Welcome to Throwback Thursday, where we revisit the overplayed, over (and under)rated, and the one-hit and multi-hit wonders of yesteryear.
I have a bone to pick with Sixpence None the Richer for giving me unrealistic expectations about dating.
When "Kiss Me" came out, it made me think that once I got to high school, I'd meet a guy who looked like Freddie Prinze, Jr., and my first kiss would happen while we slow danced in the backyard and a bunch of Christmas lights randomly turned on. I'm pretty sure fireworks were somewhere in the equation, too. Of course that didn't happen. Fireworks were illegal at the time, and a Freddie doppelganger would probably be too old for high school.
"Kiss Me" was a decent song when it first came out because it played out like a fairytale romance. Then it got overplayed thanks to three (kind of) different music videos.
The original version was the coolest because it pays tribute to Jules and Jim, because nothing screams teen romance like a French New Wave love triangle. Sixpence had their own interpretation-- the music video ends with singer Leigh Nash placing a flower on Francois Truffaut's grave. Aww, that's sweet, but it's the PG version of Catherine driving herself and Jim off a bridge. (And given the band's Christian roots, not much a surprise.)
The next two videos are even cheesier. The most recognizable is the She's All That version, where the band crams onto a bench and watches the movie on a tiny screen, which makes no sense since they could comfortably watch it on a projector. Freddie Prinze, Jr. and Rachael Leigh Cook randomly show up and it emphasizes how much better she looked as an art geek.
The third version is pretty similar to the second. The only difference being the She's All That footage was replaced with shots from Dawson's Creek.
At least it gets a little better. Not another "Kiss Me" video...
New Found Glory covered the song for From The Screen to Your Stereo Part II and made a much better music video than any of Sixpence None the Richer's attempts. Of course it helps that Paramore's Hayley Williams punched a guy.
Sixpence None the Richer is technically not a one hit wonder. The follow up to "Kiss Me" was a cover of The La's "There She Goes," which is probably most memorable thanks to Adam Goldberg, which you may recognize as that one Jewish actor with the eyebrows from Entourage.
In 2004, the band broke up and Leigh Nash released a solo album. The band got back together in 2007 and released some new material, including a Christmas album. Sixpence None the Richer's seventh album comes out in May. Not bad for an alleged one hit wonder.
I can't help but wonder, has Leigh Nash ever recorded a sad song? Everything I've heard sounds like a soundtrack to a feel good teen flick.
