I’m not exaggerating. Excluding R.E.M, name another '90s alt-rock band who were popular before Late 1990, which was when the Tingles EP was released? “That Ain’t Bad” topped the ARIA Charts and Ratcat were responsible for starting the '90s alt-rock movement in Australia. You can’t deny that, it’s the truth.
Ratcat were hugely popular, which is why they were “overrated”. To suggest that they weren’t significant in any way is ridiculous, especially when you consider how well the EP and singles performed on the charts, as well as the fact that Nevermind had yet to be released.
Besides, Frente weren’t even known when Ratcat emerged in the mainstream in Late 1990/Early 1991. They emerged onto the charts in May 1992, when their debut EP peaked at #3 on the ARIA Chart. How could Australians prefer to listen to Frente, when the band wasn’t even around when Ratcat were popular?
So they were hugely popular because they were over-rated? Or they were over-rated because they were hugely popular?
Regardless.
My claim still stands - they were over-rated.
Ratcat lacked the technical ability to be a true and effective Alt-Rock band.
Alt-Rock requires technical precision… or indeed, as the term is known ‘tightness’.
As a genre, it can never be sloppy or self-indulgent. That’s ‘garage’ stuff.
Ratcat were a sloppy garage band at best. their looseness was their strength in some ways…
But not once was their music ever ‘tight’.
Here’s a perfect example of Alt-rock ‘tightness’… absolute and total precision…
I think it was even #1 on the JJJ hottest 100 that year…
Poor old Ratcat never came close.
They were overrated because they were hugely popular. Ratcat were essentially the “Australian Nirvana”, in that they were hugely popular for introducing a new genre of music for the public. Hair-metal was still the main genre of rock music at the time, which is partly why “That Ain’t Bad” became so popular.
How is “Teenage Dirtbag” an alternative-rock song? I wouldn’t consider it to be in the same genre as bands such as Nirvana, Soundgarden, Pearl Jam, Silverchair etc. Heck, I wouldn’t even view Ratcat as belonging to the same genre as “Teenage Dirtbag”.
Well that’s why Ratcat never made it to #1 on JJJ’s hottest 100.
You probably need to take time out and listen to college radio.
Give yourself a break from Kochie and discover some true Alt-rock.
I don’t see how that matters. They reached #1 on the ARIA Chart, which is the official singles chart and the most significant.
Alternative-rock is my favourite genre of music, so I listen to all kinds of alt-rock. I seriously question what type of alternative-rock you listen to, if you consider “Teenage Dirtbag” to be an alternative-rock song. 
Wheatus were a staple of college radio. At the same time your sloppy Ratcat boys were around. Wheatus crafted many great Alt-rock albums.
Wheatus were regulars on the JJJ rotate.
Wheatus are as Alt-rock as you can get.
The fact that Teenage Dirtbag was #1 on JJJ’s hottest 100 is testament to this.
By the way… how was Ratcat doing at this time? Did they get much airplay? Yeah? Nah? A little bit on late night Rage.
Oh God bless them!
I don’t know why you’re getting so defensive. This isn’t a “my band is better than yours” type of conversation.
For starters, Wheatus were one-hit wonders and weren’t as revolutionary as you make them out to be. Just because a band is popular on the Hottest 100, doesn’t mean that they are more popular than bands/artists on the ARIA chart. It’s actually the other way around. Just look at the 2017 Hottest 100. The majority of the bands/artists who made it onto the list have never achieved mainstream success.
I don’t see Wheatus getting much airplay either. Funny that, since they are apparently so important. Try asking a random person to name a Wheatus song other than “Teenage Dirtbag”. They won’t be able to think of any.
It’s ironic that you think Wheatus are a staple of college radio anyway. “Teenage Dirtbag” topped the ARIA Charts and the song was named as the second best-selling single of 2000 in Australia. Yeah, so much for college radio…
Oh poor old Wheatus. If only they were Australian - then you and Kochie would be embracing them wholeheartedly.
Australia invented Alt-rock. Australia is the greatest country in the world.
I’m just stating the facts. If you want to continue believing in your delusional world, you can.
1 Like
I respect your passion.
Not one I share… but I respect it none the less.
I remember hearing that track on Stereo 10.Expo 88 was 30 years ago this year😳now I really do feel old but I’m not old enough to retire yet😕
2 Likes
It was just one of those songs… It summed up the mood of the city perfectly…
The closest station to FM104 in those days was 4BH (with it’s beautiful music)… on about 12 to 12.5%.
Virtually everyone 18-35 was listening to FM104. It was something we all shared… yeah sure some of us still dabbled with Stereo 10 when alone (and maybe some 4BK)… but collectively we all enjoyed FM104 together.
It’s a perfect case of less is more.
Give me one great radio station and I’ll listen to it all day, rather than a hundred different choices that are mediocre and insipid.
FM104… step by step I’ll not forget you, never let you go.
2 Likes
Same here! I was a fresh faced 17yo at Expo 
I worked at the NZ pavilion… exciting times indeed!
We worked long shifts - 10 till 10 and we had FM104 cranking the whole time.
1 Like
I remember when Pete Smith burst into the studio with a CD and said I had to play it… it had just arrived in the mail…
I waited till the next stop-down to play it… I made some joke about how my PD reckoned this was ‘red-hot’.
It took off… funnily enough. We just played it… and it became a hit. Even before it became a hit in the UK (which was a good 3-4 months later)… just a tiny tinpot community station in Brisbane!
3 Likes
Yeah… interestingly I interviewed her on air about five months later…
She couldn’t understand a word I was saying! Lol…