It's official. The late 90s have arrived. I'm currently doing a celebratory happy-dance in honor of this festive occasion (albeit by myself, alone, in my office). Also, I'm celebrating the fact that I just figured out how to include videos into my blog posts (I take longer than others for some things, bear with me) and will FINALLY be incorporating them into my rants! Hooray for audio/visual aids!
For starters, as usual, some fun facts about the next year in the lineup, 1995:
*It's official. I'm double digits. 10!
*Colin Ferguson is convicted on 6 counts of murder for the 1993 Long Island Railroad shootings and receives over 200 years in prison.
* Dow Jones closes at over 4,000 points for the first time in history (don't you miss those stimulated economy days?)s
* Mississippi ratifies the Thirteenth Amendment, making it the last state to abolish slavery....in 1995...what?
* Selena is murdered by her fan club President
* Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols set off the Oklahoma City bomb, killing 168 people
* The Jersey Devils win their first Stanley Cup!
* Microsoft releases Windows 95
* The DVD is officially announced as a new technology
* The Washington Post and New York Times publish the Unabomber's manifesto
* OJ Simpson is found not guilty
* The Million Man March is held in Washington DC
* Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin is assassinated at a peace rally in Tel Aviv
So, there you have it. 1995 in a nutshell, world-events style. And now, on to the best part, the Top 10 Songs of 1995:
1) "Gangsta's Paradise" ~Coolio: Released on two albums in 1995 (Coolio's Gangsta's Paradise and the Dangerous Minds Soundtrack), this song was a reworking of Stevie Wonder's 1976 hit "Pastime Paradise." The song was voted Single of the Year by the Village Voice and also won a Grammy. It hit number one on the Billboard Charts in dozens of countries, including the US, and came in number 69 on Billboards list of the Greatest Songs of All Time. "Gangsta's Paradise" also featured R&B singer L.V. who later released his own version of the song, but didn't come close to Coolio's success with the original.
I have so many amazing memories of this song, it's hard to decide where to begin. Let's see, first off, I think I watched Dangerous Minds about a million times in 1995. The movie was awesome (nope, I don't care what you think) and when I heard this song for the first time, I fell hard. I think at 10 I got the gist of the song, but really, I was obsessed with the gospel choir in the background. The lyrics are far too exciting for me to pick just one favorite line, although I am definitely partial to "I'm a education fool with money on my mind..." Take a trip down memory lane with me as we watch the 1995 phenomenon that is "Gangsta's Paradise" :
2) "You Oughta Know" ~Alanis Morissette: Released on her third album, Jagged Little Pill, "You Oughta Know" was Alanis's first top-ten hit in the US, reaching number six on the Billboard Hot 100. The song was written by Morissette and Glen Ballard (who helped write Michael Jackson's Thriller and Bad) and won two Grammys for Best Rock Song and Best Female Rock Vocal Performance. An alternate version of the song is also on Jagged Little Pill as a "hidden track" at the end of the album (which, by the way, I really miss. iTunes does not allow for surprise tracks. The mystery is gone forever).
Ahh, feminism at its best via what some people (unfortunately) call "angry chick rock." This song was my very first taste of a bitter breakup, and may be the ultimate breakup song. I had this album on cassette and remember playing it in the car while my parents slightly sneered at the questionable lyrics. This song will forever get me pumped each and every time I hear it, giving me a good "take that!" feeling toward all of those not-so-amicable breakups of the past. Ladies, let's all sing it together, shall we?
3) "This Is How We Do It" ~Montell Jordan: As Jordan's first single, "This Is How We Do It" was a smash hit. The single spent seven weeks at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 and was Def Jam's first number one single since the label's launch 10 years earlier. The song is in new jack swing style, which was heavily popular in the mid-90s and used an enhanced version of Slick Rick's "Children's Story." The song is still popular and has been featured in dozens of media outlets, most recently in a 2011 Pepsi ad.
Hearing the opening of this song makes me wanna bust a move. At 10, I'm not sure I was clear on exactly what Montell was "doing," but I knew he had to get his in a big black truck and there was always a designated driver. (Kudos, Montell, on slipping in that PSA for all us youngins.) I vividly remember begging our cheerleading coach to use this song for one of our routines and having absolutely no clue why we couldn't all shout "I'm kinda buzzed and it's all because this is how we do it!" In retrospect, she was wise. Our parents would not have been all too thrilled, but our ten-year-old selves would have been in heaven. We all knew every word to this song, so why not bust it out one more time? (*Please take note of the awesomely 90s outfits and dancing.)
4) "Run-Around" ~Blues Traveler: Four, Blues Traveler had their breakthrough hit with "Run-Around" in 1995. The song peaked at number 8 on the Billboard Hot 100 and won a Grammy for Blues Traveler. The song was originally sung solo by by the band's frontman, John Popper, and is said to have been written either about an argument he had with a friend of his or about Popper's relationship with Chris Barron, frontman for the Spin Doctors.
When I first heard "Run-Around," I immediately fell in love with Blues Traveler. Popper's penchant for witty lyrics, cliche phrases, and pop culture references (of which I understood about 10% of at the time) quickly made him one of my favorite writers and performers. Also, I loved trying to figure out the words (pre-Google) and/or making up my own when I couldn't decipher what in hell he was saying. Plus, who doesn't love a well-placed harmonica solo? The video was also a statement in itself, as Popper and the band hide behind a curtain to sing "Run-Around" while a more hip band lip sync to the audience without their knowledge. You clever band, you...
