101 Best Songs of 1990 - #1 George Michael - Freedom '90 (1 Viewer)

[TripItUp]

This song holds up so well.

Sure, but top 233rd best song ever?

 

[massraider]

This song holds up so well.

Sure, but top 233rd best song ever?

I mean, probably not, but I’m not going hold someone else’s list against Lady Miss Kier, ya know?

 

[HellToupee]

Best song on The Real Thing is the title track, what a slammer. If they somehow ticked off and made the Chili Peppers raise their game, good for them, because Mother's Milk was weak sauce in comparison, and earlier Peppers were clownish.

Early Chili Peppers is my favorite. Blood Sugar Sex Magic is probably their zenith, but the early stuff was so original. SoCal skate punks who listen to funk, I loved it. Young, silly Anthony is so much better than adult Anthony.

So, so, so much better

I only like Anthony when he's not actually trying to sing. Songs like "under the bridge" make me want to jam pencils in my ears.

Frusciante’s backing vocals bail Kiedis out time and time again

 

[scorchy]

This song holds up so well.

Sure, but top 233rd best song ever?

The latest Rolling Stone Top 500 (from 2021) is all over the place with some really questionable decisions. The previous time they had published one, they (rightfully, to some extent) received criticism that the list was way too heavy on the 60s and 70s, men, white people, etc. So Rolling Stone went overboard in the opposite direction - there's no world where Gasolina by Daddy Yankee or Royals by Lorde are better than In My Life, September, Sweet Child O' Mine, or Let's Stay Together - much less two of the fifty greatest songs of all time. Pretty sure there was long FFA thread dissecting how terrible it was.

OTOH, for the individual years I'm counting down, RS seemed to do a pretty job of identifying my favorite songs, even if the overall ranking in the context of rock history is too high. For 1990, six of my top eight were listed, and I came up with those before even checking what RS wrote.

 

[John Maddens Lunchbox]

This song holds up so well.

Sure, but top 233rd best song ever?

Yeah its probably too low. Should be much higher.

This is one of the songs that transcends generations.
Still sounds fresh today.
I have seen copies of the 12” sell for over $100.
Obviously many sell for less. Supply and demand.
A much desired record

A refreshing change to misery guts music of the time

 

[scorchy]

#5 Depeche Mode - Enjoy the Silence

Here's another from the RS Top 500 (#415)

I've heaped plenty of praise on my favorite album of 1990 already, with both Halo and World in My Eyes getting the love. Policy of Truth and maybe even Sweetest Perfection deserve a spot too, but I didn't feel like Justifying five entries (and that doesn't even include Personal Jesus, released ahead of Violator as a single in 1989). Enjoy the Silence is my favorite of them all as well as Depeche Mode's sole top 10 US Hit (#8 on the Hot 100), which seems odd because they were seriously huge, even in my podunk home town.

 

[Tick]

#9 Nine Inch Nails - Head Like a Hole

I left home in August 1990 never having heard of Nine Inch Nails. I drove back from Florida in December of that year with the ubiquitous square NIN sticker on my car.

Pretty Hate Machine was likely the CD I listened to most during my undergrad years and was the gateway drug for my descent into the industrial/goth scene. NIN's debut was actually released in October 1989 but I'm not sure how many people really paid attention to it until the following year - according to Wiki, it didn't earn a review in Rolling Stone or other major media until spring 1990. The first time I heard Head Like a Hole (released as the second single in March of '90), it was through the concrete dorm wall I shared with this weird stoner dude who lived next door. He swapped me his copy of the CD (plus Ministry's The Mind is a Terrible Thing to Taste and Front 242's Front by Front) for ordering him two Little Caesars' pizza on my dining card. Best trade ever...

Listening now, Pretty Hate Machine definitely sounds both dated and immature (definitely would not say the same thing about the follow-ups) but damn it was revolutionary at the time. And the maudlin lyrics* hit hard for a 17-year old that had just found out his girlfriend back home had hooked up with one of his best friends. I was primed for NIN by my love for Depeche Mode and New Order, as Trent was really the first industrial artist to pair actual melodies and choruses with the traditional noise and darkness of industrial bands like Skinny Puppy. Head Like a Hole was the catchiest of a great batch of songs and actually made it to #28 on the Modern Rock charts.

* Grey would be the color, if I had a heart. Oof.

I remember a buddy saying about that Alanis Morrissette You Oughta Know song, "I think we found the girl who screwed up Trent Reznor."

