The 90s are back... at least on NPR

Did you hear? The 90s are back! Well, kind of. The good folks at All Songs Considered are spending the week re-living the music we were listening to when Bill Clinton was president. They're picking their most noteworthy songs of the decade here and there's plenty to agree on and plenty more to argue about. Let's start with the good -- the inspired choices on their list:

Nirvana - "Smells Like Teen Spirit"
No argument here -- it's the song that changed music. To quote Loverboy's Mike Reno, "Kurt Cobain ruined my career." Reno was right -- Cobain ruined the careers of all of the faux hard rockers who around in the early 90s. And we thank him for that.

Beck - "Loser"
The song that ushered in the era of slacker cool. Again, an obvious choice.

Len - "Steal My Sunshine"
Very happy to see this one on NPR's list. The perfect summer song, with a great groove and an easy vibe. To this day, it's not summer to me until I hit the back roads with the windows down and this song playing. The song is pure fun. And a very inexpensive video to go along with it. The biggest expense here is the scooter rentals.

Cornershop - "Brimful of Asha"
Indian inspired Britpop that sounded like nothing that came before or after. Again, a surprise pick from NPR, and while I wouldn't necessarily put it on my list, I am happy to see it on there.

The next category on NPR's list is what I consider to be good songs from consequential artists -- but there are better songs by those artists that I would include instead.

Radiohead - "No Surprises"
A great one to be sure, but I might go with "Karma Police" instead. Of course, if we were technical about what constitutes a decade, we'd extend the 90s through the year 2000, which would allow me to include anything from Kid A, but we'll stick to the ground rules for this one.

Blur - "Song 2"
Ah the folly of Americans. "Song 2" is Blur to most Americans. It's the song that revs up the crowd at baseball games, the one that gets used in all the beer commercials. But as Blur songs go, it's middling at best. I'd certainly include something from Blur on any list of noteworthy 90s songs, and for this list I'm feeling like anything of the seminal album Parklife would work -- the title track does the trick nicely.

The rest of NPR's list -- in no particular order -- is as follows (with my comments where applicable):

-Johnny Cash - "Delia's Gone"
Cash found a whole new audience in the 90s thanks to Rick Rubin's American Recordings. Personally, I found his versions of "Hurt" (Nine Inch Nails) and "I Hung My Head" (Sting) to be rare among cover songs -- they actually were better than the originals. Too bad each came out in the early 2000s.


-Jeff Buckley - "Grace"
A beautiful song indeed, but not one that did much for me.

-Lauryn Hill - "Doo-Wop (That Thing)"

-Collective Soul - "Shine"
Really? Collective Soul? There are better choices by bands who had more vision musically and set the bar higher. Read on for more on that.

-Soundgarden - "Black Hole Sun"

-PJ Harvey - "Long Snake Moan"

-Missy Elliott - "Hit 'Em Wit da Hee"

-Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan - "Mustt Mustt"

-Smashing Pumpkins - "1979"
(Weak by Smashing Pumpkins standards)

-Lucinda Williams - "Car Wheels on a Gravel Road"

-Sebadoh - "Soul and Fire"

-Metallica - "Enter Sandman"
(Can't really argue, though it just reminds me of when Mariano Rivera comes into Yankees games.)

-Pearl Jam - "The Fixer"
(Not sure Pearl Jam is really deserving to be on any list. After all, they're kinda the Billy Joel of grunge, no?)

-My Bloody Valentine - "When You Sleep"

And now here's what I would include instead (again, in no particular order):


Beastie Boys - "Sabotage"
Not only did the Beasties reclaim their crowns as kings of hip hop in the 90s, they became a serious act. Serious in a musical sense, as their videos remained extremely absurd. This video may be the best video ever made.

Dr. Dre - "Let Me Ride"
Between Dre and Ice Cube ("It Was A Good Day") some sort of West Coast gangsta rap should be on any list of noteworthy songs of the 90s. Dre's masterwork The Chronic introduced the world to Snoop Dogg, so I give him the nod.

G. Love & Special Sauce - "This Ain't Living"
Blues and rap come together for a social commentary about living on the streets.

Sleeper - "Sale of the Century"
Britpop was overlooked on this side of the pond -- and consequently on NPR's list -- but these bands crafted so many pop gems it's hard to know where to begin.

Elastica - "Stutter"
So what if they ripped of Wire and the Stranglers? Can you name two better bands to rip off?

Suede - "Metal Mickey"
Glam when glam wasn't in style. Some of the best guitar work from Bernard Butler since Johnny Marr's days in the Smiths.

Nine Inch Nails - "Down in It"
I include Nine Inch Nails here because they really helped popularize the mainstream industrial sound. Plus, Trent Reznor's still making great music (see The Social Network).

Grant Lee Buffalo - "Dixie Drug Store"
Grant Lee Buffalo were severely overlooked. They wove indie, alt-country and folk and did all of it well. NPR misses the mark with a band like Collective Soul over these guys (or even Counting Crows).

Sponge - "Plowed"
A Detroit rocker with more energy and bite than anything on the NPR list.




Jane's Addiction - "Stop!"
Great hard rock song with one of the best intros ever -- not to mention a very cool surfing video (which I couldn't find for some reason).



Loop Guru - "Diwana"
British worldbeat techno guys that made smart dance music with a global sensibility.

Richard Thompson - "1952 Vincent Black Lightning"
No stranger to NPR listeners -- this is undeniably an epic track.

Semisonic - "Chemistry"
They were better known for "Closing Time" with its unique video, but this is a terrific piece of pop songcraft.

Magnetic Fields - "Strange Powers"
Great catchy synth pop when catchy synth pop wasn't in fashion.

Liz Phair - "Supernova"
Chick rock that guys love. We can forgive her for her Avril Levigne turn this decade.

Billy Bragg & Wilco - "California Stars"
Laying the groundwork for the folk revival?

Stone Roses - "I Wanna Be Adored"
Why isn't Madchester represented on NPR's list? I'll fix that...

Charlatans - "The Only One I Know"

Happy Mondays - "Kinky Afro"

Dandy Warhols - "Minnesoter"
Very under-rated American band that did great things in both the 90s and 2000s. Helped put Portland, Oregon on the map.

Jon Spencer Blues Explosion - "Greyhound"
New Yorkers who merged punk with blues. They can still be heard on the Travel Channel's "No Reservations with Anthony Bourdain."

The Fall - "Cheetham Hill"
OK, hard to limit these guys to one decade, but you could argue that some of their best work in their 30 year career came from the 90s.

Guided By Voices -"Auditorium/Motor Away"
Low-fi goodness from Dayton, Ohio.

Super Furry Animals - "Something 4 the Weekend"
Another under-rated band that never got big here. How many bands do you know sing in Welsh?

Sigur Ros - "Svefn-g-englar"
And how many sing in Icelandic (or their own made-up language)? Sigur Ros created a whole new level of sound and music.

It's a comprehensive and long list, and I could have made it longer but I chose not to include any bands who were more influential in other decades and just happened to make a good song in the 90s. That excludes great songs like New Order's "Regret", "World in Motion", Electronic's "Idiot Country" or anything from Public Enemy or Frank Black (even though the Teenager of the Year album is one of the best of the decade.)

What's on your list of great 90s songs?