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Grex > Music2 > #223: Favorite Music Albums of the 1990's, the whole decade |  |
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krj
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Favorite Music Albums of the 1990's, the whole decade
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Jan 2 07:07 UTC 2000 |
And in this item, let's take a longer view and limit ourselves to items
actually released in the 1990s. "Spin" magazine picked Nirvana's
NEVERMIND for their album of the decade; what's your choice?
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krj
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response 1 of 48:
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Jan 2 07:09 UTC 2000 |
Hedningarna, KAKSI and TRA
My personal favorite discovery of the decade was the electric folk
music coming out of Scandinavia, and these two albums from the Swedish
band Hedningarna were the best: I played them constantly, over years.
Emmylou Harris, WRECKING BALL
Gillian Welch, REVIVAL
Emmylou's brilliant album with a great choice of songs, and
contemporary production from Daniel Lanois. Gillian Welch created
a masterfull illusion that she was from the 1940s backwoods, when
actually she's from LA. She's an exceptional songwriter.
Oyster Band, Deserters
Oyster Band, Holy Bandits
Oyster Band, Trawler
British folk-rock band which was brilliant in the 1980's; in the 1990s
these three pretty good albums launched them on a graceful downhill
slide. The next three albums, alas, I can barely listen to.
The Tansads, UP THE SHIRKERS
To Hell With Burgundy, ONLY THE WORLD
Two bright, chirpy English folk-pop bands. I've never heard the
genre done better.
Richard Thompson, RUMOR AND SIGH
Thompson's 1991 mostly-rock album was his best since his divorce from
Linda, and his contemporary ballad "1952 Vincent Black Lightning" seems
destined to go into the folk canon.
The Walkabouts, RAG & BONE / CATARACT
Just barely a 1990s release. This Seattle band was staking out some of the
territory which would become alt.country. Unfortunately they were signed
to SubPop, and that label had lost interest in anything which couldn't
be marketed as grunge. They lost their label, and then they lost their
songwriting gifts; one of several casualties of the post-Nirvana
grunge craze.
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krj
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response 2 of 48:
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Jan 2 07:11 UTC 2000 |
(( Music #56 <---> Winter Agora #223 ))
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clees
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response 3 of 48:
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Jan 2 20:00 UTC 2000 |
R.E.M. - Automatic for the people. A typical REM album, but one of their best.
Melancholy rules on this retrospective album. Stipe on his best but not too
pathetic.
Alanis Morisette - Jagged Little pil.
Like jumping the bandwagon. The first album as this was more pure than the
second.
Portishead - Dummy
Again triphop music. I like these desolate soundscapes. it's a relict from
my eighties post punk (goth) time.
Tori Amos - Little earthquakes.
Tori at her best. I could, in fact, mention any of her albums, but will stick
to this one as it gives me the best feel.
Nick Cave - Murder Ballads.
I simply like Nick Cave. (btw, not live, he can be an utter a@@s when on
stage).
Crowded House - Woodface.
great song structures, intelligent melodies.
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orinoco
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response 4 of 48:
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Jan 2 22:36 UTC 2000 |
Hmmm....
Earthling - David Bowie
Bowie purists don't like this one, but I don't like almost anything else
he's done, so we're even.
Boys For Pele - Tori Amos
I can see I'm gonna have to fight clees over the "best Tori album" thing.
This one is after her songwriting's had a chance to get a bit deeper, but
before she went all electronic.
My Secret Life - Sonia Dada.
These guys are my favorite recent discovery. A good rock/soul band from
Chicago. This is their third album, when they finally got their act together
and started writing good songs; the first two are okay, but nothing special.
Bitter - Me'Shell Ndegeocello
I read a review comparing this album to Joni Mitchell's "Blue," which makes
a lot of sense. This is hip-hop and Joni Mitchell...uh....isn't, but still...
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jerome
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response 5 of 48:
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Jan 2 22:44 UTC 2000 |
Exit Planet Dust - Chemical Brothers
Kick ass electronica.
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clees
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response 6 of 48:
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Jan 2 23:13 UTC 2000 |
No, you don't have to fight me over Boys for Pele. I have got the album.
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scott
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response 7 of 48:
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Jan 2 23:34 UTC 2000 |
Hmmmm... this is a toughie. I'll go glance at my CD collection and report
back on a few classics...
Jello Biafra, "No More Cocoons": Spoken word from a former punker, very
political, extremely funny.
Nine Inch Nails, "The Fragile": OK, it only came out this year, but I'm
gettinga lot out of it.
Southern Culture on the Skids, "Ditch Diggin'": 2nd major release, and my
long term favorite.
