Leroy Hoard
Footballguy
Please allow me to bump thee.
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101 Best Songs of 1990 - #1 George Michael - Freedom '90 (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter scorchy
- Start date
massraider
Footballguy
I love DU.
Things had shaken out differently, they could have been much bigger.
Things had shaken out differently, they could have been much bigger.
massraider
Footballguy
Assuming no more DU on the list, I recommend The Way we Swing, and Underwater Rimes and Freaks of the Industry from this album.
In high school, I didn't know who George Clinton was, I didn't know about funk or anything like that, I think I came to all of it through hip-hop. Learn about James Brown through Public Enemy, or George Clinton through Digital Underground. Ha, or learning about Stevie Wonder through Red Hot Chili Peppers (I thought Stevie covered RHCP for a long time with Higher Ground, lol.)
rockaction
Footballguy
I forgot how everybody would bark when Arsenio came on.
Woot woot woot woot woot wooot woot
J.J. Fad on there.
We're J.J. Fad
and we rock the mic
Digital Underground had the sample switch up when they were on the track. They had the dopest sample backing them. Probably their choice. They really had sampling down pat.
TripItUp
Footballguy
TripItUp
Footballguy
Love to see this in the top 20...Depeched Mode one of the few good things going in this era.
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TripItUp
Footballguy
I mean, they went multi platinum twice.(I think)
Eephus
Footballguy
Nobody got rich except Tupac. Shock lost a lot of his stuff in the Oakland Hills fire including the Pantera he bought with his first big check.
massraider
Footballguy
This so bums me out. I followed Shock pretty well, social media, his site, etc.
When he died, I had a lot of old school friends who hit on social media and were like, "Bro, this was the sound of your jeep."
You know those bands you like more than anyone you know? This was one of those bands for me.
Eephus
Footballguy
That almost makes me want to watch Nothing But Trouble again.
Nah, nevermind. Forget I mentioned it.
scorchy
Footballguy
This happened to me with SInead. My HS ex sent me a nice message on FB thanking me for introducing her to Sinead early and wondering how I was doing. Also got notes from a couple of co-workers to whom I had recommended the doc about her life. Trauma and mental illness are just brutal, but she left her mark on the world.
El Floppo
Footballguy
that album is still one of my all-timers, and slack-mofo is near the top.
Mac was apparently a year or so ahead of me in college, so I know I saw him play a bunch around campus. it took me probably a decade of listening to their music and seeing them a couple times before I learned that he was an alum. it's a killer list- sha na na, him, lauryn hill, willard moan, and vampire weekend.
they were one of my first shows too... whatever tour was 1981. my friend eric and I took the bus into SF (no drivers licenses yet) and saw them at the Kabuki, where all my favorite bands played. it was so empty, you could walk straight up the dance floor to the stage and just kind of hang out... and they were terrible live, tbh. 3 guys looking bored behind their keyboards and dave hopping around like an *******. music sounded good, but the show was awful. no sign of the arena show theyd grow into.
we were in MD over the summer and our kids actually allowed us to play non-pop stuff on the car radio for once, so we put it on 1st wave or whatever sirious does for 80s stuff. this tune was on regular rotation, which was a surprise as I hadn't heard it in ages. looooved it when it first hit. and still love it... and I mightve convinced my 12yo daughter to play it when she learns a new tune- which would be all kinds of awesome.
#28 Garth Brooks - Friends in Low PlacesForgive me for this. I guess I'll just plant Garth here at #28 but it's a no win. If you hate it, it doesn't belong on this list at all, but if you understand its greatness then this is way too low.Early on, I pretended that I was too cool to like this song, but I was lying to myself. Going to college in the south, it was absolutely omnipresent, even though I tended to avoid places you were most likely to encounter it. And I swear everyone would always sing along. If some drunk townie played it at Skeeters (home of the big biscuit) at 2:30 am, the whole restaurant - even us goth kids would join in. It has to be the biggest modern country song ever, right.I leave you with a Chuck Klosterman critique:
a gb and I drove around the country for about 2 1/2 months after graduating college... c1992. we stopped in nashville to visit some of my cousins I'd never met before. my mom's 1st cousin was a fiddle (juilliard violin trained) player who had played with everybody that recorded in nashville from the Stones on down. did him well enough to open his own small recording studio. the kids who I stayed with were all pretty amazing.
