101 Best Songs of 1990 - #1 George Michael - Freedom '90 (2 Viewers)

[Tick]

#49 AC/DC - Thunderstruck

I think I said all I had to say about AC/DC back when Moneytalks made its appearance. This is one of the dozen or so songs from 1990 that my son had a strong opinion about (I moved it up as far as I could manage), proving once again that AC/DC will likely always speak to 18-year old boys. I do have to admit that the opening riff is magical.

I was the right age when I heard it... I'll never stop getting a little excited when I hear the opening.

 

[Tick]

#48 Social Distortion - Story of My Life

Life goes by so fast
You only want to do what you think is right
Close your eyes and then it's past;
Story of my life

It's probably just me, but Mike Ness has to be one of the coolest rockers ever, right? Or maybe I was just way too enamored of the girls in the mid-90s cowpunk and greaser scenes and wish I could have pulled off his look. Back then, we would head down once or twice a semester to an Orlando bar called Wills on Mills for what seemed like ground zero for that scene. I never had the confidence to dress the part, so I was just a goth interloper of a sister subculture. The music was always great, the dancing was fun, and it was nice to be in a less mopey environment for a change.

Social D's 1990 self-titled album was a little less punk and little more cow, bringing them into the "alternative" mainstream after two really solid but niche records earlier in the 80s. Story of My Life was the last of five singles, and I was shocked to find that it didn't chart at all, because not only is it a great song, but I swear I heard it on the radio all the time.

This is a song you could have told me came out in 1970 and I would have believed you - it's one where you hear it the first time and feel like you can finish the lyrics and know what's coming next in the tune. It just feels like a song that needed to exist, and these guys just were the ones that finally made it.

I'm not sure I've ever listened to another Social Distortion song, but this one's great.

 

[Pip's Invitation]

#51 World Party - Way Down Now

By the strictest definitions, World Party are a one-hit wonder, just not for the song I would have guessed. The band is really a solo project of Welsh musician Karl Wallinger (formerly of The Waterboys) and his debut solo album in 1986 spawned World Party's only song to make the Billboard Hot 100, with Ship of Fools peaking at #27.

At the time, Ship of Fools never made a dent in my consciousness (looking back, def a good song) so Way Down Now's omnipresence on modern rock radio in the summer of 1990 would have led to me to guess that it was their lone hit (it did reach #1 on the alternative chart but didn't appear on the Hot 100).

Apparently Wallinger was quite prolific behind the scenes: he assisted in the recording of Sinead's debut record, produced the soundtracks for Reality Bites and Clueless, and wrote She's the One, which became a global smash for Robbie Williams.

Ship of Fools is great. I think he's trying too hard on this song.

 

[Pip's Invitation]

#47 Nirvana - Sliver

I was not cool enough to be listening to Nirvana in 1990. My new friend Kyle, however, was. On a floor full of big-guitar rock fans, we bonded immediately over our love of Jane's Addiction and Fugazi. Kyle, a skater kid from Indiana, was huge into Sub Pop too, and he introduced me to all sorts of new sounds - Skin Yard, Green River, Mudhoney. He also loved to sport a Nirvana short that read "Fudge Packin', Crack Smokin', Satan Worshippin' Mother####ers" on the back, which I didn't mind around campus but made my small-town brain feel very out-of-sorts when we went to the mall.

At some point during the fall semester, I made a mix tape for my gf Amy back home featuring four songs each chosen by five of my new dorm-mates. One of Kyle's picks was Sliver by Nirvana, re-copied from a cassette he had dubbed before leaving for Gainesville. None of us would have guessed Nirvana would soon become the most culturally relevant band of the 90s.

A whirring buzzsaw of fun. Of course I didn't hear it -- or any other of their pre-1991 tracks -- until after Nevermind came out.

 

[TripItUp]

A completely underwhelming list thus far IMHO and is representative of the gigantic lull in popular music before the great grunge bands hit their stride in the upcoming years.

A Tribe Called Quest probably the only thing I listen to on the regular from this list.

 

[John Maddens Lunchbox]

A completely underwhelming list thus far IMHO and is representative of the gigantic lull in popular music before the great grunge bands hit their stride in the upcoming years.

A Tribe Called Quest probably the only thing I listen to any more on the regular from this list thus far.

