« McCain and the Missiles | Main | Trade Time » Gin Blossoms Throwdown21 Feb 2008 04:24 pm Increasingly, my friends and I are old men. For example, I hurt my back on Monday. Also, Spencer Ackerman and I got into a dispute about the Gin Blossoms. I say that "Hey Jealousy" is their best song: Ackerman, by contrast, is a partisan of "Found Out About You" I say only the collective wisdom of the internet can decide an issue like this. UPDATE: Yes, yes, Gin Blossoms suck. I understand. Still, there's a question to be answered. Comments (151)
Wow, you guys are pathetic. And the answer is clearly "Allison Road." 
Until I Fall Away? I like that one. Oh and Hey Jealousy is terrible, Found Out About You is quite good.
Advantage Yglesias on this one.
Allison Road sucks. Also, your favorite candidate sucks!
After listening to both, Allison Road clearly sucks less.
Matt and Spencer are both wrong. The Random Dude is right. The correct answer is "Until I Fall Away."
You'll be genuinely old when the Gin Blossoms are on your face.
Lift with your legs, not your back. Bend your knees, squat, and keep your back straight.
The Gin Blossoms? Who?
The collective wisdom has spoken, and you are both tools.
Put me down as another vote for "Allison Road."
The Gin Blossoms may well be one of the worst bands in the history of pop music. Nobody wins this argument. The whole world loses.
Ok, I suck. I copied the wrong song title, it is Found Out About You that sucks less and I could imagine actually liking. Allison Road just sucks. Hope that clears everything up.
Oooh! Forgot about Allison Road. That's my vote too.
Wow, that album is so old I never even ripped it onto my iTunes. I think "Found Out About You" is better, but, really, at this point the memory is so hazy.
The Gin Blossoms may well be one of the worst bands in the history of pop music. Nobody wins this argument. The whole world loses.
You know you're old when people much younger than you are complaining about being old.
I'll put in a vote for "Hey Jealousy." It is the song that instantly brings back memories of my twenties. Gin Blossoms were one of the best bands of the decade......and for the record, I think Third Eye Blind was great too.
These two songs are basically the same, but "Hey Jealousy" I remember from my youth, whereas the other one I've never heard before. If I were out at a bar, and "Found Out About You" came on, I would just be like "this song sucks," whereas if "Hey Jealousy" came on, I would be like "Wow, 'Hey Jealousy'! I remember this song. Awesome! It's awful!" Therefore, "Hey Jealousy" wins. But Gin Blossoms really suck. On to more important questions. Which is the best Matchbox 20 song? "Push" or "3 AM"?
It's definitely "Hey, Jealousy." Hands down. "Found Out About You" sucks.
What calipygian said. The Gin Blossoms? Please. What's next, the great Counting Crows divide? An interblog conference on Soul Asylum?
Definitely Matt's pick. Good call.
Fail. It's "Til; I Hear It From You". That said, if we're talking awesomely horrible bands… they're no Goo Goo Dolls or Ape Hanger or Better Than Ezra or—of course—Toad the Wet Sprocket or even Please. Oh yes, I have invoked the collection of ’90s bands to destroy your brain.
"Mrs. Rita," dudes.
Sounds like all the 20-something Linkin Park fans are coming out of the woodworks.
Nope, no question to be answered. They just suck. ;)
Spencer is correct.
Allison Road and Hey, Jealousy. You all suck. Matt's snark is driving up the wall!
Essentially, these are all the same song, no?
"Allison Road" and "Hey, Jealousy." All you all suck. Matt's snark is driving me up the freakin wall! Counting Crows music makes me want to poke my eyes out.
The question makes no sense. They're the same song.
Wow, all these people who think the Gin Blossoms are among the worst pop acts of all time have clearly not listened to much pop music. They're pretty much the definition of an inoffensive, competent band that I can't imagine inspires strong emotions for or against. Oh, and Hey Jealousy is best and anyone who says otherwise is teh fascist!!!
Clearly "Hey Jealousy" is the better of the two, though that's a bit like saying the rack is preferable to waterboarding. Incidentally, when I first heard this song as a teenager and for several years thereafter, I thought it was "Hey Chelsea." But, I maintained, the fact that Chelsea Clinton was First Daughter at the time was purely coincidental. Shows what I know.
1) Yes, they suck, but... 2) "Hey Jealousy" in a landslide. Not even close. Guess I'm getting old too.
