I double and triple checked, and there's no doubt about it: "Misery" by Soul Asylum is, in my opinion, the worst #1 hit on the Modern Rock Tracks chart in the 1990s. Yes, even worse than Björk.
I'm a fairly new Soul Asylum fan, having meant to check them out for years (I was more into Barney the Dinosaur at the time of their success). This song currently sits at the number one spot on my Spotify "On Repeat" playlist! I had a blast reading this- there was no MISERYYYY on my part.
Somewhat surprisingly I’d never heard this song before. I played the first minute of the video before I got into reading this post and it was a “yeah, no” for me. And that was before I even read those ridiculous lyrics you posted. I did enjoy Runaway Train and some of their earlier tracks but didn’t really follow them much after Grave Dancers Union.
I’d certainly agree that The Bends was a good place to start in Radiohead’s catalog. That and OK Computer were their high water marks (by far) for me until A Moon Shaped Pool arrived in 2016. Not that the 2016 release was better than those two albums but it was the first one I found myself enjoying since OK Computer.
"Misery" was the last hurrah for the band on the charts in any meaningful way. They didn't transition to the post-post-grunge scene in a way that kept them chart relevant, but they did stay together and keep making music, so good on them for that.
I agree about Bends and OK Computer. I tend to enjoy In Rainbows a lot more than their other post '90s albums. If my mood is a certain type of way, I can get lost in Kid A for hours. I really have to be feeling pretty emotionally raw for that one, or else it doesn't click for me.
It was almost like you were in my head-this whole article-I nodded over and over, saying “Yes!”. Such a terrible song compared to others they had—those next two you mentioned, “Just Like Anyone” and “I Will Still Be Laughing” were so much better than “Misery”.
Minnesota in the 90s was teeming with terrific bands that never really got big. That Soul Asylum became so popular while dozens of other incredible Minnesota-based bands didn’t is an imponderable mystery.
For a far more scathing and cleverly-worded takedown of the music industry (also made by a Minnesota band), it’s hard to get any better than Arcwelder’s 1996 “Snake Oil Man”:
It never occurred to me that the lyrics had any sort of wry edge. It’s one of those things where a satire is in effect the same as the thing it’s trying to satirize. It was awful imo
Agreed. I think that's a level I missed as a teenager that adds a layer of hate now. Their answer to grunge being popular was making the most saccharine sweet alt-pop song possible, in effect selling out to the same factory they're speaking out against.
I'm not big on calling out bands who become popular by "betraying" whatever genre made them popular first, but this is a prime example of that.
(looks around nervously)
Am I... am I the only one that likes this song?
Putting Björk in the same sentence as Soul Asylum? I almost had a rage heart attack!
Fromtheyardtothearthouse.substack
😂😂
Soul Asylum the band > Björk.
"Misery" < Björk
Putting Björk in any sentence is enough to give me a rage heart attack, though. So much shrieking... 😁
/pulls skin right off his own face.
Fromtheyardtothearthouse.substack.com
I'm a fairly new Soul Asylum fan, having meant to check them out for years (I was more into Barney the Dinosaur at the time of their success). This song currently sits at the number one spot on my Spotify "On Repeat" playlist! I had a blast reading this- there was no MISERYYYY on my part.
I'm finding it's a polarizing song. Folks seem to really love it or really hate it. I, of course, fall into the hate end of that spectrum!
I'm on the fence regarding which I'd rather listen to: Barney's theme song, or "Misery."
Glad you liked the write-up! 😁
Somewhat surprisingly I’d never heard this song before. I played the first minute of the video before I got into reading this post and it was a “yeah, no” for me. And that was before I even read those ridiculous lyrics you posted. I did enjoy Runaway Train and some of their earlier tracks but didn’t really follow them much after Grave Dancers Union.
I’d certainly agree that The Bends was a good place to start in Radiohead’s catalog. That and OK Computer were their high water marks (by far) for me until A Moon Shaped Pool arrived in 2016. Not that the 2016 release was better than those two albums but it was the first one I found myself enjoying since OK Computer.
"Misery" was the last hurrah for the band on the charts in any meaningful way. They didn't transition to the post-post-grunge scene in a way that kept them chart relevant, but they did stay together and keep making music, so good on them for that.
I agree about Bends and OK Computer. I tend to enjoy In Rainbows a lot more than their other post '90s albums. If my mood is a certain type of way, I can get lost in Kid A for hours. I really have to be feeling pretty emotionally raw for that one, or else it doesn't click for me.
It was almost like you were in my head-this whole article-I nodded over and over, saying “Yes!”. Such a terrible song compared to others they had—those next two you mentioned, “Just Like Anyone” and “I Will Still Be Laughing” were so much better than “Misery”.
Agree 100%. I really think, for some reason, this track just rubs me the wrong way, and I'm glad I'm not alone on that. Appreciate the comment!
Minnesota in the 90s was teeming with terrific bands that never really got big. That Soul Asylum became so popular while dozens of other incredible Minnesota-based bands didn’t is an imponderable mystery.
For a far more scathing and cleverly-worded takedown of the music industry (also made by a Minnesota band), it’s hard to get any better than Arcwelder’s 1996 “Snake Oil Man”:
https://youtu.be/Rd2IMSvg_qE?si=ny4WV4hpop_G9HJI
"I've an appointment today with a cultural slave to the snakepit called the music biz"
😳😳
Yeah, that's *much* better! Decent track -- never heard that one before.
It never occurred to me that the lyrics had any sort of wry edge. It’s one of those things where a satire is in effect the same as the thing it’s trying to satirize. It was awful imo
Agreed. I think that's a level I missed as a teenager that adds a layer of hate now. Their answer to grunge being popular was making the most saccharine sweet alt-pop song possible, in effect selling out to the same factory they're speaking out against.
I'm not big on calling out bands who become popular by "betraying" whatever genre made them popular first, but this is a prime example of that.