2002)

    17 weeks:

  6. Goo Goo Dolls “Iris” (1998)

    16 weeks:

  7. Avril Lavigne “Complicated” (2002)

    15 weeks:

  8. The Fray “How to Save a Life” (2005)
  9. Panic! At the Disco “High Hopes” (2018)

    14 weeks:

  10. No Doubt “Don’t Speak” (1995)
  11. Maroon 5 with Cardi B “Girls Like You” (2017)
  12. Natalie Imbruglia “Torn” (1997)
  13. Train “Drops of Jupiter (Tell Me)” (2001)
  14. Maroon 5 “Memories” (2019)
  15. Vertical Horizon “Everything You Want’ (1999)

    13 weeks:

  16. Adele “Rolling in the Deep” (2010)
  17. Maroon 5 “This Love” (2002)
  18. 3 Doors Down “Here Without You” (2002)
  19. Matchbox 20 “Bent” (2000)
  20. Maroon 5 “She Will Be Loved” (2002)

  21. Colbie Caillat “Bubbly” (2007)
  22. Matchbox 20 “If You’re Gone” (2000)
  23. Santana with Michelle Branch “The Game of Love” (2002)

    12 weeks:

  24. Ed Sheeran “Shape of You” (2017)
  25. Celine Dion “Because You Loved Me” (1996)
  26. Daniel Powter “Bad Day” (2005)

    11 weeks:

  27. Green Day “Boulevard of Broken Dreams” (2004)
  28. Kings of Leon “Use Somebody” (2008)
  29. Pink with Nate Ruess “Just Give Me a Reason” (2012)

    10 weeks:

  30. Leona Lewis “Bleeding Love” (2007)
  31. Mariah Carey with Boyz II Men “One Sweet Day” (1995)
  32. Hoobastank “The Reason” (2003)
  33. Sugar Ray “Every Morning” (1998)
  34. Avirl Lavigne “I’m with You” (2002)
  35. Rob Thomas “Lonely No More” (2005)
  36. KT Tunstall “Black Horse & the Cherry Tree” (2004)
  37. Matchbox 20 “3 A.M.” (1996)
  38. Daughtry “Home” (2007)

    9 weeks:

  39. Ed Sheeran with Beyoncé “Perfect” (2017)
  40. Adele “Someone Like You (2011)
  41. Justin Timberlake “Can’t Stop the Feeling!” (2016)
  42. Lady Antebellum “Need You Now” (2009)
  43. Katy Perry with Snoop Dogg “California Gurls” (2010)
  44. Sara Bareilles “Love Song” (2007)
  45. Kelly Clarkson “Stronger (What Doesn’t Kill You)” (2011)
  46. Jonas Brothers “Sucker” (2019)
  47. Smash Mouth “All Star” (1999)
  48. The Fray “You Found Me” (2008)
  49. Lifehouse “You and Me” (2005)
  50. Dido “Thank You” (2000)

  51. Maroon 5 with Kendrick Lamar “Don’t Wanna Know” (2016)
  52. Sheryl Crow “Soak Up the Sun” (2002)
  53. Daughtry “It’s Not Over” (2006)
  54. Santana with Chad Kroeger or Alex Band “Why Don’t You and I?” (2002)

    8 weeks:

  55. Jason Mraz “I’m Yours” (2008)
  56. Taylor Swift “Shake It Off” (2014)
  57. The Lumineers “Ho Hey” (2012)
  58. Donna Lewis “I Love You Always Forever” (1996)
  59. Creed “With Arms Wide Open” (1999)
  60. Maroon 5 “One More Night” (2012)

  61. Walk the Moon “Shut Up and Dance” (2014)
  62. Tracy Chapman “Give Me One Reason” (1995)
  63. Shawn Mullins “Lullaby (Rock-a-Bye)” (1998)
  64. Ava Max “Kings & Queens” (2020)
  65. Kelly Clarkson “Already Gone” (2009)
  66. Goo Goo Dolls “Give a Little Bit” (2004)

    7 weeks:

  67. Adele “Hello” (2015)
  68. Sia with Sean Paul “Cheap Thrills” (2016)
  69. One Republic “Counting Stars” (2013)
  70. Fergie “Big Girls Don’t Cry (Personal)” (2006)

