One of the great things about the holiday season is excess free time available. It’s nice to have a week between Christmas and New Years with nothing truly important to accomplish. Typically this unfettered week long spout of idleness begins for most of us on Christmas evening as we watch Ralphy try on that pink bunny suit for about the 4th time… For me the laziness often continues through much of the week as I slog through half-days at work while neglecting the gym in worrisome anticipation of the annual Brad Ball New Years Resolution & Diet®.
The UPSIDE OF IDLENESS THEORY is that during the holidays…. with nothing particularly important to worry about… we often find ourselves concerned about frivolous things… that normally wouldn’t concern us much. This holiday season… I found myself trying to master THIS EXTREMELY ADDICTIVE ONLINE GAME.
I also got myself WORKED UP over VH1’s presentation of the 100 Greatest Songs of the 1990’s. My wife and I spent 5 hours glued to the television as we counted down from song #99 to song #1. It was a nostalgic trip down memory lane… featuring a variety of old favorites such as Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch and The New Radicals… gosh… I still think “Rico Suave” is stuck in my head somewhere!
Of course it all ended badly as VH1 failed to include some very obvious choices… I was astounded that Dave Matthews Band was not included on the list… equally shocking was the omission of Boys II Men (who had several number 1 hits during the 90’s). What about November Rain by Guns N’ Roses (the best 9-minute-ballad in the history of Stake Dances!). As a music buff and pop culture junkie I feel rather jilted by VH1’s list… which you can view by clicking here.
While it’s difficult to say which songs DON’T belong on VH1’s list (nobody is going to argue that Nirvana shouldn’t be there)… it was really easy for me to identify about 25 ENORMOUS SNUBS… these are the songs that (in my view) should have easily made the TOP 100 list.. but didn’t… these songs will make an INCREDIBLE playlist on my Ipod… I think I’ll name it 90’s Snub 25:
DAVE MATTHEW BAND: Crash Into Me
BOYZ II MEN: End of the Road
NO DOUBT: Don’t Speak
SMASHING PUMPKINS: 1979
GUNS N’ ROSES: November Rain
DEL AMITRI: Roll To Me
BRYAN ADAMS: (Everything I Do) I Do It For You
SHAWN MULLINS: Lullaby
FOO FIGHTERS: Everlong
PM DAWN: Set Adrift on Memory Bliss
ACE OF BASE: The Sign
REEL BIG FISH: Sell Out
VERVE PIPE: The Freshmen
STONE TEMPLE PILOTS: Interstate Love Song
NATALIE IMBRUGLIA: Torn
WALLFLOWERS: One Headlight
GIN BLOSSOMS: Hey Jealousy
THE VERVE: Bittersweet Symphony
TAKE THAT: I Want You Back
THE PROCLAIMERS: I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles)
TOM COCHRANE: Life Is a Highway
ERIC CLAPTON: Tears in Heaven
SOUL ASYLUM: Runaway Train
VAN HALEN: Right Now
TONI BRAXTON: Unbreak My Heart
BOYZ II MEN: End of the Road
NO DOUBT: Don’t Speak
SMASHING PUMPKINS: 1979
GUNS N’ ROSES: November Rain
DEL AMITRI: Roll To Me
BRYAN ADAMS: (Everything I Do) I Do It For You
SHAWN MULLINS: Lullaby
FOO FIGHTERS: Everlong
PM DAWN: Set Adrift on Memory Bliss
ACE OF BASE: The Sign
REEL BIG FISH: Sell Out
VERVE PIPE: The Freshmen
STONE TEMPLE PILOTS: Interstate Love Song
NATALIE IMBRUGLIA: Torn
WALLFLOWERS: One Headlight
GIN BLOSSOMS: Hey Jealousy
THE VERVE: Bittersweet Symphony
TAKE THAT: I Want You Back
THE PROCLAIMERS: I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles)
TOM COCHRANE: Life Is a Highway
ERIC CLAPTON: Tears in Heaven
SOUL ASYLUM: Runaway Train
VAN HALEN: Right Now
TONI BRAXTON: Unbreak My Heart