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

[Pip's Invitation]

I didn't remember that this was part of a the Days of Thunder soundtrack. For some reason, I thought it was mixed in somewhere on one of the Illusion albums. And those were 1991. For a brief moment, I thought you made a mistake. But I should have known better.

Cover or not, I lump this in with all of the other GnR slow ballads. They don't do much for me. I used to tell myself that I liked November Rain, but always found myself switching the station when it came on.

Was on Use Your Illusion II as well, but first charted as a single from the soundtrack, then got re-released and charted again in 1992. It's not the only GnR song I had to make this kind of call on either.

Oh, and totally disagree on November Rain, gb. Somehow both bloated and glorious simultaneously.

We heard two Illusion songs before the albums came out. This was on Days of Thunder and Civil War was on the Nobody's Child: Romanian Angel Appeal album from 1990.

 

[Pip's Invitation]

Oh, and totally disagree on November Rain, gb. Somehow both bloated and glorious simultaneously.

To me, it always felt like the band was sitting in a room, and someone stood up (probably Slash), and screamed, "We need our own Free Bird!! We need our own Stairway!!", and November Rain is what came out the other end.

It goes back as far as 1986 per Wiki. I remember Axl talking about it in interviews post-Appetite and pre-Illusions.

 

[Andy Dufresne]

Worst cover? Pearl Jam's cover of Last Kiss is my reply.

Then I remember Coal Chamber did Shock The Monkey.

Except for Axl not knowing the lyrics, GNR's version of Jumping Jack Flash isn't too bad.

 

[scorchy]

We heard two Illusion songs before the albums came out. This was on Days of Thunder and Civil War was on the Nobody's Child: Romanian Angel Appeal album from 1990.

Where's the spotlight emoji, Pip?

 

[scorchy]

To me, it always felt like the band was sitting in a room, and someone stood up (probably Slash), and screamed, "We need our own Free Bird!! We need our own Stairway!!", and November Rain is what came out the other end.

I'll actually do the research before I get to my 1991 countdown, but IIRC, it was Axl that wanted the bombast. He was obsessed with Queen and other bands with grandiose ambitions and that was one of the things that helped drive a wedge in the band. One of my favorite podcasts (60 Songs That Explain the 90s) did an ep on November Rain and I think the host felt that it was straddling that amazing/ridiculous line, and which side it landed on depended on his mood at a given time.

 

[scorchy]

George Martin said that exact thing about the White Album--he used the word "compressed". But then Paul and George made a point that has struck me: they needed to "empty the bank", and "get everything out" so that when they began the next album, they would be working from a clean slate.

Axl said something similar (though not in those words), but with the same sentiment.

That's great for Axl I guess, except the clean slate meant that it took 20 years for the next real album.

 

[FatMax]

I loved the over indulgent songs from Use Your Illusion I and II. Condense those into one album and I think it has a shot at being better than Appetite

George Martin said that exact thing about the White Album--he used the word "compressed". But then Paul and George made a point that has struck me: they needed to "empty the bank", and "get everything out" so that when they began the next album, they would be working from a clean slate.

Axl said something similar (though not in those words), but with the same sentiment.

Well, GnR really emptied the bank afterwards. Their next album was a bunch of covers, Spaghetti Incident. I don't remember it either.

 

[FatMax]

George Martin said that exact thing about the White Album--he used the word "compressed". But then Paul and George made a point that has struck me: they needed to "empty the bank", and "get everything out" so that when they began the next album, they would be working from a clean slate.

Axl said something similar (though not in those words), but with the same sentiment.

That's great for Axl I guess, except the clean slate meant that it took 20 years for the next real album.

beat me to it

 

[northern exposure]

Oh, and totally disagree on November Rain, gb. Somehow both bloated and glorious simultaneously.

To me, it always felt like the band was sitting in a room, and someone stood up (probably Slash), and screamed, "We need our own Free Bird!! We need our own Stairway!!", and November Rain is what came out the other end.

Or we need our own Every Rose Has Its Thorn....

 

[scorchy]

I definitely had a blind spot for certain music at this time. Also, looking at this list, glad my wife never met Scorchy before meeting me. She introduced me to the Cocteau Twins and just recently dragged me to a Cure show in Atlanta on MY birthday. I actually kinda like the guitar bits in this Cure song. I have never heard that Inspiral Carpets song, I dig the keyboard work in that one and really enjoyed it. That Sisters of Mercy song, wow. On one hand, everything may be too much, the background singers, the wind blowing through the lead singers hair, but the build, the light use of keyboards, and the earnestness make it a great song.

