Every decade has a collection of baby-making music that made us want to drop everything and make out in the dark. The ’90s is a shining example of this. Here is a list of lip-locking tunes from the ’90s.
Listen to the entire playlist:
“Iris” — Goo Goo Dolls
“I’d give up forever to touch you.” That’s the stuff make-out seshes are made of. Granted, the video has a slightly creepy “Spy on people much?” feel to it, but that doesn’t take away from the haunting rhythm and lyrics of a boy who is crushing from afar. Just a boy, with a gee-tar (and several telescopes) out on a ledge. Cue the raging teen hormones.
“I Will Always Love You” — Whitney Houston
We totally felt David Spade when he cracked “Iiiiii-eeee-iiiiii want my money back” after watching the The Bodyguard, which was the vehicle used for Whitney Houston‘s remake of Dolly Parton’s “I Will Always Love You.” However the lack of chemistry between Whitney Houston and Kevin Costner in no way took away from our enjoyment of these lip-locking lyrics. Yes, today we crank this tune in the car and butcher it with our grown kids, but back in the day this was baby-making music.
“You’re Still the One” — Shania Twain
“They said, ‘I bet they’ll never make it but just look at us holdin’ on, we’re still together, still goin’ strong.” While this may no longer be the case for Shania and her ex-husband “Mutt” Lange, “You’re Still the One” was the drama-fueled anthem of making-out adolescents in the ’90s. As if the lyrics weren’t enough to encourage heavy-petting, this video put teen libidos in overdrive. We had such a girl crush on Shania Twain — and her man-friend can greet us in a towel any time!
“Black Hole Sun” — Sound Garden
“Black Hole Sun” was one of those songs that you faked the lyrics to until it was time to belt, “Black Hole Sun, won’t you come and wash away the rain?” It had a dark, oddly sensual vibe to it, plus it was our introduction to the slightly dangerous, kind of dirty-boy-with-the-incredible-voice, Chris Cornell. The video was straight up creepy, but if you were just listening to the passionate instrumental and Cornell’s voice with the lights off? Well, then it was go time.
“This is How You Remind Me” — Nickelback
Why are there so many Nickelback haters? For those of us who had a crush on Chad Kroeger in the ’90s (laugh if you must), this is a mystery. His voice was tortured, and the music was gritty. Seriously. I’m not joking. I’m not sure why it became cool to hate on Nickelback, but I’m telling you, “This is How You Remind Me” was an excellent primer for sucking face. Oh, Chad, this is how you remind us that you’re sexy as hell. Are we havin’ fun yet?
“Say Hello 2 Heaven” —Temple of the Dog
It’s true that “Say Hello 2 Heaven” was a tribute to this group’s lost friend, which typically doesn’t stir feelings of lust. Or does it? According to Chaz from The Wedding Crashers grief makes ladies want to get fun-kay. There is probably some truth to one strong emotion leading to another. I also chose a Temple of the Dog song because I remember Brad Pitt saying in an interview that he played Temple of the Dog (or was it Stone Temple Pilots?) in the background during the love scenes in Legends of the Fall. It’s a vague memory — it was some sort of temple. If it works for Brad, it works for us, mostly because it makes us think of Brad while we’re making out. Sorry, guys.
“Lightning Crashes”— Live
Yeah, I get it. The video isn’t the stuff that romance is made of. But you have to remember in the ’90s, unless you sat glued to MTV all day, 9 times out of 10 you didn’t see the videos to your favorite songs. In the ’90s our imaginations still ruled, and “Lightning Crashes” is a make-out song because of how the tempo and energy builds, much like it does when you make out. Few things are more sensual than a thunderstorm — all that heart racing and anticipation and this song carries the same energy as an intense storm. Or something like that. Listen to this with your eyes closed. You’ll get it.
“I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing” — Aerosmith
Every generation has that somewhat nauseating, sappy song that is reserved for junior high dance playlists. It challenged our gag-reflex with melodramatic symphonic sounds and lyrics like “I could stay awake just to hear you breathing.” (I don’t know about y’all, but if some guy told me he stayed awake just to hear me breathing, I’d think he had plans to turn me into a skin suit.) I fully recognize that some gals eat this stuff up with a spoon, so it likely provided the backdrop for many a heated hook-up.
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