"Who are we talking about again?"

I love a good One Hit Wonder. I really do. Though the definition leaves room for interpretation and isn't always accurate, a One Hit Wonder is generally a band or artist with only one popular song, one song that made it to Billboard's Top 40. There are problems with this definition, such as what "popular" really means, or whether the Top 40 is an accurate estimate of a song's true popularity. In general, though, the term just means, generally, that song that you can mention to pretty much anyone that would evoke a "Yeah! That song is great! Who is it by again?"

There have been a lot of lists formed of the most "popular" one hit wonders, and a VH1 special devoted to just the subject. A movie was made (That Thing You Do), and in general, there seems to be a lot of fascination with what causes the phenomenon, and what happens to the band afterward. I prefer to just take it as it is: they had a popular song, then they fell out of the public eye. I guess I just feel like over-thinking it can just ruin the song.

That being said, I have a list of One Hit Wonders that I really love. By sharing them, I may be setting myself up to be mocked, but I don't care. There are a lot of other people out there that secretly love them, too.

My first, favorite, song, has to be "Come on Eileen," by Dexy's Midnight Runners.

This is seriously one of my favorite songs. I have no clue what he's saying throughout the entire song, but something about the music, use of many different stringed instruments, and the upbeat tempo always (and I mean always) puts me in a good mood. I wish I had an explanation, but sadly, I do not. It's just simply, amazing.

"No Rain," by Blind Melon is also pretty high up on my list. The song came out and was popular before I was in preschool, but, among certain people, is still well-loved today, which is a pretty big feat. What the song is really about is up for a lot of interpretation, but that's part of the reason why I enjoy it-many people can listen to the same song and come away with different meanings. I'm not really sure what's going on in the video, however.

This song, "Epic" by Faith No More, was on Rock Band, but that's not where I heard it first. This is definitely another case of having absolutely no clue what's going on in the music video.

There are a lot of other songs that are high up on my list, but I simply don't have the energy to search for every video right now. Some of them, sadly, mostly from the 90's (since that's from the time-period that I remember) include: Semi-sonic's "Closing Time," "Take On Me" by A Ha, "Bittersweet Symphony" by the Verve, "Ice Ice Baby" (word to your mother) by Vanilla Ice, "Tainted Love" by Soft Cell, "Turning Japanese" (even though I'm not sure it's PC) by the Vapors, and "Bitch" by Meredith Brooks. There are probably a lot more, but I really just can't think of the band names right now...

On another note, I absolutely cannot stand the song "Macarena." Really, no exaggeration. Can't even stand it.

I guess One Hit Wonders are kind of a cultural phenomenon. What causes one song to rise to such popularity, but what keeps the band from producing another really popular song, is really an interesting case. Either way, nothing stops them from having an impact on the generation that made them popular, and even on some of the ones to follow. But I'm over-analyzing. Like I said, I take them for what they are, a good (or maybe not so good) song, and leave it at that.

Sometimes it's better not to think about things too much.