50 Memorable Songs Of The Late 1990s That Apparently Only You Remember, Even Though They Were Totally On The Radio And Stuff

"All I Want," however, was unfortunately chosen as theme music in the arcade game "Crazy Taxi" - I had a friend who nearly went insane trying to play some other game at the arcade and having his train of thought constantly drowned out by "YA YA YA YA YA!" I had a related problem trying to play the Elvis pinball machine, which was sort of music-themed and equally overpowered by the Offspring.

Good to know I'm not the only person in the world to remember the existence of Az Yet.

34. Mista, "Blackberry Molasses" (f/ a v. young Bobby Valentino)

35. DJ Taz "That's Right" (Not on u-toob, unfort.)

Soul Decision -- Faded

Dr. Bill's dead-on with "All I Want."

Local H's "All the Kids are Right"
Cowboy Mouth's wild "Jenny Says"
White Town's "Your Woman"
anything by that dog...I'll say "Never Say Never"
Imperial Teen's "You're One"
Jamie Blake's "Runaway"

and Bic Runga's "Sway"

43. Better Than Ezra - "At the Stars"
44. Brian McKnight - "The Only One for Me"
45. Fastball - "Fire Escape" (great video too, not on YouTube for some reason)
46. Tatyana Ali - "Daydreamin'"

47. Splender - I Think God Can Explain

48. Lauryn Hill, "The Sweetest Thing"

49. Monifah "Touch It"

Wow - I totally forgot "All The Kids Are Right." I didn't like it at all at the time, but I don't think I "got" it either. It's actually pretty funny!

"All the kids, they hold a grudge
Their minds are logged onto the Net
And all the kids, they hold a grudge
You failed them and they won't forget it
All your cred won't save you from the kids" - great stuff!

Oh, and just to finish off the list -

50. (tie) Green Day, "Walking Contradiction" and "Hitchin' A Ride." This band went through a really weird period, career-wise, between Dookie and American Idiot - aside from the ridiculously huge hit in "Time of Your Life," they basically put out a small string of singles that I don't think most people remember at all, although almost all of them are pretty interesting and/or catchy. "Warning" is the best of these (but it's solidly 2000's); the worst is probably "Nice Guys Finish Last"; and "Brain Stew" is pretty good but also pretty well-remembered (start singing the guitar line at parties and see how many people jump right on board). So I pick out these two, which got moderate radio/video play at the time and then completely disappeared. They're pretty decent.

51. Dave Matthews Band, "Don't Drink The Water." This band's career really didn't require them to get a social-consciousness thing going on, but it plays way better than the Paul Simon Lite of "Stay (Wasting Time)" and is commendably weird and long for a first single of an unstoppable hit band. Plus you get Alanis Morissette on guest wailing, which she's good at, and also it makes the song serve as a nice time capsule of 1998. Plus I kinda like it when Dave does his boogey man voice. DON'T DRINK TEH WATERRRRRR!

52. Andreas Johnson: Glorious
(it still is)

I heard "Don't Drink the Water" on the radio recently and was blown away by how fucked up it still sounds...seriously, how creepy is that outro ("THERE'S BLOOD IN THE WATER!!!")? Scared the hell out of me as a kid, especially with that similarly unsettling vid (remember that kid holding DM's decapitated, singing head? Some pretty sick shit)

53. Forest For The Trees, "Dream" - I remember thinking this was really amazing and futuristic at the time. It hasn't held up quite so well.

54. David Garza, "Disco Ball World - This was really pretty good though. I eventually got the album from the cheapo bins and it has some other good cuts on it, although I can't remember any of them now.

I still fly the flag for Garza.

This got some play on Live 105 in SF back in '97 but it didn't chart nationally:

OMD, Walking on the Milky Way

i am a huge forest for the trees guy and it totally holds up for me. the album is not bad actually.

sun 60 c'mon kiss me

scarce "all sideways"

Everything, "Hooch," or possibly "Who Got The Hooch?" (Link to not the real video.) A very pleasant tune. It'd be nice to hear it without the gratuitous 90s-isms: fake telephone filter over background interjections... purty guitar mixed unfortunately high Uncle Kracker/Everlast style... ill-advised "funkiness"...and well, the phrase "Who got the <blank>," which has a "Got Milk?" quality that's really hard to get past.

They also had a song on a radio station promo CD I had - "St Lucia" I think. That one was really nice too. These guys would never be my favorite band, but I can imagine having nice memories to an outdoor evening party with this going on in the background.

