Back in 1991, mall culture among teens was in full swing, and plenty of youths (including the angsty rock-loving kind) jammed out to pop and rock songs while shopping with their friends… Or, you know, just loitering. There was a lot of that, too. Let’s take a look at just a few rock songs from 1991 you definitely heard if you were a mall rat in the early 90s.
“Losing My Religion” by R.E.M. from ‘Out Of Time’
This classic from R.E.M. was one of the biggest alternative rock songs of the year, so it comes as no surprise that it got a lot of speaker play at malls and shopping centers that year. Interestingly enough, “Losing My Religion” came to be from a mandolin riff that was improvised by the band’s guitar player, Peter Buck. The result was a Grammy-winning classic that peaked at No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and became inescapable on the radio and everywhere else.
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“Mysterious Ways” by U2 from ‘Achtung Baby’
U2 produced what I consider peak mall music. And “Mysterious Ways” definitely made it to public speakers at malls in 1991. It’s a sleek and dance-worthy rock song and just mild enough to be palatable for shoppers of any age.
“Mysterious Ways” by U2 has a funk rock edge to it, complete with congas. The song appealed quite a bit to the youths of the time. The track peaked at No. 9 on the Billboard Hot 100 and reached the Top 40 across the globe.
“Winds Of Change” by Scorpions from ‘Crazy World’
This melodic hard rock classic deserves a spot on our list of songs from 1991 that you heard at the mall, namely because it was accessible and “safe” enough for mall speakers back in the day. But that doesn’t mean that “Winds Of Change” by Scorpions isn’t a hard rockin’ good time.
“Winds Of Change” by Scorpions was a pretty hefty hit for the German rock outfit. It peaked at No. 4 on the Hot 100 and topped charts in the UK, Germany, and even the European Hot 100.
Photo by Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic
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