Young man that was probably one of your best videos to date. I was struck by how to me, you humanized your message, in how music can speak so soulfully to us as individuals. I'm 60 years old and have been playing guitar since I was knee high. Keep it up. Your greatest strength is your personal approach in how you communicate and connect. 😊
I will always thank the melancholy of the 90s. I was in my 20s and in a very weird place. These songs became a part of me and will always be a part of me.
That song "Winter" gives me chills. I've actually recently taken up piano and one of my goals is to learn that song. Tori is a genius. To be able to play with the complexity she does and sing like an angel at the same time.
There's another song with the same title by Joshua Radin, if you haven't heard it before I'd recommend it. Brings me tears every time because it reminds me of my ex wife
I couldn't agree more with what you said about Counting Crows and Gin Blossoms. I listened to those 2 bands constantly and to this day, anytime I put them on I'm right back in High School again.
has been on every computer, phone, mp3 player, etc. I have ever owned since it's release. And yes, I know some of those things didn't exist when it was released but I did have a computer and it was one of the first things I put on everything when they did come out.
Saw Toad the Wet Sproket at a small college near my home. We sat on gym mats and listened. The singer had bare feet while he played and sang. One of my favorite music shows I ever attended. Just did a deep dive on them 30 years later. Good memories.
I think you managed to get most of the good ones! Great job on this list! I love that you have "Fake Plastic Trees" on this list. That song and its best friend "High and Dry" have gotten me through some hard times. I remember hearing the latter song on the radio as a kid and it immediately stuck with me, but I didn't learn the name of the song until nearly 20 years after I first heard it! "Fade Into You" is one of the sweetest songs I know. That one automatically plays in my head if I'm feeling sad. One last thing - when that guy complained about you talking too much and you decided you'd talk more just to spite him, he indirectly did me a favor! Your stories are the best thing about your videos!
9:41 Yes! So glad to hear you’re doing a video on Jeff Buckley’s guitar playing. Such an underrated player whose voice often overshadows his incredible guitar skills. Check out his guitar solo during “The Way Young Lovers Do” live in Corregio, Italy.
Really heartfelt video. I was never into alternative in the ‘90’s. I was still listening to 70’s & 80’s Rock….I couldn’t stand the music at the time. As I got older, and had to travel away from my wife and kids for years (starting in 2007 due to coming recession -2008 GFC) I listened to plenty of “classic rock” radio which was now playing these songs. They began to sound like something to me, along with my longing for home….I found myself growing in a calming/pained relationship with so many of these tunes.
Sounds like you and I are around the same age, man, and I get the same nostalgia kick from mid to late 90s music. Gin Blossoms, Goo Goo Dolls, Dishwalla, Spacehog... I call it my High School Memories playlist. It's really extraordinary how music has this profound effect on the soul. That was also before the days of MP3s and iPods, so I used to spend a lot of time listening to the radio with my hand poised over the 'Record' button on my dual cassette player. Lol. But there was something intrinsically magical about that moment when you're going through a bad break-up or things are just going wrong in your life, and a song comes over the radio that perfectly and thoroughly personifies what you're feeling at that particular time. It's like the gods saw you at that low point and sent you a raven.
Yess! 90's alternative ballads. Have been waiting for this one. Love the return of the Ozark shirt! Congrats on 854k Subscribers! Damn, that Taylor looks and sounds beautiful, I want one haha.
As a musician who was desperately trying to break into the music industry in the late 90s, nearly all of these songs and albums hit home for me. August and Everything After is one of my lifetime albums. Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts and passion about this great music.
I actually got chills for some reason when you went from Fake Plastic Trees to Until I Fall Away. I saw Gin Blossoms in concert for the first time about 4 years ago and they played their cover of FPT and it was so freaking awesome.Gin Blossoms fans probably already knew that was a thing but it was really cool for me.
When you said August the whole album, I was in total agreement and I have often told friends and anyone who would listen that that album is the most perfect encapsulation of a band's sound where every song is a part of a complete story. It's a rare gem that stands alone and reflects its natural beauty every time. I'm very much a hard rock guy, but Counting Crows just gets me.
Hope Sandoval (Mazzy Star) reminds me a lot of Susanna Hoffs from The Bangles, both in appearance and in vocal prowess. Both are incredible singers and performers. I admit to having posters of both of them on my wall ball in the 90's. Not ashamed at all.
I knew the guys in the Gin Blossoms back before NME came out. Doug Hopkins, troubled though he was, was a good guy. I was out with them one evening and had no ride home - he gave me the keys to his car and said, "You can get it back to me tomorrow."
i first saw jeff buckley on an mtv show that showed up-and-coming bands performing live, in a studio, to nobody. they played 'grace' and it was so far beyond every other song, in every way, that my jaw was on the floor. really wish i could've seen him live.
CROWING! Glen Philipps is one of my favorite songwriters. That entire album is incredible, but that particular song is a shining example for me of turning vulnerability into a raw and amazing work of art. In addition, that song makes great use of a capo, and the harmonies are epic.
Great list dude! I think the song "Walk by the Ocean" from Toad is a heartbreaker too. Very melancholy. The line "And half an hour later we packed up our things We said we'd send letters and all those little things And they knew we were lying but they smiled just the same It seemed they'd already forgotten we'd came" really hits. That idea that we'll always keep in touch with folks we meet through life but in reality, we often don't.
The nostalgia in these songs puts me back in my high school art room every time I hear any of them. Those were incredibly great times but they were also incredibly painful times.
I am so, so stoked to hear The Jayhawks mentioned on this channel. One of my very favorite bands too! Gary Louris is such a tasty singer, song writer, and guitar player. Cheers!
Man your videos are really hitting me. I was in high-school during these songs. We were so lucky to have such great music to grow up with. Really liking your whole thing going on. New big fan here.
Thanks! You just grew my Spotify playlist. Thanks for the memory too, of many a morning drives in to high school Senior year, picking up a friend on the way, us singing and shouting the lyrics to Mr. Jones at full blast. Best and worst of times.
