You probably remember “Smells Like Teen Spirit”, “Even Flow”, and “Black Hole Sun”. Or all of Weezer’s Blue Album. However, there was a deluge of rock music being released each year in the 1990s . And in an era when you paid to purchase CDs, it was hard for both your attention and wallet to keep up.

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The tracks below aren’t just one-hit wonders, though two of them are. Instead, this list highlights three songs from the 1990s you may have completely forgotten .

“Bound For The Floor” by Local H, ‘As Good As Dead’ (1996)



Local H is a duo from Zion, Illinois, whose lone hit appeared on the band’s second album. By 1996, grunge was already waning, but major record labels still signed bands that echoed the angst of Seattle. The same year, Bush released a blockbuster album, Razorblade Suitcase , so it made sense for the majors to squeeze what they could from alt-rock’s tormented Gen Xers.

You may not recall the band’s name or the song’s title, but if you are of a certain age, you’ll definitely remember the words. Not many songs from the 1990s rhyme “copacetic” with “pathetic,” but this Chicago-based band did. Local H continues to release albums, their most recent being Lifers in 2000.

“And you just don’t get it, you keep it copacetic
And you learn to accept it, you know you’re so pathetic.”


“Superman’s Dead” by Our Lady Peace, ‘Clumsy’ (1997)



When Jane’s Addiction and Nine Inch Nails arrived, they lifted the dark subculture into the light of the mainstream. Soon, Nirvana, Pearl Jam, and The Smashing Pumpkins completed the work of absolutely shifting pop culture. By the mid-1990s, the scene had peaked, and a new wave of bands arrived to fill the void. Copy of a copy of a copy, to quote Trent Reznor.

Later in the decade, major labels signed “alternative” rock bands, but the alternative bit had long been rendered meaningless. This was no longer a youth movement. A new crop of bands was marketed for adult alternative radio. Our Lady Peace and other three-name bands like Seven Mary Three were trying to write their own “Jeremy”. Similar to the Warrant and Winger of late-stage glam metal. Like any rock tune sold to parents, “Superman’s Dead” laments the effects of television on kids.

“Do you worry that you’re not liked?
How long till you break
You’re happy ’cause you smile
But how much can you fake?”


“You Get What You Give” by New Radicals, ‘Maybe You’ve Been Brainwashed Too’ (1998)



Gregg Alexander’s alt-pop hit is best remembered for dissing Beck, Hanson, Courtney Love, and Marilyn Manson. His duo with Danielle Brisebois scored a home run out of the gate, released only one album, and abruptly quit. Many one-hit wonders catch grief for only writing a single hit song. But that’s still one more than most who attempt the business of music; it wasn’t easy to bust out successful songs in the 1990s.

However, there was something more to this track than the celebrity name-drops. It’s deceptively smart, and though it was a hit, Alexander grew bored with the tedium of tour life. He’s since enjoyed a prolific career writing and producing hits for others, including Hanson. He also co-wrote Santana and Michelle Branch’s GRAMMY-winning “The Game Of Love”. Meanwhile, Brisebois has written songs for Kylie Minogue, Natasha Bedingfield, and Kelly Clarkson.

“Wake up, kids
We got the dreamers disease
Age fourteen, they got you down on your knees
So polite, we’re busy still saying please.”


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