March 29, 2024 by A.S. Van Dorston

30 years ago while the mainstream suffered a post-grunge hangover, creativity was bubbling over in Post-Rock, Trip Hop, Electronic, Stoner Metal, and Noise.

Top 100 Albums of 1994 | Breakdown: Genre Lists | V i deos | Movies | Books

1994 was a hell of a year. The world lost not only Kurt Cobain, but also my friend Kristen Pfaff, the classically trained musician who helped make Hole’s second album great, not that she was credited for it. Another accidental heroin death was yet another friend of mine, Mike Kelly, who I partnered with in a performance art/fashion show that spring. He was a talented musician who could do a killer Johnny Cash impression, but was also a friend and acolyte of Al Jourgensen of Ministry, and unfortunately mimicked his bad habits. Part of the Chicago scene was still huffing at the fumes of industrial music, with the Nine Inch Nails album seemingly playing everywhere, which I grew to hate. Fortunately there was a lot more going on, with debut albums from Steve Albini’s Shellac, Tortoise, The Sea And Cake, and tons of other bands making innovative, groundbreaking music. I was so immersed in the underground that I barely ever heard anything from the ubiquitous Hootie & the Blowfish, Green Day, Bon Jovi, TLC, Boyz II Men, and The Offspring. For that I’m forever thankful.

Genre

I’d been a fan of Simon Reynolds’ writing since reading his collection Blissed Out: The Raptures of Rock (1990). A brilliant writer, he had been searching for a description to encompass a pretty wide variety of styles and sounds, including “oceanic rock,” which didn’t stick when the term “shoegaze,” originally meant as an insult regarding bands that not only stare at their pedals, but also lyrics taped to the floor in front of them. When he later also introduced the terms Grime and Hauntology, it was obvious he was having some fun. After using the term post-rock in a piece about Insides and then a Bark Psychosis review, it really struck a nerve in his expansive piece, “Shaking the Rock Narcotic” in the May 1994 issue of The Wire. Nevermind that nearly all the bands would whinge about the new label, many breaking up soon after the article was published — it was a brilliant way to inclusively address the creativity happening in music both in the UK and the states.

Comeback

Nowadays, seven years is a fairly normal gap between albums for bands to the point where they don’t say they’ve been on hiatus or were broken up. They were just living life and taking their sweet ass time. In Pentagram’s case, those who saw the Last Days Here documentary know that it was mainly Bobby Liebling doing too many drugs and sabatoging the band’s success at every turn. Since the band formed way back in 1971, it’s a miracle they even made it to a third album in 1994, let alone that Be Forewarned was actually really great.

It would be a while until some of the punk and post-punk bands started reuniting. Jazz-Rock/Prog/Country Rock band Dixie Dregs returned after a twelve years absence. One of the best, most prolific writers of southern soul hits, Dan Penn, for some reason passed up being a recording artist himself, despite having a legendary voice. He did record many of songs at The Fame studio in 1964-66, which would finally be released in 2012. He did put out the country soul album, Nobody’s Fool (1973), so just 21 years later was his follow-up Do Right Man, featuring some of his most beloved hits previously recorded by other artists.

Debut

The Lucky 13 was chock full of debuts, including Laika, Portishead, Shellac, Jeff Buckley, Acrimony, Low, Tortoise and The Sea And Cake.

Memoriam

Harry Nilsson (52), “Papa” John Creach (76, Hot Tuna, Jefferson Airplane) Joe Pass (65), Kurt Cobain (27, Nirvana), Sonny Sharrock (53), Kristen Pfaff (27, Janitor Joe, Hole), Henry Mancini (70), Mike Kelly (25), Nicky Hopkins (50), Major Lance (52), Jimmy Miller (52), Fred “Sonic” Smith (46, MC5), Carmen McRae (74), Cab Calloway (86), Connie Kay (67, Modern Jazz Quartet)

Underrated

The recent success of Smashing Pumpkins, Ride, and Swervedriver owed a lot to Dinosaur Jr. And yet the originators seemed to be taken for granted on their sixth album. While there was some lineup changes and J. Mascis was the only original member for the moment, Without a Sound is a great album, and deserves acknowledgement.

Disappointment

I’ve often mentioned how remarkable it was that R.E.M. remained a great band despite the fact that almost every album they released was a slight step down from the previous one. That pattern was disrupted by Automatic For the People (1992), but whoa, man, Monster was their first truly dud album. There’s some people who still defend it to this day, but they are on crack. It was the sound of the band encountering their first truly debilitating round of writer’s block, and Pete Buck saying, FUCK IT and just turning up the tremolo over everything. A terrible album. Also, it took me years to come to terms with it, but Soundgarden’s Superunknown isn’t all that great. I still like me some Badmotorfinger (1991), but I’ll be happy if I never hear “Spoonman” and “Black Hole Sun” ever again. The rest of the album isn’t horrible, but it still generally annoys me — it has something to do with Cornell’s repetitive choices for vocal melodies.

I could go on forever with disappointments, but I’d like to note that two big ones for the mainstream, The Stone Roses and Primal Scream, were not all that a comedown for me, because I wasn’t super invested in the baggy alt dance thing. I see both bands veering into more blues rock based material mirroring The Rolling Stones changing their path after trying out the psychedelic trends in Their Satanic Majesties Request and going into folky country blues with Beggars Banquet (1968). Obviously neither band were nearly as successful, and while the Roses would implode, Primal Scream bounced back with arguably their best work with Vanishing Point (1997) and XTRMNTR (2000).

Surprise

At the time, Laika’s debut was my top album of the year. I had all the Moonshake stuff and had seen them opening for PJ Harvey the previous year, and liked them fine, but wasn’t blown away. But when Margaret Fiedler and Guy Fixsen split off for this new project, I really fell hard for it. A combination of all of Fiedler’s good parts from Moonshake, with far more dense layers combining kosmische influences with samples and all kinds of sounds that were utterly new to me. I was obsessed with the album, and it’s still hanging tough at #3. Not long after I launched Fast ‘n’ Bulbous in 1995, Fiedler reached out to me when she saw I was a fan, and we emailed for several years. When she was playing guitar for PJ Harvey’s tour in 2000, she gave me a press pass. They opened for U2 at the United Center. After the show I went backstage and I walked right past Bono. I was asked if I was there to interview Bono and I said no, I was there for Margaret and Polly!

Fester’s Lucky 13 – The Best Albums of 1994

1. Disco Inferno – D.I. Go Pop (Rough Trade)

Formed in 1989, Disco Inferno were initially primarily a post-punk band influenced by Joy Division and abstract guitar stylings of Durutti Column, as heard on their debut Open Doors, Closed Windows (1991). However, on a series of five EPs released from 1992 to 94, the band went through a radical reimagining of their approach to guitar, taking cues from Swiss industrialists Young Gods and Public Enemy’s The Bomb Squad. Ian Crause experimented with using a MIDI pickup on his guitar to trigger very un rock ‘n’ roll sounds like waterfalls and what could have been foley effects, distorted by bent strings and improvisation. The resulting music is utterly alien and original, a kind of disorientating virtual reality experience that could be the soundtrack to a sci fi cyberpunk film. No one has aped their style since, partly because Crause’s MIDI setup is probably very difficult to master compared to keyboards and later, computers. And while there are isolated moments of breathtaking beauty, they’re more akin to an experimental noise band, triggering discomfort as opposed to the womb-like gauzy sounds of shoegaze or the anesthetized tempos of trip hop. I don’t often prioritize difficult listening, but every now and then, something breathtakingly unique captures the imagination and inspires an explosion of imagery that is profoundly psychedelic.

