Jump to content
TSM Forums
Sign in to follow this  
Kinetic

'90s Song Tournament Nominations

Recommended Posts

Tal Bachman- She's So High

Duncan Sheik- Barely Breathing

Fastball-The Way

 

And to respond to BUTT, I think the aim is to balance nostalgia and quality. Nobody will be happy if Neutral Milk Hotel wins the damn thing and nobody will be happy if Vanilla Ice takes it all. It's all about finding a happy medium as with any of these tournaments and countdown lists. Nobody should get their panties in a knot over this, although someone certainly will.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Well yeah sure he's swinging at every pitch he sees but there's still enough good stuff amidst the crap, Mr. Hey-Nothing-Screams-Great-90s-Singles-Like-The-White-Fucking-Stripes.

 

This nickname is less fun than "Legendary Harry". But hey, I have to make this tournament fun for me. Semi-Charmed Life has no nostalgic value, I've gotta nominate what I like.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Tal Bachman- She's So High

Duncan Sheik- Barely Breathing

Fastball-The Way

 

And to respond to BUTT, I think the aim is to balance nostalgia and quality. Nobody will be happy if Neutral Milk Hotel wins the damn thing and nobody will be happy if Vanilla Ice takes it all. It's all about finding a happy medium as with any of these tournaments and countdown lists. Nobody should get their panties in a knot over this, although someone certainly will.

I would. Hard to Swallow is an album that's accessible to everyone.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

This is a nostalgia tournament in a lot of ways, which is why I chose the '90s over the '80s. But, as Kamala alluded to, there has to be a certain balance in your decision-making: You have to listen to things with your current critical ear while also bearing in mind whatever nostalgic value these songs might have. And because I'm weighing this thing heavily toward songs that are immediately recognizable radio hits, there's going to be a fair amount of not great songs in here, so nostalgic value may be the only value that they have. I want to see a lot of '90s anecdotes once the voting begins. I have a perfectly good "Don't Speak" anecdote, so you can rest assured it's making the cut. Posters who are too young to have any sort of affection for this stuff are just going to have to suck it up.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Aw, I totally forgot No Doubt. Well hmph.

 

As for the nostalgia/quality thing, I don't know. With the songs I picked, there's obviously a large nostalgia element involved, but I can still endorse the intrinsic merits of the songs if only on the most rudimentary "infectious hooks"/"it has a good beat and you can dance to it" levels. There are songs that certainly take me back to a certain time and/or place, like "Ironic" or "Satellite" or "Sell Out" or "Smells Like Teen Spirit," and those are all noteworthy or popular or catchy or zeitgeisty, but I don't think they're very good songs. I'll concede that having been a Top 40 disciple from '94 to 2000, I felt some responsibility to make this about the auditory wallpaper of my youth rather than just Songs From This Decade Which Happened To Be Good, in which case I'd be loading the list with Radiohead, R.E.M., Afghan Whigs, stuff off Violator and Loveless, but those are comparatively recent discoveries; it'd be at the expense of the authenticity that comes with endorsing songs I've been coming back to for, in some cases, 15 years. It's tantamount to turning down a steakhouse for your neighborhood gyros stand, and just as hard to justify. It's all open to individual interpretation, though, which is good, because it'll make for some fascinating collisions and difficult decisions between the critically acclaimed and personal peccadilloes.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Trying not to add any repeats here...

 

112 ft. Lil’ Zane- “Anywhere”

5ive- “When The Lights Go Out”

Aaliyah- “Are You That Somebody?”

