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Carlota

The 5 Best Rock Songs From The Year 1992. 

Author carlota
Nirvana and Alice in Chains were leaders in rock music in 1992. And for so many, still are.

Ah, the year 1992. What a time in our history. William Jefferson Clinton became the 42nd President.   “Sister Act”, “The Bodyguard” and a horror movie that ruined friendships all over the world,. “Single White Female” was released. I mean that movie was horrifying, right? Or is it just me? Because that movie terrified me.  

The Year 1992 was also the year that a little band from Seattle became the biggest band in the world.  Granted Nirvana “Nevermind” was released in Sept of 1991, but it was the year 1992 that they kicked all the hair bands to the curb and dominated the charts. And the Seattle Grunge era began (even though not all the bands were from the land of Starbucks). 

Related: The 5 Most Important Chevelle Songs Ever

But not all rock music from 1992 is considered Grunge.  Here’s a look at the 5 best Rock songs from the Year 1992 

The year 1992: Grunge And Then Some  

Lets take Alice in Chains to start. Their 1992 Album Dirt is a hard rock classic. Sure Alice in Chains gets lumped in with the Seattle Grunge sound, because, well, they’re from Seattle and yes they grunge. However, ‘Them Bones” was appealing to those who found solace in Pantera over Nirvana. Its a hard driving song based in metal, not plugged in punk rock folk music. 

The Beastie Boys The grand daddies of rap rock. Their 1987 License to Ill album is considered one of the greatest and most transcending albums ever. But Check Your Head took the boys to another place, and level. It was darker and heavier tan anything they had ever done and ‘So Whatcha Want” dominated MTV playlist back when hey actually played videos. 

And while on the subject of rap rock pioneers, Rage Against the Machine came out as one the most potent rock bands in the year 1992. Their debut album was absolute fire, before fire was even a compliment. They broke barriers, raised hell and made history. And did you know that Maynard James Keenan of Tool does backing vocals on “Know Your enemy?” Good Stuff my friend

I mentioned Pantera earlier, and while they didn’t achieve the heights of success like a Nirvana, Pantera is an incredibly important band that released a transformative album in the year 1992. Vulgar Display of Power scared so many, and welcomed those who didn’t fear , hard driving beats, groove guitar and a singer that shredded conventional “lead singer rock star guy” nonsense. The Abbott Brothers lit a fire, that still burns today, even tough sadly both are no longer with us. And yes, they even have a song, that non rockers groove too at major sporting events. They broke through, with their fists.  

And yes, I’m going to go from Pantera to R.E.M. The bands 1992 Automatic For The People is widely considered to be not only their best work, but quite possibly the best album of the early 90’s (Nevermind withstanding). Yes, Everyone Hurts was the annoying cry baby anthem in the year 1992, but “What’s the Frequency Kenneth” and the tribute to Andy Kaufman ‘Man On the Moon” are two classics that will live on Forever.  

Carlota is the music director and midday on-air personality for KXTE Las Vegas. She has been with the station since July of 2023. Carlota has been in the Las Vegas market since 1998, First with KXTE, 92.3 KOMP for 18 years, and now back with KXTE. She is known mostly for her on air work but also writes about Las Vegas happenings and where to find the best tequila in Sin City.

I Want My MTV! Happy Birthday To The Music Video Network

I want my MTV! We were all saying it. And it was 43 years ago today, August 1, 1981, that we watched The Buggles kick off this new video music channel – and it was glorious. Music videos all day long.

MTV Defined All Things 80’s

The 80’s were a colorful, indulgent, “no worries” time if you were a teen. When MTV was launched, me and my friends would sit in front of the TV for hours, anxiously waiting for the next video. Who would it be? Michel Jackson’s Thriller? George Michael’s butt video (Faith)? Duran Duran in the boat (Rio)?

I want my MTV! Nina Blackwood, Mark Goodman, JJ Jackson, Martha Quinn, and Alan Hunter would give us all the info we needed on those videos, and artists, cause they were totally cool, and totally in the know.

MTV Perfected A Really Simple Concept

The concept behind MTV was simple: Show music videos and content related to music – all day long, every day. And it worked phenomenally. The golden age of MTV lasted from the early 1980s to around 1992, and in its heyday it had a massively huge impact on the music scene.

