This compilation album came together for two reasons: 1) I got a CD burner for my 18th birthday and 2) The NOW That’s What I Call Music! compilation albums were a thing, so this was a response to that. Ken and I collaborated on the tracklist. Though I’m sure you’ll be able to guess which songs were suggested by whom, in the end we agreed on all of them. (At the same time, it was my CD burner, so I got the final say.)
Upon listening to this mix for the first time in 20 years, I was struck by the fact that for the most part, the songs still hold up. It is true that some bands and sounds have fallen out of fashion. But radio-friendly rock music is inoffensive and inconsequential at worst. It remains infinitely listenable, at least in part due to the fact that these particular songs came out during our formative years.
For this track-by-track review, I wanted to do my best to remember what made these songs notable in the first place, and also explain why they do (or don’t) resonate today. I ended up coming to the conclusion after writing this that there was no point in looking at these songs critically; you’re more likely to hear these songs in a Target or grocery store than you are on a radio station or a Spotify playlist. That does not mean songs are bad. It means they just sort of are.
So put on your Old Navy fleece, or Jncos, or in my case a ratty band t-shirt, turn up the volume on your 3-CD bookshelf system, and play these tracks while reading along.
Everclear - “Wonderful”
Songs From An American Movie, Vol. 1 LP
This song probably led off the album because, at the time, it wasn’t exactly easy to edit audio files. The “Hey, ain’t life wonderful?” collage of voices that starts the track didn’t seem to fit anywhere but at the beginning. So at the beginning it went.
As far as the actual song goes, it’s fine. I love the album it’s from, even though it’s a departure from the slick post-grunge of their first two major-label discs. The skepticism of the lyrics is what drew me in then and still makes sense to me now. “I don’t want to hear you tell me everything is wonderful now” is a pretty apt rebuke to the Republican bullshit nonsense going on in our nation at the moment. Someone get Joe Biden on the phone…
Vertical Horizon - “Everything You Want”
Everything You Want LP
It’s kind of funny that Ken and I got all bent out of shape over a pop music compilation album but then used all singles for our response. This track is the epitome of that mindset. When I said radio rock was inoffensive and inconsequential, this is what I was talking about. I don’t love it, but I don’t hate it. I’m not going to seek it out, but I also will not turn it off if it comes on.
On a side note, Anti-Now Volume 1 was made before Napster was a thing, so each and every song featured here came from an actual CD that was purchased. Yes, even this one. The only other good song on the album is “You’re A God,” and in hindsight it may have been a better choice to be featured here.
Rage Against The Machine - “Sleep Now In The Fire”
The Battle of Los Angeles LP
Ken is fond of reminding me “Rage Against The Machine are capitalist phonies!”, which is a sentiment stolen from the title of a song by grindcore band Anal Cunt. Yes, they espouse leftist and sometimes straight-up communist politics while still selling their music for profit. That doesn’t mean they don’t know what they’re talking about. “Some of those that work forces / Are the same that burn crosses” from “Killing in the Name” from their debut album is relevant today in the wake of the murder of George Floyd, just as it was back in ‘92.
“Sleep Now In The Fire,” like the other singles on the album, is a lot slicker than tracks from their previous two albums. The rough edges -- musically and vocally -- are smoothed out; the music fits into a nice little 3 ½ minute shell. It’s still a jolt of righteous energy, but this time around the fury of the lyrics is more abstract. That doesn’t necessarily work against them, though, because you can still rock out to it without being weighed down by politics. (In other words, when former congressman Paul Ryan said RATM was one of his favorite bands, he was probably talking about this album.)
Metallica - “I Disappear”
Mission Impossible 2 soundtrack LP
The actual CD-R of this compilation only played until about track 10. When this song came on, I was certain that this song was a poorly transcoded mp3. But then, while writing this, I listened to it on YouTube Music on my stereo… and it still sounded bad. So, the production was shitty. Maybe it was one of the first victims of the loudness wars.
But that riff, man. For all that was said about Metallica moving away from thrash metal and selling out and all that other nonsense, Hetfield and Co. could still write a song that was catchy and also fucking rocked. I still get that riff stuck in my head, and the song as a whole still absolutely holds up today.
3 Doors Down - “Kryptonite”
The Better Life LP
The Onion AV Club (print edition!) described this single as “primo Kiss” and I didn’t know what that meant beyond “maybe both jocks AND stoners can appreciate this music.” I was on the right path, I think, as it is accessible radio rock. It is also kind of dumb and not particularly deep. That said, it is an expertly crafted hard rock song that I won’t turn off if it comes on. Nickelback made an entire career out of this type of song. (They deserve their scorn because they make no bones about doing just that, over and over again)
Nine Days - “Absolutely (“Story of a Girl”)
The Madding Crowd LP
Pop-rock has always gone in and out of fashion throughout the decades, and “Story of a Girl” came along when bro-y aggro rock like Korn and Limp Bizkit were kings. Perhaps the rise of boy bands and Britney Spears at the dawn of the new millennium helped songs like this attain some mainstream success.