son drove cross country aimlessly after college (deja vu) with his gf at the time who was doing PA work on a tiny indie film in Texas- he was going to drop her and head to CA. the crew needed a boom operator, and dragged him to stand there with the thing out of necessity... something he'd never come remotely near doing before. the film was Blood Simple, and they used him on every film of theirs after. he obviously did well enough to open his own theater company back in Nashville (I ended up with a t shirt from a production about a black, woman Jesus.... ahead of their time lol)
daughter knew she wanted to get into the bar/restaurant business, so bailed on college and worked every job and position she could in the Nashville area until she'd saved enough to open her own spot- a place for live music, but for non-typical performers to play... the music writers and backing performers and such. it was called the Blue Bird. our first night in town, she told us to meet her there, that she'd set us up. we pulled up and there was a pretty intense scene out front...iirc, it was in a kind of strip mall. I thought we were going to see some writers do their stuff- she said, well, Garth showed up so he's playing along and singing with the guy that writes a lot of his music. my buddy and I look at each other and say "no way!". neither of us had any idea wtf Garth Brooks was.
eta: see below post for DU reference.
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El Floppo
Footballguy
no idea what happened to my post- some of it got absorbed into scorchy's quotes...
re: bay area hip-hop... @Eephus ... did you ever come across my old neighbor and HS friend, Kendrick? worked with Tupac when he first got Marin City and stayed friends/colleagues... and stayed in the music production biz. I just randomly found out he passed away this month- not sure how.
re: bay area hip-hop... @Eephus ... did you ever come across my old neighbor and HS friend, Kendrick? worked with Tupac when he first got Marin City and stayed friends/colleagues... and stayed in the music production biz. I just randomly found out he passed away this month- not sure how.
scorchy
Footballguy
Good to have you back, flops. Re: the Sundays - always great when your kid loves a song you love. Doesn't happen much in my house (outside of hip-hop) but surprisingly is the case for what will be my top pick for this year. I can't remember, does your family have a place in OCMD or do you just rent? I only made it down once this year but so many of my memories of the early 90s are tied up in that place.
El Floppo
Footballguy
wife's family has had a spot in Ocean Pines since the 80s. 2 brothers have places on the road to Assateague. we spent 4 months of peak covid at that house... and usually are there 1-2x year as a free vacation spot.
my musician son likes the dopiest white person pop/r&b with all the falsettos and slowed down mopyness. he plays anything and has fun doing it, but he'd rather be Luis Capaldo (or whatever that guys name is) than somebody good. still have hope for my daughter... tried playing my NME's new music playlist for her yesterday, but was met with "this is weird"- even though it has regular pop people on it.
scorchy
Footballguy
#18 Chris Isaak - Wicked Game
Wicked Game was originally on Chris Isaak;s 1989 Heart Shaped World. It wasn't until the following summer though, when it was included on the soundtrack for David Lynch's Wild at Heart, that it (and it's video) became a hit. I made my love for Wild at Heart known earlier - though, at the time, it may have been fake/pretension at wanting to seem cool rather than it actually being good (haven't seen it in eons). The song had a David Lynch-directed video as well, but no one remembers that one, just the Herb Ritts nude-a-thon with Helena Christensen rolling around on the beach. I think so many women were hot for Chris Isaak that it didn't even get a ton of complaints from the tsk-tsk crowd. Then he forcibly kissed Cameron Diaz at the MTV Movie Awards and I think lots of folks realized that maybe he's not so dreamy - just another horndog with a good voice.
