Matthew Yglesias (May 21, 2007) - The Ultimate Nineties Alt-Rock Playlist (Culture)

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The Ultimate Nineties Alt-Rock Playlist

21 May 2007 11:10 am

By popular demand, you'll find the playlist for the Nineties Alt-Rock Party below. A few words. For one thing, this is just the songs in alphabetical order; at the party itself, the Party Shuffle was in effect. Most important of all, before looking at the list you need to understand what it is and what it is not. This is an effort to recreate the experience of listening to your average "modern rock" radio station during the decade in question. Hence, no hip-hop, no Spice Girls, and no then-obscure indie bands etc. One also gets points for iconicness and the elusive quality of ninetiesness. Hence, "What's the Frequency Kenneth?" represents R.E.M. on the grounds that it's the "most nineites" of R.E.M. songs and "Buddy Holly" represents the Blue Album since it was the monster hit. Arguably, I violated the terms of the arrangement with the Nirvana selections, and it's been put to me that Pavement was sufficiently mainstream to merit inclusion. Be that as it may, the task is inherently subjective and this was my party:

"21st Century Digital Boy," Bad Religion
"About a Girl," Nirvana
"Across the Sea," Weezer
"All Apologies," Nirvana
"Ba Ba Ba Ba Ba," The Mr. T Experience
"Battle of Who Could Care Less," Ben Folds Five
"Been Caught Stealing," Jane's Addiction
"Better Man," Pearl Jam
"Bitch," Meredith Brooks
"Bittersweet Symphony," The Verve
"Black Hole Sun," Soundgarden
"Bound for the Floor," Local H
"Breakfast at Tiffanys," Deep Blue Something
"Buddy Holly," Weezer
"Bulls on Parade," Rage Against the Machine
"Cannonball," The Breeders
"Cherub Rock," Smashing Pumpkins
"Closer," Nine Inch Nails
"Closing Time," Semisonic
"Cumbersome," Seven Mary Three
"Come Out and Play," The Offspring
"Creep," Radiohead
"Disarm," Smashing Pumpkins
"Doll Parts," Hole
"Don't Look Back," Oasis
"Drain You," Nirvana
"Everlong," Foo Fighters
"Every Morning," Sugar Ray
"Firestarter," The Prodigy
"Flagpole Sitta," Harvey Danger
"The Freshman," The Verve Pipe
"Glycerine," Bush
"Graduate," Third Eye Blind
"Head Like a Hole," Nine Inch Nails
"Hey Jealousy," Gin Blossoms
"Hey Man Nice Shot," Filter
"How's it Gonna Be," Third Eye Blind
"Hunger Strike," Temple of the Dog
"I Would Walk 500 Miles," The Proclaimers
"I'll Be There For You," The Rembrants
"I'm Just a Girl," No Doubt
"I'm Only Happy When It Rains," Garbage
"Interstate Love Song," Stone Temple Pilots
"Ironic," Alanis Morisette
"Jane Says," Jane's Addiction
"Jeremy," Pearl Jam
"Karma Police," Radiohead
"Knock on Wood," Mighty Mighty Bosstones
"Lightning Crashes," Live
"Loser," Beck
"Man in the Box," Alice in Chains
"Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm," Crash Test Dummies
""Monkey Wrench," Foo Fighters
"My Hero," Foo Fighters
"Name," Goo Goo Dolls
"No Rain," Blind Melon
"Not an Addict," K's Choice
"One Week," Barenaked Ladies
"Peaches," Presidents of the United States of America
"Push," Matchbox 20
"Radio," Rancid
"Ruby Soho," Rancid
"Run Around," Blues Traveler
"Runaway Train," Soul Asylum
"Santa Monica," Everclear
"Sellout," Reel Big Fish
"Semi-Charmed Life," Third Eye Blind
"Shade," Silverchair
"She Don't Use Jelly," The Flaming Lips
"She Has a Girlfriend Now," Reel Big Fish
"Siva," Smashing Pumpkins
"Slide," Goo Goo Dolls
"Spiderwebs," No Doubt
"Take a Picture," Filter
"Time Bomb," Rancid
"Tubthumping," Chumbawamba
"Two Princes," Spin Doctors
"Violet," Hole
"Volcano Girls," Veruca Salt
"The Way," Fastball
"Welcome to Paradise," Green Day
"What's the Frequency, Kenneth?" REM
"When I Come Around," Green Day
"When I Grow Up," Garbage
"Where It's At," Beck
"Wonderwall," Oasis
"You Get What You Give," New Radicals
"You Oughtta Know," Alanis Morisette
"Zombie," Cranberries

It's interesting that listing the tracks in alphabetical order generates, I think, two different instances of the same band going twice in a row and the two bands in question emerged from the same scene in the East Bay. Could be a sign.

