FEATURE:
This Is ’90 (Again?)
The Music That Kicked Off an Amazing Decade
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FOR the remainder of this month…
PHOTO CREDIT: @okcdz/Unsplash
I am going to spend my time looking at artists to watch, sounds that will define the 2020s and, like now, a look back at past decades. As it is the first year of the 2020s, lots of people will be interested to see the differences between now and the start of the 2010s. When a new decade is upon us, there is great excitement and intrigue. I do not think things will be radically different to last year and, indeed, most of the 2010s. It is clear the past year has been a challenging and dark one for many reasons – not least the result pf the General Election, worsening climate problems and anxiety. Now more than ever, I feel music needs to provide as much cheer and excitement as it does importance and relevance. The march of time and technology means it is impossible to replicate the feel and sensation of the 1990s. So many people and artists are inspired by the decade and, at a time when we need some guidance and spark, I think 2020 is a great time to look back at a terrific year: 1990 and everything that it put into the world. In political and social terms, there are major differences between 1989/1990 and 2019/2020. Even now, thirty years after the 1990s kicked off, we revere it. I know there were bigger years in the 1990s for music than 1990 itself – 1991, 1994 and 1998 suggest themselves right off the bat! I was six when the 1990s broke out, and I was just getting into music and understanding its power. The final years of the 1980s saw golden Hip-Hop mix alongside brilliance Pop, Dance and Alternative music.
Although the scene did shift between 1989 and 1990, just look at the albums and songs that started the 1990s! I will end with a playlist that, I feel, defines the start of music’s finest decade; perhaps giving inspiration to artists out there. I do think the 2020s could do well to nod back to the 1990s in a very bold way. I feel like Hip-Hop has lost a lot of its fun; Dance music is more underground than it was and Pop music is more repetitive, simple and darker. The year 2000 definitely had its fair share of great Dance artists and anthems; I feel the past decade or so has lost a lot of its smile and motivation – perhaps justly considering the state of the world and what we have to face this decade. 1990 was a bold and varied year that saw Alternative classics like Sonic Youth’s Goo sit alongside brilliant rich albums like Everything But the Girl’s The Language of Life and The Sundays’ Reading, Writing, and Arithmetic. For those who wanted some quality Art Rock, there was the brilliant Wrong Way Up from Brian Eno & John Cale; Sinéad O'Connor’s I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got is an absolute classic whilst Cocteau Twins’ Heaven or Las Vegas is as beautiful as any album gets! Whilst there were some great artistic and experimental albums in 1990, I associate the year with some truly colourful and captivating Dance and Pop.
Consider the epic World Clique by Deee-Lite. In terns of albums that could kick-start something magical in 2020, I think World Clique should be up there! Singles like Groove Is in the Heart and classics and, look around, and there is nothing like Deee-Lite around – many people would love a Deee-Lite 2.0! World Party’s Goodbye Jumbo offered sumptuous melodies and wonderful lyrics; stunning Pop craft that recalls The Beatles. Pop was well represented in 1990. Madonna, arguably at the peak of her powers, was one year on from her Like a Prayer album. She appeared in Dick Tracy and, whilst the film’s soundtrack drew mixed reaction, few can fault its standout cut: the classic, biblical Vogue. The song does not really fit the vibe of the film, and it seems like this out-of-the-blue song that, once heard, will never be forgotten. A slice of gold from the I'm Breathless: Music from and Inspired by the Film Dick Tracy album, we also received Madonna’s greatest hits, The Immaculate Collection, at the end of the year. Although The La's’ There She Goes was firs released in 1988, the song was reissued in 1990; The La's’ eponymous album was released the same year – the only album the band ever brought out. Although the album was celebrated by fans and critics, it was the result of nearly three years in the studio with a string of acclaimed producers. Each attempted to capture the sound sought by Lee Mavers, the lead singer and principal songwriter of the band. Because of Mavers' exacting expectations, the sound eluded each of the producers, and the album eventually released was immediately disowned by the band.
