As a teen in the 90s I couldn't wait to get my hands on this book. It made me remember pieces of my past. I love how the 90s are such an eclectic mix of different genre's and none was more popular than the other. But this explains my music mix so much, grandparents listening to 50s and 60s with a mix of country, parents listening to 70s and 80s. Yep now I see why I like most of everything and my play list reflects this. This book is perfect for any 90s teen or music lover. I will never get rid of this book.
I just reviewed 60 Songs That Explain the '90s by Rob Harvilla. #60SongsThatExplainthe90s #NetGalley
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Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for giving me an ARC of this title in exchange for an honest review.

As someone who loves music and my formative years of music consumption were the 80s and 90s, I was stoked to read this book. The sad news though is that I only got about through 15% of it and decided to sideline it.

I think I was surprised by the construction of the book. Instead of it being segmented by the songs covered, it went a more thematic route to cover the songs. After one chapter though, I had to put it down. While going the theme route is totally doable, to me it made the chapters very rambling and stream of consciousness instead of cohesive and taut. Using what I read as an example, the chapter starts of discussing Celine Dion veers to a discussion on Beck swerves to mentioning Madonna and then cuts over to some discussion on Nirvana and then Prodigy with some wrap up about The Dixies Chicks.

The author did a podcast on the same topic with the same title, so I may give that a listen to see if it's done in the same vein, but as much as I want to be excited to keep reading this, I need to move on.

From the podcast to print, Rob Harvilla’s 60 Songs that Explain the ‘90s is filled with essays that either contextual well known ‘90s songs or detail Harvilla’s relationships with them. It explores the ways we find meanings in songs and how someone can have a deeply personal relationship with something made by a person they’ve never met. It covers a lot of the hits and popular music moments, but doesn’t limit itself to genre.

For each section of the book, the reader is presented with a section name (exs. “Women vs. ‘women in rock,’” “Big Feelings” etc), a graphic to match the theme and a playlist of the songs featured in the essays. Harvilla is a very honest narrator, constantly reflecting that he knows he’s obsessed with music to a degree that others are not. In the introduction he freely admits the choices are arbitrary and even in the podcast he was well passed reflecting on just 60 songs.

Each of the book sections flow from one song to the next, that Harvilla either details the creation of the song, it’s place in the artists oeuvre, what it has meant to him, or perhaps its effect on popular music. Sometimes he deliberately avoids the context, trying instead to focus on the positive, for example the vocal prowess of Whitney Houston, not how her life ended. A particular amusing section details Harvilla first hearing ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’ and that he might actually still be trapped in that moment.

Both personal and conversational, those who like reading tangentially unfolding narratives centered on music or the works of Chuck Klosterman will find the book enjoyable. Those too, nostalgic for the ‘90s.

Engaging and entertaining. A recommended purchase for collections where pop culture titles are popular.

Thank you to Twelve Books and NetGalley for an eARC copy of 60 Songs That Explain the '90s by Rob Harvilla.

This is one of the exceptions where a podcast turned into a book doesn't really work out all that well. I also believe there should have been no mention of the podcast until the end, as it screwed with my mindset a bit of how I went about reading this. Mainly because I knew I could go listen to the podcast and ignore the book altogether.

Along with that, the way he brings up the songs going one to another was pretty trippy. Rob Harvilla would start with one artist and song, then move quickly to another or spend a lot of time on one artist or song and less on others. To put it bluntly, this book is a mess.

3.5ish, rounded up. This book definitely pushes the nostalgia button, and had me wanting to relisten to many of the songs in the book. I do think that this works as a nice companion or intro to the podcast, not as a replacement- I've only listened to a couple of episodes, but I definitely am looking forward to deeper discussion than what's in the pages. This would make a nice gift for readers who also have nostalgia for 90s music (assuming that the printed copy has better flow/transitions than the digital galley).

I believe I am within the target audience for this book; a big fan of books about music and the exact age for these songs to have been enormously impressionable for me - I was age eight through 18 in the 90s. I should connect easily with this material. And yet, I felt this book lacking in many ways.

First, it was just a little too stream of consciousness for me, some of the transitions between songs are so loose that they can feel like too big a swing to try and make them relevant. It doesn't all need to fit neatly in a category/chapter. The transitions could be distracting in that way, made more difficult by much more feelings and opinions from the author than fact and information about the songs. This is very much his 90s, and I wonder if fans of the author's podcast will find the book more engaging.

