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101 Best Songs of 1994 - #1 - Notorious BIG - Juicy (3 Viewers)
- Thread starter scorchy
- Start date
Pip's Invitation
Footballguy
OK, I finally have time for a quick stab at this.Pip's Invitation said:
Keep in mind that I am not saying every Millenial/Gen Z'er has less interest in music than every Boomer/Gen X'er. Of course there are exceptions, and the vinyl boom is happening in part because of younger listeners. But they are not the majority.
A. A lot of music released in this millenium has been made by computers for computers. It just doesn't have the same power and command the same attention as music made by electric instruments for stereo systems. That also means...
B. In my experience, millenials and younger are more likely to see music as background as opposed to something to be fully engaged with.
C. There are way, way more things for millenials and younger to engage in as teens and young adults than there were when we were those ages. The internet, video games, etc. are way more pervasive than they ever were. TV has exponentially more programming. And anyone can make their own programming thanks to YouTube and the like.
D. Because of C, there is no monoculture anymore. Celebrating/going against the monoculture was a big part of our lives as young people, and that meant celebrating/denigrating the musical artists/genres associated with the monoculture and its alternative. That dynamic doesn't exist to the same extent anymore; there are many more ways to define oneself than there used to be.
E. The role of music, rock and rap in particular, as an avatar of rebellion and distinguishing oneself from one's parents/upbringing seems to be much less than it used to be. This is probably because this was the music of the parents of millenials and younger -- that is, us (I'm speaking of people who are at least a little cosmopolitan, not those who live in Footloose-type environments). Except for the grodiest of death metal and hardcore rap, there's nothing in the music world that would shock most of said parents (that is, us). So kids wishing to engage in rebellion and distinguishing oneself from one's parents/upbringing are often using other means (often politics). And that means music doesn't have as much cultural/personal significance for them.
All of this has been facilitated by...
F. The Telecommunications Act of 1996. Among other things, it greatly deregulated the recording industry. And that led to record companies gobbling each other up until there were just a few conglomerates left (and some small niche labels). Within 5 years, the bean counters at the conglomerates took over and ditched almost everyone who didn't have the potential to churn out massive hits. Nor have they signed any new artists without that potential. The idea of labels with significant reach being homes to artists who can gain an audience as they grow creatively is almost dead. And where it does exist, the reach of those labels is usually confined to a particular genre or subculture.
rockaction
Footballguy
Oh wow. I'd never really studied this in detail, and I'm a sucker for how policy and changes in policy change the arts. I'll have to look into it more. Is this the same act that allowed the huge consolidation of radio channels under banners and corps like Clear Channel? I'm less ignorant that radio got crowded out in this way, but I'm not sure what legislation it is or how the radio consolidation came to be, to be honest.
Your other points are taken. Impossible to prove, but they sound reasonable and passable as a working theory. Especially the part about demarcation of boundaries. Look at us. If I were a parent, I'm not sure how my kids could really rebel other than, like you said, the death-iest of death metal or something like that. I mean, I can think of things they could embrace -- like a sexually libertine club culture where music informed identity and the like, so I guess that's a frontier they could go down (and some have). But I'm not sure the forms will bend that much or that there's a sonic representation of that rebellion and I'm not sure its expression finds itself other than within politics or identity issues.
Who is really producing dance beats for the outré, anyway? I mean, Sophie was a trans star but have you heard her music? Really boring, Atari 8-bit ####. Hailed as genius. Which was an overcompensation, in my opinion, but my ears for great dance music aren't so nuanced. so...who knows?
But there's really nowhere to go other than that.
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scorchy
Footballguy
Jeez, I go away for a couple of hours and we get a semantic discussion of "mousy" and a magnum opus from Pip. Love it.
As for the former, Aimee Mann does indeed seem somewhat mousy when she has lingonberry pancakes. Lisa Loeb, on the other other hand, not mousy at all. AT ALL!!!
Gonna need a few minutes to ruminate on Telecom Act of 1996 though.
As for the former, Aimee Mann does indeed seem somewhat mousy when she has lingonberry pancakes. Lisa Loeb, on the other other hand, not mousy at all. AT ALL!!!
Gonna need a few minutes to ruminate on Telecom Act of 1996 though.
Pip's Invitation
Footballguy
Yes.
As to your point about Sophie, I do get the sense that those who push the boundaries these days do so with their looks/attitudes/extras rather than their actual music. But I am not plugged in at all to scenes like that so I am not speaking from much experience there.
El Floppo
Footballguy
scorchy
Footballguy
rockaction
Footballguy
Yeah, I should also be really careful because there are subgenres of music that are happening that are hip that I'm not even close to aware of. For all I know, her eight-bit stuff could be a reaction to maximum bit recordings or something and it may sound fresh to dance ears. To me, it sounded like more a clever Atari soundtrack.
