Album · Better Than Ezra
Friction, Baby by Better Than Ezra
Friction, Baby is an album by Better Than Ezra, released in 1996. 2 songs from it have charted on rock radio countdowns, with 43 countdown appearances in total. The biggest is “Desperately Wanting”, on 30 lists with a best position of #13.
Friction, Baby, Better Than Ezra's third album, came out on Elektra in 1996, and its title comes straight from Keith Richards, who once gave that two-word answer on television when asked how he and Mick Jagger had lasted so long. It may have been a wink at the band's own turmoil: drummer Cary Bonnecaze was gone between the last album and this one, with Travis McNabb stepping in.
Don Gehman produced, and he gives Kevin Griffin's voice plenty of room over guitars that chime and bite by turns. "King of New Orleans" struts and sweats, and "Desperately Wanting" is the aching, wistful one, a modern rock hit that stalled just outside the Top 40 at number 48. "Long Lost" and "Normal Town" went out as singles too but never caught on.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.
Songs from Friction, Baby on radio countdowns
| # | Song | Strength | Lists | Best | #1s | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Desperately Wanting | 30 | #13 | – | 1997–2023 | |
| 2 | King of New Orleans | 13 | #36 | – | 1996–2005 |
Only songs that appear on at least one countdown are listed. Release data from MusicBrainz.