Sometimes I wonder what in the hell was going on during the early/mid 90’s. Case in point: 4 Non Blonde’s hit “What’s Up.” This song has the depth and feel of a Cher song but the band is clearly repping the grunge scene. The lead singer chick who looks like Steven Tyler is trying to pull of a Slash+ look, the drummer could be with Natalie Merchant’s tour band, the bassist belongs with some 2000-era numetal band like Sevendust, if not for the flannel shirt, and the lead guitarist, well, isn’t really in the video because the producer obviously realized that it’s pretty lame to be the only guy—or any guy—in a band called “4 Non Blondes.” Everything is confusing, and the song sticks “like peanutbutter on the brain” to quote the late Layne Staley, another earworm-producing bon vivant of the 90s grunge scene (e.g. “Heyyyy, they come to stop the roosterrrrr, yeaaahhh!” Anyway, go ahead and recharge that mild MTV daily top 10 music video countdown paranoia you used to have about having to watch this 5-minute video yet again while impatiently waiting to see Nirvana’s meaningless “Heart Shaped Box” video for the fifty-third time. Yes, 5 minutes. 5 minutes long. And that’s why you were paranoid.
