This ballad by The Heights from late 1992 totally seems like a transitional song. It's kinda sappy and sweet, but also chill and laid back. I'd generally say it swings more 90s (i.e. sparser production) but that guitar solo is 80s for sure. :D

btw, this was (and still is) one of my favorite 90s songs. Loved it as a kid when it was brand new, and because it's become forgotten in recent years, it feels even more nostalgic and 90s to me.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=miYCEIvMxZc

Always seemed pretty late '80s to me with that cheesy sax and guitar.

This ballad by The Heights from late 1992 totally seems like a transitional song. It's kinda sappy and sweet, but also chill and laid back. I'd generally say it swings more 90s (i.e. sparser production) but that guitar solo is 80s for sure. :D

btw, this was (and still is) one of my favorite 90s songs. Loved it as a kid when it was brand new, and because it's become forgotten in recent years, it feels even more nostalgic and 90s to me.




It does seem a bit 80's to me.

Always seemed pretty late '80s to me with that cheesy sax and guitar.


Yeah, the guitar solo totally is! I think when viewed from today's perspective, it definitely has common ground with the 80s instead of anything from close to now, or even just a few years after that. From a 1992 perspective it probably seemed more 90s (or at least "less eighties").

It sounds like it would come out between 1988 to 1991. 1992 wouldn't be in my mind.

It sounds like it would come out between 1988 to 1991. 1992 wouldn't be in my mind.


1992 was the tail end of that era IMO. There were still a fair number of pop hits that year that didn't sound "90s" yet. This one for example

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o0oAyDMHOjg

or this

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4C9AD1oyE30

1992 was the tail end of that era IMO. There were still a fair number of pop hits that year that didn't sound "90s" yet. This one for example

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o0oAyDMHOjg

or this

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4C9AD1oyE30


I never thought I'd say this, but there are songs from 1992 that sound outdated. It's almost shocking to me!  :o

I never thought I'd say this, but there are songs from 1992 that sound outdated. It's almost shocking to me!  :o


It's not really shocking to me because I remember both songs in 1992. This was the type of music my mother would listen to.

It's not really shocking to me because I remember both songs in 1992. This was the type of music my mother would listen to.


There are even some songs from 1993 that sound outdated!

It sounds like it would come out between 1988 to 1991. 1992 wouldn't be in my mind.


That's what I was thinking.

It's not really shocking to me because I remember both songs in 1992. This was the type of music my mother would listen to.
 

Exactly my mom listen to those soft rock/adult contemporary stations in the car back when I was in second grade. I very easily recall that Kathy Troccoli song as well as "Constant Cravings" by K.D. Lang and Tara Kemp's "Just wanna Hold You tight".     

That's what I was thinking.


:D :D

 

Exactly my mom listen to those soft rock/adult contemporary stations in the car back when I was in second grade. I very easily recall that Kathy Troccoli song as well as "Constant Cravings" by K.D. Lang and Tara Kemp's "Just wanna Hold You tight".   


I absolutely loved both of those songs (still do), that's the stuff VH1 played in those days. :) It's definitely like "80s mall pop" and because that kind of music has become forgotten, it's like even more 1992 than something timeless/well-remembered like Nirvana is.

 

Exactly my mom listen to those soft rock/adult contemporary stations in the car back when I was in second grade. I very easily recall that Kathy Troccoli song as well as "Constant Cravings" by K.D. Lang and Tara Kemp's "Just wanna Hold You tight".   


My Mother used to listen to the 50's music.

I never thought I'd say this, but there are songs from 1992 that sound outdated. It's almost shocking to me!  :o


They're almost a quarter century old now  :D

They're almost a quarter century old now  :D


in just another 3 more years.

For what it's worth, that song came from a short-lived (12 episode) t.v. series in 1992 called "The Heights."  Here's where it gets complicated, The Heights was a. the series title b. the neighborhood that the main characters lived in c. The name of the music group (on the show) that the main characters developed (that was the premise of the show) d. the name of the music group that the network released the song from.  I think the it hit number one on the charts (probably adult contemporary).  A week after the song fell out of first place, the series was cancelled on t. v.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0103439/?ref_=fn_al_tt_5

This song from 1992, sounds waaaay too 80s. If it came out in 91 though, I might not bat an eye...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z2g7vemjehI&hd=1

This song from 1992, sounds waaaay too 80s. If it came out in 91 though, I might not bat an eye...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z2g7vemjehI&hd=1


I remember hearing music like that all over the place in 1992.

I remember hearing music like that all over the place in 1992.
Wasn't 1992 the year grunge and gangster rap took over?

Wasn't 1992 the year grunge and gangster rap took over?

Only for the pre teen through 20 something crowd.
I took notice around summer 1993.
The early 90s was a lot more late 80s like for a lot of kids and adults.

Only for the pre teen through 20 something crowd.
I took notice around summer 1993.
The early 90s was a lot more late 80s like for a lot of kids and adults.
That makes sense. I remember when I was a little kid in the late 90s I can remember a lot of early-to-mid 90s things still being popular with adults and kids. That and the town I lived in is always a few years behind the trends.

Wasn't 1992 the year grunge and gangster rap took over?


yes, for the first few years gangster rap took over and they were full of explicit lyrics.

That makes sense. I remember when I was a little kid in the late 90s I can remember a lot of early-to-mid 90s things still being popular with adults and kids. That and the town I lived in is always a few years behind the trends.


Just curious but what early to mid 90s things do you remember being popular in the late 90s?

Just curious but what early to mid 90s things do you remember being popular in the late 90s?
Mostly the music and fashion, the whole preppy late 90s look didn't really take over in Oregon until 2001, and most people still dressed grunge even in 1999. Grunge remained fairly popular even in the early 2000s. It was also common for people to watch reruns of shows from earlier in the decade as well.

