5 Love Songs from the 90's that all guys secretly like

5 Love Songs From the 90’s That All Guys Secretly Like

By: Brian Cotnoir

     The 1990’s was a wonderful time for Music.  The Decade started off with the Seattle Grunge Scene and Alternative Rock and concluded on the other end of the spectrum with Boy Bands and pop acts like Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera.  Towards the latter end of the decade the radio airwaves were dominated with cheesy little pop ballads of Pop-Princesses singing about a crush or all five guys in a boy band—strangely enough—singing a song about the same girl.  This repetitive and unfeeling formula eventually killed the idea of love songs, not just for the 1990’s, but forever.  Now, most people associate Love Songs with artists like Adele, Coldplay, and crappy Emo bands, but artist of the 1990’s still did produce some awesome love songs that not only women enjoy, but so do lot of men, so this list is counting down the Top 5 Love Songs from the 90’s that All Guys secretly like.

5.) “Miss You Love” by Silverchair from Neon Ballroom (1998).

Silverchair was an Australian alternative rock band often described as “Nirvana in Pajamas” because the band started when the boys were only 14-years-old and their look and sound was heavily influenced by Nirvana.  By the time the band recorded their 3^rd album in “Neon Ballroom” in 1998 the band had established itself as one of Australia’s Biggest Rock Acts.  A then 19-year-old Daniel Johns (the bands lead singer/guitarist) wrote a song for the album called “Miss You Love”.  The song is not a sappy love song, but actually a rather angry love song with lyrics such as “I love the way you love/but I hate the way I’m supposed to love you back” and “It’s gonna hurt/and I love the pain/a breeding ground for hate” this is clearly not a typical love song, and I think that’s what draws many guys to this song is because it’s not a sappy song about having your heart broken or falling in love.  Daniel Johns claims that he wrote the song during a bout with depression and that the song is about “not being able to establish a relationship with anyone, not being able to experience love outside the family”.  It is a great and powerful song that was written by a very young teenage musician and it still carries over today.

4.) “Glycerine” by Bush from Sixteen Stone (1995)

Does anyone know what the hell the band means by “Glycerine” because I still don’t?  This is a very simple song that features only one member of the band playing, singer/guitarist Gavin Rossdale. Many people consider this song to be the ultimate “Grunge Love Anthem”.  Bush had a lot of success in the 1990’s with “Glycerine” and other hits, but were resented by fans and music critics alike because—like the band Silverchair—they were accused of “sounding too much like Nirvana”.  Although, I do see a lot of similarities in their sounds, I feel like Bush is a great band.  What draws many guys to this song is the fact that it’s played on an heavily distorted electric, instead of an acoustic, and the lyrics don’t necessarily sound like it’s a love song.  It’d be one thing if the Gavin Rossdale chose a girls name for the title of this song, but instead he chose the word “Glycerine” and over ten years later he still has people scratching their heads going: “what’s that mean?”

#3- “I’ll Be” by Edwin McCain from Misguided Roses (1998)

Many people consider singer/songwriter Edwin McCain to be a one-hit wonder, but the truth is he’s actually not.  McCain’s career briefly sky-rocketed after this song appeared on an episode of the popular 1990’s sitcom “Dawson’s Creek”.  Since then “I’ll Be” has been a popular song covered on the hit reality show “American Idol” and is quite popular at most weddings.  McCain claims he wrote the song out of desperation, rather than being about him falling in love.  This song is very soulful and only people that have a vocal range similar or better than McCain should attempt to perform it live.  I’ve been fortunate to see Edwin McCain live and he is great.  His shows are very intimate (mostly all acoustic sets) and you can always bet that “I’ll Be” will always be a part of his set list.  Besides this one song McCain also has another popular hit “I could not ask for more” and a less popular track he recorded called “White Crosses”, which I think is actually one of his better songs and I have no idea how that track did not become a hit along with the other two songs that he wrote.

#2- “Wonderwall” by Oasis from (What’s the Story) Morning Glory? (1995)

Every guy who’s ever picked up an acoustic guitar for the first time has always aspired to achieve the same goal:  Learn how to play Oasis’s “Wonderwall” for a girl (or group of girls) in order to impress them.  This is not only one of Best and Most Popular songs performed by Oasis, but it is one of the most important and beloved songs of the 1990’s and probably of All-Time.  Despite, many pre-conceived misconceptions, Noel Gallagher did not write this song about a woman.  I mean, he did say he did when the song was first released, but that was only at the recommendation of record executives who believed that story would help boost the popularity of the song.  The truth about the songs title comes from former Beatle, George Harrison’s, first solo album “Wonderwall Music”.  Another fun fact was that Noel Gallagher (the bands lead guitarist and primary song writer) gave his brother Liam (the bands vocalist) the option of singing either “Wonderwall” or “Don’t Look back in Anger” on the album.  Liam—wisely—opted for “Wonderwall” and Noel sang “Don’t Look back in Anger” on the album instead.  Everybody likes this song, not just women, but guys too—and more specifically looking to impress women.  Thanks to Oasis massive hit we are doomed to hear it played in High School Talent Shows and College Campuses by a bunch of hacks with guitars who are just hoping to get lucky.

The Most Pretentious Music Video I've ever seen

1.)    Anything by the Goo Goo Dolls

In the 1990’s The Goo Goo Dolls were a big deal.  They were one of the most popular bands of the 1990’s.  The Goo Goo Dolls blew up after the success of their single “Iris” which appeared in the soundtrack to the 1998 film “City of Angels”.  “Iris” wasn’t the only successful song that The Goo Goo Dolls had, there was also “Slide”, “Black Balloon”, and “Name” (which appeared on their previous album A Boy Named Goo in 1995).  The majority of The Goo Goo Dolls hit songs in the 1990’s were featured on their sixth studio album Dizzy Up the Girl and were mostly love songs written by the bands singer/guitarist John Rzeznik.  The Goo Goo Dolls are still one of the most popular bands from the 1990’s and many guys enjoy playing/performing their songs on guitar and karaoke, and most of them don’t care that when they sing a song like “Name”, “Slide” or “Iris” that they are singing a love song, because they just think that the song sounds awesome and they look awesome singing/playing it. 

This is a Good Track

This one too!

And You cant forget about this one; This is my favorite version of the song