Wicked Game was originally on Chris Isaak;s 1989 Heart Shaped World. It wasn't until the following summer though, when it was included on the soundtrack for David Lynch's Wild at Heart, that it (and it's video) became a hit. I made my love for Wild at Heart known earlier - though, at the time, it may have been fake/pretension at wanting to seem cool rather than it actually being good (haven't seen it in eons). The song had a David Lynch-directed video as well, but no one remembers that one, just the Herb Ritts nude-a-thon with Helena Christensen rolling around on the beach. I think so many women were hot for Chris Isaak that it didn't even get a ton of complaints from the tsk-tsk crowd. Then he forcibly kissed Cameron Diaz at the MTV Movie Awards and I think lots of folks realized that maybe he's not so dreamy - just another horndog with a good voice.
El Floppo
Footballguy
there was a period when every young woman I approached in SF had a Chris Isaak story. still a great, great song... and he'd put on a solid show.
TripItUp
Footballguy
solid song, but even a better video for a young man going through puberty.
massraider
Footballguy
Did he get flak for this? Or just some mean tweets a few years ago?
scorchy
Footballguy
I don't remember much at the time. Cameron Diaz seemed to play it off, which of course we realize now is the kind of #### women have to do so as continue getting cast.
scorchy
Footballguy
ProstheticRGK
Footballguy
ok, so first time for me opening this thread. at about 5am this morning, at work, Wicked Game popped into my head. started singing it- popped in my earbuds and listened to it. Weird, i haven’t thought about that song in FOREVER.
Scrolling thru the FFA- wtf? Thread title change; Wicked Game. Huh, must’ve picked it up subconsciously while scrolling and that’s why it popped into my head. Check the posting time- 8am.
Loved Wild at Heart. I don’t know if it’ll stand up to a rewatch, but I’m gonna give it a shot.
northern exposure
Footballguy
I remember "The Chris Isaak Show" sitcom from the early 2000s that featured most of his band.
It was filmed in Vancouver, Canada, so he spread his "love" on this side of the border as well. Creepy dude based on the stories I've heard.
massraider
Footballguy
Anything to do with 80's 90's Noir music/movies, I am in. I loved Twin Peaks, and movies like Red Rock West , there was some Western US noir back then that I really liked.
The video was hot, but Wild at Heart is much better. It's a great song.
Tick
Footballguy
It has to be in an ad right now or something - it's been in my head since at least Thursday. Not the best song for a biking tempo btw.ok, so first time for me opening this thread. at about 5am this morning, at work, Wicked Game popped into my head. started singing it- popped in my earbuds and listened to it. Weird, i haven’t thought about that song in FOREVER.
Scrolling thru the FFA- wtf? Thread title change; Wicked Game. Huh, must’ve picked it up subconsciously while scrolling and that’s why it popped into my head. Check the posting time- 8am.
Loved Wild at Heart. I don’t know if it’ll stand up to a rewatch, but I’m gonna give it a shot.
plinko
Footballguy
Well that's how I remember it anyway. This got a lot of play on HFS
Looking at his tracks on spotify, he has a couple other songs I know and this isn't even in his top ten most played. So I'm definitely off the mark in referring to it as "his next hit"
'We' had this CD though, in my poorer, slightly less CD-spendy, married/military family man years
Anyway.. who cares?
How was Alcatraz? I don't remember making a strong recommendation on this, maybe more of a "you could do worse"
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zamboni
Footballguy
The double negative last line "Nobody loves no one" always kind of bothered me, but it's a really good tune. High quality guitar tone.
scorchy
Footballguy
#17 Guns N' Roses - Civil War
This one was originally just inside the top 10 but repeated re-listens over the past few weeks caused it to drop a bit. LIke I wrote earlier about Knocking on Heaven's Door, I think a lot of us were just so happy to get new GNR material in 1990 (Civil War was originally released on the Nobody's Child benefit album and reached #4 on the mainstream rock chart that year) that we tended to overrate how good it was. The Cool Hand Luke intro still rules, the band shreds, and Axl's voice is gigantic, but in hindsight, Axl trying to write "intelligent" lyrics about war just seems kind of hackneyed. "What's so civil about war, anyway?"