Mostly the music and fashion, the whole preppy late 90s look didn't really take over in Oregon until 2001, and most people still dressed grunge even in 1999. Grunge remained fairly popular even in the early 2000s. It was also common for people to watch reruns of shows from earlier in the decade as well.


I remember people wearing flannel in 2000. People seem to forget that how it's like for teens isn't how it's like for kids or adults.
For a teenager or preteen, the 80s became "uncool" around late 91. For some adult, elements of the 80s lasted until 1994. In my childhood, I remember the 90s truly starting in summer 1993. 1992/early 1993 may have been uber 90s to a teenager but to a kid who didn't have older siblings, it was pretty similar to late 80s culture, going to arcades, pizza hut, watching late 80s movies and hearing adult contemporary and later hair ballads. This is the opposite of the 00s where early 2000s teens hung on to some aspects of late 90s culture until 2004/2005 but adults were sprung into the 00s in late 01.

I remember people wearing flannel in 2000. People seem to forget that how it's like for teens isn't how it's like for kids or adults.
For a teenager or preteen, the 80s became "uncool" around late 91. For some adult, elements of the 80s lasted until 1994. In my childhood, I remember the 90s truly starting in summer 1993. 1992/early 1993 may have been uber 90s to a teenager but to a kid who didn't have older siblings, it was pretty similar to late 80s culture, going to arcades, pizza hut, watching late 80s movies and hearing adult contemporary and later hair ballads. This is the opposite of the 00s where early 2000s teens hung on to some aspects of late 90s culture until 2004/2005 but adults were sprung into the 00s in late 01.
Flannel has never really gone out of style,  though it tends to wane in and out of popularity every few years or so. Flannel has always been a staple of dress in Oregon/Washington (lumberjack territory, duh). In 2004, if you wore plaid in major cities you were thought of as a redneck or low class, and now flannel and plaid has been a staple in fashion since about 2008 (at least in California).

Definitely. I'd also say "Losing My Religion" by REM and "Come to My Window" by Melissa Etheridge are pretty transitional sounding - not quite grunge, but a tad more modern sounding than most music from the 80s.

"Life Is A Highway" on the other hand despite being released in 1991 could easily be from the late 80s.

I remember people wearing flannel in 2000. People seem to forget that how it's like for teens isn't how it's like for kids or adults.
For a teenager or preteen, the 80s became "uncool" around late 91. For some adult, elements of the 80s lasted until 1994. In my childhood, I remember the 90s truly starting in summer 1993. 1992/early 1993 may have been uber 90s to a teenager but to a kid who didn't have older siblings, it was pretty similar to late 80s culture, going to arcades, pizza hut, watching late 80s movies and hearing adult contemporary and later hair ballads.

I totally agree. :) Even though I was almost a teenager in 1993-94 I don't have any siblings and I wasn't one of the super popular kids with loads of friends at school either, so my experience was pretty much exactly like yours.

Yeah, I think if you're under 10 or over 25 it kinda balances out since children and adults usually aren't as trendy as teens and early 20s are.

I totally agree. :) Even though I was almost a teenager in 1993-94 I don't have any siblings and I wasn't one of the super popular kids with loads of friends at school either, so my experience was pretty much exactly like yours.

Yeah, I think if you're under 10 or over 25 it kinda balances out since children and adults usually aren't as trendy as teens and early 20s are.


Glad to find someone with the same experiences  :). Experiences in a decade are different for both those age groups and it depends on what you're into and what your family is into. I think people forget just how old the first half of the 90s seems. It was basically the last of the pre digital era.

Definitely. I'd also say "Losing My Religion" by REM and "Come to My Window" by Melissa Etheridge are pretty transitional sounding - not quite grunge, but a tad more modern sounding than most music from the 80s.

"Life Is A Highway" on the other hand despite being released in 1991 could easily be from the late 80s.


I loved those songs and remember them being everywhere. I always thought of those songs as 90s but more adult contemporary style 90s. It was music that a lot of 20 somethings and people in their early 30s would be into at the time.

Glad to find someone with the same experiences  :). Experiences in a decade are different for both those age groups and it depends on what you're into and what your family is into. I think people forget just how old the first half of the 90s seems. It was basically the last of the pre digital era.


For sure, thanks. Yeah I was thinking about this aspect too. It's funny how you still see the 90s being talked about in a semi recent context, but I think it's only for the internet coming around in the last 2 or 3 years, plus all the "wannabe 90s kids" born in 1999 or something!

1990-early 1997 (and certainly 90-94) on its own could easily be lumped in with the 80s or just as another part of "the old days" now.

The riff sounds similar to The one from Crowded House's "Don't Dream It's Over".

Except for the saxophone stuff, this song sounds more 90's to me.

It doesn't really sound like an 80s track, but it wouldn't feel up to date in the mid-90s, either.  It's sort of a unique specimen that totally blurs the lines between the two eras.  The hit songs by Ugly Kid Joe (Everything About You and Cats in the Cradle), fall under the same category, sounding only like they belong in 1992 or early 1993, but not before, nor after.

Personally, I would mark either Bon Jovi's Keep the Faith or Aerosmith's Get a Grip as the true indicators that the 80s had officially become the 90s.  Both bands released gigantic hair metal albums at the end of the 80s but decided to undertake completely different styles for their respective followups.  Nirvana, R.E.M., Red Hot Chili Peppers, and Metallica introduced 90s rock to the mainstream in 1991, but it was the surviving bands of the previous decade abandoning their signature sound that helped the transition come full circle.