After my tape deck crapped out in 1997, I was stuck listening to either the radio or full albums in whatever order the artist intended. That all changed in 2001, when the new-fangled MP3 technology got combined with my new CD burner.

In addition to the occasional series of CDs I had burned in order to keep abreast of new music, I had created a bunch of genre-specific mixes that could be used both in the car and at the gym.  This week we will take a look at the second disc covering the world of alternative music created by females, or at least female fronted bands.  The 1990s were a great time for alternative music on the radio, especially that created by women.  As the decade came to an end, so did the welcoming arms of radio, as the trends moved towards nu-metal and its ilk.  So, without further ado, I bring you Female Alt Rock, volume 2.

Dido – Here With Me

Dido leads things off with the theme song from Roswell.

iTunes stats: 3 plays, most recently on 4/29/2013

Tori Amos – Spark

Amos wrote the song after suffering a miscarriage.

iTunes stats: 5 plays, most recently on 3/12/2013

Veruca Salt – Born Entertainer

The first single from Veruca Salt’s third album, presumed to be about the departure of founding member Nina Gordon.

iTunes stats: 7 plays, most recently on 9/2/2011

Jill Sobule – Supermodel

The second hit from Jill Sobule was from the Clueless soundtrack.

iTunes stats: 8 plays, most recently on 12/12/2012

Letters To Cleo – I Want You To Want Me

The cover of the Cheap Trick hit is from the 10 Things I Hate About You soundtrack.

iTunes stats: 11 plays, most recently on 1/22/2013

Tracy Bonham – Mother Mother

The one hit from Bonham reached the top of Billboard magazine’s Modern Rock Tracks chart.

iTunes stats: 10 plays, most recently on 4/22/2013

Concrete Blonde – Joey

Became the group’s biggest hit, spending four weeks atop the Modern Rock Tracks chart, and crossing over to pop radio, reaching #19 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

iTunes stats: 9 plays, most recently on 2/16/2011

Lisa Loeb & Nine Stories – Stay

The song, from the Reality Bites soundtrack, earned Loeb the distinction of being the first artist to top the U.S. chart before being signed to any record label.

iTunes stats: 3 plays, most recently on 4/13/2013

Belly – Gepetto

Though this follow-up did not match the success of “Feed The Tree” it charted on the Billboard Bubbling Under The Hot 100 Singles for 5 weeks in the late fall/winter of 1993.

iTunes stats: 9 plays, most recently on 5/1/2013

PJ Harvey – Down By The Water

Extensive MTV rotation and college radio airplay gave Harvey her biggest radio hit to date, reaching #2 on Billboard’s Modern Rock chart.

iTunes stats: 8 plays, most recently on 3/14/2013

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