After being stuck at home for nearly a year, I am feeling especially wistful of those late nights spent curating music for folks at my local watering hole. My main weekly residency before the pandemic was strictly vinyl, which meant mostly 60-80s music, but some of my most fond memories are of the handful of times I hosted 90s night.
Oh, 90s night…. Some of the most appreciative crowds, shortest bathroom breaks, and wildest DJ moments. Around 3am I’d hand a dead microphone to someone, throw on the Titanic theme, and the whole room said goodnight in style. It is one of the most fun eras of music if only for its consistently over-the-top production values. I look forward to hosting another – I have a feeling everyone else is dying for a return to form, too. Here are a few selections that I would always be sure to drop throughout the night.
This top 10 is in no particular order – They’re all tied for first in my book.
—
Real McCoy – “Another Night”
why? The quintessentially 90s style of male/female vocal interplay. They’re reaching for each other like crazy – At the right volume, people dancing to it somehow transform and become them.
Sisqo – “Thong Song”
why? Lyrical content. The strings remind me of “Eleanor Rigby.” And I don’t want to hear anyone push up the bridge on their glasses and complain that this song is from 2000; it may have controlled that summer, but the album dropped on November 30 of the previous year.
Robyn S – “Show Me Love”
why? The dreamlike background melody, hard luck and deep emotion. A song about personal strength and self-care, about loving yourself before loving another. This is more of a “top three” track.
Amber – “Sexual (La Di Da)”
why? It electrifies people when they’re all covering the dance floor like sardines and there’s barely room for brine. The whole room moves as one. Anyone on the edge of hooking up hooks up. A heavenly, breathy few minutes of pop perfection.
Ini Kamoze – “Here Comes the Hotstepper”
why? The “Na, na-na-na-na…” is inextricable from the 90s experience. I theorize that, like the 69 Boyz’ “Tootsie Roll” or Tag Team’s “Whoomp! (There It Is,)” the refrain was universally appealing to those aged 1-8 in 1993 (Then 22-30 when I hosted 90s night.) I choose this over the other two because, now that it isn’t the 90s anymore, this one has aged the best and is infinitely less annoying. This track reams out dance circles like no other.
Daft Punk – “Around the World”
why? It’s literally timeless. 1997? Or 2097? Daft Punk’s calling card was that they wore space helmets. I think this is because they are legitimate time travelers. This track has a grounding effect within a 90s setlist; after an hour or three, things can get a bit ironic or campy without it.
Mark Morrison – “Return of the Mack”
why? It’s a song about feeling sure of yourself, no matter how untested, and getting back on the saddle – Which subliminally clicks with everyone who hasn’t heard the music they’re dancing to in around 20 years. Whether bobbing your head on the perimeter, dancing alone near the stairs, grinding together at the epicenter, or stepping through the carnage, it has the perfect tempo down to the .00001 bpm.
Monifah – “Touch It”
why? Because the first time I hosted ’90s night’ in 2008, the party lost steam and the cool kids started leaving around 1:30 – Then I dropped this track and I watched the flow on the stairwell switch directions back upstairs. By the second half of the song, the floor started bowing under the weight of a hundred revelers like the Tacoma Narrows bridge. I thought to myself: “If I survive this gig I’ll never forget it.”
Crystal Waters – “100% Pure Love”
why? The song won’t stop, can’t stop – It moves at highway speeds and everyone can’t help but love it. Probably in last place among these ten tracks, but simply fun and indispensable. Play it at 12:12.
- Black Box – “Everybody Everybody”
why? Like the Monifah cut, should things slow down it’s a shot in the arm, another great revival track. The bass beat and organ combo is an improvised defibrillator. The energizing pre-chorus wail hearkens disco. The song is pure, carefree happiness.
Thanks for reading and I’ll see you on the dance floor,
Leon
Leon Ferri 