Update 2 - Theme: "The 90s"
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The 90s: this is the era that scientifically proved the severity of the hangover is directly proportional to how much you had to drink the night before. Waking up the next morning from the big-haired, synth-filled frat party that was 80s music, the 90s showed us--sometimes painfully--that there is a better way. The music scene plowed forth with alternative rock and grunge, putting heavy emphasis on the music rather than the labels and the faces and gladly supporting solo acts, singer/songwriters armed with acoustic guitars and socially conscious lyrics, and generally bands that were once considered "Indie" in the 80s. It was the re-emergence of experimentation, explaining why alternative rock covers such a broad spectrum of bands and styles; while it was very "radio friendly," there was no real formula followed, no "screaming chorus, quiet bridges." If it was a style not usually associated with rock, then some alternative rock band out there somewhere incorporated it into either just a song or their sound as a whole.
The 90s: also the era I grew up in. These were the days where I had little to no control over what music I listened to, but I was impressionable enough that I thought everything I was made to listen to was "totally awesome." (When you have a sister seven years older than you, it's hard not to think she's cool when you're eight.) I sat through Bush, I steeled myself against The Toadies; I could sing all the songs off "Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness." (thx Smashing Pumpkins; I still kind of hate you.)
I find most music from the 90s nostalgic at the very least, and sometimes I will go back through the billboard top 40 charts just to see what I remember and what I'd forgotten even existed. I also managed to scrounge up five songs that survived my childhood and did not wilt under my scrutiny; they have maintained their integrity (sort of!) despite drastic changes in my own personal musical tastes.
Song: Black Hole Sun
Artist: Soundgarden
Album: Superunknown
Genre: Grunge
Comments: "Black Hole Sun," even though it has one of the creepiest music videos known to man, remains one of my favorite songs--which is odd because I tended to hate Soundgarden, and its subsequent retarded lovebaby with Rage Against the Machine, Audioslave. I think I secretly enjoy it because if its vague 1950s ballad callback; that shit is ballsy for a grunge group. (Pearl Jam, you don't fucking count.)
Song: One Headlight
Artist: The Wallflowers
Album: Bringing Down The Horse
Genre: Alternative Rock
Comment: "One Headlight" gets an award for "the first song Ayla ever sat and listened to on repeat for like eight hours." Like "Black Hole Sun," One Headlight has crawled up from my childhood unscathed and remains one of my favorite songs to this day. It's poignant and full of that folksy goodness that makes up most of the music I listened to with my parents.
Song: Bitter Sweet Symphony
Artist: The Verve
Album: Urban Hymns
Genre: Alternative Rock (Britpop)
Comments: I feel like such a tool for posting this song, because seriously, everyone has heard it already and either likes it, hates it, or doesn't give a shit about it. It was given crazy airtime on the radio around here and gained equally crazy popularity everywhere. If you have not heard and formed some opinion on this song, you have been grinding beetles for food deep in the Amazon rainforest with some obscure tribe of natives for the last ten years. It was from this song that my interest in orchestra + (insert genre here) was born; orchestral techno, orchestral rock, orchestral metal, whatever, I love it, and you can blame Bitter Sweet Symphony for it.
Song: The Way
Artist: Fastball
Album: All The Pain Money Can Buy
Genre: Alternative Rock
Comments: I will admit that I originally liked this song mostly because of the melody. (I will admit that, at ten years old, my mind was on this newfangled internets I had been hearing about and bolstering my already-impressive midi collection, not untangling the meanings behind songs on the radio.) However, as I got older, I started to appreciate the romantic idea central to the song, the one of just picking up, taking off, and leaving your life behind.
Song: Sex and Candy
Artist: Marcy Playground
Album: Marcy Playground
Genre: Alternative Rock
Comments: This song, at its heart, and even on its surface, is a terrible song. It is meaningless and not even particularly catchy. The reason why it's here? It cracks me up and remains a song that I can listen to over and over again. Listening to it brings up memories of the fruity flower CD box my sister kept all her music in, because I would always be pawing through it looking for something else to put on.
