32-year-old Mike and three month-old Mikey Bolin watch Winnie the Pooh at a shelter. The First Place Family Center is counting on the passage of Measure 28 to keep operations at the current level.
This week is seeing the comeback of some artists who haven’t produced much music lately, but these aren’t the one hit-wonders we miss from the late ’80s or early ’90s (where did ChumbaWumba go, anyway?).
No, these are the moderately successful artists from the late ’90s and 2000s that we might not know and love, but they definitely left an imprint on our music culture.
Take Bowling for Soup: The group is responsible for churning out that addicting pop-punk 1999 song “1985.” But since then, Bowling for Soup has remained under the radar for the most part, and, frankly, you’d never know the band was still together until the release of its latest album, “Fishin’ For Woos.”
Though the songs on “Fishin’ For Woos” are pretty similar to the songs from the first hit album, “A Hangover You Don’t Deserve,” none of the songs are quite as catchy or marketable as “1985.” And though it’s nice to hear Bowling for Soup hasn’t changed its pop-punk sound (with probably more “punk” than any Girls Like Boys pop-punk-influenced band today), the band seems to be stuck in time, when its type of sound was more popular.
On the contrary, Dirty Vegas, which produced the electronic dance song “Days Go By” in 2001, seems to have matured its sound since that song was released. Its latest album, “Electric Love,” features a more upbeat sound and lyricism than the entrancing dance-club sounds from the band’s earlier hits.
Also released this week are albums from artists who became famous in the mid-2000s, notably Augustana, best known for “Boston,” and Silverstein, known for “Smile in Your Sleep,” both of which influenced the early to mid-2000s emo era.
While Augustana is known better for its crooning, self-reflective piano ballads, Silverstein’s post-hardcore, screamo-emo sound is more akin to bands like “Senses Fail.”
Augustana, on its new self-titled album, remains true to the pop-power ballads it was famous for on “All the Stars and Boulevards.”
Silverstein also stays true to its emo-punk sound, but perhaps with less screaming (thankfully).
It’s sad to say, but these artists aren’t going to produce another big hit. There comes a time when new songs and albums become unnecessary and musicians should just bask in the fact that they once released good music.
[email protected]
