response 26 of 48:

Jan 5 02:08 UTC 2000

Good point.  After Alanis, though, female artists exploded.  I'm not 
sure what the cause-effect relationship is, but I know that things have 
really improved recently.

I neglected to mention Superunknown, by Soundgarden.  My second rock 
album.  Pretty much an example of a good band hitting their peak.

response 28 of 48:

Jan 5 07:19 UTC 2000

re #27 Nice...  Yes about the only angst rocker I have respect for is
Kristen Hersh.

response 30 of 48:

Jan 6 00:14 UTC 2000

IMO, Kristin Hersh is much more than an "angst rocker"... and as far
as female 90's artists go, she and PJ Harvey could kick Morrissette's
butt all over creation.  :)

response 32 of 48:

Jan 6 05:54 UTC 2000

 Eight Unforgettable Albums from the 1990s:

    the Mekons -- "Curse of the Mekons" (1991)
    Combining the best elements of rock and roll with their love of
    traditional country and folk music, the Mekons (originally from Leeds,
    England, now headquartered in Chicago, IL) hit their high point with
    this album (and its pre-1990 predecessor "Rock 'n' Roll") Intelligent,
    pointed songwriting, gorgeous vocals from Sally Timms, and an enjoyable
    balance between straightforward rock guitar and more traditional
    instrumentation (always a difficult mix to pull off properly, IMHO)
    combine to make this one of my favorite albums, period.

    My Bloody Valentine -- "Loveless" (1991)
    A totally amazing sonic collage.  Parts of this recording supposedly
    consist of hundreds of overlaid guitar tracks and the claim is believable.
    At any rate, Phil Spector's "Wall of Sound" had nothing on MBV's Kevin
    Shields.  I'm not capable of explaining how an album that can best be
    described as "multilayered guitar drone" can nevertheless be so intricately
    and beautifully textured.  Takes many, many listens to fully appreciate.

    Yo La Tengo -- "Painless" (1993) and "Electr-o-Pura" (1995)
    Brilliant pop music created by Yo La Tengo, Hoboken, NJ's most
    prominent Velvet Underground worshippers (and my favorite band
    of the 1990s.)  Although they have yet to produce a perfect album,
    these are two of their most consistent and I highly recommend either
    of them.

    Various Artists -- "The Soul of Black Peru" (1995)
    The best thing to come out of ex-Talking-Head David Byrne's post-Heads
    infatuation with the music of Latin America, this album showcases the
    remarkable music of Peru's black ghettoes.  Mixing Latin and African
    influences, this is music that's really worth checking out.  I'm really
    not sure what else I can say about it without sinking into world-music
    cliches, but this is a really, really, really good album..

    Massive Attack -- "Protection" (1995) and "No Protection" (1996)
    Although Portishead's "Dummy" was the album that brought England's
    trip-hop scene widespread recognition in the States, Massive Attack's
    "Protection" represents the pinnacle of the genre (in my opinion.)
    Smoky female vocals combine with note-perfect production to remarkable
    effect.  Perhaps even more remarkable, the following year Massive Attack
    and Mad Professor collaborated to produce "No Protection", a song-by-song
    dub re-mix of the "Protection" album.  In dub, an originally Jamaican
    musical form, a studio wizard creates a new work of art by starting with
    a musical recording and manipulating it in the studio, combining, editing,
    playing with rhythm and tempos..  Mad Professor, usually not one of my
    favorite dub masters, managed to re-work "Protection" into the best dub
    album in twenty years, in the process producing a shining example of the
    relationship between a dub creation and the original work that inspires it.

    Various Artists -- "The Soul of Cape Verde" (1996)
    Despite the similar name this album has no relation to the aforementioned
    "Soul of Black Peru".  Instead, this wonderful recording is a collection
    of music from the Cape Verde islands, a former Portuguese colony off the
    westernmost tip of Africa (off the coast of Senegal.)  Mournful and
    particularly lovely music.

    Spiritualized -- "Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating in Space" (1998)
    A powerful statement about the price of substance abuse, this is
    Jason Pierce's best work.  Sincere songwriting, killer pop hooks,
    just a great album.

    the Magnetic Fields -- "69 Love Songs" (1999)  Up until this fall my
    "best of the 90's" list would have featured another Magnetic Fields
    album, the country-themed "Charm of the Highway Strip", but when I
    finally got my hands on this fall's massive (3 CDs, 69 songs) release
    I was hooked within minutes.  Leader Stephin Merritt's quirky songwriting
    is the only unifying theme as the band covers every musical style you
    can think of over the course of these 69 songs about love and hate.
    The element that I truly didn't expect was the humor.  Not above making
    fun of himself or the whole grandiose project, Merritt has produced a
    simply amazing work of pop music -- I can't think of anything else that's
    even remotely similar.



 Honorable Mention (alphabetical order):

    Catherine Wheel -- Ferment
       Shoegazer pop that's heavier than normal on the guitars, brilliantly
       produced by Tim Friese-Greene (Talk Talk)

    Donald Fagen -- "Kamakiriad"
       Steely Dan's Donald Fagen and Walter Becker get back together on
       Fagen's second solo album, a futuristic excursion through America
       in a steam-powered car.  Painstakingly produced and almost as good
       as Steely Dan.

