3 Sad One-Hit Wonders From the 1990s That Make Us Feel Less Alone

It’s strange what can build community. Sometimes a group of people can come together to celebrate a sports team. Or maybe there is a new pizza place in town that brings everyone out on a weekend. But then there’s music—that melodic galvanizing force.

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Songs certainly can bring people together—even sad ones. And that’s just what we wanted to highlight here below. We wanted to look at three tunes from back in the day that help. Indeed, these are three sad one-hit wonders from the 1990s that make us feel less alone.

“What Is Love” by Haddaway from ‘The Album’ (1993)

When it comes to the human experience, there may be one question we all wonder. One question that has been thought about throughout thousands of years, and longer. What is love? For some reason, while the question has been the subtext of many a song over the decades, it was the artist Haddaway in 1993 who spoke it out clearly and boldly. Haddaway’s voice fills a room in about .00001 seconds. And in so doing, he makes us remember that we aren’t the only ones wondering about the nature of love.

“No Rain” by Blind Melon from ‘Blind Melon’ (1993)

The 1990s definitely had a vibe. Large groups of people felt the same way—like they all wanted to curl up in their giant pair of ripped jeans and their worn-out hoodies and let the rain pelt the windows. Indeed, there was a gloomy feel to the decade. Grunge had a lot to do with it. But so did the band Blind Melon and their catchy, dreary number, “No Rain”. We all understood singer Shannon Hoon’s melancholy. Heck, it was practically a 1990s movement!

“Brick” by Ben Folds Five from ‘Whatever And Ever Amen’ (1997)

This song made a lot of people feel less alone. The subject of the lyrics is a hard decision. A young couple has to decide whether or not to keep a child. There may be nothing more difficult to think about. And yet, Folds does so in this emotional, bare, vulnerable offering from 1997. No matter where you stand on the issue, it’s clear Folds has deep feelings on the matter. And it’s that sense of depth and emotion that made a lot of people in the same position feel less alone in the 1990s.

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