All right, now this is more like it. Listening to every song that topped the charts in 1992 was way less painful than going through 1990 or 1991; in fact, it was actually fun.
It was also a lot quicker. There were only 13 songs that hit #1 in 1992; songs like “Jump” (Kris Kross) and “End of the Road” (Boyz II Men) sat atop the charts for weeks on end. By contrast, in 1991 the top slot flipped over just almost every week, like the Top 40 was shuffling through its iPod (er, Discman) trying to find a good song.
1991 was full of craptacularly tepid ballads, but only one really shitty ballad topped the charts in 1992 (“How Do You Talk to an Angel,” by the fictional TV band the Heights), and I have to admit liking even that song at the time. I also remember enjoying Madonna’s “This Used to Be My Playground,” from the movie A League of Their Own—I almost ordered the tape from Columbia House.
Artists also hit #1 with two live duet covers of classic 70s ballads: Elton John, in typically ridiculous garb, joined George Michael on stage for a rendition of John’s 1974 hit “Don’t Let the Sun Go Down On Me”; and Mariah Carey pulled up a stool for Trey Lorenz to sing the 1970 Jackson 5 song “I’ll Be There” on her MTV Unplugged special. (Oh, MTV Unplugged. So 90s.) Yet another 70s cover, Whitney Houston’s career-peaking rendition of Dolly Parton’s 1974 “I Will Always Love You,” was the year’s last #1 hit. (I wrote about The Bodyguard soundtrack in an earlier post.)
And things just get better from there. Mr. Big’s “To Be With You” is a fun singalong (out of nowhere, the one-hit wonders recently reunited for a new album and tour), and Color Me Badd’s “All 4 Love” burbles along nicely. Michael Jackson’s “Black or White”—a song that stayed atop the charts from its ascendance in 1991—has one decent riff, which it rides unashamedly for its entire length. “Beat It” it’s not, but whatever. Then there’s Vanessa Williams’s “Save the Best for Last,” which Tangential contributor Marcus Michalik might physically attack me if I didn’t admit to be a pretty good song.
Okay, are you ready for the really good stuff? How about this amazingness:
“I’m Too Sexy,” Right Said Fred. Not just a song, but a timeless catchphrase. Besides the sweet beats, the best part of the record is the way Richard Fairbrass (his brother, who’s also in the band, is the eponymous Fred) sings with faux weariness. He is just too sexy for this shit. I know how it is, man.
“Jump,” Kris Kross. Boys with braids, their eyebrows shaved in parking-lot hashmarks as was then au courant. They wore their pants backwards, and they rapped about wearing their pants backwards. Personally, I’d take House of Pain’s “Jump Around” (another 1992 release, which peaked at #3) over Kris Kross’s “Jump,” but Kris Kross gave you the whole ridiculous multimedia package.
“Baby Got Back,” Sir Mix-a-Lot. I was delighted to see that this instant classic actually hit #1—and stayed there for all of July. In my post on 1992’s The Chronic, I noted that it was about the peak year for hip-hop as “stranger danger,” and indeed, my dad disapproved of Mix-a-Lot. “I don’t know why,” Dad said, shaking his head, “they have to get into all that with the anacondas.”
“End of the Road,” Boyz II Men. Well, I don’t know if I’d go so far as to say this song really represents “amazingness,” except for its hilariously cheesy video. (The best part is the spoken-word interlude at the end.) This was chosen as the theme song for the homecoming dance at my high school, basically just because it was the biggest hit at the time. My friends and I agreed that it would have been a totally inappropriate choice for the occasion if not for the fact that we actually were anxious to hit the end of the road with St. Agnes, adolescence, and (at least in my case) 90s music.
But you know, 90s music was not all bad. There was some decent stuff on the radio in 1992.
The 1990s Project is my attempt to give the decade’s music a fair shot at disproving my offhand assessment that the 90s were the armpit of modern musical history. The project started on my Tumblr, and has now moved to The Tangential. My goal is to visit, or revisit, 100 of the decade’s most acclaimed, popular, and/or interesting albums. Here are the albums I’ve written about so far.
1. Radiohead, OK Computer (1997)
2. My Bloody Valentine, Loveless (1991)
3. The Flaming Lips, The Soft Bulletin (1999)
4. Moonshake, Eva Luna (1992)
5. Red Hot Chili Peppers, Blood Sugar Sex Magik (1991)
6. Liz Phair, Exile in Guyville (1993)
7. Erykah Badu, Baduizm (1997)
8. Neutral Milk Hotel, In the Aeroplane Over the Sea (1998)
9. Fugazi, Red Machine (1995)
10. Matthew Sweet, 100% Fun (1995)
11. Pavement, Slanted and Enchanted (1992)
12. The Bodyguard soundtrack (1992)
13. Marcy Playground, Marcy Playground (1997)
14. 10,000 Maniacs, Our Time in Eden (1992)
15. Shania Twain, Come On Over (1997)
16. Dr. Dre, The Chronic (1992)
17. #1 singles of 1990
18. DJ Shadow, Endtroducing….. (1996)
19. Alanis Morissette, Jagged Little Pill (1995)
20. U2, Achtung Baby (1991)
21. #1 singles of 1991
22. Bonnie “Prince” Billy, I See a Darkness (1999)
23. The Lion King soundtrack (1994)
24. Public Enemy, Fear of a Black Planet (1990)
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