nineties, 200–151
Michael Jackson → OutKast
[200]
Michael Jackson ft. LTB, “Black or White”
Epic, 1991
US #1, TUR #1
Pop’s king of rage, Jackson put all his concerns — gossip, chart dominance, racism, possession — into one global event. Bill Bottrell provides the insidious riff and functions as MJ’s rap mouthpiece. Inclusive and insular: the Jackson blueprint.
[199]
Patra, “Dip & Fall Back”
550 Music, 1995
did not chart
Not to be confused with the Jamaican folk tune of similar titling, this is a heavy-swinging kinetic display. It all comes back to that chorus: maybe I can’t trace the steps, but I sure feel like it’s possible.
[198]
Stereolab, “John Cage Bubblegum”
Slumberland, 1993
did not chart
Lætitia Sadier’s tone poem considered a stark landscape, but it’s a feint: this locked-in motorik rocker is pure joy, a sing-song dronepop number that won’t stop until it taps the earth’s core.
[197]
Third Eye Blind, “Never Let You Go”
Elektra, 1999
US #14, CAN #1
More formula: casual junkie talk, rippity-rap, and airtight three-chord construction. The insistent upstrokes, the placid organ coo, the toms that hit like gavels… it’s the ink on the mutual-destruction pact.
[196]
The Ragga Twins ft. Richie Davis, “Good Times”
Shut Up and Dance, 1992
did not chart
Breakbeat for the misty morning: Davis stretches his arms and beckons everyone in. An underlying four-note synthhaze gives urgency to his anti-drug plea.
[195]
Aqua, “Doctor Jones”
Universal, 1997
DEN #1, IRE #1
Probably by necessity, a lot of Eurodance relies on childlike melodic babble. This one’s ecstatic, a second cousin to a yodel. Lene’s in a love triangle with Harrison Ford and René Dif, who’s got his best intense-adult face on.
[194]
Jane’s Addiction, “Been Caught Stealing”
Warner Bros., 1990
US Alternative #1, UK #34
More of a disruption of capitalism than rock-star stunt at this stage in their careers. Anyway, that groove is sick, a freewheeling bass-led shuffle. “And she did it, just like that,” crows Perry Farrell — he’s so proud.
[193]
Enya, “Caribbean Blue”
WEA, 1991
IRE #8, US #79
Hemispheres unite in a waltz. Here and on “Afer Ventus,” lyricist Roma Ryan invokes wind-gods; they bear Enya across the continents. The track respires, gathering the faith needed to see the earth for what it is.
[192]
Eric Matthews, “Fanfare”
Sub Pop, 1995
did not chart
Former Cardinal digs into the pocket for his solo opener. He’s on his prog-emo shit, wrapping fragments and odd clauses into his omniscient whisper, while bygone film-score brass give his grief a grandiose cast.
[191]
Beat Happening, “Noise”
K/Sub Pop, 1992
Like “When Doves Cry,” a stellar separation tune with only the ghost of a bass. Heather Lewis invokes the elemental (stones, bones, moons, swords) over crawly drum clatter and interlocking warm guitar work. Modest, but an emotional ecosystem.
[190]
Shanice, “I Love Your Smile”
Motown, 1991
US #2, NDL #1
Everything — the vocalists, the bells, the throwback bass, the whistling — is in service to that unbothered hook. All that effort makes it more than carefree. Instead, it’s the sound of someone trying to keep cool. The perfect synthesis of Stevie and Janet.
[189]
Sleater-Kinney, “Turn It On”
Kill Rock Stars, 1997
“Do I sound crazy,” Corin Tucker asks. No, absolutely not. She and Carrie Brownstein form two sides of a dread garage-punk crawl, trapping the poor partner who got involved with a rock star. The bridge is like a cleansing spell.
[188]
The Magnetic Fields, “Grand Canyon”
Merge, 1999
The remarkable suspension before the end: each verse is a devastating syllogism, a hymnic incrimination, with a reedy synthesized figure driving home the shrug. It’s both a major and tiny gesture.
[187]
Chumbawamba, “Tubthumping”
EMI Electrola, 1997
UK #2, US #6
If you can’t beat ’em, subvert ’em. The chorus is built for the terraces, as they say, and the whole thing’s a biting tribute to the outflanked working class. By the time the trumpet kicks in, it’s clear: all you need is lager.
[186]
Sixpence None the Richer, “Kiss Me”
Squint Entertainment, 1997
US #2, AUS #1
An out-of-left smash for Steve Taylor’s Squint Entertainment, a spiral-grained spin around the lit-up gazebo. Low-stakes adventure skipping around a nostalgic cafe breakdown. Amazingly, played to death.
[185]
Rednex, “Old Pop in an Oak”
Zomba, 1994
SWE #1, UK #12
I love Rednex’s tasteless hillbilly techno dearly. This one’s a traffic jam of phonemes, a scrambled VHS dub of a character study, a typically sideways hoedown. How they kept clearing the bar of this gimmick astounds me.
