Resident Evil 2 Remake - 5 Changes I Like, Don't Like, and Would Have Changed

Warning - this post contains lots of spoilers from both the original Resident Evil 2 and the Remake. You have been warned!

Hey everyone, I thought I'd do something slightly different today. I, like many people have recently been playing Resident Evil 2 Remake and it's absolutely brilliant. I may well review it for the website, but at the moment I thought I'd just do this post and see what happens in the future.

Resident Evil 2 (2019) is a full remake of the original Resident Evil 2 from 1998. That being said, like the original Resident Evil remake from 2002, which was a full remake of the original from 1996, they have made some changes and added some things, so it's not a 100% copy and paste interpretation.

Is this it as good as the original? My answer is no - but that's okay. The standards set back then were incredibly high, so I wasn't expecting it to be "as good", but I wanted it to be as close to the original in terms of offering the same feeling and giving a similar experience for modern or younger gamers who may have missed if they didn't play the original. And that's exactly what this Remake does on most fronts. They've added some stuff, they've taken away from stuff, and they've kept probably 85% of the original content, and the experience does feel incredibly fresh and nostalgic at the same time.

Here are five changes that I like, don't like and would have changed from Resident Evil 2 Remake. I'd again, like to emphasise, that this game is tremendous, and it's constructive criticism that I'm offering. Overall Capcom have made an excellent game and Remake, so keep that in mind if I may come across negative at times when explaining - I'm purely a hardcore fan and nothing more!

5 Changes I Like About Resident Evil 2 Remake

1. Sherry's Story

In the original game Sherry was a pain in the ass. There's no other way to put it. She slowed you down, she got herself into all sorts of trouble and, despite being a timid little girl with terrible parents you didn't feel sorry for her really.

But in the Remake they corrected pretty much EVERYTHING to do with Sherry. You do genuinely feel sorry for her in this version of the game. She doesn't slow you down at all, and because you can't control her in the game they took the frustrating elements out.

More than that though they added some pretty good stuff. The relationship between Chief Irons and Sherry wasn't something I expected to see but Capcom added a very interesting story there. Chief Irons was a creepy bastard in the Remake, more so than in the original, and by adding a story of him kidnapping Sherry and taking her to an abandoned orphanage was a stroke of genius. By having Sherry stand up to Chief Irons and throw acid in his face when he's trying to attack her really made you root for her. The game of hide and seek was quite tense in parts.

Another fantastic thing they added into the Remake was how Sherry's appearance changed after William Birkin implanted an embryo into her. Her eye looked messed up and it was pretty damn disgusting I must say. Great work Capcom with working a previously really frustrating character in Sherry and making her actually more than tolerable, but genuinely a character I sympathised with.

2. Tyrant vs William Birkin

It was the fight we never asked for, but again, massive credit where it's due, because seeing Tyrant and William Birkin together was a huge treat I never saw coming in the Remake. And seeing William Birkin come on top of the fight and absolutely destroying the Tyrant, ripping three quarters of his abdomen out was a great moment. I loved every second of that scene - Sherry calling out for her father, Claire realising that the monster that's hellbent on attacking them both is actually her Dad and seeing all the gore was just... wow. Great work Capcom.

3. The Subweapons and Gunpowder

I'm not the biggest fan of subweapons to be honest but they can be lifesavers at times. With Resident Evil 2 Remake being a far more dynamic game than the original, they needed to do something to breakdown the divide between the main character and the enemies they'll be facing. So by adding defensive knives and grenades to aid the player when in trouble, they managed to break down any potential issues that could develop.

But better than the subweapons for me was the gunpowder addition to the game. The subweapons were a feature from Resident Evil 1 Remake, so it's a bit of a homage to that entry in the series, but the gunpowder was a feature that was used in the original Resident Evil 3 game. It's likely, based on the rumours, that gunpowder will be used in the Resident Evil 3 remake apparently in development, so perhaps that decision impacted the idea of using it in its predecessor. I'm just speculating at this point, but either way it was a great feature and it gets a thumbs up from me.

4. Ben Bertolucci's Death

Well what can I say? Just look at the picture below! Holy crap this moment was amazing. We all knew that Ben was going to die, but I don't think anyone thought it'd be as quick as it was, and certainly not in the hands of Tyrant. The way Tyrant "broke" Ben's face with his bare hand was just brutal, and the eye pop was just the gory cherry on top of the horror cake. It was simply one of the best deaths in Resident Evil history.

5. G-Adult and The Sewers

In the original game the sewers were an okay and very brief part of the game that is largely forgettable. But in the Remake they really expanded on the network of tunnels and how utterly disgusting the whole section is.

Another great thing about the sewers was the use of the G-Adult. Rather than making G-Adult into the first boss of the game like in the original, Capcom decided to make G-Adult into a regular enemy in the sewers. It makes more sense this way story-line wise, because of the fact that William Birkin's G-virus is trying to find the perfect partner to "breed" his mutation into to prolong his legacy. All of the G-Adults in the sewers are "failures" of the embryo breeding process, so it makes so much more sense that there's more of them. And they're absolutely revolting, more so in this version of the game than in the remake.

5 Changes I Don't Like About Resident Evil 2 Remake

1. The Lab

What was so good about seeing the previews of Resi 2 Remake, and then playing the Demo, was seeing how much of the police station looked identical to how it looked in the original game. Sure they did change and add more parts, but overall the presentation of the police station was very similar. It was so nostalgic running down the corridors of the station because it looked so similar.

But then when you get to the lab, which is now called The NEST, they changed almost everything. It's unrecognisable. Now if you're thinking I'm being a hypocrite because I'm complimenting Capcom for changing the Sewers but criticising them for changing the lab then I understand. But the difference here for me is that they expanded on the Sewers a lot, and the Sewers were quite a small section of the game. But I did like the lab and how it looked in the original game, so to not only change it but to change it as dramatically as they did, just disappointed me somewhat. Don't get me wrong, The NEST is a decent part of the game, but I feel they missed a trick here.

2. Super Tyrant

Don't get me wrong, Tyrant (or Mr X, but I've never really liked that name) is excellent. He's just as intimidating on this game, in fact he's probably more intimidating because he can't killed and follows you EVERYWHERE. But that fedora is just awful. Why give him a fedora?? To be fair, it looked worse in the trailers than it does in the actual game.

