The Top 70 Modern Rock Tracks of 1994-95 (Part 1)
Let it never be said I know when to leave well enough alone...
So, I learned some things in writing up the senior year version of this: You cannot escape history. There is no way that one can write this up over two decades hence and only reflect what one remembered from that era. Those memories are there, but they share space with everything that has happened between then and now. Because senior year can be so “flashbulb memories,” there were more concrete connections, but when I started looking over this list, I decided that I would make two changes.
1). Not every song gets a write-up. If I don’t have a lot to say about it, it’ll just be there.
2). I am definitely putting some songs in here that I do not have as much memory of from 1994-95 as I do in the intervening years.
In the end, the result of this is hopefully another interesting playlist.
And now, to remind us of what got me on this nostalgia kick in the first place, arguably the best of the 1990s videos that The Hood Internet made, ladies and gentlemen, it was all a dream, 1994.
And, now, as a quick reminder, here’s the list of Modern Rock #1s from this “year.”
70). "I'll Be There for You - Theme From Friends" by The Rembrandts (from L.P., released May 1995) (peaked at #23 on 6/24/1995)
I knew this would be in here; I remember it getting airplay in that summer on modern rock-oriented stations (I have a very distinct memory of hearing it at the book store at Michigan State while I was there for Boys State.) And I was ready to go on a big thing about it, but truth be told, there is a long history of songs charting after becoming a TV theme song. It ended up topping the Billboard Hot 100 Airplay chart in the summer of 1995 and had a “fun” video, so there we go. We just got started, and it’s like we’re stuck in second gear.
69). "Can't Cry Anymore" by Sheryl Crow (from Tuesday Night Music Club, released August 1993) (peaked at #38 on 7/22/1995)
The tail end of Tuesday Night Music Club’s run that she got six singles out of it is a heck of a thing.
68). "Rock 'n' Roll Lifestyle" by Cake (from Motorcade of Generosity, released February 1994) (peaked at #31 on 5/20/1995)
This one might be on here just to mention that the B-side was a cover of “Jolene.”
67). "Down By the Water" by PJ Harvey (from To Bring You My Love, released February 1995) (peaked at #2 on 3/25/1995)
I know PJ Harvey is good, important, and very influential. This song has always creeped me out, and I can’t get past it.
66). "Cover Me" by Candlebox (from Candlebox, released July 1993) (peaked at #23 on 12/10/1994)
I know it’s not, but it felt very much like this song was the last gasp of the first wave of grunge when generating this list. Again, not accurate, just a feeling.
64). "Violet" by Hole (from Live Through This, released April 1994) (peaked at #29 on 4/22/1995)
64). "Little Things" by Bush (from Sixteen Stone, released December 1994) (peaked at #4 on 6/10/1995)
It is remarkable to realize that Sixteen Stone had five top-five modern rock singles. It was more remarkable to me that they had an additional three after that!
63). "Not for You" by Pearl Jam (from Vitalogy, released November 1994) (peaked at #38 on 4/8/1995)
There’s always something fascinating to me about how Eddie Vedder loves to talk to the media about how much Eddie Vedder hated talking to the media.
62). "You Oughta Know" by Alanis Morissette (from Jagged Little Pill, released June 1995) (peaked at #1 on 7/22/1995)
This song is a classic victim of overplay. That is not the song’s fault.
61). "I Got A Girl" by Tripping Daisy (from I Am An Elastic Firecracker, released June 1995) (peaked at #6 on 5/27/1995)
Did this song get in here to mention that most of the members of Tripping Daisy would go on to found The Polyphonic Spree? Yes.
60). "Tomorrow" by Silverchair (from Frogstomp, released March 1995) (peaked at #1 on 9/2/1995)
They were 15 years old when they made this! That is really impressive to think back on.
59). "Gotta Get Away" by The Offspring (from Smash, released April 1994) (peaked at #6 on 1/14/1995)
It is remarkable to consider that this song is considered a moderate failure because it only reached #6. Context is king.
58). "Mockingbird Girl" by The Magnificent Bastards (from Tank Girl Soundtrack, released March 1995) (peaked at #12 on 5/20/1995)
One of two songs on the list from the Tank Girl soundtrack and one of two songs from Scott Weiland’s very temporary “Magnificent Bastards” side project.
57). "Everything Zen" by Bush (from Sixteen Stone, released December 1994) (peaked at #2 on 3/4/1995)
So really, how many asshole brothers live in Los Angeles? Impossible to tell.
56). "She Don't Use Jelly" by The Flaming Lips (from Transmissions From the Satellite Heart, released June 1993) (peaked at #9 on 1/21/1995)
Idle Thought: If she don’t use nothing you buy at the store, where, in fact, is she buying the tangerines?
