NationStates Jolt Archive

In your opinion, what was the best rock song of the 1990s? The poll may seem limited, but it compromises what I've read to be some of the biggest rock hits of the decade. If you believe it's another song not listed, please specificy.

Given to Fly - Pearl Jam.

there is no best song, only songs that are equally great and crap to any number of people. i'm generally in two minds about everything so if i offered an opinion on this i would have to disagree with myself and probably spontaneously combust.

there is no best song, only songs that are equally great and crap to any number of people. i'm generally in two minds about everything so if i offered an opinion on this i would have to disagree with myself and probably spontaneously combust.
and this is a bad thing? ;)

Angry Inch, in the musical "Hedwig And the Angry Inch":

Yea, long story short
When I woke up from the operation I was bleeding down there
I was bleeding from a gash between my legs
It's my first day as a woman, already it's that time of the month
But 2 days later the hole closed up
The wound healed and I was left
With a one inch mound of flesh
Where my penis used to be
Where my vagina never was
It was a one inch mound of flesh
With a scar running down it like a sidways grimace on an eyeless face
It was just a little bulge
It was an angry inch!

Love of a Lifetime - Firehouse

hehe

i like creep

seriously... one of my favorite songs in high school was (besides all the good grunge stuff):

High Enough by Damn Yankees
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another good hair band slow-dance tune (to go along with Love of a Lifetime) is When I See You Smile by Bad English.

man, those were the days, with the girls all having poofed-up (with hairspray) bangs and all of use french-rolling our pants. lol

One Of Us was, IMO, one of Joan Osbourne's worst songs. I liked Spider Web much better. It was on the same album.

Anyhoo, my pick for best rock song of the nineties, Rusty Cage whether you like the Soundgarden version or the Johnny Cash cover it's a great song.

Evenflo-oo-ow... Thoughts arrive like butterflie-ie-ies... Oh, he don't know... So he's ta-aa-aken away...

i like creep
creep is about the worst band ever.

Rage Against The Machine's Sleep Now in The Fire, Renegades of Funk, or any of the RATM songs can own anyone in the 1990s.

Mr. Blue Sky by Electric Light Orchestra.

The Impression That I Get by The Mighty Mighty Bosstones

I've been listening to The Freshman for almost a month straight.

Rage Against the Machine: No Shelter.

One of the few good songs to come out of the shitty mess that is the 90's.

Queensryche - Jet City Woman

http://www.queensryche.com/releases/empire/images/background.gif

There were no good songs in the 1990s.

There were no good songs in the 1990s.


Of course. Basically, the bizz of writing good music was completed in 1983.


The nineties produced several good movies - but no music worth remembering.
Seriously... what do you expect from the decade that gave us the Spice Girls?

"Doll Parts" by Hole. Of the ones on the list, I'll go with "No Rain"

R.E.M. - What's the Frequency Kenneth?

"Smells Like Teen Spirit", but that isn't surprising.

Of course. Basically, the bizz of writing good music was completed in 1983.


The nineties produced several good movies - but no music worth remembering.
Seriously... what do you expect from the decade that gave us the Spice Girls?
Dude, the 90s also gave us Soundgarden, Alice in Chains, and Tool.

Bon Jovi - Dry country ...

There weren't that many good bands still making good music in the 90s IMO.

My bloody valentine wrote beautiful music, that was spellbinding in small quantities, but they didnt exactly write classic songs.

Neil Young released one excellent album (sleeps with angels), but as individual songs, they don't stand up to much.

The pixies had passed their peak by 1990 and never managed to retrieve their former glory. The same goes for sonic youth although they did appently do sum good stuff outside of their sickeningly commercial album (experimental jet set trash) But i havent heard any of that yet.

Radiohead did 3 albums but virtually everything off of the first 2 sucked (yes, including creep) so the best song of the 90s probably has to be sumthing from Ok Computer. Either:
Paranoid Android
Exit music (for a film)
or
No surprises

Take ur pick...

EDIT: Whoops, forgot about REM. I personally think REM have yet to make a good album, but they do make sum astounding standalone tracks, in particular (From the 90s):
Low
Country feedback
Losing my religion
Daysleeper.

