Yes, your favorite band from the 1990s, That ’90s Band, is putting out another ‘best of’ compilation album! For far too long the numerous hits from That ’90s Band have existed as singles and drifted into the fading memory of the populace. Now you can have your favorite hits from your favorite band, That ’90s Band, on one compact disc. Volume 3 of this expansive compilation project features a range of the band’s hit songs from across the decade. As we all know, That ’90s Band had dozens of hit songs during the greatest decade of humankind so you can expect many more volumes of their iconic material to hit record shelves in the near future!
In all seriousness, this is a list compilation that I have been wanting to do for a while now. This list, Volume 1, Volume 2, and the multiple volumes that will follow it, are in a way a love letter to the rock music of my childhood. The 1990s saw so many bands achieve one or two hit wonder status. In a decade that produced or saw the massive commercial success of iconic bands like Metallica, Nirvana, Rage Against the Machine, Green Day, The Offspring, Pearl Jam, Weezer, Soundgarden, Matchbox Twenty, Stone Temple Pilots, Smashing Pumpkins, Alice In Chains, and so many others, it is even more amazing that there were truly so many bands that achieved brief but significant success and then disappeared. While all of those big bands are remembered and celebrated for their musical contributions even now, the host of other bands have largely been forgotten in the fleeting popular culture memory. So perhaps since we as a society are moving into a 1990s nostalgia period, this list and the other volumes in this series are my shout out to the many other songs that we heard on rock and pop radio during the 1990s that were not from those other remembered bands. I will also add that some of these songs have not truly been forgotten, but they have some factors that work against them in retrospect. The common reasons are that the song title does not match the memorable lyrics or just the band name is bizarre or not particularly memorable. You will see examples of both on this list. That struggle to identify either the song name or the band name is of course why I call this series “That Song by That ’90s Band”.
So check out the list and I hope you enjoy it as much as I did in putting it together. If your favorite song from That ’90s Band does not show up in these 10 songs then check Volume 1 and Volume 2 or fear not because I have many other volumes in the works for this series. It is likely that you will see your favorite song in a subsequent volume. For our third volume here, the songs are broadly speaking in no particular rank order. If you want you can imagine these as the track listing for a compilation album. As always, enjoy and let me know your favorite song from That ’90s Band!
1. Marcy Playground – Sex and Candy (1997)
As I have said numerous times on the previous volumes of That ’90s Band, there were a lot of alternative rock bands that sprung up from the woodwork during the decade. Many of them were just one hit wonders, and Marcy Playground was no exception there. “Sex and Candy” was the third single from the band and appeared on their eponymous debut album. This song was a massive success and peaked at number 8 on the pop charts in the United States, and pushed the album to platinum sales. While the chorus and other elements of the song are catchy enough, what really makes the song stand out and be memorable is the delivery and cadence of vocalist John Wozniak.
2. Blind Melon – No Rain (1993)
On some level Blind Melon was another of the myriad alternative rock bands to emerge during the decade, but their sound incorporated more of a blues and folk sound to it. “No Rain” was released as the second single from their eponymous debut album. The song was a huge hit, reaching number 20 on the pop charts in the United States and pushing the album to four times platinum sales figures. Of course it was the band’s only real hit song, and the band broke up in the late 1990s following the commercial failure of their sophomore album, 1995’s Soup. They would eventually regroup and release a third album in 2008 entitled For My Friends. The band is most remembered for this song as well as its music video which features a young girl in a bee costume (similar to the album cover).
3. The Mighty Mighty Bosstones – The Impression That I Get (1997)
Unlike most other bands in these volumes, The Mighty Mighty Bosstones are not an alternative rock band. Instead they play a version of ska punk, and are one of the most influential bands within that subgenre. They had been around since the 1980s, but did not find mainstream commercial success until their fifth album entitled Let’s Face It. “The Impression That I Get” was the lead single from that album. It became a hit song around the world, and peaked at number 23 in the United States, helping to push the album to platinum sales. The band has released many more albums since then, but none have found anywhere near the level of commercial success. Nonetheless, the band remains an influential and highly regarded band within the world of ska.
4. Eve 6 – Inside Out (1998)
Eve 6 is a band from California that broke into mainstream success in the late 1990s. Their sound combined alternative rock and pop punk. They are a band that I think accurately embody the two hit wonder label. “Inside Out” was of course their first big hit that reached the top 40 of the pop charts in the United States and helped bring their eponymous debut album from 1998 to platinum sales. “Inside Out” is of course known for that catchy and instantly memorable chorus. Their second big hit was “Here’s to the Night” from their sophomore album, 2000’s Horrorscope. That song likewise reach the top 40 of the pop charts in the United States as well as helped that album achieve gold sales in the United States. But obviously since that song and album were released in the 2000s it will not appear on one of these 1990s lists. So just consider my mention of it here as a bonus.