The Gin Blossoms are the greatest band in the history of music.
"Allison Road" and "Hey, Jealousy." All you all suck. Matt's snark is driving me up the freakin wall! Counting Crows music makes me want to poke my eyes out.
Wow, all these people who think the Gin Blossoms are among the worst pop acts of all time have clearly not listened to much pop music. They're pretty much the definition of an inoffensive, competent band that I can't imagine inspires particularly strong emotions one way or the other. Oh, and Hey Jealousy is best and anyone who says otherwise is teh fascist!!!
Wow, all these people who think the Gin Blossoms are among the worst pop acts of all time have clearly not listened to much pop music. They're pretty much the definition of an inoffensive, competent band that I can't imagine inspires strong emotions for or against. Isn't this the whole point? The reason there's so much contempt for bands like the Gin Blossoms, or Matchbox 20, or the Goo Goo Dolls is because they're so relentlessly inoffensive. There's nothing interesting about their music, and it's been vastly overplayed. That being said, the worst pop act of all time is pretty clearly Smashmouth.
Thanks for the 90s flashback.
Hey Jealousy, no question. Though pretty much every Gin Blossoms song was a deviation off the same melody.
"Till I Hear It from You" has the virtue of being a Marshall Crenshaw song. But while we're casting musical ballots: http://youtube.com/watch?v=h-s8JFTt-vo
The Gin Blossoms was the first CD I ever purchased, so they hold a special place in my heart. And "Follow You Down" is their best song. Mostly because it's the perfect soundtrack to "National Treasure," "House," "The Little Mermaid," and "Star Wars."
Whatta bunch of wankers we have here. The Gin Blossoms are only the 3,886th worst band of the 1990s, nowhere near Hootie and the Blowfish or Blind Lemon or the Spin Doctors or Matchbox 20. The standard complaint about them, ca. 1994, was that they were REM manqués, not that they were teh suck, and the standard complaint was right. They managed to write five or six perfectly acceptable little pop ditties, and that is all. Though I do wish the line in "Hey Jealousy" were "passion's gone but something might be there to take its place," 'cause that would be, like, better. The use of the bell on the ride cymbal on "Allison Road" is a nice touch, too.
Cynical bitches. There's nothing wrong with enjoying some cheesy Gin Blossoms shit. And Matt had the correct answer. Hey, Jealousy is the standard from which to judge all Gin Blossoms songs.
"Gin Blossoms suck" Ah, you kids. As somebody who came of age in the '70s & '80s, let me assure you, you don't know "suck." In fact, YOU CAN'T HANDLE TEH SUCK!
I agree with John, Smash Mouth is clearly the worst pop act ever. "Hey Jealousy" >> "Found Out About You" >>>>>>> "Allison Road" I hear those first two at random stores more frequently than one would expect.
The best Gin Blossoms song, by far, is Follow You Down. It's not even close. Gosh!
Oops, I mean "something might be found to take its place." Should've checked my lyrics sheet before hitting "post."
Put me down for Hey Jealousy.
Solid top 40 band. The correct answer is they are all the same song. I'll give a slight edge to "Follow You Down" Don't forget their 2006 single "Learning the Hard Way". http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_hzJBHwrNeY
Hey Jealousy, hands down. And yes, Gin Blossoms do stink.
"Hey Jealousy" is marginally better, I suppose. Gin Blossoms fall into the "meh" category.
I like that song "I'll Go Down on You". Good toons.
I know how you feel. I once wasted an entire morning comparing my dirty underwear from the day before with the dirty underwear from a week earlier. Finally I gave up and decided they were equally shitty and tossed them in the hamper. Then I had a sandwich.
Old? You want old? When we wanted to listen to music that sounded exactly like this, it was Guadalcanal Diary.
"Hey Jealousy," obviously. And I know how you feel about being old.
I love the 90s!
What the hell was wrong with the Ramones? Why did we need any new bands after them? Kids.
Worst musical act in history? Train.
Gin Blossoms? So *that's* who's been part of my fm background music lately. Zzzzzzzz. Y'know, I don't why radio stations should start paying ASCAP fees when they rarely PLUG the GD cuts they play.
Til I Hear It From You... but all of the above songs are really catchy. Bands like the goos, matchbox twenty, and better than ezra might have been more successful, but none really compare. The Goos had "Name" and BTE had "Good," respectively their catchiest entries to the early to mid 90's rock canon-- which should be the point of comparison.