This one was originally just inside the top 10 but repeated re-listens over the past few weeks caused it to drop a bit. LIke I wrote earlier about Knocking on Heaven's Door, I think a lot of us were just so happy to get new GNR material in 1990 (Civil War was originally released on the Nobody's Child benefit album and reached #4 on the mainstream rock chart that year) that we tended to overrate how good it was. The Cool Hand Luke intro still rules, the band shreds, and Axl's voice is gigantic, but in hindsight, Axl trying to write "intelligent" lyrics about war just seems kind of hackneyed. "What's so civil about war, anyway?"
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scorchy
Footballguy
Sorry, never heard that song in my life, though Chris Isaak remained a handsome man in 1995.
Alcatraz was a great way to pass a few hours on a Sunday morning. The stories from the audio guide were really interesting and compelled me to order a book, so that's a good sign. Views were great too, and Mrs. Scorchy got to do a little birdwatching, which seems to be her new favorite middle-aged lady thing.
Andy Dufresne
Footballguy
I've always wondered what a soliloquy about recidivism had to do with wars, but whatever. Axl is no Lord Byron.
I do know, however, that recidivism ain't a very pretty word.
I do know, however, that recidivism ain't a very pretty word.
massraider
Footballguy
I think I remember this video. Axl was on a motorcycle, with a helmet on, and jumped over a swimming pool filled with sharks.
zamboni
Footballguy
scorchy
Footballguy
A little harsh, but I'll allow it. There were enough good tracks on the Use Your Illusions for a counter-argument though. I'll say the moment happened with all the dolphins in the Estranged video.
scorchy
Footballguy
#16 Sonic Youth - Kool Thing
Looking at their chart history is a reminder that Sonic Youth was never one-tenth as popular among the masses as they were influential to aspiring musicians and beloved by critics. It definitely took me a while to "get" them - I was so excited to find 1988’s Daydream Nation after reading stellar reviews in Rolling Stone and Spin, only to feel immediate disappointment and quickly selling it back (I would change my mind a couple of years later and buy a new copy, not the first time to make that mistake).
1990’s Goo was the first Sonic Youth album to get some pretty heavy promotion,, helping it crack the Billboard album charts (albeit at #96). Lead single Kool Thing got heavy play on MTV and alt-radio, where it reached #7.
I don’t have Kim Gordon’s book handy, but she tells a great story of how Kool Thing was inspired by an awkward interview with LL Cool J (see references to “Panther” and “I don’t think so). IIRC, LL was pretty disinterested in general and completely dismissive when Kim starting talking feminism vis-a-vis the machismo displayed in his raps (shocker). Hence special guest Chuck D agreeing to “
liberate us girls."
.”
Looking at their chart history is a reminder that Sonic Youth was never one-tenth as popular among the masses as they were influential to aspiring musicians and beloved by critics. It definitely took me a while to "get" them - I was so excited to find 1988’s Daydream Nation after reading stellar reviews in Rolling Stone and Spin, only to feel immediate disappointment and quickly selling it back (I would change my mind a couple of years later and buy a new copy, not the first time to make that mistake).
1990’s Goo was the first Sonic Youth album to get some pretty heavy promotion,, helping it crack the Billboard album charts (albeit at #96). Lead single Kool Thing got heavy play on MTV and alt-radio, where it reached #7.
I don’t have Kim Gordon’s book handy, but she tells a great story of how Kool Thing was inspired by an awkward interview with LL Cool J (see references to “Panther” and “I don’t think so). IIRC, LL was pretty disinterested in general and completely dismissive when Kim starting talking feminism vis-a-vis the machismo displayed in his raps (shocker). Hence special guest Chuck D agreeing to “
liberate us girls."
.”
El Floppo
Footballguy
let everybody know.
this song kicks ***. to this day. and kim got to do some cool **** on Goo, which too many SY fans dismiss because... who knows... it was popular?
scorchy
Footballguy
#15 Social Distortion - Ball and Chain
Back in the day, Mrs. Scorchy and I both loved Social Distortion's 1990 self-titled album - one of the many overlaps when we did the symbolic merge of our CD collections (that was the real test of commitment at the time, right?) Much to my surprise, she even suggested that I put Ball and Chain on the mix CDs I made for our our wedding DJ, as we were quite specific about him not going rogue and playing a bunch of cheesy #### we hated. Per her request, Social D immediately followed our first dance (to Portishead's All Mine). If it had been 10 years later and we were a lot cooler (or maybe just more 'look at me') we could have done some choreographed number and posted it on IG, but alas, there's no record of it.
