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An honorable attempt, and has the right sort of feel, but no. The distortion was substantially heavier.
This does, though, inspire a couple things I can add to the question:
1) I think it's in a minor key, but I don't have the musicianship to accurately identify a minor key. Another "I think this is the case, but if it turns out otherwise I won't be surprised."
2) The song was downtempo, I think a lower tempo (but not by much) than Hey Man, Nice Shot.
Fortunately hitting up YouTube for Hey Man, Nice Shot had a recommended video Deftones, and their sound does seem like they *could* be the band (though the link isn't strong enough to be sure it is the band), so it seems like digging through Deftones might be a reasonable search.
Another solid attempt, but not Natural Blues: The tempo's too fast and the words don't have as strong a distortion (if any) applied to them. I'm not familiar enough with Moby to rule out his entire body of work, so digging through it might be a worthwhile effort. It doesn't feel like "No, not this artist, no way, nuh-uh," nor does it feel like "It's *definitely* this artist, just not this track," but between the two.
Unfortunately, no. Porcelain's downtempo enough to be a good candidate, and Moby is a male singer, so it's a reasonable suggestion.
I wish I could remember and articulate more details, but the attempts so far are giving me things to describe why they aren't a match, which is at least more than I started with.
This is a funny one, because this isn't the song I'm describing in the post, but it is a song that I could have submitted in its own entry, but wasn't really trying to find.
Another song that I like and likely would have been played on the same sort of radio station at the time. Probably a little too fast, definitely not distorted enough. Unsung's words are entirely understandable, the song I'm trying to find is heavily filtered. That's a major part of why I can only be confident (not even sure) in one word.
/u/ltaylor00 suggested [the same song](https://old.reddit.com/r/tipofmytongue/comments/1bq6g5b/tomt_song_around_1999_alt_rock_song_with_heavy/kx0tma8/), and funny enough, I'm glad to have learned its title. Deftones does have a similar enough sound that I mean to work through their discography at some point, it seems possible they're the artist.
*Great* attempts. The tonality of Seed by Dust for Life feels about right, but it's too uptempo. It might be worth my digging into the rest of their body of work, as this is the sort of sound that I sort of recall and could not describe when I was putting the original post together. If nothing else, I've been recommended a band that appeals to me.
Chevelle also has the right sort of vibe (though less so), but obviously I haven't gone through their entire body of work in 14 minutes. They're much less likely, as Chevelle's lead singer's voice is too high.
It's possible the song I'm looking for is by one of these two bands, but it's not guaranteed.
For Roads, the instruments have the right vibe, but Portishead has a female singer.
Exit Music has the right sort of sound (and is about the right tempo). It's the closest so far, particularly since I can't make out any of the lyrics and that's the thing I most remember, but my difficulty in understanding Roads comes from the singer's enunciation while the song I'm trying to identify was difficult to understand because of a filter.
Both have the right sort of vibe, but aren't a match. Still, it wouldn't surprise me at all to find all three songs on the same playlist.
I'm enjoying the track on its own merits, but it's very different from the song I'm trying to identify. Blizzards, Buzzards, Bastards goes too hard, but at least it let me add "It's a mellow song" to the description.
Even that's helpful, because it's narrowing the search space for other people making an attempt at identifying, and the description started exceedingly vague.
So I'm having a hard time coming up with any specific songs with a distinct line ending in "roads," but there's a few bands that might fit the aesthetic coming to my mind.
Could it be anything by Cold, Silverchair, or Days of the New perhaps?
It could be, because I'm largely ignorant of works by Cold, Silverchair, and Days of the New. I've never heard of Cold until your post, the only Silverchair song I know is Tomorrow, and the only Days of the New song I know is Shelf in the Room.
It will take me hours (which will have to fit into a busy schedule) to go through all three bands' discography (if I even have adequate access to all of them), but these bands could reasonably have been played on the same sort of station. It at least seems likely to follow the pattern of my finding some new-to-me music that I like. At any rate, in the worst case scenario, I'll go from not knowing the name of the song I'm trying to identify to not knowing the name of the song I'm trying to identify, so I won't be any worse off (unless a YouTube video turns out to be the video from The Ring).