Another vote for "Alison Road" (which I actually like, every other song I pretty much just tolerate). Of the 2 choices given, I'd go with "Found Out About You".
"Found Out About You" is a decent song. Gin Blossoms were an inoffensive band -- nothing special, but nothing terrible either.
I'm with Eric at 4:42 - Until I Fall Away is their best number. I never wanted to like the Gin Blossoms until I found myself frequenting a gym that played the absolute dregs of popular music. The GBs turned out to be the "best of the worst" and, before long, I was fairly hooked. It took a year or so, but I finally came to terms with the fact that they were actually strong songwriters with at least a clutch of truly great tunes. And the fact that Doug Hopkins killed himself only helps matters - alcohol-fueled depression and suicide is instant rock cred.
I'm amazed that people know more Gin Blossoms songs than just the two mentioned in the post. Hey Jealousy is pretty good, I think. Found Out About You is not.
Funny thing about the Goo Goo Dolls is that they started off as a thrash band. I saw them opening up for The Descendents in some dive bar back in 1989 or 1990. When I heard them on the radio several years later, they had morphed into REM wannabes.
every Gin Blossoms song is Hey Jealousy. one of my college bands used to do "Hold Me Down", regardless.
Not even close - "Hey Jealousy" by a mile.
If you don't expect too much from me, you might not be let down...
@blah - Goo Goo Dolls? Where did that come from?
Hey Jealousy, for sure.
Using the criterion "If there could be only one, what Gin Blossoms song would end up on an 'Awesome 90s' compliation?" I have to say that "Hey Jealousy" wins. And kudos to whomever noted that Train is the worst band ever. I had never really considered the matter, but you are definitely right.
I loved Hey Jealosy when it came out. That lasted a year. Found Out About You and especially Until I Fall Away I still like now. Hey Jealousy is one of those songs that is practically a lyrical re-make of a Smiths song (There is a Light That Never Goes Out), kind of kind EBTG's Missing (from Back to the Old House). Or several of DCFC's songs. "Gin Blossoms were an inoffensive band--nothing special" It's not really my type of music, but objectively speaking, New Miserable Experience is a straight ahead rock album that's chock full of quality songs. It has aged decently well, too.
Hey Jealousy, for sure.
Chris_ wins the thread huge for the "Follow You Down" discovery. How weird is all that? And all you people choosing "Until I Fall Away"? That's crazy talk. It's "Hey Jealousy," of course (my favorite song when it came out), though I did love most of this album (first CD other than Al Yankovic I ever bought - I was an enormous dork at age 11). But if you want early-to-mid-90s classic bad rock, I give you The Refreshments: Now that is a song.
Gin Blossoms/Fastball '08!
They are all the same song.
I vote for "Hey Jealousy." Dude's got Michael Hutchence on the brain, though -- talk about a poor man's INXS.
Not only is Smashmouth clearly the worst of all bands mentioned, "All Star" is the worst song of the past 10 years. The hate for Gin Blossoms is unwarranted. Sure, they are shitty, but they are obviously better than a lot of bands. I don't even need to name them. Love,
If Matchbox 20 is a sucky 90s band, why am I hearing a new single from them? I used to work in an enclosed office with a young woman who would belt out that "Baby you need to come home" song (Jesus, was that ten years ago? I am old). I don't know if she thought she was funny or had a good voice, but she was wrong on both counts.
Not only is Smashmouth clearly the worst of all bands mentioned, "All Star" is the worst song of the past 10 years. The hate for Gin Blossoms is unwarranted. Sure, they are shitty, but they are obviously better than a lot of popular bands. I don't even need to name them. Love,
"Hey Jealousy" is about former lovers, and "Follow You Down" is about death. Death is better material, and "Follow You Down" is a better song. "Allison Road" may be about something, but I can't tell what. It's catchy enough. Dada's "Before My Life Went Dim" is a better song about breakups, and "Here Today, Gone Tomorrow" is a better song about death. But it's all good if you mix it right. Put in some Cowboy Junkies and flavor it with some Cab Calloway and Count Basie and you have something that isn't embarrassing. You can even get away with adding some Boomer stuff if you go for really obscure bands like Appaloosa or H. P. Lovecraft. That replaces the inevitable sneers with "Huh?"
