Defining a decade with a song: 1990s

[Hijinks]

There was a song called "Unbelievable" that was popular around 92 when I graduated from high school, it was our senior class theme song if I remember correctly. Can't remember who sang it, but it was a skater-ish bit of a head-banger with a pop twist. Looked around a lyrics site but couldn't find the band that did it, and unfortunately that's a common word and I can't find it in a search *shrug*

 

[The Shaman]

"Unbelievable" is by EMF.

 

[Mr. Kaze]

Information Socieity's "Where Would I Be Without IBM" might be a bit too literal, so perhaps "Peace And Love, Inc." would be a better choice.

While Nirvana made a dent in the cultural landscape, it was pretty well ironed out by 1997.

Edit: Just realized that I'd forgotten about TISM's "Greg! The Stop Sign!" from their Machiavelli and the Four Seasons album. "Greg!..." was huge in Australia with super-smooth vocals and chipper lyrics like


The guy who slagged the football team
Those yogs were not for him
He turns into a real estate agent
who believes in discipline

The guy who's first to use cocaine,
the wild boy breaking free?
He'll end up in a court of law...
As a prosecuting QC.

Remember the school captain?
Success was matter of time!
I can hear it now as she screams
"Greg! You've missed the Stop sign!"


But that was just a great 90's album overall.

 

[Crothian]

Smells Like Tean Spirit

 

[Torm]

Smells Like Tean Spirit

Have you noticed that all three of your decade picks have revolved around things coming to an end? You're a very glass-is-half-empty sort of fellow, no?

The only reason people remember this song so strongly is because of Cobain's death. It didn't start or define a new sound, and despite being blessed by Al, it really wasn't all that great, either. :\

 

[reveal]

It didn't start or define a new sound, and despite being blessed by Al, it really wasn't all that great, either. :\

I disagree at a point to that statement. True, there were other bands in Seattle who had the same sound as Nirvana, Pearl Jam for one, but they were the first band with that sound that the masses loved. They started an entirely new chapter in US music history and they created an entirely new genre: grunge.

 

[Desdichado]

Nirvana's Teen Spirit just fits. I can't even THINK of a more apt song for the whole decade.

Yeah, as much as I both hate that song, and the whole hell-spawned movement that followed it, I think it really sums up the 90s.

No wonder I hated the 90s...

 

[Crothian]

Have you noticed that all three of your decade picks have revolved around things coming to an end? You're a very glass-is-half-empty sort of fellow, no?

The only reason people remember this song so strongly is because of Cobain's death. It didn't start or define a new sound, and despite being blessed by Al, it really wasn't all that great, either. :\

Things coming to an end is a big deal, and this song didn't bring something to an end as much as it helped usher in the grundge scene and killed happy radio. I agree it wasn't a good song, I thing the whole grundge scene was bad personally. But it was still defining.

 

[Torm]

They started an entirely new chapter in US music history and they created an entirely new genre: grunge.

I'll give them that they seem to have created the look, at any rate, but R.E.M., Neil Young, Soundgarden, and Jane's Addiction all had the sound well before Nirvana came along - and you can't tell me that at least the first two of those weren't popular.

 

[reveal]

I'll give them that they seem to have created the look, at any rate, but R.E.M., Neil Young, Soundgarden, and Jane's Addiction all had the sound well before Nirvana came along - and you can't tell me that at least the first two of those weren't popular.

Those musicians were definitely popular. But they weren't played 24 hours a day on the radio and on MTV after their first hit. I never liked Nirvana but they were everywhere back in the early 90's. Every time you turned on MTV or the radio you either saw/heard Nirvana or some wanna-be soundalike.