Somehow I ended up in something called cotillion for my last two years of high school. It was a combined dance every month or so with some kids from each of the six high schools in town. I don't know why I was on the list. Anyway, I remember requesting Head Like a Hole and the DJ played it despite all of the other songs being Vogue or Push It - the dance floor was funny, as 90% of the people looked confused/horrified and left the floor, while 10% turned into absolute freaks and thrashed around for one song, looking like they'd really like some audio tape to get tangled up in.

 

[Tick]

#7 Faith No More - Epic

Yesterday, @plinko wrote about NIN:

While I never loved them, maybe not completely my style, like Faith No More, Nine Inch Nails really sounded liked something new and different and totally awesome at the time. And both bands were all of that, and harbingers of things to come, for better or worse.

Couldn't put it any better, and like many of these stories, it almost didn't happen. The Real Thing - FNM's first album with Mike Patton on vocals after original singer Chuck Mosley was fired - was initially met with disappointing sales and lead single (From Out of Nowhere) didn't change things. Figuring that it wouldn't really matter, the record company gave the band freedom to pick the second single/video, and FNM chose Epic. The infamous video with the flopping fish debuted on MTV in early February 1990 then got shelved, presumably for good. At the same time, FNM was playing a series of chaotic shows in England, earning the band a sizable following on the other side of the Atlantic, vaulting Epic into the UK Top 40. The label took notice, and pushed MTV to start playing the video again stateside. By September 1990, Epic had become a left-field top 10 hit on mainstream pop radio.

A few months later, Anthony Keides famously accused Mike Patton of aping his style. The band pushed back a little at the time, but Patton definitively got the last word in a 2001 interview:

I think Anthony, deep down, feels like I'm a better dancer than he is. I think I shake my booty just a little bit fresher than he does. And if he would stop doing drugs I think he could outdance me. Maybe one day we'll have a breakoff, just breakdance.

Huh - I guess I remember this wrong, or it's a remnant of a time where one local DJ could skew the opinions of an entire town, but From Out of Nowhere always felt to me like a massive breakthrough hit.

My problem with FNM is that Mr. Bungle is an abomination and made it so I can't listen to Mike Patton ever again.

 

[Tick]

This song holds up so well.

Sure, but top 233rd best song ever?

Name 233 better.

 

[Dan Lambskin]

#5 Depeche Mode - Enjoy the Silence

Here's another from the RS Top 500 (#415)

I've heaped plenty of praise on my favorite album of 1990 already, with both Halo and World in My Eyes getting the love. Policy of Truth and maybe even Sweetest Perfection deserve a spot too, but I didn't feel like Justifying five entries (and that doesn't even include Personal Jesus, released ahead of Violator as a single in 1989). Enjoy the Silence is my favorite of them all as well as Depeche Mode's sole top 10 US Hit (#8 on the Hot 100), which seems odd because they were seriously huge, even in my podunk home town.

Tori Amos does a great cover of this song

 

[rockaction]

Why are we talking about the Chili Peppers?

Early Faith No More >>>>>>> early Chili Peppers

Later Faith No More <<<<<<< late Chili Peppers

Pretty easy and pretty sneaky, sis.

Early Faith No More before Mike Patton was awesome. With Mike Patton, they became stupider than later RHCP with Kiedis/Keidis (? - "i" before "e" or what?), and that's saying something.

I can see Anthony now, and Patton is still dumber.

 

[rockaction]

Fight me about Patton being dumb, by the way.

 

[rockaction]

Tori Amos does a great cover of this song

I enjoyed the silence of never hearing it. Bwahaha.

Bwaaahahaha.

 

[Pip's Invitation]

#6 Deee-Lite - Groove is in the Heart

This being the FFA, and all, I'm sure someone is going to immediately contradict me, but I've never heard anybody say a bad word about Groove is in the Heart.

It's the one song that everyone I knew in college could agree upon.

 

[Pip's Invitation]

This song holds up so well.

Sure, but top 233rd best song ever?

You're looking for logic in Rolling Stone rankings?

 

[Pip's Invitation]

#5 Depeche Mode - Enjoy the Silence

Here's another from the RS Top 500 (#415)

I've heaped plenty of praise on my favorite album of 1990 already, with both Halo and World in My Eyes getting the love. Policy of Truth and maybe even Sweetest Perfection deserve a spot too, but I didn't feel like Justifying five entries (and that doesn't even include Personal Jesus, released ahead of Violator as a single in 1989). Enjoy the Silence is my favorite of them all as well as Depeche Mode's sole top 10 US Hit (#8 on the Hot 100), which seems odd because they were seriously huge, even in my podunk home town.

I love the cover by Failure.

 

[scorchy]

Fight me about Patton being dumb, by the way.

