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The '90s Are Back, Or Whatever...
Pearl Jam (top left), Missy Elliott (top right), the cover of Nirvana's Nevermind (bottom right), PJ Harvey (bottom left), Jeff Mangum of Neutral Milk Hotel (center).
At this point, '80s nostalgia is so 10 years ago. This week, All Songs Considered takes a long, hard and — we stress — non-exhaustive look at what came next. That means the birth of grunge, the commercial rise of hip-hop, a batch of ballsy female songwriters and a few goofy one-hit wonders we'd mostly forgotten about, until now.
This week's show also features the newest addition to the NPR Music team: music critic Ann Powers. She joins us after a stint as the chief pop critic at The Los Angeles Times, and after many years as a contributing writer to The New York Times and many other publications. Ann Powers joins Bob Boilen, Robin Hilton and Stephen Thompson to celebrate the '90s at their best, worst and weirdest.
The '90s Are Back, Or Whatever...
Smells Like Teen Spirit
- Artist: Nirvana
- Album: Nevermind
Grace
- Artist: Jeff Buckley
- Album: Grace
No Surprises
- Artist: Radiohead
- Album: OK Computer
Doo Wop (That Thing)
- Artist: Lauryn Hill
- Album: Miseducation of Lauryn Hill
Holland, 1945
- Artist: Neutral Milk Hotel
- Album: In the Aeroplane Over the Sea
Shine
- Artist: Collective Soul
- Album: Hints Allegations and Things Left Unsaid
Black Hole Sun
- Artist: Soundgarden
- Album: Superunknown
Long Snake Moan
- Artist: PJ Harvey
- Album: To Bring You My Love
Hit 'Em Wit da Hee
- Artist: Missy Misdemeanor Elliott
- Album: Miss E...So Addictive/Da Real World/Supa Dupa Fly
Mustt Mustt (Lost in His Work)
- Artist: Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan
- Album: Mustt Mustt
Steal My Sunshine
- Artist: LEN
- Album: You Can't Stop the Bum Rush
1979
- Artist: The Smashing Pumpkins
- Album: Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness
Car Wheels on a Gravel Road
- Artist: Lucinda Williams
- Album: Car Wheels on a Gravel Road
Soul and Fire
- Artist: Sebadoh
- Album: Bubble & Scrape
Song 2
- Artist: Blur
- Album: Blur
Enter Sandman
- Artist: Metallica
- Album: Metallica
Brimful of Asha
- Artist: Cornershop
- Album: Brimful of Asha
The Fixer
- Artist: Pearl Jam
- Album: Backspacer
Note: Ann Powers chose this song to play to show how Pearl Jam is still relevant 20 years after the band started. "The Fixer" is from the group's 2009 album, Backspacer.
When You Sleep
- Artist: My Bloody Valentine
- Album: Loveless
Delia's Gone
- Artist: Johnny Cash
- Album: American Recordings
Purchase Featured Music
- "Delia's Gone"
- Album: American Recordings
- Artist: Johnny Cash
- Label: American
Loser
- Artist: Beck
- Album: Mellow Gold
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