3 Rock Songs From the 1990s That Will Actually Make You Smarter

The 1990s cared about your education. At least the music did, I mean. If you were a rock fan during the decade, chances were you learned just as much about the world while listening to your albums as you did in the classroom.

Here below, we wanted to highlight three tracks from back in the time period that continue to enlighten us even today. Indeed, these are three rock songs from the 1990s that will actually make you smarter.

“Creep” by Radiohead from ‘Pablo Honey’ (1993)

This track will wake up your brain on a number of levels. Not only has Radiohead always been an interesting band with compelling lyrics and sounds, but on this tune, the British-born group is self-deprecating. Singer Thom Yorke is calling himself out (and the band, too, by extension). It can be hard to admit you’re less-than. It can be hard to be self-critical. But Radiohead shows us just how to do it. Their example can help us stop for a moment and wonder if we’re also doing something creepy or wrong. A marquee band providing this example? We’re all better off for it.

“Under The Bridge” by Red Hot Chili Peppers from ‘Blood Sugar Sex Magik’ (1991)

Just as it can be difficult to admit you’re a creep, it can be difficult to admit you have a problem. It can also be hard for an entire city to admit it has issues. But all of that comes together on this famous rock song from the early 1990s. Red Hot Chili Peppers’ lead vocalist Anthony Kiedis recounts a time when he was badly addicted to drugs. He would go to an overpass on the edge of the city and, underneath it, he would get his fix. But sharing this story should open many eyes and ears. It should stop Kiedis in his tracks, and it should also shed some light on what’s going on in the world. If you didn’t know by now, you do now.

“Jeremy” by Pearl Jam from ‘Ten’ (1991)

It’s true—violence is never the answer. And gun violence is especially never the answer. That’s the message behind this track from the grunge band Pearl Jam. Lead vocalist Eddie Vedder took the inspiration for this song right out of the newspaper headlines. He told the story of a young boy who shot himself in the middle of his classroom one day. With hope, the story helped the news travel even farther and wider. Why? So that others could hear the truth and get educated.

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