El Floppo
Footballguy
rockaction
Footballguy
And just to further it all for anybody interested, this stuff was considered a bit pop revolutionary. It sounds like old bits and bytes stuff to my ears.
https://www.billboard.com/music/music-news/sophie-best-songs-producer-9518799/
I just want to be as fair to the artist as possible, which I why I post this. Considering Billboard calls her a transgressive pop "trailblazer" (their words), I'll give it its due with at least a link and another listen.
https://www.billboard.com/music/music-news/sophie-best-songs-producer-9518799/
I just want to be as fair to the artist as possible, which I why I post this. Considering Billboard calls her a transgressive pop "trailblazer" (their words), I'll give it its due with at least a link and another listen.
El Floppo
Footballguy
rockaction
Footballguy
Okay, "Vroom Vroom" by Charlie XCX sounds dope. Give Sophie that. Vince Staples (once upon my time my favorite emcee) and "SAMO" is pretty dope, too.
Okay, enough of that. It was me witnessing the birth of the cool and parental misunderstanding of that cool as set forth upthread by none other than me.
Okay, enough of that. It was me witnessing the birth of the cool and parental misunderstanding of that cool as set forth upthread by none other than me.
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rockaction
Footballguy
scorchy
Footballguy
Agreed. Probably one of the reasons that older music is owning the market compared to newer music. See this article from The Atlantic.
Yep. My perspective is pretty limited to suburban, athletic kids but music isn't in the foreground for most of my kid's friends like it was for me and my buddies growing up. The ones who are really into it mainly listen to 80s/90s metal or old school rap. They may have the local hip-hop station playing while driving, but if they're playing basketball outside, they don't have the sound pumping out of the alpine like we used to.
Every subculture at my HS had their own soundtrack. Now I really see that among the artsy kids. I can guarantee my son won't be posting a top 100 songs from 2022 in 30 years and telling sad-sack stories about how some cheesy song reminds of the girl who broke his heart.
Completely. Also, people don't need to work to find their music anymore. I can remember taking $15 from my minimum wage job to buy two tapes at Camelot Records and almost praying that I wasn't wasting my money. You heard one song that you liked and took a gamble, and if it was terrible, you were screwed. Happened to me all the time. On the other hand, if it was great, you listened to it over and over again, or at least until you scored enough money to buy more music. Having every song ever recorded at your fingertips is amazing in so many ways, but in making music less of a commodity, I believe it's devalued the meaning.
Nailed it again.
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scorchy
Footballguy
Keep it down now.I'll burn this thread to the ground if anyone speaks poorly of my #1 girl crush, Aimee Mann.
scorchy
Footballguy
#35 - A Tribe Called Quest - Oh My God
Gotta squeeze one more in here tonight, and it's a long-distance dedication to my man @rockaction. Oh My God was released in May '94 as the third single from A Tribe Called Quest's 1993 album Midnight Marauders. Check out Busta on the chorus.
Oh My God
Gotta squeeze one more in here tonight, and it's a long-distance dedication to my man @rockaction. Oh My God was released in May '94 as the third single from A Tribe Called Quest's 1993 album Midnight Marauders. Check out Busta on the chorus.
Oh My God
massraider
Footballguy
The only thing mousy about Lisa Loeb was her glasses, and her glasses weren't that mousy. She was closer to sex kitten then nerd.
Aged well, because she's little. 5'1 or something. It's the tall ones that don't age well. I dunno why, but if they hang around long enough, Bea Arthur is best they can hope for.
Aged well, because she's little. 5'1 or something. It's the tall ones that don't age well. I dunno why, but if they hang around long enough, Bea Arthur is best they can hope for.
massraider
Footballguy
scorchy
Footballguy
rockaction
Footballguy
Was just wearing my ATCQ The Low End Theory shirt from Okayplayer today. Yes, I’m now musically branded. But the artwork is so cool! Thanks for the dedication! God about sums it up, huh?
LOL?
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rockaction
Footballguy
And Oh My God and that Busta vocal hook is fire. I remember snowboarding in ‘94 to it in Squaw Valley, CA. Nice trip, better soundtrack. I cannot snowboard for the life of me, but I sure tried.
twenty feet… whomp…another twenty…another whomp…and thus it went.
twenty feet… whomp…another twenty…another whomp…and thus it went.
El Floppo
Footballguy
what, the mousy broad?I'll burn this thread to the ground if anyone speaks poorly of my #1 girl crush, Aimee Mann.
krista4
Footballguy
zamboni
Footballguy
otb_lifer
Footballguy
but she was such the non-conformist REBEL ... the first riot grrrrl?
SHE WORE A TAIL IN HER (quirkily dyed) HAIR THAT VEXED HER BOYFRIEND!
she also sported, like, funeral clothes to a snooty to-do with the muckity mucks!!!
people talk about G.G. Allin and Wendy O, but ... it was Aimee who was outta control!
scorchy
Footballguy
Time for one more detour into tracks I particularly love that didn’t make a huge dent in the mainstream. After today, it’s 90 percent chalk from here on in.
