This post is RAD... Sike!!

I miss the 90s. More specifically, I miss the '90s music. I'm not talking Radiohead. Yeah, what many would consider the golden age of Radiohead occurred in the '90s and arguably hit its pinnacle at the turn of the millennium with Kid A, but that's not what I'm referring to. I'm talking about the mainstream stuff. The stuff that everybody knew. But unlike the popular music of today, this stuff was actually good—really good. I have these flashbulb memories associated with OMC's "How Bizarre," Hootie and the Blowfish's "Only Wanna Be With You," and Del Amitri's "Roll to Me." Then, there's the glory days of grunge and alternative: Blind Melon, Soundgarden, Temple of the Dog, Alice in Chains. Or maybe the lighter fare of alternative rock was more your speed: Third Eye Blind, Fastball, The Verve Pipe, Marcy Playground, No Doubt, Semisonic. What happened to those days?

For me, every summer is a revival of '90s pop. The two are inextricably linked. Nothing conjures more nostalgia than blasting "Jumper" with the car windows down on a warm summer evening, especially when the song hits its climax in the guitar solo. More likely than not, my partiality toward '90s radio has to do with it being the decade of my childhood, my formative years. Children of the Naughties very well may reminisce longingly ten years down the road about how The Jonas Brothers and Miley Cyrus would be on every radio station. I hope not, but it's definitely a possibility. I guess it's just a case of each generation believing that "their" music is best.

So, as the warmth days of spring hint at the dog days of summer and all the memories that will inevitably come with them, here's a taste of just a handful of the 1990s hits that defined my grade school years. This is beyond indie; this is my boyhood.

Third Eye Blind: Jumper [alt]
Eiffel 65: I'm Blue (Da ba dee) [alt]
Eagle Eye Cherry: Save Tonight [alt]
Goldfinger: Superman [alt]