Count This Down

You may know that I am a BIG fan of countdown shows.

Recently VHI re-aired the five-hour "100 Greatest Songs of the 90's". I am so thankful for DVRs.

It was unclear what the criteria was for determining inclusion in this list. It was clear that an artist could not have more than one song in the top 100.

They made a point to fill us in on what a lot of these long-forgotten musicians have been doing since they hit it big - and it seems that almost all of them recently put out a CD or are working on a CD or are touring (probably for free). The one noteable exception was the guys from Kris Kross, who were the little kid rappers who wore their clothes backwards. Remember them? VH1 was all, yeah, no one has heard from these guys since 1996. We don't know where they are or what they're doing.

But that's not the main point of this article. The main point is to mention a few of the glaring exceptions.

1. Everything I Do (I Do it For You) by Bryan Adams - I can't believe this didn't make the cut. So maybe it's not a masterpiece, but if the criteria was "Popularity Among rural Coloradan teenageers in 1992" - this is the #1 song on the list, Nirvana be danged.

2. Nothing by Boyz II Men was on the list. I wasn't necessarily a big fan, so I don't have a recommendation as to which of their songs should be on the list. But how can you make a 5-hour production on music in the nineties and not mention these harmonizing wizards? It's even a bigger slap in the face when you consider that Color Me Badd, which was pretty much a poor man's version of Boys II Men, had a song in the top 40 of this list.

3. No Aerosmith? I guess that's not a huge surprise considering they didn't have any gigantic hits. But it seems like VH1 wouldn't have wanted to miss a chance to talk about the iconic videos starring a pre-Clueless Alicia Silverstone. Aerosmith's album Get A Grip was quite popular when I was a senior in high school, but again, I kind of doubt VH1 asked anyone from the Valley their opinion on the top songs of the nineties.

4. Don't Speak by No Doubt. How does this not make it?

5. Michael Bolton. I don't know if VH1 is being entirely honest with themselves. Or maybe they made a conscious decision to exclude the entire genre of easy listening.

6. Amy Grant. It seems like revisionist history or selective memory. People make fun of Amy Grant now, but in 1992, everyone loved Amy Grant. I loved Amy Grant. You loved Amy Grant. Don't deny it. And yes, that was my Amy Grant VHS tape. Baby, baby. . .

7. Okay, I was sort of kidding on those last two. But how about this one: neither "More Than Words" by Extreme or "To Be With You" by Mr. Big made the list. The whole acoustic bad-boy heartbreak genre really needed some representation in the top 100.

8. If the criteria is "Most Popular Among Rural Coloradan Youth Dance DJs" I really think "Joyride" by Roxette makes it. Also, both the long and short version of "(Everything I Do) I Do it For You" are in there as well.

9. BTW, file that last one under "kidding".

10. Rules are rules, but it seems like a travesty that Mariah Carey is limited to one song in the top 100. Realistically, she would have at least three.

I guess that's all for now and I better save this before Blogger loses it. But I think there will be a Part II discussing specifically the top 10 of this list.