But more than the fedora, what disappointed me the most about Tyrant was the final boss fight. He just didn't look that good. The pictures below don't really do much justice to my point but bare with me. In the original he was completely naked, had two massive claws, and his pumping heart was really prominent. In the Remake they decided to keep his pants on - perhaps this is a weird thing to be critical about but I just think it looked odd. Also, because he's such a big guy, he had the worlds biggest abs it seemed. Where as in the original game, his body is highly mutilated by this point. I don't know, maybe it's just me, but I truly believe that the original final Tyrant was better. Also the fight was a lot more intimidating in the original game - the way he'd zoom up to you and claw you was just brutal. In the Remake he's a lot less dangerous, again in my opinion.

3. Leon and Claire's Odd Flirting

Why? Just why? I really enjoyed the fact that Leon and Claire's relationship in the original game is genuinely platonic, there's no feelings there whatsoever for either of them for the other and anyone interpreting the situation as something different is seeing something that purely isn't there. Ada and Leon of course have feelings for eachother, and the story really is whether or not Ada was using Leon or did have feelings for him, and this plays further along in Resident Evil 4 and Resident Evil 6. Claire of course falls for Steve in Resident Evil Code Veronica.

But Claire and Leon in Resident Evil 2, or other games or films that they appear in don't have any romance and nor should they. So it was a strange decision from Capcom to start the two flirting in this Remake. I mean, it's not heavy flirting, but even any hint of it felt strange and out of place, and simply becomes questionable.

4. Chief Iron's Death

Perhaps it's only a minor thing to most people but I was a little disappointed in how Chief Irons dies in this game. In the original game on the "A" scenario, both Chief Irons and Ben Bertolucci die by William Birkin planting an embryo into their bodies and then the G-Young creature pops out of them. They made Ben die in a different way in this game as stated above, and that's fine. But they saved the original death in the original game to Chief Irons.

What's different about the way he dies in this game than in the original? Sure, the G-Young creature pops out of him, just like in the original. But in the Remake, he pops out of his stomach. It's a great visual and I did enjoy it, but the way the G-Young bursts out in the original could have been even more amazing if he did it the same way in the Remake. As you can kind of see below, he bursts from the shoulder and chest area, ripping Chief Irons in half. It looked brutal back in 1998 and I really hoped they'd make it just as bad in the Remake. Whilst it was still good, it did disappoint me a little.

5. Leon/Claire A&B Scenarios

If I could only mention one thing that frustrated me about the Resident Evil 2 Remake it was this. I wasn't sure if Capcom were going to do Leon A/Claire B and Claire B/Leon A because of time constraints, budgets and if they could justify it. But when I found out they put a mode called "2nd Run", I was excited because it meant that Capcom were going to give hardcore fans what they wanted.

But "2nd Run" is just a mess. I hate to be negative and blunt but it is. The "1st Run" was great, and overall Resi 2 Remake is brilliant, but for me if they were going to do a "2nd Run" or a "B" Scenario campaign they really should have done it properly.

What's wrong with it, you may ask? Well, the "2nd Run", tries to do what the "B" Scenarios did on the original, which is basically that if you were playing as Leon, you'd then play as Claire to find out what she was up to "behind the scenes" so to speak. And vice versa if you played as Claire then you'd find out what Leon was up to. What the original from back in 1998 did by splitting these campaigns was in effect give you 4 different stories, because the game is split, literally, depending on what side of the fire Leon and Claire jump out of the car in.

But the "2nd Run" isn't the same as the "B" Scenarios. Why? Because after you arrive at the police station and take the "back entrance" to the building, you pretty much play the game in exactly the same way as the "A" Scenario, or the "1st Run" in this case. Sure, the puzzles are slightly different and some of the items are in slightly different places, but the game plays out almost exactly as the "1st Run", especially after you leave the police station.

Also, because Leon and Claire only meet up or communicate two or three times in the Remake, it becomes less of a question of "oh, so that's what they were up to behind the scenes", where as in the original it felt their paths crossed more often than that, perhaps four or five times. And even on their first encounter - the time lapse was a frustration. On the "1st Run", it takes you a good 30-45 minutes before you see the other character. But on the "2nd Run", it's literally within the first 5 minutes of playing the game. These little things don't add up, it's as simple as that.

5 Changes I Would Have Made to Resident Evil 2 Remake

1. 2nd Run/B Campaign as Free DLC

Following on from Point 5 of things I "don't like", I truly feel that Capcom made the decision to have the "2nd Run" because of hardcore fans demanding it. And if that's the case, then, as stated above, credit where it's due, Capcom were listening to fans and put it in.

But because it was so rushed and didn't add up correctly, it would have been a better decision for Capcom to not release the "2nd Run" on release date, and then to add it as free DLC in the future. I mean, they added Ghost Survivors as free DLC already and the game only came out a few weeks ago. So it's not like would have had to wait long to get it "right" before releasing it.

Perhaps Capcom thought fans would have been disappointed that the "2nd Run" was not released on release day, so instead of putting up with that criticism, they decided to release it anyway, despite it being "undercooked", so to speak. But if that's the case, I do feel they made the wrong decision. Those fans would have soon become happy knowing it would have been free DLC and done properly, certainly happier than they are now, that's for sure.

2. Assignment Ada

I've seen quite a few fans mention this on social media already, so it's not my idea. But listen to the fans Capcom!

The wonderful thing about hindsight is that we could know what's going to happen before it actually happens. Back in 1998 we didn't know that Ada was going to be this badass spy that backstabs anyone and everyone to achieve her goal. She is wonderful in Resident Evil 4 and despite Resident Evil 6 being disappointing overall, Ada's role in the game was one of the better parts.

In Resident Evil 4 there was a mode called "Assignment Ada", which in itself was homage to the original Resident Evil 2. Remember we talk about the "B" Scenario? Well this was the Resi 4 equivalent of it. "Assignment Ada" shows you what Ada did "behind the scenes" whilst Leon was playing through the events of the game. You play as Ada in "Assignment Ada" and find out what she was up to, helping you out behind your back, getting herself into trouble before, of course, backstabbing Leon all over again at the end. It was a really cool part of Resi 4.

So why don't we have an "Assignment Ada" campaign in Resident Evil 2 Remake? I'm sure fans wouldn't mind even if it was paid DLC to be honest. What fans would love to know is what Ada got up to in the events of Resident Evil 2 - whether that's the original game or the Remake, regardless, fans want to see it. Capcom can put some story together and let her take on Birkin or Tyrant or perhaps another boss, perhaps the Moth boss or a Giant Spider, both of what was not put in the Remake for reasons unknown?

This is something fans want and I'd love it for Capcom to already be working on this without us even knowing!