2. Kyuss – Welcome to Sky Valley (Elektra)

Between the big three of early stoner pioneers Monster Magnet, Sleep and Kyuss, the latter had the most profound influence due to Josh Homme’s guitar tones. It didn’t come easy or right away. Formed as Katzenjammer in 1987, they spent years honing their chops and sound at the desert generator parties initiated by Across The River and Yawning Man. Their changed their name to Sons Of Kyuss by their 1990 debut album, then just Kyuss for Wretch (1991). It wasn’t until Blues For the Red Sun (1992) that they nailed down their sound, a perfect balance between the proto-metal of Black Sabbath and hardcore punk of Black Flag, with touches of The Stooges and the sickening green fuzz of Blue Cheer. Once they were locked in, they were unstoppable, and their fourth album is the band at their peak, and what would inspire hundreds of acolytes, especially in Europe.

3. Laika – Silver Apples Of The Moon (Too Pure)

By the time Moonshake released the Big Good Angel EP (1993), the difference between Dave Callahan’s songs and Margaret Fiedler’s was very distinct. With assistance from engineer Guy Fixsen, Fiedler’s “Two Trains”, “Girly Loop” and “Flow” were definitely the best half of the EP, where she role plays various aspects of a sexual predator, albeit one that’s alluringly, if not slightly creepily, irresistable, her breathy voice up close in your ear, over a dense melange of percussive loops and samples like the Bomb Squad wobbly on cough syrup and John Frenett’s dubbed out bass. These provide the template for Fiedler, Frenett and Fixsen’s new band, Laika, where they double the density of the sound layers, which can threatened to overwhelm, but make for some endlessly fascinating headphone listening. The album was released five months after Simon Reynolds infamous post-rock piece in The Wire, and would have merited top billing. The Wire critics agreed, with Laika reaching #5 in the year-end poll, while Disco Inferno and Bark Psychosis didn’t make the cut. Despite those props, the album has remained under the radar ever since, but deserves to be revisited as the utterly unique, groundbreaking classic that it is. “Marimba Song” and “44 Robbers” are favorites, but the whole album is intoxicating, like being lost in a jungle full of sensory overload of sounds, fragrances and colors. The vibraphone on tracks like “If You Miss” over circular percussive patterns is gently hypnotic, balancing out the more frenetic moments of the album. Variously associated with trip hop, post-rock, downtempo, ambient pop, dream pop and psych, it falls between ALL the cracks, which is precisely why it’s essential listening. There was nothing else like it.

4. Portishead – Dummy (Go! Beat)

You couldn’t ask for a more perfectly timely album for 1994. Beyond drawing from the Bristol based trip hop scene, Portishead also includes Beth Gibbons’ intensely dark chanteuse fatale vocal performance (like Sade were she obsessed with Joy Division), some fancy turntablism just starting to get popular via the likes of DJ Shadow, DJ Krush and the Mo Wax label, and forward looking avant garde innovations with dusty sounding samples of spy films, western noir and spectral sounds that would foreshadow hauntology a decade later, popularized on the Ghost Box label. Boards of Canada’s downtempo electronic music and Burial’s dubstep also reflected Portishead’s influence. The only band to top The Wire year-end poll and the pop charts.

5. Shellac – At Action Park (Touch and Go)

The excitement leading up to this debut built quickly over the previous year, with three brilliant singles in hand-made covers. With songs that good, this album would inevitably be special. The band’s formation was pretty low-key and organic, with Steve Albini and Bob Weston (Volcano Suns) already working together at Electrical Audio. Drummer Todd Trainer (Breaking Circus, Rifle Sport, Brick Layer Cake) is based in Minneapolis, and while some of the post-hardcore noise rock can be described as math rock, it’s a mostly slow, simple and deliberate approach that still hits hard when it counts. The tones are clean and sparse, and unlike Big Black, the humor is much lighter, reflected especially in the live shows where the band spar with good natured in-jokes. Not to say there isn’t a good amount of existential angst in the storytelling. They established an M.O. early on to play when and where they damn well felt like it, which included a lot of non-traditional venues like comedy clubs and roller rinks to circumvent the stranglehold certain booking agencies have on the music scenes. All these factors lead to the band’s longevity as they are soon about to release just their sixth album in 32 years. Hopefully they’ll also put out a compilation of those singles at some point too.

6. Jeff Buckley – Grace (Columbia)

The best show I saw in 1994 was Jeff Buckley at The Hot House, an intimate venue that mostly featured jazz, folk and world music when it was still in Chicago’s Wicker Park. It was a magical July summer night, and while I first learned about him because I was a fan of his father Tim Buckley’s work, he appeared to be on his way to becoming a legendary chanteuse in his own right, unafraid to perform audacious covers of his influences that would intimidate lesser talents — Van Morrison, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, and THE definitive version of Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah.” We met him after the show and his charisma from the performance continued to radiate in person so much that when he flirted with my date, I was like, okay, that’s a thruple situation I might consider. His sole studio album boils over with confidence and swagger, his classic rock of “Mojo Pin,” “The Last Goodbye” and “So Real,” adorned with ornate, sensual touches of jazz and otherworldly global music as well as Indian classical scales and melismas on “Dream Brother.” He was touring hard and we got to see him three more times over the next year at Uncommon Ground, Metro and the Green Mill. It’s one of music’s greatest tragedies that he was taken by the Mississippi near Memphis in 1997.

7. Pram – Helium (Too Pure)

Unlike Too Pure labelmates PJ Harvey, Moonshake, Laika and Stereolab, Pram never really became known in the U.S. So I’m glad they made an appearance in the Fearless: Post-Rock 1987-2001 by Jeanette Leech. Inspired by early The Raincoats and The Slits, their dark, macabre music took a playful approach with unusual instruments, some of them possibly toys. Despite the “carousel-from-hell” motif gone wonky, there is also a warm, friendly tone to their music that’s pretty damn delightful. They weren’t really a significant influence on post-rock, but it would have benefitted if they were.

8. The Gits – Enter: The Conquering Chicken (Broken)

The Seattle music scene in the early 90s had an abundance of tragedy and hype. Somewhat lost between the cracks, the headlines and big names was the fact that the band that created some of the most enduring music was also snuffed out the most brutally. The accidental overdoses of 7 Year Bitch’s Stefanie Sargent (June 27, 1992) and Hole’s Kristen Pfaff (June 16, 1994) and Cobain’s suicide stung, but The Gits’ Mia Zapata was yanked from the world violently and completely against her will, raped and strangled on July 7, 1993. They performed their gritty punk blues outside the spheres of grunge and Riot Grrrl, yet were respected and revered by both scenes. Because when it came down to it, it was all just one fairly small local scene that was marketed with different labels after the fact. The fact that Zapata was such a charismatic and loved singer made no difference to her tragic end, which made the inflated importance of grunge in the media seem inconsequential, and the squabbling over the meaning of Riot Grrrl petty. If anything, Zapata’s murder proved how important Riot Grrrl and all other feminist efforts to put a spotlight on the senseless violence against women that had not really gotten any better in the past millennia. The documentary covers not just her murder and eventual capture of the psychopath, but the first half focuses on the creative process that produced early songs like “Another Shot Of Whiskey,” “While You’re Twisting, I’m Still Breathing,” “Cut My Skin It Makes Me Human,” “Second Skin,” and “Precious Blood.” In any of those songs, Zapata’s vocal talents can stop you in your tracks and inspire goosebumps. Her affinity for the blues approached Janis Joplin levels, while conveying emotional power through melody not unlike Stevie Nicks. She could have also been influenced by Kat Arthur of L.A. punkers Legal Weapon. Their second album was released after Zapata’s death, and is somewhat overlooked. But it shows the band at peak powers, and some would argue is better than the debut. Case in point, “Seaweed.”

9. Stereolab – Mars Audiac Quintet (Elektra)

After just one album on Too Pure alongside Th’ Faith Healers, Moonshake and Pram, Stereolab quickly connected with a larger audience and moved to Elektra on Transient Random-Noise Bursts With Announcements (1993). While that major label debut best represents their early style at it’s giddy, energetic peak, their third album luxuriates in the sounds, like nestling into a cocoon with pleasantly warm analog tubes. I’m glad they did one more album with their original formula, space age pop mixed with Velvet Underground drones and kosmische motorik beats, Laetitia Sadier and Mary Hanson trading deadpan vocals like a friendly rivalry between Nico and Astrud Gilberto. Stereolab would soon move on to toy with various elements of trip hop, indietronica and ambient pop, but this remains a top notch document of their early analog sound.