Looking forward to your list and being positive in a music thread

 

[TripItUp]

A completely underwhelming list thus far IMHO and is representative of the gigantic lull in popular music before the great grunge bands hit their stride in the upcoming years.

A Tribe Called Quest probably the only thing I listen to any more on the regular from this list thus far.

Looking forward to your list and being positive in a music thread

Don't get me wrong, I love these lists and these threads...I wasn't criticizing the list per se. I was just looking at the year from a macro perspective. It was a down few years in music IMHO.

If I'm oversimplifying

A) The Prince/MJ/Madonna/GeorgeMichael/Hair Metal/New Wave era

B) Huge Lull

C) Peak Grunge/BIG/Pac etc.

That's not to say the Lull didn't have great music because it did...just a broader observation that I think many agree with from a popular music perspective.

 

[Pip's Invitation]

“The Eighties” peaked in 1987 and I consider 1988, 1989 and 1990 to be transitional years. But that’s not the same as a lull. There were excellent records in a variety of genres, some of which have shown up on this list already.

 

[massraider]

A Tribe Called Quest probably the only thing I listen to on the regular from this list.

Your lack of musical diversity 33 years ago is not the failings of the year 1990.

 

[scorchy]

A completely underwhelming list thus far IMHO and is representative of the gigantic lull in popular music before the great grunge bands hit their stride in the upcoming years.

A Tribe Called Quest probably the only thing I listen to any more on the regular from this list thus far.

Looking forward to your list and being positive in a music thread

I appreciate your support, JML. No doubt Trip came in hot (as usual) but after his clarification, I get the point. I do think 1990 top-to-bottom was a down year, and there are probably only 6-7 records I still listen to consistently (Tribe as mentioned, Uncle Tupelo, and four or five more to come). As I much as I love Fugazi, I'm not in the headspace to enjoy a full album anymore.

The 1990 list also has the smallest percentage of pop or mainstream rock #1s of any of the ones I've done (I'll break this down later), which I think speaks to the transitional year Pip mentioned. Obviously, I still have love for the jangly Madchester/Baggy sound, and there's a little more of that to come, but it didn't break big over here.

No matter, if I listen to my 1991 list back-to-back, no doubt the latter far outpaces this one start-to-finish and includes a lot bigger songs. Like I wrote earlier, I think 1991 was the best album-release year of my music buying life. On the other hand, and it's likely b/c I was never a huge grunge guy, I would totally pick my top 10-15 from 1990 over the next year. We'll see where it goes.

 

[scorchy]

Your lack of musical diversity 33 years ago is not the failings of the year 1990.

This too.

 

[Dr. Octopus]

My wife complains about Social Distortion as she can't get past Ness's voice, but I enjoy a lot of their stuff.

Funny I think his voice fits that band kind of perfectly.
His voice pretty much sounds like a leather vest with some bourbon spilled on it.

Unless my memory is failing - and it often does now - I’m pretty sure Mike Ness also played Dylan’s dad on an episode of 90210.

 

[Pip's Invitation]

A completely underwhelming list thus far IMHO and is representative of the gigantic lull in popular music before the great grunge bands hit their stride in the upcoming years.

A Tribe Called Quest probably the only thing I listen to any more on the regular from this list thus far.

Looking forward to your list and being positive in a music thread

I appreciate your support, JML. No doubt Trip came in hot (as usual) but after his clarification, I get the point. I do think 1990 top-to-bottom was a down year, and there are probably only 6-7 records I still listen to consistently (Tribe as mentioned, Son Volt, and four or five more to come). As I much as I love Fugazi, I'm not in the headspace to enjoy a full album anymore.

The 1990 list also has the smallest percentage of pop or mainstream rock #1s of any of the ones I've done (I'll break this down later), which I think speaks to the transitional year Pip mentioned. Obviously, I still have love for the jangly Madchester/Baggy sound, and there's a little more of that to come, but it didn't break big over here.

No matter, if I listen to my 1991 list back-to-back, no doubt the latter far outpaces this one start-to-finish and includes a lot bigger songs. Like I wrote earlier, I think 1991 was the best album-release year of my music buying life. On the other hand, and it's likely b/c I was never a huge grunge guy, I would totally pick my top 10-15 from 1990 over the next year. We'll see where it goes.

Son Volt didn't exist in 1990. You mean Uncle Tupelo?