Permalink :: Comments (222) ::

Comments (222)

What, no Matthew Sweet?

Posted by Rob | May 21, 2007 11:23 AM

What, no Matthew Sweet?

Fuck. Good call.

Posted by Matthew Yglesias | May 21, 2007 11:25 AM

First thought: Man, there's some awful stuff on that list.

Second thought: Some of those songs must have been a regional thing. For example, I never heard "Siva" on the radio, and I would have been listening for it, since I was a huge Pumpkins fan back then.

Posted by Clark | May 21, 2007 11:27 AM

I tried a similar-but-derisive experiment, coming up with rough 90s analogues for the dubious hits including on the late 60s/early 70s Freedom Rock.

And if I heard Seven Mary Three at a party, I would go all early-LSD-experiment and jump out of the nearest window.

Posted by norbizness | May 21, 2007 11:29 AM

Dave Matthews Band?

Posted by JP | May 21, 2007 11:32 AM

No Beastie Boys? No Supergrass? No Liz Phair? No Ween? No PJ Harvey?

All the while Third Eye Blind gets three tracks?

"the task is inherently subjective and this was my party:"

No doubt. But that doesn't mean this list isn't evidence that something is drastically wrong with you...

Posted by Petey | May 21, 2007 11:32 AM

Is is just because I listened to WFNX in Boston in the early 90s that I think the Pixies should be on here somewhere? (I mean, if the Mighty Mighty Bosstones are...?)

Posted by Jonathan Taylor | May 21, 2007 11:33 AM

Also, HOOTIE!!!

Posted by JP | May 21, 2007 11:37 AM

NIN's "Head Like a Hole" is from 1989. True, it "broke" in 1991, but it's an 80s tune nevertheless. Replace it with "Wish".

Posted by thefax | May 21, 2007 11:38 AM

Counting Crows

Posted by JP | May 21, 2007 11:39 AM

The problem with this list is that, with a few exceptions, you chose songs that were "good" in preference to "quintessentially 90s." For example, R.E.M. should be represented by "Losing my Religion," because that was the R.E.M. song repeated ad-nauseum through the 90s. I realize that since it was a party-mix, you had to consider the issue of listenability, but there are a bunch of songs that aren't here that I would have expected.

Note, of course, that my perception of "the 90s" skews to "early 90s."

This also interests me because this is one of the few occurances of a "90s party" that I have heard of. 80s parties started being thrown very soon after the 90s started, but there has been comparatively little interest in 90s parties. This leads me to conclude that the best way to celebrate the 90s is to throw parties that recall the sorts of parties that were thrown in the 90s. Which is to say, 80s parties. Thus, a true "90s party" is actually an "80s nostalgia party that was thrown in the 90s"

Posted by Constantine | May 21, 2007 11:40 AM

"Is is just because I listened to WFNX in Boston in the early 90s that I think the Pixies should be on here somewhere?"

I actually think the Pixies absence is acceptable considering that their last album came in '91. I also think Frank Black's solo absence is acceptable on esoteric grounds.

But a 90's nostalgia party with no Stereolab strikes me as perverse to the maximum...

Posted by Petey | May 21, 2007 11:40 AM

311 "Down"?

Posted by loser | May 21, 2007 11:40 AM

"The problem with this list is that, with a few exceptions, you chose songs that were "good"

Hah!

Posted by Petey | May 21, 2007 11:41 AM

breeders.

Posted by alex | May 21, 2007 11:43 AM

Foo Fighters seems overrepresented. There shouldn't be more Foo Fighters than Pearl Jam if you're going for iconicness.

Where are the Chili Peppers?

Posted by JP | May 21, 2007 11:43 AM

Funny, no Liz Phair or TMBG. Nice to see the Breeders made it. And thanks for not adding the Cardigans' "Love Fool". I haven't heard it in years and I'm still sick of it.

Posted by Uncle MIke | May 21, 2007 11:44 AM

Beck "Jackass"
Veruca Salt "Levelor"

Wonder Wall - I would substitute "Chapmange Supernova"

Why not "Big me"?

Ah - who cares? I bet it was a good party. Any knife fighting?

Posted by mickslam | May 21, 2007 11:45 AM

JP: Matt loves the Foo Fighters, though, so it makes sense that they're overrepresented.