10. The Obsessed – The Church Within (Columbia)

Wino is still gutted to this day about The Obsessed’s failure to make it. He believes it came down to their failure not to release the more up-tempo, rockin’ “Streamlined” as a single. I don’t think it would have made much difference, but there were some pretty wild expectations in the early to mid-90s. It wasn’t just Nirvana and Pearl Jam who sold millions. So did Metallica, Alice In Chains, Faith No More, No Doubt, Green Day, Smashing Pumpkins, Stone Temple Pilots, Red Hot Chili Peppers and Offspring, not to mention lesser talents like Bush and Creed. Many bands thought they were just as good or better, therefore they had a shot. 1994, however, saw metal sales at a low ebb. Beyond Pantera and Corrosion Of Conformity, there were very few high profile releases. Prong was in the midst of a four album run with Epic/Sony that didn’t really do much for them. The death metal scene was relatively healthy but still underground, although Sony reissued Swedish death metallers Entombed’s 1993 album Wolverine Blues. That partnership ended just as quickly as The Obsessed’s. Mainstream success is a fickle bitch, but if they had stuck with a medium sized metal-friendly label and stayed together, they could have gradually built up a bigger audience. Frustration and regret aside, The Church Within is a classic, one of the all-time great doom metal albums, and certainly the best of any metal genre in 1994. “Blind Lightning” is one of Wino’s hardest songs ever, otherwise it’s hard to single out songs from such an impressive bunch. “Skybone” culminates Wino’s classic influences in a nice concise package as well as any of them. The rhythm section Guy Pinhas and Greg Rogers went on to form the highly regarded Goatsnake. One perk Wino did enjoy from his brief tenure with Columbia was that he participated on a track on that label’s Nativity In Black that same year. A tribute to Black Sabbath, Wino collaborated with Rob Halford, Geezer Butler and Bill Ward as Bullring Brummies, covering “The Wizard.” How cool is that?

11. Acrimony – Hymns To The Stone (Godhead)

Still early enough when the stoner rock genre was not yet named as such, these heavy psych rockers formed in Abertawe in 1992, may have been referring to one of Wales’ many stonehenge-like stone circles like Bryn Cader Faner, Pentre Ifan, Tinkinswood or Gors Fawr on the title of their debut album. “Leaves of Mellow Grace” and “Herb” leave no doubt as far as the band’s preference of illegal substances. The band comes from a death doom metal background, as evidenced on their A Sombre Thought (1992) cassette. But their full-length album’s sound was more fully formed in terms of what the style developed by Monster Magnet, Sleep, Kyuss and Fu Manchu would evolve into, particularly in Europe. And by their second album, Tumuli Shroomaroom (1997), they would challenge the originators for best album of the 90s. All the elements are here, great vocals by Dorial Walters, the guitar tones, the riffs. The best way to appreciate this is to free your mind of analysis and comparisons, and just let the stones sing to you.

12. Low – I Could Live in Hope (Vernon Yard)

One of the most iconic slowcore albums ever had such an understated power beneath it’s placid surface that one could easily believe it was the side project of a Norwegian black metal band. The fact that it’s a Mormon couple from Duluth, MN makes Low even more fascinating. While they never released a bad album in their run of thirteen albums in 27 years, their debut was about as close to perfection as they’d ever get. Listening to this for the first time in years, the doleful melodies have been branded into my brain not unlike the best of Joy Division and The Cure, from the epic length “Lullaby” to the zen koan of “Sea.” This band could sing the phone book and make it smoulder, and probably could have kept at it had Mimi Parker not tragically passed in 2022. Her contributions should earn her a place in Valhalla.

13. Motorpsycho – Timothy’s Monster (Stickman)

No matter how hard they tried, no one was going to find ALL the great music at once in the 90s. It took me a good 14 years to discover this album, after hearing this Norwegian band’s 11th album, Little Lucid Moments (2008). While most Yanks were unaware of this band, in Europe they already had the stature along the lines of Radiohead. The band was a lot, not just for their massive discography, but also the amount of ground they cover just on their first few albums, including stoner rock, sludge metal, grunge, noise rock, psych, folk, post-hardcore, doom and post-rock. In just their second album, Demon Box (1993) they already unleashed their first double album to stuff all their ideas. Once freed, their demon grew into a monster that needed an even longer album for their third to cover everything — nearly 100 minutes. The first disc feels like a summary of all the influences that got them to that point, exemplified by “Wearing Yr Smell,” the title a nod to Dinosaur Jr. It’s the longest track, “Giftland” that points toward their future, as well as “The Wheel” on disc two, the longest and proggiest song at 16:57. The only track included on their 2015 compilation Supersonic Scientists – A Young Person’s Guide to Motorpsycho, is album closer “The Golden Core,” which foreshadows the approach a lot of post-rock bands would take with a string section and a gradually building crescendo. In between cheesy Eurovision pop and black metal lurked what would become one of my all time favorite bands. In 2010, the album would be reissued as a 4 disc box set, over four hours of music, including a scorching cover of Hüsker Dü’s “New Day Rising” as well as Ace Frehley and Lynyrd Skynyrd covers. Just as I was discovering them, they were only a couple miles down the street from me recording Child of the Future (2009) at Steve Albini’s Electrical Audio. Sadly I missed a rare chance to see them live at the Empty Bottle because I was out of town. Sixteen years later I’m still waiting for them to come back.