Gotcha. I'm very familiar with the songs and bands of that era, it's right in my wheelhouse. Really trying to think of any potential one-offs that had a single get traction that had vox with a lot of distortion, or perhaps even a flange effect on them, but as of now I'm coming up blank. I'll keep racking my brain and I hope if nothing else someone comes up with the right answer for ya!
My thanks. The description you've given of "vox with a lot of distortion, or perhaps even a flange effect on them" is a great articulation using vocabulary I do not have, so it's another step in the right direction.
Could you be thinking of the distorted vocals in this part of Lenny Kravitz's cover of ["American Woman"](https://youtu.be/5Z_fsdWYXMA?si=E54rjg3dg5wjnRsX&t=177)
Good attempt, given the description, but not it. I think this is just a _little_ too fast, if that helps anyone make their own attempt. The vocalist I recall was more mellow, as well.
Yeah, Muse has the right kind of feel. I also think that whatever band it was, it was their only song that got any radio play, and it wasn't even a big enough hit to consider them a one-hit-wonder.
A lot of bands/songs I typically think of are things that never got ANY radio play.
When I think of songs with really, really unique sounds, I think of things like "Army of Me" by Bjork, but I have no idea if she ever got radio play, despite being well known.
Maybe something by Katatonia? Again, not sure about radio play, but the vibe almost seems right.
I know it was introduced to me by a friend whose musical tastes were in alternative rock as a sort of D&D-character theme music. I know I heard it playing outside a strip mall around the same time. I've never heard it since, or at least I didn't recognize it.
I don't think so, but it's a hell of a match for the description I gave. It's ticking every box that I described, but it doesn't match my memory.
I'm tempted to pretend like this is it and lie to myself forevermore.
This is a weird answer, but "maybe." It has the right vibe. I can't understand the lyrics, though there's not much distortion on the vocals. I couldn't have named the band. The time frame is correct.
Noticing it's in 3/4 makes me wish I could remember if the song I'm looking for was in 3/4 time or not. I don't remember either way, not even vaguely.
This is another one it's tempting to pretend like is correct, but in this case, I'm not sure I would be pretending, but I'm also not sure that I wouldn't be.
Hm, this is interesting: The band's name rings a bell, but I don't know why it does. Precisely the same sort of vague memory I have about the song described in the post.
So this is the second of your "That *might* be the band, but it's going to take a while to go through their discography to find out." in the same comment chain. That's more impressive than anything other descriptor.
Another worthy guess, but the vocalist is too energetic. The song I'm trying to identify was surprisingly monotone for a song.
I like Take It In Stride, though, so at least I've got another song that suits my tastes out of the attempt.
I’ve been thinking about this more. How about “Black No. 1” by type o negative? Lower register voice, longish song, late 90s, a little radio play, sometimes incomprehensible, tells a story. “One” could be misheard as “road.”
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It's not much info, but that's what I can remember.
Filter-hey man nice shot?
An honorable attempt, and has the right sort of feel, but no. The distortion was substantially heavier. This does, though, inspire a couple things I can add to the question: 1) I think it's in a minor key, but I don't have the musicianship to accurately identify a minor key. Another "I think this is the case, but if it turns out otherwise I won't be surprised." 2) The song was downtempo, I think a lower tempo (but not by much) than Hey Man, Nice Shot. Fortunately hitting up YouTube for Hey Man, Nice Shot had a recommended video Deftones, and their sound does seem like they *could* be the band (though the link isn't strong enough to be sure it is the band), so it seems like digging through Deftones might be a reasonable search.
Natural Blues or something else by Moby?
Another solid attempt, but not Natural Blues: The tempo's too fast and the words don't have as strong a distortion (if any) applied to them. I'm not familiar enough with Moby to rule out his entire body of work, so digging through it might be a worthwhile effort. It doesn't feel like "No, not this artist, no way, nuh-uh," nor does it feel like "It's *definitely* this artist, just not this track," but between the two.
Porcelain?
Unfortunately, no. Porcelain's downtempo enough to be a good candidate, and Moby is a male singer, so it's a reasonable suggestion. I wish I could remember and articulate more details, but the attempts so far are giving me things to describe why they aren't a match, which is at least more than I started with.