He may be dumb, but no way is he dumber than Anthony Kiedis. If only there was some way I could prove this. Did Courtney Love date both of 'em? If I @ed her, do you think she would answer?

 

[scorchy]

I love the cover by Failure.

Always really liked that cover. I own the DM Tribute CD that it's on (For the Masses) and some podcast mentioned how rare it is. Looked it up on discogs and there's 150 for sale at an average price of 99 cents. There goes my dreams of riches. My favorite from it was Hooverphonic doing Shake the Disease.

 

[TripItUp]

You're looking for logic in Rolling Stone rankings?

this one stands out as special, but point taken, they've always been terrible.

 

[FatMax]

#5 Depeche Mode - Enjoy the Silence

Here's another from the RS Top 500 (#415)

I've heaped plenty of praise on my favorite album of 1990 already, with both Halo and World in My Eyes getting the love. Policy of Truth and maybe even Sweetest Perfection deserve a spot too, but I didn't feel like Justifying five entries (and that doesn't even include Personal Jesus, released ahead of Violator as a single in 1989). Enjoy the Silence is my favorite of them all as well as Depeche Mode's sole top 10 US Hit (#8 on the Hot 100), which seems odd because they were seriously huge, even in my podunk home town.

I wasn't a Depeche Mode guy, and I wasn't sure what this song was before clicking the link. This brings me straight back to ninth grade, school dances, hoping that some girl would notice me. I mean, I even had Guess jeans, that I had begged my grandmother to purchase for me at Miller's Outpost. It never really worked. I had less than zero game,. Thankfully I had a few friends that would give me pity dances (with plenty of room for Jesus in between us) on the slow songs.

 

[rockaction]

This brings me straight back to ninth grade, school dances, hoping that some girl would notice me. I mean, I even had Guess jeans, that I had begged my grandmother to purchase for me at Miller's Outpost.

Jesus, man, here's an i-hug for you. Imagine it's from that ninth grade girl you had a crush on. Pathos.

 

[plinko]

I don’t think either Patton or Kiedis are in any danger of being nominated for a Nobel

 

[Bogart]

I love the cover by Failure.

Always really liked that cover. I own the DM Tribute CD that it's on (For the Masses) and some podcast mentioned how rare it is. Looked it up on discogs and there's 150 for sale at an average price of 99 cents. There goes my dreams of riches. My favorite from it was Hooverphonic doing Shake the Disease.

That is a great CD. If I ever get married again, I want the Veruca Salt cover of Somebody to be our first dance. Going to have to find a pretty special girl that wants that.

 

[Bogart]

#5 Depeche Mode - Enjoy the Silence

Here's another from the RS Top 500 (#415)

I've heaped plenty of praise on my favorite album of 1990 already, with both Halo and World in My Eyes getting the love. Policy of Truth and maybe even Sweetest Perfection deserve a spot too, but I didn't feel like Justifying five entries (and that doesn't even include Personal Jesus, released ahead of Violator as a single in 1989). Enjoy the Silence is my favorite of them all as well as Depeche Mode's sole top 10 US Hit (#8 on the Hot 100), which seems odd because they were seriously huge, even in my podunk home town.

I love the cover by Failure.

The Failure cover is great. Also like the cover by Lacuna Coil. (Live version)

 

[HellToupee]

Faith No More

Ham & eggers, imo

 

[FatMax]

This brings me straight back to ninth grade, school dances, hoping that some girl would notice me. I mean, I even had Guess jeans, that I had begged my grandmother to purchase for me at Miller's Outpost.

Jesus, man, here's an i-hug for you. Imagine it's from that ninth grade girl you had a crush on. Pathos.

Oh, that would be Sara. I worked my magic with her for two years. Toward the end of ninth grade, we were finally, officially, "going out with each other" Which meant we held hands in public, pretty much. On the last day of school, she planted a large, wet kiss on me out in front of the Jr High School. At that point in my life, it was the best thing that ever happened to me.

So I guess being mopey and awkward and a a little pathetic can pay off for you eventually.

 

[scorchy]

This brings me straight back to ninth grade, school dances, hoping that some girl would notice me. I mean, I even had Guess jeans, that I had begged my grandmother to purchase for me at Miller's Outpost. It never really worked. I had less than zero game,. Thankfully I had a few friends that would give me pity dances (with plenty of room for Jesus in between us) on the slow songs.

My former boss was still wearing old-school guess jeans up until he retired a few years ago - the triangle on the back pocket will forever be unmistakable. We tried to talk him into something a little more current but he was having none of it. If they wore out, he would just buy a pre-owned pair off of Ebay. Looked totally ridiculous on a 65 year old.

