80. Sisters of Mercy – “More” (1990)
Jim Steinman, famed writer and producer of wonderfully overblown theatrical rock like Meat Loaf’s Bat Out of Hell, Bonnie Tyler’s “Total Eclipse of the Heart” and Celine Dion’s “It’s All Coming Back to Me Now”, was a natural fit to produce the electronic goth-dance epic “More” by Sisters of Mercy. They are, after all, a band never afraid to go way, way over the top, which is just where Jim Steinman likes it. “More” is the soundtrack to a vampire nightclub, played deep in the night while black-garbed ghouls flit gracefully about the shadowy dance-floor, lightning flickering overhead.
The album version stretches for over eight minutes, but the single mix really delivers all that you need. Starting with bracing jolts of synth, “More” builds slowly from a piano base with half-whispered vocals before exploding with the chorus “I want more!” and seemingly incongruously soulful vamping that somehow works despite belonging to another sonic dimension. Andrew Eldritch’s mordant growl is a tense counterpoint to the soaring backing vocals. Electronic strings and treated piano help to build a darkly atmospheric backdrop while Eldritch half-whispers the verses with as much drama as he can muster.
The merger of Bauhaus-era goth with modern industrial-flavored electronic beats — and Jim Steinman’s audacious arrangement — proved hugely popular with fans, and rightfully so. It’s a thrilling exhibition of rock at its most unapologetically theatrical and melodramatic. It’s brilliant symphonic electro-goth. “More” spent five weeks at #1 on the Billboard Modern Rock Chart as 1990 rolled into 1991.
79. Dig – “Believe” (1993)
As the lead single from Dig’s self-titled debut album, “Believe” was the band’s only significant hit, reaching #19 on the Billboard Modern Rock Chart. Opening with an ominous rumble of bass, “Believe” is a torrid rocker with furnace blasts of guitar and a terrific on-edge vocal by Steve Hackworth.
The song is a piercing indictment of self-righteous ‘believers’ who spend most of their time and energy imposing their notion of what God is on others while blithely ignoring the tenets of the religion they proclaim to follow. Written over 20 years ago, “Believe” couldn’t be more apt today. Hackworth sneers lines like, “They will deny there is separation now”, and of course many evangelicals believe that our government should basically be a theocracy. But Hackworth isn’t having it — “We won’t buy in their deception now,” he proclaims.
The chorus is a call for turning religious beliefs inward and actually thinking about your own obligations and stop worrying about what others are doing: “Why don’t you believe, believe in your own god?” Left unsaid is “and leave us the fuck alone”, although that sentiment comes across pretty clearly in the sharply rebellious tone of the track.
It’s unfortunate that Dig never gained much traction beyond this one song, because as solid as their debut album is, their second album Defenders of the Universe” (1996) is even better. Check out “Song for Liars” if you get a chance — a hit that should have been. Unfortunately, their sophomore album sank without a trace, and Dig was left to rust at the bottom of the ocean floor along with other promising ’90s castaways. The music survives, though, waiting to be discovered, and bands like Dig should take solace in that.
78. Dinosaur Jr. – “Feel the Pain” (1994)
J. Mascis has been unleashing his distinct fuzz-toned pop buried in distortion with Dinosaur Jr. since their 1985 debut album Dinosaur. “Feel the Pain”, the primary single from the band’s Without a Sound album, is one of Mascis’ best and most successful tracks — it reached #4 on the Billboard Modern Rock Chart.
Mascis’ distinctly mangled vocal, sung at two octaves so he can self-harmonize, somehow manages to latch onto a melody with arresting authenticity. Mascis plays nearly all the instruments himself, and he proves a pretty damn fine drummer. “Feel the Pain” seems to have a laid back vibe, and then without warning manic eruptions of molten guitar flare between the verses, before easing us back into the song’s main groove.
At the very end the eruption escalates into an ear-piercing guitar solo that wraps up the song with a massive jolt. The arrangement is unorthodox with multiple time-signatures — “Feel the Pain” is a hard-rocking mini-suite of sorts that sounds like it was stitched together by a mad scientist in a secret basement laboratory. Perhaps it was.
Lyrically the song deals with a man who is rendered numb by all the pain and struggles experienced by those around him. He becomes jaded and loses his empathy. There may be more internal significance to the song. It was written around the time that Mascis’ father died, which Mascis has acknowledged had a significant impact on his songwriting for Without a Sound. Perhaps it’s the old ‘heart of stone’ trick, in which you build up a solid barricade around your emotions to protect yourself from hurt. An all too human defense mechanism.
77. Lush – “Ladykillers” (1996)
London-based Lush released several excellent albums in the early 1990s before shuttering following the 1996 suicide of drummer Chris Acland. The tragedy occurred only six months after the appearance of their last album, Lovelife, just as the band were at their commercial and artistic peak. Although they are often mentioned as part of the “shoegaze” movement, that label fits their earlier work more comfortably. By the time of Lovelife, the band had swerved into a fiery and energetic pop-influenced direction.
