101 Best Songs of 1990 - #1 George Michael - Freedom '90 (3 Viewers)

[massraider]

Big Sur was one of my favourite songs of 2003

I worked this bar in 2005 , and an Irish regular used to come in all the time, and loved that I was always playing Libertines and Oasis etc. With his Irish brogue, he pronounced it ' The Trills', and I thought that sounded better than 'Thrills' so that's what I call them.

 

[scorchy]

Big Sur was one of my favourite songs of 2003

I worked this bar in 2005 , and an Irish regular used to come in all the time, and loved that I was always playing Libertines and Oasis etc. With his Irish brogue, he pronounced it ' The Trills', and I thought that sounded better than 'Thrills' so that's what I call them.

I really liked The Thrills. And The Stills. 2003 was a good year.

 

[northern exposure]

#57 - The La's - Timeless Melody

I went out fishing on my kayak at 6 am this morning and am pretty beat so I'm just going to copy what I wrote about The La's from the 1988 countdown:

Lee Mavers is kind of like a scouser Axl Rose. His band - the La's - get signed by Go! Records in 1987 and release their debut single. It goes nowhere. The band start to record an album, but Lee Mavers is a perfectionist, can't get along with his bandmates or the producer, and all that gets pressed is a second single, 1988's There She Goes. The song was praised by the music press but still only made it to #59 on the UK charts and didn't get any traction in the States.

Mavers reconfigured the band with new members several times and kept toiling away on the album. It wasn't until late '89 that The La's paired up with uber producer Steve Lillywhite and actually started laying down tracks. But Mavers still hated the results and the band decided to scrap the record. Go! convinced Lillywhite to cobble together whatever he could and the label eventually released the self-titled album in October 1990 - more than 3 years and a dozen bandmates after initial recording started. The album reached #30 and the re-released single of There She Goes hit #13 in the UK and got plenty of play on U.S. alt radio (#2 on the Modern Rock charts). Mavers still hated it.

The La's/Mavers spent the better part of the 90s working on a follow up record that never happened. The stature of There She Goes, however, has only grown with age. British magazines NME and Q both have it among their top 50 songs of all time, Rolling Stone lists the La's among the best one-hit wonders, and There She Goes has been a major influence on hordes of indie bands across the world.

Yes, I'm quoting myself... I probably should have used the re-release date for There She Goes given it hit big over here in 1990, but the second single Timeless Melody is a decent enough consolation prize.

There She Goes was used on the "So I Married An Axe Murderer" soundtrack and that got it some attention as well a few years after its release.

 

[scorchy]

#56 - The Lightning Seeds - Pure

Consecutive songs from Liverpool bands!

Remember when you were young and judged a potential girlfriend/boyfriend via their CD collection? Back when I first met Mrs. Scorchy in the mid-90s, I noticed a lot of overlap in our respective tastes, and aside from the completist nature of her Jesus and Mary Chain collection, it was the fact that she had owned the Lightning Seeds debut album Cloudcuckooland that really had me smitten. Lead single Pure is perfect 80s-esque synthpop and I still totally love it. It was the bands only hit in the U.S., reaching number 31 on the Hot 100 in late 1990.

 

[kupcho1]

#56 - The Lightning Seeds - Pure

Consecutive songs from Liverpool bands!

Remember when you were young and judged a potential girlfriend/boyfriend via their CD collection? Back when I first met Mrs. Scorchy in the mid-90s, I noticed a lot of overlap in our respective tastes, and aside from the completist nature of her Jesus and Mary Chain collection, it was the fact that she had owned the Lightning Seeds debut album Cloudcuckooland that really had me smitten. Lead single Pure is perfect 80s-esque synthpop and I still totally love it. It was the bands only hit in the U.S., reaching number 31 on the Hot 100 in late 1990.

Took forever for Spotify to add this. So glad they finally did.

 

[Eephus]

#67 - Soup Dragons - I'm Free

Another Baggy band enters the mix, this time from Scotland. Similar to Primal Scream, the Soup Dragons tooled around the indie scene for several years in the late 80s before jumping on the UK House trend for their second album, 1990's Lovegod. Their cover of the Rolling Stones I'm Free (complete with a freestyle interlude from reggae star Junior Reid) hit #5 in the UK and was also a staple of dance nights in the States. Their follow up, Divine Thing was even bigger over here and will definitely gain a couple entries on the 1992 list.