In undergrad, I badly wanted a pair of Maurithe Francois Girbaud jeans but they were crazy expensive. One day, I found a returned pair on the sale rack at Burdines and thought I had gone to heaven. Alas, much like you and Guess, they did not improve my desirability with the ladies.

 

[the moops]

This live version is great

Depeche Mode - Enjoy The Silence (Live in Berlin)

Depeche Mode Live in Berlin - A Film by Anton CorbijnThe new DVD from Depeche Mode's 2013/2014 Delta Machine Tour, out November 16th (Europe) | November 17th...

www.youtube.com

 

[scorchy]

Interlude - How many of these Billboard #1s do you even recognize, much less like?

Lots of talk earlier about 1990 being a "lull" year in terms of good music. I hope this thread has dispensed with that a bit, but I also can't argue that, overall, it's not a particularly strong year either, especially when it comes to pop. Compared to other years in the 86-96 timeframe, 1990 will likely have the lowest percentage of Billboard #1s represented (29 percent, or just 8 out of 28). What's especially odd to me, as someone who up until the early 2000s was pretty aware of pop music, is the number of songs that I literally did not recognize - not just by title but even after I played the song. So with only a single #1 still to be revealed, I figured now was a good time to breakdown just how dire the situation was:

To refresh, the #1s we've seen so far are Blaze of Glory by JBJ; Someday by Mariah; Vogue by Madonna; Black Velvet by Allanah Myles; Love Will Never Do (Without You) by JJ; Hold On by Wilson Phillips; Praying for Time by George Michael; and one more to come.

Billboard #1s That I Considered But Ultimately Left Off (4)

Roxette - It Must Have Been Love: First 5 out. Worth watching the video just for Marie Fredrikkson
Maxi Priest - Close to You: Not my jam, but inoffensive.
Janet Jackson - Escapade: Good, but lost out to Love Will Never Do.
Whitney Houston - I'm Your Baby Tonight: Definitely not peak Whitney

Wait, What the Hell are These Songs? They Hit #1? (5)

Tommy Page - I’ll Be Your Everything
Glen Medeiros - She Ain’t Worth It
James Ingram - I Don’t Have the Heart: James Ingram isn't terrible or anything but this song really topped the charts?
Steve B - Because I Love You (The Postman Song)
Surface - The First Time

Romantic Schmaltz - Which of These Did You Slow Dance To in HS? (4)

Taylor Dayne - Love Will Lead You Back: I like early Taylor Dayne. Not this.
Sweet Sensation - If Wishes Came True: Proof (along with Expose) that even Latin Freestyle acts sold out to make terrible pop radio hits.
Mariah Carey - Vision of Love and Love Takes Time - not a Mariah ballads guy, though Vision... is way better than Love Takes TIme.

Flat Out Awful (5)

New Kids on the Block - Step by Step: Ugh. I give you the Lemonheads cover.
Nelson - Love and Affection: already discussed. I know it's a guilty pleasure for some of you, and I'm not one to talk because...
Vanilla Ice - Ice Ice Baby: this has grown into a guilty pleasure for me, but I do recognize that it sucks.
C + C Music Factory - Gonna Make You Sweat: Freedom Williams can't rap. Martha Wash got jobbed. Fun at first, but ultimately pretty bad.
Janet Jackson - Black Cat: Hairmetal wannabe crap.

Much Lesser Also-Rans to Previous #1s (2)

Wilson Phillips - Release Me: same song as Hold On, just the opposite sentiment and without the hook?
Madonna - Justify My Love: Maybe watch the video on mute?

 

[Bogart]

Wait, What the Hell are These Songs? They Hit #1? (5)

Steve B - Because I Love You (The Postman Song)

In podunk San Angelo, Texas, where they are a couple years behind with all things pop culture, this was the number two dorm room panty dropper for a full semester (undisputed champion was Timmy T's "One More Try".)

The less that is said about the early 90's "Freestyle" genre, probably the better. But man, it had a moment. My roommate and I would buy the CDs from Hastings, burn the best pillow jam mix of tracks to tape, and sell the tapes for profit.

 

[FatMax]

Roxette - It Must Have Been Love: First 5 out. Worth watching the video just for Marie Fredrikkson

Hey, piss off. She's already claimed.

 

[Gr00vus]

#6 Deee-Lite - Groove is in the Heart

This being the FFA, and all, I'm sure someone is going to immediately contradict me, but I've never heard anybody say a bad word about Groove is in the Heart. Cheeseball Friday nights at Florida Theater, the norms and greek crowd would pack the floor. Saturday nights at Full Circle, the goth kids loved it as a change of pace. In the restaurant kitchen every summer, all the grunge/metal meatheads that worked the line with me would groove to the sounds of Bootsy Collins, Q-Tip, and Lady Miss Kier. Even 15 years later, Groove was a surefire crowd-pleaser at the hipster bars where I sometimes DJed.