Hell, I'll admit to seeing Gin Blossoms live, on a double bill with Cracker circa 1994. (I was more interested in Cracker.) They were nothing special, just a perfectly average rock band from an era that hasn't aged well. Anyone who thinks they were the worst band of all time needs to get out more often. Or listen to 98 Rock in Baltimore for an hour or so. But "Found Out About You" has by far the lamest lyrics, therefore Matt wins. I guess I'd vote for Allison Road if I were forced to choose a favorite.
"Hey Jealousy" is the way to go. My vote for the worst song of that era, however, is "Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm" by Crash Test Dummies. Runner up is "Runaway Train" by Soul Assylum. Those are the kinds of songs that led me to ignore mainstream popular music for a decade.
Its tough for me to pick a fav out of these songs. Yes, the band sucks ass, but I love me some bubble gum pop rock n roll (which explains my Belle and Sebestian fixation). I suppose Hey Jealousy if it cam down to it is the better song. I see what spencer is getting at though. Maybe he is more of a minor key guy. You gentlemen are much smarter than this though. Tackle the tougher questions in life, such as 1. What is the best Marshall Tucker Band Song? 2. What is the best ABBA Song? Sub question, which member of ABBA would you sleep with ( 3. Who was more important to the Smiths, Morrisy or Johnny Marr?
This discussion is really making me feel my age... I guess, as I suspected, that I am an old man at the grand old age of 34. Regardless... This is a no contest question. 'Hey Jealousy', as a previous poster noted, wins in a landslide, if only for the line 'if you don't expect too much of me, you might not be let down'. It was pitch perfect for high school and college age generation x slackers at that specific time. New Miserable Experience was a pretty good pop album. It does hold up reasonably well, though I must admit that I don't listen to it much. The biggest problem that the Gin Blossoms faced was that their guitar player, who wrote most of New Miserable Experience, killed himself before the release of that album. The record showed some promise, but it became very obvious really quickly that he had most of the talent in the band.
Gin Blossoms r teh suxors Hey Jealousy pwns Found Out About You Mark Penn says the Gin Blossoms are huge in Ohio & Texas
I don't understand how there can even be a question here. "Hey Jealousy" is it. Period. If it weren't for that song, we wouldn't be talking about the Gin Blossoms at all. Now, which is the better Posies song: "Dream All Day"? Or "Golden Blunders"?
Galen, I love you,
Addendum... (You know...For the Kids!) A better band and with a better album doing similar things at a similar time would be Toad The Wet Sprocket's 'Dulcinea'. I think it has held up remarkably well as a pop album, actually.
I actually recognize both songs and these days my only exposure to "new" music is what the kids (literally) listen to on Radio Disney. Thus both of those songs must be both old and lame...
Roddy... I absolutely hated every album by the Posie's except Frosting on the Beater (Which I really, really liked for some reason). That being said, I guess I would go with 'Coming Right Along', even though that isn't a choice.
I second (or third, or whatever) "Follow You Down."
Mike Q, 1. "Can't You See?" 2. I'm not sure, but I would sleep with any of the members. One at a time, or any combination of the four. 3. Morrissey. No question.
Mike Quinlivan: You can't have the Smiths without both Morrissey and Marr - they are of equal value within that particular context. Morrissey, obviously, has a more enduring legacy, but the Smiths were a combination of two very unique and forward thinking musical geniuses - plus Andy Rourke and Mike Joyce, who are each "half a person" (or perhaps non-entities depending on whether your loyalties lie with the British legal system or Morrissey).
I prefer "Found Out About You." But I'm about five years older than you, so this may be affected by my preference for the more melodic, wistful tones of the 80s. If Ackerman is also older, we have ourselves a working hypothesis.
Man, all these songs really are the same. I'm going to have to withdraw my nomination of Smashmouth as worst band of the 90s in order to support Dan's nomination of Train, who are incredibly horrible. By the way, which is the best Train song? "Meet Virginia" or "Drops of Jupiter"?
John,
Yeah, I knew I was old when my 23 year-old boyfriend didn't know who the Violent Femmes were. Yeesh... I heart the Gin Blossoms mightily; my excuses is that I got into them when I was 13. 'Til I Hear It From You is obviously the one (hello, Empire Records soundtrack!), but Matt wins this throwdown...Hey Jealousy all the way.
