The 1990's — An Alternative Top 40
Pick a decade, any decade. Now ask yourself what that era was all about. Within seconds you’ll find yourself reaching for music and fashion clichés drummed into us all by years of TV documentaries and other forms of media. The 1970's was glam rock, flares, punk, disco and the winter of discontent; the 1980's was New Romantics, yuppies, the Miner’s Strike and so on. Whole ten year chunks of time, distilled to a few soundbites for easy consumption.
It’s not really surprising; if you’re a director or writer looking to fit a narrative into a set amount of time or words, then some corners will inevitably have to be cut. But it means that some of the more interesting stories and events don’t necessarily make the final edit, and in time they’re widely forgotten or never learnt at all. It’s those un-highlighted little side streets that usually interest me, the possibilities and alternative histories that were never pursued. They also tend to have a freshness about them that hasn’t been dulled by years of over-familiarity.
My own youth era was the 1990's — which clichés did you reach for this time? I’m going to take a guess at Britpop, the Spice Girls and Tony Blair. It’d be churlish to deny the impact that any of those things had, but I remember a much more diverse and complex period than that shortlist would suggest. I also remember that, growing up as I did in a rural area, I had to wait until I went to University before I really participated in any of it at all; for those who never leave their small towns, the accepted narratives have probably never reflected their experience of any given time.
Anyway, enough cod-sociology! The clue for the subject of this piece is in the title. Here are 40 records which you’ll rarely hear played on the radio today but had some sort of impact at the time, either in the charts or the pages of the NME and Melody Maker which I devoured for most of the decade. Even a specialist station like Absolute 90's isn’t going to go near at least half of these, and if you’re younger than me and get your music recommendations through Spotify, I very much doubt the algorithm there is going to surface them either. So, pull up a chair, and let a middle-aged man share some memories. Perhaps it will stir some memories of your own, or you may even hear something new that you like…
NOTE: These are listed in roughly chronological order. There’s also a Spotify playlist at the bottom.
Originally released in 1987, but beefed up and re-recorded just in time for the start of the decade. An excellent slice of driving rock music from a largely forgotten band.
The Stone Roses — Something’s Burning
The biggest act in indie at the end of 1989 saw in the new decade with an underwhelming single, but this brilliant B-Side. Something’s Burning is almost 8 minutes of slow, dark paranoia that somehow still finds a groove. A second album that sounded like this could have been incredible.
Firmly rooted in the previous decade with a prominent Smiths sample and reference to the miner’s strike, but the beats are pure early 90’s. This was all over the airwaves for about 3 months in 1991.
Electronic haven’t been totally forgotten — when you’re comprised of New Order and The Smiths members you’ve got an instant fanbase — but Getting Away With It is the single that usually gets the attention. For Disappointed they added Neil Tennant as well, so forming a super-super-group.
Saint Etienne — Nothing Can Stop Us
Another act that haven’t been forgotten — they’re still going today — but tend to be represented by other singles from their catalogue. A gorgeous blend of 1960’s glamour and understated groove.
World Party — Is It Like Today?
At the height of Britpop it felt like there was a prize for the band that managed to most closely ape the sound of The Beatles. World Party got there 3 years earlier and did it better than most.
Boo Radleys — I Hang Suspended
Before that single briefly made them pop stars, the Boo Radleys were an old-fashioned indie band making delightfully off-kilter records. They were never likely to trouble the charts in that guise, but the critics loved them.
Dumb singalong fun. Works well in any era.
Pretenders — Night in my Veins
80’s veteran Chrissie Hynde staged a bit of a comeback mid-decade. I’ll Stand By You is the single everyone remembers, but this is the better song.
Inevitably coloured by events immediately prior to its release, Doll Parts is the one time that Hole actually sounded as good as their champions in the press claimed.
US alt-rock dominated the opening years of the decade. Within months of Kurt Cobain’s death, it was pretty much swept away, in the UK at least. There was though just time for this ragged gem to emerge before the shutters descended. The nagging guitar riff makes for a maddening earworm.
OK, hear me out. Obviously you know this one, but today even Oasis are often reduced to a shorthand of Wonderwall and Don’t Look Back in Anger. If you’re a younger person who doesn’t remember a pre-internet age, it’s hard to convey quite how huge they were in the UK from 1996–97, and the Gallaghers have been a low rent soap opera ever since. But before all that, the hype was partially justified by this perfect pop song.
Bomb the Bass — Bug Powder Dust
4 minutes of frenetic beats and rapping, topped and tailed with short bursts of Tarantino style dialogue. As subtle as a sledgehammer but it still sounds exciting. Tim Simenon, the brains behind Bomb the Bass and quite the pioneer in his day, was last heard of running a meatball restaurant in Prague.
Before Britpop swept everything in it’s path, Gene were initially pitched as ‘The New Smiths’. Sleep Well Tonight actually prefigures the small town violence of I Predict a Riot, though the singer sounds less gleeful about it all.