I also think the amount of Third Eye Blind is justified. People dislike the band because it got overexposed, its later output was disappointing, and its lead singer is by most accounts a huge dick. But that was an amazingly consistent and slickly-produced album. And of course it was *everywhere*.

Was Stereolab really well-represented on alt rock radio in the 90s?

Posted by tom | May 21, 2007 11:46 AM

"breeders."

alex needs to master the Find command in his browser...

----

"Where are the Chili Peppers?"

Similar to the Pixies in that they're pretty much done by '91...

Posted by Petey | May 21, 2007 11:46 AM

That's not quite the canonical '90s alt-rock playlist, but it's pretty damn close. I'd have picked different songs in some cases, but the bands are well represented.

The list could use a little more estrogen, though. Elastica is sorely missed. Supernova by Liz Phair should definitely be on there somewhere. Maybe some Melissa Etheridge, if she's alt enough for you.

Posted by LaFollette Progressive | May 21, 2007 11:49 AM

"Was Stereolab really well-represented on alt rock radio in the 90s?"

No. But it was incredibly well represented at parties of widely varying tastes during the 90's, which should be part of the criteria...

Posted by Petey | May 21, 2007 11:51 AM

If you Could Only See - Tonic

And as others said, no Dave Matthews Band, 311, or Counting Crows?

Posted by dave | May 21, 2007 11:53 AM

I'd add:

"Block Rocking Beats" The Chemical Brothers

"Pepper" Butthole Surfers

"Wynona's Big Brown Beaver" Primus

But, otherwise, great list.

Posted by badger | May 21, 2007 11:57 AM

Sarah McLachlan - Possession.

Fumbling Towards Ecstasy is a very underappreciated cd.

Posted by maruk | May 21, 2007 11:58 AM

"The list could use a little more estrogen"

Elastica
Bjork
Liz Phair
PJ Harvey
Stereolab
Belle and Sebastian
Mazzy Star
Aimee Mann

Posted by Petey | May 21, 2007 11:59 AM

I know, it's supposed to be mainstream or something, but if you want this party to be fun, toss in some Pavement, the Prodigy, and Neutral Milk Hotel.

Posted by Gary Sugar | May 21, 2007 12:00 PM

if you're going to rule out the chili peppers and pixies because they were largely done by the 90s, how can you include the song 'jane says' when it was released in 1987?

i mean, the chili peppers and pixies were still getting airplay in the 90s.

Posted by gorillagogo | May 21, 2007 12:01 PM

Just to be pedantic (after all, you're finding meaning in the alphabetical order), the title of the song is "Only Happy When It Rains".

No argument that "Hey Jealousy" is the bigger hit, but the really good Gin Blossoms song is "Alison Road".

I guess it doesn't qualify as alt-rock, but for a 90s party I'd have "Missing" by Everything But The Girl on their somewhere.

I'm willing to listen to other nominations, but I think the best alt-rock joke of the 90s would be Norm McDonald. "The #1 artist on the college charts this summer was Better Than Ezra. #2? Ezra."

God, I hate that New Radicals song.

Posted by Devin McCullen | May 21, 2007 12:03 PM

Petey, ok, I phrased that wrong. It's not that the songs he chose were mostly good ones. It's that when he had a choice between a "quintessentially 90s" song from a band and a song from that band that was more pleasant to listen to, he chose the latter.

For the record, I should note my personal bias-- I hated, hated, hated, the early 90s whiner-rock aesthetic that didn't go away until the very late 90s.

Posted by Constantine | May 21, 2007 12:04 PM

The Gin Blossoms are some terrible terrible dreck. Kind of surprised there's nothing from Blood Sugar Sex Magik.

Posted by Joe Strummer | May 21, 2007 12:05 PM

Under the Bridge was a '90s song, no?

Posted by JP | May 21, 2007 12:07 PM

Foul! Proclaimers "500 Miles" was released in 1988!

Posted by Uptown Topranking | May 21, 2007 12:09 PM

Really? Because 500 Miles was a hit in 1993. What accounts for the delay?

Posted by Mark | May 21, 2007 12:10 PM

Under the bridge is canonical. Must be included. I would add Sublime...

Posted by Al | May 21, 2007 12:11 PM

I think it was re-released on a soundtrack or something.

Posted by JP | May 21, 2007 12:11 PM

"Kind of surprised there's nothing from Blood Sugar Sex Magik."

It is an amazing album, with the exception of the execrable "Under the Bridge".

Posted by Petey | May 21, 2007 12:13 PM

Gotta run, but yeah. If you're looking for not just what you like, but what was big, for Smashing Pumpkins neither Cherub Rock nor Siva were as big as Bullet With Butterfly Wings and 1979.

