Marcy Playground Announces New Album and Tour (insert your own punchline here)

Marcy Playground is back again. Marcy-f’ing-Playground. News today coming from Big Machine Media in New York that the band plans to release it’s fourth studio album (ya, they made two more after 1997’s self-titled debut that featured “Sex and Candy”), Leaving Wonderland…In a Fit of Rage on July 14.

I hate admitting how young I really am, but here goes. I remember when Marcy Playground’s “Sex and Candy” was THE jam of 1997 - with all due respects to The Spice Girls “Wannabe” and Puffy’s (was that his name back then) tear-jerking rendition of “I’ll Be Missing You” in memoriam for Notorious B.I.G. And here's what I remember about it: this song was the perfect way to rebel in sixth grade – we were old enough to know that Candy was awesome and Sex was, well, something you giggled about when all hopped up on candy or heard those bad-ass high school kids in your neighborhood talking about. The song was this weird middle ground between childhood and high school (which is just childhood with a little beer thrown in).

It’s actually pretty easy to forget how big this album really was in it’s prime – “Sex and Candy” spent 15 weeks atop the Billboard charts, and album would eventually wind up s certified Platinum. Damn. Though it benefited from the final peak of the CD days, that’s still mighty impressive. And then…silence. Not from the band. It actually spit out two more records – 1999’s yawn-fest Shapeshifter and 2004’s heavy-duty flopp, MP3.

But hey - I, for one, can’t wait to hear this (and I feel completely comfortable admitting that, thank you very much). One hit wonders who spend the rest of their lives trying to claw their way out of their own song’s shadow fascinate me, and there’s always potential for some really left-field shit that ends up being devilishly cool. Keep an ear out on July 14^th for this one.

Along these same lines, check back tomorrow for ten of my favorite one-hit-wonders of all time.

-Alec Wooden

This content is solely the property of The Athens Blur Magazine and may not be re-produced without expressed written consent. The Athens Blur Magazine is an 8 issue/year music & variety publication proud to be based in the Classic City of Athens, Ga. For more information, please contact editorial@athensblur.com