The Soup Dragons just released two singles, their first new music in 30 years. The better of the two is a collaboration with Fred Schneider that sounds more like the B-52s than "I'm Free". They're touring the UK this fall with BMX Bandits and the Vaselines in support.

No Music On A Dead Planet

The Soup Dragons, Fred Schneider · Song · 2023

open.spotify.com

 

[John Maddens Lunchbox]

#56 - The Lightning Seeds - Pure

Consecutive songs from Liverpool bands!

Remember when you were young and judged a potential girlfriend/boyfriend via their CD collection? Back when I first met Mrs. Scorchy in the mid-90s, I noticed a lot of overlap in our respective tastes, and aside from the completist nature of her Jesus and Mary Chain collection, it was the fact that she had owned the Lightning Seeds debut album Cloudcuckooland that really had me smitten. Lead single Pure is perfect 80s-esque synthpop and I still totally love it. It was the bands only hit in the U.S., reaching number 31 on the Hot 100 in late 1990.

Ian Broudie is a fascinating guy.
He started in a band called Big in Japan who really didnt release anything of note, but its members at various times included Broudie, Holly Johnson (lead singer Frankie Goes to Hollywood), Bill Drummond of KLF and Budgie, sidekick and long term paramore to Siouxsie Sioux
Broudie produced albums for Echo and the Bunnymen, Wall of Voodoo, The Icicle Works, The Fall, the Primituves, Dodgy, the Zutons etc

Aa a solo project called Lightning seeds his sweet voice and angelic melodies are timeless. Pure, All I Want, Life of Riley, Change, Sugar Coated Iceberg are so much pop fun.
His biggest hit though is with a couple of comedians, David Baddiel and Frank Skinner. it gets trotted out at every soccer tournament.
It has hit number one on 3 separate occasions 1996, 1998 and 2018. It is called Three Lions

 

[scorchy]

The Soup Dragons just released two singles, their first new music in 30 years. The better of the two is a collaboration with Fred Schneider that sounds more like the B-52s than "I'm Free". They're touring the UK this fall with BMX Bandits and the Vaselines in support.

No Music On A Dead Planet

The Soup Dragons, Fred Schneider · Song · 2023

open.spotify.com

I'm not a Fred Schneider guy, but that was pretty good.

 

[scorchy]

Ian Broudie is a fascinating guy.
He started in a band called Big in Japan who really didnt release anything of note, but its members at various times included Broudie, Holly Johnson (lead singer Frankie Goes to Hollywood), Bill Drummond of KLF and Budgie, sidekick and long term paramore to Siouxsie Sioux
Broudie produced albums for Echo and the Bunnymen, Wall of Voodoo, The Icicle Works, The Fall, the Primituves, Dodgy, the Zutons etc

Aa a solo project called Lightning seeds his sweet voice and angelic melodies are timeless. Pure, All I Want, Life of Riley, Change, Sugar Coated Iceberg are so much pop fun.
His biggest hit though is with a couple of comedians, David Baddiel and Frank Skinner. it gets trotted out at every soccer tournament.
It has hit number one on 3 separate occasions 1996, 1998 and 2018. It is called Three Lions

Thanks, JML. I knew the Big in Japan part but that was all. Will check Three Lions.

 

[scorchy]

#55 The Smithereens - Yesterday Girl

I'm copying this from my 1988 thread too, but should have saved if for here. TL; DR Smithereens will always hold a special place for me because of the free show they played at the Gator Bandshell during a really ####ed time of my freshman year. The story involves a serial killer. My favorite (I think) Smithereens song is still to come.

The Smithereens will forever be larger-than-life to me - a funny thing to say about a bunch of unassuming "bar band" guys from North Jersey.

I mentioned way upthread about the serial murders that absolutely shook Gainesville during the first few weeks of my freshman year in August/September 1990. Not gonna get too much into it, but as a 17-year old living 800 miles from home, it was... I don't really know how to appropriately describe it. There's a memorial on the 34th Street Wall with the victims' names that's been maintained for over 30 years now. When I was visiting UF with my son this past summer, we went to the wall and I just lost it - completely overwhelmed. Shocking for my son, who I don't think was prepared for the impact it would have on his old man.

