Episodes
Aug. 31, 2022
“Cantaloop (Flip Fantasia)” by Us3
In the early 90s, London-based producer Geoff Wilkinson was given full access to legendary jazz label Blue Note Records’ entire discography to use samples in his project Us3. The resulting album Hand On The Torch mixed modern hip-hop with classic jazz, and on the heels of the first single “Cantaloo…
Aug. 24, 2022
"Laid" by James (f/Tony Hartman)
This week, we dive into the band James and their somewhat raunchy 90s hit “Laid”. Return guest Tony Hartman joins us to dissect the lyrics that he sang as a kid in front of his mom, long before he knew what any of them meant. Did we uncover a deeper SECRET meaning to the words, or are they nothing …
Aug. 17, 2022
"Walk the Dinosaur" by Was (Not Was)
I am most definitely a sucker for all songs that have an associated dance. I know this is an audio-only podcast, but I can say FOR SURE say that you’d all have enjoyed watching One Hit Thunder producer Matt Kelly “walk the dinosaur” when we recorded this episode. We recorded this one as another epi…
Aug. 13, 2022
Chris And Eric Present ... Let's Go People
Inspired by Eiffel 65 ... the new summer dance party jam
Aug. 10, 2022
"Blue (Da Ba Dee)" By Eiffel 65 (f/Eric Taft)
In the late 90s, three DJs living in Italy spent a few hours creating a club track that couldn’t even keep people on the dance floor. That would quickly change thanks to a little radio airplay, and before they knew it, “Blue” became an international hit. The song is equal parts catchy and silly, bu…
Aug. 3, 2022
"Funk Dat" by Sagat
Why is it that every time you turn on an episode of One Hit Thunder, you gotta listen to me do some intro where I try to be clever? Man, FUNK DAT! Just get to the episode! That’s what we’re about to do, as Matt and I dive into the career of Baltimore’s premiere grievance poet, Sagat.
July 27, 2022
"More Today Than Yesterday" by Spiral Starecase (f/Paul Menotiades)
My good friend and musical collaborator Paul Menotiades always brings the heat with his song choices. Paul joins the four-timer club this week, and he follows up episodes about Harvey Danger, EMF, and the Dead Milkmen with yet ANOTHER classic banger in “I Love You More Today Than Yesterday” by Spir…
July 20, 2022
"What Would You Do?" by City High
It’s mind-boggling how many guests have passed on the opportunity to talk about City High’s catchy-yet-serious 1999 jam “What Would You Do?”, so Matt and I had no choice but to institute a new “Ya Snooze, Ya Lose” category of One Hit Thunder episodes and do this one ourselves. We can’t even imagine…
July 13, 2022
"Nobody Knows" by Tony Rich Project (f/Johnny Yetsconish)
Return guest Johnny Yetsconish has an impressive track record of choosing the very best sad songs to discuss on One Hit Thunder. He keeps his streak alive this week by picking “Nobody Knows” by The Tony Rich Project. This relatable R&B jam took over the airwaves in 1996, but Tony quickly faded away…
July 6, 2022
"Come Baby Come" by K7
Our Patreon really swung for the fences by choosing K7’s 1993 hit “Come Baby Come” as the song we’re diving into this week. Did you know that K7 was just one guy, and not the name of the group of four men who seem to be featured in every music video? Neither did we. And in this episode, we REALLY t…
June 29, 2022
"Three Little Pigs" by Green Jellÿ (f/Matt Jurcevich)
In 1993, the band Green Jellÿ had an unlikely Top 20 hit with their song “Three Little Pigs”, which was a twisted, rockin’ version of a story that we’re all familiar with from childhood. A crudely animated yet unforgettable music video helped launch this song into the stratosphere, and it has remai…
June 22, 2022
"Back in the Day" by Ahmad (f/Norman Sann)
Norman Sann is our guest this week, and if you haven’t checked him out on TikTok yet, you’re missing out on relatable verses with wordplay that often taps into nostalgia from our own childhoods. That being said, it’s no surprise that Norman chose Ahmad’s 1994 single “Back In The Day” to discuss thi…
June 15, 2022
"Hooch" by Everything