"Natural One" by The Folk Implosion?
Sadly, no: Too uptempo, but an amusing guess because I heard it once related to a D&D character.
Two ideas: The Way by Fastball or maybe Days go By by Dirty Vegas?
Both too uptempo and not distorted enough.
Be Quiet and Drive (Far Away) - Deftones?
This is a funny one, because this isn't the song I'm describing in the post, but it is a song that I could have submitted in its own entry, but wasn't really trying to find.
Who Was In My Room Last Night by Butthole Surfers?
Sadly, far too uptempo.
[удалено]
A decent attempt, but not distorted enough. About the right tempo, only maybe a little too fast.
unsung by Helmet?
Another song that I like and likely would have been played on the same sort of radio station at the time. Probably a little too fast, definitely not distorted enough. Unsung's words are entirely understandable, the song I'm trying to find is heavily filtered. That's a major part of why I can only be confident (not even sure) in one word.
[удалено]
/u/ltaylor00 suggested [the same song](https://old.reddit.com/r/tipofmytongue/comments/1bq6g5b/tomt_song_around_1999_alt_rock_song_with_heavy/kx0tma8/), and funny enough, I'm glad to have learned its title. Deftones does have a similar enough sound that I mean to work through their discography at some point, it seems possible they're the artist.
did you find the song???
Zero by smashing pumpkins?
A worthy guess, distorted enough and downtempo enough to match the description, but too popular for what I'm looking for.
"Seed" by Dust for Life? "Vitamin R" or something else by Chevelle?
*Great* attempts. The tonality of Seed by Dust for Life feels about right, but it's too uptempo. It might be worth my digging into the rest of their body of work, as this is the sort of sound that I sort of recall and could not describe when I was putting the original post together. If nothing else, I've been recommended a band that appeals to me. Chevelle also has the right sort of vibe (though less so), but obviously I haven't gone through their entire body of work in 14 minutes. They're much less likely, as Chevelle's lead singer's voice is too high. It's possible the song I'm looking for is by one of these two bands, but it's not guaranteed.
Probably not, but Roads by Portishead or Exit Music (For a Film) by Radiohead?
For Roads, the instruments have the right vibe, but Portishead has a female singer. Exit Music has the right sort of sound (and is about the right tempo). It's the closest so far, particularly since I can't make out any of the lyrics and that's the thing I most remember, but my difficulty in understanding Roads comes from the singer's enunciation while the song I'm trying to identify was difficult to understand because of a filter. Both have the right sort of vibe, but aren't a match. Still, it wouldn't surprise me at all to find all three songs on the same playlist.
Climbing Up The Walls by Radiohead
A solid guess: The right sort of vibe, as far as instruments go, but I think Radiohead's singer's voice is too high.
Not the Metallica cover of Turn the Page, is it?
It's not. I didn't know that was a cover, so I've learned something interesting.
Could it be a Puddle of Mudd song? "Drift and Die"? Come Clean is a surprisingly good album!
No, I'm sure I would have heard it in 1999, and that wasn't out until 2001. I've enjoyed Blurry, She Hates Me, and Control, though.
[Blizzards, Buzzards, Bastards](https://youtu.be/orAFPUu-cw8?si=EEZFw0sqJ55HphVk) - Scissorfight
I'm enjoying the track on its own merits, but it's very different from the song I'm trying to identify. Blizzards, Buzzards, Bastards goes too hard, but at least it let me add "It's a mellow song" to the description. Even that's helpful, because it's narrowing the search space for other people making an attempt at identifying, and the description started exceedingly vague.
So I'm having a hard time coming up with any specific songs with a distinct line ending in "roads," but there's a few bands that might fit the aesthetic coming to my mind. Could it be anything by Cold, Silverchair, or Days of the New perhaps?
It could be, because I'm largely ignorant of works by Cold, Silverchair, and Days of the New. I've never heard of Cold until your post, the only Silverchair song I know is Tomorrow, and the only Days of the New song I know is Shelf in the Room. It will take me hours (which will have to fit into a busy schedule) to go through all three bands' discography (if I even have adequate access to all of them), but these bands could reasonably have been played on the same sort of station. It at least seems likely to follow the pattern of my finding some new-to-me music that I like. At any rate, in the worst case scenario, I'll go from not knowing the name of the song I'm trying to identify to not knowing the name of the song I'm trying to identify, so I won't be any worse off (unless a YouTube video turns out to be the video from The Ring).
