Why Music in the 90’s Rocked

 I think that when all is said and done, my generation will be defined on the principle of Instant Nostalgia. Because technology is constantly changing, upgrading, and obsoleting previous technologies within a few years, we can basically reminisce on any slightly old concept. This translates into a desire to have the latest and greatest new thing, smart phone, laptop, iPod, whatever. I would say that LA is a microcosm of America, a town that jumps on and off the bandwagon as soon as something “better” comes along. In order to stay current, you must be constantly adapting and changing.

Without the ability to stay satisfied living in the present, people around my age (23) have become the “Nostalgic” generation. We are constantly longing for the better times of the past. But this isn’t like the artificial longing of Republicans, who want to go back to a “simpler time” which included slavery, social inequality, and was not historical in any sense that it is remembered. Ours is more of the desire to relive memories, to stabilize when everything around us is so rapidly changing. We want to believe that things are shifting for the worst and the past holds the answers to our problems.

Not convinced? Here are some examples.

Have you ever flipped on Nickelodeon and realized that kids’ shows in the 90s, like Doug and All That, were way better than the Hannah Montana crap on now? Nostalgia!

Ever wished that Disney still made actual cartoons? Nostalgia!

Ever miss VHS, cassettes, landlines, MySpace, Walkman, newspapers, or dialup? Come on, just a little?

How about this; have you ever browsed through Facebook pictures and thought, “Man that party was amazing! I wish it was 2008 again. Those were the good times.”? NOSTALGIA!

I’ve been witness to conversations where people were reminiscing about events from the previous month as if it was some long-lost oasis in history.

Maybe humans do need stability in our lives, something to grab onto  while the world is on tilt. We are the passengers on the Titanic, holding  onto the rails for our lives while the boat goes vertical. We look  backwards, because the future is so indefinite.

That being said, I honestly do believe that the 90s were a crucial swing year in music history and that the 90s were way better than current music.

The 80’s were a garbage heap of crappy music. Big Hair Bands were the norm, a result of the evolution of rock music into a polished, marketable product. Grunge bands in the 90’s basically said “F*** that!” and decided to make hard, gritty, real music rather than become an item to be sold. Of course the result was that “grunge” became a fashion sense and forced Kurt Cobain to commit suicide.

Basically, the 90’s were a gateway between the polished products of the 80’s and the polished products of the late 00’s. It was a period of musical freedom; when art-form outshined the packaging.

Let me go down my ultimate 90s playlist. I decided that only one song form each band could be included in order to focus on multiple bands. Some of the music is great, while some is just nostalgic for me. This week will be rock, but I plan to write at least two more follow-ups for different genres.

 Seattle Grunge

      1) Nirvana: “Smells Like Teen Spirit” This is considered one of the greatest songs of all time for a reason; it was groundbreaking at the time. As mentioned, rock in the 80’s consisted of bands that were products; big hair, flashy clothing, and heavily addicting music with memorable choruses (“Pour some sugar on meeeeeeeeee!”).

Nirvana wanted a stripped down, rougher sound. They preferred to perform in their everyday clothes, which ironically became a fashion trend itself. In the end, Kurt Cobain realized that he was becoming the exact thing he wanted to avoid, an icon, and killed himself rather than see his music transformed into a polished product used to sell albums and make money.

But prior to that happening, Nirvana released outstanding rock music. There are many I could have chosen, including “Heart-Shaped Box,” “Come as You Are,” or “All Apologies,” (presented here in the haunting MTV Unplugged performance months before his death) but I stuck with the perennial classic that transformed rock music and defined a generation. RIP KC.

2)      Pearl Jam: “Alive” Another band with an enormous amount of hits. Originally considered a Nirvana rip-off and a way to mainstream grunge, Kurt Cobain himself later gave them his consent. Their most popular hit is Jeremy, which is a good song but not my favorite. It is worth noting that Jeremy was the band’s final music video, choosing to reject the MTV culture that forced artists to associate images with their songs. They also got into a dispute with Ticketmaster for taking a cut of the price of tickets, thereby raising prices for fans. They boycotted Ticketmaster sponsored venues, instead limiting performances to smaller stages, which ultimately hurt their revenue but maintained a loyalty to their fans and lead to the creation of the Coachella Festival in California. They continue to release music, but rather than being “grunge” it is probably considered “adult contemporary,” meaning they will have continued longevity as their fans age.

3)      Soundgarden: “Fell on Black Days” I know “Black Hole Sun” is a fantastically grim song and the band’s greatest hit, but I’m currently diggin’ this one. So sue me (a quintessential 90s expression). Being the third or fourth best Seattle rock group is difficult, but front man Chris Cornell’s raspy vocals are probably stronger than Cobain’s and Vedder’s. The group recently reunited and released a greatest hits CD.