Anyway, after canceling classes for a week and lots of students heading home, UF re-opened after a suspect was identified and arrested (it turned out not to be the guy). Student government announced a free show at the Gator Bandshell by the Smithereens for the following Friday, and it turned into two hours of just pure joy - several thousand college kids getting a chance to just be college kids again. The Smithereens owned the stage, playing hits and new songs and covers and everything in between. It being late summer in Florida, the skies opened up near the end of their set and drenched everyone - not a soul in the crowd headed for their cars. The band kept playing and playing, coming out for several encores until Pat DiNizio basically said "This has to be the last one b/c we're out of songs." I'll never forget the show of love between the band and the crowd - it's like they knew how badly we all needed this and seemed honored to be the ones to deliver.

Or maybe I'm projecting and the Smithereens forgot all about it by the time they did their next show in Atlanta or Birmingham - but I'm still gonna believe my version. I still can't hear a Smithereens song without all of this flooding back and I'll always love them for it.

 

[scorchy]

#54 - They Might Be Giants - Birdhouse in Your Soul

I used to like They Might Be Giants a lot, until my wife bought my son a couple of their children's CDs and I had to listen to them nonstop for two or three years. Give me Laurie Berkner any day at this point. I make an exception for Birdhouse in Your Soul, though.

 

[timschochet]

#54 - They Might Be Giants - Birdhouse in Your Soul

I used to like They Might Be Giants a lot, until my wife bought my son a couple of their children's CDs and I had to listen to them nonstop for two or three years. Give me Laurie Berkner any day at this point. I make an exception for Birdhouse in Your Soul, though.

Always loved this song.

 

[Corporation]

Man just reading the title of that song has instantly put it in my head for I am sure the rest of the night. Thanks for that

 

[AAABatteries]

#54 - They Might Be Giants - Birdhouse in Your Soul

I used to like They Might Be Giants a lot, until my wife bought my son a couple of their children's CDs and I had to listen to them nonstop for two or three years. Give me Laurie Berkner any day at this point. I make an exception for Birdhouse in Your Soul, though.

Love that song and the whole album.

 

[Leroy Hoard]

I'm going to go out on a limb and say it's the best song ever about a night light.

 

[Pip's Invitation]

#67 - Soup Dragons - I'm Free

Another Baggy band enters the mix, this time from Scotland. Similar to Primal Scream, the Soup Dragons tooled around the indie scene for several years in the late 80s before jumping on the UK House trend for their second album, 1990's Lovegod. Their cover of the Rolling Stones I'm Free (complete with a freestyle interlude from reggae star Junior Reid) hit #5 in the UK and was also a staple of dance nights in the States. Their follow up, Divine Thing was even bigger over here and will definitely gain a couple entries on the 1992 list.

The Soup Dragons just released two singles, their first new music in 30 years. The better of the two is a collaboration with Fred Schneider that sounds more like the B-52s than "I'm Free". They're touring the UK this fall with BMX Bandits and the Vaselines in support.

No Music On A Dead Planet

The Soup Dragons, Fred Schneider · Song · 2023

open.spotify.com

The Vaselines are back together?

 

[scorchy]

#53 A Tribe Called Quest - Bonita Applebum

A Tribe Called Quest's debut album, People's Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm, was a revelation when it dropped in April 1990. It was universally acclaimed by critics while still embraced by both the hip-hop community and swaths of college kids - an unlikely trifecta. Somehow, Q-Tip, Phife Dawg, et al would go on to top it just a year later. Lots of folks list Bonita Applebum as their favorite track from People's Instinctive Travels. I have it third, so more to come.

 

[PIK95]

#53 A Tribe Called Quest - Bonita Applebum

A Tribe Called Quest's debut album, People's Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm, was a revelation when it dropped in April 1990. It was universally acclaimed by critics while still embraced by both the hip-hop community and swaths of college kids - an unlikely trifecta. Somehow, Q-Tip, Phife Dawg, et al would go on to top it just a year later. Lots of folks list Bonita Applebum as their favorite track from People's Instinctive Travels. I have it third, so more to come.