Chris Cornell - Preaching The End Of The World

"consolation prize" by amateur lovers

dreadful

The Braids - Bohemian Rhapsody

Westerberg – Love Untold

Public Announcement - Body Bumpin' (Yippie-Yi-Yo)

^^^best song title of the decade

I am so pissed off to be reminded of "Mungo City"

― da croupier, Thursday, September 13, 2007 4:58 PM Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

I feel like this video is some kind of time capsule that could perfectly represent, but remain totally incomprehensible to future generations, the state of the late 90s in rock as far as I was concerned. Oh, for the days when I really could consume over-the-topness like this without a single note of irony! This shit seemed so cool.

Everything, "Hooch," or possibly "Who Got The Hooch?" (Link to not the real video.) A very pleasant tune. It'd be nice to hear it without the gratuitous 90s-isms: fake telephone filter over background interjections... purty guitar mixed unfortunately high Uncle Kracker/Everlast style... ill-advised "funkiness"...and well, the phrase "Who got the <blank>," which has a "Got Milk?" quality that's really hard to get past.

Oh god that was bad. A friend of mine from college was their tour manager so went to see them at Bowery Ballroom for free around 1997 ish. I had completely forgotten about them until just now.

wow i don't recognize a single song (and most of the groups) discussed on this thread.

They're all pretty good!

702 - steelo

i'm sad i don't remember more of these (i probably do but i'm at the library and can't listen to clips on youtube)

uh except for "hooch" which i'm pretty sure i never want to hear again

mr. president - coco jambo (dutch i think? got mild US radio play, LOVED it at the time)

ok i will go back to writing my paper after this post honest:

merril bainbridge - mouth
qkumba zoo - the child inside
loreena mckennitt - the mummer's dance
changing faces - g.h.e.t.t.o.u.t.

damn the only song I know on this thread is soulDecision

Tin Star - "Head" (not the original video) (1999)

I guess these guys were..."trip hop" or "electronica" or something. Great huge sound on this though.

And, I can't find a video or anything, but "Handslide" by Pushmonkey.

Hey, this Body Bumpin' Yippie Yi Yo has a pretty great hook. Not sure if it's enough to build a song around but it sure is smooth.

"bitter" by jill sobule

ace song, much better than her stupid hit

This band's career really didn't require them to get a social-consciousness thing going on

that thing had been going on from the beginning

Something For The People, "My Love Is the Shhh"

Sylk E Fyne, "Romeo & Juliet"

bomb..ass...puNANI

ha, "That's Right" by DJ Taz has shown up on the tubes

anybody remember an anti-lesbian r&b song called 'twistin' or something like that chorus: 'twistin the love of a man'
not the keith sweat song although iirc the singer sounded like him.

doesn't sound familiar

My daughter used the expression "I'm living a lie" this morning and it inexplicably thrust this song into my head that seems to have left very little lasting footprint

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hk0aiREnTsc

"What do you do when you feel like you're living a lie?"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k67uejNr9FA

Courtesy of Lithium Deep Cuts:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SqeT9ooYKnM

Jimmie's Chicken Shack: "High", a Godsmack-y Hard Rock song preparing absolutely no one for their next album's Blink-182/Lit-move lead single "Do Right":

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dsttsAHkZvw

^Mentioned upthread by some dude. The video is...something else (as you can see, MTV2 actually aired it with the intro interview bit w/the ex-girlfriend, which was eventually edited out for regular MTV after an airing or two)

def remember "Do Right." "High" is tickling some memory bone but nothing specific. I guess they were early Korn adopters? Kind of an awkward fit with the bright colorful video. Not sure they should have agreed to the "actual chicken shack" video concept.

Apparently they are still active and released their most recent album in 2022??

Early Korn Adopters is my new band name, thanks doc

The Soundtrack To Our Lives - Instant Repeater '99

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bI6tk-3ADdg

@ MarkoP: it suddenly hit me that your laid-back good-times "Spirit of '96" playlist is right in line with the "hip-hop blues" purveyed by G. Love & Special Sauce in the late 90s. Basically the whole Philadelphonic album ('99) applies here, but the single "Dreamin'" will give you the general idea:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=flfW0Q2M_fs

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_yLYxc1OgFs

Turns out "Stepping Stones," from 1997's Yeah, It's That Easy, is the one I was really trying to track down --- the first five seconds of the verse have been (irksomely) lodged in my brain since the late 90s.

They're kinda like if Soul Coughing were less interesting, and sounded more like Beck, by way of Everything, Citizen King, Dynamite Hack, et al.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O9Jp3w8Z10s

wow am i glad to have missed that the first time around