3. More Streets

One disappointment from fans and myself when it comes to Resi 2 Remake was simply that we weren't on the streets for very long. The Raccoon City streets are iconic, and we only spend probably 10 minutes maximum on them, and for the most part they don't even resemble how they did in the original game. I was happy when playing Claire's campaign that they did put in the basketball court and the bus, but overall I think fans wanted the same streets of 1998 done in 2019, and even more streets to explore before arriving at the police station, but in the end it felt we got less. It's what I would have done if I had any power at Capcom at all, it was a bit disappointing but it's done now.

4. Brad Vickers

Where was Brad? Again it's not a big part of the original game but it's something people question when it comes to what was missing. It was great having what was basically an Easter Egg in the original game, and it did have a purpose because you had to take care of Brad to get access to alternative costumes in the game. So to take him out of the game was just disappointing.

In fact they could have made a similar scenario with Brad where we find out what happened to him, either during the events of Resi 2 or Resi 3, or both. It was, after all, a matter of days between the events of the games so they could have easily had a situation happen either where Nemesis didn't actually fully kill Brad, or have him added to the Ghost Survivors campaign that's already been done as DLC. Either way, just removing him completely wasn't the best move in my opinion.

5. Tyrant Mode

Again, not my idea but it's certainly something that would be awesome! Why not have a mode in the game where we control Tyrant? We could either make it so we actually have to go through a gauntlet of enemies, like 4th Survivor, before either taking on William Birkin (revenge!) or taking on Leon or Claire as a final boss.

Another way of doing Tyrant Mode is simply have the campaign of Claire and/or Leon but we swap them for Tyrant instead, and we just play the game as normal. It'd have to be a midget Tyrant though or one that can bend through small rooms because he is massive! Either way, I'd love a DLC where we can play as one of the most iconic bad guys of Resident Evil, and I know I'm not alone in wanting that.

So there we go! I hope you've enjoyed reading this article. I'm sure some people won't agree with everything I've said, and perhaps may think I'm being too critical. I promise you I have nothing but love for the Remake Capcom have given us. These are just small criticisms or tweaks I'd have suggested if I, in some fantasy world, got a chance to work with Capcom in hindsight. Overall this is a brilliant Remake.

By the way - I'd like to also mention that as a huge fan of William Birkin - Capcom, thank you. Thank you so much for doing him complete justice. I wrote an article on this website back in 2011 about how great The Transformations of William Birkin were, and how much I loved them. Birkin is a brilliant monster and he looks just as good in 2019 as he did in 1998. They really did make him just as ugly and monstrous and as brutal as he was all of those years ago. Thank you Capcom.

What changes would have you made? What do you agree or disagree with me on? Let me know in the comments below! Until next time, take care!

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The Mercy Side: I'm Going to Disneyland!

Here's my first wrestling article in nearly two months. Enjoy.

I may not be writing as often as I used to anymore but that’s because of time, not because of my lack of interest in doing it. I still play video games, listen to music, watch football games and watch wrestling. I just don’t often get the chance to jot my thoughts down on anything anymore, which is a shame. But in the wrestling world, one of the most intriguing, most entertaining, and most unpredictable storylines in recent memory is the program that’s occurring between Kane and Daniel Bryan.

I’m a huge Kane fan. I have been for a long time. And while Daniel Bryan individually is by far my favourite wrestler at the moment, and has been for about half a year now, this article is actually in homage to Kane. You see, Kane is a character and wrestler who is always overlooked by both his peers and the younger talent. Back in the late nineties, there were far more popular wrestlers than Kane. He was a medium fish in a huge tank in those days, in comparison arguably larger fish in The Rock, Stone Cold Steve Austin, Triple H, Shawn Michaels, Mankind and The Undertaker. Then when that tank got smaller, new talent were still considered bigger fish; Chris Jericho, Kurt Angle, Chris Benoit. Then the new breed came in when the fish tank was getting smaller still; John Cena, Randy Orton, Edge, Jeff Hardy, Brock Lesnar and now CM Punk. At this time Kane’s medium sized fish was shrinking. He was getting older, slower, less interesting.

One thing they tried to keep Kane’s character fresh was take Kane’s mask off. This was a huge angle. I never thought they’d get Kane to take his mask off; it was key to his character and a fundamental part of his look. Kane was supposedly burnt in a fire as a kid so the idea behind the mask was to cover up his scarred face. And while Glen Jacobs, the man who portrays Kane, has a menacing look on him, it took away a huge part of Kane that made him so scary in the first place. The only reason why I’d have been happy for Kane to lose his mask was if the WWE were to actually give him the push to the top he deserved for such a long time. They never really did.

Something that always used to annoy me about the WWE was that they burderned Kane with a one day title reign for so long. I never thought he deserved to lose the title in one day, after finally getting to the top and get a win over Stone Cold Steve Austin in the process. I thought that was terrible; at the time Kane was still one of the most interesting characters on TV, even in the fruitful attitude era. He didn’t deserve that. No one does really. It’s one of the reasons why I feel sorry for Dolph Ziggler and Rey Mysterio and their terrible title reigns. What’s a bigger crime though is that it took over 12 years for him to not only get another World Heavyweight Title reign, but for him to have a good crack at the top. Kane had a decent run as champion a couple of years ago, and his program while wasn’t great, his character was pretty damn entertaining.

It's hard to remember this ever happening.

Who was he in a program with as World Heavyweight Champion? Oh yeah, some guy called The Undertaker. Kane has the unfortunate title as being an Undertaker-lite. In nearly every way possible, Kane is inferior to The Undertaker. He’s a big guy like The Undertaker, but in the ring he can’t compare to Big Evil. The Undertaker is unparalleled when it comes to big guys and their ability in the ring. He’s untouchable. Kane however, is a damn good wrestler, for a man of 7 feet and 320 pounds; he can fly across that ring and put on a very good show. His moveset is distinctive despite him sharing his finishers with The Undertaker. On the microphone, The Undertaker, when on form, floors Kane in this respect too. Kane isn’t often given much time on the microphone, not because it’s a weakness, but because it’s against his character to talk too much. But he’s still very good; one of the highlights of the disappointing program between Kane and The Undertaker for the World title two years ago was Kane’s “reveal all” promo where he explained his plot for the title all along and how The Undertaker fell for it. That promo was gold, and he was on the microphone for a good 10 minutes then, a rarity for Kane. His character is inferior to The Undertaker’s as well; in the respect that The Undertaker’s Deadman gimmick has lasted an incredible 22 years, bar the few years as The American Bad Ass, with few tweaks here and there. Kane has had to change his character over and over again, to avoid being too similar to The Undertaker, and yet maintain the entertainment value. Kane is less popular than The Undertaker in every other way possible too; fan opinion, backstage respect and reputation, merchandise, everything. Kane is exactly that, The Undertaker-lite.

