If you want to learn what it is like to have 15 minutes of fame in a rock and roll band, check out Jacob Slichter's book, "So You Wanna Be a Rock & Roll Star: How I Machine-Gunned a Roomful Of Record Executives and Other True Tales from a Drummer's Life." Slichter was the drummer for 90s alternative rock band Semisonic, who scored a single chart hit in 1998 when the ubiquitous "Closing Time" reached #11. I am always baffled why the band didn't score more hits--they wrote terrifically catchy pop songs that were just what the world needed after grunge. Slichter's book reveals the likely reason was incompetent management and record labels. Even after a huge hit like "Closing Time," the band could not get back on the chart. It wasn't the band's fault. The follow-up record's lead single, "Chemistry," is fantastic. Lead songwriter Dan Wilson went on to a solo career, and has found great success writing for others, including Dixie Chicks and Adele.
The English art rock band known as The Cure started making waves with their refreshingly unorthodox pop back in 1979 with airplay cuts like "Boys Don't Cry" and "Let's Go To Bed". But their first song to crack the US top 100 wasn't until 1986's "In Between Days", which just barely made it in at #99. It also helped them achieve their biggest album to date, "The Head On The Door", reaching #59. The band would go on to gain extensive popularity thanks to their unique sound and outlandish videos. Their follow-up record in 1987, "Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me", is widely considered their big breakthrough, hitting #35 and spawning their first top 40 hit, "Just Like Heaven" (#40). Their biggest hit was "Lovesong", which went to #2 in 1989. Adele covered this one on her "21" album from 2011. Other people know the band for their ubiquitous song "Friday I'm In Love". Surprisingly, this popular song only reached #18 in 1992, but came from their highest charting album, "Wish", which got all the way to #2.
