Trent Reznor’s tortured, angry persona got old for me pretty quick for a couple of reasons. One; a performative aspect began to creep into it after Nine Inch Nails achieved massive mainstream success, and two; the bloat of 1997’s The Fragile was a major turn-off. It just seemed like too much to get through). With… Read More “Hurt” by Nine Inch Nails (1994)
I’m pretty sure Q-Tip was the first featured rapper on a Beastie Boys track, and that’s gotta count for something. Even though I want to knock “Get It Together” down half a point for Tip’s repeated use of the word “nigga” on a track where the main artists are three white dudes, the song is… Read More “Get It Together” by The Beastie Boys feat. Q-Tip (1994)
“Crooklyn” is one of the last classics of hip-hop’s golden age. Released in the spring of ‘94 for the soundtrack of the Spike Lee Joint Crooklyn, the song brought together three of Brooklyn’s best unsung emcees, Special Ed, Masta Ace (whose biggest commercial success was still ahead of him at the time of this song’s release)… Read More “Crooklyn” by The Crooklyn Dodgers (Special Ed, Masta Ace & Buckshot) (1994)
It took a while for me to get into “Creep”. TLC’s debut was so unique and left that the image and musical shift “Creep” heralded took me by surprise. I guess I was expecting “Ain’t 2 Proud 2 Beg” part 2 and was thrown for a loop when I didn’t get it. But…I guess you could say that “Creep”,… Read More “Creep” by TLC (1994)
I was reading the Wikipedia page for The Downward Spiral (while also listening to The Downward Spiral, an album that’s not aged as well as I would have liked), when this line sank into my eyeballs: “Lyrically, “Closer” is a meditation on self-hatred and obsession, but to Reznor’s dismay, the song was widely misinterpreted as… Read More “Closer” by Nine Inch Nails (1994)
“Buddy Holly” was a cornerstone video during my brief dalliance with significant MTV exposure back in 1994, and was also my first exposure to the power-pop conundrum that is Weezer. I had some friends over a couple of days ago, and the “Buddy Holly” video came on. This led into a discussion about Weezer’s frightening… Read More “Buddy Holly” by Weezer (1994)
Chris Cornell didn’t really know what “Black Hole Sun” was about. Allegedly. “Regarding “Black Hole Sun”, Cornell stated, “It’s just sort of a surreal dreamscape, a weird, play-with-the-title kind of song.”[5] He also said that “lyrically it’s probably the closest to me just playing with words for words’ sake, of anything I’ve written. I guess it… Read More “Black Hole Sun” by Soundgarden (1994)
“Big Poppa” is where Puffy’s genius kicks in. I don’t like the guy, think he’s slimier than every season of Double Dare put together, but the marketing vision that he had for B.I.G. is a big part of what made him (well, both of them) such a superstar. “Rhyme slower,” I can hear Puff murmuring with… Read More “Big Poppa” by The Notorious B.I.G. (1994)
Four of the last five songs on this list have been hip-hop songs that at worst can be called misogynist, at best can be called somewhat unfriendly to women. Does this mean I’m a misogynist? I’d like to think not. Even though I grew up in a fairly old-country, masculine environment, I also grew up… Read More “Big Pimpin’” by Jay-Z featuring UGK (1999) / “Big Pimpin’” by Tha Dogg Pound featuring Snoop Doggy Dogg, Nate Dogg & Big Pimpin’ Delemond (1994)
The unofficial first single from STP’s big-deal sophomore effort, and a featured song from a movie I still have yet to see (”The Crow”), “Big Empty” brooded in the manner of much ‘90s-era grunge. The quiet verse/loud chorus dynamic worked its best here, and Weiland’s anguished growl proved him a worthy successor (or mimicker) to Vedder,… Read More “Big Empty” by Stone Temple Pilots (1994)
Five Star Jamz 