But there is one thing that Kane can revert to that The Undertaker can’t. There’s one thing that Kane has the ability to do that The Undertaker can’t even begin to compare with, and that’s the ability to be funny. You can call it an underrated trait in a wrestler, but the ability to make an audience laugh is important. It’s entertaining; it’s an often overlooked quality in a wrestler. I can give you two very easy examples to back myself up on this. The first, Santino. Santino will never be a World Heavyweight Champion. He’s not good enough in the ring, not popular enough overall with any age demographic, not even kids. But if you remember The Elimination Chamber earlier this year, Santino was amazing. He was put into the match due to a concussion to Randy Orton, he was a surprise entrance really, and no one expected him to be given the spot in the match. But how the fans reacted. They knew he had no chance of winning the Elimination Chamber. They knew he was a huge underdog. And they supported him in his underdog role. Why? Because they knew his value as a comedy wrestler. And you know what? Santino delivered big time in the Elimination Chamber. He got by far the biggest pops in that match when he dug in deep and survived to the final two in the chamber, with Daniel Bryan. It was a simple story, but if it wasn’t for Santino playing the funny guy so well now for a number of years, we wouldn’t have got that great performance from Santino.

Secondly is Daniel Bryan himself. Daniel Bryan is a great story in today’s WWE. A little indie guy who happens to be the best technical wrestler since Chris Benoit, gets his chance at glory by winning Money in the Bank, and cashes in. But he’s still one of the most entertaining wrestlers in the roster, in my opinion; he’s been the most entertaining wrestler for a good half year now. And why? Because he’s just so funny. He knows how to garner a reaction. And his in ring ability is unquestionable; it’s always been the ability to play a character that people questioned. And how he’s backed that ability up. He gets probably more time on TV than any other wrestler nowadays. It speaks volumes, it really does. And it’s the comedy element to his character that makes him stand out, even when he’s not heading into a World Title at the moment. Because he’s such a good wrestler, the true best in the world I’d say at this time, and because he’s so entertaining and funny, it’s inevitable he’ll be given that reward at the top again very soon.

I admit it, I'm a huge Brothers of Destruction mark. I have no shame.

Because Kane is immediately compared in every way to The Undertaker in everything he does, not only because he’s the storyline brother of The Undertaker, but also because he too has an evil streak, is a big guy that has a similar move set, Kane has to adjust himself in a way that’s different to The Undertaker. I think deep down Glen Jacobs knows that he’s just not as good in most ways to The Undertaker. Sometimes it’s good to accept that you’re not #1 and just be the best you can, and be better in ways others can’t. And Kane does that by being funny, in usually inappropriate or unexpected ways.


Kane has a great career in comedy segments. Because it’s not every week, every time we see him and a little unexpected when it does happen, it’s often absolutely hilarious. Kane does evil and sinister segments, he does horror slapstick segments (usually badly, take the Paul Bearer freezer storyline as an example), and he also does comedy. One of my all time favourite funny moments from Kane is when he’s preparing a six-man tag team match with The Rock and Hulk Hogan, and his partners are discussing how they’re not too sure how to deal with The Big Red Machine. Kane walks in and just tears the roof off with his amazing impressions of The Rock and Hulk Hogan, hulking up, posing, everything. It’s just brilliant. It came out of nowhere and was just one of my favourite segments ever. What about the celebratory Santino trumpet segment from last year? Kane was just turning into a good guy but wasn’t quite there yet at the time, and was in an eight-man tag team match with Santino, Big Show and Vladmir Kozlov; his three partners start doing the trumpet celebration and Kane just stands there in disgust. Then all of a sudden he just starts joining in. It’s just moments like that that Kane can get away with, in a way that The Undertaker can’t, and he’s just so good at it.

Which brings me to his current program with Daniel Bryan. I truly believe that the paring of these two unexpectedly funny guys wasn’t planned long term. I believe everyone thought they’d have a program that ended with Daniel Bryan being put over by Kane to the top again, because Kane has spent long periods of his career putting smaller wrestlers over, which is another trait he’s better than The Undertaker at. But the segments have been just so funny consistently over the last couple of months that they’ve started to pair them and even gave them the Tag Team Titles. The Tag Team Titles were almost inevitably being readied for Rey Mysterio and Sin Cara to the point that the writing was pretty much engrained on the belt, but with Kane and Daniel Bryan working so well together with their fantastic chemistry, plans have changed. And while Daniel Bryan is a really big part of why this team is so successful on TV, Kane needs more credit in his role.

The "hug it out" segment was comedy gold.

That’s the purpose of this article. To pay homage to Kane, something that isn’t done enough. Sure, there have been better wrestlers than Kane, in many different ways; in ring ability, on the microphone, everything. I’m not taking anything away from these wrestlers. I’m not taking anything away from The Undertaker, who in most ways is better than Kane. I prefer The Undertaker to Kane myself. But Kane is just not praised enough for the role he’s done consistently since 1995. That’s fifteen years service. He’s a scary monster, he’s a big wrestler but can wrestle really well, he’s decent on the microphone, he’s put more smaller wrestlers over in that time than most other wrestlers (Chris Jericho may trump, but I doubt many others do in the past 15 years). But he’s also a very, VERY funny guy. I don’t know if it’s Glen Jacobs the man who has decided that comedy segments are good for his character, or if it’s Vince McMahon, or multiple other people over the years that have created storylines for him, but it works. It’s always worked. And Kane, I thank you for your fantastic work throughout your career. You’ll always be one of my favourite wrestlers. And one more thing Kane, I really, truly, deeply hope you enjoyed Disneyland. Thanks for reading.


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The Mercy Side: Attitude Adjustment

Here's my first wrestling article in nearly eight months. Enjoy.

I've been thinking of writing this article for over a week. And with an epic 1000th episode of Monday Night Raw occurring yesterday, I thought that I'd forget writing this article due to the state of wrestling changing so quickly on a weekly basis, it may not have been relevant. But after the events of the milestone episode, it's actually done the opposite. It's made this article even more relevant.

What I want to talk to you about today is this chap you might know if you watch wrestling called John Cena. What a career he has had. 35 years old, he's already a 12 time world champion and he doesn't look like he's losing steam any time soon. He's sold more merchandise in the 2000s than any wrestler, he's attracted more fans to the product more than any other wrestler. Since the days of Stone Cold Steve Austin and The Rock, no one has come really close to the value of John Cena.