#35 - Soul Coughing - Sugar Free Jazz
Normalize the signal and you're bangin' on freon
Since the start of the pandemic, Soul Coughing’s debut record Ruby Vroom has been, front-to-back, among my 5-10 most played records and easily tops from the mid-90s. Everyone else in the house goes to sleep, I put on my headphones, and the first two tracks (Is Chicago, Is Not Chicago and Sugar Free Jazz) put me on the path to zen. The rest of the fam is going away this weekend and I already have big plans to pull out the vinyl on Friday night, get a little light-headed, and embrace the weirdness of one M. Doughty,
Sugar Free Jazz
#35 - Soul Coughing - Sugar Free Jazz
Normalize the signal and you're bangin' on freon
Since the start of the pandemic, Soul Coughing’s debut record Ruby Vroom has been, front-to-back, among my 5-10 most played records and easily tops from the mid-90s. Everyone else in the house goes to sleep, I put on my headphones, and the first two tracks (Is Chicago, Is Not Chicago and Sugar Free Jazz) put me on the path to zen. The rest of the fam is going away this weekend and I already have big plans to pull out the vinyl on Friday night, get a little light-headed, and embrace the weirdness of one M. Doughty,
Sugar Free Jazz
massraider
Footballguy
I remember hearing this CD for the first time, it was background at a party or something. Bus to Beelzebub playing, and I was like, why is the music from a Looney Tunes cartoon on this track?
Major regret soon after that, some friends invited me to NYC, I didn't go, and they caught them opening for Jeff Buckley. For 10 years, I couldn't hear a song by either band without one of these toolbox friends bringing up that concert, and what a great time it was and yada yada yada.
If someone of our age range never knew about Soul Coughing or M. Doughty, they are in for a treat.
scorchy
Footballguy
#34 - Jawbreaker - Boxcar
You're not punk, and I'm telling everyone
Save your breath, I never was one
Despite not being punk in the slightest, I vocally adopted Boxcar as my personal anthem in 1994. Pretty much everyone that's been part of a “scene” learns soon enough that there are always plenty of gatekeepers who decide who's a real [insert genre]. Conformity to non-conformity. My particular sin was going to Gator football games and showing up to industrial/goth night with a tan.
My enemies are all too familiar
They're the ones who used to call me friend
I'm coloring outside your guidelines
I was passing out when you were passing out your rules
San Francisco's Jawbreaker got it a lot worse than anyone in some silly little central Florida pseudo-scene. They spent years promising Bay area fans they would never sell out, and even though 1994’s 24 Hour Revenge Therapy was released on an indie, a few subsequent dates opening for Nirvana got them branded as turncoats anyway. At that point, Jawbreaker decided that if they’re going to be accused of selling out, they might as well do it, and followed the Green Day money train to a big contract. Angry fans showed up throughout their next tour just to turn their back when the band played and burn their CDs outside the shows. Serious business…
Boxcar
You're not punk, and I'm telling everyone
Save your breath, I never was one
Despite not being punk in the slightest, I vocally adopted Boxcar as my personal anthem in 1994. Pretty much everyone that's been part of a “scene” learns soon enough that there are always plenty of gatekeepers who decide who's a real [insert genre]. Conformity to non-conformity. My particular sin was going to Gator football games and showing up to industrial/goth night with a tan.
My enemies are all too familiar
They're the ones who used to call me friend
I'm coloring outside your guidelines
I was passing out when you were passing out your rules
San Francisco's Jawbreaker got it a lot worse than anyone in some silly little central Florida pseudo-scene. They spent years promising Bay area fans they would never sell out, and even though 1994’s 24 Hour Revenge Therapy was released on an indie, a few subsequent dates opening for Nirvana got them branded as turncoats anyway. At that point, Jawbreaker decided that if they’re going to be accused of selling out, they might as well do it, and followed the Green Day money train to a big contract. Angry fans showed up throughout their next tour just to turn their back when the band played and burn their CDs outside the shows. Serious business…
Boxcar
zamboni
Footballguy
scorchy
Footballguy
scorchy
Footballguy
#32 - Portishead - Sour Times
One more trip-hop classic from '94. Portishead's debut album Dummy was released to universally positive reviews from the music press, and beat out entries from PJ Harvey, Oasis, and Tricky to win England's Mercury Prize. Even today, NME, Spin, Rolling, Stone, Q, and Pitchfork all rank Dummy among their top albums of the 90s. I've always liked it, but it wasn't until the soon-to-be Mrs Scorchy moved in with me that I fully appreciated the greatness (I really didn't have a choice). She loves Portishead so much that we (really, she) picked All Mine (from their 1997 self-titled follow up) for the first dance at our wedding. Sour Times was Portishead's only song to chart in the U.S. - it oozes mystery.
