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Oh Yeah
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Date Aired
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April 1, 2020
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Running Time
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19:02
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Previous Review
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Next Review
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TBA
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Website
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Todd plays "Oh Yeah" on the piano.
YELLO - OH YEAH
A one-hit retrospective
Todd: Chick, chicka chicka. Welcome to One Hit Wonderland, where we take a look at bands and artists known for only one song. Folks, I am not a sophisticated man.
Clip of Katy Perry - "Firework"
Todd (VO): I listen to and review pop music, the most popular and accessible of musics. Todd: I am a lazy listener.
Live clip of Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band - "Steal Softly Thru Snow"
Todd (VO): I just don't have the patience or interest in any of that artsy, experimental crap. Todd: Yet sometimes, [song starts] in defiance of my limited taste, the two will intersect anyway.
Clip of Yello - "Oh Yeah"
Dieter Meier: Mm, oh yeah
Todd (VO): Yeah, you know this one. Todd: A bunch of you didn't think you knew it, but you do.
Yello: Bow bow (oh yeah) Chick, chicka chicka
Todd (VO): Once upon a time in the middle of the most pretentious, [gif of SNL Sprockets sketch] black turtleneck and sunglasses-wearing part of Europe, two conceptual artists started a musical project. [picture of the band] They called themselves Yello, and they were not particularly looking to become popstars or have a hit song.
Todd: And you could argue that they never did, at least in this country.
Todd (VO): Their best-known single, "Oh Yeah", never [shot of Billboard Hot 100, with "Oh Yeah" at number 51] quite cleared the bottom half of the Hot 100, so technically it wasn't a hit song.
Todd: Arguably, it's not even a song exactly.
Todd (VO): It has none of the structure of a pop song, no chorus, no verses, not even really a riff or a musical phrase. It's just a clattering assortment of beats, bass, catchphrases and random mouth sounds.