 

[scorchy]

Son Volt didn't exist in 1990. You mean Uncle Tupelo?

Whoops, edited. Though I do listen to Trace more than No Depression.

 

[scorchy]

#46 Superchunk - Slack Mother[expletivedeleted]

Here's another niche product but man do I love Superchunk. The Chapel Hill scene felt like it had a second home in Gainesville in the early 90s, and I must have seen Superchunk and their sister bands (Archers of Loaf, ftw) a dozen or more times. Superchunk's 1990 self-titled debut felt like it was made for me - part punk, part indie, a touch or power pop - and Slack Mother####er absolutely nails it. Or maybe I'm just the freshman stereotype as described in Spin: "the song resonated with recently educated cynics as just the thing to play too loudly on your parents' stereo that first summer home from college."

Scanning wiki to support my love:

The Guardian included Slack Mother****er among its top five list of Generation X anthems and it was named one of the best songs of the '90s by Rolling Stone, the 19th best single of the 1990s by Spin, and the 81st best song of the 1990s by Pitchfork.

Superchunk is playing Baltimore tomorrow night and in most circumstances I would be right on the rail at Ottobar. Unfortunately, it's also my wife's birthday, and likely the last one my kid will be in town to celebrate, so yeah, I didn't broach the subject.

 

[Willy]

It's been so long that I almost forgot how much the boomers and other older generations were always calling generation x a bunch of slackers. These guys just leaned into it.

 

[TripItUp]

“The Eighties” peaked in 1987 and I consider 1988, 1989 and 1990 to be transitional years. But that’s not the same as a lull. There were excellent records in a variety of genres, some of which have shown up on this list already.

we are saying the same thing, don't care what word we use.

the "lull" included 90 and 91 too IMHO.

 

[massraider]

It's been so long that I almost forgot how much the boomers and other older generations were always calling generation x a bunch of slackers. These guys just leaned into it.

I always remember this when people here complain about the work ethic of the young.

 

[northern exposure]

“The Eighties” peaked in 1987 and I consider 1988, 1989 and 1990 to be transitional years. But that’s not the same as a lull. There were excellent records in a variety of genres, some of which have shown up on this list already.

we are saying the same thing, don't care what word we use.

the "lull" included 90 and 91 too IMHO.

You might want to just shorten that up to IMO for the sake of accuracy.

 

[scorchy]

#45 Black Crowes - Hard to Handle

Our first entry from what, according to Billboard, was the biggest rock album of 1990. At the time, The Black Crowes debut Shake Your Money Maker didn't sound like anything else getting played on classic rock radio - even a lot of us alt kids were fans. Second single Hard to Handle hit #26 on the Hot 100 and stayed at #1 on the Mainstream Rock chart for several weeks. I had no idea it was a cover (back then I mean, not now). More to come from the brothers Robinson.

 

[TripItUp]

#45 Black Crowes - Hard to Handle

Our first entry from what, according to Billboard, was the biggest rock album of 1990. At the time, The Black Crowes debut Shake Your Money Maker didn't sound like anything else getting played on classic rock radio - even a lot of us alt kids were fans. Second single Hard to Handle hit #26 on the Hot 100 and stayed at #1 on the Mainstream Rock chart for several weeks. I had no idea it was a cover (back then I mean, not now). More to come from the brothers Robinson.

Now we are talking.

I saw them at the House of Blues in New Orleans...incredible show. Probably top 10 show all time for me.

What I liked about them is they had their own sound(obviously influenced by earlier southern rock acts) in a time of terrible sounding music.

1990 needed "Shake Your Money Maker" like the desert needs rain.

That being said this is probably song #4 on this album for me(if memory serves).

 

[Pip's Invitation]

#45 Black Crowes - Hard to Handle

Our first entry from what, according to Billboard, was the biggest rock album of 1990. At the time, The Black Crowes debut Shake Your Money Maker didn't sound like anything else getting played on classic rock radio - even a lot of us alt kids were fans. Second single Hard to Handle hit #26 on the Hot 100 and stayed at #1 on the Mainstream Rock chart for several weeks. I had no idea it was a cover (back then I mean, not now). More to come from the brothers Robinson.

The Stones fused with Southern Rock -- a breath of fresh air at the time. Southern Harmony is their best but Money Maker is really good too.

 

[Dr. Octopus]

The Stones

Knowing I was a huge Stones fan, my friend who was a DJ at WSOU told me to run out and buy the Crowes CD as soon as he heard the station's advance copy.

 

[FatMax]

#45 Black Crowes - Hard to Handle

Our first entry from what, according to Billboard, was the biggest rock album of 1990. At the time, The Black Crowes debut Shake Your Money Maker didn't sound like anything else getting played on classic rock radio - even a lot of us alt kids were fans. Second single Hard to Handle hit #26 on the Hot 100 and stayed at #1 on the Mainstream Rock chart for several weeks. I had no idea it was a cover (back then I mean, not now). More to come from the brothers Robinson.

This was a great album. Man do I wish those brothers could have coexisted better. I think they missed lot of good musical inspiration in all that time spent yelling at each other.

My cousin Eric introduced me to this album when it came out. His mom (my aunt) was a super-Christian, single mother who ruled her home with an iron fist. No rock or pop music was allowed, only gospel and country, which is a little ironic considering that country was as suggestive as most rock out there. Eric would listen to his well-hidden cassettes when his mom wasn't home, or on a walkman after she went to bed. One Saturday, while she was gone, Eric popped in Shake Your Money Maker for me to listen, and cranked up his Sanyo boombox to 11. After about 30 minutes, my aunt came home, and the music was so loud that we didn't hear her. She shot into Eric's bedroom at the speed of light, wielding a ball-peen hammer, and proceeded to destroy the cassette in front of our eyes.

She lightened up a few years later thankfully, and everybody gets along well now.

 

[scorchy]

After about 30 minutes, my aunt came home, and the music was so loud that we didn't hear her. She shot into Eric's bedroom at the speed of light, wielding a ball-peen hammer, and proceeded to destroy the the cassette in front of our eyes

Damn, your aunt had a flair for the dramatic. My mom just said passive-aggressive #### like "[full name including middle], we didn't raise you this way" when I got busted listening to bands like NWA or The Meatmen. To be fair, she was probably right.

 

[scorchy]

#44 Faith No More - Falling to Pieces

Yeah, I know, The Real Thing came out in the summer of 1989, but the album was largely ignored until the following year when MTV helped Faith No More break big. I always especially loved third single Falling to Pieces (released in July 1990), especially the thrumming bass intro, but that opinion apparently isn't shared by the band. According to setlist.fm, Faith No More has played 377 shows in the last 30 years, and performed Falling to Pieces at a grand total of 4 of them. A few years back, Bassist Billy Gould told a reporter "That song sucks, let's face it." Hard disagree.

 

[Brunell4MVP]

#45 Black Crowes - Hard to Handle

Our first entry from what, according to Billboard, was the biggest rock album of 1990. At the time, The Black Crowes debut Shake Your Money Maker didn't sound like anything else getting played on classic rock radio - even a lot of us alt kids were fans. Second single Hard to Handle hit #26 on the Hot 100 and stayed at #1 on the Mainstream Rock chart for several weeks. I had no idea it was a cover (back then I mean, not now). More to come from the brothers Robinson.

Saw them open for ZZ Top in the front row. It was the last concert they did together because Chris Robinson was drinking alcohol again on stage that was not from the company that sponsored ZZ Top's tour. Or that's what they said but he was apparently a total *** on the tour. They were not as good as I was hoping live. Probably too drunk to perform. The 4 smoking hot chicks next to us watched them sing Hard to Handle and She Talks to Angels and determined that was all they were there for so left the arena

 

[FatMax]

Damn, your aunt had a flair for the dramatic.

Oh yeah. She was a masterful virtue signaler.

My parents were the opposite. They didnt' give a damn what I listened to or did, except when other parents were around. Then, they'd hide their apathy and try to seem like concerned parents.

 

[FairWarning]

A completely underwhelming list thus far IMHO and is representative of the gigantic lull in popular music before the great grunge bands hit their stride in the upcoming years.

A Tribe Called Quest probably the only thing I listen to any more on the regular from this list thus far.

Looking forward to your list and being positive in a music thread

I appreciate your support, JML. No doubt Trip came in hot (as usual) but after his clarification, I get the point. I do think 1990 top-to-bottom was a down year, and there are probably only 6-7 records I still listen to consistently (Tribe as mentioned, Uncle Tupelo, and four or five more to come). As I much as I love Fugazi, I'm not in the headspace to enjoy a full album anymore.