Top 100

Disco Inferno – DI Go Pop (Rough Trade) | UK | Bandcamp | 10
Kyuss – Welcome To Sky Valley (Elektra) | USA | 10
Laika – Silver Apples Of The Moon (Too Pure) | UK | 10
Portishead – Dummy (Go! Beat) | UK | 10
Shellac – At Action Park (Touch And Go) | USA | Bandcamp | 10-
Jeff Buckley – Grace (Columbia) | USA | 10-
Pram – Helium (Too Pure) | UK | 10-
The Gits – Enter: The Conquering Chicken (Broken) | USA | Buy | 10-
Stereolab – Mars Audiac Quintet (Duophonic/Elektra) | UK | Bandcamp | 10-
The Obsessed – The Church Within (Columbia) | USA | 10-
Acrimony – Hymns To The Stone (Gestrichen) | UK | Bandcamp | 10-
Low – I Could Live In Hope (Vernon Yard) | USA | 10-
Motorpsycho – Timothy’s Monster (Stickman/Rune Grammofon) | Norway | Buy | 10-
Dirty Three – Dirty Three (Touch And Go) | Australia | Bandcamp | 10-
Unwound – New Plastic Ideas (Kill Rock Stars) | USA | Bandcamp | 10-
Chico Science & Nação Zumbi – De Lama Ao Caos (Chaos) | Brazil | 10-
Tortoise – Tortoise (Thrill Jockey) | USA | Bandcamp | 10-
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds – Let Love In (Elektra) | Australia | 10-
Melvins – Stoner Witch (Atlantic) | USA | 10-
Codeine – The White Birch (Sub Pop) | USA | Buy | 10-
Solitude Aeturnus – Through The Darkest Hour (Pavement) | USA | Bandcamp | 10-
The Sea And Cake – The Sea And Cake (Thrill Jockey) | USA | Bandcamp | 10-
Sunny Day Real Estate – Diary (Sub Pop) | USA | Bandcamp | 10-
Dinosaur Jr. – Without A Sound (Sire/WB) | USA | 10-
Bark Psychosis – Hex (Caroline) | UK | Bandcamp | 10-
Massive Attack – Protection (Wild Bunch) | UK | 10-
God – The Anatomy of Addiction (Big Cat) | UK | 9+
Slant 6 – Soda Pop*Rip Off (Dischord) | USA | Bandcamp | 9+
Dog Faced Hermans – Those Deep Buds (Alternative Tentacles) | Netherlands | Bandcamp | 9+
Bedhead – WhatFunLifeWas (Trance Syndicate) | USA | Bandcamp | 9+
Pentagram – Be Forewarned (Peaceville) | USA | Bandcamp | 9+
Luna – Bewitched (Elektra) | USA | 9+
Cornelius – The First Question Award (Trattoria) | Japan | 9+
Drive Like Jehu – Yank Crime (Interscope) | USA | 9+
The Grays – Ro Sham Bo (Epic) | USA | 9+
`O’rang – Herd of Instinct (Echo) | UK | 9+
Jessamine – Jessamine (kranky) | USA | Bandcamp | 9+
Flying Saucer Attack – Flying Saucer Attack [Rural Psychedelia] (VHF) | UK | Bandcamp | 9+
Acid Bath – When The Kite String Pops (Rotten) | USA | 9+
Pavement – Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain (Matador) | USA | Bandcamp | 9+
Hole – Live Through This (Geffen) | USA | 9+
Eleventh Dream Day – Ursa Major (Atavistic) | USA | Bandcamp | 9+
Weezer – Weezer (DGC) | USA | 9+
The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion – Orange (Matador) | USA | 9+
Guided By Voices – Bee Thousand (Matador) | USA | Bandcamp | 9+
Versus – The Stars Are Insane (Teen Beat) | USA | 9+
The Wedding Present – Watusi (Island) | UK | 9+
Starflyer 59 – Silver (Tooth & Nail) | USA | 9+
Rodan – Rusty (Quarterstick) | USA | Bandcamp | 9+
Magic Hour – No Excess Is Absurd (Twisted Village ) | USA | Bandcamp | 9+
Magic Dirt – Life Was Better EP (Au-Go-Go) | Australia | Bandcamp | 9+
Red Red Meat – Jimmywine Majestic (Sub Pop) | USA | Bandcamp | 9+
Built To Spill – There’s Nothing Wrong With Love (Up) | USA | 9+
The Jesus Lizard – Down (Touch And Go) | USA | Bandcamp | 9+
Veruca Salt – American Thighs (Minty Fresh) | USA | 9+
Jale – Dreamcake (Sub Pop) | Canada | 9+
Superchunk – Foolish (Merge) | USA | Bandcamp | 9+
Ride – Carnival Of Light (Sire) | UK | 9+
Helium – Pirate Prude EP (Matador) | USA | 9+
Christie Front Drive – Christie Front Drive (Freewill) | USA | Bandcamp | 9+
Beastie Boys – Ill Communication (Grand Royal/Capitol) | USA | 9+
Nine Inch Nails – The Downward Spiral (Nothing/Interscope/Halo) | USA | 9+
Floor – Dove EP (No Idea) | USA | Bandcamp | 9+
35007 – Especially For You (Lazy Eye/Stickman) | Netherlands | Bandcamp | 9+
Godflesh – Selfless (Earache) | UK | Bandcamp | 9+
Arthur Russell – Another Thought (Point/Arc Light) | USA | 9+
Turbonegro – Never Is Forever (Bitzcore) | Norway | 9+
Kristin Hersh – Hips and Makers (4AD) | USA | 9+
Sloan – Twice Removed (DGC) | Canada | 9+
Velocity Girl – Simpatico! (Sub Pop) | USA | 9+
Justice System – Rooftop Soundcheck (MCA) | USA | 9+
Madder Rose – Panic On (Atlantic) | USA | 9+
Overwhelming Colorfast – Two Words (Relativity) | USA | 9+
Girls Against Boys – Cruise Yourself (Touch And Go) | USA | Bandcamp | 9+
Electric Wizard – Electric Wizard (Rise Above) | UK | 9+
Soundgarden – Superunknown (A&M) | USA | 9+
Cell – Living Room (City Slang/DGC) | USA | 9+
Alice In Chains – Jar of Flies (Columbia) | USA | 9+
Liz Phair – Whip-Smart (Matador) | USA | 9+
Cannibal Corpse – The Bleeding (Metal Blade) | USA | Bandcamp | 9+
Wild Carnation – Tricycle (Delmore) | USA | Bandcamp | 9+
Digable Planets – Blowout Comb (Pendulum) | USA | 9+
Organized Konfusion – Stress: The Extinction Agenda (Hollywood Basic) | USA | 9+
Transglobal Underground – International Times (Nation) | UK | Bandcamp | 9+
Polvo – Celebrate The New Dark Age EP (Merge) | USA | Bandcamp | 9+
The Wannadies – Be a Girl (Indolent) | Sweden | 9+
Blacktop – Up All Night (Au-Go-Go) | USA | 9+
Scorn – Evanescence (Earache) | UK | Bandcamp | 9+
Amorphis – Tales From the Thousand Lakes (Nuclear Blast) | Finland | Bandcamp | 9+
The Grifters – Crappin’ You Negative (Shangri-La) | USA | Bandcamp | 9+
Tom Petty – Wildflowers (WB) | USA | 9+
Boredoms – Chocolate Synthesizer (Warner Japan) | Japan | 9+
Idaho – This Way Out (Caroline) | USA | 9+
Running Wild – Black Hand Inn (Noise) | Germany | 9+
Souled American – Frozen (Moll) | USA | Bandcamp | 9+
Zeke – Super Sound Racing (IFA) | USA | 9+
Elliott Smith – Roman Candle (Cavity Search) | USA | Bandcamp | 9+
Nirvana – MTV Unplugged in New York (Geffen) | USA | 9+
Sebadoh – Bakesale (Sub Pop) | USA | 9+
Killing Joke – Pandemonium (Butterfly) | UK | 9+

See full list here.

Breakdown: Genre Lists

As always, you can deep dive any of these these genres with the list search. While previously I had limited an album to one genre list, it didn’t accurately reflect the multi-genre nature of many of these albums. So this year an album will show up in multiple lists. I have a widget that automatically pulls from the database, so as albums are added and moved around in the future, this will reflect it.

Psych

After Talk Talk broke up, Lee Harris and Paul Webb carried on as ‘O’rang, expanding their pioneering post-rock palate to even more freeform experimental psych, dub, Kosmische and tribal ambient.

Disco Inferno – DI Go Pop (Rough Trade) | UK | Bandcamp
Stereolab – Mars Audiac Quintet (Duophonic/Elektra) | UK | Bandcamp
The Obsessed – The Church Within (Columbia) | USA
Motorpsycho – Timothy’s Monster (Stickman/Rune Grammofon) | Norway | Buy
`O’rang – Herd of Instinct (Echo) | UK
The Wedding Present – Watusi (Island) | UK
Starflyer 59 – Silver (Tooth & Nail) | USA
Magic Hour – No Excess Is Absurd (Twisted Village ) | USA | Bandcamp
Built To Spill – There’s Nothing Wrong With Love (Up) | USA
35007 – Especially For You (Lazy Eye/Stickman) | Netherlands | Bandcamp
Soundgarden – Superunknown (A&M) | USA
Boredoms – Chocolate Synthesizer (Warner Japan) | Japan
Blind Mr. Jones – Tattoine (Cherry Red) | UK

Psych Pop & Prog Pop

Brazilian Mangue, Beck and Stereolab shared plenty in common with Japan’s Shibuya-kei scene in that they all have a magpie tendency to steal from all kinds of (often kitschy) disparate styles, sounds, cultures and genres, including easy listening, jazz-funk, space age pop, kosmische, prog pop and much more. Cornelius was a member of Flipper’s Guitar when he still went by Keigo Oyamada. After three successful albums from 1989-91, this is his debut, and he already had a built-in audience, and was quickly on the way to becoming the most highly regarded musician in Shibuya-kei. The First Question Award is a promising debut, with bubbly, joyful sounding highlights like “The Sun Is My Enemy,” “Perfect Rainbow,” “Silent Snow Stream,” and “Bad Moon Rising.”

