It all started with the playlist.
I was watching the show Yellowjackets, which features a lot of flashbacks to the characters in 1996, and features some decent music from that time period. But I kept thinking about all the songs that I thought should have been included in the soundtrack. After all, I was a 90s girl who listened to a lot of music from that time period. (I still have most of my original CDs, except for a handful that were stolen from the backseat of my boyfriend’s car.) So I made a playlist featuring mostly female artists from the mid-90s. Trying to think of a name, I thought “1990s Riot Grrl Occult Music” was too long, so I shortened it to “90s Girl Cult.”
I listened to the playlist over and over while I was writing the first season. And because the story is written like a diary, I went with my old favorite way of labeling my diary entries after a song. For authenticity’s sake, I tried to make sure I only used songs that had already been released by the date of each diary entry. (Which is why I have to wait until 1999 to use “Sci-Fi Wasabi.”) You may notice some 80s songs on the list, too, because I was listening to them at the time and they fit the story.
If you don’t see your favorite song on this list, it might be coming in future seasons!
Playlist for Season 1
- “Seether” – Veruca Salt
- “You Oughta Know” – Alanis Morissette
- “Criminal” – Fiona Apple
- “You Learn” – Alanis Morissette
- “Stupid Girl” – Garbage
- “What’s Up?” – 4 Non Blondes
- “Liar” – Bikini Kill
- “All Hail Me” – Veruca Salt
- “Cursom Perficio” – Enya
- “Here Comes the Sun” – The Beatles
- “Barbie Girl” – Aqua
- “Precious Things” – Tori Amos
- “No Backrub” – Bikini Kill
- “Down by the Water” – PJ Harvey
- “Sugar Water” – Cibo Matto
- “Victrola” – Veruca Salt
- “Building a Mystery” – Sarah McLachlan
- “Mother” – Babes in Toyland
- “Wild in the Woods” – Dead Can Dance
- “The Mystic’s Dream” – Loreena McKennitt
- “Hello” – Poe
- “Pretend We’re Dead” – L7
- “Glory Box” – Portishead
- “Do You Sleep?” – Lisa Loeb
- “2Wicky” – Hooverphonic
- “Cornflake Girl” – Tori Amos
- “Nights x 9” – Slant
- “Don’t Speak” – No Doubt
- “Army of Me” – Bjork
- “How Soon is Now” – The Smiths
- “Anything Can Happen on Halloween” – Tim Curry
- “Dangerous Type” – Letters From Cleo
- “Wolf” – Veruca Salt
- “#1 Crush” – Garbage
- “I Do” – Lisa Loeb
- “Bruise Violet” – Babes in Toyland
- “Split Second” – Lisa Loeb
- “One Last Time” – Veruca Salt
- “Caught a Lite Sneeze” – Tori Amos
- “Truthfully” – Lisa Loeb
- “Something So Wild” – Bettie Serveert
- “Earthcrosser” – Veruca Salt
- “Intuition” – Natalie Imbruglia
- “Leave Me Alone” – Natalie Imbruglia
- “Celebrate You” – Veruca Salt
- “Rebel Girl” – Bikini Kill
- “Know Your Chicken” – Cibo Matto
- “Pretty Good Year” – Tori Amos
- “Good Disaster” – Veruca Salt
- “Dark Secret” – Matthew Sweet
Cover Sneak
The pre-order for 90s Girl Cult in ebook and paperback is coming soon! Until then, enjoy this sneak of the cover:
