Tag: 90s

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Oasis – Champagne Supernova

Oasis - Champagne Supernova

Speaking of iconic albums celebrating 25 years this month, Oasis‘ legendary album, (What’s The Story) Morning Glory? also fits the bill. It featured hit after hit and if you ask different people what their favorite song from this record is, you will likely get different answers each time. For example, Some Might Say that it is that song; or Wonderwall, which usually tops ‘Best of’ chats and lists; or Don’t Look Back In Anger, recently crowned as the greatest song of the 1990s by listeners of Absolute Radio. However, if you ask me, the best track is one that wasn’t even released as a single in the UK (it was a single in the US though), Champagne Supernova, which is why I chose it as this week’s #ThrowbackThursday entry.

At “just” 07:30 minutes, I love the way this song starts. People complain about the lyrics being psychedelic –i.e: making no sense–, but I think they are great. You give them the meaning you want . You can complain about the track being too long (up to you), but everything else is spot on. Oasis might not exist as a band anymore, but thankfully, we’ll always have this record and, in particular, Champagne Supernova.

“This writer, he was going on about the lyrics to “Champagne Supernova”, and he actually said to me, “You know, the one thing that’s stopping it being a classic is the ridiculous lyrics.” And I went, “What do you mean by that?” And he said, “Well, Slowly walking down the hall, faster than a cannonball — what’s that mean?” And I went, “I don’t know. But are you telling me, when you’ve got 60,000 people singing it, they don’t know what it means? It means something different to every one of them.“

Noel Gallagher, Oasis

Featured on the following mixtapes:

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No Doubt – Don’t Speak

No Doubt - Don't Speak

This iconic album, No Doubt‘s Tragic Kingdom, is 25 years old this month, and, as a homage, I decided to feature one of its songs as this week’s #ThrowbackThursday entry. Usually, with bands or albums this popular, I try to highlight the lesser-known gems, but I can’t do that this time around. I got a soft spot for Don’t Speak and can’t pick another song (which would probably have been Just A Girl, which is pretty popular anyway) over it. I’m sorry.

Enjoy this classic song from 1995.

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Night Traveler – Watching You

Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to add a new entry yesterday, but I’ll try to make up for that today. Here, I bring this musical crush from Night Traveler, a terrific duo from Austin, Texas. I discovered this song back in August but between prioritising submissions and other plans, I had been delaying its inclusion here. It’s about time that changed because Watching You certainly deserved better than that. It’s a really great track.

The duo recently released their debut EP, Dreams You Don’t Forget, for which Watching You was its latest single. An atmospheric track of searing indie pop with traces of melancholic 80s music, this song got everything you need to put it on repeat, including the perfect vocals for this type of music. Actually, I dare you to listen to this great tune just once. I had to put it on repeat.

Featured on the following mixtapes:

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  • Pop

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Desoto Jones – Nonfiction

Back in 2007, a little alternative rock band from Pennsylvania released Aurora, their debut album, which got overlooked despite being one of the best rock albums of that year, perhaps even of that decade. I’m talking, of course, of Desoto Jones and for this week’s #ThrowbackThursday entry, I thought we could reminisce about one of the gems in that record.

Three of the five members of Desoto Jones –they are still active– are brothers and while they were recording Aurora, their father passed away. Nonfiction is a an emotional song the brothers dedicated to him. Its acoustic overtones and the heartfelt lyrics intertwine into a beautiful track that doesn’t get old. Listen to this song and then play the whole album. You will see why it is a shame this record didn’t become more popular.

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Cultures – Shake

Manchester band Cultures, which you should know already if you’ve been paying attention ;-), are back with, in my humble opinion, an even better single than its predecessor (which was pretty good on its own). Shake is a catchier single with hooks from beginning to end that will probably still play on your mind long after the song has finished. Lyrically, it pertinently talks about how everything is better when you have good company, even being stuck in one place.

If Shake is a glimpse of where Cultures is headed now, then they’re going in the right direction. Here we are looking forward to more singles from this promising band.

Featured on the following mixtapes:

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  • Alternative
  • Folk/Indie

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Tonic – Do You Know

I got a request last week for this week’s #ThrowbackThursday entry: “If You Could Only See” from American alternative rock powerhouse, Tonic. So, naturally, I complied by featuring a different song from the same band (=. I got nothing against “If You Could Only See”. It’s a great song, possible Tonic’s best and undoubtedly their most iconic track to date (after all, it was 1997’s most-played song in rock radio), but that is precisely the reason I opted to talk about a different, lesser known gem included in their 2002 album, Head On Straight, Do You Know.

This song is a guitar-driven alternative rock song with a melodic chorus, but the reason why I’ve always liked it so much is that it got terrific lyrics, which shine the most during the great chorus. I don’t think this tune got much attention back then when it came out, but it’s not too late to give an overlooked outstanding song a second chance. Tonic and Do You Know certainly deserve it.

Remember that Egyptian Summer
The fork lightning over the bay
When we forgot everything
We forgot our troubles
When love was kind
And the silence was noise
But Underneath a marble sky
I never seen you look so happy
In your life.

And you were always cracking jokes
And laughing at my funny ways
And as the thunder rolled
Well so did my sorrow
We told lies
We told them all the time
But underneath a marble sky
Nothing mattered.

I need a thunderstorm
To distract from the pain
Cause tomorrow might be the same damn sorrow
I need something to happen
The heavens to burst
The sky to tear open
The passion to run and flow like a river
Out of my eyes
Once it’s out of my heart
It’s such a cold and desolate
Happy ever when
It’s such a cold and desolate
Happiness never came.

