In this series:
* '90s Dance Music Appreciation 1 - Light Dance (YOU ARE HERE)^ Favorite EDM music songs of mine featuring light dance tracks from the '90s. Several club pop songs are featured in this post. They are likely songs you will hear in commercials as well as in TV-friendly music collections of dance music.
* '90s Dance Music Appreciation 2 - Heavy Dance
^ Favorite EDM music songs of mine featuring heavy dance tracks from the '90s. Rather than some of the light songs, these are more hard-hitting '90s dance songs.
--- '90s Dance Music Appreciation: in General ---
For many people, these are the kinds of songs that aren't going to impress many people. A lot of people would probably say that some of these songs you're about to see me make mention to are considered gay music since these are songs you'd commonly hear at gay clubs. Some would also consider these not all that good dance songs since none of these are really powerful just because they aren't hard-hitting songs from the '90s. The fact of the matter is... these are some of the many songs that have helped shape '90s dance.Just the fact that many of these songs aren't as hard-hitting doesn't hurt their worth overall. A lot of '90s dance is more rhythmetic and harmonious with the instruments and vocals. The beats are fairly consistent with most '90s songs as well. Even in this day and age, some of the '90s songs here would be just as acceptable on pop music radio today as they were in the past when many of these songs were on mainstream radio and television. A 1990s movie most people associate with some of this blog post's songs is "A Night at the Roxbury," featuring a number of '90s club pop hits.
What do some of the many fans of '90s dance think about the genre then compared to now? Obviously, they are considered classics because of the fond memories these songs have provided. A lot of them would easily dismiss the likes of Lady Gaga, Ke$ha, Justin Bieber, and various other recent pop stars in support of these artists to be mentioned.
About This Post:
The first of two blog posts on '90s dance relates to mostly pop-friendly songs. Some of these songs are still popular today even with new mixes on these songs. I can assure you that these songs may be classics to you. These consist of mostly club anthems and some still-popular songs of today.NOTE: Some of the artists/groups featured may be featured in future blog posts related to them. Some have already have blog entries of mine posted on them.
--- '90s Light Dance Music Appreciation: Videos ---
What I hope to accomplish with this blog post is to offer a flashback of '90s dance. I want you to listen to these songs to see what character these songs have. Even have a listen to the instrumentals and the singing and all that makes these songs such classics to many in the genre. The videos are provided for both entertainment and education.You are about to see (and hear) a bunch of songs from the realm of '90s dance music that I've enjoyed listening to or remember most. You are invited to have a listen and enjoy the songs I've found on YouTube. Each video features a header letting you know who made the song and what the song is. If you just see a header and no name of the song, that means that more than one video will be featured for that specific artist/group. I'll talk about the video, and then you have a chance to watch/listen to the video to get to hear the songs I've discussed.
I hope you enjoy this post as much as I've enjoyed posting these videos. I also want to thank the ones who uploaded these videos to YouTube. Any videos that have had embedding disabled will be replaced with a link to the YouTube video in question.
Amber - This Is Your Night.
I first want to pay respect to Marie-Claire Cremers... better known by her stage name of Amber. The Dutch diva with a sexy singing voice and overall sexy style is surely a trailblazer to me in the genre. I can choose any number of songs to start this post off, but I'll go with one of her first songs. "This is Your Night" had an overall great vibe to it. Amber's charm and style were surely on display in this classic '90s dance song. Enjoy this helping of '90s love:I blogged about Amber before. Please read "Amber" here on John's Blog Space to see my blog post on Amber.
Real McCoy.
So I go from one "night" song to another from a different artist. Le Click is supplying the love for this one. You know you have to be worth it if you call yourself Real McCoy. I have a few songs to feature here with Real McCoy.The one that I know of best was "Another Night." I was unsure who did this song as I was preparing this blog post. I then randomly typed "Another Night dance" on YouTube and found this song. Funny how the Internet works, doesn't it? Anyhow, this is an old favorite of mine back then. This song was released in 1994. In the past, I sort of thought of this as a Coca-Cola song because it had that kind of vibe to it back then.
I found the video to showcase "Another Night," but unfortunately, embedding was disabled. To hear/see "Another Night," click this: "Real McCoy - Another Night" on YouTube.
Another favorite of mine from Real McCoy was "Runaway." Here is another fun tune that remains fun even to this day. You have to hear the instrumentals and how the singing goes to appreciate this song.
Le Click - Tonight is the Night.
I wasn't sure who came up with this song. I knew there was La Bouche, but I then thought of Le Click. Lo and behold... here the song is. "Tonight is the Night" is a song with pulsating beats and fairly powerful singing from the French EuroDance duo. It is surely a very cool song. Have a listen:La Bouche.