Deee-lite had been around the NYC club scene for years, finally recording and releasing their debut album World Clique in the summer of 1990. Spin called it "the debut album of the year" and "an eloquent tableau of '90s possibilities." Honestly, for anyone who made the mistake of buying the CD, it was neither of those things. The band never wrote another song remotely as good as their debut single, but what a single that was. Groove is in the Heart peaked at #4 on the Hot 100. In 2021, Rolling Stone named it the 233rd best song of all time.

Definitely the best song in this countdown so far. Love it, still in heavy rotation today.

 

[massraider]

Wait, What the Hell are These Songs? They Hit #1? (5)

Steve B - Because I Love You (The Postman Song)

In podunk San Angelo, Texas, where they are a couple years behind with all things pop culture, this was the number two dorm room panty dropper for a full semester (undisputed champion was Timmy T's "One More Try".)

The less that is said about the early 90's "Freestyle" genre, probably the better. But man, it had a moment. My roommate and I would buy the CDs from Hastings, burn the best pillow jam mix of tracks to tape, and sell the tapes for profit.

Don't recall this song.

But the video starts with jheri curl walking around his dance studio/apartment under what is definitely salmon lighting.

Awesome

 

[scorchy]

#4 Jane's Addiction - Three Days

Moving from my favorite album of 1990 to my most anticipated, thanks to Jane's Addiction's previous record being my go-to listen in 1988. I don't know any hardcore Jane's fans that like Ritual de lo Habitual as much as Nothing's Shocking, but my unscientific poll of five fellow disciples confirms that all of us consider Three Days to be their apex (I ranked it #1 in my MAD 31/U.S. list, @MAC_32 put it at #6). Judging by earlier comments, I think @rockaction and @Tick might feel the same way. According to Perry Farrell, it was written about Xiola Blue, who spent three days having sex and doing lots of drugs with him and his gf in 1987. She died of an OD around the time Three Days was written.

It would be 13 years before Jane's released another album - I was done with them by then but Mrs. Scorchy (one of the five fellow disciples) bought the CD and advised me not to bother. My long-time best-friend came to visit me in FL for spring break in 1992 and excitedly spent $60 he didn't have on imports from two other Jane's-adjacent bands (Deconstruction and Porno for Pyros - prior to a mainstream release) and both were embarrassingly bad. I just pretend that XXX, Nothing's Shocking, and Ritual... represent their entire catalog.

 

[Pip's Invitation]

Interlude - How many of these Billboard #1s do you even recognize, much less like?

Lots of talk earlier about 1990 being a "lull" year in terms of good music. I hope this thread has dispensed with that a bit, but I also can't argue that, overall, it's not a particularly strong year either, especially when it comes to pop. Compared to other years in the 86-96 timeframe, 1990 will likely have the lowest percentage of Billboard #1s represented (29 percent, or just 8 out of 28). What's especially odd to me, as someone who up until the early 2000s was pretty aware of pop music, is the number of songs that I literally did not recognize - not just by title but even after I played the song. So with only a single #1 still to be revealed, I figured now was a good time to breakdown just how dire the situation was:

To refresh, the #1s we've seen so far are Blaze of Glory by JBJ; Someday by Mariah; Vogue by Madonna; Black Velvet by Allanah Myles; Love Will Never Do (Without You) by JJ; Hold On by Wilson Phillips; Praying for Time by George Michael; and one more to come.

Billboard #1s That I Considered But Ultimately Left Off (4)

Roxette - It Must Have Been Love: First 5 out. Worth watching the video just for Marie Fredrikkson
Maxi Priest - Close to You: Not my jam, but inoffensive.
Janet Jackson - Escapade: Good, but lost out to Love Will Never Do.
Whitney Houston - I'm Your Baby Tonight: Definitely not peak Whitney

Wait, What the Hell are These Songs? They Hit #1? (5)

Tommy Page - I’ll Be Your Everything
Glen Medeiros - She Ain’t Worth It
James Ingram - I Don’t Have the Heart: James Ingram isn't terrible or anything but this song really topped the charts?
Steve B - Because I Love You (The Postman Song)
Surface - The First Time

Romantic Schmaltz - Which of These Did You Slow Dance To in HS? (4)

Taylor Dayne - Love Will Lead You Back: I like early Taylor Dayne. Not this.
Sweet Sensation - If Wishes Came True: Proof (along with Expose) that even Latin Freestyle acts sold out to make terrible pop radio hits.
Mariah Carey - Vision of Love and Love Takes Time - not a Mariah ballads guy, though Vision... is way better than Love Takes TIme.

