7 April 2020 - Crash Test Dummies - Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm

It isn't often that a huge hit song features a deep baritone on lead vocal.  This one, the only American hit by Canadian band Crash Test Dummies, is the only one I can think of.  However, for this band that had six Top Ten hits in Canada, it stalled at #14 in their home country.... so it was a disappointment.

It is widely considered to be a bad song - frequently featured on bad song lists - but I disagree.  All three verses speak to various reasons for isolation - and the chorus is a sad resignation.  It's a deeper song than it gets credit for.

Plus, it's nice to hear a popular song that I can actually sing along with.

The third verse does get a little flack for being anti-church - and it's always been my belief that it is specifically directed at one Christian denomination, and not church in general. Vocalist Brad Roberts seems to clarify in this 2010 live performance..... when he whispers the name of a specific denomination during that verse...


Clearly, they cared about not offending fans, especially when they were big hitmakers - so they did have an alternative third verse about a kid whose mom threw out his tonsils in a jar.  Check it out below.