“Ladykillers” is their most immediate and potent single, a blistering rocker spiky with attitude. Vocalist Miki Berenyi, sporting fierce pink hair in the song’s video, boldly delivers a recitation of cutting one-liners, making it very clear she will take no bullshit. Meanwhile, the band thrashes madly behind her. Deft touches of 1960s pop like the ooh-la-la-la backing vocals and hand claps add a hint of a retro vibe.
“Ladykillers” is loaded with badass attitude and derision in lines like: “I’m as human as the next girl / I like a bit of flattery / but I don’t need your practiced lines / your school of charm mentality / so save your breath for someone else / and credit me with something more / when it comes to men like you I know the score / I’ve heard it all before.” No doubt she has.
“Ladykillers” reached #18 on the Billboard Modern Rock Chart, and will surely be a prominent fixture in the band’s set when they reunite later this year for their first live performances in 20 years. (And don’t forget to clap along during the “Blondie was with me for a summer” verse!)
76. Pavement – “Cut Your Hair” (1994)
Pavement’s “Cut Your Hair” is deceptively sunny slacker-rock, ragged and laid back with the same indolence as the classic hippie anthem “Signs” by the Five Man Electrical Band. This time, instead of trying to get a job at a store, the disdain for long hair comes from the music industry, which Pavement skewers with a defiant smile and a snarl. It’s especially relevant given the platoons of long-haired, slovenly dressed bands that emerged on the alternative rock scene after Nirvana and Pearl Jam’s ascension. Even lack of an image can become distinct, often by accident.
“Cut Your Hair” is a shambolic rocker in the style of much of Pavement’s work. They’ve never been the tightest in the world, but their loose, easy-going groove has its own undeniable appeal. Led by vocalist and primary songwriter Stephen Malkmus, Pavement was expert at frayed indie-rock with clever lyrics and strong melodies. The leading melodic hook on “Cut Your Hair” comes from the “do do doo doo” lines sung in quavery falsetto during the instrumental breaks.
Although they never really became more than a cult band, Pavement’s 1990s work is now widely respected by many critics as some of the decade’s best. “Cut Your Hair”, from the band’s acclaimed second album Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain, became by far their biggest hit, reaching #10 on the Billboard Modern Rock Chart.
75. Blind Melon – “Galaxie” (1995)
Blind Melon scored big with their electric hippie folk singalong “No Rain” from their self-titled 1992 debut, but their best work was yet to come. Their second album Soup, which hit retailers just weeks before vocalist Shannon Hoon’s shattering death from a drug overdose, is the band’s masterpiece. The pain Hoon was enduring courses through the veins of the album, especially in songs like “2 x 4” and “Mouthful of Cavities”.
Soup wasn’t as commercial as the band’s debut, and of course they could not tour in support of the record. Shannon Hoon’s death largely overshadowed it, and unfortunately the album never really received the attention and acclaim it deserved. The first single “Galaxie” is an edgy rocker with an imaginative arrangement and a terrific vocal by Hoon. His highly pitched voice, so relaxed and gentle in “No Rain”, is tense and expressive here.
“Galaxie” refers to a 1963 Ford Galaxie that Shannon Hoon owned, and he ties memories of the car into the narrative of the collapse of a relationship. He identifies with the Galaxie as representing who he is, which he perceives isn’t good enough for his love interest, but he has no interest in changing. Take him or leave him, as he is. Not a bad message.
The track is short and builds to a manic climax, with Hoon’s voice erupting at the end, “in my Galaxie!”, before it all fades to black. “Galaxie” reached #8 on the Billboard Modern Rock Chart, their final appearance on that survey. Soup became Blind Melon’s last stand (apart from a collection of previously unreleased material called Nico), but if you’re gonna have a last stand may as well make it a count, and they did that without question. Soup has to be near the very top of any list of the most under appreciated rock albums of the 1990s.
74. Suzanne Vega – “In Liverpool” (1992)
With her fourth album 99.9F, Suzanne Vega took a sharp turn from her usual folk-influenced acoustic-rock by adding electronic elements and textures. The change in direction worked, and 99.9F became the second most successful in her career behind only the landmark Solitude Standing.
Not all of the songs got the digital makeover, however, and one of the holdouts is “In Liverpool”, a gothic waltz with beautifully evocative imagery. The track begins with a treated piano, which is in keeping with the album’s adventurous sonic spirit. A rumble of bass and a few guitar strums keep the verses taut until the chorus emerges with a whole band arrangement. The shifting dynamics between verse and chorus are one of the song’s defining characteristics. “In Liverpool” sounds more in line with Vega’s past work, but the spirit of experimentation that infuses 99.9F is still there.