I WORE OUT August and Everything After. You absolutely hit the nail on the head. Funny what you said about Mazzy Star. Maria McKee's harmonies on Sullivan Street almost overshadowed Adam's. I had no idea what she looked like, but I just knew she was gorgeous!
Like you said, the entire August and Everything After is such a captivating album, but I always go back to "Anna Begins." There's something about the way that song transitions from the pre-chorus to the chorus, it's like sunlight breaking through the clouds.
You've seen his vid of the Jim Mankey solo, right? But Mazzy Star... they produced such beautifully crushing music. FIY is only halfway there. The world recently lost Dave Roback and before that Keith Mitchell (the drummer playing the tambourine in the clip). Most of these bands he included I couldnt stomach, but coincidently i'd see a few of these people just walking around town in the 90's. Hope was one of them. Johnette and Hope are very similar songwriters.
The interstate love song by stone temple pilots is probably the closest song from the 90s to my heart, I just turned 16 a few weeks ago and that song was something special. I would look at old photos from the 90s with my dad in them and my grandparents and I looks like everyone had a great time and people genuinely looked happy. It also reminds me of when my mom left and that was the song that made me realize what actually happened and it hurts like a bitch to this day but that song plays in my head atleast once a day
This is the first video of yours that I have seen so I was blown away to discover that your 1990s selection was basically my soundtrack for the decade. You did a great job picking just 10 songs! Since you asked, here's a few other songs from some of the same bands that you mentioned that I think would fit this list. The Jayhawks - Haywire . . . "my whole life has gone haywire." Gin Blossoms - 29 "Some rides don't have much of a finish. That's the ride I took. Through good and bad straight through indifference without a second look . . ." Toad - I Will Not Take These Things for Granted, Pray Your Gods, and Windmills are a few of their songs that I never get tired of. But there are so many more great songs. Tori Amos - Silent All These Years and China Sunny Day Real Estate (Jeremy Enigk) - Circles Counting Crows - you picked the best one for the video but Anna Begins is a great melancholy song too. I couldn't help but think that Ben Folds Five's "Brick" would fit on a list like this too. Similar theme to Freshman. Maybe not "alternative" though. Sebadoh - Willing to Wait The Posies - Any Other Way The Red House Painters - Grace Cathedral Park, Katy Song, Trailways, and their Cars cover of All Mixed Up are all pretty gut-wrenching early 90s songs.
August and Everything After has one of the greatest lyrics ever in Raining In Baltimore where Adam sings "Three thousand five hundred miles away but what would you change if you could?" Man that lyric is gut wrenching tragic and dense with meaning and implications.
Mike is referring to “sense memories” with the songs. Such an interesting and cool phenomenon that hardly anyone speaks about. GG’s!! Awesome video. Love your content
There were sooo many beautiful songs like this released in the 90’s. I could easily make a top 100 90’s indie ballads and still have to leave some out, it’s crazy! ”August…” is and will always be one of my favorit albums of all time, it really is an emotional masterpiece❤ Great list!
OK… I usually don’t comment on any video. But I will say that somehow I stumbled across your channel and I’m happy that I did. The more you tell about your life the more it is relatable to me. I think we came up around the same time but you might be a little younger. I also did newspapers from the time I was 9 until my mid 20s. I remember, watching others move on with their lives while I was doing newspapers and working multiple jobs. Actually newspapers bought me my first Gibson Explorer with a Kahler back in 1985. It was everything to me. I worked my butt off for that guitar and I still have it to this day. But unfortunately, I don’t have my own UA-cam channel that produces content and I don’t get to do much music like I used to. Eventually I moved on and had to grow up. Now driving tractor trailers and trying to get in my guitars as much as possible in my downtime. I really miss it. This list was a pretty good list, to finish it with the number one being Counting Crows really shocked me. It’s almost like we’ve had the exact same experiences. That is like one of my all-time favorite melancholy albums. I do have some different songs in the middle though in my top 10. But I just want to say you do a great job with the channel, and you did a good job with the list. Keep on doing your thing man, you’re doing a good job.
Not sure if these are “ballads”, but definitely gut wrenching. No particular order Blind Melon - Sleepyhouse S.P. Drown/ Mayonaise Sunny Day Real Estate- 47 Tori Amos - Tear in your hand Mazzy Star - Fade into you Alanis - Perfect Sinead - Black boys on Moped Pearl Jam - Black/ Release Me
Jeff Buckley definitely is the real deal musician. I would have a hard time picking one song for this list, but I’d probably still have to go with “Last Goodbye.” It’s so sad, so good and so relatable. I was able to see him at First Ave as well but it was the show shortly before he died. Great video and trip down memory lane, Mike!
Amazing video and completely agree with the songs. The 90's were my college years and a time of self discovery especially in the area of love. These songs take me back. One that always brings me to a melancholy moment in time is "Crown of Thorns" by Mother Love Bone. It gets me every time.
So happy to see that you remember the art of Jeremy Enigk. It would be great if you would make a video on the guitar work in SDRE"s album Diary. Such a masterpiece..
Beautiful analogy on the space heater.... Love seeing Tori and Mazzy that high, when i hear "Fade Into You' or something like "Silent all These Years", its like the world just stops and it *centers* you and you feel so present in the moment. My Honorable Mentions + Deep Cuts Bush "Glycerine" is so simple and all encompassing -- same with "Alien" on the same album. Everclear "Strawberry" and "Pale Green Stars" are both severely emotionally draining songs about effing up and how it affects those around you as well. Oasis "Dont Look Back in Anger" is one of the most perfect songs ever written. Alice in Chains entire Dirt album... "Down in a Hole" "Dirt" "Would?" "Rooster" its its own list. One super odd one is "Doll Parts" by Hole.. It's great on it's own, but if you look up and experience Miley Cyrus's cover of it, it really shines and hits you over the head with how much the song is a pure love letter to Stevie Nicks. It's jarring, and explains why Courtney was so quick to volunteer to sing Gold Dust Woman on the Crow 2 soundtrack.
