Okay, am I paranoid, or are alot of songs from these years starting to sound dated?

Um the song "Weak" by SWV is from 1993 (I'm guessing) and it doesn't sound modern anymore.

R. Kelly's "Bump and Grind" from '94 sounds this way.

The song "I Swear" (1994) from All 4 One is so different!

Rap from 1992 sounds so funky and the clothes in the musicvideos so colorful!

Songs from 1995 still sound modern, but alittle more low tech.

Yes, they do sound dated, but in a good way.

Okay, am I paranoid, or are alot of songs from these years starting to sound dated?



I'm going to say yes and yes.  I mean, it's pretty obvious that most popular tracks that came out 15+ years ago are going to sound a little dated.

The biggest shock that I ever got off the 90s being old is when the local classic rock station started playing Alice In Chains.  That shocked me right there.

At least 1992-1994 there was actual talent and songs that are classics now. R&B, Rap and Rock sounded alot better then then it does now. Who cares if music sounded low-tech then? It sounded better to me then.

To me the teen-pop songs from 1997-2000 actually dated worse than the early to mid 90's Rock, Rap, and R&B. 1997-1998 R&B has dated well to me.

At least 1992-1994 there was actual talent and songs that are classics now. R&B, Rap and Rock sounded alot better then then it does now. Who cares if music sounded low-tech then? It sounded better to me then.

To me the teen-pop songs from 1997-2000 actually dated worse than the early to mid 90's Rock, Rap, and R&B. 1997-1998 R&B has dated well to me.


I agree on both points. :)


80sfan - I get what you're saying, but come on dude, you have to admit songs from the early-mid 90s are holding up pretty well for as long ago as they are! Especially rock, and it's probably because that's the last time rock really had a revolutionary change - i.e. with grunge and anything alternative, or even with catchier heavy metal, like Metallica's Black album.

There definitely is stuff that sounds like it's really from another time though, like you were saying with "I Swear", or like Toni Braxton. The pop and dance songs seem alot more dated. That was more the stuff I listened to back then (I didn't dig the rap and heavy stuff, although I liked a small bit of alternative rock).

The biggest shock that I ever got off the 90s being old is when the local classic rock station started playing Alice In Chains.  That shocked me right there.


Sweet. I am glad that grunge has finally become classic... not that it ever wasn't.  ;)

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I think that songs from later years also sound dated as well, like up to 1998 or so. But it's definitely not as dated as songs from 1992 - 1994.


It's funny though, back in, say, 1995 songs from 14 years ago (1981ish) would sound way more dated.

Sweet. I am glad that grunge has finally become classic... not that it ever wasn't.  ;)

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Lets just say I will feel old when I start hearing Korn and Limp Bizkit in my classic rock radio, which would be scary thought in itself.

I just don't know, whenever I hear Nirvana in the radio station and then hear Led Zeppelin, it scratches my head as they are two generations of music, but I guess it can be a good thing since more variety is good.

You know why they sound outdated?  Because they are OLD.  Do you honestly think groups like Color Me Badd would survive in the charts today lol

Actually even songs (and tv episodes for that matter) from 95 already sound/look dated! For example, I heard Crash Test Dummies' "Peter Pumpkin Head" last year or maybe the year before, and I was rather surprised that the guitar at the end had a distinctive 90s sound  or when watching an episode from the first season of Friends, I was taken aback by the picture quality  :(  Oh well, I still like 90s music.

Actually even songs (and tv episodes for that matter) from 95 already sound/look dated! For example, I heard Crash Test Dummies' "Peter Pumpkin Head" last year or maybe the year before, and I was rather surprised that the guitar at the end had a distinctive 90s sound  or when watching an episode from the first season of Friends, I was taken aback by the picture quality  :(  Oh well, I still like 90s music.


On the subject of Friends, the early episodes look very dated. Some of the 1994 stuff now looks very dark and grainy, and the fashions and clothes are dozens of trends behind the times.

Also, it's kind of shocked me to look up the other day that Friends has been off the air for almost 5 years now! Because of such heavy syndication, it feels like the show has never faded even one iota.

I agree with 1995 songs sounding dated. I think it goes fro 1996 too, but afterwards they don't sound quite as dated.

