MUSIC THAT MATTERS – “Lyric of the Day”

(Music Cut #1)

By March 3rd of 1994…
this song was making noise on the Modern Rock chart

And it made a lot of people uncomfortable.

Tori Amos.

“God.”

(Music Cut #2)

It can be found on Under the Pink –
the same album that gave us “Cornflake Girl.”

But while she was recording “God”…
she was chasing a sound.

Not a lyric.

but something crunchy.

(Music Cut #3)

So she and her producer grabbed a box of cereal.

Corn Flakes.

Shook it.
Crushed it.
Held it up directly into a microphone.

That scratchy rhythm heard under the verses?

It’s not just for the breakfast bowl

(Music Cut #4)

LYRIC OF THE DAY:
“God, sometimes you just don’t come through
Do you need a woman to look after you?” – Tori Amos

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MUSIC THAT MATTERS – “Lyric of the Day”

(Music Cut #1)

March 2nd, 1993

Shortly before Get a Grip would be released…

Aerosmith’s
“Livin’ on the Edge”
was all over the rock charts.

(Music Cut #2)

Steven Tyler wanted this to feel like
a 90s peace anthem.

But also…

like the world was about to explode.

And he found that sound
outside the studio in Vancouver.

(Music Cut #3)

That massive, echoing boom
during the drum breaks?

Not a studio trick.

Not a drum machine.

But an actual industrial dumpster
being slammed and recorded.

Yes — city trash equipment
became an instrument.

(Music Cut #4)

LYRIC OF THE DAY:
“Something’s wrong with our eyes
We’re seeing things in a different way” – Aerosmith

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MUSIC THAT MATTERS – “Lyric of the Day”

(Music Cut #1

On March 1st, 1998

one of the greatest rock songs of the 90s
was everywhere.

Foo Fighters.

“Everlong.”

(Music Cut #2)

Dave Grohl wrote this song
while his marriage was falling apart.

And somehow…

a song written during a divorce
became one of the most requested wedding songs
of the late ’90s and early 2000s.

(Music Cut #3)

It also meant something to one late-night host.

After undergoing emergency quadruple bypass surgery in 2000,
David Letterman asked the Foo Fighters
to play “Everlong”
on his very first show back.

He later called it
his favorite song of all time.

(Music Cut #4)

LYRIC OF THE DAY:
“If everything could ever feel this real forever…” — Foo Fighters

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MUSIC THAT MATTERS – “Lyric of the Day”

(Music Cut #1)

If you were watching music videos
on February 28th, 1999…

you probably saw
three guys running around naked.

Blink-182.

“What’s My Age Again?”

(Music Cut #2)

That was not the original title.

The label hated Blink’s first name for it.

Too psychological.
Too weird.

(Music Cut #3)

So they changed it —
into a question.

And that question
became an anthem
for an entire generation
that didn’t want to grow up.

The original title?

“Peter Pan Complex.”

(Music Cut #4)

LYRIC OF THE DAY:
“What the hell is wrong with me?
My friends say I should act my age –
(What’s my age again?)” — Blink-182

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MUSIC THAT MATTERS – “Lyric of the Day”

(Music Cut #1)

February 27th, 1994.

Just weeks before Superunknown would drop…

Soundgarden’s
“Spoonman”
was climbing the Modern Rock chart.

(Music Cut #2)

And by now – many of you know – that’s real.

Those aren’t sound effects.

That’s actual street performer Artis the Spoonman
playing spoons on the track.

But here’s the part most people miss:

The song title came first.

(Music Cut #3)

“Spoonman” was originally one of the fake song titles
Pearl Jam’s Jeff Ament wrote for the fictional band Citizen Dick
in the 1992 movie Singles.

Chris Cornell saw the title…

and then wrote the song from it.

Before the band had even begun recording Superunknown.

(Music Cut #4)

LYRIC OF THE DAY:
“Feel the rhythm with your hands
Steal the rhythm while you can.” — Soundgarden

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MUSIC THAT MATTERS – “Lyric of the Day”

(Music Cut #1)

This song was going the distance
on alternative radio
February 26th, 1997.

Cake.

“The Distance.”

(Music Cut #2)

The driver in this song is obsessed with winning.

So obsessed…
he doesn’t even realize
the race ended a long time ago
and everyone else has gone home.

(Music Cut #3)

It’s not really about racing.

It’s about chasing something
long after it’s already passed you by.

In other words —
the race isn’t the race.

It’s a mid-life crisis.

(Music Cut #4)

LYRIC OF THE DAY:
“The arena is empty, except for one man
Still driving and striving as fast as he can.” — Cake

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MUSIC THAT MATTERS – “Lyric of the Day”

(Music Cut #1)

February 25th, 1999.

This song didn’t sound like anything else on the radio.

Lauryn Hill

“Doo Wop (That Thing).”

(Music Cut #2)

It was the lead single from
The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill.

And it debuted at No. 1
on the Billboard Hot 100 —

the first female solo debut single
ever to do that.

(Music Cut #3)

Lauryn was physically exhausted.

So she recorded many of her vocals
lying on the studio floor
or just stretched out on a couch.

Why?

She was pregnant
with her first son, Zion.

(Music Cut #4)

LYRIC OF THE DAY:
“Don’t be a hard rock
when you really are a gem.” — Lauryn Hill

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MUSIC THAT MATTERS – “Lyric of the Day”

(Music Cut #1)

On February 24th, 1994,

James
was dominating alternative radio

with their song

“Laid.”

(Music Cut #2)

It was already a hit in 1994.

But less than six years later…

it was re-released —
and suddenly became
the soundtrack to a completely different generation.

(Music Cut #3)

The obvious questions: How? and Why?

“Laid” was chosen as the theme for the movie: American Pie

(Music Cut #4)

LYRIC OF THE DAY:
“You’re driving me crazy —
when are you coming home?” — James

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MUSIC THAT MATTERS – “Lyric of the Day”

(Music Cut #1)

On this date — February 23rd, 1999 —

Lit released their second studio album:

A Place in the Sun

(Music Cut #2)

The lyrics for the breakout hit —
“My Own Worst Enemy” —
weren’t written in some fancy studio.

They were scribbled on a piece of scrap paper
on the bench seat of front man A. Jay Popoff’s old Cadillac
while he was stuck in LA traffic.

(Music Cut #3)

And then he doubled down on the vulnerability.

He wanted to feel as exposed
as the lyrics sounded.

So he recorded the vocals…

completely naked.

(Music Cut #4)

LYRIC OF THE DAY:
“I am my own worst enemy
’cause every now and then
I kick the living shit out of me.” — Lit

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MUSIC THAT MATTERS – “Lyric of the Day”

(Music Cut #1)

On February 22nd, 1990

This song was gaining radio airplay
and would eventually climb to No. 3
on Billboard’s Modern Rock chart.

They Might Be Giants.

“Birdhouse in Your Soul.”

(Music Cut #2)

Here’s a song that somehow combines
Greek mythology,
home appliances,
and complicated music theory…

into a Top 10 hit.

And yes . . .
it’s written from the perspective
of a blue canary-shaped nightlight.

(Music Cut #3)

The band eventually started selling
actual blue canary nightlights
on their website…

because of this song.

(Music Cut #4)

LYRIC OF THE DAY:
“I’m your only friend, I’m not your only friend
But I’m a little glowing friend…” — They Might Be Giants

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