Dirty is the seventh full-length studio album and second double album by American rock band Sonic Youth, released on July 21, 1992 by DGC Records. The band recorded and co-produced the album with Butch Vig in early 1992 at the Magic Shop studios. The sound on Dirty was inspired by the popularity of grunge music at the time, and has been described by Billboard magazine as avant-rock. Some songs on the album mark the first appearance of three guitars in a few Sonic Youth songs.
"Crush with Eyeliner" is a song by American rock band R.E.M., released as the fourth single from their ninth studio album, Monster (1994). Sonic Youth's Thurston Moore provides background vocals. Michael Stipe claims the song was inspired by the band New York Dolls, who, in his opinion, "knew how to exaggerate a song, to make it sound really sleazy and over the top." This was also one of the first songs that surfaced from Stipe after the writer's block that hounded him after the death of his friend, actor River Phoenix.
"Goldfinger" is a song by Northern Irish band Ash, released from their debut studio album, 1977 (1996), on 15 April 1996. The song was written by Tim Wheeler and produced by Owen Morris. It was released as a single CD, a 7-inch vinyl, and as a cassette.
"Lump" is a song by alternative rock band the Presidents of the United States of America. It was released in 1995 and featured on their self-titled debut album. The song reached number one on Billboard's Modern Rock Tracks chart in 1995. Composer Chris Ballew said that the lyrics combined his own history of having a benign tumor in the head with a vision he had of a woman in a swamp, while employing the word "lump" because Ballew was fond of it. The musical part was described by Ballew as him "trying to write a Buzzcocks song". Ballew considers it his favorite composition.
"She Hates Me", originally titled "She Fucking Hates Me", is a song by American post-grunge band Puddle of Mudd. It was written in 1993 but remained unreleased until 2002, when it became the fourth and final single from the band's debut album Come Clean.
"Plush" is a song by American rock band Stone Temple Pilots. It is one of the band's biggest hits, becoming their first single to top the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart, and was released as the second single from the band's 1992 debut studio album, Core, in 1993.
"For Whom the Bell Tolls" is a song by the Bee Gees, released as the second single from their 20th studio album, Size Isn't Everything (1993), on 15 November 1993. It peaked at number four on the UK Singles Chart and number six in Ireland. This song would be the band's highest-charting single in the UK during the 1990s, giving them a UK top-five single in four consecutive decades: the 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s. A music video was also released for this song.
"Drunken Butterfly" is a song by American rock band Sonic Youth from their seventh studio album, Dirty (1992). It was released as the fourth and final single from the album in August, 1993, by Geffen Records. The song was written and produced by Sonic Youth, with additional production provided by Butch Vig.
"Open Up" is a song recorded by British electronic duo Leftfield featuring John Lydon. It was released as a single on 1 November 1993. The single reached number 13 on the UK Singles Chart, number one on the UK Dance Singles Chart and number 39 in both Australia and New Zealand. NME reported in their 18 September 1993 issue, "This is the record that people have always wanted Lydon to do." In 2014, the same publication ranked "Open Up" at number 444 on their list of the "500 Greatest Songs of All Time".
"Cryin'" is a power ballad by American hard rock band Aerosmith. It was written by Steven Tyler, Joe Perry, and Taylor Rhodes. It was released by Geffen Records on June 20, 1993, as a single from their eleventh studio album, Get a Grip. The single reached number 12 on the US Billboard Hot 100, ending the year at number 60 overall. The song is one of their most successful hits in Europe, reaching number one in Norway, number three in Iceland, Portugal, and Sweden, and number 17 on the UK Singles Chart. The song went Gold in the United States for selling over 500,000 copies.
"Dirty Boots" is a song by American rock band Sonic Youth from their sixth studio album Goo (1990). It was released as the third and final single from the album in April, 1991, by DGC Records. The song was written and produced by Sonic Youth, with additional production from Nick Sansano and Ron Saint Germain. The single included five live tracks taken from a concert recorded on November 3, 1990 at University of California, Irvine's Crawford Hall in Irvine, California. The complete show was released in 2019 as Live In Irvine 1990, as part of the Sonic Youth Archive series of digital releases.
"Kool Thing" is a song by American rock band Sonic Youth, released in June 1990 in the United States and September 1990 in Europe, as the first single from their sixth studio album Goo. The song was inspired by an interview bassist/singer Kim Gordon conducted with LL Cool J for Spin. Although he is never mentioned by name, the song's lyrics contain several references to LL Cool J. Gordon's lyrics make reference to several of the rapper's works, including the single "I Can't Live Without My Radio" and the album Walking with a Panther. She also repeats the line "I don't think so", which appears in LL Cool J's "Going Back to Cali". Chuck D also contributed spoken vocals to the song.
"100%" is a song by American rock band Sonic Youth from their seventh studio album Dirty (1992). It was released as the lead single from the album in July 1992, by DGC. Written by Sonic Youth, the song discusses the murder of Joe Cole, a friend of the band who was killed in an armed robbery on December 19, 1991.
"I Do" is a song written and performed by American singer-songwriter Lisa Loeb. Released on October 14, 1997, as the lead single from her second album, Firecracker, "I Do" peaked at number 17 on the US Billboard Hot 100, becoming Loeb's most successful single after her number-one debut single "Stay " in 1994. In Canada, "I Do" gave Loeb her second number-one hit, after "Stay". This song was her last top-20 single in both countries.
"Constant Craving" is a song written by k.d. lang and Ben Mink, performed by lang and included on her second solo album, Ingénue. The song was released in 1992 and won her the Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance in 1993, as well as an MTV Video Music Award for Best Female Video.
"How Do I Deal" is a song by American actress Jennifer Love Hewitt from the soundtrack to the film I Still Know What You Did Last Summer. The song was released as a single on November 17, 1998, with an accompanying music video. The single became Hewitt's one and only appearance on the US Billboard Hot 100 singles chart, peaking at number 59 in a seven-week run. Although not a big success in America, the single reached number five in New Zealand and peaked at number eight in Australia, where it is certified gold.
"Do You Sleep?" is a song by Lisa Loeb and Nine Stories. It was released on September 4, 1995, as the third single from their debut album, Tails. It reached number 18 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and number eight on Canada's RPM Top Singles chart, becoming their last top-20 hit in both countries, although Loeb would earn another top-20 single as a solo artist with "I Do" two years later. Outside North America, "Do You Sleep?" reached the top 50 in Australia, Iceland, and the United Kingdom.
"Tetris" is a song arranged by English composer Andrew Lloyd Webber and English record producer Nigel Wright, collaborating under the pseudonym Doctor Spin. The composition is based on the theme to the 1989 Game Boy game Tetris, which itself is based on the Russian folk song "Korobeiniki". Doctor Spin released their version of "Tetris" on 21 September 1992 through Polydor and Carpet Records; it reached number six on the UK Singles Chart and also charted in Austria, Finland, and Ireland. This song, along with "Supermarioland" by Ambassadors of Funk, commenced a brief trend of recreated video game music entering mainstream popularity.