5. The Verve – Bitter Sweet Symphony (1997)
The Verve was a British band that emerged in the early 1990s. Their sound largely essentially encompassed Britpop and alternative rock. “Bitter Sweet Symphony” from the band’s third album, 1997’s Urban Hymns, was by far their most successful song around the world. It propelled that album to platinum sales in the United States. However, as will become a theme on this particular list, their one hit wonder status is really only true within the context of the United States. Within their home country they were relatively popular throughout the decade, and had numerous songs chart well.
6. Blues Traveler – Run Around (1995)
Blues Traveler is an eclectic band from New Jersey whose sound encompasses a broad range of Americana-esque stylistic elements. They incorporate jam band, country rock, blues rock, and even alternative rock elements into their sound. They are truly a two hit wonder band. They got some airplay on college radio stations with their first few albums, but their big commercial breakthrough came with the release of their 1994 album entitled Four. That album contained their two massive hits in “Run Around” and “Hook”. The success of these two songs pushed the sales of that album to six times platinum in the United States. It even assisted in increasing sales of their first three albums, which all attained gold status in the United States following the success of Four. “Run Around” is an infectious song and it is no surprise that it caught on with a mass audience. It is one of those songs that is a crucial part of the soundtrack of the mid-1990s.
7. Gin Blossoms – Follow You Down (1996)
Gin Blossoms have been featured on both previous volumes of That 90s Band. This will be the last time I include them. They are featured because while they had multiple hit songs during the decade, they have not retained the name recognition as comparable bands that had multiple platinum albums. It is not entirely clear to me why this band has been largely erased from our collective memory, but that does seem to be the reality of it. Nonetheless, “Follow You Down” was a top ten hit on the pop charts in the United States, as well as being the lead single from their third album, 1996’s Congratulations I’m Sorry. That success led to platinum sales for that album. Sadly though, they would break up in 1997. They reunited in the 2000s and have since released three more albums, though of course none of them have found anywhere near as much commercial success as New Miserable Experience and Congratulations I’m Sorry.
8. Silverchair – Tomorrow (1994)
Silverchair was another of the myriad alternative rock bands to emerge in the 1990s. They are an Australian band, but play a version of grunge-inspired alternative rock that makes them sonically similar to many of the other bands from the decade. As is a common tale in this series, “Tomorrow” was their first single and was easily their most successful single around the world. “Tomorrow” topped the rock charts in the United States and greatly contributed to their debut album, 1995’s Frogstomp, going double platinum in the United States. Silverchair hung around on rock radio for the remainder of the decade but never found anywhere near the commercial success of this first song. However, they did remain widely popular in their native Australia, having numerous songs continue to chart well for them into the late 2000s.
9. Blur – Song 2 (1997)
I will admit that for the longest time I thought of this song only as the ‘woo hoo’ song. If there are any readers here from Britain, you might be surprised to see a band like Blur on this type of list. While Blur was a hugely popular and commercially successful band in Britain throughout the decade, they did not have anywhere near that level of success in the United States. I am sure there is a story there as to why, but I do not know it. Blur truly only had a couple songs even make a dent with an American audience. Fortunately though, “Song 2” was one of them. “Song 2” was the second single from the band’s fifth album. The success of that song helped their eponymous album reach gold sales in the United States, and that was the only album from the band to achieve any significant sales figures in the United States. Again, Blur had numerous gold and platinum albums in Britain, but they never achieved that level of success in the United States.
10. Filter – Take a Picture (1999)
This is another of those songs that is a cusp song in the sense that while the album it is on was released in 1999, the song itself did not reach its peak popularity until 2000. But still, I am counting it. Filter is an American band from Cleveland, Ohio that stylistically incorporates elements of both industrial and alternative rock. They found some initial commercial success with their debut album, 1995’s Short Bus, and in particular with lead single “Hey Man, Nice Shot” which sounds a lot like Nine Inch Nails. But by far their most mainstream or commercially successful single was “Take a Picture”, which exists in a much more dreamy and mellow type of a sound. The song peaked at number 12 on the pop charts in the United States and aided the band’s sophomore album, 1999’s Title of Record, in reaching platinum sales.
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