Your Purple Prose Just Give You Away

A couple months ago VH1 unveiled their list of the 40 Greatest One Hit Wonders of the 90’s and I kept getting more and more agitated watching it with every passing entry because 90% of the list did not deserve being on the list because they were too obscure, sucked massively, and most egregious were those song that should not even be considered one hit wonders. Seriously, if I were ever to create a list of the 100 Greatest One Hit Wonders of the 90’s (Spoiler Alert: hypothetically if I were to do so, I would post my list next Monday) I would venture to say only 15 of their 40 would make my top 100. 15 would actually be the same about that I would argue are not even legitimate one hit wonders that VH1 had on their list.

One of the additions to VH1’s list that made me the angriest was the inclusion of EMF who released quite possibly the greatest rock dance album ever in the history of recorded time with Schubert Dip, this month’s induction into the Scooter Hall of Fame. It is a shame that VH1 completely forget about Lies which was a legitimate hit or smaller hits like I Believe and Children. Sure, if there was such a thing, EMF could be considered One Album Wonders with Schubert Dip, but One Hit Wonders they are not.

Sure Unbelievable is clearly EMF’s biggest hit and deservedly so as it is one of the best songs from the decade period. It demanded your attention from the first “Oooh” and heavy use of cowbell and managed to either be the first rock song to get massive play in the clubs or the first dance song that truly rocked. The song also famously helped Andrew Dice Clay get back on MTV after getting banned a couple years earlier by sampling the raunchy comedian heavily in the song.

But with Schubert Dip, EMF showed they were no one trick pony. Children rocked with the same intensity as Unbelievable exchanging Andrew Dice Claw with police sirens. In fact other tracks like Long Summer Days, When You’re Mine, and I Believe could still keep house parties moving today and may bery well have paved way for the rock tinged techno music of the late nineties with acts like The Prodigy and The Chemical Brothers. Lies showed the band could switch gears into the more serious but still made the song danceable to that part of the fan base. It would be hard-pressed to find anyone who has listened to Schubert Dip all the way through that would call EMF a one hit wonder. Just do not ask me why a sample of Bert and Ernie opened up Girl of an Age.