This is a continuation of my list of my favorite 1980s songs. There is no Seattle grunge on this list; the upbeat happy songs we had in the 1980s are far more positive than the very dark 1990s grunge music.
==#5: La Calle de las Sirenas==
In 1996, the before-unknown Mexican band Kabah became famous across the Spanish-speaking world with their hit La Calle de las Sirenas.
This song, which talks about mermaids, giants, gnomes, and all other kinds of mythical creatures, is a fun-loving mid-tempo piece of music.
I praised the song nearly two decades ago, and my opinion of the song has not changed.
I had the pleasure of meeting Maria Jose, the Kabah band member who I have always had a crush on, back in 2012 when she was signing her CD at a local record store when I lived in Mexico; she was a very nice and down to earth lady (fluent in English, to boot).
Jonn Serrie, in 1993, released the album Midsummer Century. My favorite track is The Ancient of Days, especially its first four minutes.
This song starts off with an amazing ambient texture, and then an epic sounding slow melody comes in, which ends around the four minute mark. A very nice intro to a good song.
Robert Miles is a musician who died far too young. When writing my obituary for him, I discussed how his 1996 up tempo dance club classic Children brought me a lot of joy in a very dark time in my life.
Robert Miles may no longer be with us, but his music lives on.
Colour the World by Sash from 1999 has a very positive and upbeat message in a very happy uptempo dance song. This song, about love, tolerance, and joy is a very good message and mindset to have. The song explicitly is about loving people of all skin colors, but the gay community adopted the song to be a message about tolerance towards gay people long before gay marriage became legal in the 2010s.
In contrast to Colour the World, this 1994 song, Closer by Nine Inch Nails, is a very dark song about a very primitive sexual attraction towards someone. Its chorus describes someone wanting sex in the most explicit way possible, without there being any pretense of desiring romance or a relationship.
Not to say this song encourages promiscuity. It doesn’t. The verses of the song make it clear that the singer is unhappy being in this dysfunctional purely sexual relationship.
A few great 1990s songs which did not make my top five list:
- Shamen: Boss Drum
- Haddaway: What is Love
- Alice DJ: Better off Alone
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