r/Music • u/Ciannachta • 18h ago
music 4 Non Blondes - What's Going On? [Alternative Rock] (1993)
https://youtu.be/6NXnxTNIWkc51
u/fffan9391 12h ago
It’s called “What’s Up.”
10
-57
10
u/vasisboss 15h ago
Wait in Streetfighter Ryu was listening to this before his 1987 streetfighter championship. Could it be I found the only plot hole in this otherwise flawless masterpiece
4
1
u/neogreenlantern 1h ago
I think there was a few songs out of time. They played who let the dogs out and that came out in 2000.
23
21
u/gregarioussparrow 18h ago
Best use ever of this song was in the show Sense8
5
6
u/Lespaul42 17h ago
I will say it going from the real song to the He-Man cover mid song in the recent Ninja Turtles movie was a lot of fun.
1
12
75
u/unhalfbricking 18h ago
I unironicaly love this song.
And I pray.
Oh my God do I pray.
I pray every single day.
FOR A REVOLUTION!
That shit goes hard in 2026.
17
u/jim45804 18h ago
People ironically love it?
9
5
u/eltedioso 17h ago
I unironically am annoyed by it
-1
u/The_Seattle_Police 16h ago
Love the message of the song but the vocal performance is tough to hear
1
u/eltedioso 16h ago
What do you see as the message of the song? Not trying to argue; genuinely curious.
4
u/MadRockthethird 12h ago
I found out the other day this woman was or is married to Darlene (Sara Gilbert) from Roseanne
3
7
u/DunkeyColdMedina 18h ago
She started our nation's love affair with completely superfluous ski goggles.
2
7
u/Timmyg14 2h ago
For me it was the fact that at that time (I was 17 in 93 ) nothing about them felt genuine. It was like they asked a stylist ok what does a grunge band looked lik?
Hmm let's see - Doc Martins with quirky socks? Check. Flannels shirts? Check. A trying way too hard top hat with useless googles strapped to it? Check. Badly dyed hair? Check. Facial piercings? Check. Ok you got all the tell tale signs of what Madison Ave says a grunge band looks like now attach that to a bland common place pop song and youll fool everybody into buying your album.
Clearly it worked that song was a mega hit so good for them. Taste is subjective I'm not here to yuck your yum if you like it you like it but to me personally the whole vibe always felt totally fake.
1
•
u/lizzie1hoops 38m ago
I couldn't agree more. Teens are good at detecting inauthenticity (was 14 in '93).
14
u/Nick_Fotiu_Is_God 8h ago
I fucking hate this song so much. From the time I first saw it on MTV.
4
u/bubbasteamboat 1h ago
I am convinced this song was born from the unholy union between a diner cushion that was relentlessly farted upon by Anne Wilson during a particularly horrible bout of amoebic dissentary and the wailing of a drunk mother searching for her lost child in a snowstorm.
1
11
u/Mentalfloss1 18h ago
Perry had one of rock's unique voices.
28
u/Major__de_Coverly 18h ago
Great voice but I always hated that stupid hat/goggles thing she wore in the video.
She was trying waaaaaay to hard to find an affectation.
My roommate called it "Steampunk Special Ed."
13
u/just_say_n 18h ago
I’ve met her. She still wears a unique cowboy hat with a tall lid, but more importantly, she’s fucking nice.
Just a nice lady. Period.
3
4
5
2
0
u/accountforfurrystuf 18h ago
You can do whatever you want if you’re pure of heart. Many of us aren’t so we wear the gray slop t shirt and jeans
2
-2
u/Massive_Problem706 17h ago
I can’t think of anyone who oversings more than her. She has zero taste. Awful singer
7
7
7
u/metametapraxis 17h ago
She has made more money than you can imagine, writing songs for other people. So she probably doesn't mind.
Also, odd that you feel the need to comment on this song quite so many times. Weird.
-1
u/NightOfTheLivingHam 10h ago
John Wetton made millions singing for Asia, creating the most vapid yuppie rock ever known to man. Doesn't mean making money is good, just means you managed to create an ear worm or hook that gets stuck in people's heads.
Compare that to his tenure with King Crimson, which was better music, but he didn't make fuck all compared to how big Asia was in the 80s.
McDonalds is one of the biggest fast food companies on earth and makes billions of dollars, doesn't mean its good either.
4
1
6
u/snaphappy2 10h ago
Wow it’s hard for my brain to register how polarizing this song is. I mean whats not to like? Don’t get me wrong. I’ve never listened to anything by the 4 Non Blondes other than this one song that I know of… And I’ve only heard this song when it’s been played by others, but what’s not to like?