Truth be told this release largely sank without trace, Belly had had their moment by then, but this is a fine single nevertheless.
Yep, that’s the sound of Britpop well and truly arriving. And if it had all been as much fun as this, people wouldn’t have such mixed feelings about it today.
Sleek, sexy, sixties inspired pop. You’ll get to the end and want to play it again.
A bit of a commercial flop by her (at the time) standards, but oh-so-cinematic and just listen to those strings…
The Bluetones — Are You Blue or Are You Blind?
There’s a bit of a theme with the mid-90’s UK acts, in that many of them did their best work before their record company tapped them on the shoulder and asked them to ‘make it more Britpop’. The Bluetones’ (non-hit) debut single is also their best.
Angry guitarist quits his old band, recruits an even more flamboyant singer than his previous one, and makes the record the band refused to make. A raised middle finger has never sounded so glorious.
Born Slippy was inescapable around the release of Trainspotting, but Pearl’s Girl is every bit as intense and obtuse.
Largely League One plodders, Longpigs had their brief moment in the sun (and on Top of the Pops) with this unexpectedly tender ballad. Guitarist Richard Hawley went on to a much more interesting and successful solo career.
Massive Attack, Portishead and Tricky were the big three trip-hop acts, but some others did well for a time in their slipstream. This is the soundtrack to coming home from a night’s clubbing.
Catatonia — You’ve Got a Lot to Answer For
More ‘they were better in the early days’ vibes. Cerys’ voice is an absolute joy here.
My Life Story — 12 Reasons Why I Love Her
Andrew Lloyd Webber as performed by pretentious indie kids from Camden. Despite that description, it’s kind of wonderful.
I became obsessed with this for about 3 weeks when it came out in 1996, then pretty much forgot about it for the next quarter century, which is kind of the point of this article…
Eels are still going today having released 14 albums to date, and are still beloved by magazines like Mojo or Uncut. Good for them, but I doubt anything they’ve released since is as good as their debut single.
Britpop fringe act who hung around for a couple of years without ever looking like they would make it big, but they did at least leave us with this and the almost as good Tranquillizer, which is two more decent singles than many bands manage in their whole career.
Hardly a forgotten name, but the Scream’s Vanishing Point album often gets overlooked in favour of Screamadelica and other records. Burning Wheel was the third single from that album and has a decent psychedelic groove; as usual they’re trying too hard in the video.
There’s an alternate universe where The Sundays were absolutely huge, which they really should have been. As it is, there’s an awful lot of male 40/50 something ex indie kids who are still in love with singer Harriet Wheeler. Play this on the first warm day of the year.
Echo & The Bunnymen — Nothing Lasts Forever
Comebacks in rock music are often embarrassing — this one was majestic. Features Liam Gallagher on backing vocals, but they really didn’t need him.
The alt-country movement didn’t really get much attention until the 90’s had ended, but this was an early marker from one of it’s founders.
Rialto — Monday Morning 5:19am
Great song, rotten timing. Rialto released an expansive, string-laden, none-more-Britpop single just as that scene was dying. Two years earlier and this would have been huge.
Theaudience — I Know Enough (I Don’t Get Enough)
Before Strictly and her Kitchen Discos made her a minor national treasure, Sophie Ellis-Bextor fronted indie hopefuls Theaudience. Much of their only album is fairly average, but this single comes across like a sneery British take on The Pretenders.
For about 6 months in 1998, Air were painfully cool. Take your pick from this or Sexy Boy, both are excellent electro-pop.
I’m pretty sure I’ve never seen a bad review for Shack, and yet they’ve never come close to having a hit. Here’s a ballad that should shame many more successful and less deserving acts.
Beth Orton had a good run between the late 90’s and the mid 00’s, racking up three successful albums, and looked set to be an established name for years to come. She’s still releasing new music but looks to have dropped some way off the radar. Stolen Car is the lead track from her excellent second LP.
More ‘flavour of the month’ fare. I Try was a huge hit, and the accompanying album stayed on the charts for months and led to a triumphant Glastonbury performance. Then the next album bombed, and we’ve barely heard from Macy Gray since.
Not sure if it’s a ‘lost’ record, but Caught Out There is an astonishing single, every bit the equal of her later hit Milkshake. It’s also experimental in a way that guitar music had stopped being by the end of the decade, which may explain why the 00’s were dominated by R’n’B.
Super-obscure and a personal favourite. After the dayglo of the Britpop years, this is British music returning to something more scuzzy and underground. The accompanying album didn’t come out until 2001, but the Discogs website says this had a 7" release in 1999 so I’m claiming it.
Now that I’ve finished I realise the title should have harked back to the decade too — this could have been called ‘This is my 90’s, Tell me Yours’. Anyway, the Spotify playlist can be found at: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0d88yV69z266KTGt1SSrU5?si=36bb_rVJTBGyAYDbLGGYDA&pi=e-O17GAIUpRUiN
What have I missed? Do leave a comment with your suggestions!