(image credit: getty images)
Thanks to the success of bands like Nirvana and Pearl Jam, alternative rock ruled the airwaves in the 90s. After the grunge era came to an end with the death of Kurt Cobain, alternative rock spread out into a spiderweb of guitar based, bummed out bands. Groups like Marcy Playground, Harvey Danger, and the Toadies all had their time in the Buzz Bin, but they never made it to regular rotation. Let’s take a look at some of the great forgotten bands of the 90s.
(image credit: getty images)
When the quirky hit “Sex and Candy” took the airwaves by storm no one knew the name Marcy Playground. Thanks to an equally weird music video the band soared to the heights of 90s alt-rock success. Despite releasing an album full of great, weird songs, the band’s time in the spotlight came to an end as abruptly as it began.
(image credit: getty images)
You may not remember Better Than Ezra but you have to remember “Good,” their 1995 hit that reached number one on the Billboard Modern Rock chart. The band cranked out more upbeat songs than their mid-90s alt rock brethren, but that didn’t help them carve out a space in the mainstream.
(image credit: getty images)
With “Counting Blue Cars,” Dishwalla achieved a crazy amount of success. Released in 1996, the song was the most played track on the radio in 1997 and 1998 – how insane is that? The band was never able to replicate their post-grunge soft boy hit, but the success of “Counting Blue Cars” keeps them on the road to this day.
(image credit: getty images)
There’s just something so aggressively mid about the 1995 single “Cumbersome,” by Virginia post-grunge rockers Seven Mary Three. The song was a Top 40 hit that pushed the album, “American Standard” to platinum status, but that success evaporated by the release of their follow up in 1997.
(image credit: getty images)
The Toadies are true rockers from the Lone Star State, and their single “Possum Kingdom” is an all-time ripper. This dark, brooding track has a swampy feel that sounds reminiscent to Pearl Jam at their most introspective and heavy, but there’s just something nasty about this band. Toadies remain a cult act to this day, buoyed no doubt by the success of their one massive single.
(image credit: getty images)
Another Texas sort of success story, Tripping Daisy’s psychedelic sound set them apart from the rest of the 90s alt rock scene. With their song “I Got A Girl,” the group achieved a brief amount of fame that made them legends in the DFW area. The band called it following the death of guitar player Wes Berggren in 1999, members Tim DeLaughter, Mark Pirro, Bryan Wakeland and Jeff Bouck formed The Polyphonic Spree. The band is still playing to this day.
(image credit: getty images)
You only hear Semisonic in the wild in two distinct instances: when you’re at a bar after last call, and when you stop into a CVS the morning after a long night to buy some hangover supplies. “Closing Time” will be Semisonic’s legacy until the planet explodes, which is a drag because the band has a deep discography full of catchy, heartfelt alt-rock. If you’re so moved, throw on “Singing In My Sleep” or “F.N.T.” for a saccharine blast of pure pop goodness.
(image credit: getty images)
Local H rips. This alt rock duo brings a stripped down sound to the standard four-piece arrangement that was the blueprint for rock in the 90s. Not technically one-hit wonders, Local H kicked out college rock radio hits like “Bound To The Floor,” “Eddie Vedder,” and “All The Kids Are Right,” throughout the 90s but they never became a household name. The band is still touring today albeit with only one original member.
(image credit: getty images)
They were merely Freshmen, you know? The Verve Pipe were one of those bands that sounded like a million other bands from the 90s, and their name was even similar to The Verve from the UK. So who remembers these guys? The band’s solo hit single “Freshman” was kicking around since 1992, but it really took off when a re-recorded version was placed dead center on the group’s 1996 album “Villans.” There’s no doubt that you’ve heard this song in movie, on a TV show, or just in a Duane Reade somewhere, so the band is still paying their bills.
(image credit: getty images)
There’s something different about the Harvey Danger. From the opening moments of “Flagpole Sitta” the band is operating at a whole other level. With a snide vocal delivery and angular guitars piercing through the pop soundwaves, they were legitimately exciting to hear in the late 90s. Kind of a “Baby’s First Pavement,” Harvey Danger all but crumbled under the weight of the massive success of their one hit single, and even though their follow up “King James Version” absolutely rocks, the band disappeared shortly after its release.