For reference of my musical tastes the bands getting the most plays from me the last ten years are Tool, KGLW, Kyuss Primus, Sturgill Simpson, All Them Witches, and Puscifer.
5
u/gabeuscorpus 3h ago
To folks of a certain age, from scenes like the one I grew up in, it really landed wrong when it came out. It reeked of inauthenticity, which at the time was one of the greatest artistic sins one could commit. This looked, sounded, and felt like someone bought an "alternative band" costume from Party City and made a "hit single" while wearing it.
I don't know anything about the folks who made it, or how sincere they were or are, and I admit that I maybe should I apologize for that, but when I first heard this song and saw the video the feeling it inspired in me was revulsion. It was just... Gross.
1
u/snaphappy2 2h ago
I was working in a head shop and music store in KC when this song came out. Alternative lifestyles and music were all around. We were all in the live music scenes as well. I don’t remember anyone taking the song as seriously as you. It was just, a nice song.
2
u/gabeuscorpus 2h ago
I mean, you seemed like you were asking what's not to like... that's what my friends and I didn't like.
I think part of our problem was that alternative music and lifestyles were now all around, and we had all been into it for a long time, well before Nirvana broke, so there was some gatekeeping and no small amount of pretentiousness going on. We were pretty full of ourselves.
2
u/snaphappy2 2h ago
One thing I’m sure we can both agree on, is the 90’s were an incredible decade for music. Good times, good times.
1
2
5
31
u/Ciannachta 18h ago
Trivia: The correct title for this song is actually, “What’s Up?”, for anyone who cares.
29
u/spacewithoutstars 18h ago
It's literally the title of the YouTube video you posted.
-39
u/Ciannachta 18h ago
Yeah, but a lot of people will ‘misremember’ it as “What’s Going On?”
14
-1
u/spacewithoutstars 18h ago
An entire population called into the radio stations to request it, watched the music video on TV or burned it onto CD's. We know the title.
7
0
u/Ciannachta 8h ago
A lot of us were listening to this on tapes (cassettes) or the radio, of from cassettes recorded from the radio, through cassette players and we didn’t have CD players, never mind CD burners back in those days. I’m just trying to explain this to you as best as I can from lived experience.
18
u/CheekyMunky 18h ago
Then why didn't you post it with that title?
1
-5
u/Ciannachta 8h ago
Because that’s what so many of us from that era knew it as, and remember it as.
7
u/CheekyMunky 8h ago
Maybe that's because people like you keep calling it that for some reason, even as you post a video with the correct title directly on said video.
-4
u/Ciannachta 8h ago
You can still be civil; a bit of manners doesn’t cost a single penny… Just saying.
6
u/CheekyMunky 8h ago
I don't think it's uncivil to question why you're knowingly spreading misinformation, then separately (and less visibly) offering the corrected information because "people might be misinformed," such as by the very thing that you yourself just posted, obviously knowing it was wrong.
You don't see how that's an absolutely bizarre thing to do?
0
u/Ciannachta 7h ago
I think at this point I’ve more than clearly explained my reasoning. I posted it as the originally intended working title by Linda Perry, but so as not to cause confusion with Marvin Gaye’s 1971 classic, it was renamed.
I immediately posted a comment concisely naming the correct release title to explain this overlooked piece of Trivia, but Reddit only allows mods to make a “sticky” / “pinned” post (a post that stays locked at the top of a subreddit's front page, independent of upvotes or time), and since I am not a mod, I am unable to make this post a sticky post.
Anyhow, no doubt you’ll want the last word, so have it. 🙂
5
4
u/pillgrinder 18h ago
What are those goggles and why are they on a top hat?
7
u/slvrscoobie 18h ago
Old Aviation goggles. And to be cool. It was the 90s. Being weird was a thing unto itself.
1
u/Mcgoo186 17h ago
With Linda Perry it's fair to say she did stuff without a single fuck. Since she's openly gay and had Dyke on her guitar.
2
u/pumkinut 1h ago
Jumpin' Jesus on a pogo stick! I hate this fucking song. I hated when it came out, I hated it when it was played to death, and I've gained no appreciation for it since.
26
u/Massive_Problem706 17h ago
I hate everything about this song. Normally I don’t have a problem understanding that people like different things. Like I hate hearing Jimmy Buffett but I can recognize that he is good regardless of what I think. I can’t wrap my head around liking this song
23
u/CurrentHair6381 14h ago
I always post Dean Ween masterfully hating on this song whenever it gets thrown up here again. Lots of gems, among them "i cant write music bad enough to be that popular"
Have fun. Hail Boognish. https://www.avclub.com/mickey-dean-ween-melchiondo-on-why-he-hates-4-non-blo-1798238547
3
u/Bfrank13406 11h ago
I just finished the article..... getting the impression Dean doesn't like the song lol.
