FEATURE:
Bittersweet Symphony
Heading Back to the Nineties
___________
I am going to bring in a couple of…
playlists that celebrate the best of the 1990s. This is not related to anything but, as most of the current music news is quite down and dark, I thought I would throw a nostalgic glance back to the 1990s. I cover the decade quite a bit when it comes to assessing albums and highlighting great songs - but I think that the entire decade as a whole is one that has brought my huge nourishment and positivity at a very tough time. There is a downside to the nostalgia and realising that, alas, we cannot all go back to the ‘90s and live there is a safer bubble than we have at the moment! Although today’s music is amazing and varied, I think there is something inherently uplifting and exciting about the 1990s. Fearne Cotton hosts a Sounds of the 90s show that brings together some of the best of the decade. Whilst most of the songs are Pop, there is a variety where we get to reveal in the warm glow and brilliance of the decade. I think, if one wants to feel happier and get some energy back, you can search for various 1990s-themed playlists on streaming sites. Rather than it being purely escapist and a way of hiding from the situation we are all in, I have been remembering just how broad the ‘90s was.
I think most people associate the time with Pop and movements like Grunge. Apart from the known hits and big songs of the 1990s, there are some overlooked gems that you need to check out. I think that Pop music today is vastly different to what it was like in the 1990s. I feel modem Pop is less reliant on big choruses and energy; it is more complex and layered. I think modern Pop is great, but there is something wonderfully spirited and timeless about the Pop songs of the ‘90s. Aside from Grunge ruling up to about 1994, there was the might and rivalry that came with Britpop. In Britain, we had great Rock bands like Elastica and Sleeper; there were legendary bands in America like The Smashing Pumpkins and Weezer. It is almost impossible to get on tip of all the different scenes and movements that formed and grew throughout the 1990s. Hip-Hop started its dominance in the 1980s, but it was still a massive force in the 1990s with bands like Beastie Boys and Public Enemy releasing sensational, world-beating albums. I think there were so many different configurations and aspects to 1990s’ music. I want to quote from a udiscovermusic. article from 2019, where they discuss various notable highlights of the decade:
“Most female-fronted rock bands didn’t chart as well, but they did deal in a cultural currency that produced a vibrant feminist-rock scene. Hole drew attention to Love’s contemporaries, including Bikini Kill, Babes In Toyland, Bratmobile and, later, Sleater-Kinney. Then there was L7. All flying-V riffs, head-banging hair, and “screw you” lyrics, L7 (along with Mudhoney) helped pioneer grunge before grunge broke. And after it did, the group’s 1992 album, Bricks Are Heavy, won acclaim for skilfully toeing the line between the grunge, alternative and riot grrrl worlds.
Towards the decade’s end, a rise of feminism (and female spending power) in 90s music would trickle up the pop charts. This led to an explosion of multi-platinum singer-songwriters: Sarah McLachlan, Alanis Morissette, Sheryl Crow, Lisa Loeb, Paula Cole, Fiona Apple, Jewel and the lone woman of colour, Tracy Chapman. All of the above (less Morissette) also appeared on the inaugural Lilith Fair tour, McLachlan’s answer to Lollapalooza. It became the best-selling touring festival of 1997.
Meanwhile, the louder alt.rock scene assumed the space left by heavy metal. Industrial music’s Nine Inch Nails and Marilyn Manson, rap-rock’s Rage Against the Machine and Faith No More, the funk-centric Red Hot Chili Peppers and Primus, as well as the transcendent rock of The Smashing Pumpkins and Jane’s Addiction – all capitalised on the new thirst for angst. In this new environment, even a reissue of ‘Mother’, by the dystopian goth-metal beast Glenn Danzig, became a hit. Perry Farrell, Jane’s Addiction’s eccentric frontman, became a nexus for this phenomenon in 90s music when he created the then-quixotic Lollapalooza festival (its name a Webster dictionary deep cut meaning “extraordinarily impressive”) in the auspicious year of 1991.
After a decade of jock-versus-nerd narratives, being weird became cool, with grunge’s influence permeating into the aesthetics of fashion. Movies such as Cameron Crowe’s Seattle-centric Singles, Ben Stiller’s Reality Bites and Allan Moyle’s Empire Records jumped on board to celebrate the virtues of outsiders.
But Billboard’s new accounting actually had its greatest impact on R&B and hip-hop, revealing the two genres’ growing relationship with one another. The 90s kicked off with New Jack Swing in full effect, its most effective purveyors being Bell Biv DeVoe, Al B Sure, Keith Sweat and Boys II Men. As New Jack Swing waned, R&B embraced a soul-and-groove sound typified by Janet Jackson, D’Angelo, Erykah Badu, Usher, Toni Braxton and Mary J Blige.
But they had some competition. During the 90s, many rap acts were hitting not just the Hot 100 charts, but also Billboard’s R&B charts. This was helped by singers such as Lauryn Hill and TLC, who integrated hip-hop into their sounds. In particular, Mariah Carey’s 1995 collaboration with Ol’ Dirty Bastard on ‘Fantasy’ became a defining moment in this crossover period in 90s music.
Hip-hop had become so pervasive because it was so dynamic; its growth spurt precipitated an intriguing assortment of subgenres. Public Enemy, Queen Latifah, Arrested Development, A Tribe Called Quest, Cypress Hill and OutKast were waxing intellectually on social issues. And Public Enemy got alternative music’s seal of approval with Chuck D’s cameo on Sonic Youth’s ‘Kool Thing’. Some rappers, such as Salt-N-Pepa, MC Hammer, Coolio, Will Smith and, later, Missy Elliot, focused on cutting anthemic jams primed for the pop charts. Others were grabbing the masses by the jugular”.
I would advise people to listen to an NPR Music podcast, where we get a real insight into the highs and lows of the decade! I don’t think that everything released in the ‘90s was brilliant. There was some lame Pop and novelty hits that are best left where they were. Britpop sort of died out by 1997, and I think the most joyous time of the 1990s was between 1990-1995 – not to say it was all dark after that, but there was a notable change. Just look at polls from Rolling Stone, Pitchfork, and PASTE, and we get an insight into the sheer weight of brilliance and diversity that was present throughout the 1990s!
It is bittersweet being nostalgic about the ‘90s and realising that we cannot go back or escape there in any real way. That said, I think one can spend a few hours listening to the best music of the time without feeling too sad about its passing. There is such variegation and range, one can feel invigorated and comforted by so many wonderful sounds and artists. If you have resisted the Nineties or feel that other decades provide greater satisfaction, spend a bit of time immersed in all the great music that came through in the ‘90s. It is strange to think that the decade started thirty-one years! I was six when the 1990s began, and I can recall having my eyes and mind opened to a world of music that made such a huge impact! I think that, when it comes to modern-day influence, the 1990s can be heard widely. Pop artists today like Rina Sawayama and Dua Lipa have taken from various bits of the ‘90s for their most-recent albums. I can hear the decade a lot in Pop in general, but one need only to listen to a lot of the Hip-Hop and Rock music coming out to understand how important and influential the ‘90s is. It has been nice immersing my senses in the music of the best decade for music. It has given me a glow and a chance to revisit with childhood memories. That said, there is the slight pang of loss when the music stops; maybe remembering happy memories makes the stress of today seem a little more pronounced. Whilst too much nostalgia can be dangerous and a bad thing, I think that a pleasing dip into the calm waters of the 1990s can do a lot to…
SOOTH the soul and lighten the load.