I Hate the 90's
Encyclopedia
"I Hate the 90's" is a song by short-lived American
alternative rock
band, Rodney & the Tube Tops
. The song was released as the band's debut single
in 1997 on the indie label Sympathy for the Record Industry
. As the band was more of a side project for members of Hole
, Sonic Youth
and White Flag
, "I Hate the 90's" was the only release by the band.
, produced and Dave Travis engineered the recording session. A minute-long collection of clips from the recording session was released by drummer Dave Markey
in 2008.
in the early 1990s and relates them to the former culture of punk rock
. IGN Music
stated that "I Hate the 90's" was a song "in which Bingenheimer extols his love of every thing before the '90s and judiciously uses his catch phrase 'Godhead.'" The lyrics make a number of references to several celebrities including Marcia Brady
from The Brady Bunch
, Brian Wilson
, Janis Joplin
and Kate Moss
, trends such as fashion
, body piercings, tattoos, the internet, recreational drug use and contemporary topics and events such as the fall of the Berlin Wall, last-call return and the rise of BDSM
. The final lyrics feature Bingenheimer shouting "get me to the year 2000 at once!"
Musically, "I Hate the 90's" follows a standard punk rock
form. The intro consists of a rising drum beat, accompanied by bass, and FX'd guitar riffs and transcends in to a repeatative riff used throughout the verses of the song. The chorus uses barre chords and heavy use of cymbals and immediately climaxes and stops before the song's refrain "I hate the 90's!" The bridge is composed of alternative guitar tunings played in an experimental style, possibly written by Thurston Moore
, as Sonic Youth
are known for their use of alternate tunings.
, It's a Goof, released on August 18, 1998 and was also featured in the soundtrack to Rodney Bingenheimer's 2004 documentary, Mayor of the Sunset Strip
. Due to both the band and record label's underground status, the single failed to receive much attention.
and Cameron Jamie, all music by Eric Erlandson
, Thurston Moore
, Pat Fear
and Dave Markey
.
Technical personnel
Art personnel
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
alternative rock
Alternative rock
Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...
band, Rodney & the Tube Tops
Rodney & the Tube Tops
Rodney & the Tube Tops were a short-lived American alternative rock band from Seattle, Washington. The band — which was more of a side-project — included members of Hole, Sonic Youth and White Flag and were eponymously named after frontman, legendary DJ Rodney Bingenheimer.-Origins and career:The...
. The song was released as the band's debut single
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
in 1997 on the indie label Sympathy for the Record Industry
Sympathy for the Record Industry
Sympathy for the Record Industry is a mainly independent garage rock and punk label formed in 1988 by record industry anti-mogul Long Gone John...
. As the band was more of a side project for members of Hole
Hole (band)
Hole is an American alternative rock band that originally formed in Los Angeles in 1989. The band is fronted by vocalist/songwriter and rhythm guitarist Courtney Love, who co-founded Hole with former songwriter/lead guitarist Eric Erlandson...
, Sonic Youth
Sonic Youth
Sonic Youth is an American alternative rock band from New York City, formed in 1981. The current lineup consists of Thurston Moore , Kim Gordon , Lee Ranaldo , Steve Shelley , and Mark Ibold .In their early career, Sonic Youth was associated with the No Wave art and music scene in New York City...
and White Flag
White Flag (band)
White Flag is an American punk rock band currently based in Los Angeles. Their current lineup consists of frontman Pat Fear , Mike Mess , Jello B. Afro , and Trace Element . All of these members have been in the band since 1982, though many have rotated in and out...
, "I Hate the 90's" was the only release by the band.
Recording
The song was recorded at Tarantula Ranch Hollywood, California at some point in 1996 along with the songs "Tube Tops Forever" and "Cellphone Madness," which were later featured as the single's b-sides. Cameron Jamie, who co-wrote the song's lyrics with frontman Rodney BingenheimerRodney Bingenheimer
Rodney Bingenheimer, born December 15, 1947, is a radio disc jockey on the long-running Los Angeles rock station KROQ who is notable for helping numerous iconic bands become successful in the American market. His contribution to the music business has been described as important...
, produced and Dave Travis engineered the recording session. A minute-long collection of clips from the recording session was released by drummer Dave Markey
Dave Markey
Dave Markey is an American film director.As a self-taught filmmaker and musician, Markey directed, produced, edited, and photographed most of his films, the majority of which has been self-funded and distributed. His work documents the punk scene in Southern California throughout the 1980s and 1990s...
in 2008.