    Mojave 3 -- "Ask Me Tomorrow"
       After the band Slowdive dissolved, several of the members formed
       Mojave 3.  They traded in their electric guitars and studio electronics
       for a more acoustic sound and recorded this very mellow album.

    Nirvana -- MTV Unplugged
       Recorded shortly before Kurt Cobain's suicide, this performance
       features versions of several songs that are substantially superior
       to the original album versions as well as a number of well-chosen
       and unexpected covers.

    Pet Shop Boys -- Very
       I'm not really a big Pet Shop Boys fan, most of their music is too
       sterile and club-oriented for me.  And there are many who will be
       put off by the fact that this album is just flamingly queer.  But
       it's filled with some of the best-crafted pop songs of the 90s and
       absolutely deserves a listen even if you've convinced yourself you
       "don't like that kind of music."

    Ride -- "Carnival of Light"
       British band Ride abandoned their shoegazer style and went back to
       their roots, producing a remarkable homage to their favorite 60s acts
       (most especially the Byrds) and pissing off 90% of their fans in the
       process.  Anyway, I loved this album because it celebrates many of
       the things I love about 60s music.

    The The -- Hanky Panky
       What a bizarre concept for an album -- The The's Matt Johnson does
       an entire album of Hank Williams (Sr.) covers.  The thing that makes
       this a great album is that these are *not* slavish re-recordings of
       the songs the way Hank (and countless others) have recorded them,
       but in several cases are stunning re-imaginings of classic songs,
       casting them in a whole new light.  High point of the album --
       "I Saw the Light"

    U2 -- "Zooropa"
       After I spent 1986-1987 living in a college dorm during the period
       when nobody seemed to be listening to ANYTHING except "The Joshua Tree"
       and/or "The Unforgettable Fire", prospects seemed dim that I would ever
       again be able to listen to a U2 album without developing a pronounced
       facial tic.  Who knew that in the mid-90s they'd team up with producer
       Brian Eno to record an album that was completely unlike anything they'd
       done before (and all the better for that..)?

response 34 of 48:

Jan 6 12:16 UTC 2000

To me, this item is the musical equivalent of
the compiler discussion in Item 47.  I'm sure
you all know what each other is talking about.

response 36 of 48:

Jan 6 15:44 UTC 2000

re. 33 - yeah, I like PJ Harvey's earlier stuff too.  I liked it
when she played guitar!  I don't think she does anymore.  I remember
that MTV footage of her in a fuzzy pink dress belting out "Wang Dang
Doodle" - wow!

My Bloody Valentine are/were amazing.  I wish I could have seen
them live - I heard their noise freak-outs used to drive people
screaming for the exits.

response 38 of 48:

Jan 6 17:11 UTC 2000

I've never heard of Moon 7 Times, but that's gotta be the best band name I've
heard in ages.  What're they like?

response 40 of 48:

Jan 7 07:47 UTC 2000

How's your hearing?

response 42 of 48:

Jan 7 13:37 UTC 2000

Re MBV: I saw them live at St. Andrews. They did do the 15 minute feedback
finale and it was impressive, as well as loud. Reminded me of the sensory
overload at the end of 2001. As a musician, I damaged my hearing years
ago, but I'm sure MBV contributed. I now take ear plugs to all concerts.

response 44 of 48:

Jan 9 19:34 UTC 2000

I just got Liz Phair's "Girlysound" CDs, from an Ebay auction. It's two 
CDs that she recorded in her bedroom, probably in 1990 or so. It's what 
got circulated to record people, and some of the songs are on her 
professionally done albums. But "Girlysound" was never released to the 
public. Except.... for dubbed copies! Yippity!! Now I can rock out to 
modern classics like "Black Market White Baby Dealer" and "Six Dick 
Pimp". :) 

response 46 of 48:

Jan 13 02:11 UTC 2000

Hmm, most of the CDs I own are either very old or very obscure.  I'm afriad
I was too absent-minded to pay attention to much pop culture in the
nineties.  I seem to be a decade or two behind.  But I'd second REM's
"Automatic for the People" and Tori Amos' "Little Earthquakes," and
perhaps add Sting's "The Soul Cages."  

response 48 of 48:

Feb 29 01:30 UTC 2000

Best album of the 90's
Polvo-Today's Active Lifestyles; completely destroyed any notion
of what "music" was for me.
Honorable Mention:
Yo La Tengo - I can hear the heart beating as one
My Bloody Valentine - Loveless
Wu-Tang Clan - Enter the 36 Chambers
Quasi - Featuring "birds"
Shellac - At Action Park
Weezer - S/T
Jesus Lizard - Liar
Teenage Fanclub - Bandwagonesque
GZA - Liquid Swords
Storm and Stress - We write threnodies, we write with explosions
Gary Numan - The Pleasure Principle (I know it was made 20 years ago, but
it's the best record of any decade, as far as I'm concerned.)
The Clean - Vehicle
Kool Keith - Black Elvis/Lost in Space
Um...every other good album came out in the 60's and 70's