The 1990 list also has the smallest percentage of pop or mainstream rock #1s of any of the ones I've done (I'll break this down later), which I think speaks to the transitional year Pip mentioned. Obviously, I still have love for the jangly Madchester/Baggy sound, and there's a little more of that to come, but it didn't break big over here.

No matter, if I listen to my 1991 list back-to-back, no doubt the latter far outpaces this one start-to-finish and includes a lot bigger songs. Like I wrote earlier, I think 1991 was the best album-release year of my music buying life. On the other hand, and it's likely b/c I was never a huge grunge guy, I would totally pick my top 10-15 from 1990 over the next year. We'll see where it goes.

I agree with Trip, but that’s not your fault. Many of these songs just didn't age well. For me, rock was pretty much dead.

 

[FairWarning]

A Tribe Called Quest probably the only thing I listen to on the regular from this list.

Your lack of musical diversity 33 years ago is not the failings of the year 1990.

I’m guilty here.

 

[Ramsay Hunt Experience]

#44 Faith No More - Falling to Pieces

Yeah, I know, The Real Thing came out in the summer of 1989, but the album was largely ignored until the following year when MTV helped Faith No More break big. I always especially loved third single Falling to Pieces (released in July 1990), especially the thrumming bass intro, but that opinion apparently isn't shared by the band. According to setlist.fm, Faith No More has played 377 shows in the last 30 years, and performed Falling to Pieces at a grand total of 4 of them. A few years back, Bassist Billy Gould told a reporter "That song sucks, let's face it." Hard disagree.

I ****ing love this song. Screw those guys.

 

[scorchy]

I ****ing love this song. Screw those guys.

It makes me want to hop around in a clown suit like Mike Patton.

 

[Tick]

A completely underwhelming list thus far IMHO and is representative of the gigantic lull in popular music before the great grunge bands hit their stride in the upcoming years.

A Tribe Called Quest probably the only thing I listen to any more on the regular from this list thus far.

Looking forward to your list and being positive in a music thread

Don't get me wrong, I love these lists and these threads...I wasn't criticizing the list per se. I was just looking at the year from a macro perspective. It was a down few years in music IMHO.

If I'm oversimplifying

A) The Prince/MJ/Madonna/GeorgeMichael/Hair Metal/New Wave era

B) Huge Lull

C) Peak Grunge/BIG/Pac etc.

That's not to say the Lull didn't have great music because it did...just a broader observation that I think many agree with from a popular music perspective.

Counterpoint: I was 16, music rocked.

 

[Tick]

#45 Black Crowes - Hard to Handle

Our first entry from what, according to Billboard, was the biggest rock album of 1990. At the time, The Black Crowes debut Shake Your Money Maker didn't sound like anything else getting played on classic rock radio - even a lot of us alt kids were fans. Second single Hard to Handle hit #26 on the Hot 100 and stayed at #1 on the Mainstream Rock chart for several weeks. I had no idea it was a cover (back then I mean, not now). More to come from the brothers Robinson.

This was a great album. Man do I wish those brothers could have coexisted better. I think they missed lot of good musical inspiration in all that time spent yelling at each other.

My cousin Eric introduced me to this album when it came out. His mom (my aunt) was a super-Christian, single mother who ruled her home with an iron fist. No rock or pop music was allowed, only gospel and country, which is a little ironic considering that country was as suggestive as most rock out there. Eric would listen to his well-hidden cassettes when his mom wasn't home, or on a walkman after she went to bed. One Saturday, while she was gone, Eric popped in Shake Your Money Maker for me to listen, and cranked up his Sanyo boombox to 11. After about 30 minutes, my aunt came home, and the music was so loud that we didn't hear her. She shot into Eric's bedroom at the speed of light, wielding a ball-peen hammer, and proceeded to destroy the cassette in front of our eyes.

She lightened up a few years later thankfully, and everybody gets along well now.

A friend's stepdad was driving us to go 3-wheeling, and while he was pumping gas, my friend swapped out the tape with an Oingo Boingo tape. About a mile down the road, stepdad ejects the tape, reads aloud "Oingo Boingo?" and throws the tape out the window. Good stepdad energy there!