Just look at the variety of singles that were popular in 1990, and one cannot help but be blown away! Although a lot of the singles in that link were recorded or released in 1989, I am going to include some in my playlist because they were in the charts in 1990. In 1990, we had Madchester anthems like The Charlatans’ The Only One I Know nestling alongside the novelty Pop of Betty Boo’s Where Are You Baby. As we can see from NME’s favourite songs of 1990 there were these big songs like Primal Scream’s Loaded that lifted us and made us feel alive. I love the fact we had Pop from Europe and America inspiring us with great northern bands like The Charlatans and Happy Mondays bossing it - Happy Mondays’ Step On was released in 1990. Throw into the mix The Shamen’s Move Any Mountain; I've Been Thinking About You by Londonbeat and Beats International’s Dub Be Good to Me and it was quite a year for big tunes! With mainstream Pop and Madchester, there was also some fascinating stuff coming from Europe away from pure Dance. We all remember the bizarre yet brilliant Sadeness (Part I) by Engima – a song that managed to mix Gregorian vocals with French lyrics with style and genius! There was a lot going on in British music and there are those who argue a case the decade never got better than 1990’s wonder.
Back in 2014, Billboard made a case for 1990 being the apex of a sensational decade. They explained why its sheer variation meant there was something for everyone:
“All right stop, collaborate and listen. It’s hammer time. Strike a pose, rock the cradle, and then enjoy the silence. If you can hold on for one more day, you might just get a slice of that sweet cherry pie. But be careful. You can never trust a big butt and a smile.
These were the mixed messages brought to us by the pop giants of 1990, a year of glorious highs, shocking lows, and a whole lot of Wilson Phillips. It was the start of the decade that pushed “grunge” and “gangsta” into the lexicon, and yet, according to Billboard’s year-end Top 100, the biggest rock and rap songs were by Billy Idol and Vanilla Ice, respectively. That is, unless you count Roxette’s “It Must Have Been Love” and MC Skat Kat’s rap on Paula Abdul’s “Opposites Attract,” which dropped in November ’89 but didn’t hit No. 1 for a few months. Either way, the bold new era just around the corner hadn’t quite arrived.
That's what makes 1990 the greatest musical year of the greatest musical decade not called the ‘60s or the ‘80s. It didn't bring truckloads of transcendent albums, like '91 or '94, nor did it delight with the mindless teen-pop and nu-metal pleasures of '98 or '99. It was a great big neon-colored New Jack mess, and before the ‘90s could really get swinging, the last vestiges of the ‘80s had to be swept from the room. It was such a scary and exciting time that we needed two songs called "Hold On."
Speaking of holding on, Wilson Phillips and En Vogue weren’t the only ones. Pop’s old guard was hanging tough but showing signs of wear. Phil Collins and Billy Joel loomed large with late-‘89 holdovers about being old white men, and taken together, their chart-topping singles left 30- and 40-somethings feeling simultaneously guilty about their wealth ("Another Day In Paradise") and blameless in instigating the world’s problems ("We Didn't Start the Fire"). Aging boomers must have been even more confused than teenagers trying to decide if Jane Child's ear-to-nose chain was a better look than Sinead O'Connor's shaved head.
Amid all the frivolity, there was Fear of a Black Planet, Public Enemy's multi-front sonic war against everything wicked, and Depeche Mode's dark and sensual Violator. If 1990 had only given us these two albums, it would be worth building a time machine to revisit. Produced by the aptly named Bomb Squad, Black Planet is 40 years of pop music and four centuries of complex racial politics packed into aural shotgun shells and blasted into the brain at point-blank range.
This decade will be a great one, but it is this year that is especially interesting. I know we cannot replicate 1990 – which is a shame! -, yet artists can learn a lot from a sensational year. We do not have the same giddy Pop and Dance. I feel a dose of fun and 1990 back in music would add necessary spark and, maybe, inspire a fresh wave of unifying and hugely memorable Pop and Dance – the sort that boasts big choruses and memorable hooks! Music is great now, but I am hearing so much anger and darkness, without the fun to balance it out. There are some enjoyable and light songs here and there, but few actually hit you that hard or stick in the memory. The 2010s started off with some staggering albums and songs, but I feel the start of the 2020s could go even further. It is not regressive looking back at 1990: it is a decade that we all adore, so one would be foolish if they ignored it truly outstanding start. There were some bad songs and moments in 1990, but few decades have started as well. The 2020s will be full of big messages and all manner of great new artists making their way through. Maybe this decade will see stronger years than this one, but I think 2020 is going to be the most important. The scene is missing something that takes it from the excellent to the simply mesmeric. I feel, as we look ahead, a glance back would be wise. 1990 gave us so much treasure and I feel music can learn a lot and borrow from that year…
THIRTY years on.