Was “Flagpole Sitta” Just One Big Joke on 90s Rock?

The story behind Harvey Danger's hit 'Flagpole Sitta' Podcast on Apple Podcasts https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast... My second YouTube Channel    / @rocknrolltruestories2   Have a video request or a topic you'd like to see us cover? Comment below or send in your idea: https://bit.ly/3stnXlN In the world of music, some songs are anthems, and others are inside jokes. The story of this song is really the story of how a massive anthem was an inside joke. It's about a deeply cynical message, buried so deep that an entire generation of listeners missed it completely. This is the story of a band of hyper-literate music nerds who wrote a hit song about how much they hated hit songs, and then watched, in a twist of perfect irony, as the world fell for it. This song was "Flagpole Sitta" by Harvey Danger. In 1998, it was inescapable, peaking in the top five on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart and soundtracking everything from movie trailers to dorm parties. It felt like a perfect slice of late-90s energy. But it was also a phantom. A song written to critique the alternative rock scene that, in a final ironic twist, became a defining monument within that very scene. This isn't just the story of a one-hit wonder; it's the story of how the mainstream completely missed the punchline and how the band behind the song who never dreamed of stardom became overexposed. So how did one of the defining sounds of the late 90s become a cultural critique so sharp, it became the very thing it was critiquing? It's all coming up in today's video. If you guys love rock n’ roll and deep dives into it’s history be sure to hit that subscribe and like button it helps the channel out tremendously. The Scene of the Crime - Seattle, Mid-90s The year is 1992, the place is Seattle, Washington. Just a year earlier, Nirvana’s Nevermind had detonated in the heart of pop culture, and the shockwaves were still transforming the city. The media dubbed ‘Grunge or seattle sound’, a once-insular punk-metal hybrid, was now the biggest thing on the planet. The "Seattle Sound" was a global brand. As drummer Evan Sult would later put it, you were "watching the land you are standing on get commodified.” The alternative had become the mainstream. This is the crucial context. While the first wave of so called grunge bands were dealing with their sudden superstardom, a second wave of musicians was coming of age in their shadow. They were kids who loved the raw energy of the scene but were also acutely aware of its commercialization. They were insiders who felt like outsiders. You might remember how flannel now became a fashion statement. Enter Harvey Danger. They weren't grizzled rock veterans. This wasn't a group with rockstar ambitions; they were a self-described "hermits," observers inspired more by the the likes of Sebadoh, Elvis Costello and the quirky indie rock Pavement and The Replacements Harvey danger got their name from graffiti on the newsroom wall of the University of Washington where the members were students. The band in their early years lied a lot about the origin of their name Born in november 1993, the band was formed by friends Aaron Huffman and jeff lin who met at the university of washington. They were both student journalists on the staff of The Daily of the University of Washington. Huffman had been playing bass for a year and a half. And lin had just bought his instrument one month prior. Sult told the rocket newspaper ‘none of us knew how to play a lick. I had a snare drum and a paint can with a crash cymbal upside down on the paint can. I was on my knees with two sticks. The members had barely been playing their instrument for a few months and the only song they knew how to play was a 20 minute rendition of velvet underground’s what goes on. They were together for about a year until they expanded to a four piece inviting frontman evan sult and his friend drummer sean nelson to jam. The two pairs of members didn’t even really know each other. Nelson had previously down a variety of job including actor, filmmaker, columnist and and rock critic for seattle weekly newspaper called the stranger. The member had sworn off distractions - girlfriends, school, jobs and the quartet soon moved into a house in the ravenna (raw-venna)neighbourhood of seattle. They recorded a series of demos and they loved their tapes so much that the While t CONNECT ON SOCIAL TIKOK:  / rocknrolltruestory   Instagram:   / rnrtruestories   Facebook:   / rnrtruestories   Twitter:   / rocktruestories   Blog: www.rockandrolltruestories.com #harveydanger #flagpolesitta These videos are for entertainment purposes only. DISCLAIMER https://rockandrolltruestories.com/yo...