My favorite Tribe fwiw. Lucien, Wallet, and Charlie Brown are my favs.

 

[scorchy]

#52 Urban Dance Squad - Deeper Shade of Soul

According to Wikipedia, "Urban Dance Squad was one of the most successful Dutch bands of the nineties, releasing five studio albums." That sounds a little suspect, but then again. I'm not sure I can name any other 90's Dutch bands. They did open a few dates (along with Stereo MCs) for U2 during the European leg of the Zooropa tour and for Living Colour the year before that. I guess the latter fits with Urban Dance Squad being described as a "rock/metal/rap fusion," which I don't get at all from their one hit. Deeper Shade of Soul reached #21 on the BIllboard Hot 100 and was in heavy rotation on MTV in late summer 1990. I always really liked it, but it never inspired to dig any deeper into the band. I guess I was burned way too many times buying a $15 CD on the strength of one really good song.

 

[Tick]

#52 Urban Dance Squad - Deeper Shade of Soul

According to Wikipedia, "Urban Dance Squad was one of the most successful Dutch bands of the nineties, releasing five studio albums." That sounds a little suspect, but then again. I'm not sure I can name any other 90's Dutch bands. They did open a few dates (along with Stereo MCs) for U2 during the European leg of the Zooropa tour and for Living Colour the year before that. I guess the latter fits with Urban Dance Squad being described as a "rock/metal/rap fusion," which I don't get at all from their one hit. Deeper Shade of Soul reached #21 on the BIllboard Hot 100 and was in heavy rotation on MTV in late summer 1990. I always really liked it, but it never inspired to dig any deeper into the band. I guess I was burned way too many times buying a $15 CD on the strength of one really good song.

I still listen to this from time to time. What a bizarre album it was, though - nothing like that song on the rest, so you probably made the right call.

 

[scorchy]

#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.

 

[Ramsay Hunt Experience]

I saw World Party open for 10,000 Maniacs at one of the very last Maniacs shows.

 

[scorchy]

I saw World Party open for 10,000 Maniacs at one of the very last Maniacs shows.

We may have talked about this before, but was Natalie Merchant completely insufferable when you saw them? She gave Billy Corgan a good run for least appreciative front-person of the early 90s.

 

[rockaction]

I’ve been “under the weather” the past few days but The La’s, TMBG, and Urban Dance Squad are all firmly in my wheelhouse. Love them all. UDS is very much worth checking out and made my top fifty DI list of hip hop albums. “No Kid” is an awesome song, too. The La’s were my favorite for a bit in the aughts, and TMBG is a long-time favorite.

 

[scorchy]

I’ve been “under the weather” the past few days

Good to have you back, rock.

 

[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.

I remember getting a tape from a friend - Frizzle Fry on one side, the abomination known as Mr. Bungle on the other side. Frizzle Fry was a lot of fun.

 

[Tick]

#62 Tesla - Signs

Bit of discussion earlier about how Tesla was unfairly lumped in with the hair bands and I couldn't agree more. I know that Five Man Acoustical Jam wasn't the impetus for all the great unplugged albums to come (the first season of MTV Unplugged launched in late 1989) but it did bring the sound to the radio listening masses. Signs wasn't my favorite cover on the album (that would be Mother's Little Help) but it was inescapable in the winter of '90/'91 and undoubtedly the song that non-metal fans most strongly associated with Tesla. An original vinyl copy of Five Man Acoustical Jam remains near the top of my "wanted" list on Discogs - whenever I go to record store it's one of the first things I search for but 10 years on and still no luck.

Forgot this CD on a plane once, rebought it. I listened again when the hair metal thread was going and it wasn't as good as I remembered.

 

[Tick]

#72 Cinderella - Shelter Me

CInderella were always a bit more bluesy than the average glam metal band but 1990’s Heartbreak Station swung almost completely in that direction. The singles from the album didn’t climb the charts like the ones from the previous two records, but I think that is more that the clock had almost struck midnight on hair metal than the songs being any worse (speaking only of Cinderella songs here). Heartbreak Station even became one of the rare records in the genre to get uniformly good reviews from the music press.

Loved that album. Dead Man's Road is the song that stuck with me most from it.

