ICYMI: Why is 90s Pop so Bizarre?

Today we're revisiting an episode inspired by a pair of classic VH1 shows: “Behind the Music” and “Where Are They Now?”

Our subjects are two songs representing the lunatic fringe of 90s culture, “Cotton Eyed Joe” and “How Bizarre.”

In the course of our musicological investigation, we uncover dark truths about these seemingly anodyne hits that will make you question everything you know about pop music.

And in the end, we reach a definitive answer to a perennially vexing question: “WTF was 90s music so weird?”

Songs Discussed

Rednex:

Cotton Eye Joe

Pop in an Oak

The Way I Mate

Cotton Eyed Joe:

Fiddlin John Carson

Bob Wills and his Texas Playboys

Karen Dalton

Chieftains

Nina Simone

OMC:

How Bizarre

Right On

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