I feel like Sparkle and Fade is one of the low-key most underrated albums of the 90s. It's fantastic from start to finish. And despite spawning 4 singles, its best songs were still somehow rarely played on the radio.
Glad you included “fade into you”. I would say “lover you should have come over” for Buckley for me personally. Can’t get through that one without crying. “Down in a hole” by AiC is also a notable. So many good ones. Great video.
I love this video and your descriptions of these songs - both ones I loved too, and ones that are new to me. Thank you for being vulnerable sharing your emotions and memories with us!
jeremy enigk is my favorite vocalist ever. his voice is so unique its almost alien. glad you gave his solo record a nod. here are some of my picks: hum - i hate it too sunny day real estate - days were golden death cab for cutie - line of best fit at the drive in - 198d archers of loaf - chumming the ocean elliott smith - no name no. 5 jimmy eat world - anderson mesa mineral - &serenading
Amen brother, Round Here is my all time most favorite song. It is special, timeless, and soulful. His live versions of that song are incredible, one here on UA-cam is nearly 13 minutes long, it's like a Shakespeare play.
Maaaan! You nailed the nr 1. That whole album is among the most amazing and magic ever! I’ve got so many feelings to all those songs ❤ His voice is really amazing and he sings with so much feelings that it’s just… I don’t know man. Thanks for the reminder man!
round here is one of the most beautiful songs i've ever heard. i cant even complain that it was number one in a list with winter and fake plastic trees. that song hits so hard! just try to sing along to it and not feel like you're gonna cry, it's sorta impossible.
I feel like nobody ever mentions these bands. This is literally my favorite genre but I find that many people didn’t like this stuff. I trying to revive it actually with the stuff I am writing . Awesome video man!
Damn good list. I would add She talks to angels: The Black Crows Zombie: The Cranberries Water’s Edge: 7 Mary 3 One Headlight: The Wallflowers Nothing compares 2 U: Sinead O’Connor 4am: Our Lady Peace Leave it Alone: Moist Fiddler’s Green: The Tragically Hip Apparitions: Matthew Good Band Robin’s Song: Barstool Prophets
You’re spot on about The Counting Crows album..I wasn’t a fan of them when they were huge actually I was kinda annoyed by them until recently..I’m 47 now and I loaded the album into my music and have been listening to and enjoying every song on it for the past 4 months now..
Not sure if youve ever heard of him but elliott smith wrote some of the saddest songs of all time. Songs like angeles or clementine are a good place to start, dude was an amazing guitarist and lyricist.
Great list and great video. We overlap quite a bit. And I second the comment about Jeff Buckley's dad, Tim Buckley. Also a tragic early death and also a supernaturally potent singing voice. Buzzin' Fly and Happy Time are my two favorite Tim Buckley songs. Highly recommend
There’s a song from 1990 that I don’t hear often but when I do, I always get that tingling up my arm. Joey by Concrete Blonde. I thinks it’s their only hit but it’s such a powerful song.
So many songs that really speak to me on this list. Fade Into You is haunting. The Freshmen always hits like a gut punch. Round Here is just so sad and lost sounding. Enjoyed the list and thought it cool to hear your memories of these.
Back in the mid-90's, my mom and I would play August and Everything After in the car whenever we went on a trip. It was our road trip music. I know it's not 90's, but if you do a video about the 2000's, my #1 album would be Sea Change, by Beck. Nothing in my life was as poignant and so simultaneously right and wrong as playing Already Dead on my acoustic guitar to my mom as she lay in her death bed, delirious from morphine. Everything about that album tears at the heart, and the production is so, so brilliant.
8th grade me loved some Gin Blossoms. They're a band you don't hear much about any longer but Hey Jealousy was pretty much inescapable back then. Also, who else remembers a band called Teenage Fanclub from around the same time? That's definitely one you don't heat about at all. Shortly after my freshman year i abandoned all the melancholy, softer music of my middle school years (Creep doesn't really put you in the mindset to go 70 yards for the TD or slip by the center amd tackle the quarterback, but Far Beyond Driven will). If the vocalist wasn't yelling at me i wasn't happy, but now I enjoy going back to the slower stuff now as opposed to the angrier music. Everyone seems angry enough already. If you've never heard of Teenage Fanclub go give The Concept a listen if you're into the type of songs in this video. Oh and I couldn't help but be enthralled by Fade Into You despite my resistance to that style. Hope Sandoval is an angel.
That was a decent list. I had my own list too back then. I was a teen in the 90s and the music and certain songs are associated with specific memories and feelings.
I can't believe you had number 1 right!! I was legitimately concerned that they'd be skipped. I can barely think about round here without getting emotional. Kudos. thank you!
10:45. Yep, hope Sandoval is freaking gorgeous. As a hardcore metal head, this one grabbed me by the soul….. the memory of my teenage self listening to this while wearing a slayer shirt and combat boots cracks me up.
Your younger viewers may not know but Jeff Buckley's Dad was Tim Buckley,a great singer,songwriter and guitar player in his own right. Tim Buckley wrote a very famous song which has been covered by many called 'Song to The Siren.' There is a brilliant version of him playing it on youtube.
Speaking of Tori Amos, the song "China" also hits HARD. I also recommend listening to "Mother's Eyes" by Great White from the Sail Away album (1994). Jesus that's got to be the most gut-wrenching song I've ever heard. Anyone with kids (or who's lost a loved one unexpectedly) will choke up after hearing that song (it's a great song though).
The 90's to me were the last really superb decade of music. MySpace. Wow, talk about an echo from the past. Gonna have to check put some of this music. I honestly dont remember it.... I love the personal anecdotes. I feel like I always learn something and get to know you better...or even learn something about myself...✌️
Verve Pipe, yes and The Verve - Bittersweet Symphony Everlast - What It's Like Eve 6 - Jesus Nightlight GooGoo Dolls - Name, Iris Third Eye Blind - God of Wine (others) sucks so much was overplayed on the radio
check out these songs: Warren Zevon - Real or Not Dusty Springfield - Bits and Pieces - BUT BE CAREFUL, most copies on YT are sped up to avoid copyright issues! there is only one version I have found that is correct, and it is 3:50seconds - faith o'brien page on YT
I think one of the most telling parts of Hallelujah is the sigh he lets out at the beginning, just knowing the song is going to completely gut him emotionally.