#73 Soho - Hippychick

Another one-hit wonder that I love maybe more than I should. How can I not, given it’s built around a sample of one of my favorite songs ever? Hippychick has such great vibes that it even made Smiths-loving saddos crack smiles on the dancefloor. It somehow reached #14 on the Hot 100 despite the lyrics being total nonsense:

Today, we'll sit here drinking coffee in your incident room
Tonight, you'll close the door and lock me in that bare bulb gloom
Love, it ain't something riding on a motorbike
And love, I stopped loving you since the miners' strike.

Or so I thought. According to the band, “Hippychick was written from the perspective of a young woman arrested by her boyfriend (who is a policeman) on a demonstration. She is basically telling him it’s over, because, as a cop, he supports an establishment she wants to get rid of.”

We have an ice cream place around here called Whippi Dip. I'm irritating in the car every time we go past it.

 

[scorchy]

Forgot this CD on a plane once, rebought it. I listened again when the hair metal thread was going and it wasn't as good as I remembered.

I'm sure you're right. But I'm not gonna listen on spotify b/c I don't wanna ruin my good memories.

 

[Ramsay Hunt Experience]

I saw World Party open for 10,000 Maniacs at one of the very last Maniacs shows.

We may have talked about this before, but was Natalie Merchant completely insufferable when you saw them? She gave Billy Corgan a good run for least appreciative front-person of the early 90s.

She was so over it all. It was literally like a week before the break-up was announced, and I've read she had told the band like a year before then.

 

[northern exposure]

#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.

I remember buying "Goodbye Jumbo" and would have guessed Way Down Now was the biggest hit too. I remember Take It Up getting some play too.

 

[scorchy]

#50 The Church - Metropolis

As we've seen already with Living Colour and Midnight Oil, 1990 wasn't particularly kind to "alternative" bands that had breakthrough albums a few years earlier. After the success of 1988's Starfish Arista expected big things for the Church's followup Gold Afternoon Fix.. Metropolis was a good first single, but it was no Under the Milky Way or Reptile, and wasn't able to drive sales for the album. From there, the band became more famous in their native Australia for all the intra-band turmoil than any new music.

 

[Encyclopedia Brown]

We may have talked about this before, but was Natalie Merchant completely insufferable when you saw them? She gave Billy Corgan a good run for least appreciative front-person of the early 90s

Corgan is definitely a legend in his own mind, but Natalie just seems painfully shy. I saw her on Charlie Rose right when her solo debut came out, and she struggled to make eye contact with him, spoke very softly.

 

[bigbottom]

#50 The Church - Metropolis

As we've seen already with Living Colour and Midnight Oil, 1990 wasn't particularly kind to "alternative" bands that had breakthrough albums a few years earlier. After the success of 1988's Starfish Arista expected big things for the Church's followup Gold Afternoon Fix.. Metropolis was a good first single, but it was no Under the Milky Way or Reptile, and wasn't able to drive sales for the album. From there, the band became more famous in their native Australia for all the intra-band turmoil than any new music.

Spot on.

 

[massraider]

#52 Urban Dance Squad - Deeper Shade of Soul

According to Wikipedia, "Urban Dance Squad was one of the most successful Dutch bands of the nineties, releasing five studio albums." That sounds a little suspect, but then again. I'm not sure I can name any other 90's Dutch bands. They did open a few dates (along with Stereo MCs) for U2 during the European leg of the Zooropa tour and for Living Colour the year before that. I guess the latter fits with Urban Dance Squad being described as a "rock/metal/rap fusion," which I don't get at all from their one hit. Deeper Shade of Soul reached #21 on the BIllboard Hot 100 and was in heavy rotation on MTV in late summer 1990. I always really liked it, but it never inspired to dig any deeper into the band. I guess I was burned way too many times buying a $15 CD on the strength of one really good song.

Top 10-15 one hit wonder for me.

This is what, summer between junior and senior year? Yeeea, that's probably why, nothing bad happened that summer, I can tell you that

 

[massraider]

#50 The Church - Metropolis

As we've seen already with Living Colour and Midnight Oil, 1990 wasn't particularly kind to "alternative" bands that had breakthrough albums a few years earlier. After the success of 1988's Starfish Arista expected big things for the Church's followup Gold Afternoon Fix.. Metropolis was a good first single, but it was no Under the Milky Way or Reptile, and wasn't able to drive sales for the album. From there, the band became more famous in their native Australia for all the intra-band turmoil than any new music.