In the early 90s, I liked the Cocteau Twins just fine but pretended to like them a lot. They're the kind of thing the alterna-girls in my residence hall listened too and helped set me apart from my prog and metal-happy dorm-mates.

I saw the same Cure show earlier this summer. It was great, but man was it long set considering we were outside in the heat. I would not have enjoyed as a casual fan.

 

[scorchy]

#80 Fugazi - Merchandise

This song explains why every time I went to the Hardback Cafe in Gainesville to see punk bands, at least a dozen dudes would be wearing a shirt that read "tHIS iS NOT a Fugazi tShiRT" on the front and "You are not what you own" on the back. The irony.

 

[plinko]

Use Your Illusions were mostly a product of Axl being left to his own devices, while everybody else was distracted with extracurriculars… that was my take, particularly from Slash’s book

 

[scorchy]

Use Your Illusions were mostly a product of Axl being left to his own devices, while everybody else was distracted with extracurriculars… that was my take, particularly from Slash’s book

Slash's book really made me dislike him, and he's definitely an unreliable narrator, but I think he got that part right.

 

[plinko]

Use Your Illusions were mostly a product of Axl being left to his own devices, while everybody else was distracted with extracurriculars… that was my take, particularly from Slash’s book

Slash's book really made me dislike him, and he's definitely an unreliable narrator, but I think he got that part right.

I’m waiting for the book on the making of Chinese Democracy, by Buckethead and the Replacements guy

 

[rockaction]

.

Huh. I tried the spoiler about another G N' R Illusion song that might have come before the album, but the spoiler tag didn't work.

Fugazi's Repeater was one of the best albums of 1990, hands down. Nice inclusion. I wouldn't have expected to see it, and forgot that it was indeed my junior year of high school. I wouldn't hear it until senior year.

We owe you nothing
You have no control

 

[Uruk-Hai]

Worst cover? Pearl Jam's cover of Last Kiss is my reply.

That was excruciating. Like if you threw 1,000 Fran Dreschers into a sausage grinder.

 

[scorchy]

#79 Primal Scream - Loaded

if you are looking for it, when you go through the Madchester bands, you get a lot of Motown keyboard and even horn samples (Primal Scream comes to mind).

Did someone say Primal Scream? Though often included with the Madchester bands, the Scream were from an entirely different part of the UK - Glasgow. Founder Bobbie Gillespie was the original drummer for one of my all-time favorite bands (the Jesus and Mary Chain) and I really tried to like the first couple of Primal Scream's records, but they just didn't click (still don't get the love for their 1986 single Velocity Girl at all).

When Primal Scream released the single Loaded in early 1990 (almost a year of the Screamadelica album), it sounded like a completely different band. In the aftermath of the UK's "second summer of love" in 1988 and the ascendance of rave culture, the overlap with the UK House sound was undeniable. From a Madchester perspective I was way more into the Baggy bands than UK House - I feel like the former was way more dance-able without the drugs (of which I didn't partake). To that point, one of the first comments on youtube (the single mix, not the full-length linked one):

I never appreciated this as a young person, but now as an adult with a history of psychoactive drug use, I totally get it.

Loaded was obviously way bigger in the UK than over here. NME recently ranked it as the 59th Greatest Song of All Time.

 

[Dan Lambskin]

I loved the over indulgent songs from Use Your Illusion I and II. Condense those into one album and I think it has a shot at being better than Appetite

George Martin said that exact thing about the White Album--he used the word "compressed". But then Paul and George made a point that has struck me: they needed to "empty the bank", and "get everything out" so that when they began the next album, they would be working from a clean slate.

Axl said something similar (though not in those words), but with the same sentiment.

Well, GnR really emptied the bank afterwards. Their next album was a bunch of covers, Spaghetti Incident. I don't remember it either.

I think I’m the only person who likes it

 

[massraider]

From a Madchester perspective I was way more into the Baggy bands than UK House - I feel like the former was way more dance-able without the drugs (of which I didn't partake).

I was cool with both, but yah the laddish boys from the north was more fun. More silly.

 

[scorchy]

#78 - Motley Crue - Don't Go Away Mad (Just Go Away)

1989 was a much better year for glam metal than 1990, as a future countdown will undoubtedly bear out. The two big guns from Dr. Feelgood were both released as singles in the same year as the album, leaving 1990 with the leftovers. The third single was a generic power ballad (Without You) and the fifth (Same Ol' Situation) was fine if not memorable, but I've always really liked Don't Go Away Mad (Just Go Away). Maybe it's the sentiment, maybe it's the hook, who knows? Unfortunately for the Crue, it was their last top 40 hit (not including a re-release of Home Sweet Home).

