World War II and heard Japanese soldiers yelling threats in broken English. An alternative version sometimes performed at live concerts replaced the third verse with one concerning a boy whose mother disposed of his tonsils after a tonsillectomy, thus depriving him of the possibility of bringing them to show and tell. Reception Critical reception Larry Flick from Billboard called the song a "shimmering acoustic/rock jewel". He added that it "marries a worldwise vocal with a textured arrangement that is chock full of aural goodies. Given justice (and promotional tender loving care), this one will soon blossom into the across-the-board smash it should be." Dave Sholin from the Gavin Report stated, "If there's an Alternative outlet in town, you can hear how great this sounds on the air." Robert Hilburn from Los Angeles Times wrote, "The exaggerated vocal narration makes this sound like a novelty, but it is a deceptively original work about how kids are often tormented for falling outside the norm." In his weekly UK chart commentary, James Masterton joked, "The unusual song probably holds the record for the longest song title not to include a vowel in the title." Pan-European magazine Music & Media commented, "It takes one weirdo to dig another, so Dummy Brad Roberts and "Talking Head" Harrison make an ideal pair. This ballad is deceivingly ACE until you listen to the lyrics." Alex Kadis from Smash Hits said it is "a truly beautiful masterpiece". Another editor, Mark Frith, gave it one out of five. Troy J. Augusto from Variety declared it as "an unlikely yet quite hummable pop tune." The track received a nomination for a Grammy Award for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal, which it lost to "I Swear" by All-4-One. Retrospective reception Although highly successful when it was released, "Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm" has since been frequently included on lists of bad songs. The song was number 15 on VH1's 50 Most Awesomely Bad Songs Ever, named by Rolling Stone as the "15th Most Annoying Song", and ranked at number 31 on Blender's list of the "50 Worst Songs Ever". The Huffington Post Canada ranked this song at number 29 on its list of "50 Worst Canadian Songs Ever". Contrasting, VH1 named "Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm" as the 31st greatest one-hit wonder of the 1990s in 2011. In a 1994 essay in which he makes the case that