Actually, that 1979 isn't on the list is a huge hole.

Posted by Karmakin | May 21, 2007 12:14 PM

The Proclaimers song was re-released on the Benny and Joon soundtrack, if I remember correctly.

Posted by CJH | May 21, 2007 12:19 PM

"500 Miles" was in the movie Benny & Joon in 1993.

Posted by croatoan | May 21, 2007 12:19 PM

If songs re-released on soundtracks are allowed, I'd also suggest "My Sharona."

Posted by JP | May 21, 2007 12:20 PM

"Knock on Wood," Mighty Mighty Bosstones

I believe this song is called "The Impression That I Get", unless the Bosstones did a cover of the Eddie Floyd Stax song that I'm not familiar with.

And thanks for not adding the Cardigans' "Love Fool". I haven't heard it in years and I'm still sick of it.

Aw man, that song kicks ass. Of course, I like disco a lot more than most people.

As for DMB, my guess is that Mr. Yglesias left them off the playlist because he wanted to be at a party where he didn't have listen to DMB.

Posted by Cain | May 21, 2007 12:21 PM

Shocking omissions:

Veruca Salt, "Seether"
Collective Soul, "Shine"

Posted by Christopher M | May 21, 2007 12:24 PM

And copied from another thread, here's Steve Lawrence and Eydie Gorme's cover of Black Hole Sun, just because if you haven't heard it, you should.

Isn't it ironic? Don't you think?

Posted by Petey | May 21, 2007 12:24 PM

I guess Del Amitri's "Roll to Me" didn't make the cut.

Posted by Chris | May 21, 2007 12:28 PM

"Brimful of Asha", Cornershop
"Super Bon Bon", Soul Coughing
"Circles", "Frank Sinatra", "The Distance", Cake

Mega props for "Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm" however.

Posted by mk | May 21, 2007 12:29 PM

"Stars", Hum

Posted by mk | May 21, 2007 12:32 PM

I'm sure it was a great party, but (in my limited experience as a DJ) people have stronger nostalgic reactions to good songs that *didn't* make it into the alt-rock canon.

Viewed from this persepctive, Filter and the Breeders were excellent choices, but I'd venture that more of your friends might've gotten laid had, say, "Feed The Tree" (Belly, 1993) and "Connected" (Stereo MCs, 1991) replaced "Just A Girl" and "Runaway Train" (both of which are currently in heavy rotation at my neighborhood supermarket.)

Posted by James Gary | May 21, 2007 12:32 PM

"Ready to Go" by Republica is about as '90s as it gets, and goes hand in hand with "Tubthumping."

Posted by Shrike58 | May 21, 2007 12:35 PM

"I'm sure it was a great party, but (in my limited experience as a DJ) people have stronger nostalgic reactions to good songs that *didn't* make it into the alt-rock canon."

Yup.

Posted by Petey | May 21, 2007 12:36 PM

Do your inclusion of "Bittersweet Symphony" and the absence of any songs credited to U2 mean that you also feel that "Bittersweet Symphony" was the best U2 song of the 90's, its attribution to The Verve notwithstanding?

Posted by Sam Penrose | May 21, 2007 12:37 PM

One thing this list demonstrates: Guided by Voices was criminally unrecognized by alt-rock radio. There are at least a dozen songs from Bee Thousand and Alien Lanes that deserved airplay. It's a damn shame.

Posted by Mr. Ziffel | May 21, 2007 12:40 PM

No Beastie Boys?

Feh!

WLIR how I miss you!

Posted by Mysterious Traveler | May 21, 2007 12:42 PM

"No Beastie Boys?"

I'm astonished he included Beck.

It would've required only a little fine tuning to make this list completely free of good 90's songs.

Posted by Petey | May 21, 2007 12:45 PM

Good list. But Blur's Song 2 was a glaring emission (and a fun party song.)

Posted by jerry | May 21, 2007 12:46 PM

I second "Ready to Go". I also think "Inside Out" by Eve 6 is another pretty glaring omission.

Posted by alex | May 21, 2007 12:48 PM

I take it Pulp didn't get much airplay in the US in the 90s.

Posted by Ginger Yellow | May 21, 2007 12:48 PM

I agree with Al. How can there be a list of 90's music without Sublime? Bradley Nowell's death was a huge loss, the end of a seminal 90's band.

Posted by beth | May 21, 2007 12:49 PM

I suppose alt-rock necessarily preculdes alt-country, so no "Chickamauga."