Weird band to classify. Everything I liked about their earlier stuff, the kind of spare neo-psychedelia type thing (but could maybe veer into light industrial someday) was gone on this song. This guy has a great rock voice, too. But they looked a bit like Aussie The Replacements here, and when the whole band starts singing together it sounded like Big Audio Dynamite. But not in a cool, Mick Jones way.

Whatever, Under the Milky Way Tonight is one of the top songs of the decade, so their aces in my book.

 

[zamboni]

#50 The Church - Metropolis

As we've seen already with Living Colour and Midnight Oil, 1990 wasn't particularly kind to "alternative" bands that had breakthrough albums a few years earlier. After the success of 1988's Starfish Arista expected big things for the Church's followup Gold Afternoon Fix.. Metropolis was a good first single, but it was no Under the Milky Way or Reptile, and wasn't able to drive sales for the album. From there, the band became more famous in their native Australia for all the intra-band turmoil than any new music.

Don't remember this one, as they fell off my radar after Starfish. Solid tune, but yeah, Starfish set a pretty high bar that they were bound to disappoint.

 

[scorchy]

#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.

 

[plinko]

“Thunderstruck” has become a transcendent, timeless hard rock track, to its credit. I liked it more than Money Talks, for sure, but I always really dug the title track for some reason. This was the tour I saw them on, with LA Guns opening, summer 1990. I had just gotten a motorcycle and was still learning how to ride it. Of course, being 18 years old… I gave someone else a ride up on the back, for the first time EVER, and it was the ~75 mile trip up the highway from Monterey to Mountain View. Somehow we made it. Lucky for him he found a ride back with someone else. So I was left on my own, still getting a feel for the bike, and I’m sitting in the traffic line with all the cars to get out of the venue. Some other guy on a bike pulls up to me, “What the hell are you doing sitting here? Let’s go follow me!” And we start riding between the cars, as you do in California, and I keep whacking people’s mirrors they’re all honking and yelling at me as I wobble through. Ah, youth

 

[plinko]

Also it was super cold on the way back and I had to stop at a hotel in Gilroy, sit between two vending machines and thaw myself out

 

[scorchy]

#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.

 

[Dr. Octopus]

#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.

I remember buying "Goodbye Jumbo" and would have guessed Way Down Now was the biggest hit too. I remember Take It Up getting some play too.

"Ship of Fools" was a few years before and got a lot of play on MTV.

"Put The Message in a Box" also got airplay off of Goodbye Jumbo.

 

[Dr_Zaius]

#52 Urban Dance Squad - Deeper Shade of Soul

Have to admit, I went years not knowing what this song was called or what they were saying. "People say it's so?", "People say songs?"

#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?

My wife complains about Social Distortion as she can't get past Ness's voice, but I enjoy a lot of their stuff. I think it says something interesting about songwriting, because musically their songs are not very complex, and yeah his voice isn't great, but the lyrics are so well done and so many of the songs speak to the general human condition in a relatable way. Sex, Love and Rock 'n' Roll might be my favorite album of theirs.

 

[Dr. Octopus]

because musically their songs are not very complex,

Their music is very Buddy Holly rock and roll era in a lot of ways - just straightforward country based rock and roll.

 

[Dan Lambskin]

#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.

Love this song, one of my favorites of theirs. Really like the Live at the Roxy album by them, opening track on that one

 

[scorchy]

#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.

 

[massraider]

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.

 

[zamboni]

#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.

Interesting that Grohl appears in the video, but didn’t play on the studio version.

 

[scorchy]

Interesting that Grohl appears in the video, but didn’t play on the studio version.

Yep, original drummer was Dan Peters of Mudhoney. The video wasn't shot until 3 years later when Sliver appeared on Incesticide.

 

[rockaction]

Mom and Dad went to a show…
Dropped me off at Granpa Joe’s
I kicked and screamed said please don’t go
Gramma take me home

If ever there was a Cobain lyric, that was it.