'E-bow the letter' is probably the best song they've ever written.

creep is about the worst band ever.

Rage Against The Machine's Sleep Now in The Fire, Renegades of Funk, or any of the RATM songs can own anyone in the 1990s.

no creep by radiohead, it's a song, mentioned in the poll...

Purely for its seminality, "Smells like Teen spirit", although "Three Lions" is a strong contendor:D

There were'nt that many good bands still making good music in the 90s IMO.You have the right to your opinion, in my opinion I must disagree.

My bloody valentine wrote beautiful music, that was spellbinding in small quantities, but they didnt exactly write classic songs.True, sadly they haven't released an album in 15 years.

Neil Young released one excellent album (sleeps with angels), but as individual songs, they don't stand up to much.I can agree that Neil Young's best time was not the '90s.

The pixies had passed their peak by 1990 and never managed to retrieve their former glory. Fair enough, though it remains to be seen if this was due to Frank Black running out of ideas or his increasingly dictatorial attitude with the band.

The same goes for sonic youth although they did appently do sum good stuff outside of their sickeningly commercial album (experimental jet set trash) But i havent heard any of that yet.I disagree, Sonic Youth's peak began in 1990.

Radiohead did 3 albums but virtually everything off of the first 2 sucked (yes, including creep) No, no, the first 2 are the only ones worth anything.

so the best song of the 90s probably has to be sumthing from Ok Computer. Either:
Paranoid Android
Exit music (for a film)
or
No surprises

Take ur pick...Admittedly I haven't heard the whole of the OK Computer album, but the two songs I did hear were the nadir of the '90s as a decade, especially "Paranoid Android".

How come i'm the first person to vote for Smashing Pumpkins?

Although it was a tricky decision, probably 2 or 3 in my top twenty.

How come i'm the first person to vote for Smashing Pumpkins?

Although it was a tricky decision, probably 2 or 3 in my top twenty.
Because the Smashing Pumpkins have plenty of better songs than that.

I disagree, Sonic Youth's peak began in 1990.

What? It is a universally established fact that Daydream nation was the best record sonic youth ever made. Although goo (which i havent heard) was supposed to be nearly as good, the 3 albums following DN were sumthing of a slide into mediocrity.

No, no, the first 2 [radiohead albums] are the only ones worth anything.

Hmm, that explains your bizzarre opinion of sonic youth. You sir, are a prude, does anything with more than 3 chords scare you?

Admittedly I haven't heard the whole of the OK Computer album, but the two songs I did hear were the nadir of the '90s as a decade, especially "Paranoid Android".

Ok, i know music is supposed to be objective and all that shit, but ur just being an arse. And who the hell who knows anything about music at all hasn't listened to OK Computer?

The following links are all to pitchforkmedia (which i personally have a lot of respect for) and back up my opinions.

Proof that you are wrong about sonic youth (ie. that the 80s albums are generally better than the 90s ones) can be found here (http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/top/80s/index10.shtml), here (http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/top/80s/index9.shtml), here (http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/top/80s/index7.shtml), here (http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/top/90s/index2.shtml) and here (http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/record-reviews/s/sonic-youth/dirty.shtml).

Quote: Of course, we should be clear about one thing: there's no chance of Dirty usurping Evol, Sister or Daydream Nation on my list of favorite Sonic Youth records, and even this 180-degree change of heart won't make me apologize for all the shit I've talked about it over the years. Still, even if there's a distinct possibility that I'm in the minority of Dirty-haters who'll eventually come around, this package at least makes a good case for reassessment. But if I'm talking like this when the expanded remaster of Experimental Jet Set, Trash & No Star comes around, just do me a favor and put me out of my misery.

Proof that u are wrong about radiohead can be found here (http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/top/90s/index10.shtml), here (http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/top/90s/index9.shtml),(note that pablo honey appears nowhere in the list of 100 albums) here (http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/top/2000-04/index10.shtml), here (http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/record-reviews/r/radiohead/kid-a.shtml) and here (http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/record-reviews/r/radiohead/ok-computer.shtml)

Oh, and for anyone else who was wondering:

nadir \NAY-dir; nay-DIR\, noun:
1. [Astronomy]. The point of the celestial sphere directly opposite the zenith and directly below the observer.
2. The lowest point; the time of greatest depression or adversity.

