Blast from the past

The Girlfriend and I sought out some old 90′s one-hit wonders last night. My favorite is probably Spacehog’s epic single “In the Meantime,” though Marcy Playground’s “Sex and Candy” is nice as a reminder of the excesses of 90′s music videos. (For some reason, I can’t get an embeddable version of either.)

What are some of your favorite forgotten 90′s tracks?

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May 23, 2009 - Posted by Adam Kotsko | boredom, Music

21 Comments

In the Meantime is such a good song. That whole album is totally enjoyable.

Comment by Colin | May 23, 2009
Oh, how about Polaris’ “Hey Sandy” (Pete and Pete theme song) and the Spin Doctors, with “Two Princes.” Awesome

Comment by Colin | May 23, 2009
Third Eye Blind’s “Semi Charmed Life” – the suck is overbearing (although appropriate). I think this post is a VH1 special waiting to happen.

Comment by Troy Polidori | May 23, 2009
I only ever heard the Spacehog single – it sounded somewhat derivative of Frank Black’s “Teenager of the Year” album. This, of course, is not a criticism of either.

Comment by Craig | May 23, 2009
I’ve got about a million of these, but here’s a 90s gem I had a tough time finding a few years ago (I couldn’t remember the lyrics, the band name, or song name… it was tough): Primitive Radio Gods – Standing Outside a Broken Phone Booth With Money in My Hand. Song and vid here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0LKVZ4NTfUc

Comment by Currence | May 23, 2009
I know you are all nostalgic for a belief in a communist future, but I am nostalgic for that period in the early 90s when indie and dance would be forever joined.

Irish band, drum machine, mandolins, great lyrics, what more could you ask for? I have the vinyl 7 inch single somewhere…

Comment by Gabe | May 23, 2009
That Space Hog song is absolutely the shit. I never get tired of it. My respect for your aesthetic sensibility has grown again.

Comment by Hill | May 23, 2009
I’m also a huge fan of Jane’s Addiction, especially Ritual de lo Habitual. They have aged as well or better than any other of the vanguard alternative rock bands.

Comment by Hill | May 23, 2009
“I am nostalgic for that period in the early 90s when indie and dance would be forever joined.”

Gabe has basically summed up my entire weltanschauung. I feel like my own contribution has already been covered by the weblog before? But maybe I’m wrong…

Comment by RobDP | May 23, 2009
catchy, the songs
i remember watching the last song on mtv thinking something along the lines of, like, perverts..
in my defence i didn’t know any spoken english then
remember liking duran duran and pet shop boys, lenny kravitz and other general mtv pop

Comment by read | May 23, 2009
I still dig the Butthole Surfer’s “Pepper,” even if is the only decent song on that particular CD. Was on the soundtrack of one of my best summers. That and Son Volt’s “Drown.”

Comment by Brad | May 23, 2009
‘Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm’ by The Crash Test Dummies — I dig this band, but it’s strange to me that they were ever popular enough to earn a Weird Al parody…

I’m also fond of ‘Hook’ by Blues Traveler and most singles released by the Counting Crows.

Comment by Will | May 23, 2009
One of my recent “random confessional subtitles” was based on the clip sampled in the Primitive Radio Gods single.

Comment by Adam Kotsko | May 24, 2009
It is inconceivable that no one has pointed out the obvious: no matter how embarrassed we are by them (except at moments of white irony, of course), they were all really good at the time and to this day. I speak, of course, of New Kids on the Block, MC Hammer, Vanilla Ice, House of Pain, Kris Kros, (some of these could be late eighties for all I know). Many, many others. If late nineties count, then we would be negligent not to mention Smash Mouth and Sugar Ray.

Counting Crows is staple of daytime radio and should be excluded from the list. As are Blues Traveler (well, “Run-Around,” at least, is). Crash Test Dummies used to be – I’m not sure if they are anymore, never liked his voice – a staple of Canadian radio.

Absolutely unrelated, but I’m really into Phil Collins, Tom Cochrane, Kelly Clarkson, and the Darkness lately.

Comment by Craig | May 24, 2009
It’s pretty cool that WordPress lets you embed YouTube videos in comments.

Comment by Adam Kotsko | May 24, 2009
I think a fifth to a quarter of my music is from the 90s. I still love this song.

Wow. I didn’t know there was such a story to this video.

Comment by Rachel | May 24, 2009
I was at a slam dunk contest in the Mission yesterday when “California Love” came on over the speaker. That song still has an effect on people. Even more so when my tiny Belgian wife breaks into a karaoke rendition, word for word, without missing a lyric, with requisite hand motions, for everybody sitting with us in the stands. They were highly impressed when I threw down with the Pac lyrics. (She is famous, too, for her version of “Gangsta’s Paradise.”)

Comment by Brad | May 24, 2009
Possum Kingdom – The Toadies
Cumbersome – 7 Mary 3
Song 2 – Blur
Blue – Effiel 65
Banditos – The Refreshments
Bittersweet Symphony – The Verve
Breakfast at Tiffany’s – Deep Blue Something
Informer – Snow
And, of course, Tubthumping by Chumbawamba

Comment by Eric | May 25, 2009
“Breakfast at Tiffany’s” is terrible. I say “is” instead of “was” because it appears to be a staple of grocery store playlists.

Comment by Adam Kotsko | May 25, 2009
Eagle-Eye Cherry |MTV Music

New Radicals |MTV Music

Comment by The Girl | May 26, 2009
Bah. Apparently MTV is too hip for WordPress. As lame as MTV is now, mtvmusic.com is really the best site for finding videos–none of those stupid remixes or user videos to weed through a la youtube.

I attempted to embed these, two of the most nostalgia-inducing songs for me.

http://www.mtvmusic.com/new_radicals/videos/9470/you_get_what_you_give.jhtml

http://www.mtvmusic.com/eagle_eye_cherry/videos/8541/save_tonight.jhtml

Comment by The Girl | May 26, 2009