Saturday, September 12, 2009

What Happened To...

If you know me, you know I love music. All day, everyday, that's what I do at work. I pick an artist or two, or perhaps a collection, and I listen. Non-stop music. And for the past 3 weeks, it has been nothing but non-stop Beatles. I think I'll move on next week...maybe.

Anyway, I was trying to think of some of the groups that were "popular" or that I liked in the 90s and what happened to them. Some of these groups I liked...some, well, not so much. But here we go:
  1. Nirvana. Nevermind came out in 1991 and "Smells Like Teen Spirit" became a big hit the fall of that year. Kurt Cobain took his life on April 8, 1994 ending the band. Courtney Love and the members of the band fought as both tried to gain control of the Nirvana legacy. Now you can find Cobain on Guitar Hero 5. I'm not sure that's what he would have wanted but Love needs money. Anyway, the death of Cobain led Grohl to make:
  2. Foo Fighters. This is one of my favorite groups then and now. I think the Foo Fighters ability to make great songs that cross-over to "pop" hits is unbelievable. They never lose their rock edge but can make radio-friendly songs. Foo Fighters was released in 1995 and is good but The Colour and Shape, released in 1997, remains one of my favorites albums. To everyone's benefit, the Foo Fighters are still out there making music.
  3. Celine Dion. Yeah, I know...this is about bands, or people, who were successful in the 90s. Not necessarily my favorites. Dion burst on the scene with "Where Does My Heart Beat Now" in 1990 and wailed out "My Heart Will Go On" in 1998. After a break from music, Dion peformed in Las Vegas from 2003-2007 and raked in over $400 million. She's back in the studio and producing music again. Yay?
  4. Whitney Houston. Whitney took the success she found in the '80s and kept it going in the 90s. 4 Number 1 hits been 1990 and 1995, including the unavoidable "I Will Always Love You" from the Bodyguard. It was unavoidable. Believe me, I tried to avoid it. After a marriage to Bobby Brown and a spiral into drug addiction, it looks like Houston is ready for a comeback. She just released a new album on August 31. We'll see...
  5. Pearl Jam. Just like Nirvana, Pearl Jam showed up in 1991 with the release of Ten. "Alive," "Even Flow," "Jeremy," etc., you can listen to those songs today and they sound just as good as they did nearly 20 years ago. The group continues to rock and release new works today. And tour. One of the hardest working acts out there.
  6. Oasis. (What's the Story) Morning Glory came out in 1995 and sounded a whole lot like The Beatles. "Wonderwall," "Champagne Supernova," "Don't Look Back in Anger," were all great songs and they quickly gained a foothold in the states. And they they kinda disappeared. They were still making music but you never knew if the Gallagher Brothers were still together in a band or not. I didn't pay much attention until Dig Your Soul was released this year. And then, shortly thereafter, Noel quit. The band is still together but there's too much wierdness there to start getting into them. But, they still released some awesome music.

Well, that's 6 groups/people. That's enough for today. I will pick up and continue at another time.

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