The '90s was a great decade for alt-country. Anything cross over that can make the list?

Posted by Gorgle Erf | May 21, 2007 12:50 PM

Sublime? What I Got. Sangaria. Date-Rape Song.

Brian Setzer?

And who did Zoot Suit Riot? And that Hell song? Squirrel Nut Zippers?

How about Los Banditos by the Refreshments? Teen Angst by Cracker?

I think those were all 90s tunes.

Some stuff on your list I really, really love. Some I really, really hate. That was the 90s for you...

Posted by CJ Scudworth | May 21, 2007 12:50 PM

Sublime? What I Got. Sangaria. Date-Rape Song.

Brian Setzer?

And who did Zoot Suit Riot? And that Hell song? Squirrel Nut Zippers?

How about Los Banditos by the Refreshments? Teen Angst by Cracker?

I think those were all 90s tunes.

Some stuff on your list I really, really love. Some I really, really hate. I guess that was the 90s for you...

Posted by clonehighfan | May 21, 2007 12:51 PM

While it's good song (by an even greater band)what "average "modern rock" radio station" played the Mr. T Experience? I believe the Ba Ba Ba Ba Ba video was on MTV once or twice, on 120 Minutes during the Matt Pinfield era.

Posted by Josh | May 21, 2007 12:56 PM

And where is Spacehog's In the Meantime, dammit?

Posted by PapaJijo | May 21, 2007 12:56 PM

I find your lack of U2 disturbing.

Posted by Darth Vader | May 21, 2007 12:58 PM

Too much late 90's for my taste. Hard for the youngsters to believe, but waaay back in the early 90s, alt-rock and top 40 were two different genres. Nirvana were shocking not just because Nevermind was great, but because the album it displaced was by Michael Jackson. There's simply nothing interesting to say about Third Eye Blind, because theres no real difference between them and Michael Jackson.

And yeah, much of my 90s listening was PJ, Liz, and (my pop fave) Juliana Hatfield. Ooo, and Mary Lou Lord.

Posted by MikeJ | May 21, 2007 12:58 PM

Much agreement with those arguing for Matthew Sweet and Cornershop.

May I also suggest "Nearly Lost You", by Screaming Trees, "Love Spreads" by the Stone Roses and "Bandidos" by the Refreshments.

Posted by gogiggs | May 21, 2007 12:59 PM

Nothing from Tori Amos's Little Earthquakes?!? Criminal. No tipsy, maudlin, 90's late-night alterna-college girls' whining session would have been complete without it... I speak from experience.

The omission of Portishead is also distressing.

Posted by annelina | May 21, 2007 12:59 PM

I take it Pulp didn't get much airplay in the US in the 90s.

Sadly, no. We got Bush over here, but no Pulp. That's the story of American alt-rock radio in a nutshell.

More omissions that occur to me:
"Low," Cracker
"Girl, You'll Be a Woman Soon," Urge Overkill
ANYTHING by The Lemonheads

Posted by LaFollette Progressive | May 21, 2007 1:05 PM

This is an effort to recreate the experience of listening to your average "modern rock" radio station during the decade in question.

and you did a great job of that. overplayed, every single one of them. but, there are still stations out there sticking tightly to that play list. blech.

similarly, i once did a list of records you'd need in order to run a classic rock radio station. it's depressing.

Posted by cleek | May 21, 2007 1:09 PM

'steal my sunshine" by len was 1999. wasn't exactly neutral milk hotel, but if we're calling third eye blind 'alt-rock' then len definitely falls into the category. tune was fun, infectious, and utterly inescapable upon release.

'pepper' by the butthole surfers should've gotten a shout-out as well.

and where da wilco at, yo?

Posted by speedy0314 | May 21, 2007 1:12 PM

I'm very glad I wasn't at your party.
With the exception of "21st Century Digital Boy", these songs all suck, as dot he bands that produced them. And that includes Nirvana, any of whose songs were done better in 1985 during the hardcore movement.

Posted by brendan | May 21, 2007 1:12 PM

"Good" by Better Than Ezra?
"Here And Now" by Letters To Cleo?
And I second the Spacehog motion a couple of comments above...

Posted by straleno | May 21, 2007 1:12 PM

Tori Amos- Conrflake Girl
Filter- Hey Man, Nice shot
RHCP- Under the Bridge
Helmet- In the Meantime
Sunday Day Real Estate- Seven
Jennifer Trynin- Better than nothing
Temple of the Dog- Hunger Strike
Tool- Prison Sex
Quicksand- Landmine Spring
Todd Snider- My Generation (Part 2)

Just to name a few.

