The eight hundred sixth song: Hurt - Nine Inch Nails
Dark and grim, this song really feels like it captures the depression that went through a number of rock bands at this time. Nine Inch Nails is known for it, of course, but it gets so low, with such harsh counter sounds, that it really enhances that feeling.
The eight hundred seventh song: Black Hole Sun - Soundgarden
And then we get Black Hole Sun, where the music, especially in the chorus, sounds more positive than it is. Clearly, the title and idea feels suicidal - a black hole sun is evocatively apocalyptic, and it's hard not to read this as a suicide reference. It's a feeling it pulls off so well that it really becomes that engagingly dark.
The eight hundred eighth song: Interstate Love Song - Stone Temple Pilots
Interstate Love Song doesn't feel as raw as the previous two songs, but there's still not much that feels happy about it. It's a song about relationship difficulties and it carries a similar sadness, even if not as fatalistic. It's closer to a normal rock song, doing well what it does.
The eight hundred ninth song: Waterfalls - TLC
There is a depth underneath this hip hop track, a contrast to the smooth chorus. The stories of crime and the problems of the day stand out as being quite effective when you listen, and the raw, hoarse vocals really add to the feeling more is going on here.
The eight hundred tenth song: Cornflake Girl - Tori Amos
There's a haunting sound at times to this pop rock song, with lyrics that aren't easily understood without digging deeper. It doesn't let you sit comfortably, creating an alt sound that I think I'm still trying to wrap my head around.
The eight hundred eleventh song: Hallelujah - Jeff Buckley
This is such a tender and soft cover of Hallelujah, the sadness really coming through. It feels like a story from the heart, one that just hits really close.
The eight hundred twelfth song: Red Right Hand - Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
The dark, deep vocals that appear on this track add a blues feeling to a country rock twang in its music. It's a merger, a bit of a throwback, with gothic lyrics that create so much menace. Even lyrically it calls back to the old blues crime songs that were omnipresent in the fifties for some time. This is hypnotic in the way it grabs, dark and seductive while setting you up for danger.
The eight hundred thirteenth song: Sabotage - Beastie Boys
I've been enjoying the Beastie Boys in previous appearances, but it's hard to feel Sabotage isn't something special in its own right. There's a dark energy in here, samples that keep you on your tones and a lot of it seems almost deliberately off putting, but it feels like it sets up something more going forward.
The eight hundred fourteenth song: The Most Beautiful Girl in the World - Prince
After all that darkness, it's good to get a simpler, less complicated love song, done by the R&B master Prince. It's a poppy ballad, so smooth and straight forward that it's lovely in how it pulls you along. It's a simple message, but the whole song works.
The eight hundred fifteenth song: Sour Times - Portishead
A seductive electronic track, there's something foreign about it, the music varying quite a bit while the sultry vocals slowly overlay it to generate a love song that gives the song a different, slower momentum. It's completely its own thing, but in a way that plays it really well.