Previous Next Latest

Hot Issue Hits and Misses: Coldplay and Enuff Z’Nuff

10/9/07, 6:51 pm EST

Rolling Stone’s 2008 Hot Issue spotlights acts like Band of Horses and Vampire Weekend (more on that here). For the next week, we’ll be taking a look at Hot Issue hits and misses from the past twenty-one years (because nobody’s cultural thermometer is accurate all the time).

Hit: In 2002, just before the release of A Rush of Blood to the Head, Rolling Stone caught up with Coldplay as they toured small clubs for perhaps the last time, and named the group Hot Band. It was a pretty accurate assessment. Rush went platinum four times; its follow-up, X&Y, sold more than two million copies. Perhaps fueled by his Hot List status, Chris Martin went on to wed Oscar-winning actress Gwyneth Paltrow, Rolling Stone’s Hot Actress of 1994, in 2003.

Miss: It was the year of Nirvana’s Nevermind. Pearl Jam’s Ten. Primal Scream’s Screamadelica. So many bands to choose from, yet we chose Chicago rockers Enuff Z’Nuff as “The Hot Band” of 1991. Maybe it was their faux-GN’R spirit that blinded us. In the end, the music of Pearl Jam and Nirvana resonated throughout the Nineties, while the only evidence of Enuff Z’Nuff’s existence, outside of that Hot Issue, is their cover of “Happy Holiday” that appears on the Monster Ballads X-Mas promo we just got in the mail.

Related Stories:


Previous Next Latest

Comments

Joe | 10/9/2007, 7:40 pm EST

Enuff Z’Nuff is sorely underrated. A very melodic precursor of a sort of Buckcherry–Gin Blossoms hybrid, “New Thing” was a pretty cool single. Their lead singer, Chip Z’nuff, told a great story on Howard Stern years ago about how he peed inside Madonna during sex. Just for that, they deserve a spot on some sort of legend list.

Fact Check | 10/9/2007, 8:03 pm EST

If ignorance is bliss then Rolling Stone writers must be in a perpetual state of orgasm. Do you even bother to fact check your articles? Or is that over the head of reality show contestants? I’ll do some for you for free 1) There is no way anyone could confuse the sound of Enuff Z’nuff with Guns N’ Roses. They are far more in the tradition of the Beatles. 2) They have had over a dozen albums out since 91. (you got that wrong then as well as their debut came out in 89). 3) “Happy Holidays” was an original song written for the Home Alone 2 Soundtrack not a cover. They may not have had huge success producing bland music for Yuppie scum like Coldplay but they have far more talent than 90% of the garbage Rolling Stone puts on their covers.

PS to Joe. Chip is the bass player, Donnie Vie is the lead singer.

Ian St. Ian | 10/9/2007, 9:19 pm EST

Hmm… yeah, what “Joe” said. Except the complete opposite.

Dave | 10/10/2007, 8:42 am EST

Even I knew back then that Enuff Z’Nuff was musically irrelevant – all style, no substance. I don’t know how RS missed on that one. That said, Chip’s story on Howard Stern’s show really WAS classic.

Joe | 10/11/2007, 2:08 am EST

Thanks, Fact Check. That was just my assumption when I heard the story on the radio :)

Rock on, Enuff Z’nuff. May you live forever in my heart of obscurity.

jungleland | 10/11/2007, 11:34 am EST

Enuff Z’nuff beat the shit out of Coldplay

Blame the labels in 1991 for making all the bands go hair metal. They could have been big if they had come out two years earlier (as a rock band, not a hair band) or two years later as a post punk band

Post A Comment

Caution: Off-topic comments will be deleted

Name:

Comments:



Advertisement

Advertisement