It’s hard to say, even with their success, what Sublime might have been like had their original vocalist, Bradley Nowell, not passed away in 1996. There was so much promise to the band’s career at that point that it seemed as though they might go down immediately following his death, but the band at least tried to stick it out until they were informed that they could no longer perform under the title of Sublime without the consent of Nowell’s estate. From that point on they became Sublime in Rome, but there was really no way to capture the same magic that Sublime had created since it was the kind of music and feeling that was perfect for the time period and just couldn’t be replicated without making them look like copycats. Without Nowell this band kind of went nowhere quickly. Fans still enjoy their old stuff though, and for good reason.
Here are a few of their songs and how they’ve been used in movies and TV.
5. Sublime – Caress Me Down
New Girl is about what you’d expect from a TV show upon watching the trailers. Jess is a woman that needs a place after breaking up with her cheating boyfriend and as luck would have it she shacks up with a trio of guys, therefore making the sitcom what it came to be. Throughout the show it was seen that their relationships and interactions were kind of the on again/off again type of fiasco’s that tend to run an average sitcom and make people laugh, fall in love, and somehow find inspiration in the zany and very out-there things that actors do on screen at times. The show isn’t too bad though.
4. Sublime – Santeria
This Is 40 is the type of film you either nod your head at when you hit that age or cringe since you can identify with just about everything the couple in this film go through. It’s that turning point in your life when you realize you’re not quite old as dirt yet but you’re definitely not a young person any longer. A lot of people take the age of 40 with a grain of salt and keep on moving forward as they continue to live their life in a manner that suits them best, provided that it still works for them. The fun thing about turning 40 is that you’re still younger than people that are in their 50s, so long as you remember that fact.
3. Fun with Dick and Jane – What I Got
When Dick loses his job due to his boss being a sleaze that dumped his stock and made millions while leaving the people at his company destitute he and his wife are facing eviction and possibly a life on the streets unless they turn towards a life that might enable them to get what they need. As they begin to gain some success as armed robbers they’re stopped when another family, who also depended on the same company that Dick worked for, do the same thing. Eventually they decide to go after the man that embezzled the company’s money and bring him down in the only way they can, by being just as dishonest.
2. Sublime – Smoke Two Joints
Mallrats is the type of movie that makes you wonder if crazy stuff like this ever happens in any mall, anywhere. Of course the answer is probably not, but all in all it’s an addictive film that you can’t help but laugh at since it kind of follows the idea of Clerks in that you don’t really know what goes on unless you’re paying attention. And yet for some reason this was one film that spoke the youth of the time and got their attention in a way that few other films could. As something that’s not too bright when it comes to its content but just edgy enough to be funny it was one movie that managed to really gain an audience.
1. Sublime With Rome – What I Got
The band just didn’t have the same feel after they changed their name and in 2009 they attempted to get back together but it just didn’t work out as well. There was a quality that Nowell had that the rest of them couldn’t duplicate even with their best efforts. His easy, laid back style was something that they couldn’t bring back and unfortunately didn’t really have in the same measure. You can honestly state that they tried and made a good effort of it, but things fell apart pretty quickly and it was evident that they weren’t going to gain the former glory that the band had achieved when Nowell was still around.
It’s kind of a shame to think that a band can fall apart without one person, but Sublime did try. The only downfall is that they relied so heavily on Nowell that they really had nothing left when he was gone.