Posted by patrick | May 21, 2007 1:17 PM

Re: alt-country,

Then only song I can think of that got much radio airplay was Son Volt's "Drown."

Posted by Azelie | May 21, 2007 1:17 PM

mk,

Get out of my head. I was going to suggest 2 of the 3 bands you listed (and I wholly agree with cornershop, too).

Posted by Crusty Dem | May 21, 2007 1:18 PM

This is great. I've been looking to put together a '90s Alternative playlist for the User Track radio station in Grand Theft Audio: San Andreas. Radio X doesn't really reflect what I think of as '90s Alternative. I think I'll revise history so that Stone Temple Pilots never existed, though.

Posted by superdude | May 21, 2007 1:21 PM

What we totally need is, instead of a single comments thread, a comments wiki area where we can collectively make our own list. Or a comments voting area, where we can vote on it. This would rule all blegs until the end of time.

Posted by mk | May 21, 2007 1:21 PM

Excluding Jeff Buckley from a 90s "best" list is a damn shame.

Posted by mat | May 21, 2007 1:23 PM

"Too much late 90's for my taste. Hard for the youngsters to believe, but waaay back in the early 90s, alt-rock and top 40 were two different genres. Nirvana were shocking not just because Nevermind was great, but because the album it displaced was by Michael Jackson. There's simply nothing interesting to say about Third Eye Blind, because theres no real difference between them and Michael Jackson."

lol exactly. I was at a party in the 90s, and with people I do not consider to be music aware at all. These are people who listened to Journey or something like that. Somebody brought out Nevermind, and people at the party just started screaming and loving it. They asked to play it over - the entire thing, and then again. Completely out of character shocking behaviour for this crowd. They listened to the record 3 times that night. You can't overestimate how big this record was, how different it was, how good it was in real time. It was like the Beatles vs Perry Como or something.

There is this sense by the younger crowd that all of this stuff is of the same pedigree. However, at the time, there was for about 2 years this confluence of indie, alt-rock and pop that was just incredible. It was a magic time.

It faded quickly when Bush and "Everything Zen" first hit the radio - when I heard that band, I knew the record execs had decided on a sound, figured out how to market it and was going to destroy the things I loved on the radio.

I am almost 40. In general, people just a few years older than me like Boston, and that is what Nirvana was killing.

Posted by mickslam | May 21, 2007 1:28 PM

Flood by They Might Be Giants was a pretty big deal in the dorms in 1990-91 if I remember correctly, so..."Birdhouse In Your Soul"?

Posted by mh | May 21, 2007 1:30 PM

‘Kool Thing’, Sonic Youth
‘Pretend We’re Dead’, L7
‘1979’, Smashing Pumkins
‘Bring the Noise’, Anthrax/Public Enemy
‘Personal Jesus’, Depeche Mode
‘Praise You’, Fatboy Slim

Posted by RC | May 21, 2007 1:30 PM

And where is the elastica?

"Connection" or "Stutter"

Posted by mickslam | May 21, 2007 1:36 PM

yep. and everything on MY's list is the stuff that killed that feeling. when Nirvana made it, and brought all these diverse underground bands to the mainstream (Flaming Lips on 90120, Mudhoney on a major label, RHCP become popular?), something had changed for the better. then a thousand identical, scripted, "Modern Rock" radio stations appeared and the whole thing became nothing more than Top 40 For Non-Dancers.

Posted by cleek | May 21, 2007 1:40 PM

No Southern Culture on the Skids? Juliana Hatfield? Johnny Cash?

Posted by Spud1 | May 21, 2007 1:40 PM

It's a sign that li'l Master Yglesias was on the Lookout! mailing list as a lad. High fives for shared adolescent experiences (even if Dr. Frank did lead you to support the war)!

Posted by aeroman | May 21, 2007 1:41 PM

Thanks for reminding me about Third Eye Blind. Listening to them now, you get a sense of just how prophetic they were -- they had a keen presentiment of the role that fear plays within the moral psyche of the American people, and what an Age of Terror might look like. Great foresight, great band.

Posted by Juan | May 21, 2007 1:41 PM

Dude, RC, Depeche Mode and Fatboy Slim aren't rock. I must admit, I was terribly tempted to suggest stuff like

"Your Woman," White Town
"Lovefool," The Cardigans

but I restrained myself.

That said, I submit:

"Radiation Vibe," Fountains of Wayne
"You're One," Imperial Teen

Posted by scarshapedstar | May 21, 2007 1:41 PM

This list?