People are divided in opinion on John Cena. He's stale, he doesn't sell moves very well, or for very long, his moveset is repetitive and overdone. He's superman, never letting people get over. But he still works his absolute ass off to give as entertaining a product he can possibly give. He cares about wrestling, he cares about the WWE and the fans. There's no denying that. I have a huge amount of respect for the man, despite how certain smarter fans feel about him.

Despite all that John Cena has accomplished, there's just one thing that the man has lacked in his career, in my eyes anyway. And that's a true rivalry. Now before you drop your cereal out of your mouth (or doughnut, hamburger, or any other food you're obviously eating right now, don't deny it), there's someone you might have thought about already - Edge. There's no denying that if there's one man that John Cena can call a rival throughout his career, it's that man.

John Cena and Edge had a long term rivalry from around 2005 to 2010.

They did have some good matches, that's true. The best probably being the TLC Match at Unforgiven 2006. They helped each other become as big stars as they are; John Cena as previously mentioned was the star attraction of the naughties and Edge was one of the finer wrestlers of that decade. They both put each other over many times and had some great segments. Both Edge and John Cena have said in interviews that the other person is their greatest rival in their careers.

So why am I saying Edge isn't the true rival of John Cena? It's hard to explain in some ways. Some key points for me are, for the most part, I don't feel Edge has ever been John Cena's equal. While they did have some very good matches, they had some duds as well. And not only that, but they wrestled each other so often it, similar to Cena's career in some ways, became stale. To have a great rivalry both wrestlers need to be on equal footing in most ways, and I never felt that Edge and Cena really were. Edge was always a step below Cena for most of his career.

What is a true rivalry then? Well the most obvious one to me is Stone Cold Steve Austin and The Rock. While it's well documented that the top star of the Attitude Era was Stone Cold, The Rock was right up there with him. Did The Rock sell as much merchandise or PPVs as Stone Cold? No, I suppose not, although his star power for last year's Wrestlemania was a true shot in that direction. But there is no denying that there were two men that were on top of the Attitude Era and that was those two guys. And they always had amazing matches. Always. Their matches are legendary in the WWE. There's no denying that.

Arguably the greatest wrestling feud in WWE history.

And one thing there is no denying is they were booked quite equally. Sure, Stone Cold didn't put The Rock over until their last match, but the feud, the promos, and the actual wrestling in itself, was equal. The line was drawn very finely; it felt that the only reason why The Rock could not beat Stone Cold was through bad luck, rather than being the inferior wrestler. And the fact that they didn't wrestle against each other very often is another reason why I think it works. John Cena and Edge had countless matches it was boring. I can only think of three or four matches of the top of my head that The Rock and Stone Cold had. I'm sure they may have had more, but it definitely wasn't as many as Edge/Cena.

Which brings me to answer your question of who I think, long term, could be John Cena's truest rival. My answer is simply CM Punk.

There are so many similarities between John Cena and CM Punk and The Rock and Stone Cold. Neither sets of wrestlers wrestled each other often. Cena and The Rock were brought into the WWE by failing at something else first, Cena with bodybuilding and The Rock with American football. CM Punk and Stone Cold had to claw their way to the top of the wrestling ladder; CM Punk had to go through Ring of Honor and had to wait until last year's Summer of Punk before he was finally given the platform to really show what he can do. Stone Cold had failed at WCW and was only brought to the WWE because he was a good technical wrestler, he was never going to be more than an enhancement talent until the amazing 3:16 promo occurred.

The Rock and Stone Cold had fluid matches; they oozed quality for upto half an hour. John Cena and Edge doesn't compare in quality to the Rock/Stone Cold series, not consistently anyway. The Rock, as good a wrestler as he was has a similar problem that John Cena has, in that he had to have the right opponent to have a true quality match. The Rock is a better wrestler overall, at least in my opinion, but still he had that same problem. Where as Stone Cold and CM Punk can have great matches with a variety of opponents. Most importantly, The Rock drove Stone Cold to having world class matches he drove him further than anyone else did in his entire career. I believe John Cena does that with CM Punk. I don't feel Edge did.

CM Punk could be Cena's true rival.

You know what made me think about this? I was so excited to hear about CM Punk vs John Cena last week. Really excited. I loved their two matches last year, at Money in the Bank and at Summerslam. They were the best matches of the year in my opinion, they were so fluid, so special, and you honestly didn't know who was going to win either match. And in the end, CM Punk won both matches. CM Punk walked away champion yesterday as well. Another thing that Stone Cold and CM Punk have in common with their rivals. You get the feeling CM Punk is the bogey wrestler to John Cena that Stone Cold was to The Rock. The Rock has said it himself many times, he didn't feel like he truly was 'the man' until he finally beat Stone Cold. I think it could make a great story to keep CM Punk as Cena's bogey wrestler.

Last night CM Punk turned heel again. At first I was thinking this was a bad move. Why? Because CM Punk is so hot right now in the WWE. He's the first wrestler to finally knock John Cena off merchandise. Sure John Cena is still king of selling the product, but CM Punk is catching up. And shirt sales going in CM Punk's favour is a sign of that. CM Punk, unlike John Cena, is cool with all ages and genders of viewership. It feels inevitable long term that CM Punk might finally be the true top guy in the WWE. The WWE definitely have him as their #2 guy now, finally knocking Randy Orton out of that position. I still feel it may be a bad move, in the respect that CM Punk might be too over to be truly booed. The smarter fans will definitely cheer for him, especially if he does go for this rematch against Cena at Summerslam, which feels inevitable.

But the heel turn, despite of my mixed feelings, means one thing. We should get another, great CM Punk and John Cena match. I don't want Cena/Punk shoved down my throat over the course of the autumn though. One match at Summerslam, and then separate them again. I want John Cena and CM Punk to be the new Rock/Stone Cold. It has truly can be. CM Punk's heel turn, the adjustment in his attitude, makes him opposite Cena again. And of course, it makes him opposite The Rock again, which is another match I desperately want to see at the Royal Rumble. CM Punk/Rock could be great as well.

I'm really looking forward to wrestling again now. John Cena vs CM Punk, Brock Lesnar vs Triple H and Chris Jericho vs Dolph Ziggler seem set for Summerslam. That's an awesome trilogy of matches. I just hope the WWE don't make Cena/Punk stale long term, it has all the ingredients for greatness.

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1991 in Music Review

Hey everyone, welcome to the ninth edition in a series of reviews of a year in music. So far I have covered all the 2000s together as the Noughtie series, and so far 1999, then 1998, followed by 1997 and 1996, 1995, 1994, 1993 and 1992.

