30. Beck – “Where It’s At” (1996)
Any vinyl junkie’s ears will perk up at the beginning of Beck’s “Where It’s At”, as a needle hits the wax with a faint click and some light surface noise before a laid-back Wurlitzer groove gets the song rolling. “Where It’s At” was the lead single from the universally acclaimed Odelay, which Beck co-produced with the Dust Brothers, known for their work with hip-hop artists like Beastie Boys and Young MC. It was a vitally important single in Beck’s career as it proved he wasn’t a one-hit wonder following the surprise success of his 1994 single “Loser”.
“Where It’s At?” is a colorful homage to the old-school days when DJs jammed with simple setups with literally just two turntables and a microphone. There are No fancy mixers, pitch shifters, or computer programs that match the beat for you. The slow-grooving backing track is simple, just a funky rhythm and bass with blissed-out retro organ. Over that foundation, Beck and his collaborators cunningly assemble a variety of samples that fit together like a convoluted audio puzzle.
Some bits, including the line “What about those who swing both ways: AC-DC?”, are taken from a 1969 album aimed at teaching sex education for middle schoolers called Sex for Teens (Where It’s At). “That was a good drum break” is from the 1989 track “I Don’t Care if U Disrespect Me” by the Frogs. The song’s signature sample, “two turntables and a microphone”, is snipped from the single “Needle to the Groove” by New York City-based electro/hip-hop pioneers Mantronix.
The song proved an outstanding choice as the high-profile first single from the all-important follow-up to Beck’s 1994 breakthrough Mellow Gold. While “Where It’s At?” sounds somewhat reminiscent of “Loser” with Beck once again rapping the verses, it also ties into the dynamic studio wizardry that makes Odelay such a compelling listen. It eases fans into his latest album with a sense of familiarity and a promise of exciting things to come. The song tore up alternative radio and MTV, eventually landing at #5 on the Billboard Modern Rock Chart and earning Beck a Grammy nomination.
29. Green Day – “Longview” (1994)
For those of us who remember when Green Day’s single “Longview” first broke on MTV, it would have been hard to imagine that a quarter-century later this bratty punk-pop trio would be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Dookie became one of the decade’s most prominent alternative-rock albums and the band has enjoyed enduring success ever since, especially with their 2004 classic American Idiot. It all started with “Longview”, a savage rocker about feeling like a loser, sitting around the house in utter boredom, smoking copious amounts of weed and endlessly masturbating (it hardly sounds that bad, really).
“Longview” opens with 23 seconds of a rollicking drumbeat and jaunty bass before Billie Joe Armstrong begins his laconic recitation of youthful malaise with lines like, “peel me off this Velcro seat and get me moving / I sure as hell can’t do it by myself / I’m feeling like a dog in heat / barred indoors from the summer street / I locked the door to my own cell / and I lost the key.”
Then the chorus arrives with Armstrong’s hard-charging guitar and an ardent appreciation of masturbation with an enthusiasm that is probably unmatched by any other ode to jerking off: “Bite my lip and close my eyes / take me away to paradise!” Wait… close my eyes, what? Ah yeah. This is 1994. The immediate and perpetual accessibility of countless hours of internet porn at the click of the button was a thing of the future. One needs eyes open and a hand free for the mouse these days.
With sardonic wit and youthful urgency, Green Day captures a period of adolescence (and beyond) that many of us have experienced. It’s no wonder that so many listeners have been able to relate. “Longview” hit #1 on the Billboard Modern Rock Chart in June 1994 and was the spark that launched Green Day into the alternative rock stratosphere. Their next single, “Basket Case”, doused that spark with a gasoline spray.
28. U2 – “The Fly” (1991)
After the earnest arena rock of The Joshua Tree made them global superstars, and their self-important homage to rootsy Americana influences on Rattle and Hum exhibited egos inflated to unsustainable heights, it became apparent that U2 needed a new direction. The band relocated to Berlin to begin sessions for an album that would become the finest of their career, Achtung Baby!. The project marked one of the sharpest left turns by a major artist in pop/rock history, and it proved to be precisely the right move at the right time.
Bono famously described the album’s first single, “The Fly”, as “the sound of four men chopping down The Joshua Tree“, and that description could not be more apt. “The Fly” is an edgy, dizzying piece of hellish electro-rock. Bono’s breathless and distorted vocals during the verses relate a series of aphorisms that are meant to be wisdom learned in Hell, as told via a phone call from the dimension of torment itself.
