Top 100 Songs of the 90s
After watching VH1's Greatest Songs of the 90s, I was inspired to start up a series of posts with my picks for the Top 100 Songs of the 1990s. I am going to skip out on the rap songs since I am not that big of an expert on that field of music. I am tempted to include some pop from the 90s but we will see if any of it actually makes the list. I am going to set out a few ground rules for the list and link back to this post for every entry.
Rules (subject to change):
1) An artist can only have up to a maximum of three songs on the list.
2) No rap, Hip-Hop, or R&B will be included on this list.
3) Only singles will be considered for this list.
4) I will accept suggestions but this list is in no way comprised of results from a poll or any form of voting process. It is strictly the opinion of Rizzo Music.
5) And obviously the song must have been released between Jan 1st 1990 and Dec 31st 1999.
Each song will get it's own post with a little history of the song (chart positions, band trivia, song trivia ect.) and the music video. I will constantly update this post with links to each post so that this article may be used to find any song on the list. With each article I will link back to this article so to provide easy access to each song. I hope to write about 1 article pertaining to this list a week so that should set a preliminary completion date for the list on August 20, 2009. It would be nice to finish the list before then but that seems like a realistic date for the amount of work required for this sort of project. Comments? Suggestions? I would love to hear them. Thanks!
Links (More Coming Soon)
Songs 100-91
Song #100: "Take A Picture" by Filter
Song #99: "Walking in Memphis" by Marc Cohn
Song #98: "How Bizarre" by OMC
Song #97: "Meet Virginia" by Train
Song #96: "Down" by 311
Song #95: "Found Out About You" by Gin Blossoms
Song #94: "Greedy Fly" by Bush
Song #93: "The Impression That I Get" by The Mighty Mighty Bosstones
Song #92: "Don't Go Away" by Oasis
Song #91: "Touch, Peel and Stand" by Days Of The New
Songs 90-81
Song #90: "Hanginaround" by Counting Crows
Song #89: "Man on the Moon" by R.E.M.
Songs 80-71
Songs 70-61
Songs 60-51
Songs 50-41
Songs 40-31
Songs 30-21
Songs 20-11
Songs 10-1
Be sure to sign up for email updates or subscribe with your favorite feed reader to stay up to date with all of the latest additions to the list. If you are having any trouble with this, feel free to email me at "web at rizzomusic dot com".
Collective Soul - "Afterwords" Album Review
Collective Soul's new album Afterwords was released on August 28th on Itunes and at Target. Unfortunately for me, my digital music store of choice, Rhapsody, does not have the new album. So I just decided to listen to the new album in it's entirety at CollectiveSoul.com where if you click on the boom box on the table in the group picture you can control each track. I was thinking of buying the album at Target but the listing on Target.com says that the album is 31.98 and will be released September 5th. You would think that if a great band like Collective Soul provided you with an exclusive opportunity to sell their new album that they wouldn't mess it up this badly. Hopefully they recognize their mistake soon and fix it before they lose out on potential sales.
This is the first album I have reviewed in a while but I decided that anything by Collective Soul is worth reviewing and at the very least giving a listen to. The album has eleven new tracks including their newest single, "Hollywood". The run time for the album comes in at just over 40 mins, a fairly short album with an average song time of about 3:40. This is their first studio album since Youth was released in November of 2004. The album kicks off with "New Vibration", a song with that classic Collective Soul sound, a solid guitar riff and Ed's signature voice. Should become a concert favorite similar to "Counting The Days" was on their last few tours. The next song is one of my all time favorites from Collective Soul, "What I Can Give You". It was one of those songs for me that I just had to listen to it over and over, and made it pretty tough for me to get through the whole album so that I could review it. It doesn't quite have the epic sound of "Run" or "The World I Know" but it comes pretty close.
It is tough to follow that up but the album continues with "Never Here Alone", a fun song with an upbeat tempo and a message of putting the pain of yesterday behind you and looking forward to the future. Next up is "Bearing Witness", also one of my favorites from this album. They slow it down a little bit and create a great love song that is not for everyone. The great thing about Collective Soul is that it is a band that draws in all kinds of fans with their broad range of appeal. They attract fans of hard rock with songs like "Where The River Flows" and "Heavy" and the more soft rock fans with "Needs" and "Run". The Fifth track, "All That I Know" was one of the songs that they played when I went to their last concert. It really is a great concert song and they had the whole crowd singing the "Do Do Do Doot Doot Doot Doot Doot Doot Doot Doot Doot Doot Doot Doot Do". It a memorable song that can put a smile on your face every time you hear it. "I Don't Need Anymore Friends" is the next track and a unique one at that. Front man Ed Roland takes a back seat on this track as lead guitarist Joel Kosche sings his heart out. The song itself isn't anything mind blowing but Joel does a good job taking on the lead vocal job. Placed in the middle of the album it gives the album as a whole a nice break and welcome change for any Collective Soul fan. The seventh track, "Good Morning After All", is the longest one on the album coming in at 4:23. This song about God and hope is a nice addition to the album.
Yes, you guessed it. "Hollywood", the eighth song on the album is next. It's one of those made for radio songs that they really did a good job on. It's catchy and sure to be a crowd-pleaser just as "Better Now" was for "Youth". With only three songs left on the album, they give you one more foot tapper, head nodding, song before the slow it down with the last two songs. "Persuasion Of You" has a nice chorus but probably my least favorite song on the album. It's not a song that I would skip over but I think that the verses just fall a little flat. They bounce back with "Georgia Girl", a song where everything just seems to fit perfectly together. They add the sweet sounds of the piano in this one and it reminds me of how well the violins fit into "Needs". They finish out the new album with "Adored", a great song to finish off a far from disappointing album. A beautifully written love song is the way that all good albums should end and this album did just that.
To be honest, I wasn't really sure what to expect from this album. I got a taste of it at their concert this summer but wasn't sure if Collective Soul still had it in them to put out another solid album. Clearly, I should not of doubted them as they made a great album that, if I ever make it out to Target, I will surely pick up. Undoubtedly, I had my favorites in this album but I have to give them a lot of credit for making 11 more than solid songs. I have a feeling that a lot of these songs will grow on me the more I listen to it. It is clear that Collective Soul has been on the decline as far as mainstream popularity but I hope that all fans of this band give this album a chance because I can't see how you could be disappointed by an impressive effort like this.
I give "Afterwords" four stars out of five and hope that you give it a listen. Thanks for reading the review and hope you liked it.
Collective Soul's New Album "Afterwords"
Collective Soul is still alive and kicking. One of the most popular rock bands of the 90s, they scored big hits with "Shine", "Heavy", "Run", "The World I Know", "Precious Declaration", and "December". They have recently released their new single, "Hollywood", which is now available for download on Itunes. They also revamped their website at www.collectivesoul.com where you can listen to the new single for free. The website is looking a lot more professional then their previous one and it is a lot easier to navigate.
They are currently on tour with Live and Counting Crows promoting their new single as well as their new album, "Afterwords", to be released this month on the 28th. At their shows they are giving out music download cards to the first 300 attendees for the opportunity to download "Hollywood" for free. I had a chance to hear Collective Soul in concert with Live this summer and they were outstanding. They played some of their new album and it sounded pretty good. I am a pretty big fan of "Hollywood" and hopefully it will get some play time on the radio this fall. As soon as more information on the rest of the album becomes available I will be sure to let you know.
SNL In The 90s: A Look At The Music
A great recap to a great decade. Saturday Night Live is a show that I really have enjoyed over the last decade or so. From Chris Farley to Chris Rock, this show was stacked with comedic geniuses. This television special had plenty of commentary from almost all the great cast members of the 1990s but it was lacking a little in the video clips. With such a long span to cover, it was hard to fit everything into a two hour special but I think that they did a good job. You really can't go wrong with Chris Farrley's Matt Foley skit or Will Farrell's Cowbell performance.
