The Best Songs You Haven't Listened to for the Past 10 Years or So.

Nobody realizes more than I do that I have not posted in quite awhile. I blame it on school and my new job at In-N-Out Burger. Things have been busy, to say the least. My last post was rather polarizing, as far as reactions went. Some people agreed with me, others called for my head. Since there was quite a bit of negativity swirling around my last couple of posts, I decided to make this a post focusing on the positive. Also, with it being the season of giving, I decided to give you all the gift of GOOD music. Sure, some of you may have no need of this gift, but then there are others of you who desperately need the gift I offer. Though the songs I picked span several genres, they all have 2 things in common: 1. They were all made in the 90's, and 2. They all are better than most of the crap you have on your iPod right now. So please enjoy, and Merry Christmas!

Spacehog
In the Meantime-1996

This is the type of song that pulls you in from the very beginning. It starts out simple, then quickly builds itself up to a rock odyssey that will leave you breathless and begging for more. Not to mention Royston Langdon is Rock personified. Its stuff like this that makes the 90's relevant.

The Wallflowers
The Difference-1996

I have no idea why, but this was the only version of the song Youtube had of The Difference. This live performance doesn't do the album recording any justice at all, as the album recording is one of the best songs that the 1990's produced. This song is far better than the most popular Wallflowers song "One Headlight" on the album Bringing Down the Horse. I know in my last post I blasted Bob Dylan and I am aware that the Wallflowers' front man is Bob's son, Dylan. I bet that makes me sound like a hypocrite. Well, I'm not. Jakob is not Bob, as Jakob actually displays a little talent in his musical abilities. Just because the father is crap doesn't mean the sons are crap too. Are Saddam Hussein's sons complete sadistic monsters too?...bad example.

Tupac feat. Dr. Dre
California Love-1995

Hip Hop at its finest. Not only is the Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome theme totally awesome, but this music video has appearances by both George Clinton and Chris Tucker. The music is easily better than anything the Hip Hop community has produced in the last five years, and the pairing of Tupac with Dr. Dre is like sitting at a lunch table with the Dalai Lama and the Pope. Except instead of teaching their religions they rap. And they both really love the state of California.

Live
I Alone-1994

This song was a tough pick for me to include on this list because there are just so many good songs on this album. With "I Alone," "All Over You," and "Lightning Crashes," Throwing Copper is one of those rare albums that can be listened to from start to finish and you will love every single song. Live also has awesome songs like "Dolphin's Cry" and "Lakini's Juice" on other albums. Plus the video made white guys awkwardly dancing cool before Coldplay did it with "Viva La Vida."

Jamiroquai
Virtual Insanity-1996

A great song backed by an even greater music video. You would be doing yourself a favor by checking out all the funk that Jamiroquai brings to the table. Its fast-paced and great music to dance to.

Toadies
Possum Kingdom-1994

I remember when I was a little kid, my Uncle John would pop the Toadies CD in the player of his Bronco II when he briefly lived in Utah in the mid-90's. I had no idea of the sinister theme of the song, I was too young to comprehend. All I knew was that the song rocked. Now, 15 or so years later, the song still rocks. Its just a tight, loud, energetic rock song that still is one of my favorites to this day.

Fastball
The Way-1998

This list just keeps getting better and better. Here's a fact: The director of the music video is McG, who later went on to direct the Terminator: Salvation movie. As you watch the video just remember that the same guy that directed these three white guys riding around in the back of a convertible also directed Christian Bale yelling at robots for 2 hours.

Primitive Radio Gods
Standing Outside a Broken Phone Booth with Money in My Hand-1996

With a name that long, you know that song has to be good, right? This song is great because it just sounds like a song from the 90's. I remember when this song first came out, I thought it was kind of boring, but now, I realize that its pretty good. Not to mention the fact that it appears in the best movie ever: The Cable Guy. That scored it at least a million bonus points.


Sting
Fields of Gold-1993

I saved the best for last. You didn't think that I would make a list of awesome things and NOT include something by Sting? My friend, you are mistaken. Sting is the epitome of awesome. So awesome, in fact, it took me 20 minutes of hardcore pondering just to decide on which Sting song to put here. It was a tough decision because all of his music is so perfect. So listen to this song again and again and again, and you too will be enlightened.

So that does it for now. I promise that my next post will have nothing to do with music. But in the meantime, listen to this stuff and stop supporting crappy things.