Best tunes of 1990

This is the year that saw the reunification of Germany and the start of the dismantling of the Berlin Wall, the launch of Hubble space telescope and the first McDonalds in Moscow. Margaret Thatcher resigned as prime minister of Great Britain, Nelson Mandela was released from prison, Iraq invaded Kuwait, and work began on the World Wide Web (No, it didn’t always exist). “Driving Miss Daisy” won the Oscar for Best Picture and “Home Alone” was released to theatres. Jennifer Lawrence, Emma Watson, and Liam Hemsworth were all born and Jim Henson, Roald Dahl, and Sammy Davis Jr. all sadly died. And yes, the Ultimate Warrior defeated Hulk Hogan at WrestleMania VI at the Skydome in Toronto.

1990 also happened to be the year that I was just starting to get into music, being in the middle of high school and deep in the trenches of my teen years. This here list is thirty of my favourite songs from that time, though to be honest, only about a quarter of the songs in the list were ones that I was actually listening to at the time. The rest I discovered in the following year or two when the passing fancy towards music became a passion and obsession. Several of these tracks are among my favourite ever and with the variety of sounds being bandied about during the first year of that decade, I am willing to put my neck out there and suggest we are in for a fun ride with this series. So strap yourself in and enjoy the journey with me.

#30 The Northern Pikes “She ain’t pretty” (from Snow in June)

#29 Sinéad O’Connor “Nothing compares 2 U” (from I do not want what I haven’t got)

#28 The Wonder Stuff “Circlesquare” (from Circlesquare)

#27 DNA featuring Suzanne Vega “Tom’s diner” (from Tom’s diner)

#26 Jane’s Addiction “Stop!” (from Ritual de lo habitual)

#25 Spirit of the West “Save this house” (from Save this house)

#24 Sonic Youth “Kool thing” (from Goo)

#23 The Mission “Deliverance” (from Carved in sand)

#22 Bad Religion “21st century (digital boy)” (from Against the grain)

#21 Concrete Blonde “Joey” (from Bloodletting)

#20 Inspiral Carpets “This is how it feels” (from Life)

#19 Deee-lite “Groove is in the heart” (from World clique)

#18 Morrissey “November spawned a monster” (from November spawned a monster)

#17 Ride “Chelsea girl” (from Ride EP)

#16 Soup Dragons “I’m free” (from Lovegod)

#15 The Beautiful South “A little time” (from Choke)

#14 The Charlatans “The only one I know” (from Some friendly)

#13 The Sundays “Here’s where the story ends” (from Reading, writing, and arithmetic)

#12 The Happy Mondays “Step on” (from Pills ‘n’ thrills and bellyaches)

#11 Depeche Mode “Enjoy the silence” (from Violator)

#10 Concrete Blonde “Bloodletting (The vampire song)” (from Bloodletting)

#9 New Model Army “Purity” (from Impurity)

#8 Lush “De-Luxe” (from Mad love EP)

#7 The Sisters Of Mercy “More” (from Vision thing)

#6 Inspiral Carpets “Commercial rain” (from Life)

#5 Jane’s Addiction “Been caught stealing”  (from Ritual de lo habitual)

#4 Spirit of the West “Home for a rest” (from Save this house)

#3 Ride “Vapour trail” (from Nowhere)

#2 The Charlatans “Sproston green” (from Some friendly)

#1 Depeche Mode “Personal Jesus” (from Violator)