Alternative Rock Nostalgia Buzz

Forgotten Songs of the ‘90s: GWAR Everyone looks at GWAR as just a goof with no real discernible talent behind them but if one looks behind the makeup and prosthetics, one will find one of the heaviest and loudest metal bands of the last twenty years. What better place to look than 1992’s “The Road Behind.” Starting off like an eighties power ballad, with acoustic guitar and whistling, Odorous Ungerus blasts in with only a voice a singer like him can possess, talking about life on the road and the rest of the band comes in behind, slowly but effectively. After thrashing around for a while, the chorus comes in with bassist Beefcake the Mighty taking the lead and doing it so well, it sounds like the band were actually trying to score on the radio. But alas, it was all for nothing and they’ve never been able to break into the mainstream. This song just proves that they still are one of the best no-nonsense metal bands around. Twenty five years down the line and they’re still going strong ...

Forgotten Songs of the ‘80s: Kix Kix are one of the most forgotten ‘hair metal’ bands of all time, but to call them ‘hair metal’ is a huge misnomer; they’re more like blues metal with a bit of sleaze. But that’s the best way to describe them, particularly on one of their best songs, the title track to 1985’s Midnight Dynamite . Building on a slow groove guided by Steve Whiteman’s dynamic vocals, the band explode into the instantly sing-along chorus. Hearing this song and all the double entendres, you can’t help but pump your fist in the air and scream along. The song is just so amazingly catchy, it should almost be a crime not to like it. But since Kix are only remembered for one song, 1988’s “Don’t Close Your Eyes,” a power ballad, it’s almost understandable why. But in the twenty-five(!) years since, time has been much nicer to Kix and has allowed their fanbase to expand and grow but that still doesn’t explain the lack of love given to “Midnite Dynamite” and it’s about damn time that...

F orgotten Songs of the ‘60s: Badfinger Many of articles and books have been written about Badfinger and their unbelievable streak of bad luck: bad business deals, suicides, backstabbing and everything else one could think of. But going through their catalogue certain songs demand reevaluation because they’re absolutely amazing. One of those songs is “Carry On ‘Til Tomorrow,” off their first record, Magic Christian Music . The song begins like a lot of early Badfinger, with some light guitar chords and some beautiful harmonies courtesy of the entire band. Mining some lyrical territory that they would then strike gold with in the future, leaders Pete Ham and Tom Evans sing about coping with lost love and the necessary power to move forward. Ironically enough, both singer/songwriters ended up committing suicide bringing the band to a tragic and really unnecessary premature end. Despite all that, the songs and the musical legacy of Badfinger have only improved over the years, which is the...

Forgotten Songs of the ‘90s: Fastball When Fastball broke out from the Texas underground in 1998, most people assumed they’d just be another one hit wonder when “The Way” became one of the biggest hits of the year. By the end of the year, when they released the second single from their sophomore album, All the Pain Money Can Buy , they were almost correct. But “Fire Escape” is a song that deserves to be remembered for what it really is: a fantastic pop song. Right off the bat, the odds were against the song becoming a hit, because for one thing, guitarist Miles Zuniga wrote and sang the song as opposed to bassist Tony Scalzo who’d sang “The Way.” Zuniga’s voice has a little more gruff to it and doesn’t really sound as radio friendly as Scalzo’s but that’s one of the song’s biggest charms. By the fall of 1998, you wanted to hear a song that was a little darker than everything else because it all sounded so dandy and sweet. As a result of the song being about wanting to hang around your ...

The 100 Best Songs of the 2000’s ATTN: This list is in response to VH1’s shitty list of the ‘greatest songs of the 2000’s’ which included songs by Miley Cyrus, Taylor Swift and Britney Spears. Where were all the good rock songs, one might ask? Well, they were missing because VH1 is trying to appease all their viewers. This list is not out to appease anyone. If there is a song that you think is missing, well, tough luck. I and all the other voters carefully went over this list and made sure that all the songs met the criteria that we set. So, enough with the bullshit, let’s get on with the list. 100. Weird Al Yankovic-“White & Nerdy” (2006) 99. John Mayer-“No Such Thing” (2001) (Suggested by Aaron Enright) 98. Dave Matthews Band-Where are You Going? (2002) (Suggested by Aaron Enright) 97. Fountains of Wayne-“Mexican Wine” (2003) 96. Cake-“Short Skirt/Long Jacket” (2001) 95. Coldplay-“Viva La Vida” (2008) 94. Drowning Pool-“Bodies” (2001) 93. Uncle Kracker-“Follow Me” (2000) (Suggest...