  71. The Chainsmokers with Coldplay “Something Just Like This” (2017)
  72. Eric Clapton “Change the World” (1996)
  73. Pink “Raise Your Glass” (2010)
  74. Ed Sheeran with Justin Bieber “I Don’t Care” (2019)
  75. Imagine Dragons “Thunder” (2017)
  76. Shawn Colvin “Sunny Came Home” (1996)
  77. Zedd with Meren Morris & Grey “The Middle” (2018)
  78. Sarah McLachlan “Angel” (1997)
  79. Shinedown “Second Chance” (2008)
  80. Pink “Fuckin’ Perfect” (2010)

  81. The Script “Breakeven” (2008)
  82. Sister Hazel “All for You” (1997)
  83. Sophie B. Hawkins “As I Lay Me Down” (1995)

    6 weeks:

  84. Gotye with Kimbra “Somebody That I Used to Know” (2011)
  85. Pharrell Williams “Happy” (2013)
  86. Robin Thicke with T.I. & Pharrell Williams “Blurred Lines” (2013)
  87. Ed Sheeran “Thinking Out Loud” (2014)
  88. Coldplay “Viva La Vida” (2008)
  89. Seal “Kiss from a Rose” (1994)
  90. Taylor Swift “Blank Space” (2014)

  91. One Republic with Timbaland “Apologize” (2006)
  92. Ricky Martin “Livin’ La Vida Loca” (1999)
  93. Train “Hey, Soul Sister” (2009)
  94. Maroon 5 with Wiz Khalifa “Payphone” (2012)
  95. Jewel “You Were Meant for Me” (1995)
  96. Lewis Capaldi “Someone You Loved” (2018)
  97. Imagine Dragons “Believer” (2017)
  98. Shawn Mendes “Treat You Better” (2016)
  99. Ed Sheeran “Photograph” (2014)
  100. Paula Cole “I Don’t Want to Wait” (1996)
  101. Nickelback “If Everyone Cared” (2005)
  102. Kelly Clarkson “Mr. Know It All” (2011)

    5 weeks:

  103. Bruno Mars “Just the Way You Are (Amazing)” (2010)
  104. Justin Bieber “Love Yourself” (2015)
  105. Katy Perry “Firework” (2010)
  106. Katy Perry “Roar” (2013)
  107. James Blunt “You’re Beautiful” (2004)
  108. Magic! “Rude” (2013)
  109. Chumbawamba “Tubthumping” (1997)
  110. Lifehouse “Hanging by a Moment” (2000)

  111. The Wallflowers “One Headlight” (1996)
  112. Dua Lipa “Don’t Start Now” (2019)
  113. Jewel “Foolish Games” (1995)
  114. Nickelback “Far Away” (2005)
  115. Shawn Mendes “There’s Nothing Holdin’ Me Back” (2016)
  116. Benny Blanco with Halsey & Khalid “Eastside” (2018)
  117. Pink “Blow Me One Last Kiss” (2012)
  118. Train “Calling All Angels” (2003)
  119. Kelly Clarkson “Behind These Hazel Eyes” (2004)
  120. Nickelback “Gotta Be Somebody” (2008)
Resources and Related Links:

First posted 4/28/2019; last updated 5/8/2021.

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Monday, October 1, 2012

Music in the '90s: When Alternative Became Mainstream

Originally published in my "Aural Fixation" column on PopMatters.com on October 1, 2012. See original post here.

image from mylot.com

The genre once tied to college radio and indie record companies became mainstream in the '90s. Some of those icons of “alternative” are making comebacks – or never went away. Is this 2012 or 1996?

I’m a Billboard magazine junkie. Every week I peruse the charts, eager to track music’s latest hitmakers. Lately, however, I’ve experienced a heavy dose of déjà vu. Among the pop and rock entries are songs and albums by Green Day, Matchbox 20, the Dave Matthews Band, Alanis Morissette, No Doubt, the Offspring, and Soundgarden.

Others who’ve unleashed new product this year include Fiona Apple, the Counting Crows, the Cranberries, Eve 6, Everclear, Garbage, Smashing Pumpkins, and Soul Asylum. Look for new stuff from Alice in Chains and the Wallflowers by year’s end. That would be the year 2012, not 1996.

It’s enough to make one believe the ‘90s never ended. Oh sure, most of those acts peaked over a decade ago, but their refusal to go away hints at a still-present passion for the alternative scene which became the mainstream music of the ‘90s.