Sour Times
One more trip-hop classic from '94. Portishead's debut album Dummy was released to universally positive reviews from the music press, and beat out entries from PJ Harvey, Oasis, and Tricky to win England's Mercury Prize. Even today, NME, Spin, Rolling, Stone, Q, and Pitchfork all rank Dummy among their top albums of the 90s. I've always liked it, but it wasn't until the soon-to-be Mrs Scorchy moved in with me that I fully appreciated the greatness (I really didn't have a choice). She loves Portishead so much that we (really, she) picked All Mine (from their 1997 self-titled follow up) for the first dance at our wedding. Sour Times was Portishead's only song to chart in the U.S. - it oozes mystery.
Sour Times
massraider
Footballguy
You didn't listen to Portishead on Wednesday afternoon, but there were few better after party CDs.
Top 3 1994 album for me, just for the sexy time memories.
Top 3 1994 album for me, just for the sexy time memories.
scorchy
Footballguy
otb_lifer
Footballguy
one sure as #### could if one were imbibing - Beth Gibbons is what the kidz today would call a mood ...
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scorchy
Footballguy
#31 - Veruca Salt - Seether
When I first moved to Philly, my new neighbor Chuck came over one night for pizza and March Madness. While I was ordering, he walked over to my CD racks to check out the collection (didn't we all do this back then?). Next thing I know, I'm getting endless amounts of #### - "How the hell do you only have one Van Halen CD [a best of] but two CDs and an EP by ####ing Veruca Salt."
Honestly, I like debut record American Thighs and the Steve Albini-produced EP Blow It Out Your ###, It's Veruca Salt better than anything VH had put out since the time I started buying CDs. Seether > Right Now.
Seether
When I first moved to Philly, my new neighbor Chuck came over one night for pizza and March Madness. While I was ordering, he walked over to my CD racks to check out the collection (didn't we all do this back then?). Next thing I know, I'm getting endless amounts of #### - "How the hell do you only have one Van Halen CD [a best of] but two CDs and an EP by ####ing Veruca Salt."
Honestly, I like debut record American Thighs and the Steve Albini-produced EP Blow It Out Your ###, It's Veruca Salt better than anything VH had put out since the time I started buying CDs. Seether > Right Now.
Seether
zamboni
Footballguy
FairWarning
Footballguy
Veruca Salt was another Chicago band that was going to take over the music scene.
rockaction
Footballguy
"Right Now" lasts longer. It's actually ear worm Van Hagar. You have to be in an Inland Empire mood to get Van Hagar, I think. Go with that pickup truck mode. Enjoy it.
Hey! Touch the moment
Right now!
C'mon it means everything
Hey touch the moment
Right here and now
It means...everything
...or something like that. It goes for a grand statement, don't you know?
"Seether" is a very good power pop song, though.
otb_lifer
Footballguy
i think All Hail Me was a much better song, and definitely the most compelling track they ever laid down - has an unmistakable sludgy dreamscape feel - like shoegazers tuning into Zep or Sabbath - one of the best efforts of the decade, imo.
Louise & Nina were dolls, to boot - their Volcano Girls glow up was the attempt to capitize on such, trying to break them through ... "Eight Arms To Hold You" was decent, but i never felt these gals were gonna break into the commercial groundswell mgmnt/label portended them for.
very underrated duo.
DocHolliday
Footballguy
I really like that song and think I even bought the album. I was getting my career going in 94 and didn’t pay much attention to music videos or the artists. Those ladies could write good tunes and turn heads.
scorchy
Footballguy
Andy Dufresne
Footballguy
Understanding that this is a personal favorite for you, I say this with all the tact I can muster...
This song is awful.
Andy Dufresne
Footballguy
massraider
Footballguy
Soooo much good music fronted by women this year. I was listening to more different female singers this year than any other, and it's not even close. All the ones listed here, and I was definitely still listening to the Breeders and Mazzy Star from 93
Osaurus
Footballguy
rockaction
Footballguy
Yeah, but don't you hear the real piano sound in the background? They were ditching the mechanized synth stuff for something acoustic and authentic.
Good on Van Halen for that song. That it's tied to an of-the-moment nineties product that ironically announces it's a product for "tomorrow" means nothing.
Sammy Hagar bought Cabo Tequila, don't you know? He vacations there.
Of the moment!
massraider
Footballguy
I have no problem if Sammy Hagar turns into the love child of Jimmy Buffett and Guy Fieri, but it doesn't make the music good
rockaction
Footballguy
I really had nothing good to add, but that song is now stuck right in my consciousness. It's dead-center in my wheelhouse, attracted to the cut of my jib and not dissuaded by my mullet or whatever should normally repel somebody.
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