90’s Music

Growing Up 90’s: Soul Asylum- “Misery”

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They say misery loves company

We could start a company

And make misery

Unless you had a predilection towards that “pump up the jams” garbage during the 90’s, you most likely had to find a way to tolerate the dominance of the grunge wave over the popular music scene. Songs about despair, depression, and pill-popping took over rock radio, and you might have had to flip over to a jock jams tune to find anything remotely positive or encouraging. Luckily, there were some gems that came from the grunge movement, and often enough, the MUSIC was good.  Continue reading →

Growing Up 90’s: The Wallflowers- “6th Avenue Heartache”

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“Sirens ring, the shots ring out

A stranger cries, screams out loud

I had my world strapped against my back

I held my hands, never knew how to act.”

Jakob Dylan was a storyteller, just like his old man (Bob, in case you didn’t know), except that his lyrics and vocals were a whole hell of a lot more intelligible. Fronting The Wallflowers, Dylan brought “6th Avenue Heartache,” a song he wrote about his experiences living in New York, to the band’s album Bringing Down The Horse, and made it their first hit.  Continue reading →

Growing Up 90’s: Matthew Sweet- “Sick of Myself”

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Twenty years on, I remember the first time that I heard “Sick of Myself” by Matthew Sweet. My cousin Brian had just gotten the record from whence it came, 100% Fun.  Brian had just gotten into playing the guitar, so we used to sit and listen to all kinds of music, and this particular song stuck with me after all this time. I wouldn’t recognize anything else from the album right now, and the only other song I’ve ever heard from Sweet is “Girlfriend,” mostly because of its appearance on one of the original Guitar Hero games. Continue reading →

Growing Up 90’s: Everclear- “Heartspark Dollarsign”

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Coming from the band that named itself after the grain alcohol that could strip the paint off a car (but people still willingly ingest…still boggles my mind), Everclear’s “Heartspark Dollarsign” was a song that delved into the ugliness of racism, and the love that is needed to rise above it. The song, written by the band’s lead singer Art Alexakis, centers around an interracial relationship, with the protagonist having to deal with grief from his racist family members for having the nerve to date a black girl, seeing past the color of her skin and loving her for what she is.  Continue reading →

Growing Up 90’s: Tonic- “You Wanted More”

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I don’t know when I got bitter/Love is surely better when it’s gone

That line leading into the chorus of Tonic’s 1999 hit “You Wanted More” hits you right in the stomach, if you’ve ever been lost in the arena of love. Barely sneaking in as a 90’s song, the tune appeared the band’s album Sugar in November of ’99, as well as on the soundtrack of the iconic teen movie American Pie, and has been tugging at my heartstrings ever since. Continue reading →

Growing Up 90’s: No Doubt- “Don’t Speak”

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No Doubt didn’t make their breakthrough until their third album, Tragic Kingdom was released in 1995, but that breakthrough was a massive one. The band rode that album’s wave to the top on the strength of singles such as “Spiderwebs,” “Just a Girl,” “Sunday Morning,” “Excuse Me Mr.” and the biggest hit of all, “Don’t Speak”. The song was written about the breakup of lead singer Gwen Stefani and bassist Tony Kanal, which nearly caused the band to break up as well. Continue reading →

Growing Up 90’s: Goo Goo Dolls- “Long Way Down”

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The first song on the track listing for the Goo Goo Dolls’ breakout album A Boy Named Goo, “Long Way Down” is a song that rocks your face off, at least when compared to everything the band put out after that record. Once upon a time, the three-piece band, consisting of John Rzeznik on guitar and lead vocals, bassist Robby Takac (who took lead vocal duties on a handful of the tracks on that album), and drummer Mike Malinin, actually plugged their instruments in and rocked. Continue reading →