The Ongoing History of New Music, episode 1087: A follow-up to alt-rock one-hit wonders

Alan Cross Corus Radio

September 21, 2026 9:30 am

Okay, okay, okay! I hear you! Lemme make some amends here.

In spring 2026, I set out to explore alt-rock one-hit wonders. It was a five-episode series in six parts (very Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, that) on the biggest songs of that sort since 1976, which is year zero for the whole alternative thing… more or less. Let’s not get bogged down here.

The first five episodes covered ten songs each, all ranked using a complicated logarithmic formula designed by my friend, Walter the mathematician. A lot of effort went into that top 50 list—but it wasn’t enough.

That’s where the sixth episode came in. It was an addendum, an erratum, really, of songs that maybe should have made it into the original top 50 list. Fine. I’m big enough to admit when I’ve made an error or left something out.

I did the sixth episode, and I thought, “Well, that’s over. We’re done here.” But apparently not. In the weeks and months that followed, I got hundreds of emails and DMs from people pointing out even more alt-rock one-hit wonders that should have made the cut.

This left me uneasy. The job wasn’t done, and I hate loose ends. So let’s do the one-hit-wonder thing one more time, incorporating some of those missed tracks. And I’ll explain why several acts who are thought to be one-hit wonders really aren’t.

So, clean-up on aisle three, I guess. Here we go…

Songs heard on this show:

Voice of America, The Story of Love
When in Rome, The Promise
4 Non-Blondes, What’s Up?
Tripping Daisy, I Got a Girl
Jars of Clay, Flood
Primitive Radio Gods, Standing Outside a Broken Phone Booth with Money in My Hand
Dog’s Eye View, Everything Falls Apart
Len, Steal My Sunshine

Here’s Eric Wilhite’s playlist.
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