4)      Alice in Chains: “Rooster” More metal sounding than the previous bands, Alice was nonetheless influential to the Seattle area and music in general. RIP Layne Staley.

5)      Presidents of the United States of America: “Lump” Okay so these guys aren’t grunge and are actually sound fairly pop-y, but they were still pretty good. And they made a song called “Peaches” with the lyrics “Millions of peaches, peaches for me. Millions of peaches, peaches for free.” And it was nominated for a Grammy.

Alternative Rock

      6) Smashing Pumpkins: “Bullet with Butterfly Wings” This song starts so strongly. Man, I love the Pumpkins. And I love that they are named after a verb. I also love “Tonight, Tonight,” “Cherub Rock,” and “Today.” While they wouldn’t want to categorize themselves as grunge, they do have that stripped down sound with a lead singer who doesn’t have the best voice (although Billy Corgan’s voice is unique) and they obviously benefitted from grunge’s popularity. It is also worth noting that Pumpkins embraced the music video as an art form, rather than as a means to sell albums.

7)      Rage Against the Machine “Killing in the Name” The original rap rock group, this LA-based band actually preceded the grunge movement but is notable for being revolutionary for blending the two genres. Sure, the Beastie Boys were around first, but Rage is hardcore rock with a passionate anti-establishment message. Eventually, the world would be exposed to the watered-down version called Limp Bizkit.

8)      Red Hot Chili Peppers “Under the Bridge” Some of the best songs; they were the original alt rock superstars.

9)      Sublime “April 29, 1992 (Miami)” This anthem for the Rodney King riots was a middle finger to The Man, and is an extensive retelling of opportunistic looting.

Has another band ever blended reggae and punk rock as successfully? You may have to ask UB40, but I say no. Bradley Nowel, Sublime’s lead singer, died of a heroin overdose in ’96. Did this decade have a vendetta against all our best musicians?! And how are the Rolling Stones still alive?!

10)  Third Eye Blind “Jumper” Did anyone else realize how much these guys talked about really hard drugs? I’ve never heard so many Crystal Meth songs.

11)  Matchbox Twenty “Push” They had a solid run, then Rob Thomas went solo.

12)  Counting Crows: “Mr. Jones” Good group, not my favorite.

13)  Foo Fighters “Everlong” One of my favorite rock songs of all time. By the way, Dave Grohl was the drummer for Nirvana before Cobain’s death, and afterwards starts Foo Fighters as lead singer/lead guitarist. Ridiculous, right? Then he decides to play drums again for Queens of the Stone Age as a side project. That is versatility.

14)  Nine Inch Nails “Closer” Creepy song, creepier video.

15)  Marilyn Manson “The Dope Show” Worth noting that he was played on MTV and was popular on TRL. Just can’t see mainstream media ever letting someone like him become a national icon today. And Columbine was not his fault- at all.

16)  Metallica “Enter Sandman” Unfortunately, this metal hit will forever be associated with New York Yankees closer Mariano Rivera, but pretty kick-ass anyways.

Pop Punk

    17)  Green Day “Brain Stew” Who predicted that twenty years later these punk rockers would still be superstars, with consistent album sales and a Broadway musical.

    18)  The Offspring “Why Don’t You Get a Job?” This is the anthem for people dealing with lazy boyfriends and girlfriends. The Offspring still release relatively successful albums, outliving the careers of most punk groups.

    19)  Blink 182 “All the Small Things” These guys made hilarious music videos.

Rap Rock

20)  Korn “Freak on a Leash” This rap rock metal band had mainstream success, reaching number one on the Billboard 200. This is one of the 5 greatest music videos of all time.

21)  Kid Rock “Cowboy” Kid Rock has had the craziest career. He started as a rapper, but his stage name had “Rock” in it so he started embracing that aspect of his persona, then out of leftfield he becomes a country star? Huh? It is also worth noting that at this point there were two white rappers from Detroit and they actually recorded a track together for Kid Rock’s Devil Without a Cause.

There it is: my rock list. I may have left somebody off, either accidently or because I planned to include them in a future column. But let me know if I forgot someone you think is important.

The one thing I did learn from this project is that almost all the good rock music was coming from Washington or California. Where the hell is Oregon? This is more evidence that Oregon is the black sheep of the west coast; the son who lives in his parent’s basement while his siblings have great careers; the third Olsen daughter.

If I had it my way, we would divide California in half, and NorCal could absorb Southern Oregon and Washington would take Northern Oregon (including Portland, which would allow Washington to give Spokane and Pullman to Idaho). This would maintain a three state west coast, and Oregon would be gone. Perfect!

Next week, I get back to the basics with a sports column about University of Washington athletics, including: Jake Locker in the NFL, Venoy Overton, and the NCAA tourney.