Aimee Mann, "Whatever": I can't believe she doesn't get more recogition.
This CD is on the short list if I'm ever in that unlikely desert-island-with
CD-player situation.
Tom Waits, "The Black Rider": Maybe I just need another year to really
appreciate "Mule Variations", but this early 90's release is a big favorite.
Primus, "Sailing the Seas of Cheese": The classic Primus album.
The Crow, Original Motion Picture Soundtrack: This is the one that spawned
the whole "songs from and inspired by" craze in movies. Needless to say, the
imitators aren't quite as good as the original.
Danny Elfman, "Batman soundtrack": Not that pop album by The Artist We Still
Refer to as Prince, but the original movie orchestral score. Massive,
brooding, and wonderful computer programming music.
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scott
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response 8 of 48:
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Jan 2 23:38 UTC 2000 |
(I'm sure we could find earlier movie song compilations, but "The Crow" was
the one that really made the genre)
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gnat
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response 9 of 48:
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Jan 3 03:23 UTC 2000 |
Lists, lists, lists...
Neutral Milk Hotel - "In the Aeroplane Over the Sea"
Demented yet incredibly moving "folk-pop," complete with singing saw,
zanzithophone, accordion, horns, and raw, powerful voicals. I almost
always cry at some point while listening to this.
Elvis Costello - "All This Useless Beauty"
I think I'm the only person in the world who likes this album. The
songwriting is brilliant and Elvis sings better than ever.
Kristin Hersh - "Hips and Makers"
Hersh leaves the Throwing Muses behind to record one of the best albums
of her career, featuring oblique but beautiful songs, perfect sparse
production, and of course Hersh's harrowing vocals.
Robyn Hitchcock - "Eye"
Hitchcock works through a broken relationship in his own distinctive
way, with a naked honesty not seen elsewhere in his music, plus his
usual dry humor and sinister surrealism.
Olivia Tremor Control - "Dusk at Cubist Castle"
Who said psychedelia was dead? Densely-layered pop with bemused lyrics
floats along on a gentle wave of ambient sound. Warning: prolonged
exposure may cause addiction. (Great live show, too!)
Uh, that's enough for now, I think.
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raven
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response 10 of 48:
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Jan 3 09:13 UTC 2000 |
I second Kristen Hersh Hips & Makers: The guitar and cello, and voice
come together in a way sensous raw, yet refined. This is the album
I put on at 3 am when nothing else will do.
Beck Mellow Gold: zany, funky polymath music
Utah Phillip & Ani DiFranco The Past Didn't Go Anywhere: Utah Phillip's
intelligent moving anarchist stories combine well with DiFranco's
understated folk/hop production.
Dee Lite World Clique: This 1990 album was influential on techno, acid
jazz, trip hop etc, sometimes you just have to shake your booty. :-)
Sonic Youth Goo: Yeah it's their first "sell out" album but I could listen
to "Kool Thing" on repeat for hours.
Bachir Attar The next Dream: Morrocan oboe like instruments in disonant
massed wailing sounds with dumbeks & a guest appearence by Maceo Parker.
Annabouboula Greek Fire:Greek club music with funky drums, clarinet, and
violin. Thinking booty shakin' music.
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richard
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response 11 of 48:
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Jan 3 15:35 UTC 2000 |
Im partial to the two albums topped many of the decade-best lists
REm's AUTOMATIC FOR THE PEOPLE and U2's "ACHTUNG BABY"
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dbratman
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response 12 of 48:
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Jan 3 18:58 UTC 2000 |
I suppose my favorite pop music discovery of the decade was Tori Amos,
although I hardly listen to her albums any more. ("Little Earthquakes"
best, and dropping off rapidly in chronological order from there.)
Favorite classical music composer discoveries of the decade: most
emphatically Michael Nyman and Michael Torke, whom I stumbled across
almost simultaneously in 1991/2, and have been listening to obsessively
ever since.
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gull
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response 13 of 48:
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Jan 3 20:23 UTC 2000 |
Hmm. "Under the Bushes, Under the Stars" by Guided by Voices is a big
favorite of mine, though it's a bit of an acquired taste. Many of the songs
are intentionally low-fi. (Often they were mastered on four-track
equipment.) All of them are quite short. But there's some killer hooks in
there.
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raven
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response 14 of 48:
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Jan 3 22:16 UTC 2000 |
re #13 Yep, another vote for Guided by Voices. I have bee Thousand,
"I am a scientist" is the ultimate lo-fi geek rock song. :-)
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gnat
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response 15 of 48:
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Jan 3 23:50 UTC 2000 |
re. #13 - 4-track doesn't necessarily equal lo-fi. "Sgt. Pepper's" was
done on 4-track, I believe.