The lyrics are some of Bono’s sharpest — the song is loaded with terrific lines, including the particularly memorable verse in which he impales himself with his own self-righteousness: “It’s no secret that a conscience can sometimes be a pest / it’s no secret that ambition bites the nails of success / every artist is a cannibal, every poet is a thief / all kill their inspiration and sing about the grief.” This is a moonshot to another stratosphere from songs like “New Year’s Day” and “Pride (In the Name of Love)”.
The Fly became a new character for Bono on the Zoo TV Tour, during which the band embarked on support of Achtung Baby! He was aware of the towering pretensions he’d perpetrated on recent projects, so he used The Fly to skewer himself neatly, among others. While in character, Bono would deck himself out in leather, sport the flashiest sunglasses, and stalk around the stage like a flaming hair-metal tart, parodying the world’s most stereotypical egomaniacal rock Gods. It was a remarkable exercise in self-awareness, but it must have been great fun as well.
Beyond that, the song itself is simply genius, and utterly unlike anything U2 had ever released. The band allowed themselves to disentangle completely from the sound for which they’d become famous, and the result is exhilarating. “The Fly” is a trippy flight through an underworld buzzing with shards of electronic and industrial elements, chainsaw guitar riffs and fiery solos by the Edge. Larry Mullen, Jr. provides the raucous rhythm that propels the song into hyperdrive.
The vocal arrangement is brilliantly conceived, with Bono shifting from a semi-demented falsetto to a restless and nuanced half-whisper that grows increasingly frantic as the song progresses. Daniel Lanois and Flood, two of the best in the business, piece it all together expertly until “The Fly” is as sharply honed as a scalpel ready for surgery. It was the beginning of a new U2 — “The Fly” roped the old version of the band and pulled them staggering out of a ditch and onto a triumphant future that still blazes forward today.
27. Rage Against the Machine – “Bulls on Parade” (1996)
Rock and roll has always been about raging against the machine — from the beginning, it was anti-authority. Very few have raged with as much fervid intensity and passion as Los Angeles-based Rage Against the Machine, whose electrifying alt-rock, metal, and hip-hop hybrid merge with biting social commentary to create full-throttle, cerebral, and primal head-music.
The first single from the band’s second album Evil Empire, “Bulls on Parade” is about the military-industrial complex, a gaping maw perpetually fed with countless dollars and human lives. Countries like the US and the UK, among others, have engaged in ongoing warfare for three decades, and it shows no sign of abating. The inexorable parade of the bulls, the march of the tanks, the slaughter of the innocents, keeps often poor young soldiers dying while giant corporations led by wealthy fat cat war profiteers keep funneling more and more money to crooked politicians to ensure their insatiable thirst for blood, money and power is never quenched.
Ever notice how the ‘family values’ politicians are the ones who most staunchly advocate for armed intervention? Rage Against the Machine notices, as the line “They rally ’round the family / with a pocket full of shells,” the central thematic element in “Bulls on Parade”, clearly shows. De la Rocha spells out the treacherous business of war, the fucked up priorities of many politicians, and the human toll in stark terms: “Weapons not food, not homes, not shoes / Not need, just feed the war cannibal animal / I walk the corner to the rubble that used to be a library / Line up to the mind cemetery now.”
Rage Against the Machine is a tight musical unit, with machine-gun guitar riffs by Tom Morello, Tim Commerford’s thundercrack bass, powerhouse drumwork by Brad Wilk, and of course Zack de la Rocha spewing his rapid-fire vocals as if firing up a riotous crowd with a bullhorn. “Bulls on Parade” is notable for its dizzying solo, which is actually Morello sliding his hands along the guitar strings to create an effect that sounds like a DJ scratching vinyl. Upon release, the track landed like a meteorite, reaching #11 on the Billboard Modern Rock Chart and helping catapult Evil Empire to the top of the US album chart.
26. Soundgarden – “Black Hole Sun” (1994)
Seattle-based Soundgarden enjoyed multi-platinum success with their fourth album, Superunknown, thanks mainly to the bluesy psychedelic-rock dreamscape “Black Hole Sun”. There’s a stately Black Sabbath doom-metal vibe to the song, dark and forbidding, with macabre and surreal imagery that stirs feelings of impending horror.
Vocalist Chris Cornell wrote the song after he misheard a newscaster say what he thought was “Black Hole Sun”. The phrase stuck in his head, and he quickly wrote the song. The lyrics have no literal meaning. They are meant to paint a mood with evocative imagery, and that they do. “Boiling heat / summer stench / ‘neath the black the sky looks dead / call my name through the cream / and i’ll hear you scream again,” Cornell sings at one point.