It's summer time and what summer isn't complete without hanging around a fire with your best buds getting connected to your ancestors? The group Everything pondered this exact question when they wrote Hooch. We left it up to the Patreon to decide what we talked about and they said EVERYTHING. So gr…
June 8, 2022
"Baby's Coming Back" by Jellyfish (f/Scott Klopfenstein)
First time guest Scott Klopfenstein came in HOT for his debut appearance, ready to discuss quite possibly the most heartbreaking casualty of the grunge era. The lush compositions and Willy Wonka inspired look of Jellyfish lacked only one thing: timing. Had they existed a few years earlier or later,…
June 1, 2022
"Potential Break-Up Song" by Aly & AJ (f/Matthew Milligan)
Matthew Milligan is BACK…this time, to talk teen pop music, Radio Disney, and meta songwriting with “Potential Breakup Song” by Aly & AJ. Does taking too long to call a significant other on their birthday really deserve the vengeful song treatment? Aly & AJ MIGHT think so (hence the “potential” in …
May 25, 2022
"F**k It (I Don't Want You Back)" by Eamon (f/Jim Logrando)
In the early 2000s, cussing was still considered shocking. Nowadays, everyone from toddlers to great-grandmas are dropping F-bombs and C-words like they aren’t even cusses. In 2004, Staten Island ho-wop singer Eamon knew that the days of having a hit song purely because of swear words were almost o…
May 18, 2022
"What's Up?" by 4 Non Blondes (f/Jonathan London)
This week’s episode was recorded live during a charity livestream on the Geekscape YouTube channel. We’re joined by Geekscape founder Jonathan London to discuss “What’s Up?” by 4 Non Blondes, a polarizing song that either has you plugging your ears or screaming along. The band’s career might have b…
May 15, 2022
Patreon Sneak Peak ... Mr T's Be Somebody or Be Somebody's Fool
Enjoy this bonus episode of the first 10 minutes of Chris and I's Patreon Exclusive review of the Mr. T special "Be Somebody or Be Somebody's Fool" You can hear the full episode, our weekly bonus episodes and even vote for songs that we discuss in the future episodes at Patreon.com/OHTPodcast
May 11, 2022
"Handlebars" by Flobots
One Hit Thunder producer Matt Kelly has brought up the band Flobots on several occasions on the show, so it was only right that an entire episode was finally dedicated to their 2008 single “Handlebars”. What lyrically starts as basically “look ma, no hands!” turns into an epic commentary on power, …
May 4, 2022
"Flavor of the Weak" by American Hi-Fi (f/Tessa Markle)
The turn of the century brought an explosion of music that combined pop sensibility with the spirit of rock. Bands like Sum 41 and Dashboard Confessional entered the mainstream and stayed there, building back catalogs of memorable songs and influencing young artists. Other groups - like this week’s…
April 27, 2022
"Toy Soldiers" by Martika (f/Joey Ritter)
This week, we’re joined by my good friend Joey Ritter to discuss Martika, a Kids Incorporated success story who scored a #1 hit with her heavy single “Toy Soldiers”. The song serves as a vague cautionary tale about the dangers of cocaine addiction, but it’s hard to interpret how Martika herself fac…
April 20, 2022
"Touch of Grey" by Grateful Dead (f/Joey Spehar)
Today, we are joined by WYEP DJ Joey Spehar to discuss a band that feels crazy to call a one hit wonder - The Grateful Dead. Not even a legitimate Deadhead like Joey can deny, however, that 1987’s “Touch of Grey” was the iconic band’s only charting hit. Like a Ken Kesey house party, this episode is…
April 13, 2022
"How Bizarre" by OMC (f/Dustin Rubin)
The song “How Bizarre” from New Zealand’s OMC was first released in 1995, but it wasn’t until 1997 that it made its mark on the US Billboard charts. This hard-to-classify hit tends to be very polarizing among listeners. The strange mashup of musical styles, the unique vocal delivery, and the incomp…
April 6, 2022
"I Wanna Be Rich" by Calloway
We would do LOTS of cool things if we were rich. One of those things would be to give the whole world a free subscription to the One Hit Thunder Patreon. Unfortunately, we’re not able to do that yet, but we DID let our Patreon supporters vote on which song they wanted to hear us discuss. They chose…