Some other not-so-notable glam metal from 1990:

Steelheart - I'll Never Let You Go (as noted earlier, dude can sing, but this is definitely the #### that helped kill the genre. They're playing at the Rainbow next Sunday if anyone is interested.)

Whitesnake - The Deeper the Love (Yuck. I was even over Tawny at this point.)

Extreme - Decadence Dance (this is the kind of wankery #### that Extreme tried to put out as singles in 1990 before the record company tried a new approach in 1991. I'm sure the women who bought the album b/c of More than Words were surprised by crap like this and He-Man Woman Hater. Nuno can obviously shred. The songs suck though).

 

[plinko]

I won’t defend any of the above

I liked Extreme III much more than Pornograffiti. But He Man Woman Hater is kind of a fun hook IIRC

 

[scorchy]

I won’t defend any of the above

I liked Extreme III much more than Pornograffiti. But He Man Woman Hater is kind of a fun hook IIRC

Well, Gary did warn us it's inevitable that sooner or later we'll be he-man woman haters.

 

[plinko]

I won’t defend any of the above

I liked Extreme III much more than Pornograffiti. But He Man Woman Hater is kind of a fun hook IIRC

Well, Gary did warn us it's inevitable that sooner or later we'll be he-man woman haters.

In any case, as far as lyrical prowess goes Extreme and the Crue combine for 0 stars all around

 

[scorchy]

I just read the wikipedia entry on Chuck Finley, who I always seemed to select on my rotisserie league baseball teams and had a famously tumultuous relationship with Tawny Kitaen. It included this gem:

As Finley took the mound for a April 16, 2002, road game against the Chicago White Sox, the Comiskey Park musical director took a subtle dig at Finley's messy divorce and played "Here I Go Again" by the band Whitesnake, referencing Kitaen's appearance in that band's videos and her previous marriage to the band's lead singer, David Coverdale. Lasting only 1+2⁄3 innings, Finley gave up nine runs (eight earned) including two home runs. The musical director was later fired, and the White Sox apologized.

 

[FatMax]

I just read the wikipedia entry on Chuck Finley, who I always seemed to select on my rotisserie league baseball teams and had a famously tumultuous relationship with Tawny Kitaen. It included this gem:

As Finley took the mound for a April 16, 2002, road game against the Chicago White Sox, the Comiskey Park musical director took a subtle dig at Finley's messy divorce and played "Here I Go Again" by the band Whitesnake, referencing Kitaen's appearance in that band's videos and her previous marriage to the band's lead singer, David Coverdale. Lasting only 1+2⁄3 innings, Finley gave up nine runs (eight earned) including two home runs. The musical director was later fired, and the White Sox apologized.

Love this. I'm surprised that anyone got fired. Maybe if it was a home game, but it wasn't.

Another little known Finley fact ... he's MLB leader in four-strikeout innings, having three in his career. It's unclear if it's because he had filthy stuff, or because his catcher sucked.

Edit, found a video of his last one. I'm putting this on the catcher.

Finley K's four in top of 3rd | 04/16/2000

4/16/00: Indians pitcher Chuck Finley strikes out four Rangers in the top of the third

www.mlb.com

 

[scorchy]

Love this. I'm surprised that anyone got fired. Maybe if it was a home game, but it wasn't.

Imagine if that happened now. Twitter would explode with a bunch of incels calling Chuck Finley a snowflake. Would have been even worse a few years prior when he filed charges against Tawny for beating him with a stiletto.

 

[scorchy]

#77 Electronic - Getting Away With It

I've been walking in the rain
Just to get wet on purpose
I've been forcing myself not to forget
Just to feel worse

I just can't seem to get away from Manchester in this joint. Talk about one hell of a supergroup - Johnny Marr from the Smiths, Bernard Sumner from New Order, and Neil Tennant from the Pet Shop Boys. And the lyrics from their debut single take the piss out of Marr's former partner for being a miserable ####. Sjgn me up.

 

[massraider]

. And the lyrics from their debut single take the piss out of Marr's former partner for being a miserable ####

I mean, none of those bands were shiny or happy.

Electronic was super sunny on For You, I must say

 

[DocHolliday]

#82 Sisters of Mercy - More

This one is for me and @otb_lifer and I guess fans of Jim Steinman (who co-wrote it).

