Best 90's
Alternative
by Danny
Hauger

What bands have had a greater
impact on a decade than Green
Day and Oasis? Surely 1990's
was pioneered by these two
groups, but my playlist also
highlights pop jangle
sensations the Gin Blossoms.

Few bands that enjoyed success
during the post-grunge
alternative clustered 1990’s
decade have been able to
continue creating great music
and touring as successfully as
the melodic and transcendent
Gin Blossoms of Tempe,
Arizona. Their previous
release, Major Lodge Victory,
while greatly under
appreciated by the mass media
and radio play list
automation, carried a similar
energy and originality that
could be appreciated from
start to finish reminiscent of
master works New Miserable
Experience and Congratulations
I’m Sorry. Now returning
with No Chocolate Cake, the
Gin Blossoms continue to offer
fans and critics more of their
excellent harmonies, wide
vocal range, and tracing
guitar lines to accent the
upbeat rhythm and California -
Arizona sound brand that
represents a continuity of
musical excellence that has
remained true to its core
since their earliest offerings
that redefined the alternative
rock genres.

Toad the Wet Sprocket and
Guster also flew largely udner
the radar, but deserve much
more acclaim for their musical
contributions to rock
history.

To round things, out, bands
like Blind Melon and Sister
Hazel get dramatically
forgotten though their catalog
of well performed and
technically sound guitar work
go undiscovered by many fans
of the era.

Sure, one hit wonders like
Eagle Eye Cherry can live from
royalties on "Save Tonight",
but songs like that serve as
an archetype for the decade.

While Nirvana paved the way
for Green Day, Offspring, and
the Foo Fighters, even Kirk
Cobain realized the power of
an unbridled acoustic
performance in "About a
Girl".

The Counting Crows broke
perhaps the biggest
alternative single of the
decade with "Mr. Jones", and
followed with the nearly as
great "A Long December".

While Jakob Dylan provided
reason for DNA research with
his vocal brilliance of "One
Headlight", the decade shaped
around melodic guitar assists
and subtle harmonies of the
elite bands of the 1990's.

Videos In The Playlist:

1. Gin Blossoms - Til I Hear It From You
2. Gin Blossoms - Hey Jealousy
3. Supersonic
4. Live Forever (US)
5. Guster - Careful
6. She - Green Day
7. Basket Case - Green Day (Official Music Video) [HD]
8. Blind Melon -Mouthful of Cavities
9. Blind Melon - No Rain (Live Acoustic)
10. Sister Hazel - All For You Music Video
11. Eagle-Eye Cherry - Save Tonight
12. Toad The Wet Sprocket - Walk on the Ocean Video
13. Toad The Wet Sprocket - Something's Always Wrong
14. Counting Crows - Mr. Jones (Official)
15. Counting Crows - A Long December
16. Nirvana - About A Girl (MTV Unplugged)
17. The Wallflowers - One Headlight
18. The Wallflowers - 6th Avenue Heartache
19. Better Than Ezra Good