Flat Out Awful (5)

New Kids on the Block - Step by Step: Ugh. I give you the Lemonheads cover.
Nelson - Love and Affection: already discussed. I know it's a guilty pleasure for some of you, and I'm not one to talk because...
Vanilla Ice - Ice Ice Baby: this has grown into a guilty pleasure for me, but I do recognize that it sucks.
C + C Music Factory - Gonna Make You Sweat: Freedom Williams can't rap. Martha Wash got jobbed. Fun at first, but ultimately pretty bad.
Janet Jackson - Black Cat: Hairmetal wannabe crap.

Much Lesser Also-Rans to Previous #1s (2)

Wilson Phillips - Release Me: same song as Hold On, just the opposite sentiment and without the hook?
Madonna - Justify My Love: Maybe watch the video on mute?

I spent exactly 0 minutes listening to pop music in 1990. I was in college and only vaguely aware of the ones that caught on in the mainstream media.

By title, I have not heard of:

Roxette - It Must Have Been Love
Maxi Priest - Close to You
Whitney Houston - I'm Your Baby Tonight
Tommy Page - I’ll Be Your Everything
Glen Medeiros - She Ain’t Worth It
James Ingram - I Don’t Have the Heart
Steve B - Because I Love You (The Postman Song)
Surface - The First Time
Sweet Sensation - If Wishes Came True:
Mariah Carey - Love Takes Time
Janet Jackson - Black Cat

I have heard of these:

Taylor Dayne - Love Will Lead You Back: Generic smell-the-embers-of-the-dying-'80s ballad
Mariah Carey - Vision of Love: It's OK, I guess
New Kids on the Block - Step by Step: Another vote for ugh. My wife, who is 7.5 years younger than me, loves everything NKOTB including this song.
Nelson - Love and Affection: Meh
Vanilla Ice - Ice Ice Baby: Some of the suckiest suckage that has ever sucked
C + C Music Factory - Gonna Make You Sweat: It's fine in small doses, which is all I will allow.
Wilson Phillips - Release Me: Clearly a "let's release a song that's identical to the previous hit" type of thing. Not as good as the original.
Madonna - Justify My Love: Madonna's nipples really sent people into a tizzy back in the day.

 

[Pip's Invitation]

#4 Jane's Addiction - Three Days

Moving from my favorite album of 1990 to my most anticipated, thanks to Jane's Addiction's previous record being my go-to listen in 1988. I don't know any hardcore Jane's fans that like Ritual de lo Habitual as much as Nothing's Shocking, but my unscientific poll of five fellow disciples confirms that all of us consider Three Days to be their apex (I ranked it #1 in my MAD 31/U.S. list, @MAC_32 put it at #6). Judging by earlier comments, I think @rockaction and @Tick might feel the same way. According to Perry Farrell, it was written about Xiola Blue, who spent three days having sex and doing lots of drugs with him and his gf in 1987. She died of an OD around the time Three Days was written.

It would be 13 years before Jane's released another album - I was done with them by then but Mrs. Scorchy (one of the five fellow disciples) bought the CD and advised me not to bother. My long-time best-friend came to visit me in FL for spring break in 1992 and excitedly spent $60 he didn't have on imports from two other Jane's-adjacent bands (Deconstruction and Porno for Pyros - prior to a mainstream release) and both were embarrassingly bad. I just pretend that XXX, Nothing's Shocking, and Ritual... represent their entire catalog.

A masterpiece. If I'd used criteria other than "the first 31 songs that come to mind," I might have had it in the MAD countdown as well.

The Deconstruction song "Big Sur" is pretty good. Mainly for the coda. The rest ... yeah.

 

[scorchy]

I spent exactly 0 minutes listening to pop music in 1990. I was in college and only vaguely aware of the ones that caught on in the mainstream media.

By title, I have not heard of:

Roxette - It Must Have Been Love
Janet Jackson - Black Cat

These are the only two that surprised me because both were on MTV nonstop (and the Roxette song was from Pretty Woman). There was no porn available in Gainesville, so sexy videos were most dudes' only source of...um... joy.

 

[Dan Lambskin]

Interlude - How many of these Billboard #1s do you even recognize, much less like?