I can smell the fog machines. More was the first single off of the Sisters' third and final record Vision Thing. That means all Andrew Eldritch has done for the last 33 years is bristle at being called a goth band while playing the occasional goth club.

in a genre rife with enigmatic, egotistical divas , Eldritch takes the cake - a more polarizing figure never there was.

but, man, couldt he bring that bombastic bent - love him and all of his Sisters iterations.

Vision Thing is one of my favorite albums. More is an outstanding song and should be way up this list.

 

[massraider]

#77 Electronic - Getting Away With It

I've been walking in the rain
Just to get wet on purpose
I've been forcing myself not to forget
Just to feel worse

I just can't seem to get away from Manchester in this joint. Talk about one hell of a supergroup - Johnny Marr from the Smiths, Bernard Sumner from New Order, and Neil Tennant from the Pet Shop Boys. And the lyrics from their debut single take the piss out of Marr's former partner for being a miserable ####. Sjgn me up.

https://www.instagram.com/reel/CwdWhDtJNiL/?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

Johnny Marr playing this song with Tim from the Charlatans the other day

 

[zamboni]

Whitesnake - The Deeper the Love (Yuck. I was even over Tawny at this point.)

Extreme - Decadence Dance (this is the kind of wankery #### that Extreme tried to put out as singles in 1990 before the record company tried a new approach in 1991. I'm sure the women who bought the album b/c of More than Words were surprised by crap like this and He-Man Woman Hater. Nuno can obviously shred. The songs suck though).

In a weird crossover, the legendary trumpeter Chuck Findley (of the Wrecking Crew) played on that same Extreme album.

 

[scorchy]

https://www.instagram.com/reel/CwdWhDtJNiL/?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

Johnny Marr playing this song with Tim from the Charlatans the other day

Amazing how one dreary-*** city produced so much great music and so many terrible haircuts.

 

[zamboni]

I just read the wikipedia entry on Chuck Finley, who I always seemed to select on my rotisserie league baseball teams and had a famously tumultuous relationship with Tawny Kitaen. It included this gem:

As Finley took the mound for a April 16, 2002, road game against the Chicago White Sox, the Comiskey Park musical director took a subtle dig at Finley's messy divorce and played "Here I Go Again" by the band Whitesnake, referencing Kitaen's appearance in that band's videos and her previous marriage to the band's lead singer, David Coverdale. Lasting only 1+2⁄3 innings, Finley gave up nine runs (eight earned) including two home runs. The musical director was later fired, and the White Sox apologized.

What would have been even more perfect is if they had one of those old bullpen cars bring in the reliever with a woman straddled on the hood of it.

 

[scorchy]

#76 Public Enemy - 911 is a Joke

In my 1988 retrospective, I talked about how PE's It Takes a Nation of Millions... was one of the records in the halls of my high school, earning it three entries in the top 101 list. The follow up, 1990's Fear of a Black Planet sold even better, but it didn't feel as omnipresent because the dorms at UF had about 1/10 as many black kids as my high school (on my floor, you would have thought Steve Vai's Passion and Warfare was the most popular record on the planet). Maybe that explains why I struggled so much with which song(s) to include for 1990 - I wanted five but this also wasn't going to turn into a best of Public Enemy countdown. To help me out a little, at least Fight the Power was put out as a single in summer 1989 via the Do the Right Thing Soundtrack.

911 is a Joke gets a nod b/c it was a nice break from the density of the rest of the record - it's tough to take Flava Flav too seriously even if the subject itself is dead serious. It's also the only one (other than Fight the Power) that got even a tad of mainstream airplay. Still, I'll probably feel the need to shout out the two tracks that missed the cut when I get to their next entry.

Be sure to check out a younger Sam Jackson as Flava's dad in the video.

 

[scorchy]

#75 Tom Petty - Yer So Bad

It's a testament to how great Tom Petty is that even his "average" tunes are so comparatively great. Yer So Bad was the fifth single off his 1989 solo debut Full Moon Fever. It was the only one of the five not to crack the Hot 100, but did make it to #5 on the mainstream rock chart. Also had another in a long line of great videos.

 

[plinko]

#75 Tom Petty - Yer So Bad

It's a testament to how great Tom Petty is that even his "average" tunes are so comparatively great. Yer So Bad was the fifth single off his 1989 solo debut Full Moon Fever. It was the only one of the five not to crack the Hot 100, but did make it to #5 on the mainstream rock chart. Also had another in a long line of great videos.

This is a killer tune

 

[Bogart]

It's from the classic Boone album, In A Metal Mood - No More Mr. Nice Guy

The Paul Anka album of swing covers was a complete winner, I must say.