 

[massraider]

#44 Faith No More - Falling to Pieces

Yeah, I know, The Real Thing came out in the summer of 1989, but the album was largely ignored until the following year when MTV helped Faith No More break big. I always especially loved third single Falling to Pieces (released in July 1990), especially the thrumming bass intro, but that opinion apparently isn't shared by the band. According to setlist.fm, Faith No More has played 377 shows in the last 30 years, and performed Falling to Pieces at a grand total of 4 of them. A few years back, Bassist Billy Gould told a reporter "That song sucks, let's face it." Hard disagree.

Yeah no, love this track.

 

[FairWarning]

#44 Faith No More - Falling to Pieces

Yeah, I know, The Real Thing came out in the summer of 1989, but the album was largely ignored until the following year when MTV helped Faith No More break big. I always especially loved third single Falling to Pieces (released in July 1990), especially the thrumming bass intro, but that opinion apparently isn't shared by the band. According to setlist.fm, Faith No More has played 377 shows in the last 30 years, and performed Falling to Pieces at a grand total of 4 of them. A few years back, Bassist Billy Gould told a reporter "That song sucks, let's face it." Hard disagree.

Saw these guys open up for Billy Idol on his comeback tour after his accident. They blew Idol off the stage.

Unrelated - watching the Giants-Cubs on NBC Bay Area this week, there is a commercial for a regional bank (?) that is using FNM We Care A Lot. It brought a smile.

 

[FairWarning]

#61 Primus - John the Fisherman

A little bit of Primus goes a long way, but back in 1990, all we had was a little bit of them. They were always a mixtape kind-of band for me, i.e., I thought a bunch of their songs were a lot of fun but I never wanted to hear two in a row. And if Queensryche was the equivalent of bug repellent for the ladies, then Primus was like the industrial-strength insecticide they used to spray from prop planes. John the Fisherman will never not make me smile though.

Catching up on here. This is a song I rediscovered. Its probably my favorite of their early stuff, sad they don’t perform it live anymore.

John the Fisherman Great live version from Germany’s Rockpalast Festival, start at 1:20.

 

[scorchy]

#43 Depeche Mode - Halo

You wear guilt
Like shackles on your feet
Like a halo in reverse

The first entry from my favorite album of 1990 (and one of my favorites from the entire decade). I had to fight myself not to put a half-dozen songs in the countdown - helped out by Personal Jesus getting released in August of '89, more than a half-year before Violator. Maybe priming the pump worked, because Violator finally broke Depeche Mode in the States. Sure, they had a surprise hit with People are People back in early 1984, but that was it over here for more than 5 years. I could have sworn that both Music for the Masses and 101 were huge too, but I guess my view was skewed by its popularity among all theater kids at my HS (and yours truly as well). Halo wasn't a single but it did have a video and was a mainstay at the clubs.

 

[scorchy]

Saw these guys open up for Billy Idol on his comeback tour after his accident. They blew Idol off the stage.

I've seen them twice. Once as a headliner and they were great. The first time was them opening for Metallica and GnR at RFK Stadium. I was already a fan, most of the other 70K were not, and they definitely did not blow Metallica off the stage. My opinion of GnR is still jaded by them going on almost 3 hours after Metallica.

 

[zamboni]

#43 Depeche Mode - Halo

You wear guilt
Like shackles on your feet
Like a halo in reverse

The first entry from my favorite album of 1990 (and one of my favorites from the entire decade). I had to fight myself not to put a half-dozen songs in the countdown - helped out by the by Personal Jesus getting released in August of '89, more than a half-year before Violator. Maybe priming the pump worked, because Violator finally broke Depeche Mode in the States. Sure, they had a surprise hit with People are People back in early 1984, but that was it over here for more than 5 years. I could have sworn that both Music for the Masses and 101 were huge too, but I guess my view was skewed by its popularity among all theater kids at my HS (and yours truly as well). Halo wasn't a single but it did have a video and was a mainstay at the clubs.

The tune, particularly the early part, reminds me a little bit of the opening to The Warriors

 

[scorchy]

The tune, particularly the early part, reminds me a little bit of the opening to The Warriors

At first I read this as Dream Warriors and thought to myself that comparing DM to Dokken was a first. I've never actually seen The Warriors.