3
u/ladiesngentlemenplz 7h ago
AVC: When I was 11, in 1993, my Mom and I bought the 4 Non Blondes tape, and we would blast “What’s Up?” on the way to soccer practice. I have a begrudging, sentimental love for this song.
DW: Well, you’re a dick!
2
u/NightOfTheLivingHam 11h ago
https://giphy.com/gifs/rn0GgtGvr70teUdXuE
Dean Ween's description sounds like AM's speech.
1
1
14
u/BadIdeaSociety 16h ago
"What's Up" is an incredible song and Linda Perry has given the world so many hit songs that I find it difficult to be down on her. I get it is a matter of taste, but what a great song.
5
4
u/lolwatokay 5h ago
Two scenarios:
1. You’re an older millennial and love the He Man version https://youtu.be/32FB-gYr49Y?is=equpg76XJ3NsJISp
- “The whole drunk-ass bar screams the song cacophonously at a certain point of the night” moment hits and you love that shit
6
u/cross_mod 17h ago
you just have to hear it 100 times in a row. Just put it on loop and listen to it 100 times. On the 101st time, you'll be like, "ok it's aight."
8
4
u/shmiona 14h ago
I always think what if it was a true story, and you were her neighbor. She gets up in the morning and goes in the yard, smokes a bunch of weed and then screams at the top of her lungs “what’s going on?”
2
u/cold08 8h ago
I'd be like "NOT MUCH, WHAT'S UP WITH YOU?"
0
u/perilousrob 3h ago
aww c'mon, you missed a good one there!
(because its the late 90s, right): you grabbed a bud and replied 'waaassssuuppp'
2
u/ayoungmanfromtheuk 4h ago
I would just say "hey good morning morning Linda" because I'm not a hater
4
u/The_Quibbler 10h ago
Am I wrong for hating the try-too-hard drip exponentially more than this nonentity of a song?
5
4
u/classphoto92 9h ago
Some people have never experienced the cacophony of almost collective drunken voices hollering What's Up at the top of their lungs. I'm sure it's awful to experience if you aren't participating. But why in thw world wouldn't you participate?
0
u/hnglmkrnglbrry 7h ago
It's the ultimate karaoke song. Up there with Friends in Low Places, Like a Prayer, and Killing Me Softly (because the entire crowd will do the Wyclef "One time, one time,")
2
1
u/Prunk_Dacifist 9h ago
"Best" post is just another hater lol
I like the rest of the album, but I skip this song because it gets way overplayed.
1
u/Glow-Butterfly 8h ago
yeah, i get that, but jimmy buffett has a whole different vibe, like a specific niche.
-2
u/metametapraxis 17h ago edited 17h ago
Different people like different things. I can't stand rap or the more obnoxious forms of metal, but there are people who love them.
Who would have thought people would have vastly varying tastes in music? I wouldn't choose to listen to it, but for me there are tens of thousands of worse songs out there. The vast majority of music is shit (or great, depending on your taste).
-6
u/killemgrip 15h ago
Commenter literally said they have no problem understanding that people like different things
6
u/_teach_me_your_ways_ 15h ago
That comment was like someone asked ChatGPT to rewrite what It’s replying to but keep the message the same
1
u/AgentCirceLuna 15h ago
Commenter mentions the person above has an odd way of writing, contributes little to the discussion, and posits ChatGPT as a possible LLM being used to rewrite the comment replied to as a karma gathering strategy. Could this be the action of a company wishing to train an account for later use in advertising or spreading news of their new products? There are a number of other possibilities that could be considered.
1
u/metametapraxis 14h ago
I seriously don't know planet you are all on.
The person I replied to said "Normally I don’t have a problem understanding that people like different things". They key here is the word "normally", which is used to show that in this case he (or she) does NOT understand this.
Seriously, this is not a hard thing to follow for anyone actually bothering to read what was written, instead of "I don't agree with it, so it must be a bot".
2
2
u/metametapraxis 14h ago edited 14h ago
The comment actually literally said: "**Normally** I don’t have a problem understanding that people like different things**"**
i.e. in this case s/he did NOT understand people being able to like this.
Do try to keep up.