The dark tenor of the lyrics jives with brooding instrumentation, especially during the chorus when Kim Thayil’s malevolent heavy guitar riff comes in like a flood of dark water. Thayil also engages in some wickedly intricate guitar work during the solo that comes before the short final verse and then the quickly escalating climax.
Cornell’s vocals go from smooth and soulful to a ragged near-scream as the song builds to a dramatic climax. “Black Hole Sun” feels like trying to run and escape something and being unable to do so, like a nightmare memory.
MTV played the video in heavy rotation, and the single garnered substantial airplay on both alternative and mainstream rock radio. “Black Hole Sun” eventually climbed to #2 on the Billboard Modern Rock Chart and became part of the fabric of 1990s alternative rock.
25. Tool – “Sober” (1993)
Maynard James Keenan personifies addiction in the chilling “Sober”, a song inspired by an acquaintance who could only function well while high. Keenan steps into the shoes of a man haunted by a debilitating need that overwhelms every aspect of his life. The overwhelming urge for another hit stalks him like a ghost.
In one brilliant verse, Keenan exposes the treachery and betrayal every addict goes through. “There’s a shadow just behind / shrouding every step I take / making every promise empty / pointing every finger at me / waiting like a stalking butler / who upon the finger rests.” Shrouding every step I take… the specter of need never dissipates. Every promise empty… everybody knows he’s not to be trusted, he will do anything or say anything for the next fix. Pointing every finger at me… Everybody knows, and instead of empathy or compassion, he faces only scorn.
“Sober” exists in that shadowy sonic space created by Paul D’Amour’s hard elastic bass, razor shards of metallic guitar by Adam Jones, Danny Carey’s spidery drumwork, and Keenan howling like a tormented soul from purgatory. He instills the deepest self-loathing in lines like “I am just a worthless liar / I am just an imbecile / I will only complicated you / trust in me, and fall as well.” He sees no self-worth at all and warns others to stay away lest he bring them down with him. Keenan inhabits this character with a searing authenticity.
“Why can’t we not be sober?” he asks plaintively. Why not allow us to just go along our business of getting high, peacefully, living life in an unfeeling cocoon, away from pain and lies and deceit? It’s an impossible wish, a cry from the soul of a man who has given up.
As the lead single from Tool’s second album Undertow, “Sober” earned substantial MTV play thanks to a chilling stop-motion animation video. The single reached #10 on the Billboard Modern Rock Chart and launched Tool to become an alternative progressive metal behemoth.
24. Afghan Whigs – “Debonair” (1993)
There’s nothing debonair about the man singing “Debonair”, or the character at least. Greg Dulli’s sweetly smoky voice, emotive and dripping with suggestion, is positively the opposite of debonair as he cheats and uses and abuses someone he truly loves but can’t stop himself from hurting.
Dulli suavely plays his dramatic vocal phrasing on the taut rhythmic tension like a tightening vice. A lurid bass, handclaps, the propulsive rhythm and overlapping guitar parts guide the song through its beautiful vampiric underworld. “This ain’t about regret”, Dulli insists repeatedly, and he means it. He’s a man who does what he wants, no matter the destruction wrought to himself and those around him. “This ain’t about regret / my conscience can’t be found / this time I won’t repent / somebody’s going down.”
The song is an exposure of the truth, a declaration of the real man underneath a pose. Dulli starts the song by telling the couplet, “Hear me now and don’t forget / I’m not the man my actions would suggest.” Dulli can’t really control his self-destructive impulses (“and once again the monster speaks / reveals his face and searches for release”). Still, while he may have some sense of doom he’s not willing to go through the wrenching change that would be required to reverse course (“this time I won’t repent / somebody’s going down”). Dulli puts the “monster” down to his innate human nature and considers his course irreversible.
A moody and eerie psychological study in compulsive behavior and co-dependence in a dysfunctional relationship, “Debonair” also doubles as a kick-ass rock track that needs to be played at maximum volume to be appreciated. The first single from the band’s fourth album, the ironically titled Gentleman, “Debonair” reached #18 on the Billboard Modern Rock Chart.
23. Fiona Apple – “Criminal” (1996)
Fiona Apple’s debut album Tidal was released in July 1996 and began a slow-boil of increasing visibility and acclaim, thanks to singles like “Shadowboxer” and “Sleep to Dream”. It finally peaked in late 1997 with its third single “Criminal”, a song that exudes guilt and sordid sensuality. It’s a complex, swaying burlesque production that rides the dynamic interplay between Apple’s piano and studio ace Matt Chamberlain’s stellar percussion, with strings and alluring musical effects buffeting from all directions.