5) "Let Her Cry" ~Hootie and the Blowfish: This song was released as the second single off Hootie and the Blowfish's album, Cracked Rear View, after their initial success with "Hold My Hand" in late 1994. The single reached number 9 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number 2 on the American Billboard Top 40 Mainstream. The boys also won a Grammy for the song in 1996 for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal.
Although this song wasn't their biggest hit, it managed to leave the biggest Hootie and the Blowfish impression on me. Their other popular songs from Cracked Rear View (like "Hold My Hand," "Only Wanna Be With You," and "Time") were very upbeat, fun, pop songs, while "Let Her Cry" was sad, slow, and a bit deeper. I still get a bit teary-eyed when I hear this song, and I ma not ashamed to say that I am still a HUGE Hootie and the Blowfish fan, as well as a Darius Rucker solo career fan. (Also totally willing to admit that I would marry Darius in a heartbeat, if only so he could sing to me on command.) But let's remember Darius in his pre-country music days. (YouTube would not let me upload the "official video," so we'll have to settle for the live version):
6) "One Sweet Day" ~Mariah Carey feat. Boyz II Men: Released as the second single off Mariah's fifth studio album, Daydream, "One Sweet Day" was written and produced by Carey, Boyz II Men, and Walter Afanasieff. The song reached unbelievable success, as well as number one on the Billboard Hot 100 for 16 weeks, making it the longest-running number 1 single in history. It was also a hit all over the world, including Canada, New Zealand, and Australia. The song was initially written by Carey and Boyz II Men about people in their personal lives, but the song was dedicated the AIDS epidemic, which had one global by 1995.
Talk about the quintessential, uniquely-90s super song. "One Sweet Day" is one of the biggest hits in recent history because it had every ingredient necessary to do so. Mariah Carey and Boyz II Men were already among the top performers of the 90s, and together they were unstoppable. They also dedicated the song to AIDS, perpetuating live performances for many years to come. As a kid, perhaps we didn'[t all appreciate the implication, but we did know that it was essential to so many middle school dances. Put your slow-dancin' shoes on and stick your arms out straight as far as they will go:
7) "Creep" ~TLC: Released as the first single off their second studio album, CrazySexyCool, in 1994, "Creep" hit the charts in 1995 and became the second-best selling single of 1995, behind Madonna's "Take A Bow." The song sat at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 for four weeks, making it TLC's first number one hit and their fourth top-ten single. Initially, Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes was against releasing "Creep" as a single and threatened to wear black tape over her mouth in the video as a protest, which was eventually resolved. The song was written about a woman finding out about her significant other's cheating and, in turn, cheats on him as well.
Well folks, we've all been there, haven't we? Being cheated on, getting revenge by cheating too instead of curling up in a ball with a tub of ice cream and vodka and crying for days? (Nope, sorry, I was definitely the one with the ice cream and vodka.) Even if the premise is a bit unrealistic, TLC represented to kick-ass girl power in so many of their songs, especially "Creep." And at 10, it was really just something crazy-catchy and fun to dance to. I only knew the words to the chorus anyway, and i was convinced the song was about tip-toeing. Now, check out these killer pajamas:
8) "Kiss From A Rose" ~Seal: Written by Seal for his 1994 album Seal (II), the song was also featured on the Batman Forever Soundtrack in 1995, sealing it's fate as a chart-topper. The song rested at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 for one week and won the 1996 Grammys for Record of the Year and Song of the Year. Seal also won a Grammy that year for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance. The song became tied to the Batman movie forever, thus sealing it's place in movie soundtrack history.
This is another song that I'm pretty sure everyone knows (almost) by heart. I have to admit that I still love this song to death almost as much as I love seal himself. I do remember singing this, karaoke style, while on vacation with my parents that year and thinking I was totally hip. I do have to admit, however, that this song's lyrics were a bit tricky for my ten-year-old brain and I wound up stumbling all over them. And now, here's your little piece of audio/visual nostalgia:
9) "Boombastic" ~Shaggy: Featuring a highly recognizable sample of Marvin Gaye's "Let's Get It On," this song was Shaggy's second single off his 1995 album Boombastic. The song was hugely successful all over the world and reached number 3 on the Billboard Hot 100, especially after being featured in a very popular Levi's commercial.
After re-watching this video again, it's hard to believe we all fell for Shaggy naming himself "Mr. Lovah-Lovah." In retrospect, um, no. The song, however, was grind-tastic, teaching us all how to dance dirty just a little too young and it was oh-so-catchy. Repetitive lyrics will do that for you. Despite all it's flaws, the upside to this song is it's video. Look how THIN he is here! My, how time flies.
10) "Another Night" ~Real McCoy: As the best-selling single by a German act in US rock history, Real McCoy took the dance music scene by storm. peaking at number 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 but on number 18 on the German charts, "Another Night" filled clubs everywhere throughout all of 1995 and beyond. The song was inspired by both "More And More" by Captain Hollywood Project and "Desire" by Roni Griffith.
If you don't know this song, go to your iTunes account immediately. I promise that less than halfway through this song, you'll become both giddy and addicted. There are few things better than a man with a heavy German accent speak-singing, "I TAWK, TAWK, I TAWK to yoooou..." It's delightful. I certainly owned this album and couldn't get enough of this song back in the day. Someone grab some glow sticks!
So 90s lovers, there it is. The first year in the second half of the greatest musical decade ever. I hope you enjoyed the added audio/visual bonuses! Keep checking back as I continue to grow this list of musical delightfulness!!! 1996, coming your way...
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