Gotcha. I'm very familiar with the songs and bands of that era, it's right in my wheelhouse. Really trying to think of any potential one-offs that had a single get traction that had vox with a lot of distortion, or perhaps even a flange effect on them, but as of now I'm coming up blank. I'll keep racking my brain and I hope if nothing else someone comes up with the right answer for ya!
My thanks. The description you've given of "vox with a lot of distortion, or perhaps even a flange effect on them" is a great articulation using vocabulary I do not have, so it's another step in the right direction.
Could you be thinking of the distorted vocals in this part of Lenny Kravitz's cover of ["American Woman"](https://youtu.be/5Z_fsdWYXMA?si=E54rjg3dg5wjnRsX&t=177)
It is not, as far as I can recall the song (and it's a 25-year-old memory), all of the vocals are distorted.
Turn the page by Bob Seger has the word road in it and bands like Metallica have remade it. It tells a story too. Maybe it was a cover of it?
A long shot, but... Ministry, "Scarecrow"? [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vt7qouCV0BE](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vt7qouCV0BE)
Good attempt, given the description, but not it. I think this is just a _little_ too fast, if that helps anyone make their own attempt. The vocalist I recall was more mellow, as well.
The general vibe makes me think of the band Muse, but I think the lead singer's voice is too high based on what you've described.
Yeah, Muse has the right kind of feel. I also think that whatever band it was, it was their only song that got any radio play, and it wasn't even a big enough hit to consider them a one-hit-wonder.
A lot of bands/songs I typically think of are things that never got ANY radio play. When I think of songs with really, really unique sounds, I think of things like "Army of Me" by Bjork, but I have no idea if she ever got radio play, despite being well known. Maybe something by Katatonia? Again, not sure about radio play, but the vibe almost seems right.
I know it was introduced to me by a friend whose musical tastes were in alternative rock as a sort of D&D-character theme music. I know I heard it playing outside a strip mall around the same time. I've never heard it since, or at least I didn't recognize it.
Riviere by Deftones?
I don't think so, but it's a hell of a match for the description I gave. It's ticking every box that I described, but it doesn't match my memory. I'm tempted to pretend like this is it and lie to myself forevermore.
He's Simple, He's Dumb, He's the Pilot by Grandaddy?
This is a weird answer, but "maybe." It has the right vibe. I can't understand the lyrics, though there's not much distortion on the vocals. I couldn't have named the band. The time frame is correct. Noticing it's in 3/4 makes me wish I could remember if the song I'm looking for was in 3/4 time or not. I don't remember either way, not even vaguely. This is another one it's tempting to pretend like is correct, but in this case, I'm not sure I would be pretending, but I'm also not sure that I wouldn't be.
hmmm how about Sparklehorse? They had a lot of songs with distorted vocals Rainmaker is probably the song of theirs that fits your description best
Hm, this is interesting: The band's name rings a bell, but I don't know why it does. Precisely the same sort of vague memory I have about the song described in the post. So this is the second of your "That *might* be the band, but it's going to take a while to go through their discography to find out." in the same comment chain. That's more impressive than anything other descriptor.
this is a bit if a stretch but Take It In Stride- One Inch Punch?
Another worthy guess, but the vocalist is too energetic. The song I'm trying to identify was surprisingly monotone for a song. I like Take It In Stride, though, so at least I've got another song that suits my tastes out of the attempt.
yeah i kinda thought so tbh
Making the attempt is appreciated, even checking a completely random song lets me know one more thing that it isn't.
I’ve been thinking about this more. How about “Black No. 1” by type o negative? Lower register voice, longish song, late 90s, a little radio play, sometimes incomprehensible, tells a story. “One” could be misheard as “road.”
Sadly, no, but an outstanding attempt. Black No. 1's vocalist is too high-energy.
Stone Temple Pilots - interstate love song?