55). "Bright Yellow Gun" by Throwing Muses (from University, released January 1995) (peaked at #20 on 3/4/1995)
Hey, I know have the second part of a “bands from Rhode Island” bonus.
54). "Run-Around" by Blues Traveler (from Four, released September 1994) (peaked at #14 on 5/20/1995)
I love the story John Popper tells on an interstitial on SiriusXM PopRocks about when “Run-Around” became a hit, the crowds at their shows became two camps: Young kids there just to hear “Run-Around” and old hippies annoyed that they had to hear “Run-Around.”
53). "The Day I Tried to Live" by Soundgarden (from Superunknown, released March 1994) (peaked at #25 on 4/15/1995)
This single took nearly a year to get going, but again, let me thank Soundgarden for making an album with at least five great songs on it in an era where my rule was you at least needed three to justify buying the CD.
52). "Need You Around" by Smoking Popes (from Born to Quit, released July 1995) (peaked at #35 on 7/15/1995)
I don’t love how the term “novelty” is used in music, as it becomes almost derisive and dismissive. “Need You Around” is absolutely novel in that it combines modern rock instrumentation and crooning vocals. Yet, were it not for the Clueless soundtrack, we likely would not remember it at all.
51). "Comedown" by Bush (from Sixteen Stone, released December 1994) (peaked at #1 on 9/23/1995)
At the start of a theme, I forgot that both this song and “Machinehead” showed up in the movie Fear.
50). "J.A.R. (Jason Andrew Relva)" by Green Day (from Angus: Music from the Motion Picture, released August 1995) (peaked at #1 on 8/26/1995)
This song presents an interesting thought experiment.
1). Do I think if I said, “Name the four Billboard Modern Rock Hits that Green Day had in the 1990s.” do we think that even 10% of trivia-minded folks could go 4-for-4?
2). If anyone does remember this song, do they remember what movie it came from?
49). "Rock 'n' Roll Star" by Oasis (from Definitely Maybe, released August 1994) (peaked at #36 on 6/10/1995)
Idle thought: Which word do you think the Gallaghers love more: “sunshine” or “maybe”?
48). "She" by Green Day (from Dookie, released February 1994) (peaked at #5 on 5/20/1995)
Again, five great songs on Dookie helps it a lot.
47). "Army of Me" by Björk (from Post, released June 1995) (peaked at #21 on 4/29/1995)
“[The video] features [Björk] driving an enormous vehicle through a city, fighting a gorilla dentist to get back a diamond he took from her mouth, and bombing a museum with dynamite to free a boy.” If you had to guess who directed the video, you’d probably guess Michel Gondry, even if you didn’t know better, right?
46). "Spin the Black Circle" by Pearl Jam (from Vitalogy, released November 1994) (peaked at #11 on 11/19/1994)
I always liked that someone realized that “spin the black circle” was a perfectly subtle hockey joke and turned this into an arena rock regular.
45). "Landslide" by The Smashing Pumpkins (from Pisces Iscariot, released October 1994) (peaked at #3 on 11/19/1994)
The interstitial between Siamese Dream and Mellon Collie, I now respect how smart it was to release a cover of a popular song as a single to try and get people to buy your rarities album.
44). "About A Girl - Live Version" by Nirvana (from MTV Unplugged In New York, released November 1994) (peaked at #1 on 12/10/1994)
I was struck in reading up that Butch Vig, who produced Nevermind, thought that “About a Girl” reminded listeners that Kurt Cobain had Beatle-esque pop sensibilities alongside his punk side.
43). "Zombie" by the cranberries (from No Need to Argue, released October 1994) (peaked at #1 on 10/29/1994)
It’s remarkable to consider how many major songs entered the pop music mainstream that stems from artist’s reflecting on The Troubles. This is where I also maintain it is remarkable how much of Dolores O'Riordan’s accent shows up in her singing, in a way that it does not for other artists.
42). "Bang and Blame" by R.E.M. (from Monster, released September 1994) (peaked at #1 on 12/17/1994)
R.E.M.’s final Modern Rock #1, it is telling, to me, that the band left it off their WB-era Greatest Hits albums. It’s a fine song, but it is a reminder of why Monster is considered the most resold CD in history (it’s anecdotal because of the orange cover, but still…)
41). "What Would You Say?" by Dave Matthews Band (from Under the Table and Dreaming, released September 1994) (peaked at #11 on 4/15/1995)
A minor upset in that this is the highest-ranking song featuring John Popper from this year, but here we are.
40). "Lightning Crashes" by Live (from Throwing Copper, released April 1994) (peaked at #1 on 2/25/1995)
"Do you realize that there was a #1 hit song on the Modern Rock chart that features the word ‘placenta’?" Yep.
39). "December" by Collective Soul (from Collective Soul, released March 1995) (peaked at #2 on 6/10/1995)
So, I always wondered why a song called “December” came out in March as a single. Because it’s not about December, it’s about the fraying relationship with the band’s manager because they had a hit single before they had a band. That’s a remarkable prism to consider.
38). "Stutter" by Elastica (from Elastica, released March 1995) (peaked at #10 on 8/12/1995)
Yeah, gonna freely admit that I did not fully understand that this song was about “occasional drunken male impotence” when I was 16 years old. I’ll cop to that.
37). "Wonderful" by Adam Ant (from Wonderful, released March 1995) (peaked at #7 on 5/6/1995)
There were so many remarkable little 1980s artists with comeback songs during the decade. Duran Duran’s “Ordinary World” and “Come Undone” in 1993 spring to mind. But “Wonderful” is a remarkably charming pop song that somehow does not fit the moment and yet, perfectly does.
36). "The Man Who Sold the World (unplugged)" by Nirvana (from MTV Unplugged In New York, released November 1994) (peaked at #6 on 3/4/1995)
I did not realize at the time how important it was that Nirvana was covering a legendary Bowie song. I do realize it now.
35). "Buddy Holly" by Weezer (from Weezer, released May 1994) (peaked at #2 on 12/17/1994)
The video. The video that ended up coming with Windows 95, which apparently rocket sales of the Blue Album! The video that made me realize Happy Days has a blue and white Purdue pennant on the wall at Arnold’s? The video that made me realize you have a song from the 90s in a show from the 70s, which was set in the 50s. OK, I need to stop thinking about this.
34). "Molly (Sixteen Candles)" by Sponge (from Rotting Pinata, released August 1994) (peaked at #3 on 7/15/1995)
Speaking of name-checking actresses from a previous era…
33). "Say It Ain't So" by Weezer (from Weezer, released May 1994) (peaked at #7 on 8/12/1995)
I have just learned that “this bottle of Stephen’s” is not a brand name but rather the name of Rivers Cuomo’s stepfather.
32). "Better Than Nothing" by Jennifer Trynin (from Cockamamie, released June 1995) (peaked at #15 on 8/15/1995)
No song on this list jumped more from the initial rankings to final rankings than this one. I am vexed by my inability to place where I know it from. It wasn’t in a movie, it wasn’t on a TV show, it was just on the radio, and it’s great—also, apparently great, Trynin’s book about being the next big thing until you aren’t.
31). "Better Man" by Pearl Jam (from Vitalogy, released November 1994) (peaked at #2 on 1/21/1995)
In other things that fascinate me about Eddie Vedder, he had sat with this song for so long in his head (he wrote it when he was 18), he refused to believe that it could be a hit. It took the convincing of dozens of people for Pearl Jam to even put it on Vitalogy, let alone release it as a single.
30). "All Over You" by Live (from Throwing Copper, released April 1994) (peaked at #4 on 7/1/1995)
And now for the dumbest complaint on this list: The red interior plastic of Throwing Copper’s CD case was more brittle than standard clear plastic and thus more readily broke in the area where the little prongs held the CD in place. Really annoying materials science bummer.
29). "Ode to My Family" by the cranberries (from No Need to Argue, released October 1994) (peaked at #11 on 1/28/1995)
This song's softness and simple sweetness belie the heaviness of the lyrics and the challenges O'Riordan faced growing up. It’s remarkable in that way.
28). "Sour Times" by Portishead (from Dummy, released August 1994) (peaked at #5 on 2/11/1995)
I will say “Sour Times” remains undefeated in my “I need one song as an exemplar of a sub-genre of 90s music that I know I am right about.” Thank you, Portishead, for the trip-hop.
27). "Fake Plastic Trees" by Radiohead (from The Bends, released March 1995) (peaked at #11 on 6/3/1995)
Please let the next Ant-Man movie have Paul Rudd sitting around listening to this track and have Cassie come in and reject it as “the maudlin music of the university station.”
26). "Let Her Cry" by Hootie & the Blowfish (from Cracked Rear View, released July 1994) (peaked at #34 on 5/27/1995)
And “but Stipe’s not far behind” in a song that came from listening to “She Talks to Angels” by the Black Crowes and wanting to write a Bonnie Raitt song is a circuitous journey. But a good one.
We’ll be back tomorrow with the Top 25. But I am not going to make you wait for the playlist this time; enjoy it now, get a sneak preview.