What do you think of when you hear the 1990s? I’ll bet you think of great cartoon shows, famous sitcoms, famous people and their scandals, and great movies. What I think of, though, is the rise of great alternative rock music like Pearl Jam, blink-182, Alice in Chains, No Doubt, Jane’s Addiction, Limp Bizkit, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Green Day and many more.

Many have accepted that the ‘90s have come and gone, and most of these bands have either broken up or fell out of the limelight, with only a few staying together and popular. However 2009 has become the year of the ‘90s with every single aforementioned band either reuniting or putting out a new album. Alice in Chains is together with a new singer and releasing a new album, blink-182 has reunited and is midway through a huge summer tour, and Pearl Jam is putting out a new album, just to name a few.

I talked to Trinity English teacher Mr. Rob Seng about his views on the comeback. He said, “The early ‘90s was a really stale time for music, but once Nirvana’s ‘Nevermind’ dropped, it just blew the doors off and just led to a wave of alternative rock, which made the years from 1991 to 1994 a great time for music.”

Seng finds Alice in Chains very intriguing but is looking forward to Pearl Jam’s new album with excitement. Trinity senior Zach Hubbard, who is most excited for blink-182 and Alice in Chains coming back, said, “Blink, I think, will be together for a while. They just needed a break and Alice in Chains is hard to tell. Layne Staley had such a unique voice harmonizing with Jerry Cantrell, but the new singer sounds good.”

Both Seng and Hubbard agree that it is hard to tell if the bands will ever be as popular as they were in their peak years, and it depends a lot on the current trend in music. But as Seng says, “Good music is good music.”

The 1990s were definitely a great time for music and continue to influence bands today. I am personally most excited for Pearl Jam’s new album, “Backspacer,” and blink-182 reuniting. I think this comeback is great and shows a bright future for some of the best American bands in the past 20 years. I fully welcome the return of the ’90s.