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). Courtesy of the artists hide caption
So far, 2013 has been a huge year for bands that make us think of the 1990s. My Bloody Valentine kicked things off with its first new album in more than 20 years. We've heard new music from Boards Of Canada and Pixies. Later this summer, Sebadoh is due to release its first new album in 14 years, and we'll hear new music from Superchunk, The Dismemberment Plan and many more '90s groups as well. It seemed like the perfect time to revisit an episode of All Songs Considered about the return of the '90s that we originally ran in early 2011. We had no clue at the time how serious the '90s revival would get.
Ann Powers joins co-hosts Bob Boilen and Robin Hilton, along with Stephen Thompson, to celebrate the '90s at their best, worst and weirdest, from the birth of grunge to the commercial rise of hip-hop, a batch of gutsy female songwriters and a few goofy one-hit wonders we'd mostly forgotten about, until now.
The '90s Are Back, Or Whatever...
Smells Like Teen Spirit
- from
- by
Grace
- from Grace
- by Jeff Buckley
No Surprises
- from OK Computer
- by Radiohead
Doo Wop (That Thing)
- from Miseducation of Lauryn Hill
- by Lauryn Hill
Holland, 1945
- from In the Aeroplane Over the Sea
- by Neutral Milk Hotel
Shine
- from Hints Allegations and Things Left Unsaid
- by Collective Soul
Black Hole Sun
- from Superunknown
- by Soundgarden
Long Snake Moan
- from To Bring You My Love
- by PJ Harvey
Hit 'Em Wit da Hee
- from Miss E...So Addictive/Da Real World/Supa Dupa Fly
- by Missy Misdemeanor Elliott
Mustt Mustt (Lost in His Work)
- from Mustt Mustt
- by Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan
Steal My Sunshine
- from You Can't Stop the Bum Rush
- by LEN
1979
- from Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness
- by The Smashing Pumpkins
Car Wheels on a Gravel Road
- from Car Wheels on a Gravel Road
- by Lucinda Williams
Soul and Fire
- from Bubble & Scrape
- by Sebadoh
Song 2
- from Blur
- by Blur
Enter Sandman
- from Metallica
- by Metallica
Brimful of Asha
- from Brimful of Asha
- by Cornershop
The Fixer
- from Backspacer
- by Pearl Jam
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
- from Loveless
- by My Bloody Valentine
Delia's Gone
- from American Recordings
- by Johnny Cash
Loser
- from Mellow Gold
- by Beck