born into the 90s

i may have been born in 1975, but i am without a doubt a child of the 90’s… music, that is.  i have been such a music head for the longest time, but in 1990, i was a freshmen in high school and was really starting to find my groove, so to speak.  it was about this time that music began playing a more significant role in my life and i started to feel like music would be more than just a hobby for me.

i am watching vh-1’s 100 greatest songs of the 90s and it is taking me on an incredible trip down memory lane.  sure, every decade has its classic signature songs, sounds and artists, but the 90s were so definitive for me, personally.  so many of these songs provided the soundtrack for memory after memory for me throughout the entire decade.

you can check out the list of all 100 songs here and watch most of the 100 videos here… and what a list it is.  the 90s gave us everything from mariah carey, the cranberries, arrested development, radiohead and jamiroquai to jay-z, alice in chains, bell biv devoe and goo goo dolls.  it gave us unforgettable songs about creeps, g thangs, sandmen, genies in bottles, waterfalls and big butts.  it gave us career defining songs from iconic artists such as ll cool j, whitney houston, u2, pearl jam, notorious b.i.g., lenny kravitz and celine dion.  seattle, atlanta, houston and long beach exploded as the musical hotbeds known for cranking out the hits.  it gave us grunge, g-funk, the return of the r&b girl group, the boy band explosion and was the decade when hip hip broke through to the mainstream and ultimately became the mainstream. no diggity.

who can forget publicly despising but secretly loving “mmmbop”, being mesmerized by lauryn hill’s (with the fugees) haunting take on “killing me softly”, doing “the humpty dance” at high school dances, thinking that hootie was the name of the black guy who sang lead for the blowfish or saying that you were “too sexy” for just about anything?

the only complaint i have is that janet jackson’s “that’s the way love goes” was suspiciously absent from the countdown.  i don’t know if someone at vh-1 was sippin’ haterade when they did the list or what, but not only is that janet’s best song ever (imo), it was a huge hit and came at the height of her success during the janet. (1993) era.  while she still had some spotty hits after that, she never again hit like she did from 93-96. ever. but i digress…

i must also call into question the glaring omission of warren g’s “regulate” and “i wanna be down” by brandy.  both big crossover hits, but mysteriously missing from the list of the 100 greatest songs of the 90s.  likewise, love him or hate him, the 90s gave us r. kelly, and both his first pop crossover hit “bump and grind” and international smash “i believe i can fly” are noticably absent. oh well…

the boys from nelson (of “(cant live without your) love and affection” fame) kept popping up and contributing their two-cents throughout the show and i couldn’t help but wonder which one of them actually looks more like ellen degeneres…

did anyone know that kevin thornton (formerly of color me badd) actually has a gospel cd?  of course you didn’t, and it was probably better that way.

oh yeah, and i miss new jack swing like nobody’s business!

what are your favorite songs from the 90s?

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