Just in case you’re not familiar with it, here’s the format. It will be done in five parts. I'll do a brief history of what happened in that year, followed by my five favourite albums of the year, then what I think the five best videos are. I'll then do a Top 10 most impactful (still refraining from using the word important) songs from that year. To wrap it up, I'll do my favourite songs in a mixtape format. So now that you know where I'm going with this, let's get to it!

1991 was an odd year for music. Probably until September, when “you know what” got released by Nirvana, it pretty much felt like the old guard getting rusty from the eighties. Times were changing, the people who found success in the eighties were struggling to take to this change, and people wanted something new, something fresh. Nirvana and the grunge movement brought that, but it didn’t really come to full effect until 1992. So what we have here is a mixture of good and… okay. Enjoy the review!

Brief History of the Year 1991 in Music

• Nirvana release "Nevermind", one of the, if not the biggest album released since, and the grunge genre movement explodes to the mainstream
• Lead singer of Queen, Freddie Mercury, dies of AIDS.
• Oasis form, becoming probably the biggest British band of the nineties.
• Metallica release their self titled album (also called The Black Album), their most successful album in their 31 year career.
• Rage Against the Machine form, starting the nu-metal era of metal, and become one of the most outspoken and controversial bands of the nineties.
• Talking Heads, one of the biggest post-punk and new wave bands of all time, disband. They would only play one more time together, in 2002, when they were inducted into the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame.

My Top 5 Albums of 1991

#5 – “Blood Sugar Sex Magik” by the Red Hot Chili Peppers

Released: 24/9/91

Rating: ***3/4 stars

Stand-out tracks: “Breaking the Girl”, “Give it Away”, “They’re Red Hot” 

I love the Chilis. They’re a great band. They make music like no other artist out there. There are have been a few bands that have tried to put their spin on the funk rock sound that the Chilis have perfected but none have had anywhere near the success that the Red Hot Chili Peppers have. But my problem with the Chilis is that their album material is usually a step down from their singles. Quite consistently in their career. Now I’m sure there are many people who disagree with me on that of course. It’s just me, I know. Blood Sugar Sex Magik is a great album though, I thoroughly enjoy listening to it. I mean, it’s the same pattern, the singles are by far the best songs on the album, but the non-singles are fun too. If I were to recommend one Chilis album, it’d probably be this.

#4 – “Out of Time” by R.E.M.

Released: 12/3/91

Rating: ***3/4 stars

Stand-out tracks: “Losing My Religion”, “Shiny Happy People”, “Radio Song”

Why the Radio Song is not on any Greatest Hits album R.E.M. have released is beyond me. What a cool track that is.

Anyway, “Out of Time” is an R.E.M. effort that I forgot about, until I made this article for your pleasure. It surprised me a little with how good it is. I mean I do prefer “Automatic for the People”, but I take nothing away from this album, it’s a cracker. One of my favourite non-singles is “Country Feedback” a song really pulls at the heartstrings, and was so good that it was released on R.E.M.’s final release of compilation tracks. Michael Stipe has also called that his favourite ever song, which is quite the statement. There’s a lot of gold on “Out of Time”, and deserves a lot of respect as one of R.E.M.’s finest albums.

#3 – “Look Mom, No Head!” by The Cramps

Released: November 1991

Rating: ****1/4 stars

Stand-out tracks: “Bend Over, I'll Drive”, “Dames, Booze, Chains and Boots”, “I Wanna Get in Your Pants”

Look at Poison Ivy. Man, she was so hot.

Anyway, I love The Cramps. I don’t swear often on this site but it deserves it here. I fucking love The Cramps. If I were to list you a set of bands that deserve more attention for their discography The Cramps would be very high on that list. The Cramps are a band that started a genre. Psychobilly wouldn’t exist if it wasn’t for The Cramps. They’re so good, and while their songs going into the nineties were slowly losing quality, this is their last great effort. There are some absolute gems on this album; those three songs above are there for starters. They only released one single off it with “Eyeball in My Martini”, which is pretty good, but some of the other non-singles are brilliant. Just look at those song titles. Aren’t they brilliant? You know what you’re going to get with The Cramps, dirty yet sexy licks, with funny innuendo in their lyrics. They’re just a band that really deserves more attention; please PLEASE check them out if you’ve never heard them before. You’re missing out!

#2 – “Metallica” by Metallica

Released: 12/8/91

Rating: ****1/2 stars

Stand-out tracks: “Enter Sandman”, “The Unforgiven”, “Sad But True”

There are two albums from the year 1991 that probably get more recognition and praise than any other. It doesn’t matter who you are, what music you like, or anything else, there are two albums that trumped everything else in terms of attention and longevity. These two albums are to put simply, two of the greatest albums of all time.

First is “The Black Album”, or the self titled “Metallica” album. That’s got to be one of the coolest album covers ever. I’m not the biggest Metallica fan, especially for their albums, but if you love metal, it doesn’t matter what type of metal you like, you have to listen to this. It goes without saying. It’s just from the first track to the last, pure quality in the metal genre. The Black Album oozes brilliance throughout. It’s amazing how fucking good this album really is. And as I said, I’m not a huge Metallica fan, and it’s still damn good. You simply, can’t call yourself a metal fan until you appreciate this album. It’s a true classic, a true piece of legendary music that will go down in history as one of the finest albums ever recorded. It’s that simple.

#1 – “Nevermind” by Nirvana

Released: 24/9/91

Rating: ****1/2 stars

Stand-out tracks: “Endless Nameless”, “Breed”, “Territorial Pissings”

It’s probably not a surprise that this is my favourite album from 1991. But what you may find surprising is that I found it very hard to give this a star rating of ****1/2 stars. It’s one of those albums that for me is between ****1/4 and ****1/2, but because of the nostalgia, the impact and the significance of the album, I gave it the latter rating.

This isn’t my favourite Nirvana album. In fact, a case can be made that it’s my least favourite Nirvana album. But no one can dispute that this album is great. It’s a fantastic album. It annoys me when a lot of people talk about this album being crap. It’s not. It’s far from it. But… it was overplayed. Nirvana as a band, we’re overplayed, overhyped. I wouldn’t say overrated, but they got so much attention and it was shoved in everyone’s throats for a long long time. Nevermind was played so much during the nineties, especially “Smells Like Teen Spirit”. And as I say, rightfully so in a certain way as it is a great album. But enough was enough.