If you’re old enough to remember the launch of MTV on August 1st, 1981 at 12:01 A.M., this will bring you right back. Yes – somebody put the first two hours of MTV on YouTube, and it will immediately time machine you right back to that day, and time, and feel.

Everyone now knows the first video they played was “Video Killed the Radio Star” by The Buggles. You’ll also see all of the original VJs introduce themselves, plus the very first ad that ever aired on MTV, for a three-ring binder called The Bulk.  It was followed by a commercial for “Superman 2”.

MTV Made Music History

For many, the 80s and 90s represent the most interesting stage in music video history. With huge budgets to spend, a number of revolutionary music videos were released.

The iconic “Thriller” video, and A-ha’s amazingly clever and creative “Take On Me” represents music videos that were hugely influential at the time, that cemented MTV as a cultural force. There’ was incredibly powerful about visuals and imagery being combined with music. Each video was like a mini movie. And videos quickly became a large part of creating music.

Here is the link for that first two hours of MTV.  Go put on your neon Dolphin shorts, your headband, and your Reeboks, and scroll through it.

And here are the first ten videos that were played on MTV. I WANT MY MTV!

  • 1. Video Killed The Radio Star - The Buggles

    How dare The Buggles mess with radio! But it was a bit prophetic, in the sense that VIDEOS changed the music scene entirely!

  • 2. You Better Run - Pat Benatar

    Not the first version of this song. In 1966, with the band Listen, Robert Plant made his recording debut singing lead vocals on a cover version of “You Better Run”, which was released as a single by CBS Records.

  • 3. She Won't Dance With Me - Rod Stewart

    The lyrics to ‘She Won’t Dance With Me’ contain the use of the word f***,  which remained unedited in the video. A very big deal!

  • 4. You Better You Bet - The Who

    “You Better You Bet” was written by Pete Townshend as a love song for his girlfriend at the time. He says, “I developed [‘You Better You Bet’] over several weeks of clubbing and partying. I had gone through a lean period in my marriage and was seeing the daughter of a friend of mine. I wanted it to be a good song because the girl I wrote it for is one of the best people on the planet.”

  • 5. Little Suzy's On The Up - Ph.D

    The song was released as Ph.D’s first single, appearing on their self-titled debut.  Tesla also covered the song in 1986 under the name “Little Suzi”. Tesla released the cover as the second single from their debut album, Mechanical Resonance. The single broke Tesla into the mainstream and was the most successful single from their debut album.

  • 6. We Don't Talk Anymore - Cliff Richard

    The song reached number one on the UK Singles Chart in August 1979, remaining there for four weeks. It was Cliff Richard’s tenth UK number one and his first since “Congratulations” in 1968.

  • 7. Brass In Pocket - Pretenders

    The lyric describes the female singer about to have her first sexual encounter with a particular person, and it is expressing her confidence that it will be a successful experience!. According to a Rolling Stone magazine critic the song used “an iron fist as a metaphor for Chrissie’s sexual clout”. Me-ow!

  • 8. Time Heals - Todd Rundgren

    Healing was Todd Rundgren‘s ninth studio album, released in 1981. The album is all about spirituality and the human condition. Things he touched on a lot in his earlier music, but not quite with the consistency in this album. Where every track explores a different aspect. 

  • 9. Take It On The Run - REO Speedwagon

    This was the first concert video to be aired on MTV, from REO Speedwagon’s Live Infidelity home video release and it was so cool! But – the video was interrupted after 12 seconds due to technical difficulties. The technical difficulty moment contains only a blank black screen with a  tone for a few seconds before going back to the MTV studio. First day – bound to be some glitches.

  • 10. Rockin' The Paradise - Styx

    Released as the fourth single from Styx tenth album Paradise Theatre. “A.D. 1928” is a short, piano-based song by Dennis DeYoung, set to the same melody as The Best of Times, that segues into Rockin’ the Paradise. These two tracks would serve as the opening songs of the Paradise Theatre album, but also its tour, and the 1996 Return to Paradise reunion tour.

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