-1
1
u/This_Fkn_Guy_ 4h ago
I hate this song so much the album was decent overall but this song is fucking horrible
4
3
4
u/tequilasauer 18h ago
They did a cover of Misty Mountain Hop by Led Zeppelin that is super underrated.
4
u/Drong0bones 18h ago
I've seen this song on a list of worst songs of the 90s and best songs of the 90s lol. I would say it belongs on the best songs list 🎵
2
u/geodebug 18h ago
Played this song way too much as a 2000s era cover band. Can’t enjoy it but I get why it’s popular. Always fills the dance floor.
2
u/CoverCommercial3576 18h ago edited 18h ago
alternative or top 40? it was top 15 in the us and number one around the world, sold millions of copies as did the album it’s from.
3
u/x_lincoln_x 14h ago
It's considered "Alternative" for genre because that was the style at the time.
2
2
u/SophiSae00 17h ago
An entire generation genuinely cannot listen to this track without immediately seeing He-Man, Skeletor, and a blonde wig singing 'AND I SAY HEYEYEYEYE' in their head.
1
u/guantamanera 18h ago
This cover is my favorite version https://youtu.be/CvKZt2GMomE?is
1
1
u/JayMoney8518 9h ago
From the thumbnail, I thought that was Farazuka Balk(sp). Standard goth girl of the 90s, for those that remember. I did a semi-deep dive, and its not.
1
u/Self_Owned_Tree 6h ago
60 Songs did a really good episode on this, and I think the lead singer hates the song, too. In a cool bit, though, she went on to become a well-respected songwriter, so there's a happy ending for her.
1
u/ChocolateAndCognac 4h ago
Not a fan of this song, but the opening track of "Bigger, Better, Faster, More" (the album this is on),"Train", is amazing.
1
u/Specialist_Unit_5078 3h ago
My favorite song to insert the word “motherfucker” into the lyrics. Try it!
1
u/cmrfrd7 3h ago
This song will be indelibly tied to a core memory of me camping with buddies right after I turned 16. My dad had let me drive his new Toyota Tacoma and while whipping donuts in a field I slid the back end of the truck into a buddies 4-wheeler. I considered the pros and cons of crossing the border into Mexico and starting a new life there vs bringing the truck home to my dad during that very long night.
1
u/Bah_weep_grana 2h ago
Still sick of this song. Liked it a lot the first few hundred times i heard it, but a prime example of a song being played to death, to the point where even if its been years since i last heard it, i still feel sick of hearing it
1
u/ScienceMusician 1h ago
Obligatory "Oh mah GOD do I PRAYYY" https://youtu.be/ZZ5LpwO-An4?is=KwLP5xS0NImVo0To
•
2
u/zyrkseas97 18h ago
This song is so great and ironically I think this song being so big kinda buries the lede on 4 Non Blondes being good overall.
2
-2
u/Massive_Problem706 17h ago
The love that song is getting on this thread is baffling to me. To me, this is the worst song I have ever heard and it is difficult to imagine a lower bar when it comes to musical expression
-1
u/EuphoricPhoto2048 17h ago
It's been getting a lot of love recently which is weird after it being (in my opinion, correctly) reviled for so long.
I don't doubt that Linda Perry & the rest of the band are very talented. This song does not show it.
1
1
u/ayoungmanfromtheuk 4h ago
Very ignorant comment, the song had never been reviled, it has always been very popular
-1
1
1
u/drcraniax 17h ago
I literally just came home from watching Street Fighter, this is perfect (iykyk)
1
u/lessixtokygoth 17h ago
the way this song is 90% build-up and then she just detonates on that last chorus. my neighbors know every time it hits my shuffle because i cannot physically keep my voice down for it
1
-2
0
-1
u/jazmaan273 18h ago
i was expecting a Marvin Gaye cover.
3
1
u/StaticShakyamuni 18h ago
I have the Marvin Gaye cover of this song on cassette tape. The man doesn't want you to hear it. But you know what? Fuck the man.
-1
u/Top_Ad9635 12h ago
I used to go to the same school with her stepdaughter before she got seperated with her mom. After they divorced she came on to me but i lied that im straight, truth was i found her too old. I didnt realise how rich she was till much later
-6
0
0
0
u/10fingers6strings 9h ago
The only person I want to hear ask “what’s goin on?” In song Is Marvin Gaye—not the chick with the goofy top hat/exterminator goggles getup
-3
-5
-6
u/SS_from_1990s 17h ago
Used to love it.
Also, she stole a British 80s new wave song and had Kelly Osbourne sing it.
217
u/asdf_lord 18h ago
Nyaah
https://giphy.com/gifs/FTEYw97n2gSty