So apparently the little people who live in my iTunes and select the random playlist have a sense of humor.
Just last week, frequent commenter Amy delighted in the selection by the “iPod fairy” of several country tunes during Random Weekends and predicted “I don’t think Bob Dylan is showing up anytime soon!”
I guess the iPod fairy showed her.
I’ll admit, it was a bit of a struggle to come up with ten bands for a 90s countdown. The decade pales in comparison to its predecessors, whether it’s the British explosion of the 60s, the singer-songwriter movement of the 70s or the New Wave cool of the 80s.
The defining sound of the 90s — grunge — is almost by definition unpleasant to the ear. It’s often more about attitude than sound.
If I had to pick one album that best captures my musical memory of the 90s, it may well be Gin Blossoms’ New Miserable Experience. Released in 1992, the year I met my wife-to-be, it (along with a few others on this list) formed the soundtrack of that summer and fall.
Hootie & the Blowfish’s Cracked Rear View was the best-selling non-country, non-soundtrack album of the 90s. That seems like a lot of qualifiers, I know, but coming in fourth to Garth Brooks, Shania Twain and The Bodyguard isn’t too shabby.
Cracked Rear View sold more than 16 million units, a number unimaginable today. Consider that Adele’s current amazing yearlong streak has amounted to about 7 million sales and you’ll get an idea of how much different the landscape is now.
Die-hard Pearl Jam fans would likely be insulted to see them labelled as a 90s band. After all, Pearl Jam has released four albums since 2000 (all of which went Gold in the U.S.), they are currently recording another and they have toured consistently and successfully for over two decades.
But there’s no denying that, along with fellow Seattle rockers Nirvana, Pearl Jam defines the grunge era.