Erykah Badu- “Tyrone”

Heavy D and the Boyz- “Now That We Found Love”

Joey McIntyre- “Stay The Same”

Kirk Franklin- “Stomp” (gotta get some gospel in somewhere)

Kid Rock- “Bawitdaba”

KP & Envyi- “Shorty Swing My Way”

Mariah Carey “Honey (Bad Boy Remix)”

MC Breed- “Ain’t No Future In Yo Frontin’”

Monica- “Angel Of Mine”

Monifah- “Touch It”

Montell Jordan- “Get It On Tonight”

Onyx- “Slam”

Robyn- “Show Me Love”

Shanice- “I Love Your Smile”

Shawn Mullins- “Lullaby”

SWV- “Right Here (Human Nature Mix)”

Vertical Horizon- “Everything You Want” (this kinda toes the ‘99-00 line but whatever)

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

"Everything's Ruined" by Faith No More

"Just a Man" by Faith No More

"Gentle Art of Making Enemies" by Faith No More

"Love Outside Movies" by Mark Szabo

"Fitzcarraldo" by The Frames

"Isobel" by Bjork

"The Great Song of Indifference" by Bob Geldof

"Dramamine" by Modest Mouse

"Talking Shit about a Pretty Sunset" by Modest Mouse

"I Stay Away" by Alice in Chains

"Heart Shaped Box" by Nirvana

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Lush - "De-Luxe"

Ben Folds Five - "Lullabye"

Weezer - "Only in Dreams"

De La Soul - "A Roller Skating Jam Named 'Saturday'"

Cibo Matto - "Sugar Water"

Jamiroquai - "Cosmic Girl"

Beastie Boys - "Intergalactic"

They Might Be Giants - "I Palindrome I"

Soundgarden - "Blow Up the Outside World"

Digable Planets - "Rebirth of Slick (Cool Like Dat)"

Blur - "She's So High"

Pixies - "Dig For Fire"

XTC - "My Bird Performs"

Harvey Danger - "Flagpole Sitta"

Pearl Jam - "Do the Evolution"

Marcy Playground - "It's Saturday"

Cake - "Let Me Go"

Nirvana - "Molly's Lips" (I've seen some other covers nominated so this is cool, right?)

 

So basically all of my nominations would probably be gone in short order, but eh. Also, holy shit, seconding the nomination of "Little Black Backpack" by Stroke 9. I had no idea there were other people who still remember that song, I loved that one so much back in 1999.

 

My list is sort of a mix of songs I really love now that happened to be released in the '90s (yeah, obviously I wasn't a Pixies fan when that song was released) and songs that I loved a lot at the time so they sort of represent that time period for me, or just songs that when I hear them I have this weird "oh my god this is such a 90's song" reaction that I can't coherently explain ("It's Saturday," "Do the Evolution"). I would maybe have gone the latter route more except honestly, I only started having real opinions about music in like... 1999. So that would give me only two or three years to work with, more or less.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

It amazes me looking back at the 90s how many of the songs that got to #1 were movie soundtrack tie ins.

 

Don't Speak - No Doubt

More Than Words - Extreme (for all your hair metal lovers out there)

Enter Sandman - Metallica (SELL OUTS!!!)

To Be With You - Mr. Big (Showing Paul Gilbert love wherever I can)

Blaze Of Glory - Bon Jovi (Loved the movie and the song from it)

Buddy Holly - Weezer (OOOOOOeeeOOoo I look just like...)

Space Cowboy - jamiroquai

Deeper Underground - jamiroquai (the only good thing about that shitty Godzilla movie)

Do You Remember The First Time? - Pulp

Charmless Man - Blur

Song 2 - Blur

Coffee & TV - Blur

The Life of Riley - The Lightning Seeds (Songs they did before '3 Lions...')

Muscle Museum - Muse

Supersonic - Oasis

Don't Look Back in Anger - Oasis

Hush - Kula Shaker (Yeah, sure its a cover, but shh)

Piano Lessons - Porcupine Tree (outside nomination that won't make it)

Just - Radiohead

Date Rape - Sublime

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Sorry, just wanted to add a few more. That's all I'll add, I promise.

