Ask any kid who grew up from the late '80s onward to list the mantras he learned in school and he'll likely tell you he doesn't know what mantra means. Ask any smart kid, though, and "Reduce, Reuse, Recycle" will likely make the list.
And the repetition of that mantra has had an effect. As the '90s drew to a close, it was clear that even though conspicuous consumption and the development of handy gadgets was on the rise, two of the three Rs — reuse and recycle — have stuck. Whether it was President Clinton's appropriation of Republican themes following his failure to reform health care or simply Elastica's blatant rip-off of Wire's "Three Girl Rhumba" for its hit single "Connection," the 1990s were a time in which appropriation hit an all-time high.
It's in this spirit that we bring you our recap of the music of the '90s. Rather than run a stale list of albums whose praises have already been sung in other venues, we dug deep within the recesses of '90s music and pulled out 20 of the best cover tunes released in the years 1991-2000. It's by no means complete, authoritative or diverse.
In keeping of the idea of re-use, the songs being covered needed to be released prior to 1991 in order to be eligible. So while Tori Amos' sweet turn on "Smells Like Teen Spirit" beats any of her originals, you won't find it here. Besides, Tori Amos?
And we gave up a lot for settling on End of the Decade Traditional (Dec. 31, 2000) rather than End of the Decade Observed (Dec. 31, 1999). 1990 was a stellar year for the cover tune, boasting such gem's as The Breeders' raw take on "Happiness is a Warm Gun" and Galaxie 500's shimmering rendition of Yoko Ono's "Listen, the Snow is Falling." And who can resist St. Etienne's debut single, a dancey, perfectly recast version of Neil Young's "Only Love Can Break Your Heart?"
In case you're wondering, Elastica's "Connection" missed the list due to a technicality. The band never owned up lifting Wire's riff, melody and new wave edge, save the tacit acknowledgment of wrong-doing that goes along with an out-of-court settlement. But don't feel sorry for Wire, as one of its songs made our list, and its members do get a cut of the royalties from Elastica's first album. Not too bad when you consider "Connection's" prominent spot in that Budweiser commercial some years back.
In a similar vein, the list has Busta Rhymes lifting a chorus from a public service announcement, a goofy European band reinventing a '70s frathouse classic and a group that tied Elvis Presley for the most Top 30 singles in one year. But there's a lot there, so click away and eventually you'll find what you're looking for.
But here they are, presented in the chronological order of original release:
They Might Be Giants covering Rodger and Hart's "The Lady is a Tramp" (1945)
Yo La Tengo covering The Beach Boys' "Little Honda" (1964)
Cat Power covering The Rolling Stones' "Satisfaction" (1965)
Luna covering Donovan's "Season of the Witch" (1966)
The Wondermints covering Burt Bacharach's "Don't Go Breaking My Heart" (1966)
The Lemonheads covering Simon and Garfunkel's "Mrs. Robinson" (1968)
Aimee Mann covering Three Dog Nights' (well, actually Harry Nilsson's) "One" (1968)
Arrested Development covering Sly and the Family Stone's "Everyday People" (1968)
Alejandro Escovedo covering The Stooges' "I Wanna Be Your Dog" (1969)
Th' Faith Healers covering Can's "Mother Sky" (1970)
Sonic Youth covering The Carpenters' "Superstar" (1971)
The Fugees covering Roberta Flack's "Killing Me Softly" (1973)
Stereo Total covering KC and the Sunshine Band's "Get Down Tonight" (1974)
Smashing Pumpkins covering Fleetwood Mac's "Landslide" (1975)
Red House Painters covering KISS's "Shock Me" (1977)
My Bloody Valentine covering Wire's "Map Ref 41°N 93°W" (1979)
Busta Rhymes covering The Long Island Regional Poison Control Council's "Dangerous" (1983)
Negativland covering U2's "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" (1987)
The Boo Radleys covering The La's "There She Goes" (1988)
The Wedding Present covering Angelo Badalamenti and David Lynch's "Falling" (1989)
E-mail Eric Wittmershaus at ericw at flakmag dot com.
Music: Top Cover Tunes