That decade, a mere dozen years in the rear view mirror, proved a particularly productive era for sending album sales into the stratosphere. Less than 200 albums have sold 15 million or more worldwide (Dave’s Music Database blog, “The World’s Top 100 All-Time Best-Selling Albums,” 20 February 2012), but an astounding eighty albums released in the ‘90s make the cut. They cross multiple genres including rap (MC Hammer, Vanilla Ice, Kid Rock), country (Garth Brooks, Shania Twain), R&B (Boyz II Men, TLC), pop (Michael Jackson, Madonna), bubblegum (Britney Spears, Backstreet Boys), adult contemporary (Celine Dion, Michael Bolton), and rock (Metallica, Guns N’ Roses).

However, the decade’s most dynamic trend was the rise of alternative rock. If there’s any doubt as to the genre’s impact, check out this list of the “Top 100 Albums of the 1990s” (Dave’s Music Database Facebook page, 16 February 2011) in which albums are ranked by aggregating multiple best-of lists alongside sales figures, chart data, awards, and ratings; 9 of the top 10 albums and more than half the overall list fall under the alternative rock banner.

In the ‘80s, the genre was as a niche market confined to airplay on college radio stations. However, at the dawn of the ‘90s, genre stalwarts like U2 and R.E.M. had surfaced as bands capable of selling out major arenas and racking up millions in album sales (both have albums from the ‘90s on the list).

In 1991 and 1992, Nirvana and Pearl Jam (also on the list with ‘90s albums) didn’t just become the flagbearers for grunge, but the entire alternative rock scene. When Nirvana’s Nevermind toppled Michael Jackson on the album chart in early 1992, it was clear the “alternative” tag was looking a little silly. A once niche market had become the market.

However, the moniker remained – and a multitude of other “alternative” albums comfortably found a home in the 15-million club. Here’s a glimpse at five of the acts who joined the club via 1990s releases and how they are still impacting the charts today.

GREEN DAY

Then:
In 1996, Green Day were just putting the chart run of Insomniac to bed. While the album generated a couple #3 alt-rock hits, it was a let down from 1994’s Dookie. Three #1 alternative hits (“Longview,” “Basket Case,” and “When I Come Around”) sent the album into the stratosphere, hitting 20 million in sales worldwide.

Now:
Two more albums followed before Green Day woke up and reasserted itself with a pair of rock operas (American Idiot, 21st Century Breakdown). The group now has the #1 rock song (“Oh Love”) as they prepare to launch a triple-album extravaganza.

MATCHBOX 20

Then:
Matchbox 20 released its debut album, Yourself or Someone Like You, in 1996. Over two years, they milked it for five songs (including “Push,” “3 A.M.,” and “”Real World”) which hit the top ten on one chart or another. The album peaked at #4 and sold 15 million worldwide.

Now:
After a couple more outings, Matchbox 20 went on hiatus for a decade. They trotted out an obligatory anthology and frontman Rob Thomas had a successful stint as a solo act. However, the 22 September 2012 issue of Billboard loudly trumpeted the band’s return – with the #1 debut of new album, North.

ALANIS MORISSETTE

Then:
Alanis began 1996 with “Ironic,” the fourth single from Jagged Little Pill. It became her third #1 on the alternative charts (after “You Oughta Know” and “Hand in My Pocket”) and was a #2 pop airplay hit. “You Learn” topped the airplay chart and “Head Over Feet” went to #3. Pill secured a dozen weeks atop the Billboard album chart on its way to 33 million sales worldwide.

Now:
A week before Matchbox 20 topped the Billboard album chart, Alanis made her own entrance into 2012 with the #5 debut of Havoc and Bright Lights. It is her fifth studio release since Pill. All have been top ten efforts.

NO DOUBT

Then:
Gwen Stefani and Co. closed out 1996 with the #1 album (Tragic Kingdom) in the country. Their blend of ska and pop landed three top-ten alternative hits, but it was the ballad, “Don’t Speak,” which exploded at pop radio and topped the pop airplay chart for 16 weeks.

Now:
The group followed with two more studio albums before going into hibernation. In the interim, the group followed the Matchbox 20 blueprint. Stefani released a couple solo albums while the group appeased fans with a hits collection. No Doubt is back on the charts now with “Settle Down,” the song preceding their Push and Shove album, another September 2012 release.

RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS

Then:
In 1996, the Peppers were working singles from One Hot Minute, the follow-up to their breakthrough, Blood Sugar Sex Magik.  When that album launched – coincidentally on the same day as Nirvana’s Nevermind (24 September 1991) – the Peppers blend of funk, metal, and rap had built a small but loyal audience over the course of three albums in the 1980s. Thanks to “Give It Away” (#1 alternative), “Under the Bridge” (#2 pop), and other hits, Magik racked up 15 million in sales worldwide. 