There may just be too many songs in a relatively short number of pages. It often reads like someone taking a deep breath and then talking as fast as possible to get it all in. Transitions are often very loose or even non existent, like jumping from Stephen Jenkins to Liam Gallagher and it just goes straight into an off color quote about sex acts with women. Ew. And the footnotes. I tried to read them, but they make up their own rambling, personal book.

The most cohesive and consistently informative section is the final chapter, Big Feelings. There was still a huge amount of personal experiences, but at least there was also solid information I didn't already know about the music.

A charming blend of cultural criticism, gawky adolescent memoir and heady nostalgia., the kind which simultaneously celebrates and challenges the music landscape of an entire decade. If you've listened to the podcast, you've heard most of these monologues before, yet this time, they're mashed up in an entirely new context, much like the kind of mixtape these songs originally appeared on. As sparkling and effervescent as a glass of Crystal Pepsi.

Listen, big disclaimer up front. I was born in 1982, so my formative music years were the 1990s. Or, if you want to be mean, the late 1900s. Rob Harvilla's 60 Songs That Explain the '90s is the type of book in which I cannot be trusted to be impartial. I'd like to say I'm mature and professional enough to not get completely overwhelmed by reading about the Gin Blossoms or Metallica. I am not. I am okay with it. So, let's do this review.

Harvilla is a liar. He admits this. He talks about way more than 60 songs and clearly I was here for it. Harvilla writes very informally but I honestly believe it works for this book. He is, in essence, trying to teleport you back to your childhood bedroom with your best friend as you discuss just how deep Alice in Chains is and how no one else gets it. Harvilla has an extremely wide taste in music so you also get write-ups on rap, country, and most genres under the sun. No, this is not a scholarly book. Yes, I loved it. If you were a 90s kid, I guarantee there is something here for you. He even covers ska.

(This book was provided as an advance copy by Netgalley and Twelve Books.)

I love 90s music so I am the target demographic for this book since as the author stated and research shows, the music you listen to in your teen years is the BEST MUSIC EVER!!

I liked how the chapters were formatted around overall themes rather than a genre specific or chronological review. My favorite chapters were "Flukes+Comebacks+Spectacular Weirdos" and "Myths vs. Mortals" and I enjoyed some of the historical and modern details, like how given the way music is released now, it has been shown to make less space for 'one hit wonders' to happen in the same way they used to. At times, I wanted a little less of Harvilla's personal musings and more insights into what was happening that may have lead that song to be a hit, or how the song came about, but overall, it was a fun read and helped inform my playlists for the week :-)

Thank you netgalley for providing me a free, advance copy of the book in exchange for a review.

60 Songs That Explain the '90s by Rob Harvilla hits shelves November 14, 2023. Twelve Books provided an early galley for review.

By the time the '90s started, I was well into my first career, engaged to be married, and looking to move into our first house. No longer hitting the clubs, new music mostly came to me via the FM radio during my work commutes or through the monthly CD samplers I got from subscribing to CMJ New Music magazine. Still, as someone who embraces nearly three-quarters of a century of popular music, I was interested to see what this author had to offer about the closing years of the 20th century.

Harvilla's book is a reflection of his podcast which shares the title of the book. He picks a variety of songs, then groups them together with others in a similar thematic category for presentation. Many are fairly popular tracks which should be familiar to most readers.

I wanted to give a shout-out to the artwork that preceeds each chapter. I like the style and the renditions of various musicians in them. I could not find a name in the credits within the galley though, so I can't name the artist outright. Still, I really liked this touch.

So, if you're looking for a nostalgic trip through the 90's that will have you revisiting your music library (CDs or digital downloads), check this one out.

60 Songs That Explain the 90's was a trip down memory lane for me. Even the songs I wasn't a fan of were covered in an entertaining manner. The author is funny and sarcastic. I was not familiar with Rob Harvilla or his podcast. I enjoyed the book from a fresh perspective and would recommend you give it a shot if you like reading about music and pop culture. Thank you to NetGalley and Twelve for the ARC!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I believe I am within the target audience for this book; a big fan of books about music and the exact age for these songs to have been enormously impressionable for me - I was age eight through 18 in the 90s. I should connect easily with this material. And yet, I felt this book lacking in many ways.

First, it was just a little too stream of consciousness for me, some of the transitions between songs are so loose that they can feel like too big a swing to try and make them relevant. It doesn't all need to fit neatly in a category/chapter. The transitions could be distracting in that way, made more difficult by much more feelings and opinions from the author than fact and information about the songs. This is very much his 90s, and I wonder if fans of the author's podcast will find the book more engaging.