Of their 38 albums, the prolific Guided By Voices arguably peaked with this lo-fi classic, stuffed with many of Robert Pollard’s best songs that integrate his influences of The Who, Genesis, The Pretty Things, Todd Rundgren and god knows what else. I still have a vivid memory of seeing them one frozen, January night at a small club called Thurston’s just down the street from me, and they were incredible, with Pollard windmilling his guitar and doing high-kicks like he was rocking a 40,000 capacity stadium. Beats the hell out of teaching elementary school. A fantastic way to kick off 1994 with my first live show of the year.

Cornelius – The First Question Award (Trattoria) | Japan
Guided By Voices – Bee Thousand (Matador) | USA | Bandcamp
Ride – Carnival Of Light (Sire) | UK
Shudder To Think – Pony Express Record (Epic) | USA
The Dentists – Behind The Door I Keep The Universe (EastWest) | UK
Tori Amos – Under the Pink (EastWest) | USA
The High Llamas – Gideon Gaye (Alpaca Park) | UK
The Moles – Instinct (Flydaddy ) | Australia
The Grip Weeds – House Of Vibes (Jem) | USA | Buy
No-Man – Flowermouth (One Little Indian) | UK

Noir (Folk, Garage, Psych, Punk, Surf)

I’ve been a Nick Cave fan for a long time, but with mixed feelings. By far my favorites are The Birthday Party albums, the only time he was ever really in a real band. Everything else shows his aspirations as a singer-songwriter with literary pretensions. Nevertheless he built up quite a following, and while my favorite post-Birthday Party album is Your Funeral…My Trial (1986), this is certainly his best 90s album. It was especially a relief after he tried to be Leonard Cohen/Caetano Veloso on The Good Son (1990). That people ate it up is absurd, but that’s the world we live in. He would soon return to his piano man persona, but for the moment in 1994, he was dancing with the devil to some of his most effectively raucous gothic garage noir. He was still missing Rowland S. Howard, but at least he still had Blixa Bargeld and Mick Harvey in his corner.

Dirty Three – Dirty Three (Touch And Go) | Australia | Bandcamp
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds – Let Love In (Elektra) | Australia
Dead Moon – Crack In The System (Tombstone/Music Maniac) | USA | Bandcamp
Come – Don’t Ask Don’t Tell (Matador) | USA
Legal Weapon – Squeeze Me Like An Anaconda (Last Resort) | USA
Dave Graney & The Coral Snakes – You Wanna Be There But You Don’t Wanna Travel (Mercury) | Australia
Smoke – Heaven on a Popsicle Stick (Long Play) | USA | Bandcamp
The Cramps – Flamejob (The Medicine Label ) | USA

Prog

Amorphis – Tales From the Thousand Lakes (Nuclear Blast) | Finland | Bandcamp
Edge Of Sanity – Purgatory Afterglow (Black Mark) | Sweden
Kingston Wall – III – Tri-Logy (Trinity) | Finland
Eloy – The Tides Return Forever (SPV) | Germany
Marillion – Brave (EMI) | UK
Queensrÿche – Promised Land (EMI) | USA
Savatage – Handful of Rain (Atlantic) | USA
Änglagård – Epilog (Exergy) | Sweden
Dixie Dregs – Full Circle (Capricorn) | USA
Pink Floyd – The Division Bell (EMI) | UK
The Flying Luttenbachers – Constructive Destruction (ugEXPLODE) | USA | Bandcamp
Orphaned Land – Sahara (Holy Land) | Israel

Punk & Post-Punk

I was turned on to this Amsterdam-based Scottish band in 1991 because they reminded me of Tragic Mulatto, with their post-Beefheart no wave, Rock In Opposition avant-jazz influenced art punk with a tuba. Closely associated with The Ex, they flourished in that Dutch anarcho punk scene, experimenting with noise and avant-prog, getting better and better until this, their fifth and final album, they were at the peak of their powers with an eerily psychic connection. I witnessed the intensity of this stage of the band live, and it was transcendent. While it’s their best produced album, it certainly isn’t smooth going, as these songs have fangs, including the savage “Human Spark” and the depressingly still-relevant after all these decades, “Keep Your Laws/Off My Body.”

The Gits – Enter: The Conquering Chicken (Broken) | USA | Buy
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds – Let Love In (Elektra) | Australia
Dog Faced Hermans – Those Deep Buds (Alternative Tentacles) | Netherlands | Bandcamp
Hole – Live Through This (Geffen) | USA
The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion – Orange (Matador) | USA
The Wedding Present – Watusi (Island) | UK
Beastie Boys – Ill Communication (Grand Royal/Capitol) | USA
Turbonegro – Never Is Forever (Bitzcore) | Norway
Blacktop – Up All Night (Au-Go-Go) | USA
The Grifters – Crappin’ You Negative (Shangri-La) | USA | Bandcamp
Boredoms – Chocolate Synthesizer (Warner Japan) | Japan
Zeke – Super Sound Racing (IFA) | USA
Killing Joke – Pandemonium (Butterfly) | UK

Garage Rock

D.C. indie noise band Autoclave was a launching pad for two of the most impressive talents in the 90s — Mary Timony, who would go on to form Helium, and Christina Billotte with Slant 6, and later The Casual Dots. Associated with riot grrrl after the fact, they were just a brilliant post-hardcore garage punk band that laid out the template Sleater-Kinney would soon follow. Except while S-K took a few years to become the band they were meant to be, the Slant 6 debut was as perfect as they’d ever get. They’d quickly release a followup, Inzombia (1995) and break up, leaving us with this artifact that is decidedly of it’s time, but also totally unique, and all the more valuable.

The Gits – Enter: The Conquering Chicken (Broken) | USA | Buy
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds – Let Love In (Elektra) | Australia
Slant 6 – Soda Pop*Rip Off (Dischord) | USA | Bandcamp
The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion – Orange (Matador) | USA
Guided By Voices – Bee Thousand (Matador) | USA | Bandcamp
Magic Dirt – Life Was Better EP (Au-Go-Go) | Australia | Bandcamp
Turbonegro – Never Is Forever (Bitzcore) | Norway
Blacktop – Up All Night (Au-Go-Go) | USA
The Grifters – Crappin’ You Negative (Shangri-La) | USA | Bandcamp
Zeke – Super Sound Racing (IFA) | USA
Dead Moon – Crack In The System (Tombstone/Music Maniac) | USA | Bandcamp
The Mermen – Food for Other Fish (Mesa) | USA
The Cynics – Get Our Way (Get Hip) | USA | Bandcamp

Hard Rock

Since the first time I heard Fake Train (1993), this power trio from around Olympia, Washington made me think of Nirvana had they chosen to pursue a more abstract combo of Sonic Youth noise rock, ambitious post-hardcore of Fugazi and molten dynamics of Slint. No catchy tunes, but emotional depths as endless as the layers of distorted feedback run through a packed pedalboard. The band would develop more conceptually ambitious work, but never again matched the visceral impact of their second album. I was fortunate to see them play Levitation last year, a highlight of the year.

The sharks in the water driven to a frenzy by the chum of Nirvana money had at least one upside. The let’s see what sticks to the wall approach saw some of the most adventurous major label signings, including Melvins, The Jesus Lizard and San Diego’s post-hardcore innovators Drive Like Jehu. Of course it didn’t chart–it sounded like Fugazi and Bitch Magnet got together to imagine how King Crimson would interpret post-hardcore noise. The label likely didn’t promote it at all, and the band promptly dissolved, leaving behind this influential album that would make an impact on math rock, noise and emo. John Reis continued with Rocket From the Crypt, and he and Rick Froberg would get together later in the more garage punk Hot Snakes.