Great video Mike! - a Time Machine! I bought the Tori Amos EP “Crucify” that had “Winter” on it. It also had covers of “Smells Like Teen Spirit” , “Angie” , “Thank You”. The covers blew my mind and I listened to it so many times. 30 years later I’m still listening and mesmerized. “Winter” is a masterpiece.
I have two suggestions that were on my list back in the day: one that maybe you know is is "Cry" by The Sundays. Give it a whirl you guys, great tune and perfect for a list like this. The next is "Turn My Head" by Live. These were two of my "my life sucks" after a breakup songs.
I've heard about half of this list, thanks for sharing man! Now I'll have to check out the other half. I was born in 89 so I was busy with Barney and other stuff in the early '90s when a bunch of these came out lol. Now I'll be 35 this year...
I was gonna do Lover You Should Have Come Over but wanted to choose a universally loved song just in case Shrek fans didn’t know about this version. :)
@@TheArtofGuitar That song is absolutely amazing too. I could go on for hours about how amazing Jeff Buckley was. Like Corpus Cristi Carol from the Grace album. Absolute shivers down the spine.
@@TheArtofGuitar what's funny is that I was maybe 10 or 11 when Shrek came out so I guess I heard the original version first, but it didn't stick with me. I heard Jeff's version in the movie "Lord of War" with Nicolas Cage and that has stayed with me ever since. It's such a shame to find an artist and start reading about them only to find out they passed away when you were a kid.
@@TheArtofGuitar”Lover…” is such a powerful song. The lyrics resonated so much with me after my wife died. “All my blood for the sweetness of her laughter It's never over”. Indeed!
Amazing list, Mike. Radiohead: well, with "The Bends", they had me. And I never left. With this album, RH was only 1 album away from a timeless masterpiece. Mazzy Star: OMG, for 30 years now, I am a fan. Simple song, with a unique vibe. And Hope kept playing the tambourine the "wrong way" ;-) Toad the Wet Sprocket: bandmates introduced me to this band. When I was a bad / intolerant dickhead. But, fortunately they stuck with me. "Fall from heaven" also is a beautiful song. Tori Amos: Nothing to write about that song. So beautiful and emotional. I would have expected, you include "Temple Of The Dog - Hunger Strike". Oh man, it took a long time for me, to understand, what a great musician Chris Cornell was.
You reminded me of that Mazzy Star tune. Man...what a fantastic song! I thought I'd return the favor: I heard this song on a TV show called Being Human. They had a few really great songs but this one is truly exceptional. It's called Moving Pictures, Silent Films, by Great Lake Swimmers. It's got a sort of "rough studio" acoustic guitar sound and the lyrics and vocals are just amazing.
I had a dark time one year in the late 90's. I have a long drive home every night from work and played August And Everything After over and over and over again.
Adam Duritz was going through pretty much the same thing you were when they recorded August. And the existential crisis of being like mid 20s and seeing friends "grow up" while you feel stuck was 100% captures throughout that entire album. It's truly incredible. Fake Plastic Trees will always remind me of a girl I was in love with for years. Even if i had a gf, this song would come on and make me feel like all i want I was to be with her. We are friends all these years later, but that song still kind of evokes thise feels from time to time. Music is so powerful and almost overwhelming sometimes. Fade into you is the most hauntingly beautiful song I've heard still to this day. Hooe's voice is just iconic. Love her. Would've gone with "Something's Always Wrong" by Toad the Wet Sprocket.
This is a really great video with a lot of truly fantastic songs in a decade full of great music. I especially love that you included The Freshman. If there was ever a song that had some crazy painful memories attached, it's that one. But THE gut wrenching 90s alternative ballad, the very first thing that comes to mind when considering that idea of that sort of thing, and probably the most gut-wrenching and the most 90s ballad of all time, has got to be Black by Pearl Jam.
Young man that was probably one of your best videos to date. I was struck by how to me, you humanized your message, in how music can speak so soulfully to us as individuals. I'm 60 years old and have been playing guitar since I was knee high. Keep it up. Your greatest strength is your personal approach in how you communicate and connect. 😊
Mike is the guitar tutor we all wished we had! Such a cozy vibe
Young man? He's around 50 but yes he does look youthful!
@@MatthewC137 He was affecting a patriarchal tone from which to bestow affirmation. Really more about himself than the 'young man'.
I will always thank the melancholy of the 90s. I was in my 20s and in a very weird place. These songs became a part of me and will always be a part of me.
That song "Winter" gives me chills. I've actually recently taken up piano and one of my goals is to learn that song. Tori is a genius. To be able to play with the complexity she does and sing like an angel at the same time.
There's another song with the same title by Joshua Radin, if you haven't heard it before I'd recommend it. Brings me tears every time because it reminds me of my ex wife
Winter makes me cry every time.
Jeff Buckley’s version of Lilac Wine on Grace is really the most stunning singing I’ve ever heard. Best song on the album
I couldn't agree more with what you said about Counting Crows and Gin Blossoms. I listened to those 2 bands constantly and to this day, anytime I put them on I'm right back in High School again.
Fade into you... one of the most beautiful songs of all time ❤
has been on every computer, phone, mp3 player, etc. I have ever owned since it's release. And yes, I know some of those things didn't exist when it was released but I did have a computer and it was one of the first things I put on everything when they did come out.
Saw Toad the Wet Sproket at a small college near my home. We sat on gym mats and listened. The singer had bare feet while he played and sang. One of my favorite music shows I ever attended. Just did a deep dive on them 30 years later. Good memories.
I think you managed to get most of the good ones! Great job on this list!
I love that you have "Fake Plastic Trees" on this list. That song and its best friend "High and Dry" have gotten me through some hard times. I remember hearing the latter song on the radio as a kid and it immediately stuck with me, but I didn't learn the name of the song until nearly 20 years after I first heard it!
