Welcome to the '90s! The age of grunge, the hip-hop boom, and the point where ‘alternative’ rock ended the Age of Hair… eventually. Right now we’re still looking at the last remnants of the '80s in this batch of 25, which I went to #49 to compile.
One of the weakest years so far - even less appealing than 1989.
Actually, 1989 and 1990 were very good years for me. I was at last out of my awkward teenager phase and met my first girlfriend. But musically, both were dreck.
OK, Billy Idol - Cradle of Love. Not because it’s a great song - it isn’t - but because it’s the one that reminds me of those fun times.
The only other possibility I considered was Lisa Stansfield but it didn’t really have the same nostalgia factor.
I loved “Roam”, but I gave my vote to the B-52’s last poll. Anyway, I also loved “I Want To Be Rich”. There was a local radio station that used it as their money giveaway contest song, and I never got tired of hearing it…such a happy song, and I do want to be rich! (La la la la la la la) Also we did win $100 from the radio station one time.
1990 is kind of a black hole for me musically - when I was little, my parents listened exclusively to classic rock, and therefore so did I. Today, music from this era almost never gets airplay, so the overwhelming majority of these songs are completely unfamiliar to me.
I went with the Wilson sisters on this one, because it’s pretty much the only song on this list I know and enjoy, despite having some of the silliest euphemisms for boning ever dreamed of by mankind (“I am the flower, you are the seed, we walked in the garden, we planted a tree?” Gag me. Botany is not sexy no matter who’s singing about it.). It’s a great story song and Ann’s vocals are great here, and also I used to date a woman who got really turned on by the lyrics (the “meeting a hot stranger and having awesome sex”, not so much the “getting pregnant on a one-night-stand”.) Fun side fact - it’s technically a cover of a Dobie Gray song, although most of the lyrics are original to Heart’s version.
Stay with us, folks - I promise you the next few lists are better.
Well, since I didn’t lend the B-52’s my vote last poll, I did it here. Come to think of it, the older I’ve gotten, the more “Roam” has become more-so my B-52’s fave than “Love Shack” (although I couldn’t get enough of ‘Shack’ as a somewhat wee one).
I remember this song coming up at a party once, and one guy didn’t think it was about getting knocked up. Major drunken argument ensued. “Come on, dude…THEY PLANTED A TREE!”
I’ve been much more positive about the previous years than most of the Dopers, it seems, but this is where it really turns to shit for me. I’m going to have to go with one of the Janet Jackson numbers, and I’ll go with “Alright.” (The Rhythm Nation album was quite good, and the dance choreography in the videos was exceptional.) “Roam” was alright, too, and Technotronic was really such a product of its time, that I almost went for it, too.