I never got into GBV very much, but "Teenage FBI" is brilliant.
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gull
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response 16 of 48:
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Jan 4 00:01 UTC 2000 |
Depends on the four track. Cassette four-track *is* low-fi, by modern
standards. I don't know what exact variety of equipment GbV's stuff was
done on.
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beeswing
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response 17 of 48:
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Jan 4 02:53 UTC 2000 |
Liz Phair: "Exile in Guyville"
Sarah McLachlan: "Fumbling Towards Ecstasy"
Cure: "Wish"
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russ
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response 18 of 48:
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Jan 4 03:18 UTC 2000 |
Re #9: You aren't the only person who likes Elvis Costello.
I'd have shelves full of his stuff except that I play very little
music with lyrics, so it's not a good deal for me.
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gnat
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response 19 of 48:
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Jan 4 03:40 UTC 2000 |
I was referring just to that particular album ("All This Useless
Beauty"), I think. Deemed by many to be one of Elvis's low points,
but I highly disagree.
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mcnally
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response 20 of 48:
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Jan 4 04:38 UTC 2000 |
I can't say I thought much of "All This Useless Beauty" but then
I haven't *really* liked any album he's put out since the mid-80s
(IMHO he peaked in 1986 with two brilliant albums, "Blood & Chocolate"
and "King of America")
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krj
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response 21 of 48:
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Jan 4 04:54 UTC 2000 |
(IMHO he peaked in 1978 with his second album, THIS YEAR'S MODEL)
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senna
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response 22 of 48:
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Jan 4 05:42 UTC 2000 |
In no particular order,
Pearl Jam: Ten. The first album I ever listened to as a music fan.
It hooked me the moment the guitars began blazing, and I haven't
escaped since. There are so many wonderful layers and pieces to this
album, and it gets better with age. Ironically, it sort of defies the
alternative trends it helped to create, possessing far more creativity
and mainstream sense than its successors.
Tool: AEnima. The album that brings cerebral intensity to the
somewhat testosterone-filled medium of heavy metal, and the blend is
incredible. You can listen for the noise, of course, but the real
treasure is in the textures and extra touches in this album. It
features the brilliant "AEnema" (different spelling) as the climax
to "Third Eye's" denoument. Music doesn't get better than this.
Well, unless you prefer something a bit more mellow. If so, try REM's
Automatic For the People. It spawned the requisite radio singles, but
the best parts of the album are hidden for those who keep the cd
playing. "Sweetness Follows" provides an excellent follow-up to the
well-known "Everybody Hurts," and Nightswimming is one of the most
beautiful songs I have heard.
I'm more of a sucker for OK Computer, by Radiohead. There is little
not to like about this album. Other than kicking the amps up a bit
for "Electioneering" (a poor choice for a single), the album is
haunting and mellow. I find little not to like, and Radiohead is
capable of doing many great things before they're done. Their artistry
is astounding.
Special citations go to NIN:Broken, Radiohead:The Bends, Smashing
Pumpkins:Siamese Dream, and Rage Against the Machine. Lots of quality
for my cd players.
There are two albums which really ran the table and uphended music in
the decade, and I enjoy listening to both of them. They are
Nirvana:Nevermind, and Alanis Morissette:Jagged Little Pill.
Nevermind's afterglow is still obvious today, and it will go down as
one of the monumental groundbreaking albums in rock history.
Morissette had a slightly different effect. She 1. Laid the groundwork
for hordes of female artists to get a foothold, a movement that would
peak in such events as Lilith Fair, and 2. Ended the grunge age with a
grunge song, "You Oughtta Know," and bridged into an ear-friendly pop-
rock medium with the rest of her singles, all wildly successful. Post-
Pill, there has been a clear delineation between cheese alternative and
hard alternative, particularly on the radio.
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cyklone
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response 23 of 48:
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Jan 4 14:12 UTC 2000 |
I think you have your history a little skewed Senna. Alanis was the
*culmination* of an industry search for female acts that began in the late
80s/early 90s. I would also suggest that Lillith Fair would have happened
regardless of Alanis, as many of the LF artists were well on their way to
success long before Alanis appeared on the scene. It is those other artists
who laid the groundwork for her . . . .
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orinoco
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response 24 of 48:
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Jan 4 19:34 UTC 2000 |
Seems to me like both things happened: the better the Lillith musicians were
doing, the more the industry looked for acts in that genre, and the more the
industry looked, the better the musicians did. But I would agree that Alanis
Morisette didn't lay the groundwork for anything. Try Joni Mitchell and Laura
Nyro.
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