If I have a criticism of this song, it is that it sounds rushed. Like it’s too fast, and not in a good way. Other pop rock contemporaries like Counting Crows, The Wallflowers, or Soul Asylum all were perfectly fine with mid-tempo rockers, but Nine Days sound like they couldn’t wait to get out of the studio. Whatever the case, I think it sounded like a breath of fresh air amongst all the aforementioned bro rock -- a lot of which I liked at the time -- and that is probably why it is here.
Smashing Pumpkins - “Stand Inside Your Love”
Machina / The Machines of God LP
Musically speaking, this is probably where it all went south between Ken and I. It was 20 years ago, so I don’t actually remember, but I think there is zero chance that he didn’t lobby for the aggressive, angsty single “The Everlasting Gaze.” I went with the somewhat-tender ballad “Stand Inside Your Love.”
They’re both fine songs. ‘Gaze’ is more immediate, so that one probably gets on more playlists today. “Stand Inside Your Love” is more interesting musically, but Billy Corgan’s vocals are kind of annoying, so maybe that’s a wash. Whatever, fuck Ken.
Static-X - “Bled For Days”
Wisconsin Death Trip LP
I won’t beat around the bush - I don’t particularly care for hard rock or nu-metal any more. It would be easy to blame this all on Ken and move on, but I’m the one who bought the CD, so there must have been something I liked about it at the time.
Relistening to it now, “Bled For Days” has an interesting if not particularly good sound. In a way, it was at the forefront of hard rock with its use of electronics in the mix. If the bass and drums weren’t percussive enough on their own, the guitars are tuned all the way down for most of the song, further muddling an already muddled sound. Wayne Static’s aren’t sung nor screamed, but vomited out -- particularly when singing the title line “bled for days.” Despite all that ugliness, the guitar line during the “I don’t believe it, fuck me, read me…” chorus (or is it a bridge?) is kind of pretty in a shoegaze-y sort of way. (For a modern take on that, listen to some Deafheaven.) I don’t think I’ll be queueing up any Static-X anytime soon, but it is a thing that existed and was fine at the time.
Stone Temple Pilots - “Sour Girl”
No. 4 LP
Halfway through the disc, a couple of things have become apparent: 1) If there are two contending singles from an album and one is a rocker and one isn’t, I almost always chose the more ballad-y type song. This definitely applies to “Sour Girl,” and I think it is still the correct choice because Stone Temple Pilots are far better at this type of song than the truly hard rockers. (“Dead and Bloated” is great, but “Interstate Love Song” is better.) 2) My opinion of most of these songs is that they’re “fine” and I’ve got not much more to say then that. I suppose that is bound to happen when we’re talking about radio-friendly rock music. The vast majority of it doesn’t go beyond that, and that is kind of by design.
I will say that single for single, STP can hang with just about any 90s band. “Sour Girl” is a good entry into that canon with its hazy, laid back vibe and interesting guitar tone.
Blink-182 - “Adam’s Song”
Enema of the State LP
At first glance, you (Okay, Ken, and no one else) may be saying “oh look, another mid-tempo song by a band not really known for them [eye roll emoji]” and you (even those who aren’t Ken) would be correct. However, I have some valid reasons for picking this song.
One, their most well-known song both then and now, “All The Small Things,” was a giant crossover hit. It reached #6 on the Billboard Hot 100, and much more importantly also was featured on a Now That’s What I Call Music! compilation. This is the Anti-Now Album, see?
Two, I absolutely felt this song in my guts. Those years at the end of high school were not good years. I fantasized about putting a gun to my head and ending it all. So when Mark Hoppus sang “Please tell mom this is not her fault” it hit pretty close to home. I assure you that I had thought a lot about this sort of thing.
So, maybe “All The Small Things” and “What’s My Age Again?” were superior pop songs (they were and are) but “Adam’s Song” felt like it had true depth at a time when a lot of music on the radio didn’t. I won’t go so far as to say that song saved my life, but listening to it now brings me back to a time that my life needed saving. Which is not an easy thing to admit or to go back to. But Blink-182, of all bands, helped me do it.
Foo Fighters - “Breakout”
There Is Nothing Left to Lose LP
Of all the radio-rock bands on this album, Foo Fighters is the radio-rockingest. I do not say that to denigrate them; they have been a solid band since day one.
But, there’s really nothing to say about them either. They’re just kind of...there? (“Everlong” is in the Top Ten 90’s rock songs, full stop, but everything else is just sort of OK.) Perhaps as a counter to all the slowish songs the hardest-rocking single from the album got the nod here.
I’ve got nothing more to say on this track, so let’s get on with it.