La Bouche is up next. A big part of La Bouche was South Carolina native Melanie Thornton, who delivered powerful and impactful singing to compliment the music. Do you want to be La Bouche's lover? "Be My Lover" was one of La Bouche's many hits. It's not only the music, but also some of the dancing in this video. This is surely a song I think of when I think of '90s music. You can have a listen to "Be My Lover" here by checking out this song below:I didn't know how "Sweet Dreams" sounded until I curiously looked this up on YouTube. I tried to remember this is Sweet Dreams from La Bouche, NOT the hit '80s song from the Eurythmics of the same name. Here's your musical inspiration of Sweet Dreams:
Sadly, Melanie Thornton is no longer with us. She was killed on November 24, 2001 in a plane crash. The music from the American-born Melanie will surely live on as well as the many wonderful songs she's sung as part of Le Click. Melanie was 34 years old when she died.
Halfway home! Make sure you're reading the full blog post if you're not reading the full blog post (or disregard this section if you are reading the full post).
Robin S. - Show Me Love.
It was 1993 when a lady named Robin Stone (better known as Robin S.) came up with a still-popular house song called "Show Me Love." I once remember seeing this video on TV way back when. Of course, it isn't like I remember this video from every last second. Robin's performance is powerful accompanied by lovely instrumentals and beats. When I looked on YouTube, I heard that Jason DeRulo took this song and made his own version. Rest assured- this one is the honest-to-goodness original. Take a trip back to 1993 here:Crystal Waters - "100% Pure Love."
In 1994, one nice tune called "100% Pure Love" came along from Crystal Waters. This song is still a favorite among many people. You'll see why if you have never heard "100% Pure Love" below:No Mercy - Where Do You Go?
After featuring a bunch of females, it's time to give the guys the floor. No Mercy's hit song featured instruments, beats, and singing that have all been done greatly by these guys. I think what makes this song so great is the combination of great singing in addition to memorable instrumentals. The soft guitar parts of the song add some flavor to this song. This is must-listen material.Embedding was disabled. Click here to listen to "No Mercy - Where Do You Go?" on YouTube.
Everything But the Girl - "Missing."
This is one of my all-time favorite songs of the '90s, especially the Tod Terry remix of this song. I usually like to think of this as a good song to listen to at Noon on a Sunday after a good Saturday night of electronica/EDM music. It is a calm piece like the No Mercy song you've heard earlier in this post. If you've never heard this song before (or this remix if you've heard the original), you are in for a treat:Sonique - It Feels So Good.
The most popular song of one Sonique is "It Feels So Good." Considering this video below was in 1998 before being released internationally in 2000, it qualifies as '90s dance. It has smoothness while also being moderately fierce. Prepare to experience one of this British singer's biggest hits:Haddaway - What Is Love.
Maybe you remember hearing this song in Pepsi Max commercials. Haddaway and his hit "What Is Love" song was played in some of those Pepsi Max commercials. Have a listen to the full song:WAKE UP, PEOPLE (Pepsi Max)! :D
More songs may be added to this blog post in future edits if I decide to post more songs.
--- Final Thoughts on This Post ---
The music you've heard in this blog entail some of what has defined '90s dance. Back when you could hear these kinds of songs on the radio and enjoy them on the radio, it was great hearing most of these songs. I think many of these songs were mostly about just having fun and enjoying life. Life was good and there was lots to love.Maybe that's why I haven't felt so festive recently. I sort of flash back to when I was still in Middle School and High School when many of these songs were hot. These were some songs I'd play in my head while I was enjoying being youthful and free. Now that I am older, I just think of these songs from a nostalgic standpoint. Even people on YouTube comment on how much they miss '90s music. Trust me. There are people who feel that music was great in the '90s until the 2000s came. Comments like those were eminent in most of the YouTube videos I looked up in trying to prepare this blog post. So you can imagine just how much this decade of music is missed by many people who remember these songs growing up.
I really believe that today's generation of dance-influenced pop is really a throwback to the '90s. That's why I've loved hearing Daft Punk and David Guetta and all influence some of today's pop songs. That is really why I like most of today's pop because of the '90s dance influence.
I could have featured a few more songs, but I mostly featured my favorites. So I avoided certain songs from the genre I've never liked, like the jock jam "Get Ready for This," which I NEVER liked and still don't like. I also mostly stayed towards electronica groups and artists here rather than electronica remixes of pop songs (which I mentioned in a past blog post).
Bonus Video!
Many people immediately think of "A Night at the Roxbury" with some of the songs I've featured in this blog post. Two of the aforementioned songs are in this movie trailer to the 1998 movie. See if you can find them in this trailer:In case you want to get "A Night at the Roxbury," you can here, from Amazon. I'll show you this one in thanks of you reading and supporting my blog:
And this is the CD soundtrack to "A Night at the Roxbury" below:
Reading and supporting my blog gets you some special perks. :)
Thank you for reading (and listening)! Remember that I have a similar blog post lined up for you all in the near future. Stay tuned to John's Blog Space! Here are some other things you can do for me, if you haven't already:
Become a Fan (or Like) my Facebook Fan Page and subscribe this blog (and my others) via FeedBurner (or any other aggregator in the sidebar)! Visit (or subscribe):
* Subscribe to John's Blog Space!
* Subscribe to John's Shop Space! (http://jbmshopspace.blogspot.com)
* Subscribe to John's Gran Turismo Space! (http://johnsgtspace.blogspot.com)
No comments:
Post a Comment