I heard Monica's "Don't Take It Personal (One Of Them Days) and that's definitely an old school sounding song.

The biggest shock that I ever got off the 90s being old is when the local classic rock station started playing Alice In Chains.  That shocked me right there.


same here.  I remember when I was listening to a classic rock station and they started to play pearl jam.  i was like "....i remember when this song came out like it was yesterday."

I'm glad that it sounds dated because that means that I'm getting old and I'm feeling nostalgic.

The biggest shock that I ever got off the 90s being old is when the local classic rock station started playing Alice In Chains.  That shocked me right there.


I know what you mean because I was listening to an RnB station that plays nothing but late 80s, early 90s, and mid 90s music.  The only late 90s that they will play is 1997-1998.  1999 still sounds a little more modern than 1997.  Anytime they are playing RnB music from the 90s, especially early to mid 90s, that's the sign that is saying to me that the 90s are becoming old school.  YIKES!!!! :o

Sweet. I am glad that grunge has finally become classic... not that it ever wasn't.  ;)

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Yeah, true that. ;)

I know what you mean because I was listening to an RnB station that plays nothing but late 80s, early 90s, and mid 90s music.  The only late 90s that they will play is 1997-1998.  1999 still sounds a little more modern than 1997.  Anytime they are playing RnB music from the 90s, especially early to mid 90s, that's the sign that is saying to me that the 90s are becoming old school.  YIKES!!!! :o

I noticed the 1997 1999 difference. I think the first part of 1997 still had a little bit of the mid 90's feel to it. Up until July-ish. Even though everything late 90's started kicking in, the mid 90's weren't quite ready to leave yet. But everyone has different views on things.

I noticed the 1997 1999 difference. I think the first part of 1997 still had a little bit of the mid 90's feel to it. Up until July-ish. Even though everything late 90's started kicking in, the mid 90's weren't quite ready to leave yet. But everyone has different views on things.
  I turned 20 in July the 4th of 1997, and I think that it did started to change in mid 1997, like June/July, you know, mid 1997.  I considered  January to April 1997 an early 1997, May to August mid 1997, and September to December 1997, late 1997.  It seemd like everything changes in the middle of the year (Spring/Summer)  I think that the late Generation Xers came of age in the mid to late 90s because I considered 1990-mid 1995 the Generation X period with the New Jack Swing, grunge, gangsta rap and what have you, and late 1995-1999 the Generation Y period.  I graduated in mid 1995, so there's no way that I'm a Yer.  Too much memories of the 80s and first part of the 90s.

  I turned 20 in July the 4th of 1997, and I think that it did started to change in mid 1997, like June/July, you know, mid 1997.  I considered  January to April 1997 an early 1997, May to August mid 1997, and September to December 1997, late 1997.  It seemd like everything changes in the middle of the year (Spring/Summer)  I think that the late Generation Xers came of age in the mid to late 90s because I considered 1990-mid 1995 the Generation X period with the New Jack Swing, grunge, gangsta rap and what have you, and late 1995-1999 the Generation Y period.  I graduated in mid 1995, so there's no way that I'm a Yer.  Too much memories of the 80s and first part of the 90s.


Generation Y and X I never paid much attention to because being born in January of 1980, there's really no telling which one I am, or was. Some people could say Y, some X. I never made any classifications. Thinking about it now, maybe I could pass as a little bit of both. Which is fine by me.

Update - But some people say that the late 90's to them started sometime in 1996. With me, I don't remember very many traces of late 90's in 1996 at all. It seemed to have started for me when my sister got her hair cut short in July 1997, before we took our senior year photos. That was a big deal because her hair was long and perfect and she got it all cut off. Culture started to change around then. Senior year in highschool stood out a little more than the other years I had in high school when it came to pop culture. Music started to change rapidly, and so did styles. When we left Junior year it was still the way i was used to, but it was all different when we started senior year. I was the only one who really noticed.

Generation Y and X I never paid much attention to because being born in January of 1980, there's really no telling which one I am, or was. Some people could say Y, some X. I never made any classifications. Thinking about it now, maybe I could pass as a little bit of both. Which is fine by me.