"Fade Into You" is one of the sweetest songs I know. That one automatically plays in my head if I'm feeling sad.
One last thing - when that guy complained about you talking too much and you decided you'd talk more just to spite him, he indirectly did me a favor! Your stories are the best thing about your videos!
9:41 Yes! So glad to hear you’re doing a video on Jeff Buckley’s guitar playing. Such an underrated player whose voice often overshadows his incredible guitar skills. Check out his guitar solo during “The Way Young Lovers Do” live in Corregio, Italy.
Really heartfelt video. I was never into alternative in the ‘90’s. I was still listening to 70’s & 80’s Rock….I couldn’t stand the music at the time.
As I got older, and had to travel away from my wife and kids for years (starting in 2007 due to coming recession -2008 GFC) I listened to plenty of “classic rock” radio which was now playing these songs.
They began to sound like something to me, along with my longing for home….I found myself growing in a calming/pained relationship with so many of these tunes.
Sounds like you and I are around the same age, man, and I get the same nostalgia kick from mid to late 90s music. Gin Blossoms, Goo Goo Dolls, Dishwalla, Spacehog... I call it my High School Memories playlist. It's really extraordinary how music has this profound effect on the soul.
That was also before the days of MP3s and iPods, so I used to spend a lot of time listening to the radio with my hand poised over the 'Record' button on my dual cassette player. Lol. But there was something intrinsically magical about that moment when you're going through a bad break-up or things are just going wrong in your life, and a song comes over the radio that perfectly and thoroughly personifies what you're feeling at that particular time. It's like the gods saw you at that low point and sent you a raven.
Yess! 90's alternative ballads. Have been waiting for this one. Love the return of the Ozark shirt! Congrats on 854k Subscribers! Damn, that Taylor looks and sounds beautiful, I want one haha.
Fade into You reminds me of a girl I loved that I couldn’t be with back in the mid 90s. I love Hope’s vocals. One of my fav songs of the 90s.
As a musician who was desperately trying to break into the music industry in the late 90s, nearly all of these songs and albums hit home for me. August and Everything After is one of my lifetime albums. Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts and passion about this great music.
I actually got chills for some reason when you went from Fake Plastic Trees to Until I Fall Away. I saw Gin Blossoms in concert for the first time about 4 years ago and they played their cover of FPT and it was so freaking awesome.Gin Blossoms fans probably already knew that was a thing but it was really cool for me.
When you said August the whole album, I was in total agreement and I have often told friends and anyone who would listen that that album is the most perfect encapsulation of a band's sound where every song is a part of a complete story. It's a rare gem that stands alone and reflects its natural beauty every time. I'm very much a hard rock guy, but Counting Crows just gets me.
Hope Sandoval (Mazzy Star) reminds me a lot of Susanna Hoffs from The Bangles, both in appearance and in vocal prowess. Both are incredible singers and performers. I admit to having posters of both of them on my wall ball in the 90's. Not ashamed at all.
I knew the guys in the Gin Blossoms back before NME came out. Doug Hopkins, troubled though he was, was a good guy. I was out with them one evening and had no ride home - he gave me the keys to his car and said, "You can get it back to me tomorrow."
5:53 That’s awesome you mentioned Jeremy Enigk from Sunny Day Real Estate. Big fan.
i first saw jeff buckley on an mtv show that showed up-and-coming bands performing live, in a studio, to nobody. they played 'grace' and it was so far beyond every other song, in every way, that my jaw was on the floor. really wish i could've seen him live.
CROWING! Glen Philipps is one of my favorite songwriters. That entire album is incredible, but that particular song is a shining example for me of turning vulnerability into a raw and amazing work of art. In addition, that song makes great use of a capo, and the harmonies are epic.
For your consideration:
On and On by Longpigs
Brick by Ben Folds Five
Honorable mention (because it’s a cover)
Wild Horses by The Sundays
Round Here brings me to tears everytime.
Until I Fall Away is a great pick. Beautiful song.
Doug wrote that one btw.
Great list dude! I think the song "Walk by the Ocean" from Toad is a heartbreaker too. Very melancholy. The line "And half an hour later we packed up our things We said we'd send letters and all those little things And they knew we were lying but they smiled just the same It seemed they'd already forgotten we'd came" really hits. That idea that we'll always keep in touch with folks we meet through life but in reality, we often don't.
The nostalgia in these songs puts me back in my high school art room every time I hear any of them.
Those were incredibly great times but they were also incredibly painful times.
I am so, so stoked to hear The Jayhawks mentioned on this channel. One of my very favorite bands too! Gary Louris is such a tasty singer, song writer, and guitar player. Cheers!
Man your videos are really hitting me. I was in high-school during these songs. We were so lucky to have such great music to grow up with. Really liking your whole thing going on. New big fan here.
Thanks! You just grew my Spotify playlist. Thanks for the memory too, of many a morning drives in to high school Senior year, picking up a friend on the way, us singing and shouting the lyrics to Mr. Jones at full blast. Best and worst of times.
I WORE OUT August and Everything After. You absolutely hit the nail on the head. Funny what you said about Mazzy Star. Maria McKee's harmonies on Sullivan Street almost overshadowed Adam's. I had no idea what she looked like, but I just knew she was gorgeous!
Like you said, the entire August and Everything After is such a captivating album, but I always go back to "Anna Begins." There's something about the way that song transitions from the pre-chorus to the chorus, it's like sunlight breaking through the clouds.
That album and their second album Recovering the Satellites have great depth and cohesiveness. Never tire of listening to them.
My #1 would have to be Joey by Concrete Blonde. "Joey, I'm not angry anymore" is one of the most heartbreaking lines I've ever heard a singer hit.
You've seen his vid of the Jim Mankey solo, right?
But Mazzy Star... they produced such beautifully crushing music. FIY is only halfway there. The world recently lost Dave Roback and before that Keith Mitchell (the drummer playing the tambourine in the clip).
Most of these bands he included I couldnt stomach, but coincidently i'd see a few of these people just walking around town in the 90's. Hope was one of them. Johnette and Hope are very similar songwriters.
