Under-Appreciated Songs of the 1990s

Lush appeared in my newsfeed this morning and I just thought, “Man, people don’t know this band like they should.”  So, I made a (very) incomplete list of great songs that people may have forgotten about from the 90s.  I just let Apple Music’s suggestions and my pinball machine of a brain take me wherever they wanted to.

“Ladykillers” - Lush

One of the countless songs I first encountered through 120 Minutes or Alternative Nation on MTV.  This British shoegaze/dream pop band didn’t break much in the States, but this song is impossible to get out of your head once it’s in it.

“Ladyfingers” - Luscious Jackson

“Naked Eye” is listed above “Ladyfingers” as their most popular song on Apple Music, but I always loved this song.  Great chorus and Jill Cunniff’s vocals are on point.

“Feed the Tree” - Belly

Definitely a well known song in the 90s, but they don’t seem to get mentioned these days when people talk about alternative rock bands of the time.

“Polyester Bride” - Liz Phair

Released after her breakout debut record Exile in Guyville and her biggest hit Whip-Smart, but before her foray into “pop” music with the accompanying makeover, Liz Phair, this record kind of gets overlooked and it’s really a shame,  

“Cut Your Hair” - Pavement

Just a totally under-rated band.  This song had some airplay on the aforementioned MTV shows, but I don’t remember it being on the radio, which has led to it only reappearing when people watch movies in which it appears.  

“Web in Front” - Archers of Loaf

I discovered this song from the soundtrack to Mallrats, which is fantastic by the way.  90s alternative bands could write hooks for days and the Archers are a great example.

“Natural One” - The Folk Implosion

Another soundtrack discovery… this used to be a thing if you’re younger and reading this.  You’d find great songs on soundtracks, sometimes they only appeared there.  This one is from Larry Clark’s Kids.  A great dark vibe that fit the movie and sonically ahead of its time.  

“Sometimes Always” - The Jesus and Mary Chain

People look back on their 80s records, but they didn’t make a bad album and this duet with Hope Sandoval of Mazzy Star is a real gem.

“Movin’ on Up” - Primal Scream

Channeling the early 70s Stones and mixing it with the feeling of British club music and the drugs of the time, they were really one of the first bands to mix rock and dance music in a way that wasn’t just rock with a drum machine or dance music with a guitar.  

“I’m Free” - Soup Dragons

Kids, listen to this song and you will know what the early 90s felt like.

“Universal Heart-Beat” - Juliana Hatfield

Juliana’s greatest affliction, if you can call it that, is how prolific she is.  Like her, I too am more concerned with making art than I am whether or not I’m over-saturating the market.  An incredible songwriter, and this is one of her biggest hits, but I felt like it was underappreciated back then, and it’s even more so now.  

“Awake” - Letters to Cleo

I didn’t care much for “Here and Now” when I heard it, but when I first heard this song, I totally fell in love with Kay Hanley through her voice.  Wholesale Meats and Fish and 1997’s Go! are both chock full of melodic bangers.  

“Retarded” - The Afghan Whigs

The first track on their debut album, they had bigger songs in the decade and better albums, most notably, Gentleman, but this is the introduction to who the Whigs are and there isn’t a better song to start with.  They would refine their sound and go deeper into the darkness over time, but this is the perfect example of a band staying true to their roots and letting the audience find them.

“Fazer” - Quicksand

Emerging from Gorilla Biscuits, along with CIV, Quicksand is technically listed as post-hardcore, but Walt is not straying far from his roots.  Slicker production and the hooks are a little more upfront, but if you ask me, Quicksand is just one of the best hardcore bands ever.

“Diane” - Material Issue

A band and songwriter who ended too soon, Chicago’s Material Issue just wrote great pop song after great pop song.  The 90s were a perfect time for guitar pop, yet Jim and the guys just got lost in the shuffle somehow.