Yeah, I knew I was old when my 23 year-old boyfriend didn't know who the Violent Femmes were. Yeesh... I heart the Gin Blossoms mightily; my excuses is that I got into them when I was 13. 'Til I Hear It From You is obviously the one (hello, Empire Records soundtrack!), but Matt wins this throwdown...Hey Jealousy all the way.
Smashmouth, Train... yeah, they are both horrible, horrible abominations, but c'mon - Spin Doctors? That's the musical equivalent of jamming a turkey baster in your ear and squirting diarrhea directly on your brain.
Craig Greg, you are stealing my material. The 9/11 joke is Q: What is the only thing worse than a new record by the Red Hot Chili Peppers? A: 9/11. Not to be confused with Q: Why did God give Smash Mouth 3 top ten singles? A: It was a clerical error, he meant to give them AIDS.
Craig Greg - hmm...you are right. It is hard to decide which is worse. But I disagree about the "Nobody thought Train was good, but people actually liked Smashmouth." My experience has been kind of the reverse. I know people who liked Train at the time. I feel like everyone I know kind of cordially detested Smashmouth. What is true is that Smashmouth was much more overplayed than Train. Remember when "Allstar" featured in the soundtrack to every movie released over a two year period? I have always hated the whole Shrek franchise based entirely on its entanglement with Smashmouth. Spin Doctors, though, are awesome. "Two Princes," baby!
Okay, the Spin Doctors suck, too. "Little Miss Can't Be Wrong" is a particularly awful song. It's just that I wasn't particularly aware of popular music when Spin Doctors were big, whereas I have vivid memories of the golden days of "Allstar" and "Drops of Jupiter".
Greg, Everything I know about the Crash Test Dummies is their success with that song on popular American radio -- for all I know the rest of their ouevre is the best thing since sliced bread. I don't mean to be blaming bands so much as songs and the DJs who played them. If I wanted to blame a single band (and boy oh boy is this not going to win me any friends) I lay most of the blame at the feet of Nirvana, not so much because they were bad themselves (I'm not a fan, but I respect them) but because they brought grunge to the mainstream, and grunge was generally speaking teh suck. That's right, people of the internet, I said it: grunge sucked. I wonder if that puts me in violation of The Atlantic's new "objectionable material" policy? Unfortunately, I was too alienated from mainstream rock to have been aware of the greatness of Radiohead's "OK Computer" when it came out in 1997 (the summer after I graduated from High School) but it clearly marked a turning point back toward sanity. I love you too :) -Galen
Found Out About You - Hands down. I'm extremely ashamed to admit this, but its my ringtone right now. I actually like the Gin Blossoms MORE now, then I did growing up. I simply can't explain it - its the weirdest freakin phenomenon. Normally my rock and roll credentials are above reproach - no honestly, I swear it. I can link you to my facebook page to prove it if necessary (yes I'm defensive, leave me alone)
Everyone so far has gotten this wrong. Cheatin' owns the rest of that album.
As someone who went to Arizona State when the Gin Blossoms were around I have to say that Lost Horizons with the lines: "Drink enough of anything to make this world look new again" and "Drink enough of anything to make this girl look new again" pretty much sums up life as a Sun Devil in the early 90's. Also, how can you argue with a Lost video collage using this song - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2xMbJcyyXUs
Yeah, Nirvana wasn't bad, I've always said that grunge did music a huge favor by killing 80's hair metal and then having to decency to commit seppuku immediately afterwards.
Increasingly, my friends and I are old men I do not want to hear this from someone half my age! Oh, and everyone knows that the best Gin Blossoms song is "Jimmy Olsen's Blues." And all you kids get off my lawn!
Neil, Joh,
Neil, Joh,
Neil, Joh,
My computer is being difficult. Or I've lost my mind after bringing up these repressed memories. Either way, sorry, and its time for me to go.
Benniefly2: The biggest problem that the Gin Blossoms faced was that their guitar player, who wrote most of New Miserable Experience, killed himself before the release of that album. Extra points to Benniefly2/Wikipedia for the historical infill. Also, the great dive where they got their start in Tempe, Long Wongs, got bulldozed like pretty much all of my favorite 1993 hangouts in the Phoenix area. Makes my back hurt like a past-the-date-of-expiration Yglesias just to think about it. |
The question is pretty moot since the Gin Blossoms really, really, really suck.
Third Eye Blind for 30 somethings.
Posted by calipygian | February 21, 2008 4:39 PM