The interstate love song by stone temple pilots is probably the closest song from the 90s to my heart, I just turned 16 a few weeks ago and that song was something special. I would look at old photos from the 90s with my dad in them and my grandparents and I looks like everyone had a great time and people genuinely looked happy. It also reminds me of when my mom left and that was the song that made me realize what actually happened and it hurts like a bitch to this day but that song plays in my head atleast once a day
This is the first video of yours that I have seen so I was blown away to discover that your 1990s selection was basically my soundtrack for the decade. You did a great job picking just 10 songs! Since you asked, here's a few other songs from some of the same bands that you mentioned that I think would fit this list.
The Jayhawks - Haywire . . . "my whole life has gone haywire."
Gin Blossoms - 29 "Some rides don't have much of a finish. That's the ride I took. Through good and bad straight through indifference without a second look . . ."
Toad - I Will Not Take These Things for Granted, Pray Your Gods, and Windmills are a few of their songs that I never get tired of. But there are so many more great songs.
Tori Amos - Silent All These Years and China
Sunny Day Real Estate (Jeremy Enigk) - Circles
Counting Crows - you picked the best one for the video but Anna Begins is a great melancholy song too.
I couldn't help but think that Ben Folds Five's "Brick" would fit on a list like this too. Similar theme to Freshman. Maybe not "alternative" though.
Sebadoh - Willing to Wait
The Posies - Any Other Way
The Red House Painters - Grace Cathedral Park, Katy Song, Trailways, and their Cars cover of All Mixed Up are all pretty gut-wrenching early 90s songs.
August and Everything After has one of the greatest lyrics ever in Raining In Baltimore where Adam sings "Three thousand five hundred miles away but what would you change if you could?"
Man that lyric is gut wrenching tragic and dense with meaning and implications.
Mike is referring to “sense memories” with the songs. Such an interesting and cool phenomenon that hardly anyone speaks about. GG’s!! Awesome video. Love your content
Counting crows hard candy has three songs that absolutely kills me everytime i listen to them.
Gin Blossoms new miserable experience album is one of the best albums ever. Every song is 🔥.
There were sooo many beautiful songs like this released in the 90’s.
I could easily make a top 100
90’s indie ballads and still have to leave some out, it’s crazy!
”August…” is and will always be one of my favorit albums of all time, it really is an emotional masterpiece❤
Great list!
OK… I usually don’t comment on any video. But I will say that somehow I stumbled across your channel and I’m happy that I did. The more you tell about your life the more it is relatable to me. I think we came up around the same time but you might be a little younger. I also did newspapers from the time I was 9 until my mid 20s. I remember, watching others move on with their lives while I was doing newspapers and working multiple jobs. Actually newspapers bought me my first Gibson Explorer with a Kahler back in 1985. It was everything to me. I worked my butt off for that guitar and I still have it to this day. But unfortunately, I don’t have my own UA-cam channel that produces content and I don’t get to do much music like I used to. Eventually I moved on and had to grow up. Now driving tractor trailers and trying to get in my guitars as much as possible in my downtime. I really miss it.
This list was a pretty good list, to finish it with the number one being Counting Crows really shocked me. It’s almost like we’ve had the exact same experiences. That is like one of my all-time favorite melancholy albums. I do have some different songs in the middle though in my top 10. But I just want to say you do a great job with the channel, and you did a good job with the list. Keep on doing your thing man, you’re doing a good job.
Toad the Wet Sprocket is such an underrated band.
Not sure if these are “ballads”, but definitely gut wrenching.
No particular order
Blind Melon - Sleepyhouse
S.P. Drown/ Mayonaise
Sunny Day Real Estate- 47
Tori Amos - Tear in your hand
Mazzy Star - Fade into you
Alanis - Perfect
Sinead - Black boys on Moped
Pearl Jam - Black/ Release Me
Jeff Buckley definitely is the real deal musician. I would have a hard time picking one song for this list, but I’d probably still have to go with “Last Goodbye.” It’s so sad, so good and so relatable. I was able to see him at First Ave as well but it was the show shortly before he died. Great video and trip down memory lane, Mike!
Decent list. I had never heard the Buckley track. Put that one on my list. The 90’s were an amazing decade.
Check out What Will I Say?, live.
Amazing video and completely agree with the songs. The 90's were my college years and a time of self discovery especially in the area of love. These songs take me back. One that always brings me to a melancholy moment in time is "Crown of Thorns" by Mother Love Bone. It gets me every time.
So happy to see that you remember the art of Jeremy Enigk. It would be great if you would make a video on the guitar work in SDRE"s album Diary. Such a masterpiece..
I love August and Everything After in the same way and I always listen from start to finish. Completely relate.
August and everything after is amazing. Round here and Anna Begins go straight to the heart
Mazzy Star's albums are all great. Their music evokes a sense of nostalgia and sadness, longing, but it'a so beautiful.
Beautiful analogy on the space heater.... Love seeing Tori and Mazzy that high, when i hear "Fade Into You' or something like "Silent all These Years", its like the world just stops and it *centers* you and you feel so present in the moment.
My Honorable Mentions + Deep Cuts
Bush "Glycerine" is so simple and all encompassing -- same with "Alien" on the same album.
Everclear "Strawberry" and "Pale Green Stars" are both severely emotionally draining songs about effing up and how it affects those around you as well.
Oasis "Dont Look Back in Anger" is one of the most perfect songs ever written.
Alice in Chains entire Dirt album... "Down in a Hole" "Dirt" "Would?" "Rooster" its its own list.
One super odd one is "Doll Parts" by Hole.. It's great on it's own, but if you look up and experience Miley Cyrus's cover of it, it really shines and hits you over the head with how much the song is a pure love letter to Stevie Nicks. It's jarring, and explains why Courtney was so quick to volunteer to sing Gold Dust Woman on the Crow 2 soundtrack.
