Lately, I’ve been on a bit of a 90s kick, and most of the time, I consider myself a modern music listener. Here are a few of my favorite songs from the 90s that made punk cool and gave coffee shop singer-songwriters a bigger stage.
“Freedom! ’90” by George Michael
In “Freedom! ’90” George Michael doesn’t even get to the chorus until about two minutes in. This breaks a barrier that most modern pop songs wouldn’t dare to touch. But it also proves that structure doesn’t always equal success. In this track, Michael criticizes the music business, which he was pretty experienced with at this point. The singer had made a name for himself as a part of the duo Wham!, and embarked on a solo journey in the mid to late 80s. Michael pledges his faith for “the sound” in this track and hopes that he can stick around a little while longer.
I won’t let you down, I will not give you up
Gotta have some faith in the sound
It’s the one good thing that I’ve got
I won’t let you down, so please don’t give me up
Because I would really, really love to stick around
Oh, yeah.
“You Gotta Be” by Des’ree
This song is basically a set of affirmations, or rules for life, however you want to look at it. Particularly if you’re having an off day, this 1994 Top 10 hit is great for bringing your mind back into focus. Let yourself be swept away into 90s R&B bliss as Des’ree sings:
“You Gotta Be / You Gotta Be bad, You Gotta Be bold, You Gotta Be wiser / You Gotta Be hard, You Gotta Be tough, You Gotta Be stronger / You Gotta Be cool, You Gotta Be calm, you gotta stay together.”
“I Love You Always Forever” by Donna Lewis
Donna Lewis’ breathtaking performance in the 1996 song, “I Love You Always Forever” honestly puts modern pop music to shame. Lewis took the refrain of this song, “I love you always forever, near and far closer together“, from a book called Love For Lydia.
One of my favorite singers, Lennon Stella, samples this song in a track from her 2020 album, Three. Two. One. It’s cool whenever you’re able to truly fall in love with an older song. But when you make that connection between something old and something new, it’s a special feeling.
Photo by: Michael Putland/Getty Images
The post 3 Songs From the 90s That Even Modern Music Fans Can Get Behind appeared first on American Songwriter.