There may just be too many songs in a relatively short number of pages. It often reads like someone taking a deep breath and then talking as fast as possible to get it all in. Transitions are often very loose or even non existent, like jumping from Stephen Jenkins to Liam Gallagher and it just goes straight into an off color quote about sex acts with women. Ew. And the footnotes. I tried to read them, but they make up their own rambling, personal book.

The most cohesive and consistently informative section is the final chapter, Big Feelings. There was still a huge amount of personal experiences, but at least there was also solid information I didn't already know about the music.

Anatomy of a Song, Music is History, and How Music Works are a few books that are able to touch on many songs, personal feelings about them, and are informative at the same time. It's absolutely possible to do it, it just doesn't happen in this book for me.

This book felt like a nostalgic conversation with the 90s. I had a constant playing going if the songs talked about in this book, songs I haven’t thought about in years. It was fun, not full of information but a good time. It lost a star for me for feeling a bit disorganized and the thoughts were a little jumpy. Overall I’m glad I read it and if you want to take a trip back to the 90s this is a great book for you!

I think that this might have been best in its original format, which was a podcast. I didn't enjoy the writing style and it really is about the author's personal stories and not so much about the music.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC for an honest review.

I went into this book unaware that it’s based on a podcast, which totally makes sense because music tends to lend itself more towards media that can be listened to. 60 Songs That Explain the ‘90s was a fun read filled with nostalgia and funny little quips about the 90s. It was a quick read that made me laugh out loud a couple times. I’m definitely going to check out the podcast, because I think this type of subject/topic is one I’d enjoy more while listening to the banter of a podcast.

I was excited to read this book having grown up in the 90s, but I think I would've enjoyed it more if I was a teenager in the 90s instead of a kid. I went into this book blind having never listened to the author's podcast. I think if I had listened to his podcast I would've appreciated the book more. I somewhat enjoyed his reminiscing on his personal life when certain songs came out, however I got tired of his over use of adjectives throughout the book. His transition between songs/artist was flawless! I loved the history he gave behind the artist and songs, that was the main reason I wanted to read the book. I wanted to learn more about my favorite 90s songs and what was going on in the world during that time. I would recommend this book to 90s fans, but I would have them listened to a few episodes of the author's podcast first for them to better understand him and this book.

Rob Harvilla is a great writer and a true nineties expert -- unfortunately, this book just feels like he repurposed material from his (fantastic) 60 Songs That Explain the 90s podcast. Anecdotes from the pod are repeated in the book and the organization feels weird and random. He doesn't go into depth on any one song and you're better off listening to the podcast if you want deep analysis and background. The book is a lot of fun and a quick read and great for Gen X nostalgia, but I couldn't help but want more.

As a middle school/high school student in the 90s, I am definitely the target audience for this book. Based on the popular podcast of the same name (which has gone well beyond 60!), this is a highly entertaining, moving, funny, and fascinating look at songs that defined a momentous era in popular music.

I enjoy reading books that explore songs/movies/etc of a particular era/time period, but I find that if I'm not particularly familiar with a specific song/movie, my interest flags. The genius of this book is that Harvilla groups a bunch of very diverse songs together (you're bound to be familiar with the majority of the songs if you paid attention to popular music during the 90s). Even if I didn't know the song very well, I was still entertained by the history behind the song, Harvilla's opinions, etc.

A must read for anyone who remembers the 90s or is into 90s music. If you enjoyed Chuck Klosterman's THE NINETIES: A BOOK, definitely don't miss this!

Many thanks to Twelve Books and NetGalley for a digital review copy in exchange for an honest review.

In "60 Songs That Explain The 90s," Rob Harvilla takes his beloved music podcast and transforms it into a quick and engaging book. While the podcast delves into one
song for about an hour, this book adopts a more rapid approach, with chapters flowing seamlessly from one song to another, united by a common theme. Fans of the
podcast will appreciate this refreshing format, as it avoids redundancy while maintaining familiarity.

Harvilla's passion for the music he discusses shines through in his writing. He skillfully combines insightful analysis of the songs and their songwriting with personal
anecdotes that recount how these tracks impacted him during that era. One particularly touching story recounts
the moment he held his newborn son for the first time and instinctively sang Tom Petty's "Alright for Now." These songs hold profound memories for many readers, and
Harvilla's ability to evoke those nostalgic emotions is commendable.

This book is a time capsule for those who experienced the 90s firsthand, as it captures the essence of the era's music and its impact on youth culture. However, even
younger readers can enjoy this book as they discover and appreciate the music that defined a generation. While the book does have a predominantly American focus, which may limit its resonance for international readers, the author's passion and storytelling overcome this drawback.