If you take away all the hype and attention away and strip this album down to its core and listen to it, it’s a great effort. It’s not the best, but it’s damn good. There are some fantastic songs on here, and the music singles were awesome too. They’re just not my favourite tracks on the album. But if, somehow, you haven’t heard this album, I do recommend you listen to it at least once. Regardless of your taste in music, if you like metal, rock, grunge, pop, dance music, RnB, it doesn’t matter. This is an album that strips musical barriers, and appeals to a vast audience. Simply at its core, “Nevermind” is a legendary album that is an album you have to hear before you die. It’s as simple as that.

My Top 5 Music Videos of 1991

#5 – “Give it Away” by Red Hot Chili Peppers 

I have to be honest 1991 wasn’t really that great for videos but one that always stands out is “Give it Away” by the Chili’s. How can a video where half naked men in shiny pants and make up in a black and while video be considered so popular? It’s beyond me in some ways but no one can deny how this video became iconic. You have to give credit to the director as the video matches the song perfectly, it’s lively, it’s a little crazy and it actually looks fun to direct. Just like the song “Give it Away” is all of those things to a certain extent. “Give it Away” is just a video you have to see to understand, and to experience.

#4 – “Smells Like Teen Spirit” by Nirvana

It may be an odd choice but this was a great music video. It’s not the best music video in the world, and it doesn’t have much artistic direction, but it’s so iconic. It’s a legendary music video. And yes, it is purely because of the attention the song and the band got, but regardless, this is a good music video. It shows what Nirvana do best, play music in a raw and hostile environment. I love all the shots of the dirty gymnasium, the greasy hair, the playing hard, the cheerleaders, everything. It’s just a music video that does exactly what music videos are supposed to do, promote the song and promote the band. And it does both of these things perfectly.

#3 – “Shiny Happy People” by R.E.M. 

I forgot how hot Kate Pierson is in this video, and at the age of 43 as well. What? What can I say? I love redheads! Anyway, I can’t help but love this video. I think it’s just because band members are all trying their hardest to look happy but all still look discretely despondent, with the exception of Kate Pierson anyway, of the B52’s, whose smiles just gleam the video camera lense. The video is just great, it’s just totally watchable despite not much really happening apart from the above, in front of a large painting of childrens drawings of ‘happy people’. It’s just an awesome video. Oh and one more thing, Michael Stipe’s incredibly brown suit and cap turned sideways is another amazing highlight of the video.

#2 – “Black or White” by Michael Jackson

If you’re wondering once again I’m including Michael Jackson when I don’t include pop artists as a rule it’s because I think Michael Jackson is above and beyond genre dividing. Michael Jackson is a member of an elite elite ELITE set of musicians of probably 5 to 10 bands or performers that are untouchable.

“Black or White” is possibly an odd choice for some of you. There’s, of course, the debate about the message of the video anyway, considering the weird change of skin colour of Michael Jackson throughout the eighties and nineties. But take that situation out of the way for a moment and you have a very cheesy, yet entertaining music video.

Macaulay Culkin plays as the kid who loves rock music and pisses his father off, and when getting told off, retorts by cranking his electric guitar volume to a ridiculous level, and the father gets blown away by the noise to what looks like Africa, where Michael Jackson is dancing and singing the song (so weird to say that sentence). It’s very cheesy but behind the cheese is a very serious message about equality and diversity amongst the races of humanity. At the end of the video was quite memorable and innovative at the time, is loads of people’s faces of different skin colour and complexions morphing from one person to another. This type of imagery and technology was rarely used before Michael Jackson used it in this video, so it was pretty cool. This video is pretty good but cheesy.

Just in case you were wondering, the original video was quite controversial as it had racial graffiti all over it, but this isn’t the version I’m placing at #2 in my list, but the revised version now found all over music channels that cuts this section out.

#1 – “Enter Sandman” by Metallica

What can I say about “Enter Sandman”? It’s just one of the best music videos of the early nineties. What it lacks in technological quality it makes up in vivid imagery. The video pretty much follows the lyrics song, and deals with a child who can’t sleep properly and dreams vividly of the Sandman, who, in the video, is a very strange old man that is haunting the little girl. The girl falls from the top of a building, gets covered in snakes, gets chased by a truck and falls from a mountain while trying to escape the truck, all the while the Sandman lurks in and around her dreams throughout the video. And while all of these events are happening, the band is playing in parts and throughout the entire time, the screen is flickering, only showing you in parts what’s happening. It’s just a truly magnificent video, especially when it aired in 1991, and one that really needs to be seen if not seen before.

The Top 10 Most Impactful Songs of 1991

As I said, I'm NOT calling it the 'important' list, although it's more than just popularity as well. Anyway, here are the 10 songs of the year. It's an unbiased list.

#10 – “I’m Too Sexy” by Right Said Fred

By trade this is a pop song of course, but it’s status is legendary as a one-hit wonder of a balanced feeling of cringe and awesomeness. I mean that. This song is absolutely awesome, but it’s cringe-worthy at the same time. It’s just a truly remarkable song of cheese, slime and facepalmingly bad lyrics but I dare you not to like it. This track got to #2 in the UK charts, but it’s never gone away. It’s too bad not to go away. Right Said Fred has made a career from this song and you will like it, if you like it or not. That didn’t make sense. In summary, you love this song so don’t deny it!

#9 – “You Could Be Mine” by Guns ‘n’ Roses

Getting to #3 in the UK charts, this GnR song was their highest charting single in our country until they released “Knockin’ On Heavens Door” a year later, and the video promoted the classic film “Terminator 2: Judgement Day”, one of my favourite films ever. It’s tainted nowadays by arguably better songs like “Paradise City”, “Welcome to the Jungle” and “November Rain”, but for Guns ‘n’ Roses to get a #3 hit was quite a big deal, and kudos to them for that. Sorry, I’m not a big fan of Guns ‘n’ Roses or this song! But yeah, you can’t argue facts, and facts are that in 1991 this was a big hit. A very big hit.

#8 – “The Fly” by U2

Probably by today’s standards this song isn’t that popular in comparison to other U2 songs, but this song got to #1 in the UK and at the time showed a very different side to the band, a slightly harder edge. The song is probably more famous for being the song that knocked Bryan Adams’ “Everything I Do (I Do it for You)” off the #1 spot after a 16 week stay up there. That being said it’s only U2’s second #1 single in the UK, and they’ve had seven. It definitely showed that U2 are capable of branching their sound to different genres so kudos to them for that.