“In Liverpool’s” lyrics are opaque and poetic. They seem to be about a woman who allows herself to daydream about her surroundings as a mechanism to forget a painful separation. Vega’s prowess as a composer and lyricist of the highest caliber is once again on full and glorious display here. “In Liverpool” is a piece that makes you want to know more — it’s like the first chapter of a dark book of secrets that you want to unravel but can’t. Her prior album was Book of Dreams, and perhaps 99.9F is more a Book of Nightmares, flames licking at the cover and the spine, urging you on to find answers before your fingers get singed.
73. The Stone Roses – “Love Spreads” (1994)
Although the Stone Roses are often considered a 1990s band, their classic debut album and many of its associated singles hit in the late 1980s. For the 1990s we have to look to their 1994 album Second Coming and its primary single, the classic-rock behemoth “Love Spreads”. It ended up being their biggest hit ever, reaching #2 in the UK and also hitting the runner-up spot on the Billboard Modern Rock Chart, the band’s highest ever placement on that survey.
“Love Spreads” is built on massive swirls of bluesy guitar, a fluid psychedelic groove, and vocals buried well in the mix like the Stones’ “Bitch” or Bowie’s “Watch that Man”. It’s a provocative rock and roll strut that loses none of the considerable swagger of the band’s earlier singles.
At the 4:16 mark comes a long fade-in of the repetitious chorus, which essentially becomes a mantra, starting softly and then swelling in power and intensity with each pass, as the guitars build and the multi-tracked vocals become more complex. The main verse repeats: “Let me put you in the picture / Let me show you what I mean / The Messiah is my sister / Ain’t no king, man, she’s my queen”. A long guitar-jam ends with one last repetition of the leading hook. It’s a killer tune, which is what rock and roll is all about.
If the Stone Roses explored 1960s style pop with earlier singles, here they have moved onto the darker war-torn late 1960s/early 1970s. It’s a Stones meets Doors meets Credence Clearwater Revival vibe, all with a very European sound and the cocksure attitude for which the Stone Roses have always been known.
72. Liz Phair – “Supernova” (1994)
Liz Phair became a critical darling following the release of her stunning 1993 two-LP debut, Exile in Guyville. Low-fi, raw, brutally honest and sometimes fragile, Phair’s debut may have enchanted critics but it didn’t exactly fly off the shelves. There was considerable record company pressure for Phair to translate her critical plaudits into moving units.
As a result, her next album Whip-Smart is more focused power-pop with grit and spirit. She proves quite adept at writing some pretty catchy tunes. Liz Phair has the versatility to record piercing acoustic confessionals like “Flower” and then pivot neatly to supercharged melodic pop/rock like “Supernova”, the song chosen to be the all-important first single.
It proved an excellent choice, and an obvious one — “Supernova” is by far the most obviously commercial tune on Whip-Smar. Phair’s fiery vocals rest on a foundation laid by a galloping beat and bassline with a jolt of guitar to amp up the start of each measure. The song is a very upbeat appreciation of a lover, in colorful and typically frank language: “You walk in clouds of glitter and the sun reflects your eyes / and every time the wind blows, I can smell you in the sky / your kisses are as wicked as an F-16 / and you fuck like a volcano, and you’re everything to me.”
That’s pretty hot. Just watch where you shoot that lava, right? It burns!! “Supernova” reached #6 on the Billboard Modern Rock Chart, also landing Phair a Grammy nomination.
71. Cocteau Twins – “Iceblink Luck” (1990)
“Iceblink Luck” is the first single from the legendary Scottish purveyors of otherworldly beauty Cocteau Twins’ sixth album Heaven or Las Vegas. The song is Elizabeth Fraser’s joyful expression of peace and bliss. “Iceblink Luck” was written about her newborn daughter Lucy Belle, and as a musical expression of elation it doesn’t get more exuberant.
She opens the song unable to contain her grin. “I’m seemin’ to be a little alive / I’m happy again, caught, caught in time / expose the daughter of yourself well / Me, I think that you’re in her heart.” Strangely, while Fraser was marveling over motherhood, guitarist Robin Guthrie was battling addiction, and he became much less influential in the overall scheme of the band’s sound. Bassist Simon Raymonde stepped up to fill the slack. The result is a different version of the Cocteau Twins, still mystical faerie music but with a little more Earthly foundation. They were getting positively commercial, but no less beguiling.
“Iceblink Luck” features one of Fraser’s more intelligible vocals and most focused delivery. There is a bright, melodic guitar riff and a trippy rhythm under a prominent bassline and acoustic guitar. The primary hook in the chorus, with the guitar line weaving in and out of the melody, is classically beautiful. It’s a glistening folk singalong from a hidden frozen dimension. “Iceblink Luck” hit #4 on the Billboard Modern Rock Chart, second only to their classic “Carolyn’s Fingers” which reached #2 in 1988.