Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About The Bulletin. (Bend, OR) 1963-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 7, 2021)
ALL THINGS MUSIC PAGE 4 • GO! MAGAZINE Her jazzy, arty sensibilities are on full display on her breakout hit, “Criminal,” a deceptively catchy and ominous piano dirge that subtly grapples with sexuali- ty-as-a-weapon. <...BABY ONE MORE TIME,= BRITNEY SPEARS musical world with his 1994 breakout single “Loser,” from the album “Mellow Gold.” Al- most every avenue Beck would later explore surfaces on this track: nonsequitur lyrics (here disguised as very ’90s self-loathing), folk melodies and danceable hip-hop beats. <LOSING MY RELIGION,= R.E.M. Similarly to boy bands, women pop sing- ers experienced a golden age in the late ’90s, and Britney Spears led the pack. “...Baby One More Time” and its massive earworm chorus sounded familiar yet fresh when it first dropped on Spears’ 1998 album of the same name, and still holds up today. <DOO WOP (THAT THING),= LAURYN HILL R.E.M. has created more iconic songs than any band has a right to, and “Losing My Religion,” from 1991’s “Out of Time” album, might be its most iconic. It’s the catchiest hit single that doesn’t have a sin- gle verse, chorus, break or bridge, just one stream-of-consciousness rant over a cycling mandolin figure. <THUNDER ROLLS,= GARTH BROOKS Continued from previous page Elusive and influential rapper Lauryn Hill got her start in The Fugees, but sealed her impressive legacy with her debut (and to date, only) solo album, 1998’s “The Mise- ducation of Lauryn Hill.” “Doo Wop (That Thing),” the album’s first single, takes a hard look at relation- ships, with Hill demon- strating her considerable vocal chops over a neo- soul backdrop. <LOSER,= BECK The poster child for ’90s genre-mash- ing, Beck offered the first glimpse into his mixed-up Garth Brooks may be the name most associated with country music’s pop take- over in the ’90s. “Thunder Rolls,” from his second album, 1990’s “No Fences,” makes a great case as to why that is. The song, first recorded by Tanya Tucker, starts with ominous thunder before launch- ing into an equally ominous gui- tar figure that points to South- ern rock as much as Nashville twang, while the chorus is pure pop. <MAN! I FEEL LIKE A WOMAN!= SHANIA TWAIN Garth Brooks brought country music into the ’90s pop mainstream, and Shania Twain helped keep it there with “Man, I Feel Like a Woman.” The single, re- leased in 1999 and taken from Twain’s third album, 1997’s “Come on Over,” was ines- capable for the rest of the decade thanks to its full-throated celebration of womanhood, delivered over huge hooks and guitar riffs. <FREAK ON A LEASH,= KORN Nu-metal (or rap-rock, or whatever you want to call it) dominated heavy music in the tail end of the ’90s, combining streetwise hip-hop grooves and swagger with sludgy, downtuned guitar riffs. Korn pioneered this musical mix, and in 1998 crossed over into the mainstream with its album “Follow the Leader” and the single “Freak on a Leash.” <O.P.P.,= NAUGHTY BY NATURE Naughty By Nature’s break- out hit, from the trio’s 1991, self-titled second album, cel- ebrates other people’s … er, personal effects with subver- sive, sexually progressive lyr- ics. The chorus chant (you know the one, unless you’re not down with O.P.P. I guess) is still one of the catchiest hooks to ever hit airwaves. <LONGVIEW,= GREEN DAY Punk and ska also hit the mainstream in 890s mixtape honorable mentions 2021 SHOP LOCAL CHALLENGE THANK YOU, CENTRAL OREGON FOR SUPPORTING OUR LOCALLY OWNED, SMALL BUSINESS! Come visit our amazing New Location! 759 NE Greenwood Ave • Bend 541-323-2332 Honorable mentions: “Foolish Games,” Jewel “The Unforgiven,” Metallica “21st Century (Digital Boy),” Bad Religion “Rooster,” Alice in Chains “Drunken Butterfly,” Sonic Youth “Self Esteem,” The Offspring “Soul and Fire,” Sebadoh “Bulls on Parade,” Rage Against the Machine “Let Her Cry,” Hootie and the Blowfish “Going Back to Cali,” The Notorious B.I.G. “Fell on Black Days,” Soundgarden “Insane in the Brain,” Cypress Hill “Sabotage,” Beastie Boys “You Oughta Know,” Alanis Morissette “Foolish Games,” Jewel “A Shot in the Arm,” Wilco “Come to My Window,” Melissa Etheridge “Say it Ain’t So,” Weezer “When I Come Around,” Green Day “Feel the Pain,” Dinosaur Jr. “You Get What You Give,” New Radicals “Linger,” The Cranberries “Macarena,” Los Del Rio “Gettin’ Jiggy Wit It,” Will Smith “Smooth,” Santana feat. Rob Thomas “Truly Madly Deeply,” Savage Garden THURSDAY, JANUARY 7, 2021 • THE BULLETIN the early-to-mid ’90s (don’t call it a revival, the music never stopped post-Sex Pistols). Green Day was one of the biggest new punk bands to hit the scene post-Nirvana, and “Longview” is quintessential ’90s: A bored kid singing about how even his favorite, ahem, hobby won’t alleviate the boredom. <1979,= SMASHING PUMPKINS Combining goth sensibilities with hard rock riffs and pop hooks, The Smashing Pumpkins were one of the more esoteric alternative rock bands of the ’90s. “1979,” from the band’s sprawling, 1995 double-al- bum “Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sad- ness,” smooths out some of the band’s raw edges, and is one of frontman Billy Cor- gan’s most personal statements. <KEEP YA HEAD UP,= 2PAC Tupac “2Pac” Shakur would revolutionize hip- hop over the course of just four studio albums in his lifetime, and “Keep Ya Head Up” is a great exam- ple of what set the rapper apart from his contemporar- ies. The 1993 song condemns violence against women, specifically the abuse suffered by Black women, with a sensitivity not often found in the genre. e e Got local music news to share? Drop me a line at brian.mcelhiney@gmail.com. “The Boy is Mine,” Monica and Brandy “Bittersweet Symphony,” The Verve “Wonderwall,” Oasis “Don’t Speak,” No Doubt “Two Princes,” Spin Doctors “Shoop,” Salt-N-Pepa “Tearin’ Up My Heart,” *NSYNC “No Diggity,” Blackstreet “Semi-Charmed Life,” Third Eye Blind “Smells Like Teen Spirit,” Nirvana “Strawberry Wine,” Deana Carter “Fancy,” Reba McEntire “Boot Scootin’ Boogie,” Brooks & Dunn “Wide Open Spaces,” The Chicks “Web in Front,” Archers of Loaf “Flagpole Sitta,” Harvey Danger “Divine Hammer,” The Breeders “I Try,” Macy Gray “American Music,” Violent Femmes “Laid,” James “Radiation Vibe,” Fountains of Wayne “Friends of P,” The Rentals “Cut Your Hair,” Pavement “Girl from Mars,” Ash “The Impression That I Get,” Mighty Mighty Bosstones “Bound for the Floor,” Local H “If it Makes You Happy,” Sheryl Crow