I think everyone holds on to their “coming of age” music. Recently, I was sitting at the bar in a local pub and one of those VH1 shows featuring metal bands from the 80’s came on. A lady sitting a couple of spots down made the comment that 80’s rock was without a doubt the best. I hate it when people other than myself make definitive statements like that. I fought the urge to openly ridicule her. At times I feel the need to voice my opinion on music matters and I usually just end up offending people. I was nice and amiable though. The egocentric narcissist within did not prevail. I just nodded politely and made small talk about music from the 80’s in general.
The fact is we all hold dear to us the music that was significant to our generation. I once worked with a man who was straight-laced and dignified, but if The Marshall Tucker Band, Lynyrd Skynyrd or The Allman Brothers were brought up, his demeanor changed and he reverted into Matthew McConaughey’s character in “Dazed and Confused”. I loved it! And that’s ultimately why I gave the lady a pass in the bar. Aside from the fact we are entitled to our preferences, that music was no doubt significant to her, and was woven into the tapestry of her life.
We all have music that was playing in the background of our lives as we were coming of age; songs that provided the soundtrack for the significant moments, and rites of passage in our teenage and early adult lives. For me, it was the music of the 90’s.
The 90’s were a very special time and place in my life. It marked the high school and collegiate years of my story. All sorts of firsts occurred. There were first cars, dates, dances and proms. There were first college classes, roommates, road trips, parties and independence. There were girlfriends, sex, drunkenness and revelry. There was the loss of my father… all kinds of significant moments in my life. Some were awkward and angst-filled. Some were blissful and filled with happiness. There was innocence and corruption, passion and pain, agony and ecstasy. All in all, the halcyon days of my youth were beautiful and golden.
As I reflect on that time I cant help but hear the music in my mind. A song can come on now and it will instantly take me back to those moments. I realize now that the music was truly just as special to me as the moments themselves.
Below is a list of 10 albums that provided the soundtrack for that time in my life and played an important role in expressing the heart and soul my generation.
1. Blood Sugar Sex Magik – Red Hot Chili Peppers
This Rick Ruben produced album thrust the Chili Peppers into the mainstream. A teenage John Frusciante was added to the lineup as lead guitarist. His unbridled, inborn, preternatural talent accompanied with Flea’s funky base lines changed the face of rock music.
2. Nevermind – Nirvana
This is the album that defined my generation for good or ill. It set the new standard for rock music and made Kurt Cobain the reluctant spokesperson for my generation. The four-chord riff in the intro and chorus of “Smells Like Teen Spirit” put the final nail in the coffin of the 80’s metal hair bands. It assured us that gimmick rock, along with its Aqua Net and spandex was forever dead and there would never be another metal ballad written again.
3. The Chronic – Dr Dre
This is the album that legitimized rap music. Not only was it the introduction of Snoop Dogg, Dr Dre set the standard for rhyming and sampling with “Nuthin’ but a ‘G’ thang”. All in all, no one can do it better.
4. Under The Table and Dreaming – Dave Matthews Band
This album truly introduced the world to a unique, eclectic sound. It is a blend of alternative, acoustic rock, and jazz-fusion.
5. 311 – 311
This self-titled album was their mainstream breakthrough. It’s a perfect blend of whiteboy rap-metal and reggae fusion.
6. Rock Spectacle – Barenaked Ladies
This live album perfectly exemplifies the bands noteworthy harmony. This is genuinely happy, feel-good music at its best.
7. Sublime – Sublime
The album is a multi-genre mix of reggae, ska, rock and hip-hop. Just listening to it makes you smell marijuana wafting through the air. This was their absolute best, but tragically was released two months after the death of their lead singer Brad Nowell, by heroin overdose. It set the standard for rebellion… “You cant fight against the youth, cuz’ were strong, and we’re rude, rude people”
8. Live at Luther College – Dave Matthews and Tim Reynolds
Besides inspiring countless amorous hook-ups among college coeds, this album set the benchmark for acoustic sets. It was just two men, and two acoustic guitars. No one compares to Tim Reynolds when it comes to improvisation.
9. Californication – Red Hot Chili Peppers
This album marked the sobriety of John Frusciante along with his return to the band. His backing vocals along with his trademark guitar licks and riffs had been sorely missed in their previous album. This is the Chili Peppers at their pinnacle. This album resonated with me probably more than any other and was the beginning of my kinship with the vast Pacific where the sun “…settles in its final location”
10. Enema of the State – Blink 182
This marked the closing of the decade and the ushering in of a new pop punk sound that would play a huge role in the next decade. This album was a culmination of the college experience. It was a harbinger that midterms, finals, and attending class hungover would soon be over. The days of showing up with a baseball cap pulled down low over the eyes were ending, and real life would be coming soon.
Below is a playlist for the above-mentioned albums:
Under the Bridge – Red Hot Chili Peppers
Sir Psycho Sexy – Red Hot Chili Peppers
Smells Like Teen Spirit – Nirvana
Come As You Are- Nirvana
Nuthin’ But A ‘G’ Thang – Dr Dre
Let Me Ride – Dr. Dre
Ants Marching – Dave Matthews Band
What Would You Say – Dave Matthews Band
Down – 311
All Mixed Up – 311
Brian Wilson – Barenaked Ladies
If I had $1,000,000 – Barnenaked Ladies
Santeria – Sublime
Jailhouse – Sublime
Say Goodbye – Dave Mathews and Tim Reynolds
Seek Up - Dave Mathews and Tim Reynolds
Scar Tissue - Red Hot Chili Peppers
Californication - Red Hot Chili Peppers
What’s My Age Again? – Blink 182
All the Small Things – Blink 182
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