By Abigail Kwok
INQUIRER.net
WHATEVER happened to the ’90s?
I find myself returning to my 90s music collection that consisted of songs from Third Eye Blind, Beck, Tamia, Daft Punk, Radiohead, and Mariah Carey. A good mixture of different music genres, I should say.
I just had a sudden bout of nostalgia as I listened to these songs. In the 90s (I was still in high school then), these songs were pretty much definitive of high school life: love, friends, teenage angst, vices, and pop culture. I chanced upon this list from VH1 that ranked the top 100 greatest songs from the 90s. Which are/were your favorites?
Browsing through the list, I noticed that most of the bands/singers that belonged there have either vanished from the limelight or shifted to a different musical style altogether. So what happened to some of these bands, anyway?
Nirvana, which topped VH1’s list for their song “Smells like Teen Spirit,” is also known for their lead singer, the late Kurt Cobain. Cobain’s death ended the rise of the US grunge band. In 1994, Cobain committed suicide while undergoing drug rehabilitation. Cobain and his band were able to release a number of albums, the most popular of which was Nevermind (1991).
TLC’s R&B/hip-hop song “Waterfalls” landed at number eight. TLC, for me, was arguably the Destiny’s Child of the 90s. The group consisted of Tionne “T-Boz” Watkins, Lisa “Left Eye” Lopes and Rozonda “Chilli” Thomas. TLC’s claim to fame was their 1994 album titled CrazySexyCool that contained hits like “Creep” and “Waterfalls.” After the hit album, TLC released a 1999 album titled Fanmail that also produced hits like “Dear Lie,” “No Scrubs,” and “Unpretty.” Prior to releasing their 2002 album 3D, one of the members, Left Eye, was killed in a car crash and the group was reduced to two. The duo has since separated and ventured off into solo careers.
And who could forget MC Hammer? The baggy pants (a.k.a. Hammer pants), outrageous dance moves, and catchy songs like “U Can’t Touch This” will always be reminiscent of the 90s life. MC Hammer, Stanley Kirk Burrell in real life, has since become a preacher and is a CEO of DanceJam.com.
One of my favorite bands of all time, Counting Crows, also lands in the list for their song “Mr. Jones.” Counting Crows is a California rock band whose other songs include “Colorblind,” “Omaha,” and “A Long December.” Counting Crows is still alive and active in the music scene and they are set to release a new album called Saturday Nights & Sunday Mornings on March 25, according to the band’s official website.
Destiny’s Child debuted in the 90s with their single “Say My Name.” The group started out with an R&B/hip-hop sound that appealed to listeners worldwide. The group initially started out as a quartet, with the music video of “Say My Name” showcasing members Beyonce Knowles, Kelly Rowland, Michelle Williams, and Farrah Franklin. As the years passed, the group was reduced to three and the mainstays Knowles, Williams, and Rowland made waves in the music industry. Sadly, though, the group has since ventured into solo careers. Obviously, Beyonce is the most popular ex-Destiny’s Child member, garnering awards and recognitions all over. Kelly Rowland is also making her own mark. Despite separating, each member of the group still retained that R&B/hip-hop style that made them popular.
Although they didn’t make it to the VH1 list, (Editor’s note: Corrected. Third Eye Blind’s “Semi-Charmed Life” actually made it to the VH1 list.) Third Eye Blind’s “Jumper” and “Semi-Charmed Life” will always be reminiscent of teenage angst, at least for me. The songs’ powerful lyrics and catchy beat make me turn to them, until now, for listening pleasure.
In my opinion, the two boy bands Backstreet Boys and N’ Sync were the ones that went through the most transformation during the transition from the 90s up to the present. While Backstreet Boys retained its pop-ish music style, N’ Sync has since disbanded, with Justin Timberlake making a major transformation, JC Chasez singing about sex (”All Day Long I Dream About Sex”), and Lance Bass coming out of the closet. N’ Sync members’ made headlines everywhere. The Backstreet Boys, though, simply lost one member — Kevin Richardson — but they still managed to retain their style and even released a new album, Unbreakable.
Today, tons of new bands have emerged but the mark made by the 90s will forever remain. Ah, nostalgia. The 90s will always have a special place in my heart… and my iPod.
February 13th, 2008 at 1:26 am
this has actually been a matter of a nice conversation when i posted the same thing on my blog. it was reminiscent of the 90s yet to call these songs the Greatest is an understatement. there are a lot more great songs during the 90s but were not given the limelight. i think that VH1 forgot to do a narrow down of what falls under “great”. they forgot to categorize and simplify, thus end with a list that was based on how people thought it off in general. its like a Karaoke song list if you look at it. a mesh up of the songs you’d probably be belting with your friends. they forgot a great deal of artists that contributed on the 90s scene. they forgot the more popular songs by one hit wonders that influenced the life and beat of the listening public. they forgot some of Britain’s best bands, and the French also had good bands at this time. it was too broad a category that they left to a poll. i hope someone can come up with a list of Songs of the 90s and base it on something more proper to measure, like all the Number One Songs from Billboard, most requested song on TRL, or something much more measurable. if they do something like this again, it will only be contestable.
January 31st, 2008 at 5:48 pm
well technically, you can say that nirvana lives on with the foo fighters (also a 90’s band) since dave grohl was nirvana’s drummer. I sort of disagree with you when you say that the 90’s bands that are still alive or haven’t disbanded sound like they’re in a different genre. Take Radiohead– still odd and experimental or Pearl Jam who had an album about 2-3 years back– still grunge. Smashing Pumpkins– still smashing. The Foo still sound like the Foo (albeit more mature/ put together) Daft Punk and the Chem. Brothers (newest album out 2007) are still alive and mostly sound like they’ve always sounded. I think that music just shifted and placed the limelight on other bands like *cringe* fall out boy which displaces the other bands like Beck (who had an album 2 years ago) or Alanis ( who’s on tour again with MB20 i think) out of what is now defined as mainstream. So we notice them less unless they do something really rad like Radiohead’s In Rainbows “redefining” distribution or do some mega hyped marketing like Smashing Pumpkin’s Zeitgeist (the album was disappointing in my book)
January 31st, 2008 at 3:29 pm
i actually liked the VH1 show, this made me remember my youth..
and the show had a lot of trivia that were really interesting, where they are know, what it (song) was really about, etc
January 31st, 2008 at 12:40 am
nice blog! but don’t forget the OPM Bands Like Eraserheads, Yano, Rivermaya and etc!
January 30th, 2008 at 10:13 pm
I love the 90s! I really like listening the the rock bands of that era. There were still remants of the Glam Rock era in the early 90s (those hair bands), then Grunge Era, then came Alternative Rock. Of course, who would forget Hip-Hop rap groups, boy bands and R&B artists. The bands of today cannot beat those guys from the past.