Female vocalists from the 1990s

Dear friends,

I feel just fine about Billie Eilish, Charlie XCX, Olivia Rodrigo, Sabrina Carpenter, and Chappell Roan.

They have the kind of charisma that comes from an adolescence of selfies.

But. But. What about the raw, transcendent talent of female vocalists from the 90s?

I mean, Natalie Merchant and the 10,000 Maniacs on MTV Unplugged!?

Or Tori Amos belting out Cornflake Girl with her legs manspread, shaking her body around the piano like an exorcism.

Ani DiFranco, maybe the decade’s most charismatic and talented lyricist 😍:

Even Alanis Morissette: “I recommend getting your heart trampled on
to anyone. I recommend walking around naked in your living room.”

Lauryn Hill in Paris in ‘99. Who can match Lauryn Hill at her peak?

I was super into the Indigo Girls. Still am. “The best thing you ever done for me is to help me take my life less seriously. It's only life after all.”

Give me Tracy Chapman’s voice and guitar over a slickly produced Taylor Swift or Beyonce concert any day.

Sinead O’Connor, eager to provoke, never one to stand down:

I haven’t even gotten to Sarah McLaughlin, who organized Lilith Fair after becoming frustrated with concert promoters and radio stations that refused to feature two female musicians in a row. I regret missing it. So much generational talent: Erykah Badu, Sheryl Crow, Liz Phair, Emmylou Harris, Cowboy Junkies, Beth Orton, Morcheeba, Neko Case, Meshell Ndegeocello, India Arie, Diana Kraal, Fiona Apple, Dar Williams, Dido, Suzanne Vega. What a lineup.

Plus: TLC, Alicia Keyes, Mary J. Blige, Aaliyah, Brandy, Janet Jackson, Whitney Houston

I don't doubt that Sabrina Carpenter and Chappell Roan have talent. But compared to the authenticity and rawness of the 90s, today’s artists feel a little too produced, self-aware, and insta-packaged. (Okay, I’ll give you SZA, who would have fit perfectly into the 1990s.)

For anyone who grew up in the 2000s, do you feel me? Or am I just suffering from deranged old-man syndrome?

✌️