Shellac – At Action Park (Touch And Go) | USA | Bandcamp
Unwound – New Plastic Ideas (Kill Rock Stars) | USA | Bandcamp
Melvins – Stoner Witch (Atlantic) | USA
Sunny Day Real Estate – Diary (Sub Pop) | USA | Bandcamp
Slant 6 – Soda Pop*Rip Off (Dischord) | USA | Bandcamp
Drive Like Jehu – Yank Crime (Interscope) | USA
Versus – The Stars Are Insane (Teen Beat) | USA
Rodan – Rusty (Quarterstick) | USA | Bandcamp
The Jesus Lizard – Down (Touch And Go) | USA | Bandcamp
Girls Against Boys – Cruise Yourself (Touch And Go) | USA | Bandcamp
Soundgarden – Superunknown (A&M) | USA
Polvo – Celebrate The New Dark Age EP (Merge) | USA | Bandcamp
Zeke – Super Sound Racing (IFA) | USA

Stoner/Desert/Fuzz

The second in Melvins’ major label trilogy. The band seems as bemused as anyone at the absurdity that a major label would be interested in them, and they get on with the business of being Melvins with absolutely no concessions to commercial viability. The album sounds burly, like the thousand pound hog that’s sampled at the beginning of “Sweet Willy Rollbar.” Dale Crover’s drums are thunderous throughout, the bass is thick, and King Buzzo’s riffs are consistently nasty. The funny thing is that I could swear that Metallica listened to this album with interest, because I’ll be damned if “Revolve” doesn’t foreshadow the sound of much of Load (1996). The album does start to unravel a bit with the ambient “Shevil” and the crawling 8 bpm “Lividity,” which foreshadowed more eclecticism and general fuckery for the following decades, which a core group of fans embraced without question. Rather than a lesson learned for the majors, Capitol went on to sign The Jesus Lizard.

Kyuss – Welcome To Sky Valley (Elektra) | USA
Acrimony – Hymns To The Stone (Gestrichen) | UK | Bandcamp
Melvins – Stoner Witch (Atlantic) | USA
Magic Dirt – Life Was Better EP (Au-Go-Go) | Australia | Bandcamp
35007 – Especially For You (Lazy Eye/Stickman) | Netherlands | Bandcamp
Soundgarden – Superunknown (A&M) | USA
Fu Manchu – No One Rides For Free (Bong Load) | USA | Bandcamp
Corrosion Of Conformity – Deliverance (Sony) | USA
Spiritual Beggars – Spiritual Beggars (Wrong Again) | Sweden
Sugartooth – Sugartooth (Geffen) | USA

Heavy Metal & Doom Metal

Fresh from Hell’s Heroes VI last weekend, I still have Solitude Aeturnus’ triumphant reunion set ringing in my ears. Formed by John Perez in Dallas in 1987 and inspired by the epic doom metal of Sweden’s Candlemass (who also played at the Houston festival last week) and Trouble, Through the Darkest Hour may be the band’s finest hour. They recorded their third album at Rhythm Studios, in Warwickshire, England, soaking in the gloomy weather and traditional English pub ale that spawned Black Sabbath. This is my kind of rock ‘n’ doom, with all six of their albums containing overall better riffs than Candlemass, Trouble, Saint Vitus and Pentagram.

The Obsessed – The Church Within (Columbia) | USA
Solitude Aeturnus – Through The Darkest Hour (Pavement) | USA | Bandcamp
Pentagram – Be Forewarned (Peaceville) | USA | Bandcamp
Electric Wizard – Electric Wizard (Rise Above) | UK
Running Wild – Black Hand Inn (Noise) | Germany
Penance – Parallel Corners (Century Media) | USA
Danzig – 4 (American) | USA
Mercyful Fate – Time (Metal Blade) | Denmark | Bandcamp
Helloween – Master of the Rings (Raw Power) | Germany
Megadeth – Youthanasia (Capitol) | USA
Queensrÿche – Promised Land (EMI) | USA
Savatage – Handful of Rain (Atlantic) | USA
Solstice – Lamentations (Candlelight) | UK | Bandcamp

Power Metal, Epic Adventure & Symphonic/Dark Romance Metal

While many metal bands faltered in the mid-90s, Germany kept things pounding as the power metal powerhouse of the world, this time Running Wild taking the reigns at the lead pack, as they dig deeper into pirate themes.

Running Wild – Black Hand Inn (Noise) | Germany
Helloween – Master of the Rings (Raw Power) | Germany
Savatage – Handful of Rain (Atlantic) | USA
Rollins Band – Weight (Imago) | USA
Virgin Steele – The Marriage of Heaven and Hell Part One (T&T) | USA

Metal

Metal may have taken a backseat for a while, but that doesn’t mean the underground stopped innovating. Inspired by Melvins, Toadliquor and Neurosis, some Southern bands were doing impressive things with Sludge Metal, like Eyehategod and Acid Bath. Featuring cover art by serial killer clown John Wayne Gacy, who had been executed at Stateville prison on May 10 that year. Unnerving, misanthropic stuff that gave some of the psychopaths in the Norwegian Black Metal scene a run for their money.

Acid Bath – When The Kite String Pops (Rotten) | USA
Floor – Dove EP (No Idea) | USA | Bandcamp
Godflesh – Selfless (Earache) | UK | Bandcamp
Cannibal Corpse – The Bleeding (Metal Blade) | USA | Bandcamp
Amorphis – Tales From the Thousand Lakes (Nuclear Blast) | Finland | Bandcamp
Darkthrone – Transilvanian Hunger (Peaceville) | Norway | Bandcamp
Prong – Cleansing (Epic) | USA
Edge Of Sanity – Purgatory Afterglow (Black Mark) | Sweden
Pantera – Far Beyond Driven (EastWest) | USA
At The Gates – Terminal Spirit Disease (Peaceville) | Sweden
Incantation – Mortal Throne Of Nazarene (Relapse) | USA | Bandcamp
Corrosion Of Conformity – Deliverance (Sony) | USA
Megadeth – Youthanasia (Capitol) | USA
Tiamat – Wildhoney (Century Media) | USA
Rotting Christ – Non serviam (Unisound) | Greece | Bandcamp
Cryptopsy – Blasphemy Made Flesh (Hammerheart) | Canada | Bandcamp
Testament – Low (Atlantic) | USA
Slayer – Divine Intervention (American/Columbia) | USA
Enslaved – Vikingligr Veldi (Candlelight) | Norway
Emperor – In The Nightside Eclipse (Century Black) | Norway

Avant, Experimental, Post-Rock, Modern Classical, Drone

I wouldn’t say I have problems with instrumental rock so much as it rarely makes it to the top of my lists. Dirty Three, however, are alltime faves. At the time, the trio’s instrumental makeup of Warren Ellis on violin, Mick Turner on guitar and Jim White on drums was totally unique. The post-rock tag was slapped on them after the fact, and I suppose they could be considered an influence on Godspeed You Black Emperor, Mogwai and Explosions in the Sky somewhat, and Ambient Americana. However they are far too fiery and unruly to really fit with that scene for their first few albums. These blokes came from the Melbourne garage punk scene, including the Moodists and the Scientists’ Kim Salmon. For a band with no vocals, I have to say Ellis was quite loquacious when I saw them at the Lounge Ax after this album’s U.S. re-release. He gave several songs long, rambling, hilarious intros, so drunk he nearly toppled over. In hindsight it made sense that Nick Cave snagged him to be a Bad Seed. If nothing else, check out the devastating sequence of “Kim’s Dirt,” “Everything’s Fucked” and “The Last Night” for some of the most impassioned, mournful instrumental rock music ever recorded.