The 90s: this is the era that scientifically proved the severity of the hangover is directly proportional to how much you had to drink the night before. Waking up the next morning from the big-haired, synth-filled frat party that was 80s music, the 90s showed us--sometimes painfully--that there is a better way. The music scene plowed forth with alternative rock and grunge, putting heavy emphasis on the music rather than the labels and the faces and gladly supporting solo acts, singer/songwriters armed with acoustic guitars and socially conscious lyrics, and generally bands that were once considered "Indie" in the 80s. It was the re-emergence of experimentation, explaining why alternative rock covers such a broad spectrum of bands and styles; while it was very "radio friendly," there was no real formula followed, no "screaming chorus, quiet bridges." If it was a style not usually associated with rock, then some alternative rock band out there somewhere incorporated it into either just a song or their sound as a whole.
The 90s: also the era I grew up in. These were the days where I had little to no control over what music I listened to, but I was impressionable enough that I thought everything I was made to listen to was "totally awesome." (When you have a sister seven years older than you, it's hard not to think she's cool when you're eight.) I sat through Bush, I steeled myself against The Toadies; I could sing all the songs off "Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness." (thx Smashing Pumpkins; I still kind of hate you.)
I find most music from the 90s nostalgic at the very least, and sometimes I will go back through the billboard top 40 charts just to see what I remember and what I'd forgotten even existed. I also managed to scrounge up five songs that survived my childhood and did not wilt under my scrutiny; they have maintained their integrity (sort of!) despite drastic changes in my own personal musical tastes.
Song: Black Hole Sun
Artist: Soundgarden
Album: Superunknown
Genre: Grunge
Comments: "Black Hole Sun," even though it has one of the creepiest music videos known to man, remains one of my favorite songs--which is odd because I tended to hate Soundgarden, and its subsequent retarded lovebaby with Rage Against the Machine, Audioslave. I think I secretly enjoy it because if its vague 1950s ballad callback; that shit is ballsy for a grunge group. (Pearl Jam, you don't fucking count.)
Song: One Headlight
Artist: The Wallflowers
Album: Bringing Down The Horse
Genre: Alternative Rock
Comment: "One Headlight" gets an award for "the first song Ayla ever sat and listened to on repeat for like eight hours." Like "Black Hole Sun," One Headlight has crawled up from my childhood unscathed and remains one of my favorite songs to this day. It's poignant and full of that folksy goodness that makes up most of the music I listened to with my parents.
Song: Bitter Sweet Symphony
Artist: The Verve
Album: Urban Hymns
Genre: Alternative Rock (Britpop)
Comments: I feel like such a tool for posting this song, because seriously, everyone has heard it already and either likes it, hates it, or doesn't give a shit about it. It was given crazy airtime on the radio around here and gained equally crazy popularity everywhere. If you have not heard and formed some opinion on this song, you have been grinding beetles for food deep in the Amazon rainforest with some obscure tribe of natives for the last ten years. It was from this song that my interest in orchestra + (insert genre here) was born; orchestral techno, orchestral rock, orchestral metal, whatever, I love it, and you can blame Bitter Sweet Symphony for it.
Song: The Way
Artist: Fastball
Album: All The Pain Money Can Buy
Genre: Alternative Rock
Comments: I will admit that I originally liked this song mostly because of the melody. (I will admit that, at ten years old, my mind was on this newfangled internets I had been hearing about and bolstering my already-impressive midi collection, not untangling the meanings behind songs on the radio.) However, as I got older, I started to appreciate the romantic idea central to the song, the one of just picking up, taking off, and leaving your life behind.
Song: Sex and Candy
Artist: Marcy Playground
Album: Marcy Playground
Genre: Alternative Rock
Comments: This song, at its heart, and even on its surface, is a terrible song. It is meaningless and not even particularly catchy. The reason why it's here? It cracks me up and remains a song that I can listen to over and over again. Listening to it brings up memories of the fruity flower CD box my sister kept all her music in, because I would always be pawing through it looking for something else to put on.