Have you seen my 8 Most Gut Wrenching Grunge-era Songs yet? Got some AIC in that one. :)
I feel like Sparkle and Fade is one of the low-key most underrated albums of the 90s. It's fantastic from start to finish. And despite spawning 4 singles, its best songs were still somehow rarely played on the radio.
Glad you included “fade into you”. I would say “lover you should have come over” for Buckley for me personally. Can’t get through that one without crying. “Down in a hole” by AiC is also a notable. So many good ones. Great video.
I love this video and your descriptions of these songs - both ones I loved too, and ones that are new to me. Thank you for being vulnerable sharing your emotions and memories with us!
Dude, 9 out of 10 of these are a part of my playlist from college. Excellent list.
jeremy enigk is my favorite vocalist ever. his voice is so unique its almost alien. glad you gave his solo record a nod.
here are some of my picks:
hum - i hate it too
sunny day real estate - days were golden
death cab for cutie - line of best fit
at the drive in - 198d
archers of loaf - chumming the ocean
elliott smith - no name no. 5
jimmy eat world - anderson mesa
mineral - &serenading
Amen brother, Round Here is my all time most favorite song. It is special, timeless, and soulful. His live versions of that song are incredible, one here on UA-cam is nearly 13 minutes long, it's like a Shakespeare play.
I'm right there with you on Counting Crows. There are times when I can't even listen to that album because it's just so gut wrenching.
The Freshmen has done it for me ever since it came out. It has helped keep the classic VP lineup in my top ten bands.
Maaaan! You nailed the nr 1. That whole album is among the most amazing and magic ever! I’ve got so many feelings to all those songs ❤
His voice is really amazing and he sings with so much feelings that it’s just… I don’t know man. Thanks for the reminder man!
round here is one of the most beautiful songs i've ever heard. i cant even complain that it was number one in a list with winter and fake plastic trees. that song hits so hard! just try to sing along to it and not feel like you're gonna cry, it's sorta impossible.
I feel like nobody ever mentions these bands. This is literally my favorite genre but I find that many people didn’t like this stuff. I trying to revive it actually with the stuff I am writing . Awesome video man!
Damn good list. I would add
She talks to angels: The Black Crows
Zombie: The Cranberries
Water’s Edge: 7 Mary 3
One Headlight: The Wallflowers
Nothing compares 2 U: Sinead O’Connor
4am: Our Lady Peace
Leave it Alone: Moist
Fiddler’s Green: The Tragically Hip
Apparitions: Matthew Good Band
Robin’s Song: Barstool Prophets
You’re spot on about The Counting Crows album..I wasn’t a fan of them when they were huge actually I was kinda annoyed by them until recently..I’m 47 now and I loaded the album into my music and have been listening to and enjoying every song on it for the past 4 months now..
Not sure if youve ever heard of him but elliott smith wrote some of the saddest songs of all time. Songs like angeles or clementine are a good place to start, dude was an amazing guitarist and lyricist.
He'll be on part 2 for sure. My crush loaned me Figure 8 and I connected with it right away. Needle in the Hay is a classic as well.
@@TheArtofGuitar awesome man glad to know he isn't forgotten.
LOVED this one -thank you. Far and away my favorite decade of music!
Great list and great video. We overlap quite a bit. And I second the comment about Jeff Buckley's dad, Tim Buckley. Also a tragic early death and also a supernaturally potent singing voice. Buzzin' Fly and Happy Time are my two favorite Tim Buckley songs. Highly recommend
There’s a song from 1990 that I don’t hear often but when I do, I always get that tingling up my arm. Joey by Concrete Blonde. I thinks it’s their only hit but it’s such a powerful song.
Mike your top 10 was a time capsule for me, to better days and a better world. Thank you
I liked your list man! I would add How's It Gonna Be or God Of Wine by Third Eye Blind to my list. 👍
The Background or Motorcycle Drive By, as well.
It’s wired how I appreciate music from the 90s that I never listened to back then. These songs bring me back to those times.
Great video. Really took me back to my 20’s in a good way. Totally forgot about Mazzy and Tori.
So many songs that really speak to me on this list. Fade Into You is haunting. The Freshmen always hits like a gut punch. Round Here is just so sad and lost sounding. Enjoyed the list and thought it cool to hear your memories of these.
Back in the mid-90's, my mom and I would play August and Everything After in the car whenever we went on a trip. It was our road trip music.
I know it's not 90's, but if you do a video about the 2000's, my #1 album would be Sea Change, by Beck. Nothing in my life was as poignant and so simultaneously right and wrong as playing Already Dead on my acoustic guitar to my mom as she lay in her death bed, delirious from morphine. Everything about that album tears at the heart, and the production is so, so brilliant.
8th grade me loved some Gin Blossoms. They're a band you don't hear much about any longer but Hey Jealousy was pretty much inescapable back then.
Also, who else remembers a band called Teenage Fanclub from around the same time? That's definitely one you don't heat about at all. Shortly after my freshman year i abandoned all the melancholy, softer music of my middle school years (Creep doesn't really put you in the mindset to go 70 yards for the TD or slip by the center amd tackle the quarterback, but Far Beyond Driven will). If the vocalist wasn't yelling at me i wasn't happy, but now I enjoy going back to the slower stuff now as opposed to the angrier music. Everyone seems angry enough already. If you've never heard of Teenage Fanclub go give The Concept a listen if you're into the type of songs in this video.
Oh and I couldn't help but be enthralled by Fade Into You despite my resistance to that style. Hope Sandoval is an angel.
That was a decent list.
I had my own list too back then. I was a teen in the 90s and the music and certain songs are associated with specific memories and feelings.
I can't believe you had number 1 right!! I was legitimately concerned that they'd be skipped. I can barely think about round here without getting emotional. Kudos. thank you!
My CC brother!
Tori Amos, was one of the best live shows I've seen. Raspberry Swirl hits different when it's live and she's playing 3 pianos.
10:45. Yep, hope Sandoval is freaking gorgeous.
As a hardcore metal head, this one grabbed me by the soul….. the memory of my teenage self listening to this while wearing a slayer shirt and combat boots cracks me up.