Now:
Six studio albums have followed since Magik. All have been multi-platinum top-five efforts. 1999’s Californication was another entry into the 15-million-selling club. Proving they still have clout, their 2011 album, I’m With You, hit #2 and produced the group’s twelfth #1 modern rock hit (“The Adventures of Rain Dance Maggie”) and two more top ten hits this year.

Whether it’s the Peppers or Alanis, the continued presence of ‘90s icons in today’s musical landscape makes the case that the decade was more than grunge. It was the decade when the music once on the fringes became the soundtrack for the masses. Sure, they aren’t selling 15 million albums anymore, but no one else is either these days. Well, except Adele. Tune back in 15 years or so for my reflection on how Adele helmed the neo-soul movement of the early 21st century.

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Tuesday, October 1, 1996

Matchbox 20 Yourself or Someone Like You released

Yourself or Someone Like You

Matchbox 20

Released: October 1, 1996

Peak: 5 US, 50 UK, 11 CN, 16 AU

Sales (in millions): 12.4 US, 0.1 UK, 15.10 world (includes US and UK)

Genre: mainstream rock/adult alternative

Tracks:

Song Title (date of single release, chart peaks) Click for codes to charts.

  1. Real World (4/4/97, 38 BB, 9 BA, 3 RR, 3 A40, 4 AA, 17 AR, 13 MR, 92 UK, 5 CN, 40 AU, 16 DF)
  2. Long Day (10/19/96, 8 AR, 43 CN, 83 AU, 15 DF)
  3. 3 A.M. (10/18/97, 3 BA, 3 RR, 25 AC, 1 A40, a AA, 2 AR, 3 MR, 64 UK, 1 CN, 31 AU, 10 DF)
  4. Push (3/15/97, 5 BA, 2 RR, 6 A40, 2 AA, 4 AR, 1 MR, 38 UK, 6 CN, 8 AU, 9 DF)
  5. Girl Like That
  6. Back 2 Good (10/9/98, 24 BB, 19 BA, 8 RR, 4 A40, 11 AA, 11 CN, 17 DF)
  7. Damn
  8. Argue
  9. Kody
  10. Busted
  11. Shame
  12. Hang

Total Running Time: 46:43

The Players:

  • Rob Thomas (vocals, guitar)
  • Kyle Cook (guitar, backing vocals)
  • Adam Gaynor (rhythm guitar, backing vocals)
  • Brian Yale (bass)
  • Paul Doucette (drums)

Rating:

3.832 out of 5.00 (average of 23 ratings)

Quotable:

”The standard-bearer for post-alternative rock” – Stephen Thomas Erlewine, Allmusic.com

Awards:

(Click on award to learn more).

About the Album:

In the early ‘90s, grunge exploded. While the phenomena had faded by the mid-‘90s, it spawned a slew of guitar-based, multi-platinum albums from new groups like Hootie & the Blowfish, Counting Crows, the Wallflowers and Matchbox 20 that played equally well at mainstream, alternative, and pop radio.

Matchbox 20’s “Yourself or Someone Like You turned out to be the standard-bearer for post-alternative rock because it has a ‘90s sheen in its production, but, for all the world, its core sounds like classic rock. Lead singer/songwriter Rob Thomas adopted some of Eddie Vedder’s vocal mannerisms, but they were smoothed out, lacking the angst and pain that were Vedder’s hallmark.” AM Matchbox 20 shared “Pearl Jam’s fascination for album rock” AM but Someone Like You “is much more straightforward than most alt-rock albums.” AB It “wound up being the point where mainstream American rock stopped being willfully eccentric and returned to being unassuming and kind of ordinary.” AM

“Thomas delivers a clutch of confident, well-crafted, frill-free songs” AB with “fairly strong hooks.” AB The songs benefit from “Thomas’ distinctive bravado” AM and “his sturdy delivery.” AB “Monosyllabic titles like Push, Damn, and Argue emphasize the no-mess approach” AB as the group tackles “troubled love, unrealized dreams, and urban confusion.” AB The “music is not flashy” AM but is “solid, American rock, reminiscent of a blend of Petty and Pearl Jam.” AM There are also shades of “R.E.M., early Van Morrison – even a hint of The Velvet Underground.” AB

Resources:

Related DMDB Links:

First posted 4/17/2008; last updated 11/27/2024.

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