We all know a few one hit wonders, but what about One Week wonders? Canada’s Barenaked Ladies could be described as just that, given their only major hit in Australia was "One Week", a 1998 single which went top 20 in Australia. To prevent you having to Google “Barenaked Ladies” and cause dramas with your internet search history, we’re turning back the clock and looking back at the pop culture references of this cheeky ‘90s hit. Before you start to feel old about the fact this song came out almost 20 years ago, let’s check out five of One Week’s shout-outs.
“Watchin X-Files with no lights on, we're dans la maison. I hope the Smoking Man's in this one”
In 1998, spooky TV staple The X-Files had five seasons of cultdom under its belt, with a Hollywood film of the same name released just weeks before "One Week"’s parent album Stunt. Season five had seen the frisson between FBI agents Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson) and Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) as hot as ever, with guest writers including horror meister Stephen King, cyberpunk writer William Gibson and Breaking Bad creator Vince Gilligan. Roughly 20 per cent of US households with a television tuned into the season five premiere Redux, with Barenaked Ladies’ favourite character, The Smoking Man (William B Davis) indeed featuring in this particular episode.
“Big like Leann Rimes”
Just 15 years old at the time of "One Week", Leann Rimes was country music’s teen queen a decade before her young successor Taylor Swift arrived on the scene. Her 1996 debut album Blue went top five in the Aussie charts, later earning a number one with the Coyote Ugly soundtrack addition "Can’t Fight The Moonlight" in 2000. While Rimes remains popular in the US and has been a tabloid staple in the last decade, she’s not had a hit single in Australia for 15 years.
“Like Sting I'm Tantric”
During a 1993 conversation with Q magazine, Sting and his fellow interviewee Bob Geldof got drunk with the journalist and began chatting about the former frontman of The Police’s epic Tantric sex sessions with his wife Trudi Styler. Discussing the ancient Hindu practice which involves the harnessing of mind-body energy, a well lubricated Sting suggested his interest in Tantric teachings resulted in marathon seven-hour shagging sessions with his missus. No wonder Barenaked Ladies were interested in name-checking the songwriter born Gordon Sumner.
“Like Kurosawa I make mad films”
Like a Beastie Boys tune hell-bent on dropping in as many cool references as possible, "One Week" also doffed the cap towards Japanese filmmaker Akira Kurosawa. Kurosawa, whose career began in Japan during World War II, was the director behind classic films such as Yojimbo, Seven Samurai and Rasho-Mon. His influence extended to Hollywood classics including Star Wars, The Magnificent Seven and Kill Bill, but after a career spanning more than 50 years, he died just weeks after the song’s release.
“Like Harrison Ford I'm getting Frantic”
In 1998, Harrison Ford had just appeared in the rom-com stinker Six Days, Seven Nights, perhaps most notable for featuring the Indiana Jones star crashlanding a plane (life imitating art, much?). Barenaked Ladies’ "One Week" lyrics preferred to reference a Ford film from a decade earlier, with 1988’s Roman Polanski-directed thriller Frantic finding Harrison Ford playing a doctor who is forced to investigate some criminal skulduggery involving his wife (hey, isn’t this also the plot of his 1993 film The Fugitive?). Let’s just be thankful the song doesn’t reference Polanski’s more nefarious exploits.
So what have we learnt from this little retrospective? Perhaps that the Barenaked Ladies flew to close to the sun with their one ARIA top 20 hit? That name-checking country pop stars will quickly date your song? That ‘90s movies like American Pie always loved a quirky fratboy tune on their soundtracks? Probably none or all of the above. It’s worth noting though that the Barenaked Ladies have never split up, so there’s still a slim chance they’ll have a second wind, too. One Week Part Two, perhaps?
-SM