 

[zamboni]

The tune, particularly the early part, reminds me a little bit of the opening to The Warriors

At first I read this as Dream Warriors and thought to myself that comparing DM to Dokken was a first. I've never actually seen The Warriors.

Ah - a cult classic. It's dated but a great watch. Check it out sometime if you have a chance.

 

[Dr. Octopus]

It was the last concert they did together

They're still touring together now - I just saw them last summer as a headliner and this year they are opening for Aerosmith.

 

[Tick]

#61 Primus - John the Fisherman

A little bit of Primus goes a long way, but back in 1990, all we had was a little bit of them. They were always a mixtape kind-of band for me, i.e., I thought a bunch of their songs were a lot of fun but I never wanted to hear two in a row. And if Queensryche was the equivalent of bug repellent for the ladies, then Primus was like the industrial-strength insecticide they used to spray from prop planes. John the Fisherman will never not make me smile though.

Catching up on here. This is a song I rediscovered. Its probably my favorite of their early stuff, sad they don’t perform it live anymore.

John the Fisherman Great live version from Germany’s Rockpalast Festival, start at 1:20.

I had no idea they were that great live.

 

[FatMax]

Saw these guys open up for Billy Idol on his comeback tour after his accident. They blew Idol off the stage.

I've seen them twice. Once as a headliner and they were great. The first time was them opening for Metallica and GnR at RFK Stadium. I was already a fan, most of the other 70K were not, and they definitely did not blow Metallica off the stage. My opinion of GnR is still jaded by them going on almost 3 hours after Metallica.

The 1992 tour, I'm assuming. Closest they got to me was Oakland, CA. I tried to get tickets, but failed.

 

[scorchy]

The 1992 tour, I'm assuming. Closest they got to me was Oakland, CA. I tried to get tickets, but failed.

Yep, it was the opening date of the tour, and a preview of a lot of the issues to come. According to this article, Nirvana was asked to open before FNM.

Guns N' Roses + Metallica Launch Ill-Fated Tour

 

[Buckna]

#43 Depeche Mode - Halo

You wear guilt
Like shackles on your feet
Like a halo in reverse

The first entry from my favorite album of 1990 (and one of my favorites from the entire decade). I had to fight myself not to put a half-dozen songs in the countdown - helped out by Personal Jesus getting released in August of '89, more than a half-year before Violator. Maybe priming the pump worked, because Violator finally broke Depeche Mode in the States. Sure, they had a surprise hit with People are People back in early 1984, but that was it over here for more than 5 years. I could have sworn that both Music for the Masses and 101 were huge too, but I guess my view was skewed by its popularity among all theater kids at my HS (and yours truly as well). Halo wasn't a single but it did have a video and was a mainstay at the clubs.

Bit of trivia most may already know, a young (and brunette) Jenna Elfman is one of the dancers in the video. She has a funny story of how she was specifically instructed to “dance badly” in her scenes for the video.

 

[TripItUp]

#43 Depeche Mode - Halo

Great album...seen them live several times.

Ticket prices on the most recent tour were ridiculous though.

 

[scorchy]

Bit of trivia most may already know, a young (and brunette) Jenna Elfman is one of the dancers in the video. She has a funny story of how she was specifically instructed to “dance badly” in her scenes for the video.

I had zero idea of that. After massraider's false claim about Mike Ness/BH 90210, I googled Jenna Elfman and damn if that isn't a fact.

 

[Pip's Invitation]

#43 Depeche Mode - Halo

You wear guilt
Like shackles on your feet
Like a halo in reverse

The first entry from my favorite album of 1990 (and one of my favorites from the entire decade). I had to fight myself not to put a half-dozen songs in the countdown - helped out by Personal Jesus getting released in August of '89, more than a half-year before Violator. Maybe priming the pump worked, because Violator finally broke Depeche Mode in the States. Sure, they had a surprise hit with People are People back in early 1984, but that was it over here for more than 5 years. I could have sworn that both Music for the Masses and 101 were huge too, but I guess my view was skewed by its popularity among all theater kids at my HS (and yours truly as well). Halo wasn't a single but it did have a video and was a mainstay at the clubs.

Like The Smiths and New Order, Depeche Mode were big among the cool kids at my private school in the Philly suburbs, but I doubt they had much traction with the kids in South Philly, Northeast Philly, etc., until Violator.