It was really fun to see all the old cast members come back to talk about the golden age of SNL that was the early 90s. The cool thing about it was that there were only a few missing from the commentary. The only one that I noticed that was missing was Adam Sandler. I, being such a avid 90s music fan, loved that fact that they included a bunch of past performances from so many good bands. The musical acts have always been an intricate part of Saturday Night Live, and it was nice to see them be included in the special.
I had to compile this list by memory because I didn't get a chance to tape it but I am pretty sure this is fairly accurate and almost complete. If you see any mistakes or additions that should be made, please feel free to leave a comment.
Musical Performances Featured on "SNL In The 90s":
Barenaked Ladies - "It's All Been Done"
Gin Blossoms - "Follow You Down"
Christina Aguliera - "What a Girl Wants"
Blues Traveler - "Hook"
Green Day - "When I Come Around"
R.E.M. - "Shiny Happy People"
Pearl Jam - "Not For You"
Dave Matthews Band - "So Much To Say"
Foo Fighters - "Learn to Fly"
Beck - "Sexx Laws"
Nirvana - "Smells Like Teen Spirit"
Sheryl Crow - "If It Makes You Happy"
Garbage - "When I Grow Up"
Oasis - "Don't Go Away"
I was really happy to see the lesser known bands like Blues Traveler get some air time as well as the more popular acts like DMB, Pearl Jam, R.E.M., and Nirvana. My favorite part of the whole show was the decision to have Oasis' "Don't Go Away" be the last act shown. This is one of my favorite songs from Oasis and from the 90s in general. A fitting end to a great decade of music and comedy. Thanks for listening and hope you check out some of these classic songs.
Summer Hits Playlists
The summer is just around the corner and I will be posting a lot more often, updating you with music news, reviews and more playlists. For this playlist I wanted to give you a little taste of summer as the school year is almost over and hopefully this cold April weather is going to heat up this week. These ten songs might seem very random but they are some of my favorite songs and either have something to do with summer or just remind me of the season. I would just like to point out one song in particular, "The Remedy (I Won't Worry)" by Jason Mraz. This song really has nothing to do with summer but I can remember listening to it constantly just a few summers ago and it seems that it is a song that might have been forgotten. I thought I would bring to light some classics like OMC and some songs you might not of heard of like "Just watch the Fireworks". Thanks for listening and I'm looking forward to a productive summer.
Top 10 Songs You Should Know
1. Steal my Sunshine - LEN
2. How Bizarre - OMC
3. Pinch Me - Barenaked Ladies
4. Run-Around - Blues Traveler
5. American Girls - Counting Crows
6. Summer Skin - Death Cab for Cutie
7. The Remedy (I Won't Worry) - Jason Mraz
8. Just Watch the Fireworks - Jimmy Eat World
9. Sunshine - Keane
10. Blinded (When I See You) - Third Eye Blind
Here's the link for the whole playlist: Summer Hits Playlist Part II
Looking for more playlists? We've got plenty.
Top 10 Songs You Should Know Playlist: Itunes Shuffle (Week 15)
Another Monday playlist for you to enjoy. I just realized how busy these next two weeks will be for me but I am going to try my best to keep up with new articles. For this playlist I thought it would be fun to get a good mix of 10 random songs selected by Itunes. I thought this sample would give a good representation of the kind of music I listen to everyday. I just hope that nothing embarrassing comes up. Thanks for listening and I hope you find something that you like.
Top 10 Songs You Should Know - Week 15 - March 5-11 2007
1. Natalie Imbruglia - Torn
2. Collective Soul - How Do You Love?
3. Red Hot Chili Peppers - This Velvet Glove
4. R.E.M. - The One I Love
5. Lifehouse - We'll Never Know
6. Keane - Broken Toy
7. Barenaked Ladies - Get in Line
8. A Perfect Circle - Judith
9. Dave Matthews Band - Angel
10. Goo Goo Dolls - Acoustic #3
Here's the link for the whole playlist: Itunes Shuffle Playlist #1
Looking for more playlists? We've got plenty.