#7 – “There’s No Other Way” by Blur

Before the days of “Girls and Boys”, “Parklife”, “Country House”, “Song 2” and “Coffee and TV” came “There’s No Other Way”, only Blur’s second single, and the single that brought them huge mainstream attention. The rest of Blur’s career speaks for itself, but if it weren’t for this song, life would have been a lot more difficult for the Britpop band that made such an impact over the course of this decade. It’s one of Blur’s more simple songs, but it’s still exceptionally catchy, and got to #8 in the UK.

#6 – “The Show Must Go On” by Queen

If there’s any song by Queen that’s tragic on a personal level it’s probably this. The song got to #16, and was written primarily by legendary guitarist Brian May, and speaks volumes of the pain that Freddie Mercury was going through in the final year of his life. So much in fact, there were many concerns whether or not Freddie Mercury could actually sing the song, but in Brian May’s words, despite all his struggles, Freddie Mercury “he went in and killed it, completely lacerated that vocal”. So strong is Freddie’s performance in this song you’d be hard to believe he had any problems at all, but that was the strength of the man. This was Queen’s last single in the life of Freddie Mercury. He died six weeks later.

#5 – “Black or White” by Michael Jackson

It may have got to #1 in the UK (and in no fewer than fourteen other countries) but this song has really tainted over time as a song that is considered a great Michael Jackson song. It’s not bad don’t get me wrong, but over his entire career his nineties work is really not taken in high regard, and even when compared to his other songs of the nineties, this song still doesn’t really shine ‘brilliance’. Maybe it’s due to the fact that Michael Jackson is asking us all not to judge a man or woman by the colour of their skin, yet the mysteries of his skin colour changing over time definitely questions that logic. Regardless of is Michael Jackson had skin pigmentation surgery or not, this song and its ethic and moral message, is still important, and obviously the song had a fantastic impact in 1991.

#4 – “Under the Bridge” by Red Hot Chili Peppers

It was initially hard to choose between “Give it Away” and “Under the Bridge” as the Chili’s song from the classic “Blood Sugar Sex Magik” album but after a deeper thought it became very obvious that this song had to be included in a list of songs that created the most impact. Sure, on a commercial level, “Give it Away” is the cooler, funkier, more mainstream track, but deeper down, on a personal level for Anthony Kiedis himself, and as a song that has created more for the band long term, there’s barely no dispute that this is one of the Chili Peppers’ finest moments in their illustrious career. What a song this is. Getting to #13 in the UK, it’s only one of two songs in the entire Chili’s discography to go platinum in the US (the other being the far inferior “Dani California”). It’s just a beautifully sad song that deals with loneliness and depression, and is one of Kiedis’ finest pieces of music.

#3 – “Losing My Religion” by R.E.M.

Once again, another song by another band has been more successful (this time it’s “Shiny Happy People”) but is omitted for a song that may not have charted as high, but has had a far larger impact on the career of the band long term. “Losing My Religion” got to #19, their second biggest hit in the UK at the time (“The One I Love” got to #16). The song’s lyrics deal with pining for someone who doesn’t really feel the same way, a feeling I’m sure we’re all very familiar with. But the song is much more famous for the riff on the mandolin, an instrument Peter Buck, the guitarist was only starting to learn at the time. It’s such a beautiful instrument and is the key to why this song is so memorable. What a song.

#2 – “Enter Sandman” by Metallica

Getting to #5 in the UK is no easy feat for a metal artist, but Metallica did just that with this blistering effort (they also did it a second time with “Until it Sleeps”). It’s arguably one of, if not the biggest Metallica song ever. The lyrics are infamous, the music video memorable, but nothing can beat the opening intro of the song. It’s absolutely sublime; it’s one of the best openings to a song ever. “Enter Sandman” is responsible for turning heads to how good metal can sound, and then “The Black Album” solidified that foundation. It’s such a huge track, such a brilliant song, and it’ll forever go down in history as one of metal’s finest efforts.

#1 – “Smells Like Teen Spirit” by Nirvana

It’s not really a dispute about what was the most “Impactful” song of 1991. You can easily make a case that this song made a bigger impact than any song of the nineties. But that’s a conversation for another day. For today, is the day we celebrate “Smells Like Teen Spirit”, THE song of the year 1991.

My opening paragraph talks about how the old guard of the eighties were losing their hold on the change in music. Something was needed to shake music up, but nothing new was really coming. Until September. “Smells Like Teen Spirit” changed music history forever.

I don’t even know how or why. It’s not as if it’s the most amazing song. Nirvana have made much better songs than this. I mean, I really like “Teen Spirit” but I prefer other songs. But something happened, something clicked, a bond was made between audience and song, and it changed Nirvana forever. It changed grunge forever, alternative rock and music changed. Suddenly bands who were previously considered uncool became cool and it changed the pop charts for a good amount of time. “Smells Like Teen Spirit” is responsible for that change, and if you like the song or not, you have to appreciate what impact this song had. It may have only got to #7 in the UK, but it simply changed everything.

The Year 1991 Mixtape

Just in case you didn't know by now...

"A Mixtape is a playlist of a certain genre, band or era. The list is generally 80 minutes long, the same length of a blank CD, with further recommendations if some of the songs aren’t to your taste. Remember kids, downloading is wrong!" 

So here we go! My favourite songs from the year 1991. Yes, this is a biased list.

You can now listen to this playlist on YouTube! Just click here!

1. You Belong in Rock and Roll - David Bowie
2. I'm Going Slightly Mad – Queen
3. Losing My Religion - R.E.M.
4. There's No Other Way – Blur
5. Mistadobalina - Del the Funky Homosapien
6. Gett Off – Prince
7. Charly - The Prodigy
8. Sheela-Na-Gig - PJ Harvey
9. Love Your Money – Daisy Chainsaw
10. Planet of Sound – The Pixies
11. Rhinoceros - Smashing Pumpkins
12. Give it Away - Red Hot Chili Peppers
13. Smells Like Teen Spirit – Nirvana
14. Eyeball in My Martini - The Cramps
15. Hey Stoopid - Alice Cooper
16. Jesus Built My Hotrod - Ministry
17. Hangar 18 – Megadeth
18. Enter Sandman - Metallica

And here are the five alternative songs if you don't like some of the above...

1. How I Could Just Kill a Man - Cypress Hill
2. Black or White   - Michael Jackson
3. When You Don't See Me - Sisters of Mercy
4. Well, Did You Evah! - Iggy Pop and Deborah Harry
5. Kiss Them For Me - Siouxsie and the Banshees

And there we go! The year 1991 in review! Next month naturally I’ll be covering the final year in the nineties, 1990, and continue my descend into music history. What we your favourite songs and albums from 1991? Any other comments or queries? Raise them below. Thanks for your time.

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