[184]
Model Rockets, “New Cinnamon Girl”
Lucky, 1994
Everything’s a struggle to get back to that chorus: a sawing, circular daydream. A twerpy, hopped-up power pop song with everyone barely hanging on, especially John Ramberg, who’s running himself breathless under a bright-ass sun.
[183]
Belle and Sebastian, “You Made Me Forget My Dreams”
Jeepster, 1997
The genius of this is Stuart Murdoch’s melody, exactly the singsong thing one would invent as sleep comes to claim. The distant Spector drums are third, right after the techno twaddle that swallows the track up.
[182]
Dr. Dre ft. Jewell, Ruben and Snoop Doggy Dogg, “Let Me Ride”
Death Row/Interscope, 1992
US #34, US Rap #3
I hope “hell yeah” wasn’t ghostwritten, it’s the most heartfelt part: how else to react to his drum ruckus and the hellaciously funky bassline?
[181]
Helium, “Leon’s Space Song”
Matador, 1997
did not chart
A lightly psychedelic takedown, with a goosing disco Chamberlin melody. Mary Timony only needs two verses; the second half sees her set her motorik riff against that Chamberlin, a slow directorial pullback.
[180]
Cornershop, “Brimful of Asha [‘Norman Cook’ Remix]”
Wiiija, 1997
UK #1, US Alternative #16
Cook gets so bosom-mad that he threatens to obscure Tjinder Singh’s jocund look at how one person’s transportation can be a whole nation’s distraction. Or perhaps he understood better than most.
[179]
Naughty by Nature, “Hip Hop Hooray”
Tommy Boy, 1993
US #8, US Rap #3
What Al said. The melancholy — thanks to a sped-up Isleys sample — helps, as does the relentless assonance and some good jokes. It’s about suckers and girlfriends and the lost ones instead of rote history. That makes it hip-hop.
[178]
Madonna, “Take a Bow”
Maverick, 1994
US #1, ITA #2
A master-cut diamond of a breakup song: the most memorable part is her sighing “I’ve always been in love with you”. The entertainment imagery is so canny; the strings never intrude; Babyface is on her wavelength.
[177]
Liz Phair, “Explain It to Me”
Matador, 1993
That this tender demolition of measuring up comes from someone who always knew her worth is especially sweet. Phair paddles her guitar around her subject, restating his charges so they sound as pointless as they ought.
[176]
Courtney Love, “Disappearing Lessons”
Kill Rock Stars, 1991
No — Lois Maffeo’s band. A grim bird descending, a bedroom dirge that eerily predicts Elliott Smith’s earlier records. The unsteady drumming puts the cap on a perfect evocation of private-press folk.
[175]
Yo La Tengo, “Sugarcube”
Matador, 1997
did not chart
Guitar as Greek chorus and gorgeous harmonic basswork, atop which Ira Kaplan assumes a kind of heroic subservience. The middle eight is melting.
[174]
Gang Starr, “Work”
Noo Trybe, 1998
What is it you wanna do when you grow up? “Ay yo, I’m gonna be on ti-dop” — Premier turns a late-’70s Manhattans ballad into a jaunty Hayes/Porter comp, Guru acts unconcerned about the rap revolution over the horizon.
[173]
Aaliyah ft.Timbaland, “Are You That Somebody?”
Atlantic, Blackground, 1998
US #21, US R&B #1
She always took to Tim’s productions like a ranked dancer. This remains one of his best: a teasing tango of wet snare hits and stuttering guitars. Aaliyah turns seduction into a clandestine interrogation, popping in and out of shadows, covering all bases.
[172]
Massive Attack ft. Tracey Thorn, “Protection”
Circa/Virgin, 1994
UK #14, NZ #27
A downcast meditation on the duties we have as humans. Dunno if James Brown’s ever been used to such counter-intuitive purposes. Gorgeous piano ostinato, and the hi-hat sounds like two rubbed together.
[171]
Descendents, “I Won’t Let Me”
Epitaph, 1996
Their MRA lyrical sense has not aged well, but this is something else: an honest case for second chances. Stephen Egerton’s guitar wahs and claws at Milo’s desperation, which reaches the melodic heights of an early Beatles platter.
[170]
Sade, “No Ordinary Love”
Epic, 1992
UK #14, US Adult Contemporary #14
The subliminal metal chug in the pre-chorus was so sublime that Deftones didn’t bother to duplicate it in their take. The aggression of Sade (the band) and the detached clarity of Sade (the singer) make the title true.
[169]
Sebadoh, “Brand New Love”
20/20 Recordings, Domino, 1992
A planet-smashing chorus: drums explode, guitars howl like elephants. This was a Weed Forestin update, and it looks like the wound was suppurating in the interim. Hope and hate battle in a noise-pop cataclysm.
[168]
Luke, “I Wanna Rock”
Luke, 1991
US #73, US R&B #39
One of The Wire’s 100 Records That Set the World On Fire (When Nobody Was Listening), only they were. Sans Crew, Luke strips and rebuilds his party machine, making a call-and-response juggernaut that turns KC and Rob Base into tweakers.
[167]
Cows, “Woman Inside”
Amphetamine Reptile, 1992
did not chart
SY-style noisegaze chases Shannon Selberg around the house. He shrieks loud enough to smooth his brainfolds; throw in the spoken French and it’s like a differently-horrifying take on Histoire de Melody Nelson.
[166]
Richard Thompson, “Hard on Me”
Capitol, 1999
It’s not a song about the Wicker Man, but it has the Wicker Man, so that’s neat. Defiant as the best Petty songs, but with Thompson’s literary touch and ecstatically rough soloing.
[165]
The Verve, “Bitter Sweet Symphony”
Hut, 1997
UK #2, US #12
They got fleeced by the best, but Andrew Oldham’s arrangement — the bell intervals transposed to guitar, that immortal string hook — makes this song. Richard Ashcroft tries self-pity as mythology: he nearly makes it.
[164]
Bad Religion, “Tiny Voices”
Atlantic, 1994
The Graffin attack’s all here: the 50-cent words bound tightly in arresting chords. But there’s no dudgeon, just terror at the accrued debt from centuries of genocide and oppression. Those voices are summoned at the very end: majestic, measured, everlasting.
[163]
Harvey Danger, “Flagpole Sitta”
London/Slash, 1998
US Modern Rock #3, FRA #98
It’s wishful revisionism to think of this as parody, I guess: they get spleen all over everything. The party was dying before their monotonous strums and wicked couplets… I don’t think they finished things off.
[162]
The Flys, “Got You (Where I Want You)”
Trauma, 1998
US Alternative #5
Rivals the Toadies’ “Possum Kingdom” for frightening alt-rock hit status. It’s a slow-mo creep anthem — he literally tells his target to smile — and yet it’s hard to picture him anywhere but in solitary suspension.
[161]
Urban Cookie Collective, “The Key, The Secret”
Pulse-8, 1993
UK #2, BEL #5
Tinny mysticism, garlanded with gobsmacked gasps. No idea what this key is, but Diane Charlemagne contemplates it with quiet rapture.
[160]
k.d. lang, “Miss Chatelaine”
Sire/Warner Bros., 1992
CAN #58, UK #68
A chansonic delight, with a little TK backbeat and no end of Golden Age poses. “I can’t explain/why I’ve become Miss Chatelaine,” she laughs, but it’s best to enjoy it as long as it lasts.
[159]
Big Mello, “Symptoms of a Crook”
Rap-A-Lot, 1992
Mello and Harvee Luv grab a Mandrill sample used to great effect by Public Enemy the year prior; Mello waxes effortless in the classic Houston manner: gruff, bulletproof.
[158]
Sparklehorse, “Hammering the Cramps”
Slow River, 1995
did not chart
Power pop with a blues structure: it bongs like a broken church clock. Mark Linkous has that landline vocal distortion, and his bubblegum text is curious and resigned at turns: an anthem about not figuring shit out.
[157]
Britney Spears, “…Baby One More Time”
Jive, 1998
US #1, CZE #1
A gothic cathedral of regret, perfectly inhabited by Spears. Her emotional acuity is stunning: it runs the gamut from R&B-style ache to heady teenpop angst.
[156]
Amy Grant, “Good For Me”
A&M/Myrrh, 1991
US #8, UK #60
A proto-Shania lyric, with cantering drums and a razor-sharp synth hook. Grant’s empathy and delight here translated well to the video. Throw in that organ solo and those guitar washes and you’ve got the ne plus ultra of Toto songs.
[155]
Palace Brothers, “You Will Miss Me When I Burn”
Drag City, 1994
Sterling plain-spoken allusion from Oldham on a back-porch strummer. His is a cautionary wisdom until the end, when he boosts the intensity and sobs into the gloaming.
[154]
Deana Carter, “Strawberry Wine”
Capitol Nashville, 1995
US Country #1, US #65
Carter straps on the mixed meter and revels in the mixed memory of first love. Her skill at jumping across timelines gives this a whipsaw poignancy, and the titular Berg/Harrison imagery is a gem.
[153]
Magnapop, “Ride”
Priority, 1994
The one-chord riff blares like a klaxon; Linda Hopper echoes it when she dips into trochee. A muscular, prickly power pop cut with a lyrical nod to “Pale Blue Eyes” and a wordless bubblegum vocal bit that has no interest in regression.
[152]
Len, “Steal My Sunshine”
WORK, 1999
CAN #1, US #9
Len get heatstroke while a submarine patrols the coast. The effect is weightlessness: a high-contrast mirage made of primary colors. A high-water mark for sibling musicians.
[151]
OutKast, “Rosa Parks”
LaFace, 1998
US #55, US R&B #19
The classic split: Big Boi stakes out the territory they’ve conquered, Andre muses on the vicissitudes of artistry. The live-guitar figure’s been done with varying levels of success, but that hoedown in the middle? Peerless.
The playlist so far is here.