Buckcherry - “For The Movies”
Buckcherry LP
Ah, yes, Buckcherry. The band that the Onion AV Club said was at the forefront of “the great cock-rock revolution of 1999.” (This was not a compliment. There may have been no other bands in the so-called revolution)
In a way, they were Nickelback before Nickelback: critical punching bags that made simple party rock for meatheads, dullards, leathery wannabe MILFs, and white trash of all sorts. In what should be no surprise, I chose the sappy ballad instead of the single explicitly about cocaine (“Lit Up”) and the single that might as well be about cocaine (“Dead Again”).
You would be forgiven if you thought they burned out after their debut album. But they did not. In fact, they had another smash hit that gets played on rock radio to this day. Is there a completely ridiculous 13-minute live version of it floating out there? Fuck yeah there is. Did Ken and I witness some trashy, slightly overweight and very intoxicated young women booty dance to the song once upon a time? Did I kind of enjoy it? I am not permitted to confirm nor deny that.
In short, I hate Buckcherry. But I also kind of like them.
Creed - “With Arms Wide Open”
Human Clay LP
It’s easy to shit all over Creed for being awful and histrionic. This song doesn’t really change that.
I’ll go to bat for Creed’s first album because it’s really not all that bad. It may not be my thing anymore, but it’s not as bad as a lot of folks make it out to be.
But after that success, Scott Stapp got full of himself, and what we got was treacly bullshit like this. I’m not that far removed from being a new father, but I listened to this and was like “really, dude?”
I will admit that when this came out I bought the limited edition CD single. I have no clue what I was thinking then, and I will not attempt to justify that now.
“Weird Al” Yankovic - “It’s All About The Pentiums”
Running With Scissors LP
“Weird Al” Yankovic is a national treasure. If you disagree, you are wrong.
His Star Wars themed parody from the same LP is probably more famous, but ‘Pentiums’ had the cooler video, and being a budding computer nerd at the time meant that I actually got all the jokes from the song. In fact, it inspired me to name the message board on a web site that I maintained at the time after a line in the song (Ctrl.Alt.Delete, if you were wondering)
What strikes me now is that Yankovic was a pretty good rapper even then. The jokes are dated now -- though that was also kind of the point -- but the attention to detail and overall ability shine through even today.
Overall, I think if I were to make a Weird Al greatest hits disc, this song would be on it. Make of that what you will.
Nine Inch Nails - “Starfuckers Inc.”
The Fragile LP
The Fragile is an album that I didn’t much appreciate at the time it came out. I remember that teenage me thought it was “thought-provoking” but I also remember teenage me didn’t actually listen to the whole thing all that much.
“Starfuckers Inc.” is both super-accessible and superficial. It is a diss track about Marilyn Manson, and nothing more. I don’t hate it, and I won’t skip it if I’m listening to The Fragile. But if I were to go back and change the tracklisting of Anti-Now Vol. 1, I would probably go with either of the other singles, “The Day The World Went Away,” or “Into The Void.”
A Perfect Circle - “Judith”
Mer de Noms LP
For my money, A Perfect Circle’s debut effort is the last great radio hard rock album. (TOOL, as much as their songs get played on the radio, is not radio rock) To this day, I still enjoy it front to back. Is it Maynard James Keenan’s vocals? Is it because, unlike Keenan’s other band Tool, the songs are over before the five minute mark? I don’t know. It just works.
“Judith” was the first single, and it still hits hard. Its anti-religious bent -- “Fuck your lord, your God, and your Christ!” -- rings true today just as it did 20 years ago.
Papa Roach - “Last Resort”
Infest LP
I am honestly trying really hard not to be pithy about any of these songs. “Last Resort” makes that kind of difficult. It is more or less a macho, mookish version of “Adam’s Song” by Blink-182.
I did not abandon that song in 2000, however. During the Green Bay Packers’ run to the Super Bowl in 2010, “Last Resort” was part of a playlist that got me hyped up before their playoff games. The playlist was titled “Songs That Make Me Want To Punch People In The Face.” So there’s that, I guess.
Stir - “New Beginning”
Holy Dogs LP
I’m not sure where I actually first heard this song. Maybe radio, maybe on a DirecTV music channel. I bought the CD on the strength of this single, and was mostly disappointed. (Upon a second listening a few weeks ago… I was still disappointed.)
But this song… this song is actually still legit good. It somehow manages to sound both of its time (record scratching!) and timeless (quiet-loud dynamics, na-na-na choruses!). I’m sure I put it at the end because I thought it was funny to make the last song one named “New Beginning,” but it ended up being rather fitting.
Despite being from a band that is mostly forgettable and being a song that was probably not that well known to begin with, it is (at least to me) actually the freshest sounding track of the 18 that made it on to the compilation. If I want to listen to a random-ass song from that era, I think I’d be more likely to queue up “New Beginning” than I would, say, “Everything You Want” or “For The Movies.” That may sound like faint praise, and it probably is. But when we’re talking about radio-friendly music from 20 years ago… that’s probably the best you can ask for.