Back in the day, Mrs. Scorchy and I both loved Social Distortion's 1990 self-titled album - one of the many overlaps when we did the symbolic merge of our CD collections (that was the real test of commitment at the time, right?) Much to my surprise, she even suggested that I put Ball and Chain on the mix CDs I made for our our wedding DJ, as we were quite specific about him not going rogue and playing a bunch of cheesy #### we hated. Per her request, Social D immediately followed our first dance (to Portishead's All Mine). If it had been 10 years later and we were a lot cooler (or maybe just more 'look at me') we could have done some choreographed number and posted it on IG, but alas, there's no record of it.
scorchy
Footballguy
#14 George Michael - Praying for Time
In high school, I really liked George Michael but was a bit afraid to admit it. By the time I got to college, I had no qualms embracing the love, proudly buying Listen Without Prejudice Vol 1 the first week it came out and playing it repeatedly over my crappy dorm stereo. Listen... is the sound of an artist who got all the fame he wanted and realized it wasn't what he wanted at all. An LA Times interview where George basically said as much resulted in none other than Frank Sinatra penning a letter to the editor: "Come on, George. Loosen up. Swing, man… No more of that talk about ‘the tragedy of fame."
Praying for TIme is as despair ridden as any song on this list (and certainly more than any pretty much any other Billboard #1 of the entire 90s. When critics compared it to Imagine, George responded: “It’s not like ‘Imagine’ at all. It’s much more negative. I’d like to say things are bound to get better, but I don’t really believe it. The song is my own way of trying to justify people’s actions and their selfishness, I suppose.”
In high school, I really liked George Michael but was a bit afraid to admit it. By the time I got to college, I had no qualms embracing the love, proudly buying Listen Without Prejudice Vol 1 the first week it came out and playing it repeatedly over my crappy dorm stereo. Listen... is the sound of an artist who got all the fame he wanted and realized it wasn't what he wanted at all. An LA Times interview where George basically said as much resulted in none other than Frank Sinatra penning a letter to the editor: "Come on, George. Loosen up. Swing, man… No more of that talk about ‘the tragedy of fame."
Praying for TIme is as despair ridden as any song on this list (and certainly more than any pretty much any other Billboard #1 of the entire 90s. When critics compared it to Imagine, George responded: “It’s not like ‘Imagine’ at all. It’s much more negative. I’d like to say things are bound to get better, but I don’t really believe it. The song is my own way of trying to justify people’s actions and their selfishness, I suppose.”
rockaction
Footballguy
Sonic Youth's Goo is just an awesome album. I queued it up a few months back and galavanted about town playing "Dirty Boots" and "Mote." They still rock. Before Twitter got all wrecked, I'd just started following Thurston Moore. Good follow.
Encyclopedia Brown
Footballguy
Good advice and not as harsh as when he told Billy Idol, "what's with the sneering crap? Don't do that. People want to like you."
massraider
Footballguy
Sinatra was such a ****
plinko
Footballguy
Ramsay Hunt Experience
Footballguy
"After we shtup, let's eat ***** food!"
scorchy
Footballguy
#13 Alice in Chains - Man in the Box
Another harbinger for the upcoming grunge revolution, we just didn't have a word yet to describe AiC's debut album Face-lift. Metal? Alternative? Whatever we called it, the video for Man in the Box rocked the hell out of MTV when the video dropped in late 1990.
Another harbinger for the upcoming grunge revolution, we just didn't have a word yet to describe AiC's debut album Face-lift. Metal? Alternative? Whatever we called it, the video for Man in the Box rocked the hell out of MTV when the video dropped in late 1990.
Dwayne Hoover
Footballguy
I remember I was in my fraternity common area and we were watching MTV. The first time I heard this song, it resonated with me. Went out and bought Facelift the same week.
Top to bottom, that is such a great album.
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