Composition
The song's lyrics, written by Bingenheimer and Jamie, primarily satirize aspects of alternative cultureAlternative rock
Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...
in the early 1990s and relates them to the former culture of punk rock
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
. IGN Music
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
stated that "I Hate the 90's" was a song "in which Bingenheimer extols his love of every thing before the '90s and judiciously uses his catch phrase 'Godhead.'" The lyrics make a number of references to several celebrities including Marcia Brady
Maureen McCormick
Maureen Denise McCormick is an American actress, celebrity and recording artist. She is most widely known as a child actress who played Marcia Brady in the television series The Brady Bunch from 1969 to 1974.- Early life and career :...
from The Brady Bunch
The Brady Bunch
The Brady Bunch is an American sitcom created by Sherwood Schwartz and starring Robert Reed, Florence Henderson, and Ann B. Davis. The series revolved around a large blended family...
, Brian Wilson
Brian Wilson
Brian Douglas Wilson is an American musician, best known as the leader and chief songwriter of the group The Beach Boys. Within the band, Wilson played bass and keyboards, also providing part-time lead vocals and, more often, backing vocals, harmonizing in falsetto with the group...
, Janis Joplin
Janis Joplin
Janis Lyn Joplin was an American singer, songwriter, painter, dancer and music arranger. She rose to prominence in the late 1960s as the lead singer of Big Brother and the Holding Company and later as a solo artist with her backing groups, The Kozmic Blues Band and The Full Tilt Boogie Band...
and Kate Moss
Kate Moss
Kate Moss is an English model. Moss is known for her waifish figure and popularising the heroin chic look in the 1990s. She is also known for her controversial private life, high profile relationships, party lifestyle, and drug use. Moss changed the look of modelling and started a global debate on...
, trends such as fashion
Fashion
Fashion, a general term for a currently popular style or practice, especially in clothing, foot wear, or accessories. Fashion references to anything that is the current trend in look and dress up of a person...
, body piercings, tattoos, the internet, recreational drug use and contemporary topics and events such as the fall of the Berlin Wall, last-call return and the rise of BDSM
BDSM
BDSM is an erotic preference and a form of sexual expression involving the consensual use of restraint, intense sensory stimulation, and fantasy power role-play. The compound acronym BDSM is derived from the terms bondage and discipline , dominance and submission , and sadism and masochism...
. The final lyrics feature Bingenheimer shouting "get me to the year 2000 at once!"
Musically, "I Hate the 90's" follows a standard punk rock
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
form. The intro consists of a rising drum beat, accompanied by bass, and FX'd guitar riffs and transcends in to a repeatative riff used throughout the verses of the song. The chorus uses barre chords and heavy use of cymbals and immediately climaxes and stops before the song's refrain "I hate the 90's!" The bridge is composed of alternative guitar tunings played in an experimental style, possibly written by Thurston Moore
Thurston Moore
Thurston Joseph Moore is an American musician best known as a singer, songwriter and guitarist of Sonic Youth. He has also participated in many solo and group collaborations outside of Sonic Youth, as well as running the Ecstatic Peace! record label...
, as Sonic Youth
Sonic Youth
Sonic Youth is an American alternative rock band from New York City, formed in 1981. The current lineup consists of Thurston Moore , Kim Gordon , Lee Ranaldo , Steve Shelley , and Mark Ibold .In their early career, Sonic Youth was associated with the No Wave art and music scene in New York City...
are known for their use of alternate tunings.
Release
The single was released the following year on Sympathy for the Record Industry. The song was featured on Beloved Records compilation albumCompilation album
A compilation album is an album featuring tracks from one or more performers, often culled from a variety of sources The tracks are usually collected according to a common characteristic, such as popularity, genre, source or subject matter...
, It's a Goof, released on August 18, 1998 and was also featured in the soundtrack to Rodney Bingenheimer's 2004 documentary, Mayor of the Sunset Strip
Mayor of the Sunset Strip
Mayor of the Sunset Strip is a 2004 documentary film on the life of Rodney Bingenheimer directed by George Hickenlooper, and produced by Chris Carter.-Interviews:...
. Due to both the band and record label's underground status, the single failed to receive much attention.
