Alternative rock reached its creative peak in the mid-90s. If you missed it the first time around, you’re in luck, as the decade has made a comeback in both fashion and music.
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Nostalgia plays a big role in the cycles of rock music. When one decade bleeds into the next, the previous era feels stale. But wait for enough time, and what was once stale begins to feel exciting. Something old to recycle for a new generation. Beyond nostalgia, some songs endure because they are just that good, as you’ll hear with these classic tunes from 1994.
“Love Spreads” by The Stone Roses
More than half a decade had passed between The Stone Roses’ groundbreaking debut and its follow-up. When the Manchester legends returned with Second Coming in 1994, the Britpop bands they influenced were dominating the U.K. charts. Meanwhile, The Stone Roses had adopted a new sound. Instead of jangly psychedelia, guitarist John Squire had taken the group in a heavy blues direction.
“Love Spreads” became a classic comeback single, featuring an iconic bass groove from Gary “Mani” Mounfield. Though the band reunited in 2011, Second Coming would be their final album. It may not have shifted culture like “I Wanna Be Adored” or “Fools Gold”, but “Love Spreads” sounds no less powerful today. RIP, Mani.
“Not For You” by Pearl Jam
By the time Pearl Jam released their third studio album, Vitalogy, singer Eddie Vedder had had enough of Frustrated Incorporated. His frustration is palpable across the album, including on “Corduroy”, a title alluding to clothing companies marketing Vedder’s brown thrift store jacket as a boutique item. He felt the music industry was exploiting youth culture, and in “Not For You”, he argues that the culture, instead, belongs to the kids.
The friction between art and commerce is nothing new. But the grunge bands had a difficult time navigating blockbuster album sales with a punk ethos. The conflict reached its peak in 1994 when Pearl Jam filed an antitrust complaint against Ticketmaster.
“Slide Away” by Oasis
Before Oasis recorded Definitely Maybe, Johnny Marr lent Noel Gallagher a Gibson Les Paul to use during the sessions. Gallagher said he pulled the guitar from its case and immediately wrote “Slide Away”. The song is about a fading relationship, and Gallagher’s tender melody is delivered in a punk voice by his brother, Liam. It foreshadowed the colossal anthems of the next Oasis album, (What’s The Story) Morning Glory?, and remains one of Liam’s finest vocal takes.
The Britpop hysteria surrounding Oasis in the 1990s wouldn’t have mattered without the tunes. Songs like “Slide Away” endure, as witnessed on the band’s Live ’25 stadium tour.
Photo by Alberto Pezzali/NurPhoto via Getty Images
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