Lots of talk earlier about 1990 being a "lull" year in terms of good music. I hope this thread has dispensed with that a bit, but I also can't argue that, overall, it's not a particularly strong year either, especially when it comes to pop. Compared to other years in the 86-96 timeframe, 1990 will likely have the lowest percentage of Billboard #1s represented (29 percent, or just 8 out of 28). What's especially odd to me, as someone who up until the early 2000s was pretty aware of pop music, is the number of songs that I literally did not recognize - not just by title but even after I played the song. So with only a single #1 still to be revealed, I figured now was a good time to breakdown just how dire the situation was:

To refresh, the #1s we've seen so far are Blaze of Glory by JBJ; Someday by Mariah; Vogue by Madonna; Black Velvet by Allanah Myles; Love Will Never Do (Without You) by JJ; Hold On by Wilson Phillips; Praying for Time by George Michael; and one more to come.

Billboard #1s That I Considered But Ultimately Left Off (4)

Roxette - It Must Have Been Love: First 5 out. Worth watching the video just for Marie Fredrikkson
Maxi Priest - Close to You: Not my jam, but inoffensive.
Janet Jackson - Escapade: Good, but lost out to Love Will Never Do.
Whitney Houston - I'm Your Baby Tonight: Definitely not peak Whitney

Wait, What the Hell are These Songs? They Hit #1? (5)

Tommy Page - I’ll Be Your Everything
Glen Medeiros - She Ain’t Worth It
James Ingram - I Don’t Have the Heart: James Ingram isn't terrible or anything but this song really topped the charts?
Steve B - Because I Love You (The Postman Song)
Surface - The First Time

Romantic Schmaltz - Which of These Did You Slow Dance To in HS? (4)

Taylor Dayne - Love Will Lead You Back: I like early Taylor Dayne. Not this.
Sweet Sensation - If Wishes Came True: Proof (along with Expose) that even Latin Freestyle acts sold out to make terrible pop radio hits.
Mariah Carey - Vision of Love and Love Takes Time - not a Mariah ballads guy, though Vision... is way better than Love Takes TIme.

Flat Out Awful (5)

New Kids on the Block - Step by Step: Ugh. I give you the Lemonheads cover.
Nelson - Love and Affection: already discussed. I know it's a guilty pleasure for some of you, and I'm not one to talk because...
Vanilla Ice - Ice Ice Baby: this has grown into a guilty pleasure for me, but I do recognize that it sucks.
C + C Music Factory - Gonna Make You Sweat: Freedom Williams can't rap. Martha Wash got jobbed. Fun at first, but ultimately pretty bad.
Janet Jackson - Black Cat: Hairmetal wannabe crap.

Much Lesser Also-Rans to Previous #1s (2)

Wilson Phillips - Release Me: same song as Hold On, just the opposite sentiment and without the hook?
Madonna - Justify My Love: Maybe watch the video on mute?

I spent exactly 0 minutes listening to pop music in 1990. I was in college and only vaguely aware of the ones that caught on in the mainstream media.

By title, I have not heard of:

Roxette - It Must Have Been Love

Oh come on everybody has heard this

 

[Dr. Octopus]

I spent exactly 0 minutes listening to pop music in 1990. I was in college

Same for me - I may have been aware of a few of those songs - but definitely not what I was listening to.

On the other hand The Groove Is In The Heart is a perfect pop song and is so much fun that I have no issue with its Rolling Stone ranking. I have no idea what my 233rd favorite song is, but that song is just as good as any other song I’d probably have there.

 

[UncleZen]

Loooove Janes and this is definitely one of my favorites but not my #1. That would be Summertime Rolls.

 

[FatMax]

#4 Jane's Addiction - Three Days

Moving from my favorite album of 1990 to my most anticipated, thanks to Jane's Addiction's previous record being my go-to listen in 1988. I don't know any hardcore Jane's fans that like Ritual de lo Habitual as much as Nothing's Shocking, but my unscientific poll of five fellow disciples confirms that all of us consider Three Days to be their apex (I ranked it #1 in my MAD 31/U.S. list, @MAC_32 put it at #6). Judging by earlier comments, I think @rockaction and @Tick might feel the same way. According to Perry Farrell, it was written about Xiola Blue, who spent three days having sex and doing lots of drugs with him and his gf in 1987. She died of an OD around the time Three Days was written.

It would be 13 years before Jane's released another album - I was done with them by then but Mrs. Scorchy (one of the five fellow disciples) bought the CD and advised me not to bother. My long-time best-friend came to visit me in FL for spring break in 1992 and excitedly spent $60 he didn't have on imports from two other Jane's-adjacent bands (Deconstruction and Porno for Pyros - prior to a mainstream release) and both were embarrassingly bad. I just pretend that XXX, Nothing's Shocking, and Ritual... represent their entire catalog.