 

Santeria, Sublime

What I got, Sublime

Faith, Limp Bizkit

Rollin', Limp Bizkit

Sex and Candy, Marcy Playground

The Beautiful People, Marilyn Manson

Tubthumping, Chumbawamba

I'm Blue, Eiffel 65

Barbie Girl, Aqua

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

'80s nostalgia started becoming cool in '97/'98 and '50s nostalgia was in full swing around the time of Woodstock, so why can't we become nostalgiac about the '90s? VH1 shot their '90s nostalgia wad like four years too early.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Smashing Pumpkins "1979"

Alice in Chains "Rooster"

Nirvana "In Bloom"

Soundgarden "Black Hole Sun"

Pearl Jam "Jeremy"

Tool "Sober"

Notorious B.I.G. "Hypnotize"

Dr. Dre & Snoop Dogg "Nuttin But A G Thang"

Spice Girls "Wannabe"

Metallica "Enter Sandman"

Faith No More "Epic"

Tupac & Dr. Dre "California Love"

Rage Against the Machine "Know Your Enemy"

The Cranberries "Zombie"

U2 "Mysterious Ways"

Seal "Kiss Like A Rose"

Green Day "Basket Case"

Guns and Roses "Civil War"

Van Halen "Right Now"

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Looks like a ton of nominations, so I'll just pitch in three.

 

"All for You" by Sister Hazel

"Sad but True" by Metallica

"Wherever I may Roam" by Metallica

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Whomever nominated Limp Bizkit's "Rollin' (Air Raid Vehicle)," let it be known that track was released in 2000.

 

Here's some more fodder. Sorry if there are repeats. I don't necessarily like all of these, just a couple, but they all remind me of a specific place and time, so:

 

Nirvana - "Sliver"

The Presidents of the United States of America - "Lump"

The Presidents of the United States of America - "Cleveland Rocks" (Drew Carey theme)

311 - "All Mixed Up"

Rage Against the Machine - "Bulls on Parade"

Porno for Pyros - "Pets"

Toadies - "Possum Kingdom"

Meat Puppets - "Backwater"

The Offspring - "Come Out and Play"

Sponge - "Molly"

Everclear - "Santa Monica"

Live - "I Alone"

2Pac - "California Love"

Squirrel Nut Zippers - "Hell"

Filter - "Hey Man, Nice Shot"

Foo Fighters - "This is a Call"

Spacehog - "In the Meantime"

Red Hot Chili Peppers - "Aeroplane"

The Flaming Lips - "Vasoline"

 

Apparently a disproportionate amount of my memories of the '90s come from '94-'97.

 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Is 20 really the maximum number of nominations I could probably come up with another 10. I loved the 90s, it was my youth and I really enjoyed the 'BritPop' era >.<

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Ozzy - "Perry Mason"

Meat Loaf - "I'd Do Anything For Love (But I Won't Do That)"

Celine Dion - "It's All Coming Back to Me Now"

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

That Love Spit Love song was really fantastic. Forgot about that one.

 

 

For a few nominations that I haven't seen here:

 

Smashing Pumpkins "Cherub Rock"

Pearl Jam "Yellow Ledbetter"

Pearl Jam "Corduroy"

Pavement "We Dance"

Teenage Fanclub "The Concept"

Fiona Apple "Criminal"

Jesus Jones "Right Here Right Now"

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

New Radicals - Get What You Give

Ice Cube - It Was A Good Day

Bosstones - The Impression That I Get

Crucial Conflict - Hay

Jay-Z - Politics as Usual

Mark Morrison - Return Of The Mack

Duran Duran - Ordinary World

Duncan Shiek - Barely Breathing

Montell Jordan - This Is How We Do It

Seal - Kiss On A Rose

U2 - One

House Of Pain - Jump Around

Bell Biv DeVoe - Poison

Jamiroquai - Virtual Insanity

Barenaked Ladies - One Week

Right Said Fred - I'm Too Sexy

Blackstreet - No Diggity

U2 - Ultraviolet

Le Click - Call Me

Republica - Ready To Go

 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
Sign in to follow this  

×