Seriously ickford park.

Nostalgia for Third Eye Blind and Everclear? Count me the fuck out.

Posted by ethan | May 21, 2007 1:44 PM

Oh, and you totally left out:

"I Got A Girl," Tripping Daisy
"Jenny Says," Cowboy Mouth

Posted by scarshapedstar | May 21, 2007 1:45 PM

"Thanks for reminding me about Third Eye Blind. Listening to them now, you get a sense of just how prophetic they were -- they had a keen presentiment of the role that fear plays within the moral psyche of the American people, and what an Age of Terror might look like. Great foresight, great band."

Wow.

(I'm not sure why I'm always so surprised when commenters here confirm Sturgeon's Law. I mean, it's not like there's a bouncer or a guest list...)

Posted by Petey | May 21, 2007 1:46 PM

Where's Smash Mouth? All Star was 99 and Walking on the Sun was 1997.

Also, I like Hook better than Runaround for Blues Traveler.

Posted by Random Dude | May 21, 2007 1:46 PM

"yep. and everything on MY's list is the stuff that killed that feeling. when Nirvana made it, and brought all these diverse underground bands to the mainstream (Flaming Lips on 90120, Mudhoney on a major label, RHCP become popular?), something had changed for the better. then a thousand identical, scripted, "Modern Rock" radio stations appeared and the whole thing became nothing more than Top 40 For Non-Dancers. "

lol again - Not all, just lots of it.

Posted by mickslam | May 21, 2007 1:46 PM

(but i guess you could call my previous post "late-80's nostalgia")

Posted by cleek | May 21, 2007 1:47 PM

No Giant Sand? Howe Gelb? Band of Blacky Ranchette? Lisa Germano?

???

Posted by Stephen M.H. Braitman | May 21, 2007 1:47 PM

"The Ballad of Peter Pumpkinhead" - XTC
"Hear" - Moonpools and Caterpillars
"Here" - Luscious Jackson
"Twisterella" - Ride
"Boys and Girls" - Blur
"Bad Reputation" - Freedy Johnston
"Underground" - Ben Folds Five
"Candy Everybody Wants" - 10,000 Maniacs
"Enjoy the Silence" - Depeche Mode
"She Don't Use Jelly" - Flaming Lips

I'll fourth or fifth deploring the lack of Sublime...you'd think 1990-1993 never happened, more or less, from this list...

Posted by tom | May 21, 2007 1:48 PM

"Nostalgia for Third Eye Blind and Everclear? Count me the fuck out."

Sparkle and Fade is a perfectly listenable album, if not all that special...

Posted by Petey | May 21, 2007 1:49 PM

To cut Matthew some slack re the lack of early 90s stuff - the kid WAS like 10 at the time... Some of us were actually in college listening college radio then.

Meanwhile, this is making me nostalgic for the days of cranking BRU and hearing somethg new and exciting all the time. Sadly, hearing like Artic Monkeys for the first time ain't the same. Goddamn getting old.

Posted by Al | May 21, 2007 1:49 PM

I am almost 40. In general, people just a few years older than me like Boston, and that is what Nirvana was killing.

Nirvana wasn't killing Boston (which was pretty much dead by then), but all those hair bands (Whitesnake, Ratt, Poison, etc) that were destroying rock one crappy ballad/anthem at a time. While purists might complain that "Nevermind" wasn't their best album, it deserves its status as a taste changer. Even geezers like me who grew up listening to Boston in a reefer induced haze in someone's basement could see how important they were.

Posted by Col Bat Guano | May 21, 2007 1:51 PM

"To cut Matthew some slack re the lack of early 90s stuff - the kid WAS like 10 at the time"

It's really no excuse.

I have a decent knowledge of music from before I came of age, much as I do with cinema.

I worry about folks who never go through enough of a music obsessive phase to develop tastes from before their time.

Posted by Petey | May 21, 2007 1:53 PM

I'm about the same age as Matt, give or take a year, and his list looks spot on to me.