Disco Inferno – DI Go Pop (Rough Trade) | UK | Bandcamp
Laika – Silver Apples Of The Moon (Too Pure) | UK
Pram – Helium (Too Pure) | UK
Low – I Could Live In Hope (Vernon Yard) | USA
Dirty Three – Dirty Three (Touch And Go) | Australia | Bandcamp
Tortoise – Tortoise (Thrill Jockey) | USA | Bandcamp
Codeine – The White Birch (Sub Pop) | USA | Buy
The Sea And Cake – The Sea And Cake (Thrill Jockey) | USA | Bandcamp
Bark Psychosis – Hex (Caroline) | UK | Bandcamp
God – The Anatomy of Addiction (Big Cat) | UK
Dog Faced Hermans – Those Deep Buds (Alternative Tentacles) | Netherlands | Bandcamp
`O’rang – Herd of Instinct (Echo) | UK
Jessamine – Jessamine (kranky) | USA | Bandcamp

Industrial & Noise

In 1990, there was little to prepare one for the slow, sad music of Codeine. Galaxie 500 was pretty languid, but still stuck to traditional structures. Slint had some moments on Tweeze (1989) but still had some post-hardcore outbursts of noise, as did Bitch Magnet. The blokes in Codeine were certainly listening to similar material, as there is evidence of noise rock influence on their debut, Frigid Stars LP (1990). They recorded a follow-up in 1992, had studio issues with it and shelved it (reissued in 2022 as Dessau), and repurposed some of the tracks for their final album where they achieved the stand-offish beauty that would simulate the feeling of freezing to death, and go on to influence dozens of slowcore and post-rock bands, and others that would draw on it for doomgaze and blackgaze like Alcest, Nadja, Jesu, Deafheaven and Holy Fawn. An understated 90s classic. It was a treat to see them live for the first time in decades at last year’s Levitation Festival.

Shellac – At Action Park (Touch And Go) | USA | Bandcamp
Unwound – New Plastic Ideas (Kill Rock Stars) | USA | Bandcamp
Codeine – The White Birch (Sub Pop) | USA | Buy
Dog Faced Hermans – Those Deep Buds (Alternative Tentacles) | Netherlands | Bandcamp
Drive Like Jehu – Yank Crime (Interscope) | USA
Flying Saucer Attack – Flying Saucer Attack [Rural Psychedelia] (VHF) | UK | Bandcamp
Magic Dirt – Life Was Better EP (Au-Go-Go) | Australia | Bandcamp
The Jesus Lizard – Down (Touch And Go) | USA | Bandcamp
Nine Inch Nails – The Downward Spiral (Nothing/Interscope/Halo) | USA
Girls Against Boys – Cruise Yourself (Touch And Go) | USA | Bandcamp
Polvo – Celebrate The New Dark Age EP (Merge) | USA | Bandcamp
Scorn – Evanescence (Earache) | UK | Bandcamp
The Grifters – Crappin’ You Negative (Shangri-La) | USA | Bandcamp

Dream Pop & Shoegaze

Bandleader Dean Wareham was born in New Zealand, a country that probably had more Velvet Underground acolytes per capita than anywhere in the world. After his short lived Boston-based Galaxie 500, he formed a low key supergroup of sorts with Justin Harwood of the Chills and Stanley Demeski from the Feelies. The spirit of The Velvet Underground’s third album looms large, and features guest Sterling Morrison. I always bought their stuff, but my interest ebbed and flowed as I at times wrote them off as second tier talent. But decades later, their elegant variation of early dream pop still sounds vital.

With their fuzzy lo-fi shoegaze guitars and analog space rock bleeps and whooshes, had Jessamine been a British band, they certainly would have ended up on the Too Pure roster with early Stereolab, Pram and Laika. Instead, the Seattle band was scooped up by new Chicago-based indie kranky, who’s inaugural release was the Richmond, VA ambient space-rock group Labradford the previous year. In contrast to all the mainstream rock bands trying to sound like Nirvana in the wake of the major label frenzy, the underground was bubbling over with promising music inspired by German kosmische musik, in turn etching out the early templates of post-rock, dream pop and ambient pop.

When I was a small kid I’d mess with my grandparents’ shortwave radio and tune in all kinds of mysterious signals, unfamiliar languages in between the static that was suggestive of an early warning of alien invasion. Categorized as shoegaze, as well as space rock, drone and noise rock, I was chuffed when FSA did not turn out to be another My Bloody Valentine clone on this debut, but did in fact resemble the Jesus & Mary Chain’s high pitched distortion with alien voices floating in and out. Like a flying saucer attack. Not aliens, but Popol Vuh fans from Bristol, who’d go on to be the prickly connective tissue between shoegaze, space rock and post-rock for dozens of bands in the coming decades.

Laika – Silver Apples Of The Moon (Too Pure) | UK
Stereolab – Mars Audiac Quintet (Duophonic/Elektra) | UK | Bandcamp
Low – I Could Live In Hope (Vernon Yard) | USA
Luna – Bewitched (Elektra) | USA
Jessamine – Jessamine (kranky) | USA | Bandcamp
Flying Saucer Attack – Flying Saucer Attack [Rural Psychedelia] (VHF) | UK | Bandcamp
Eleventh Dream Day – Ursa Major (Atavistic) | USA | Bandcamp
Starflyer 59 – Silver (Tooth & Nail) | USA
Magic Hour – No Excess Is Absurd (Twisted Village ) | USA | Bandcamp
Ride – Carnival Of Light (Sire) | UK
Helium – Pirate Prude EP (Matador) | USA
Idaho – This Way Out (Caroline) | USA
Blind Mr. Jones – Tattoine (Cherry Red) | UK

Ambient, Art Pop, Dream Pop, New Age & Sophisti-Pop

Chicago was a fun place to be in the early 90s. Beyond the media hype over the Smashing Pumpkins, Urge Overkill and Liz Phair, there was a rich underground scene with members crossing over from other bands along the lines of jazz musicians. Tortoise was made of bassist Doug McCombs of Eleventh Dream Day, John McEntire of The Sea and Cake/Bastro/Gastr Del Sol/Seam, John Herndon, Bunky K. Brown and Dan Bitney, who were also involved in many other bands. The early shows had members switching instruments and exploring rabbitholes of kosmische, dub, electronic, jazz, ambient, minimalism and math rock, all lumped vaguely into a post-rock bucket which, fair enough, helped market the band, especially for their successful European tours later on. CD reissues of German bands, rare dub, and even stuff like Tito Puento were being passed around like shiny new treasures, making previously hard to find music more accessible again. I’d first learned about the band from chatting with Bundy at a party, who was working at a recod store in Hyde Park at the time. The thrill of discovery filled the air like static, and like a lot of experimental music rooted in improvisation, not every track sticks, but the album has a warm, organic sound that holds it together, while also reviving interest in the marimba and vibraphone. They reached their peak the next year with the Gamera EP (1995), highly recommended.

Formed in their early teens in 1986, Bark Psychosis were originally influenced by the post-hardcore noise rock scene. By 1990, they added keyboardist Daniel Gish from Disco Inferno and drummer Mark Simnett, who brought an additional decade of experience and a collection of prog and jazz fusion. The “All Different Things” single encapsulated their new direction inspired by Eno, Can, electric Miles, early Floyd, The Blue Nile, Hugo Largo, Talk Talk and A.R. Kane. The following year they released a 21-minute track, “Scum.” A year spent on their debut album resulted in something groundbreaking and trendsetting. Simon Reynolds, who had been covering them since 1990, used the term post-rock in his review for MOJO, though he already used it in his 1993 feature on Insides. More than the jazzy drumming and dub-wise bass, it’s the noir-ish atmospherics that made it a big influence on ambient pop over the following decades. Shortly after their impressive debut, the band was gone, leaving fans wildly scrabbling for anything as remotely evocative.

Laika – Silver Apples Of The Moon (Too Pure) | UK
Pram – Helium (Too Pure) | UK
Stereolab – Mars Audiac Quintet (Duophonic/Elektra) | UK | Bandcamp
Low – I Could Live In Hope (Vernon Yard) | USA
Tortoise – Tortoise (Thrill Jockey) | USA | Bandcamp
Bark Psychosis – Hex (Caroline) | UK | Bandcamp
Luna – Bewitched (Elektra) | USA
Cornelius – The First Question Award (Trattoria) | Japan
Eleventh Dream Day – Ursa Major (Atavistic) | USA | Bandcamp
Starflyer 59 – Silver (Tooth & Nail) | USA
Ride – Carnival Of Light (Sire) | UK
Arthur Russell – Another Thought (Point/Arc Light) | USA
Idaho – This Way Out (Caroline) | USA

Indie Pop & Jangle Pop

Chicago’s most unique, underrated indie/jazz pop and proto-math rock band Shrimp Boat morphed into The Sea And Cake, adding Archer Prewitt of the Coctails and John McEntire from Tortoise, about as close to a supergroup as you got in the indie scene at the time. I saw their debut performance at the Empty Bottle, and the giddy anticipation and energy of the audience was just as electric as the first Shellac performance the year before. The band delivered both live and on album. While there are threads leading to post-rock and ambient pop, a more accurate description of the band at inception was a warmer, floofier Steely Dan with Caribbean rhythms and Afro-Pop guitar figures. Which is another way of saying they sounded like absolutely fucking no one else.