Track listing
All lyrics by Rodney BingenheimerRodney Bingenheimer
Rodney Bingenheimer, born December 15, 1947, is a radio disc jockey on the long-running Los Angeles rock station KROQ who is notable for helping numerous iconic bands become successful in the American market. His contribution to the music business has been described as important...
and Cameron Jamie, all music by Eric Erlandson
Eric Erlandson
Eric Erlandson is an American musician known as the co-founder, former songwriter and lead guitarist of alternative rock band Hole.-Early life and career:...
, Thurston Moore
Thurston Moore
Thurston Joseph Moore is an American musician best known as a singer, songwriter and guitarist of Sonic Youth. He has also participated in many solo and group collaborations outside of Sonic Youth, as well as running the Ecstatic Peace! record label...
, Pat Fear
White Flag (band)
White Flag is an American punk rock band currently based in Los Angeles. Their current lineup consists of frontman Pat Fear , Mike Mess , Jello B. Afro , and Trace Element . All of these members have been in the band since 1982, though many have rotated in and out...
and Dave Markey
Dave Markey
Dave Markey is an American film director.As a self-taught filmmaker and musician, Markey directed, produced, edited, and photographed most of his films, the majority of which has been self-funded and distributed. His work documents the punk scene in Southern California throughout the 1980s and 1990s...
.
Release history
| Region | Date | Format | Featured on |
|---|---|---|---|
| United States United States The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district... |
February 1997 | 7" vinyl Gramophone record A gramophone record, commonly known as a phonograph record , vinyl record , or colloquially, a record, is an analog sound storage medium consisting of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove... |
"I Hate the 90's" |
| August 18, 1998 | Compact disc Compact Disc The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,... |
It's a Goof | |
| March 16, 2004 | Mayor of the Sunset Strip |
Personnel
Musicians- Rodney BingenheimerRodney BingenheimerRodney Bingenheimer, born December 15, 1947, is a radio disc jockey on the long-running Los Angeles rock station KROQ who is notable for helping numerous iconic bands become successful in the American market. His contribution to the music business has been described as important...
- vocalsSingingSinging is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments... - Eric ErlandsonEric ErlandsonEric Erlandson is an American musician known as the co-founder, former songwriter and lead guitarist of alternative rock band Hole.-Early life and career:...
- lead guitarElectric guitarAn electric guitar is a guitar that uses the principle of direct electromagnetic induction to convert vibrations of its metal strings into electric audio signals. The signal generated by an electric guitar is too weak to drive a loudspeaker, so it is amplified before sending it to a loudspeaker... - Thurston MooreThurston MooreThurston Joseph Moore is an American musician best known as a singer, songwriter and guitarist of Sonic Youth. He has also participated in many solo and group collaborations outside of Sonic Youth, as well as running the Ecstatic Peace! record label...
- rhythm guitar - Pat FearWhite Flag (band)White Flag is an American punk rock band currently based in Los Angeles. Their current lineup consists of frontman Pat Fear , Mike Mess , Jello B. Afro , and Trace Element . All of these members have been in the band since 1982, though many have rotated in and out...
- bassBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick.... - Dave MarkeyDave MarkeyDave Markey is an American film director.As a self-taught filmmaker and musician, Markey directed, produced, edited, and photographed most of his films, the majority of which has been self-funded and distributed. His work documents the punk scene in Southern California throughout the 1980s and 1990s...
- drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
, percussion
Technical personnel
- Cameron Jamie - producerRecord producerA record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
, engineerAudio engineeringAn audio engineer, also called audio technician, audio technologist or sound technician, is a specialist in a skilled trade that deals with the use of machinery and equipment for the recording, mixing and reproduction of sounds. The field draws on many artistic and vocational areas, including... - Dave Travis - engineer, mixingAudio mixing (recorded music)In audio recording, audio mixing is the process by which multiple recorded sounds are combined into one or more channels, most commonly two-channel stereo. In the process, the source signals' level, frequency content, dynamics, and panoramic position are manipulated and effects such as reverb may...
(on "Tube Tops Forever") - Chris Carter - mixing (on "I Hate the 90's")
- Dave Markey - mixing (on "Tube Tops Forever")
- Richard Bosworth - mixing (on "I Hate the 90's")
Art personnel
- Tom Jamison - photographyPhotographyPhotography is the art, science and practice of creating durable images by recording light or other electromagnetic radiation, either electronically by means of an image sensor or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film...