Update - But some people say that the late 90's to them started sometime in 1996. With me, I don't remember very many traces of late 90's in 1996 at all. It seemed to have started for me when my sister got her hair cut short in July 1997, before we took our senior year photos. That was a big deal because her hair was long and perfect and she got it all cut off. Culture started to change around then. Senior year in highschool stood out a little more than the other years I had in high school when it came to pop culture. Music started to change rapidly, and so did styles. When we left Junior year it was still the way i was used to, but it was all different when we started senior year. I was the only one who really noticed.
I believe that the late 90s culture started in the summertime, the middle of the year.  I know because I was there.  I turned 20 in July of that year, so I know.  I believe that it started in June/July of 1997.  The late 90s culture did not started in 1996, so I don't know why they will say that.  1996 still sounded like mid-90s culture to me.  I notice that it's always the middle of the year that cultures change, and that's a fact.  Speaking of generations, I believe that those who were born in the mid to late 60s and 70s are Gen Xers and those who were born in the 80s and early to mid 90s are Gen Yers.

of course they sound old. nirvana sounds weird with zeppelin, but it sounds equally weird with fall out boy.

Another 1995 song I think sounds dated is One More Chance by Notorious B.I.G.

Another 1995 song I think sounds dated is One More Chance by Notorious B.I.G.


You got that right!  That song sounds REAL dated compare to the early 2000s.  I graduated from high school in that year, and you know what?  There were some great music that came out in early to mid '95 like:

"Can't You See", by Total
"Just One of Them Days", by Monica
"One More Chance", by Notorious BIG
"Freak Like Me", by Adina Howard
"This is How We Do It", by Montell Jordan
"Brown Sugar" by D'Angelo
"Joy" by Blackstreet
"Tonight's the Night", by Blackstreet
"Player's Anthem" by Junior Mafia
"Fantasy", by Mariah Carey
"Vybin" by Boyz II Men
"Thank You", by Boyz II Men
"He's Mine" by Mokenstef
"Dear Mama", by 2Pac
"Keep The Heads Ringing" by Dr. Dre
CLASS OF '95!!!!!! :D :D :D

You got that right!  That song sounds REAL dated compare to the early 2000s.  I graduated from high school in that year, and you know what?  There were some great music that came out in early to mid '95 like:

"Can't You See", by Total
"Just One of Them Days", by Monica
"One More Chance", by Notorious BIG
"Freak Like Me", by Adina Howard
"This is How We Do It", by Montell Jordan
"Brown Sugar" by D'Angelo
"Joy" by Blackstreet
"Tonight's the Night", by Blackstreet
"Player's Anthem" by Junior Mafia
"Fantasy", by Mariah Carey
"Vybin" by Boyz II Men
"Thank You", by Boyz II Men
"He's Mine" by Mokenstef
"Dear Mama", by 2Pac
"Keep The Heads Ringing" by Dr. Dre
CLASS OF '95!!!!!! :D :D :D


Yes on what you said about 1995 in music! I didn't graduate that year but I was 15 and I think that's the age when music is everything to you. I was obsessed with the radio and mtv in 1995. Every one of those songs I like. Especially the summer songs because I had a good summer in `995. Like This Is How We Do It and Freak Like Me are big summer songs. Fantasy almost makes it, but I remember it dominating the radio early sophomore year.

Yes on what you said about 1995 in music! I didn't graduate that year but I was 15 and I think that's the age when music is everything to you. I was obsessed with the radio and mtv in 1995. Every one of those songs I like. Especially the summer songs because I had a good summer in `995. Like This Is How We Do It and Freak Like Me are big summer songs. Fantasy almost makes it, but I remember it dominating the radio early sophomore year.
  Yeah, you're right.  "Fantasy" came out in late summer but dominated in late '95. Like you said, you were a sophomore in 1995-1996, and I was going to community college in that semester, and I remember them playing "Fantasy" on the radio a lot in Semptember-October-ish.

I thought of a 1996 song that sounds dated to me.
Ready To Go - Republica

You would not hear something like that come on the radio today.

I thought of a 1996 song that sounds dated to me.
Ready To Go - Republica

You would not hear something like that come on the radio today.
I've never heard that song before.