We’ve known since the Captain Marvel film was first announced that Carol Danvers was headed to the ’90s, which meant a ripe opportunity for great music from the era. Now that we’ve seen the film, we can confirm the soundtrack is, indeed, awesome, featuring a number of hits and angry girl music that’s perfectly in toe with Carol’s characterization: disaffect, hair-in-face, flannel grunge girl.
To celebrate the film’s musical offerings, we’ve compiled a list of ’90s songs featured in the film along with the music videos from the bands that brought them to life.
“Whatta Man” – Salt-N-Pepa feat. En Vogue
This 1993 song by R&B group Salt-N-Pepa was a sampling and remix of the 1963 tune “What a Man” recorded by Linda Lyndell.
“Only Happy When it Rains” – Garbage
Garbage was one of the key alternative rock girl-led groups of the ’90s, and this song–released in 1995–came off their seminal album, Garbage.
“Man on the Moon” – R.E.M.
R.E.M. was one of the biggest bands of the ’90s. “Man on the Moon” came off their 1992 album, Automatic for the People. Another R.E.M. song, “Crush with Eyeliner,” also appears in Captain Marvel.
“Waterfalls” – TLC
It’s hard to stress to anyone who didn’t grow up in the ’90s just how huge TLC used to be. The three-person girl group was all over the radio, and this song from their album CrazySexyCool spent seven weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1995. The song also won two Grammys, for Record of the Year and Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal.
“You Gotta Be” – Des’ree
British singer Des’ree is a ’90s staple for a lot of reasons, the first arguably being her performance of “Kissing You” in Baz Luhrmann’s Romeo + Juliet. But this 1994 song was also a huge radio staple, and has appeared in movies The Next Karate Kid and The Object of My Affection, in addition to Captain Marvel.
“Come As You Are” – Nirvana
Arguably the most recognizable song in the film, this beloved Nirvana song plays during a key moment in the film. It comes off the band’s 1992 album, Nevermind.
“Just a Girl” – No Doubt
This song was the emblem of girl power during the ’90s, so it’s no surprise that it plays over one of the biggest action moments in Captain Marvel. No Doubt was impossible escape in the ’90s and this music video was iconic. We still want to be Gwen Stefani!
“Celebrity Skin” – Hole
Captain Marvel is a family affair, as it features music from both Nirvana and Hole– bands led by real-life married couple Kurt Cobain and Courtney Love. This song plays over the credits of the film, and is from the 1998 album of the same name.
Images: Disney, Marvel
