Whatever: The Ultimate 90s Pop Culture Nostalgia Box - Perfect for 90s Themed Parties, Retro Gift Ideas & Millennial Collectors

Product Description The first collection to present this decade's musical creation and evolution, Whatever includes radio regulars and chart-toppers such as Boyz II Men, Aaliyah, En Vogue, Collective Soul, Spin Doctors, Joan Osborne, Duran Duran, Hanson, Jewel, Kris Kross, Sarah McLachlan and more. Whatever also rocks back to Lollapalooza's early pioneers Primus with 'My Name Is Mud', Babes In Toyland's 'Sweet 69', Luscious Jackson's hit 'Naked Eye', Dinosaur Jr.'s 'Start Choppin', and The Flaming Lips' single 'She Don't Use Jelly'. Also included is an extensive 84-page book includes a timeline, track-by-track notes, cultural commentary, photographs, and essays from The Chicago Sun-Times' Jim DeRogatis, Time Magazine's Joel Stein, Seattle-based author Clark Humphrey, Brian Ives' concert re-counts, and an interview with Sub Pop's President and co-founder Jonathan Poneman. Rhino. 2005. Amazon.com You'd be right to be excited about Rhino Records' voluminous compilation, Whatever: The '90s Pop and Culture Box. After all, they did such a great job with their 1980s comps, not to mention all their various approaches to prior decades, from the original Nice Day series to the expanded and brilliant Nuggets collections. Whatever is a seven-disc set that comes with a bag of stale coffee inside it. This US-centric collection has a lot of great tracks on it, from throwaway songs ("Sunscreen," "Sex And Candy") to absolute classics ("Baby Got Back," "Under the Bridge"). But ultimately, it's a complete and utter mess. A lot happened in the '90s of course; hip-hop went pop, rock got funky and weird, grunge broke open and imploded, Moby sampled the Lomax archives for a surprise hit, even the weirdest indie bands had cash thrown at them by major labels, the daisy age morphed into the chronic age, and dance music was quite nearly the next big thing. Rather than provide a narrative of underground and mainstream movements, this set smacks of the sort of lowest common denominator, novelty-centric approach that makes lowbrow VH1 programs only fleetingly satisfying. Sheesh. Hip-hop, metal, and dance music are barely covered here. And the lack of "Smells Like Teen Spirit" alone is enough to make the listener want to return the set with the words "try again" scrawled into the cover. --Mike McGonigal