It’s easy to be nostalgic for ‘90s radio. Not only were the songs listenable; sometimes they were representative of the best music at the time. It wasn’t unusual to hear some of the best bands around: the Lemonheads, Cracker, Jane’s Addiction, and more obviously Nirvana, Alice in Chains, Smashing Pumpkins, etc. But as usual, there was a lot of awful crap. It still shocks me that 311 managed one hit, let alone several.

But what about some of the other bands? The bands that maybe you never admitted to liking at the time, but their songs stuck in your head like Gorilla Glue.

The Gin Blossoms were a jangle pop band from Arizona that had a few great songs and one legitimate classic with “Hey Jealousy.” The song, along with their other singles “Found Out About You” and “Hold Me Down” was written by Doug Hopkins, a guitarist who had been kicked out of the group after the recording sessions (for which he received no credit, despite playing on every track) due to his dependence on alcohol. Hopkins killed himself in 1993, likely due in no small part to this extremely personal song being played nearly non-stop on the radio that year. And while that adds a sort of dark, Nick Drake-singing-from-beyond-the-grave poignancy to the song, it would still be a classic regardless of the fate or identity of its author. The song’s perfect combination of guitar hooks and lyrics take a back seat to the fact that this is the best “drunk-dialing” song ever written.

I hate the Goo Goo Dolls. I do. I promise you. Back in the day they were like a slicked up, talentless version of the Replacements. Nowadays they’re more content to do Supertramp covers and rip themselves off and are second only to Bon Jovi in the “bands who need to fuck off already” category. The only thing the crunchy-haired Johnny Reznick ever had going for him was admitting he was a second-rate Westerberg. But on this “Ain’t That Unusual” from A Boy Named Goo, he’s doing a damn good imitation of first rate, late-period Mats. The furious riff, a close-cousin to the memorable “Bastards of Young” riff, gives way to some catchy verses, and an even catchier chorus and a solo that sounds at least as good as something latter day guitarist Slim Dunlap would’ve come up with, if not Bob Stinson. It pains me to admit, but this is perhaps the best Replacements song that Paul Westerberg never wrote. I’d be happy as a clam to find out somewhere down the line that Reznick stole the song wholesale from Westerberg’s archives (it wouldn’t surprise me, he did somehow talk the guy into co-writing a song with him at one point), but until that happens, I have to admit: I like a Goo Goo Dolls song. Now excuse me while I take rub my skin raw in the shower—I’ve never felt so dirty.

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