It's' been 25 years since I've heard this song. What a stupid misstep on my part. Now that I am home from work and can play it as it should be played, and holy ****. What a great tune. I do like slow-build rock songs, but this one is different. A little more irreverent, but still musically tight. I feel like an idiot now for dismissing them all these years, but this will be forever on my playlist now.

 

[Tick]

Loooove Janes and this is definitely one of my favorites but not my #1. That would be Summertime Rolls.

I had never thought about it, but that's probably my choice as well. I almost got to sing it at a house party in high school when their usual singer had some issue, but it didn't work out. Probably for the best - I can't sing. Still a little disappointing not to get the chance, though - I'm not sure Perry can sing all that well either, but he's a rock star. Three Days is great, though. I never knew who Xiola was - just saw the lyrics in the liner notes.

 

[Tick]

Cool - it's probably been about 5 years since I listened to the Jane's Addiction albums. It's time!

Holy crap, I was wondering what year I saw some grunge band in a bar's back yard, and the internet knew the answer.
https://www.setlist.fm/venue/underground-bar-anchorage-ak-usa-63d27297.html They seem to have kept a record of every band that played there over the years, so it was July 1992 when I saw Hammerbox. I thought they were great, later bought an album, and it's also been 5 years since I listened to that... time to break out the old CDs and listen through again. There's an unfortunate amount of Dokken in there, but it's fun to take a spin through every 5 years or so.

ETA: I had this shirt!

 

[zamboni]

Taylor Dayne - Love Will Lead You Back: I like early Taylor Dayne. Not this.

I always liked this one. Taylor had a heck of a voice and she kills it here.

New Kids on the Block - Step by Step: Ugh. I give you the Lemonheads cover.

I don't despise NKOTB as much as I should. A few of their earlier hits when they first hit it big weren't too bad.

 

[scorchy]

I don't despise NKOTB as much as I should. A few of their earlier hits when they first hit it big weren't too bad.

So what you're saying is at one point, NKOTB had the right stuff but ultimately were unable to hang tough?

 

[zamboni]

I don't despise NKOTB as much as I should. A few of their earlier hits when they first hit it big weren't too bad.

So what you're saying is at one point, NKOTB had the right stuff but ultimately were unable to hang tough?

You got it. Mainly I’m probably jealous of all the tail they got.

 

[scorchy]

#3 The Cure - Pictures of You
Remembering you, how you used to be
Slow drowned, you were angels
So much more than everything
Hold for the last time then slip away quietly
Open my eyes, but I never see anything

And now something from my favorite album of 1989. After years getting more-and-more poppy and melodic, The Cure made an epic return to their goth roots with that year's Disintegration. Fourth single Pictures of You (released in March 1990) is shimmery and gorgeous and all the other adjectives at which Bob and the boys excel. Rolling Stone named two Cure songs among the Top 500 of all time, with Just Like Heaven coming in at #106 and Pictures of You at #377:

Robert Smith, who’s admitted to fudging the truth in interviews to keep himself interested while doing press, has shared several origin stories for “Pictures of You.” In one, he was inspired to write it after choosing to destroy all his personal photos; in another, he wrote it after finding a picture of his wife in the wreckage of a fire. The real story, however, hardly seems to matter when the end result is a masterclass of windblown goth-pop ecstasy like this, brimming with nostalgia, heartache, destruction, and desire.

 

[Andy Dufresne]

#3 The Cure - Pictures of You
Remembering you, how you used to be
Slow drowned, you were angels
So much more than everything
Hold for the last time then slip away quietly
Open my eyes, but I never see anything

This was my Cure pick in whatever draft that was...

 

[Dr. Octopus]

great song

 

[zamboni]

#3 The Cure - Pictures of You
Remembering you, how you used to be
Slow drowned, you were angels
So much more than everything
Hold for the last time then slip away quietly
Open my eyes, but I never see anything

And now something from my favorite album of 1989. After years getting more-and-more poppy and melodic, The Cure made an epic return to their goth roots with that year's Disintegration. Fourth single Pictures of You (released in March 1990) is shimmery and gorgeous and all the other adjectives at which Bob and the boys excel. Rolling Stone named two Cure songs among the Top 500 of all time, with Just Like Heaven coming in at #106 and Pictures of You at #377:

Robert Smith, who’s admitted to fudging the truth in interviews to keep himself interested while doing press, has shared several origin stories for “Pictures of You.” In one, he was inspired to write it after choosing to destroy all his personal photos; in another, he wrote it after finding a picture of his wife in the wreckage of a fire. The real story, however, hardly seems to matter when the end result is a masterclass of windblown goth-pop ecstasy like this, brimming with nostalgia, heartache, destruction, and desire.

Outstanding song