Overlooked, IMO (many seconded from the comments above):

"Under the Bridge" Red Hot Chili Peppers
"Give it Away" Red Hot Chili Peppers
"What I Got" Sublime
"Wrong Way" Sublime
"Sabotage" Beastie Boys (a glaring lacuna, Matt's no-hip-hop rule notwithstanding)
"In the Meantime" Spacehog
"Mother" Danzig
"Epic" Faith No More
"Killing in the Name" Rage Against the Machine
"Sober" Tool
"Fall Down" Toad the Wet Sprocket
"Popular" Nada Surf
"Connection" Elastica
"Birdhouse in Your Soul" They Might Be Giants
"Pepper" Butthole Surfers
"Teen Angst" Cracker
"Spoonman" Soundgarden
"Seether" Veruca Salt
"Feed the Tree" Belly
"Friends of P" The Rentals
"Pets" Porno for Pyros

... plus some unfortunate-but-necessary Hall of Shamers:

"Everything Zen" Bush
"Tomorrow" Silverchair
"Shine" Collective Soul
"Far Behind" Candlebox

Posted by Dan | May 21, 2007 1:58 PM

However, at the time, there was for about 2 years this confluence of indie, alt-rock and pop that was just incredible. It was a magic time.

I'll agree with this, too -- I always thought that girl-group/grunge sound of "Cannonball" and "Seether" would take off, but alas it didn't last. Like in the early '80s, though, there was a year or two when the industry didn't know what the rules were, and some really inventive pop music snuck through.

Speaking of which...

"I'll Be There For You," The Rembrandts

This applies to the "selling out" conversation, I suppose, but the two guys in the Rembrandts were the guitarists in an early '80s band called Great Buildings that released one excellent album ("Apart From the Crowd") before breaking up after it failed to sell. So while the "Friends" theme (which they didn't write) was no great shakes artistically, I was glad that they finally made some money.

Posted by Swopa | May 21, 2007 1:58 PM

That's a pretty faithful rendition. I would have picked "Brick", which I think was more popularthan "Battle of Who Could Care Less". And either "I'm only Happy When It Rains" or "Stupid Girl". And you missed the Friends theme song, which I think got play on alternative stations. And I think I would have put Landslide, Bullet with Butterfly Wings, or 1979 for my third Smashing Pumpkins song. Obviously everyone has their own

I think the alt-ska and alt-swing subgenres are little underrepresented. You've got Might Mighty Bostones and No Doubt, but no Sublime, Squirrel Nut Zippers, Cherry Poppin Daddies, or Brian Setzer Orchestra?

Others have pointed out that the lack of any Red Hot Chili Peppers is a serious oversight.

Must have been fun, lots of "oh my god I remember this, I can't believe I thought it was good" moments.

Posted by Nicholas Beaudrot | May 21, 2007 2:00 PM

Depeche Mode and Fatboy Slim aren't rock

That's arguable, but they were played on alt-rock radio stations in the 90's, which was MY's criteria.

Posted by RC | May 21, 2007 2:03 PM

"Must have been fun, lots of "oh my god I remember this, I can't believe I thought it was good" moments."

We have different definitions of fun, apparently...

An evening of "oh my god I remember this, I can't believe I thought it was good" doesn't work for me. You're listening to bad music, which gets tired quick.

Posted by Petey | May 21, 2007 2:03 PM

Ugh.

In most places, that list is slit-my-wrists-to-end-the-pain bad. Breakfast at Tiffany's, Semi-Charmed, Life, and Closing Time... how much vomit can I produce?

I would have paid not to have been at that party.

Gonna see Tool tonight, though. Woo Hoo!

Posted by Zarate | May 21, 2007 2:05 PM

The lack of any Counting Crows song is the biggest omission. I don't think any band more represented the "I'm slightly disaffected and depressed but I don't know why" ethos of the nineties better than Counting Crows.

U2 released music in the nineties, but they weren't a nineties band.

"Stay" by Lisa Loeb would have been appropriate. It was catchy when first heard on the commercials for Reality Bites and inescapable for the rest of 1994.

"Longview" or "Basket Case" would have been a better choice from Green Day.

And the nineties ended in 1997.

Posted by bill | May 21, 2007 2:07 PM

"Also, I like Hook better than Runaround for Blues Traveler."

I think "But Anyway" might be a better "party mix" Blues Traveler song than the two above

Posted by mh | May 21, 2007 2:09 PM

Helmet - Unsung?
Faith No More - Midlife Crisis?
Rollins Band - Liar??

Posted by MikeDV | May 21, 2007 2:10 PM

Among many others, I would add:

Stereo MCs, "Connected"

And something from Moby's 1999 album "Play," probably either "Porcelain" or "Natural Blues."

Posted by J R Hand | May 21, 2007 2:14 PM

Helmet - Unsung?
Uh...

Faith No More - Midlife Crisis?
Uh...

Rollins Band - Liar??

Totally.

Posted by mk | May 21, 2007 2:19 PM

Mick is totally right. There is a lot of baby food on this list. No Mudhoney? Supersuckers? Helmet? Rollins Band? Ministry? NIN-Closer? Hu