3 Songs From the 1990s That I Wish I Could Hear Again for the First Time

I don’t want to sound like an old-timer, but hear me out. Before phones became cameras, recording studios, Photoshop, and digital companions, you had to wait for things. When an album was released, you drove to the record store to buy it. And if you didn’t have enough money, you could still hear it at a listening station. The anticipation (and youth) made the experience of music discovery seem profound. And it was.

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So if I had the power to reexperience a record, here are 3 songs from the 1990s that I wish I could hear again for the first time.  

“Planet Telex” by Radiohead from ‘The Bends’ (1995)

I still remember my brother coming home with The Bends on CD. We put it in, and the first sound we heard was an oscillating noise. Feedback resulting from an echo unit getting fed back into itself. The title, “Planet Telex”, suggests an otherworldly transmission. This wasn’t “Creep”, but it also wasn’t entirely removed from Radiohead’s blockbuster alt-rock hit. Yet Jonny Greenwood’s spacey keyboard hinted at what was to come in Radiohead’s post-rock chapter. I sometimes wish I could travel back to my brother’s room. We stared at the speakers, and we stared at each other.

“Supersonic” by Oasis from ‘Definitely Maybe’ (1994)

Many rock bands in the 1990s released big-sounding, ultra-produced songs and albums. Kurt Cobain famously disliked Butch Vig’s production of Nevermind. But “Supersonic” was different. Oasis was a punk band with Beatles melodies. Noel Gallagher’s intro guitar notes had a similar culture-shifting vibe to Cobain’s opening chords on “Smells Like Teen Spirit”. But this wasn’t angst. It was hope. Liam Gallagher sang like Johnny Rotten. He sneered, leaned heavily into his Mancunian accent, and then stood there. On stage, he stared at the audience, perfectly still, while wearing a collared shirt, baggy pants, and Adidas shoes. I cut my bangs the next day.

“The Power Of Equality” by Red Hot Chili Peppers from ‘Blood Sugar Sex Magik’ (1991)

One morning in high school, my friend Dave came up to me and said, “I have the new Red Hot Chili Peppers record.” So we did what any teen would do in this situation: we skipped school, drove to a Hardee’s parking lot, and cranked the disc. “Hey, batter-batter, hey, batter, hey, batter-batter.” That’s how Anthony Kiedis begins “The Power Of Equality”. In one album, John Frusciante had graduated from teenage virtuoso to guitar legend. Flea’s bass felt heavier, deeper. And Chad Smith’s drumming revealed the spacious rooms of the L.A. mansion that the Funky Monks had holed up in to record. Producer Rick Rubin aided the band’s reinvention, and Blood Sugar Sex Magik became RHCP’s first masterpiece.

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