Pop Will Eat Its Children, Pt. 6

25. "Flagpole Sitta," Harvey Danger

1997
U.S. Billboard Hot 100 Peak Position: Did not chart

The dumb-ass misspelling biased me from jump against this petulant burst of scarcely-earned arrogance.

Keep it? NO

"Corpse Pose," Unwound

1996
U.S. Billboard Hot 100 Peak position: Did not chart

Get involved with the world. Smack it. Start above the equator.

It's nigh on impossible to truly relax and free the mind of extraneous materials. Please don't let that stop you.

24. "Are You That Somebody?," Aaliyah

1998
U.S. Billboard Hot 100 Peak Position: #21

Bob Kelly's child bride grew up to become a meter reader. Timbaland is operating at peak ridiculousness; who in hell says, yes, this smooth futuristic R&B track needs a sample of a happy baby on it?

Keep it? YES

23. "Wonderwall," Oasis

1995
U.S. Billboard Hot 100 Peak Position: #8

In the gutter, apple butter. Meaningless words combined with soulless music, how the fuck were Oasis allowed to get big, what in the fuck was going on with England's inferiority complex back then? I have never heard an Oasis song without instantly thinking of a Beatles song I'd rather be listening to.

Keep it? NO

"Girls and Boys," Blur

1994
U.S. Billboard Hot 100 Peak Position: #59

It's a hedonistic hell from a handsome head-space, with Disco DrugBot playing the bass! Have some fun, take some piss, throw it back. The chorus is pure gender stereotyping--perhaps celebratory, perhaps desultory, certainly exhilarating.

22. "Shook Ones, Pt. II," Mobb Deep

1995
U.S. Billboard Hot 100 Peak Position: Did not chart

Welcome to the No Safety Zone. Prodigy and Havoc were two undersized teenagers from Queens when they first harnessed thunder for the express purpose of reminding us that judging dogs by their size is silly at best, deadly at worst.

(Also one of the best penultimate album songs ever. Not to mention one of the best sample flips.)

Keep it? YES

21. "1979," Smashing Pumpkins

1996
U.S. Billboard Hot 100 Peak Position: #12

I'd make a crack 'bout busted timepieces, but truth is, SP produced more than two good songs. I could place "Cherub Rock" here, but "1979" is too good, and also not what you would expect from the band. (There beat a heart inside that bird chest, after all.)

Keep It? YES