MUSIC THAT MATTERS – “Lyric of the Day”

(Music Cut 1 — opening guitar of “3AM”)

February 19, 1997.

Whatever time you turned on the radio, you heard this —

Matchbox Twenty.

“3AM.”

(Music Cut 2)

Back in the day – like 1997, I remember introducing this on the radio
and saying it was about a booty call.

Yeah.
I feel terrible about that now —
because it absolutely was NOT

(Music Cut 3)

Rob Thomas wrote it while his mother was battling cancer.
The “she” in the song isn’t a girlfriend —
it’s a mother struggling with her mortality.

(Final Song clip)

LYRIC OF THE DAY:
“It’s all gonna end
and it might as well be my fault.” — Matchbox Twenty

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MUSIC THAT MATTERS – “Lyric of the Day”

(Music Cut 1 — opening synth of “Nuthin’ but a ‘G’ Thang”)

This sound
was taking over on

February 18, 1993.

Dr. Dre.

“Nuthin’ but a ‘G’ Thang.”

(Music Cut 2 — groove settles in)

That melody?

Not original.

It’s built from Leon Haywood’s 1975 track
“I Want’a Do Something Freaky to You”

(Music Cut 3)

Dre slowed it down,
smoothed it out,
and helped define West Coast G-funk.

He’s talked about flipping through his mother’s vinyl collection growing up —

this is what crate digging can turn into.

(Music Cut 4)

The voice trading verses with Dre is, of course,
Snoop Doggy Dogg –
who was pretty much an unknown at that time.

LYRIC OF THE DAY:
“Now it’s time for me to make my impression felt,
so sit back, relax, and strap on your seat belt.” — Dr. Dre

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MUSIC THAT MATTERS – “Lyric of the Day”

(Music Cut 1 — opening groove of “All I Wanna Do”)

This song was everywhere on

February 17th, 1995

Sheryl Crow’s

“All I Wanna Do.”

(Music Cut 2 — verse settles in)

But here’s what most people don’t realize.

Sheryl Crow almost left this song off the album.

She considered it a “throwaway” or a “filler” track.

(Music Cut 3)

It wasn’t until she played it for her brother –
and he told her it was the best thing she’d ever written –
she agreed to keep it.

“All I Wanna Do” went on to win three Grammys,
including Record of the Year.

(Final Cut 4)

LYRIC OF THE DAY:
“All I wanna do is have some fun.” — Sheryl Crow

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MUSIC THAT MATTERS – “Lyric of the Day”

(Music Cut 1 — opening bass riff of “Give It Away”)

February 16, 1992.

Alternative radio
could not get enough of this bassline.

Red Hot Chili Peppers.

“Give It Away.”

(Music Cut 2 — verse settles in)

Anthony Kiedis wrote the lyrics
after a woman told him
that the more you give away,
the more comes back to you.

(Music Cut 3)

But the song isn’t just about generosity.

Kiedis also references Bob Marley as well as
longtime friend River Phoenix —
who was part of the same creative circle
in early ’90s L.A.

(Music Cut 4)

Tragically, River passed away just two years after the song’s release.

LYRIC OF THE DAY:
“Reeling with the feeling, don’t stop, continue.” — Red Hot Chili Peppers

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MUSIC THAT MATTERS – “Lyric of the Day”

(Music Cut 1 — opening riff of “Heart-Shaped Box”)

The day after Valentine’s Day, 1994
this song was moving up the charts.

Nirvana and their

“Heart-Shaped Box.”

(Music Cut 2 — verse settles in)

Kurt Cobain was exhausted
by how the media portrayed him —
as a grumpy, ungrateful rock star.

So originally,
he titled this song
“New Complaint.”

(Music Cut 3 – “Hey, wait – I have a new complaint.)

And in a haunting bit of history —

this became the last song
Nirvana ever performed live,
just weeks before Kurt Cobain’s death in April 1994.

(Final Song clip)

LYRIC OF THE DAY:
“Forever in debt to your priceless advice” — Nirvana

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MUSIC THAT MATTERS – “Lyric of the Day”

(Music Cut 1 — eerie opening of “#1 Crush”)

Valentine’s Day, 1997.

While people were buying roses and candy…

this song was climbing the charts.

Garbage.

“#1 Crush.”

(Music Cut 2 — verse settles in)

Originally – this was not meant to be a hit.

It started as a B-side.

(Music Cut 3)

And then – it landed on the Romeo + Juliet soundtrack —
From there, Valentine’s Day got itself a stalker anthem.

(Music Cut 4)

LYRIC OF THE DAY:
“You will believe in me
And I can never be ignored.” — Garbage

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MUSIC THAT MATTERS – “Lyric of the Day”

(Music Cut 1 — opening of “Beautiful Girl”)

February 13, 1993.

INXS released
“Beautiful Girl.”

(Music Cut 2 — verse settles in)

Michael Hutchence was known for his seductive delivery —
but this song wasn’t written about romance.

(Music Cut 3)

Keyboardist Andrew Farriss wrote it
right after the birth of his daughter, Grace.

He called it a love song to parenthood.

(Music Cut 4)

LYRIC OF THE DAY:
“Anything could happen
right here tonight.” — INXS

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MUSIC THAT MATTERS – “Lyric of the Day”

(Music Cut 1 — iconic intro of “Don’t Speak”)

February 12, 1997.

One of the biggest songs in the world
wasn’t even available to buy.

No Doubt’s
“Don’t Speak.”

(Music Cut 2 — verse settles in)

The band’s label chose not to release it
as a commercial single in the U.S.

And yet —
it was the most played song on American radio
for 16 weeks.

(Music Cut 3)

At the time,
Billboard required a physical retail single
for a song to chart on the Hot 100.

So “Don’t Speak” dominated radio —
but never officially hit No. 1.

(Music Cut 4 – Final Cut)

LYRIC OF THE DAY:
“Don’t speak
I know just what you’re sayin'” — No Doubt

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MUSIC THAT MATTERS – “Lyric of the Day”

(Music Cut 1 — opening groove of “Creep”)

February 11, 1995.

For the third straight week,
the No. 1 song in America
was called…

“Creep.”

Not Radiohead.
Not Stone Temple Pilots.

(Music Cut 2 — verse settles in)

TLC’s “Creep.”

Released right around the same time
as those other two songs with the exact same title.

But out of all three?

TLC’s was the biggest —
four weeks at No. 1.

(Music Cut 3)

And that groove heard –
They sampled Slick Rick’s
“Hey Young World.”

(Music Cut 4 – Slick Rick’s “Hey Young World”)

LYRIC OF THE DAY:
“Don’t mess around with my affection.” — TLC

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MUSIC THAT MATTERS – “Lyric of the Day”

(Music Cut 1 — opening of “The Freshmen”)

This song was navigating the charts —
on February 10th, 1997

The Verve Pipe’s
“The Freshmen.”

(Music Cut 2 — verse settles in)

There’s a line in the song —
“She was touching her face.”

That detail didn’t come from nowhere.

Lead singer Brian Vander Ark has said
it was inspired by a music video
from the Divinyls.

(Music Cut 3 – “I Touch Myself”)

He thought the way lead singer Chrissy Amphlett touched her face was incredibly seductive, so he wrote it straight into the song.

(Final – Music Cut 4 – “She was touching her face”)

LYRIC OF THE DAY:
“What made us think that we were wise
and we’d never compromise?” — The Verve Pipe

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