We sat at the bar and we talked
about the things we used to like
And romanticised the pain
Always remember it’s a crying shame
Like reaching for the heavens
but the heavens never came
And I’ve played the victim long before you arrived
These are not my people
It’s not my scene
not my style
So I’m going back
I’m going back to the city
Please forgive me

Good Strangers, Egyptian Summer

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Bush – Glycerine

We mentioned Bush last week and they recently released a new album as well (unfortunately, it didn’t move the needle for me), and since I’ve been away until now, it makes sense to feature them as today’s #ThrowbackThursday entry. After all, this British band got several legendary rock songs plenty of people love.

I actually wanted to write about Swallowed, but it is impossible to find the album version of that song on Spotify/Apple Music. Anyway, Glycerine is not a bad substitute at all. Bush released this track as the fourth single from Sixteen Stones, their debut album, in November 1995. It reached number one on the modern rock charts and is, to date, the band’s biggest pop hit, peaking at number 28 on Billboard’s Hot 100. As with most of their songs, Glycerine‘s lyrics are cryptic but it is an accepted fact that Gavin Rossdale wrote this tune about his girlfriend at the time (no, it wasn’t Gwen Stefani yet). The track is basically just Gavin’s raspy voice with a guitar and some strings here and there, yet it gets stuck on your head pretty much for the rest of your life.

Without a doubt, this is one of the greatest rock tracks from the 90s. Enjoy it again, here.

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The Smashing Pumpkins – 1979

The Smashing Pumpkins - 1979

In case you missed it, The Smashing Pumpkins released two new singles this week. While they may not reach the heights of their legendary hits from the MTV era, it’s time for a Throwback Thursday feature. Selecting a song was tough with their impressive back catalogue.

I recently binge-watched all 3 seasons of Netflix’s brilliant sci-fi series, Dark (loved it). The recurring phrase, ‘The beginning is the end and the end is the beginning,’ reminded me of The Smashing Pumpkins’ single, ‘The End is The Beginning Is The End,’ from the 1997 film Batman & Robin. Unfortunately, the original version isn’t available on major streaming platforms, just a lackluster remix.

That brought me back to square one, torn between featuring my all-time favorite song from Billy Corgan & Co, despite its popularity, other renowned tracks like “Disarm” or “Tonight, Tonight,” or a hidden gem like “Stand Inside Your Love” or “Untitled.” In the end, “1979” emerged as the clear winner. This remarkable track, the second single from “Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness,” is simply exceptional and a must-have on my mixtapes. Don’t miss the fantastic music video below.”

There’s nothing more I can say about this #musicalcrush. Simply savor this nostalgic stroll down memory lane.

Featured on the following mixtapes:

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Sister Hazel – Come Around

When it comes to the Throwback Thursday entries, I’m playing it by ear. It’s not easy to pick one relatively old good song amongst hundreds or thousands of them. For that reason, I’m letting random coincidences to choose one for me. For instance, in yesterday’s post I mentioned Sister Hazel and that was all it took for me to write today about that act from Gainesville, Florida. The band, named after a local missionary who took care of homeless people, formed in 1993 and besides being extremely productive with over 10 studio albums (plus EPs, live albums and compilations) over that span, they have also been shockingly stable, maintaining the same line-up throughout all these years. That’s pretty unusual to say the least.

Sister Hazel has had several minor hits and some loyal followers, but if there’s only one song you know from them, then it’s probably All For You. This track was part of the band’s debut album from 1994 but it was re-recorded for the follow-up from 1997and it was then when the song became a hit, peaking at #11 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. It remains Sister Hazel’s most successful single to date.

However, the song that I want to highlight today is one of those minor hits Sister Hazel had, Come Around, from their excellent 2003 album: Chasing Daylight. This great tune is just as good as All For You but far less popular. It’s also a good example of the band’s trademark blend of alternative touch with southern rhythms.

Let’s remember this classic song today. Enjoy Come Around.

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Mazzy Star – Fade Into You

Mazzy Star - Fade Into You

Earlier this week, I mentioned that Teen Idle was going to get compared to Mazzy Star. Now, depending on your age, you might not be aware of who they were (I love ’90s music and I wasn’t aware of them until the late ’00s!), which is why I thought it fitting to feature Fade Into You as this week’s Throwback Thursday entry. A song that is widely considered one of the best tracks of that decade.

This song was a huge hit for the band in 1994, reaching number 3 on Billboard‘s Modern Rock chart (back when that chart meant something) and peaking at #44 on the Hot 100 chart. No other song from the band appeared on that Hot 100 chart and only two other tracks charted on the Modern Rock Top 40 (Halah and Blue Flower), which in part explains why people who were not active music listeners at the time might not know about this band. That and the fact that the band broke up in 1997 and didn’t regroup until 2012.

Mazzy Star consisted of Hope Sandoval, as lead singer and lyricist; and David Roback, as composer and main producer, who also played most of the instruments. Hope has a reputation for being shy, which made her focus on her singing while on stage instead of interacting with the audience. When you have a voice as angelic and beautiful as hers, I don’t see the problem in that. Sure, having a charismatic singer is nice, but we don’t need every single lead singer to be like that. Anyway, I guess that was another reason preventing the band from achieving super stardom.

Unfortunately, David Roback died earlier this year but he and Hope (who’s still active) left behind a legacy of great music that won’t be forgotten. Isn’t that the ultimate goal for any artist?

Watch a live performance of this iconic song here, or find it in the mixtapes below.

Featured on the following mixtapes:

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