“Criminal” is sung from the point of view of someone using sexuality to get her way. She’s ostensibly wracked by guilt by her behavior, but she sure doesn’t sound like it. Apple sings her role convincingly, her rich voice conveying just the right amount of brazen naughtiness barely touched with contrition. Musically, the song’s dark groove gels with Apple’s smoky vocals and the sensuality of the lyrics. The instrumentation is orchestral and exotic. A woodwind does not make the flute sound, but instead a Chamberlin (an old-fashioned mechanical keyboard) played by Jon Brion. The haunting keening helps bring a vintage, retro feel to the song.
The risqué video is provocatively redolent of a seedy, cheaply made porno filmed circa 1976. Considering that Apple has been quite open about her struggles with an eating disorder and her traumatic history of being raped as a 12-year-old girl, “Criminal”, both the song and video, takes on added significance in terms of the complex emotions that individuals battling from these types of traumas may feel, including guilt and lack of self-worth. The song’s sexual tension and uneasy vibe proved compelling enough to fuel it all the way to #4 on the Billboard Modern Rock Chart.
22. My Bloody Valentine – “Only Shallow” (1991)
The second album by My Bloody Valentine, Loveless, is one of those legendary musical works shrouded in lore. The perfectionist singer/songwriter/musician Kevin Shields took two years and burned through an enormous amount of money to create Loveless, ultimately contributing to the band’s label Creation Records going bankrupt. Loveless didn’t sell particularly well when it was finally released, but critics immediately hailed it and remains one of those albums often pointed to as a reference point. Countless imitators of the band’s gauzy guitar-based sound sprung up in their wake, forming a sub-genre often labeled “shoegaze”.
The single “Only Shallow” would never be a big hit, but it really didn’t need to be. Written by Shields and vocalist Bilinda Butcher, “Only Shallow” features Shields’ distinctive “glide” guitar sound, which he creates by relying heavily on the tremolo bar. Shields’ technique results in the strings swaying slightly in and out of tune, which helps contribute to My Bloody Valentine’s uniquely off-kilter vibe. The guitars are such a massive wall of sound that it sounds like there are a mountain of overdubs, but that’s not the case. All of the instruments, apart from Colm Ó Cíosóig’s drumming, is played by Shields, who also uses samples of guitar distortion to twist and turn and add to the hurricane of sound.
Butcher sings “Only Shallow” gently, her voice well down in the mix so that it quavers in the midst of all the haywire guitar. The surreal lyrics are as dreamy as the music’s opiate sway. The words seem to refer to a tentative sexual experience, perhaps imagined in a dream. The title is possibly a reference to a line in Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray — “only the shallow know themselves” — but it’s impossible to say for sure. In fact, the words hardly seem to matter — it’s the sound that’s important. Butcher’s vocal is like a velvet ribbon caught in a heavy industrial machine, winding through the metallic inner workings until it emerges miraculously unscathed at the other end.
Although Loveless beguiled critics and the fans that could penetrate its glorious sonic chaos, it wasn’t a big seller. As the album’s primary single, “Only Shallow” reached #27 on the Billboard Modern Rock Chart, the only single by My Bloody Valentine to hit that survey. Despite its mediocre chart performance, “Only Shallow” and its parent album have attained an exalted status in the history of ’90s rock given their significant influence not to mention their sheer brilliance.
21. Beastie Boys – “Sabotage” (1994)
The hyperkinetic tricksters Beastie Boys pulled off their biggest sleight of hand ever with the savagely indolent “Sabotage”, an arresting barrage of sonic explosion and brash wordplay. As the lead single to the trio’s stellar fourth album Ill Communication, “Sabotage” immediately blasted into heavy rotation on MTV with a popular video directed by Spike Jonze that parodies ’70s-era police shows.
“Sabotage” was originally intended as an instrumental, with the vocals added at the very last minute only weeks before the album’s release. The trio bashes out the track on live instruments, Adam Horovitz on guitar, Adam Yauch on a wicked distorted bass, and Mike Diamond on drums (check out those ruthless snare blasts that help keep the action at a fever pitch).
Horovitz dashed off some lyrics about frustration with scheming, underhanded tactics, and people working against him (perhaps in the music industry) and screams them into a basic recorder, adding to the song’s raw, almost punk-rock urgency. It was all done very quickly, but sometimes that’s the key to capturing energy that’s impossible to achieve grinding away for endless days in the studio.
“Sabotage” is a merciless two minutes and 58 seconds of pure adrenaline injected right into the listener’s brain. It was a late lucky strike that slams the exclamation point on Ill Communication. “Sabotage” reached #18 on the Billboard Modern Rock Chart and helped propel its parent album to the top of the US album chart with sales in excess of three million copies.