I’ve recently been looking at some old Billboard Modern Rock charts from the 90s. A lot of the songs up there are still staples of alternative and active rock radio today: bands like Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Smashing Pumpkins, etc. But if you look towards the bottom of these lists at songs that didn’t reach the Top 20, you’ll find some unfamiliar names.
One that was unfamiliar to me was Possum Dixon. The name sounded like something I had heard before (Or was I thinking of Toadies‘ “Possum Kingdom”?), but I didn’t know the song – “Watch the Girl Destroy Me”. Cool title. But who were these guys?
These guys were a Los Angeles band, who got signed to Interscope Records on the strength of their club shows. Fronted by Rob Zabrecky (who these days works as an actor, author and magician), the group are described as “Neo-new wave pop”, but listening to their debut self-titled album (released in 1993), I would just say they perfectly fit the mold of what you may think of when “90s alternative rock” comes to mind. And “Watch the Girl Destroy Me” is a perfect encapsulation of their eclectic melodic sensibilities and everyman-existentialist lyrics (“Hey God, are you up there? I know it’s been awhile but I’ve…I’ve been away.”).
The song has a bounce that may remind folks of Blind Melon, with a country-punk guitar line that The Refreshments would roll with. And the big shout-along chorus is timeless for anyone finding their heart being smashed to pieces but not wanting to wallow in it. The song has grown on me more and more as I’ve listened, and after diving into the band’s whole catalog (three excellent albums), I was left saddened that I probably don’t know anyone else who knows and likes this band as much as I was starting to.
Well, that’s what Throwback Thursdays are for – putting something old back into the modern cultural conversation. And I declare Possum Dixon deserving of a revival in interest!
Listen and tell me I’m wrong.
The Indy Review 