Greetings,
So last year, I mentioned something about wanting to do Top Ten lists of Best/Worst songs of random years. I actually ended 2013 by making said lists for THAT year as it was coming to a close, alongside all the other people who were doing them as well. When I did so, I said that those would be practice for me, and to see if I'd get any responses. I did, so here we go, officially.
I decided pretty early on that, if I should ever start doing this on a somewhat regular basis, I would begin with a year that meant a lot to me. That year is, of course, 1995. Why is that year so important to me? Well, it was the year when I figured out that I was meant to be a writer. So, yes, it was a very good year. Of course, back then, it was just stories and poetry. I have expanded my line of work. Actually, since I'm covering songs here, it may have made more sense to begin with the year that I started writing songs seriously, which was not this one. Oh, well, too late. Maybe I'll do that one some other time. For now, though, I give you my personal list of the Best Hit Songs of 1995, again, taken from Billboard's Year End chart. Off we go.
#10. "Here Comes the Hotstepper" Ini Kamoze - Yeah, I don't know what the heck with this song either. What I do recall is that it came from a movie called Ready To Wear or Pret-a-Porter if you wanna get all French and fancy about it. I don't know. I think it was about fashion or something, and it had a boat load of famous people in it, and it was kind of 'meh'. But who cares? The video for this song, which had movies scenes incorporated into it, as used to be done, got played quite a lot back in the day. And I have to say, I do still like it a lot. I don't know why I like this song, but I do.
#9. "Hold On" Jamie Walters - In case you were not aware of this, let me inform you that the nineties belonged to one man - Aaron Spelling. Okay, maybe not, but he did have a ton of shows around that time. Some lasted long; others were lucky to last a season or less. One of the latter was a show called The Heights. It was about a band. And that's all anyone can remember about it. What do you expect? It only lasted three months. I guess, at that time, everyone had already committed themselves to the genius television that was California Dreams. Anyway, from the rubble of The Heights sprung forth a guy names Jamie Walters, who became especially known for singing the theme song, "How Do You Talk To An Angel?", and then he moved on to Beverly Hills, 90210, as Ray, Donna's boyfriend, who, for some reason, eventually became abusive. But he started out as just a "project" guy with a guitar. One of the songs he sang on the show was "Hold On", and it became a hit in the real world. I really liked it. I know that was a long trip, but clearly, it was well worth it.
#8. "In the House of Stone and Light" Martin Page - So I hadn't heard this song in forever, and whilst compiling this list, I got to hear it again. I had forgotten how much I liked it. Probably because it's one of those songs that was once a hit but then disappeared over the years. I don't know why. It's very good. Although, some people have apparently accused him of sounding like Sting or Peter Gabriel. Um...sucks for him? Yeah, that's not something I'd call an accusation; I'd call it a compliment.
#7. "I Know" Dionne Farris - Remember Arrested Development? The group, not the show. Well, this very talented woman sang with them for awhile. After she had some success there, she moved on with her own solo career and got herself a hit with this song. I have to say, I'm kind of surprised that her major success didn't have more longevity. She has a fantastic voice, and this song managed to stand out a lot. I guess she wasn't the first artist that deserved better, nor the last.
#6. "This Is How We Do It" Montell Jordan - This is my jam. Isn't that a thing that people said? In the nineties? Anywho, I still get a kick out of this song, though, I can never listen to it in public. See, I can't listen to it without dancing, and no one wants to see that. No one!
#5. "No More I Love You's" Annie Lennox - I'm a bit undecided on whether or not I'm a fan of Annie Lennox, be it her solo work or what she did as one half of The Eurhythmics. I do, however, love this particular song. If I have to give Annie credit for anything, it is that she has always been an original, very unique. There really is no one else like her. That's a good way to describe this song as well. While a lot of new artists try to jump on a bandwagon of what is popular at the moment, I think some seasoned artists do that as well. Not the case here. There was nothing on the radio like this song in 1995. There still isn't.
#4. "Have You Ever Really Loved A Woman?" Bryan Adams - Who likes a pop song with some Flamenco guitar thrown into it? This girl does. Okay, I haven't heard it happen that often. Okay, maybe it was only in this song, but that makes it all the more special, am I right? So this is another song from a soundtrack where the video got a ton of airplay. Seems like soundtrack music videos were very much like trailers back in the day. Hey, why not? This came from the movie Don Juan DeMarco, starring Johnny Depp. I never saw it, but I listened to this song...a lot. It's actually kind of beautiful. And so much better than other movie songs from this artist. Don't get me started on that one.
#3. "Strong Enough" Sheryl Crow - Oh, Sheryl Crow. I loved her so much back in the nineties, and, no matter how I may feel about her or her music now, I still love this song. Whist people were really taking notice of her at that time thanks to another song, this was the one that made me believe that she had some serious chops as a writer.
#2. "Good" Better Than Ezra - I think some artists, no matter how long they last, can tend to be stuck in a particular decade. Better Than Ezra, for example, are a band that have always been one of the nineties for me. They were one of the groups that had some success, but I seem to remember them kind of flying under the radar a bit. That doesn't mean at all that they weren't as good as some of their peers, quite the opposite actually. And this song was one of my favorites from them. It's just fun and weird and awesome. Just like me.
#1. "Back For Good" Take That - That's right. I picked a song from a boy band as my number one. What of it? But they were a British boy band, so it's...different. For awhile there, Take That was merely remembered as that group that Robbie Williams used to be in. Fair enough, I suppose, but they did stand out for me. Whilst I believe they were extremely famous in their own country, they were just kind of hanging around in the U.S. for awhile and then they went away. WHY? Artistically speaking, I always thought they were far more sophisticated than your average boy band. Oh, maybe that's why. Also, they had Gary Barlow. Who's that, you ask? Well, he is an overwhelmingly talented songwriter, and if that group had any legitimacy, it started with Gary Barlow. And he wrote this song. A song that I still listen to on a regular basis to this day.
And there are my best hit songs of 1995, the year that Becky the Writer was born. Sort of. Good memories. But GOOD memories are no fun when it comes to things like this. Tomorrow, prepare for the Worst!
Love and full moons,
Becky the Writer
