3 Rock Songs You Can’t Believe Are 30 Years Old

Remember when grown-ups talked about hearing The Who or The Rolling Stones for the first time?

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Then time accelerates, and soon you’re the one talking about the first time you heard “Smells Like Teen Spirit” on the radio. The person you’re talking to then asks, “What’s the radio?”

You know you’re old when you’re hanging with youngsters who weren’t even born when the music that shaped your youth came out. One recalls the Red Hot Chili Peppers playing gigs while wearing only a strategically placed sock. Then they’re inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.

Speaking of the rock museum, nothing quite emphasizes the harsh reality of time like the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. But that’s how it goes. We get old, the bands get old, and you can’t believe the soundtrack to your youth is … 30 years old!

Here are three rock oldies below.

“Just a Girl” by No Doubt from Tragic Kingdom

If you’re of a certain age, it’s still a little surprising to hear your mom talk about “Gwen Stefani from The Voice.” She became a pop culture icon in the 1990s, bringing Southern California’s ska and pop-punk to MTV and malls everywhere. No Doubt’s third album also featured the hits “Don’t Speak,” “Spiderwebs,” and “Sunday Morning.” Stefani remains an icon who paved the way for confessional artists like Taylor Swift and Olivia Rodrigo.

Take this pink ribbon off my eyes
I’m exposed, and it’s no big surprise
Don’t you think I know exactly where I stand?
This world is forcing me to hold your hand

“Wonderwall” by Oasis from (What’s the Story) Morning Glory?

In 1995, guitar bands ruled pop culture. The Apple iPod was still six years away, so one spent their hard-earned cash on CDs. Oasis broke through in America with “Wonderwall.” They looked like The Beatles but sounded like the Fab Four if Johnny Rotten had replaced John Lennon on vocals. “Wonderwall” is Noel Gallagher’s anthem, but his younger brother Liam delivered the tender ballad in a snarling, heavy British accent. The brothers’ legendary interviews required subtitles, and their second album completed one of the best one-two punches in rock history.

And backbeat, the word is on the street that the fire in your heart is out
I’m sure you’ve heard it all before, but you never really had a doubt
I don’t believe that anybody feels the way I do about you now

“1979” by The Smashing Pumpkins from Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness

Since we’re getting nostalgic over songs from 1995, we’ll end with Billy Corgan’s wistful tune. The coming-of-age song describes fading youth and innocence. It appeared on The Smashing Pumpkins’ sprawling double album. Here, Corgan and his Chicago band were three albums deep in rage-filled alternative rock. He’d arrived with a chip on his shoulder, atop massive guitar riffs and angst. But some of Corgan’s most enduring tracks are the melodic ones—“Disarm,” “Today,” and “Tonight, Tonight.” And “1979” may be his finest.

We don’t even care
To shake these zipper blues
And we don’t know
Just where our bones will rest
To dust, I guess
Forgotten and absorbed into the earth
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