90s Anthems

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However, the title, ‘Losing My Religion’, is a phrase from the southern United States (R.E.M. are from Georgia), meaning to lose your temper or feel frustrated. Michael Stype has said it is, in fact, about pining for someone and unrequited love. The chart success of Sublime’s “What I Got” (and its parent album) was without a doubt bittersweet for the band and its fans, as frontman Bradley Nowell died of a heroin overdose just months before the single was released. But it would be reductive to tie that success to Nowell’s passing, as the tune’s loping guitar melody and warm synthesizers would’ve almost certainly made “What I Got” a hit – think of it as a Grateful Dead mantra for skate-punks and frat boys. The Sundays – Here’s Where the Story Ends (1990) When Mother Love Bone frontman Andrew Wood passed away in 1990, his former roommate Chris Cornell teamed up with two of Wood’s bandmates – guitarist Stone Gossard and bassist Jeff Ament – to pay tribute to their fallen comrade. Though its members would go on to scale greater heights in Soundgarden and Pearl Jam, Temple of the Dog was a formidable act in its own right, as proven by the chart success of the supergroup’s eponymous album and its lead single, “Hunger Strike.” It’s one of grunge’s earliest works, and one of its most essential. That Dog – Minneapolis (1997) Having perfected the blueprint for early 90s R&B songs, New Edition proved they were no longer just a fresh-faced boy band and were all grown up with “I’m Still In Love.” The second single from the fittingly titled Home Again album saw the group reunite with frontman Bobby Brown along with their veteran production team of Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis to create a sensual jam that stormed the charts. 55: Dionne Farris – Hopeless The very idea of a dance rendition of a Neil Young ballad sounds like it shouldn’t work. But Saint Etienne pull off their cover of “Only Love Can Break Your Heart” by staying true to the original’s emotional tenor – a melancholy, homespun charm that’s better suited for dancing on your own in your bedroom than in the club. Stereolab – French Disko (1993)

Let’s clear up a common misconception: Despite the apparent lustfulness of its opening verse (“You let me violate you / You let me desecrate you”) and the chorus, Nine Inch Nails’ “Closer” is not a sexy song. Its lyrics are not about desire, but an all-consuming self-hatred that makes you want to use someone else as a means to your own annihilation. That being said, “Closer” has a groove that’s as unsettling as it is undeniable – it’s “I Want Your Sex” for nihilists. Nirvana – Smells Like Teen Spirit (1991) There’s one more thing that makes ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’ the song of the decade, and that’s Samuel Bayer’s now iconic video. His lo-fi, sepia-saturated take on a school concert that descends into madness – complete with slo-mo cheerleaders, smashed up guitars and smoke and fire in a sports hall full of sweaty headbanging teens – was as disturbing and anarchic as the song itself. Everyone watched it. Everyone knew they would never forget it. Tim ArthurAfter a pair of middling synth-pop records in the late 80s, Underworld rebooted themselves as a house and techno act in the mid-90s. They hit the peak of their powers with “Born Slippy .NUXX,” a delirious, gleaming rave-up that throttles along whether you’re listening to the single edit or the nearly 12-minute full-length version. The Veldt – Soul in a Jar (1994) Freak Like Me” not only served as Adina Howard’s sex-positive debut but paved the way for fellow female R&B vocalist to own their sexuality on record. It was one of the first 90s R&B songs where a woman talked unapologetically about her desires, plus the beat thumps to this day. 15: TLC – Waterfalls Songs mean a lot when songs are bought / And so are you,” Stephen Malkmus snipes on “Cut Your Hair,” a sarcastic shot at an unscrupulous music industry and the fame-hungry bands willing to play ball with it. Ironically, “Cut Your Hair” was the closest Pavement would get to a hit, peaking in the Top 10 of Billboard’s US Alternative Airplay chart. Perhaps that’s why Malkmus steered Pavement toward shaggier, less commercially-friendly sounds on the subsequent Wowee Zowee. Pearl Jam – Alive (1991) Spiderbait enjoyed a brief moment of recognition in the US when “Calypso” was featured in the great teen comedy 10 Things I Hate About You, though fans of the spiky Aussie pop-punk band probably would’ve been more familiar with “Buy Me a Pony.” It’s amazing to think of how many hooks Spiderbait could cram into songs that weren’t even two minutes long. Saint Etienne – Only Love Can Break Your Heart (1990)

I’m cheating with this one a bit, as it was actually released in November of 1989. However, it became a dance floor hit in early 1990 in the US, despite never being released there commercially. Additionally, it got to number 13 in the Irish charts. If you started playing bass in the 90s, there’s a good chance you were inspired to do so after listening to Les Claypool, who can coax more sounds out of four strings than most guitarists can get out of six. It’s those crazy bass skills that broke Primus into the mainstream with “Jerry Was a Race Car Driver” – and if you can’t remember what the song is about, it’s probably because you were too busy frantically trying to play air bass along with it. Los Prisioneros – Tren al sur (1990) Built on a mandolin riff, the song was the unlikely hit single from their album Out Of Time (1991). Its success was largely due to the critically acclaimed music video, which earned it airplay on both MTV and VH1 (and probably drew my attention to it). I loved the song initially as I was already at the age where I was questioning religion, and I took the lyrics at face value. Lauryn Hill initially penned “Ex-Factor” for another group but felt it was too personal to give away. This beautiful, heart-wrenching, breakup song was on repeat on many a Discman due to its relatability and stirring vocal performance. 29: Aaliyah – One In A MillionYou would’ve been foolish to dismiss Cibo Matto as a mere novelty act for their food-centric lyrics. Their debut Viva! La Woman is kitschy, sure, but it’s also vivid and inventive, and nowhere were they more kitschy, vivid, or inventive than they were on “Sugar Water,” a hypnotic hybrid of trip-hop and pop. Cocteau Twins – Cherry-Coloured Funk” (1990) Another Babyface produced hit, this sultry tune won the Soul Train Music Award for Best Male R&B, Soul single and Johnny Gill proved that like Bobby Brown and Bell Biv Devoe, he too could be a success on his own, outside of New Edition. 65: Somethin’ For The People – My Love Is The Shhh! Maybe you put this on a mixtape to your middle school crush or swayed to it at a dance, but this ballad is as serious as it gets. It was originally written for country music singer John Michael Montgomery but All-4-One made it a No.1 hit and won a Grammy for best pop performance in 1995. 57: Whitney Houston – Exhale (Shoop Shoop) You want the best dance anthems of the 90s? Then you can’t go wrong with this highly rated 90s compilation. Dave Pearce is a Radio One DJ who hosted ‘Dance Anthems’ on the radio station for a decade. So he should know a thing of two about creating one of the best 90s dance albums. That may explain why around 400 people – in the UK alone – search Google every month for this specific 90s album. Show me Love, Children, Rhythm is a Dancer, I Luv U Baby, Let me be your Fantasy, Born Slippy, Where Love Lives… there are some bangin’ tunes here.

One In A Million’ was the fruit of Aaliyah’s first collaboration with Missy Elliott and Timbaland. A club ballad that fused elements of funk, electronica, and trip-hop, and put Aaliyah’s ethereal vocals on full display, it was the perfect distillation of all the pervasive sounds of the era. As one of the best 90s R&B songs, it would turn Aaliyah into the decade’s patron saint of R&B. 28: Selena – Dreaming Of You You could say that That Dog had talent in their blood: Singer, songwriter, and guitarist Anna Waronker is the daughter of producer-turned-executive Lenny Waronker, while legendary jazz bassist Charlie Haden was the father of two of her bandmates. Their pedigree no doubt opened doors, but it was Waronker’s songcraft that enabled so many people to form a connection with the band. In the case of “Minneapolis,” it’s the details, like the Low concert at Jabberjaw and the embarrassment Waronker feels when she tells her friends she wants to leave, that pull you into the story. Toadies – Possum Kingdom (1994) The late Keith Flint first joined the Prodigy as a dancer, and with the group’s third outing, The Fat of the Land, he became the group’s frontman as well. It’s his menacing-yet-impish vocals that appear on “Firestarter,” a twisted rave-up that would’ve almost certainly become an international hit regardless of who was singing on it. Flint’s boasts could be menacing – “I’m the fear addicted, danger illustrated,” he barks – but there was something about the way he invited you to be a firestarter, too, that made it impossible to look away. Pulp – Common People (1995)There are a few songs on this list that mean a lot to me on a personal level – read on to find out my top queer hits of the ’90s. Two R&B divas are better than one, and “The Boy Is Mine” combined the powerhouse vocal stylings of Brandy and Monica. The iconic duet completely dominated the charts (and culture) the summer of 1998, topping the Billboard Hot 100 for 13 weeks, selling over 3 million copies, and earning them both a Grammy Award. 26: Soul IV Real – Candy Rain My second artist-repeat from the ’80s is my favourite band, with probably their most misinterpreted song. One of the most unforgettable videos of the decade, Keith Sweat’s “Twisted” was a three-minute murder-mystery-romance that helped to launch the second wave of the R&B impresario’s career. A runaway hit, “Twisted” is infectious and danceable, and Sweat’s distinctive vocal style makes it a song only he could have pulled off. 36: Erykah Badu – On & On Art Alexakis got personal on Everclear’s sophomore record, Sparkle and Fade, channeling his traumatic upbringing into tunes that were either explicitly autobiographical (“Heroin Girl”) or fictionalized versions that were detailed enough to be someone else’s truth (“Pale Green Stars”). Even “Santa Monica” can’t fully escape the drugs and death that haunt the album, but it at least offers the possibility of a life beyond them. Fastball – The Way (1998)

Despite his renown as one of the first gangsta rappers, Ice-T was adamant when he formed Body Count that the group be seen as a metal band. But “Body Count’s in the House,” the first proper song on the band’s eponymous album, functions like a hip-hop posse cut, featuring Ice-T introducing his bandmates – guitarists Ernie C and D-Roc, drummer Beatmaster V, and bassist Mooseman. The Breeders – Cannonball (1993) This feel-good love song came out in 1998 and remains Tamia’s most recognizable hit. Over the years the song has been covered by Brandy, Fabolous (with Tamia singing the hook), and in 2015 Childish Gambino. 61: K-Ci & JoJo – All My Life If only every song about unrequited love sounded as upbeat as Blues Traveler’s Grammy-winning smash. “Run-Around.” is a breezy, jammy gem of a pop song that scratches the same itch as Van Morrison’s “Brown Eyed Girl” and the Grateful Dead’s “Touch of Grey.” Blur – Song 2 (1997)Total is by far one of the most underrated R&B groups of the 90s. Written by and featuring Missy Elliott, this sexy song about losing your cool over your boo is catchy and bouncy. “Trippin” would become the biggest hit of their career after going to No.7 on the Billboard Hot 100. 47: 702 – Where My Girls At This extremely upbeat cover of Ready For The World’s 1986 tune took the airwaves by storm 11 years later in 1997. INOJ’s rework of the song and her cover of Cyndi Lauper’s “Time After Time”, was less a slow jam or ballad than a song to be blasted at your cardio funk class. 52: Queen Latifah – Weekend Love Before Bey went solo there was Destiny’s Child. Produced by Rodney “Darkchild” Jerkins, this song demands to know if the man they love is cheating. This was Destiny’s Child’s breakthrough song, the one that put them on the map. 45: Brownstone – If You Love Me