Friday, January 13, 2023

30 Years Ago in Music

 It's funny but 1993 doesn't seem that long ago compared to 1988, but in some ways it also feels vaguer.  I can remember what I was doing in 1988 in many ways better than I can remember 1993.  I do know in 1993 I spent most of my summer weekends in Louisville and really loved it.  This is also the first year where when I look at the top 100 singles many of them I have no clue.  Anyhow here is a look at the music from 1993.  


 According to Best Ever Albums the top albums of 1993 were:

  1. Siamese Dream by The Smashing Pumpkins
  2. In Utero by Nirvana
  3. Enter the Wu-Tang by Wu-Tang Clan
  4. Souvlaki by Slowdive
  5. Vs. by Pearl Jam
  6. Debut by Bjork
  7. Midnight Marauders by A Tribe Called Quest
  8. Suede by Suede
  9. August and Everything After by Counting Crows
  10. Red House Painters (Rollercoaster) by Red House Painters

Here are the albums that spent at least two weeks at Billboard number 1 in 1993.

  1. The Bodyguard (17 weeks)
  2. Janet by Janet Jackson (6 weeks)
  3. Vs. by Pearl Jam (5 weeks)
  4. In Pieces by Garth Brooks (5 weeks)
  5. Unplugged by Eric Clapton (3 weeks)
  6. River of Dreams by Billy Joel (3 weeks)
  7. Zooropa by U2 (2 weeks)
  8. Black Sunday by Cypress Hill (2 weeks)
  9. Doggystyle by Snoop Doggy Dogg (2 weeks)

The top Billboard singles of 1993 were:

  1. I Will Always Love You by Whitney Houston
  2. Whoomp! (There It Is) by Tag Team
  3. Can't Help Falling in Love by UB40
  4. That's The Way Love Goes by Janet Jackson
  5. Freak Me by Silk
  6. Weak by SWV
  7. If I Ever Fall in Love by Shai
  8. Dreamlover by Mariah Carey
  9. Rump Shaker by Wrecks-n-Effect
  10. Informer by Snow

I'll finish this off with a playlist for you all from 1993.  Some of the music I still listen to today.  Sad to say this is a pretty short playlist.  


26 comments:

  1. I'm just going to go ahead and get the comments rolling on this one by embedding the link to this one-hour loop of the spectacular Geico "Whoomp! There It Is!" commercial.

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  2. Here is a short list of things that happened in 1993:

    1. Kentucky went to the Final Four with my favorite team we ever had.
    2. Seinfeld ran the episode where Jerry was outed, and also ran the episodes where Jerry and George wrote a pilot.
    3. Bruce Springsteen appeared on the last episode of David Letterman's NBC show.
    4. R.E.M. released "Everybody Hurts" and "Nightswimming" as singles.
    5. Michael Jordan and the Bulls won their third consecutive NBA Title.
    6. Jimmy Johnson's legendary Cowboys team dominated in the NFL.
    7. The Braves and Giants had the last great pennant race in baseball history.
    8. "Calvin and Hobbes" was still going strong.
    9. "Groundhog Day" and "The Fugitive" were in the theaters.
    10. Nirvana did their "Unplugged" special on MTV.

    So for me, 1993 was the apotheosis of popular culture. In 1994, Jordan left the NBA, the MLB went on strike, people started talking about the Internet, and a new era began.

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  3. Also in 1993: Western Kentucky's men's basketball team went to the Sweet 16.

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  4. Also in 1993: Western Kentucky's women's team went to the Sweet 16, losing 86-73 to Ohio State. 1993 was also the only time that Vandy's women's team went to the Final Four, and the last time that Vandy's men's team won the regular season SEC Title.

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  5. 1993 also featured the last truly great Notre Dame football team, as the Irish beat Number-1 Florida State 31 to 24 in a tremendous game on November 13 -- only to lose the very next week, 41 to 39 against Boston College, thus losing the National Championship.

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    1. The 1993 Notre Dame-Florida State game was the first time that ESPN broadcast College GameDay from an on-campus location.

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  6. On October 1, 1993, ESPN launched ESPN2.

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  7. Jim Valvano delivered his famous "Don't Give Up" speech at the ESPY's on March 4, 1993.

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  8. Best cable networks of all time:

    1. MTV in the early 1980's
    2. ESPN in the early 1990's
    3. The Disney Channel in the early 2000's

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    1. I'm pretty sure I watched ESPN every day in 1993, and it was great every time.

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  9. December 1993 saw Kentucky's only championship at the Maui Classic. The Wildcats beat Arizona 93-92 in one of the greatest games I ever saw.

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  10. In the fall of 1993, NBC's lineup on Thursday Night looked like this:

    7 PM Central: Mad About You
    7:30 PM Central: Wings
    8 PM Central: Seinfeld
    8:30 PM Central: Frasier
    9 PM Central: L.A. Law

    If you didn't want to watch "Mad About You," you could switch over to Fox and watch "The Simpsons."

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  11. On September 10, 1993, Sarah McLachlan released "Possession."

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  12. "Human Behaviour" had a prominent role in a Gilmore Girls episode, but that show didn't debut until 2000, which I was surprised to learn.

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  13. "Fade Into You" had a prominent role in my 1993-2003.

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  14. "Why Should I Love You?" is probably my second-favorite Kate Bush song behind "Cloudbusting."

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  15. I have come to learn that Janet Jackson is a very, very meaningful figure for people, especially women, who were born between about 1972 and 1979.

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  16. And I will say that the sequence in Poetic Justice (which came out in 1993 and starred Janet Jackson) where they take the parcel van to Oakland and crash the family reunion en route is just terrific writing and execution.

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  17. Rob had and really liked that Crash Test Dummies CD.

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  18. That Toni Braxton song and video is a moment in time.

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  19. I have too much work to do today to get lost again in all the sordid details of the Gin Blossoms' history.

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    1. As a tribute to you, I usually go through the history of the Gin Blossoms about once every 18 months. I just did so again last summer.

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  20. "Arcadia," which is probably the best play written in English since at least 1960, premiered on April 13, 1993 at the Lyttellton Theatre in London.

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    1. If you ever get the chance to see "Arcadia," please do so. Also, go watch "Fences" and "The Piano Lesson."

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