Your younger viewers may not know but Jeff Buckley's Dad was Tim Buckley,a great singer,songwriter and guitar player in his own right. Tim Buckley wrote a very famous song which has been covered by many called 'Song to The Siren.' There is a brilliant version of him playing it on youtube.
Speaking of Tori Amos, the song "China" also hits HARD. I also recommend listening to "Mother's Eyes" by Great White from the Sail Away album (1994). Jesus that's got to be the most gut-wrenching song I've ever heard. Anyone with kids (or who's lost a loved one unexpectedly) will choke up after hearing that song (it's a great song though).
The 90's to me were the last really superb decade of music.
MySpace. Wow, talk about an echo from the past. Gonna have to check put some of this music. I honestly dont remember it....
I love the personal anecdotes. I feel like I always learn something and get to know you better...or even learn something about myself...✌️
Time and Time Again just hits different
You know!
Verve Pipe, yes and
The Verve - Bittersweet Symphony
Everlast - What It's Like
Eve 6 - Jesus Nightlight
GooGoo Dolls - Name, Iris
Third Eye Blind - God of Wine (others)
sucks so much was overplayed on the radio
Cohen has a live version of Hallelujah that blows the studio recording out of the water
best version ever
Totally. Also sad that the Stones took all The Verve’s money. :(
check out these songs:
Warren Zevon - Real or Not
Dusty Springfield - Bits and Pieces - BUT BE CAREFUL, most copies on YT are sped up to avoid copyright issues!
there is only one version I have found that is correct, and it is 3:50seconds - faith o'brien page on YT
Return of the Frog Queen is an underrated classic. Thanks for giving it some exposure!
I think one of the most telling parts of Hallelujah is the sigh he lets out at the beginning, just knowing the song is going to completely gut him emotionally.
Please do another one of these, they are so sick!
Great video Mike! - a Time Machine! I bought the Tori Amos EP “Crucify” that had “Winter” on it. It also had covers of “Smells Like Teen Spirit” , “Angie” , “Thank You”. The covers blew my mind and I listened to it so many times. 30 years later I’m still listening and mesmerized. “Winter” is a masterpiece.
I have two suggestions that were on my list back in the day: one that maybe you know is is "Cry" by The Sundays. Give it a whirl you guys, great tune and perfect for a list like this. The next is "Turn My Head" by Live. These were two of my "my life sucks" after a breakup songs.
Yes to both of these suggestions!
Me watching this: There better be a Counting Crows song on this list...
When Adam holds that note for what seems like forever on Sullivan Street 🤌🏽
Whoa. I'm glad you made it through the 90s. Hugs. 😊
I love the Jayhawks too!
Your no.1 is classic, that album got me through some tough times!
I've heard about half of this list, thanks for sharing man! Now I'll have to check out the other half. I was born in 89 so I was busy with Barney and other stuff in the early '90s when a bunch of these came out lol. Now I'll be 35 this year...
Jeff Buckley was amazing. I'm kind of surprised you didn't go with Last Goodbye though.
I was gonna do Lover You Should Have Come Over but wanted to choose a universally loved song just in case Shrek fans didn’t know about this version. :)
@@TheArtofGuitar That song is absolutely amazing too. I could go on for hours about how amazing Jeff Buckley was. Like Corpus Cristi Carol from the Grace album. Absolute shivers down the spine.
@@TheArtofGuitar what's funny is that I was maybe 10 or 11 when Shrek came out so I guess I heard the original version first, but it didn't stick with me. I heard Jeff's version in the movie "Lord of War" with Nicolas Cage and that has stayed with me ever since. It's such a shame to find an artist and start reading about them only to find out they passed away when you were a kid.
@@TheArtofGuitar”Lover…” is such a powerful song. The lyrics resonated so much with me after my wife died. “All my blood for the sweetness of her laughter
It's never over”. Indeed!
Amazing list, Mike.
Radiohead: well, with "The Bends", they had me. And I never left. With this album, RH was only 1 album away from a timeless masterpiece.
Mazzy Star: OMG, for 30 years now, I am a fan. Simple song, with a unique vibe. And Hope kept playing the tambourine the "wrong way" ;-)
Toad the Wet Sprocket: bandmates introduced me to this band. When I was a bad / intolerant dickhead. But, fortunately they stuck with me. "Fall from heaven" also is a beautiful song.
Tori Amos: Nothing to write about that song. So beautiful and emotional.
I would have expected, you include "Temple Of The Dog - Hunger Strike". Oh man, it took a long time for me, to understand, what a great musician Chris Cornell was.
You chose Crowing and the Crows. I love this video.
You reminded me of that Mazzy Star tune. Man...what a fantastic song! I thought I'd return the favor: I heard this song on a TV show called Being Human. They had a few really great songs but this one is truly exceptional. It's called Moving Pictures, Silent Films, by Great Lake Swimmers. It's got a sort of "rough studio" acoustic guitar sound and the lyrics and vocals are just amazing.
I had a dark time one year in the late 90's. I have a long drive home every night from work and played August And Everything After over and over and over again.
Adam Duritz was going through pretty much the same thing you were when they recorded August. And the existential crisis of being like mid 20s and seeing friends "grow up" while you feel stuck was 100% captures throughout that entire album. It's truly incredible.
Fake Plastic Trees will always remind me of a girl I was in love with for years. Even if i had a gf, this song would come on and make me feel like all i want I was to be with her. We are friends all these years later, but that song still kind of evokes thise feels from time to time. Music is so powerful and almost overwhelming sometimes. Fade into you is the most hauntingly beautiful song I've heard still to this day. Hooe's voice is just iconic. Love her. Would've gone with "Something's Always Wrong" by Toad the Wet Sprocket.
This is a really great video with a lot of truly fantastic songs in a decade full of great music. I especially love that you included The Freshman. If there was ever a song that had some crazy painful memories attached, it's that one. But THE gut wrenching 90s alternative ballad, the very first thing that comes to mind when considering that idea of that sort of thing, and probably the most gut-wrenching and the most 90s ballad of all time, has got to be Black by Pearl Jam.