Listening to this now for the first time. Actually kind of incredible. Like a more talented Richard Cheese, singer and band. Obviously.

 

[scorchy]

#74 Jellyfish - That is Why

There's some Jellyfish fans here, right? I didn't know many people into them, but the two who were went crazy deep. I was introduced to them by my friend Jess who got a Jellyfish tattoo on her 18th birthday. They weren't really in my wheelhouse but I did enjoy what I heard and this one especially brings back some good memories.

 

[Pip's Invitation]

#74 Jellyfish - That is Why

There's some Jellyfish fans here, right? I didn't know many people into them, but the two who were went crazy deep. I was introduced to them by my friend Jess who got a Jellyfish tattoo on her 18th birthday. They weren't really in my wheelhouse but I did enjoy what I heard and this one especially brings back some good memories.

They had a big cult following. I have never checked out their material but heard about them retroactively through Jason Falkner (the guitarist in the video), whose solo records in the late '90s were outstanding. I do vaguely recognize this song so it must have been playing somewhere I was at in 1990.

 

[scorchy]

#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.”

 

[otb_lifer]

#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.”

this, and that COTdamn Candy Flip "SFF" are irresistible ear goo - love this pick, yuuuuuuuge guilty pleasure during YaYo pregaming

ETA: AND THAT "STEAL THE SUNSHINE" TUNE, AS WELL (which sampled one of my all-time faves, by Andrea True Connection)

 

[zamboni]

#74 Jellyfish - That is Why

There's some Jellyfish fans here, right? I didn't know many people into them, but the two who were went crazy deep. I was introduced to them by my friend Jess who got a Jellyfish tattoo on her 18th birthday. They weren't really in my wheelhouse but I did enjoy what I heard and this one especially brings back some good memories.

Shakes all over like a jellyfish, I kinda like it.

 

[zamboni]

#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

Didn't know this one and I had to do a quadruple check when it started to make sure it actually wasn't How Soon Is Now. Good tune and mad props for sampling it.

 

[massraider]

#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.”

Such a great track. This would be higher for me.

Revered spot on my One Hit Wonder playlist, including the track below (Len)

 

[scorchy]

this, and that COTdamn Candy Flip "SFF" are irresistible ear goo - love this pick, yuuuuuuuge guilty pleasure during YaYo pregaming

That wasn't ringing any bells so had to track it down (Candy Flip I mean, not yayo). Came back instantly. My friend Perk had a crappy techno comp (Rave Til Dawn or Don't Techno for an Answer or some other dumb name) with that and the Sesame Street Song and Jump Mother****** Jump. Hadn't thought about that in forever.

 

[scorchy]

Such a great track. This would be higher for me.

Revered spot on my One Hit Wonder playlist, including the track below (Len)

Yeah, wasn't sure where it should go. If this were purely my favorites, easily top 25. Both this and Len bring me joy whenever they pop up.

 

[massraider]

this, and that COTdamn Candy Flip "SFF" are irresistible ear goo - love this pick, yuuuuuuuge guilty pleasure during YaYo pregaming

Forgot about that. My friends had some hippy parents, so we heard a lot of the Beatles as kids.

Think this one got a quick NO vote from the crew early on, and I dunno if I ever heard it again.

 

[otb_lifer]

this, and that COTdamn Candy Flip "SFF" are irresistible ear goo - love this pick, yuuuuuuuge guilty pleasure during YaYo pregaming

Forgot about that. My friends had some hippy parents, so we heard a lot of the Beatles as kids.

Think this one got a quick NO vote from the crew early on, and I dunno if I ever heard it again.

and the vid were a direct rip off of "Wrapped Around Yer Finger"

 

[Bogart]

#74 Jellyfish - That is Why

There's some Jellyfish fans here, right? I didn't know many people into them, but the two who were went crazy deep. I was introduced to them by my friend Jess who got a Jellyfish tattoo on her 18th birthday. They weren't really in my wheelhouse but I did enjoy what I heard and this one especially brings back some good memories.

At a Hastings in San Angelo TX, 1994, bought the only copy of Spilt Milk they had, based on a cute girl's recommendation. Loved it, wore it out (The girl quickly moved on). Thought they were a one album band. Wasn't until several years later and having the Internet did I know Bellybutton existed. Found it for $4 at a used record store. Wasn't as good as Spilt Milk, but was like finding a Holy Grail. Now streaming them on Spotify, Jellyfish reminds me of those times when discovering new music was harder, but also more rewarding.

 

[scorchy]

#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.