I’ve approached music from the 1990s gingerly because it was the period of my adolescence. Most of us form very strong attachments to the music playing when our pubes are popping, and those attachments generate a defensive protectiveness that distorts perception. We respond to anyone who attacks the music we first fucked to by throwing a tantrum and refusing to come out of our rooms. Music appeals to emotion above all, and adolescence is a cauldron of emotion.
I lost a good part of that attachment during a period in the 2000’s when I didn’t pay much attention to music. When I took up the habit again, I naturally went back to my music—the grunge, punk and Britpop of the 90s. I found the experience somewhat embarrassing: I couldn’t believe I actually liked some of the crap I was hearing. On the bright side, I found the experience of reconnecting with Radiohead, Oasis, Rancid, Blur, Pulp, Bikini Kill and Sleater-Kinney pretty exciting.
I’ve placed Nick Drake in the 90s because that was the decade of rediscovery and redemption.
Featured Artists:
Collections with 90s Albums or Compilations:
90s Albums Not Covered Above:
- Bandits (Film Soundtrack)
- Bjork – Post
- Blink-182 – Enema of the State
- Chet Atkins & Mark Knopfler – Neck and Neck
- Chumbawamba – Anarchy
- Chumbawamba – Tubthumper
- Claudia Gomez – Tierradentro
- Denim – Denim on Ice
- Foo Fighters – The Colour and the Shape
- Foo Fighters – There’s Nothing Left to Lose
- Goo Goo Dolls – A Boy Named Goo
- Nick Drake – Way to Blue Part 1
- Nick Drake – Way to Blue Part 2
- Nirvana – Nevermind
- Pearl Jam – Ten
- Peter Gabriel – Us
- Sinéad O’ Connor – I Do Not Want What I Haven’t Got
- Sleater-Kinney, Call the Doctor
- The Breeders – Last Splash
- The Sundays – Reading, Writing and Arithmetic
- Third Eye Blind – Third Eye Blind
