Five 1990s songs that were ahead of their time
No rock star knew what was about to hit them the minute that the 1990s began. As much as people might have thought that MTV would continue to be its over-the-top self as the ball dropped on New Year’s Eve 1989, there was already something new festering underneath the surface waiting to break loose. And once the 1990s were officially underway with the rise of everything from grunge to nu-metal, it took bands like Failure to point the way forward for where rock music should go.
While the biggest names of the 1990s were successful for a damn good reason, there were also plenty of artists looking to push the envelope in terms of what could be done with the medium. Sometimes it was a little bit grotesque, or it left people clueless as to what they meant, but the more that they listened to them, the more they began to appreciate what the tunes were doing to them every time they listened to them.
So, naturally, artists like this would be considered the groundbreaking artists of their time and celebrated alongside the likes of Nirvana, right? Not quite. As much as some of them were instrumental in bringing certain sounds together, it took a little while for the rest of the world to catch on, usually taking the crux of what these artists did and turning it into new genres altogether or pushing themselves into new territories that didn’t even have proper names yet.
It might sting knowing that some of the songs here didn’t get the proper accolades they deserved, but not everything is meant to be at the top of the pile. Most artists here still managed to have fantastic careers, but they will forever be known as the kind of bands whose time in the sun was far shorter than the music they made.
Five 1990s songs that were ahead of their time:
‘Seven’ – Sunny Day Real Estate
The entire origin of Sunny Day Real Estate always had a touch of tragedy to it. The band were always on the fringes of breaking up, and since Nate Mendel would eventually ditch the band to form Foo Fighters, it’s easy for them to get swept up as a footnote in the story of a much bigger group. But nothing will take Diary away from them, and ‘Seven’ was the first time people started to hear the second wave of emo coming into view.
While the genre had been alive ever since the days of Rites of Spring in the mid-1980s, hearing something this aggressive paired with beautiful vocals was the precursor for what would come later, both on the theatrical side in the 2000s and the earnest side with American Football. It might not have the same formula as people would co-opt later, but whenever Jeremy Enigk sings, you’re hearing the beginnings of what people like the Get-Up Kids would pioneer and what Dashboard Confessional would butcher.
‘Rosa Parks’ – Outkast
If you were even mildly into hip-hop in the 1990s, most of the biggest tracks were all about beef. The East and West Coast feuds were heating up and getting tragic results, and there was no reason to think that the fires would quell anytime soon. But whereas the scenes in New York and Los Angeles were among the finest in the world, Outkast showed the South could make some of the greatest music in hip-hop history when Aquemini dropped.
There had been artists like Arrested Development taking the rap game to new heights at the time, but Outkast were the first to make songs about keeping the good times rolling with some of the meanest grooves imaginable. Since their songs could turn into jam sessions, ‘Rosa Parks’ distilled what hip-hop could be when mixing melodic hooks, organic instrumentation and two of the most charismatic emcees ever under one roof. And now that everyone is flocking to Atlanta to see what the South has to say, they could justifiably thank songs like this for opening the door.
‘There She Goes’ – The La’s
The entire tale of Britpop feels like the perfect antidote for what grunge had done with the genre. Not everyone was ready to listen to Kurt Cobain drone on about his problems, and when Oasis came to the forefront, it was like everyone was listening to another rock and roll universe where there were no problems. But whereas most people saw an answer to grunge, the real ones know that the genre started before Cobain ever reached the big time.
Being partway between The Smiths and The Jam, The La’s took all the greatest aspects of British pop and channelled them into their debut album. Although not every song was the cleanest production in the world, ‘There She Goes’ was the epitome of what Britpop was going to sound like, from the jangling guitars inherited from Johnny Marr and the pop sensibilities that Noel Gallagher would eventually use for Oasis. Frontman Lee Mavers may have been the band’s worst enemy at times, but all his hard work was worth it to get this tune off the ground.
‘Roots Bloody Roots’ – Sepultura
By the time grunge hit, there was no reason to think that the biggest names in metal would survive. The hair-metal scene was being read its last rites when the Seattle scene blew up, but even giants like Metallica were facing major backlash and had to end up changing their image a few years down the road. But for Sepultura, there was no way they knew how to unleash their aggression other than playing the music they loved.
Although Roots as an album is steeped in groove-metal traditions in the vein of bands like Pantera, its quasi-title track has the blueprint for what nu-metal bands would be doing a few years later. Nothing about the track had to be focused on guitar solos, and when Max Cavalera let out that scream, his war cry struck a nerve in everyone from Korn to Limp Bizkit after the fact. It might not have been the healthiest contribution to metal, but it was certainly a game-changer the minute they got the circle pits moving.
‘Stuck on You’ – Failure
Failure was never meant to fit into a particular area when they started out. There were parts of their sound that leaned towards shoegaze, a few habits from the grunge scene, and even a handful of tracks that might actually have a chance at getting on the radio. But whereas a band like Hum took their dissonant noise into other directions, ‘Stuck on You’ was the first time a new band from that time managed to sound like the future.
From the minute those space-age keyboards came in, Ken Andrews had come up with the blueprint for what space-rock was going to sound like. Although the song itself is a traditional love song, his unconventional approach to harmony struck a nerve with everyone who heard it, whether it was Hayley Williams, who covered the tune later, or Maynard James Keenan of Tool. But considering the contribution Andrews has made to the production side of things, it’s not like he had a choice on whether he shaped the future. Because when the faces of the next generation come to you, you’re bound to twist things in different directions.