Exploitation reached a nadir in the 1920s, when high government officials were implicated in a flourishing international slave trade and domestic forced labor.
-- Bill Berkeley, The Graves Are Not Yet Full

At the nadir of every recession, business pages fill up with stories of belt-tightening families who move to Vermont and buy their food in bulk.
-- Peter T. Kilborn, "Splurge," New York Times, June 21, 1998

What? It is a universally established fact that Daydream nation was the best record sonic youth ever made. Although goo (which i havent heard) was supposed to be nearly as good, the 3 albums following DN were sumthing of a slide into mediocrity.It's a critically accepted opinion that Daydream Nation was Sonic Youth's best album, but it wasn't even their best '80s album. Both Sister and Confusion is sex were better.

Hmm, that explains your bizzarre opinion of sonic youth. You sir, are a prude, does anything with more than 3 chords scare you?No, anything that boring puts me to sleep.

Ok, i know music is supposed to be objective and all that shit, but ur just being an arse. And who the hell who knows anything about music at all hasn't listened to OK Computer?Why would I bother buying OK Computer when the two songs I've heard from it were terrible?

Quote: Of course, we should be clear about one thing: there's no chance of Dirty usurping Evol, Sister or Daydream Nation on my list of favorite Sonic Youth records, and even this 180-degree change of heart won't make me apologize for all the shit I've talked about it over the years. Still, even if there's a distinct possibility that I'm in the minority of Dirty-haters who'll eventually come around, this package at least makes a good case for reassessment. But if I'm talking like this when the expanded remaster of Experimental Jet Set, Trash & No Star comes around, just do me a favor and put me out of my misery.Tell me again why you don't like Sonic Youth's best album?

Proof that u are wrong about radiohead can be found Nope, I know I'm not the only one who found (the songs I've heard from) OK Computer to be unbearably boring.

"Smells Like Teen Spirit", but that isn't surprising.

I also voted "Teen Spirit"...

Firstly, because, obviously, it is awesome. Secondly, because it is one of the more accessible pieces by the band, if not THE 'best'. Thirdly, because it is the one Nirvana track on the list, and it is hard to overestimate the importance of Nirvana on our music scene today.

Did Nirvana do as much to the music industry as Throbbing Gristle? Probably not, certainly not yet...

But, it is easy to spot the 'trademark' verse-chorus-verse/loud-quiet-loud/calm-angry-calm mechanism in almost every genre... even down to the boybands and pre-packaged-bimbos.

I also voted "Teen Spirit"...

Firstly, because, obviously, it is awesome. Indeed.

Secondly, because it is one of the more accessible pieces by the band, if not THE 'best'. Thirdly, because it is the one Nirvana track on the list, and it is hard to overestimate the importance of Nirvana on our music scene today.Agreed.

Did Nirvana do as much to the music industry as Throbbing Gristle? Probably not, certainly not yet...Perhaps it would be more accurate to say Nirvana's influence was more about what they got rid of (bad hair metal) as opposed to who they inspired.

But, it is easy to spot the 'trademark' verse-chorus-verse/loud-quiet-loud/calm-angry-calm mechanism in almost every genre... even down to the boybands and pre-packaged-bimbos.Yes, sadly, for every good band that gets inspired by Nirvana, there are a few bad ones.

Also, it's interesting to note that "Smells Like Teen Spirit" may soon overtake "Other" in the poll...

What? It is a universally established fact that Daydream nation was the best record sonic youth ever made.

I disagree... I'm something of a fan, and I'd say that their 'best' album was a 90's album... Daydream Nation may have been their most commercially successful, I don't know... but I'd say "Dirty" was their best album, with the best overall appeal.

There's a lot of Tragically Hip songs that ought to get some mention here.

Indeed.

Agreed.

Perhaps it would be more accurate to say Nirvana's influence was more about what they got rid of (bad hair metal) as opposed to who they inspired.

Yes, sadly, for every good band that gets inspired by Nirvana, there are a few bad ones.

Also, it's interesting to note that "Smells Like Teen Spirit" may soon overtake "Other" in the poll...

Just one to go.