The Sea And Cake – The Sea And Cake (Thrill Jockey) | USA | Bandcamp
Luna – Bewitched (Elektra) | USA
The Grays – Ro Sham Bo (Epic) | USA
The Wedding Present – Watusi (Island) | UK
Built To Spill – There’s Nothing Wrong With Love (Up) | USA
Jale – Dreamcake (Sub Pop) | Canada
Ride – Carnival Of Light (Sire) | UK
Sloan – Twice Removed (DGC) | Canada
Velocity Girl – Simpatico! (Sub Pop) | USA
Madder Rose – Panic On (Atlantic) | USA
Wild Carnation – Tricycle (Delmore) | USA | Bandcamp
The Wannadies – Be a Girl (Indolent) | Sweden
Blind Mr. Jones – Tattoine (Cherry Red) | UK

Power Pop

While the hype machine for Britpop was revving up with songs from Oasis, Blur, Pulp and Suede hitting the [UK] charts, The Wedding Present managed to stay out of it. In the short term they must have been pissed, as they just got done releasing a dozen singles, collected on Hit Parade, that had more consistent, hooky greatness than all the other bands put together. But on the other hand, they weren’t swept into the landfills as the world collectively grew sick of the whole thing. Their fourth album continues their great run, adding more post-punk elements, as well as Olympia scene’s indie pop to their jangle pop flavors, courtesy of producer Steve Fisk (Beat Happening).

The Grays – Ro Sham Bo (Epic) | USA
Weezer – Weezer (DGC) | USA
Guided By Voices – Bee Thousand (Matador) | USA | Bandcamp
The Wedding Present – Watusi (Island) | UK
Sloan – Twice Removed (DGC) | Canada
Velocity Girl – Simpatico! (Sub Pop) | USA
Overwhelming Colorfast – Two Words (Relativity) | USA
The Wannadies – Be a Girl (Indolent) | Sweden
Popsicle – Abstinence (Telegram) | Sweden
Freedy Johnston – This Perfect World (Elektra) | USA
The Dentists – Behind The Door I Keep The Universe (EastWest) | UK
Sugar – File Under: Easy Listening (Rykodisc) | USA
Material Issue – Freak City Soundtrack (Mercury) | USA

Indie & Alt Rock

It must have been weird forming a band in 1992 in Seattle. After grunge, life moved on, and Sunny Day Real Estate were influenced by early emo like Rites of Spring and Embrace. I never loved that term because melodic post-hardcore with expressive, passionate, but not always note perfect vocals could apply to all kinds of bands, from U2 to Hüsker Dü. Either way, Jeremy Enigk’s untrained singing did invoke a kind of alluring emotional impact, as well as a touch of mysticism that set the band apart from the pack at the time. Of course Enigk would get weird and born again religious, with half the band defecting to Foo Fighters, but they’d rally with a couple more great albums. This is a classic debut that kicked it all off, and the material worked even better in live shows.

J. Mascis was without a band, but he didn’t need one. He played drums, guitar, sang, even played keyboards, and only enlisted Mike Johnson to lend a hand on bass. It’s one of the best sounding Dinosaur albums, and most ambitious in terms of elaborate arrangements. The songs have held up all these years later, and man, I forgot how many awesome goddam riffs and licks Mascis has, one after another. He must write them in his sleep. His laconic voice is misleading, because this was Mascis working his ass off to ensure Dinosaur persevered while dozens of other bands dropped like flies in the hangover of the major label feeding frenzy on indie rockers. Probably the most underrated Dinosaur album, it’s colorful, tuneful and it rocks. Mascis simply never made a bad album, even during his solo and side projects before the band’s triumphant reunion in the 00s.

Age 24-25, I was still suspicious of anything slow and mellow, as it seemed a slippery slope to adult contemporary and easy listening. My compromise was slowcore, which often had just enough fuzzy guitars influenced by the Velvets, psych and shoegaze to keep me interested. For sure, Dallas band Bedhead swelled up the volume enough to rattle the cymbals now and then along the lines of Seam, but they did so with turtle like deliberation. Fortunately they’re not long forgotten, as Numero Group remastered and reissued their albums to be enjoyed by new generations of fans.

Shellac – At Action Park (Touch And Go) | USA | Bandcamp
Jeff Buckley – Grace (Columbia) | USA
Low – I Could Live In Hope (Vernon Yard) | USA
Motorpsycho – Timothy’s Monster (Stickman/Rune Grammofon) | Norway | Buy
Unwound – New Plastic Ideas (Kill Rock Stars) | USA | Bandcamp
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds – Let Love In (Elektra) | Australia
Codeine – The White Birch (Sub Pop) | USA | Buy
Sunny Day Real Estate – Diary (Sub Pop) | USA | Bandcamp
Dinosaur Jr. – Without A Sound (Sire/WB) | USA
Slant 6 – Soda Pop*Rip Off (Dischord) | USA | Bandcamp
Bedhead – WhatFunLifeWas (Trance Syndicate) | USA | Bandcamp
The Grays – Ro Sham Bo (Epic) | USA
Pavement – Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain (Matador) | USA | Bandcamp
Eleventh Dream Day – Ursa Major (Atavistic) | USA | Bandcamp
Weezer – Weezer (DGC) | USA
Guided By Voices – Bee Thousand (Matador) | USA | Bandcamp
Versus – The Stars Are Insane (Teen Beat) | USA
The Wedding Present – Watusi (Island) | UK
Rodan – Rusty (Quarterstick) | USA | Bandcamp
Red Red Meat – Jimmywine Majestic (Sub Pop) | USA | Bandcamp

Global, Reggae, Dub & Afrobeat

I first heard of Chico Science and Nação Zumbi in 1995 on a music discussion list. I was just launching Fast ‘n’ Bulbous, and a couple members of Tortoise had provided an intriguing list of music artists the were not strictly influences, but simply their favorite music. The name Chico Science & Nação Zumbi stood out as a name I had never heard of. This is understandable, as their debut album, Da Lama ao Caos (From Mud To Chaos) was just released in 1994, only in Brazil. Brazilian imports were nearly impossible to come by then, and there was zero media coverage in the U.S., outside of more established former tropicálistas like Caetano Veloso, Gilberto Gil and Tom Zé. Perhaps the folks in Tortoise caught their performance at Central Park’s SummerStage that summer opening up for Gilberto Gil. I was grateful for the tip, as the money spent on the import was well spent. The album was simply explosive, mixing the power of three large bombo bass drums culled from the Afro-Pernambuan maracatu tradition with embolada, raggamuffin, heavy metal, psychedelic rock, punk, funk and hip-hop. This fusion music was far more successful than the clumsy attempts of American bands to fuse rock, funk and rap, though fans of Rage Against Machine should take note. I would have thought they’d become immensely popular here. But the release of their second album, Afrociberdelia (1996) came and went with no acknowledgement here, and by February 1997, Chico Science was dead from a car accident. Just as Joy Division’s future was in doubt after losing Ian Curtis, many wondered if they could make it without their charismatic leader. Check out the rest of their catalog and hear for yourself.

When I first saw Senegal’s Baaba Maal live with his amazing band and dancers around this time, one could easily mistake him for new fresh talent, with his youthful good looks and athleticism. But like King Sunny Ade, he had a long history before a label finally released his music to a Western audience. The 41 year-old had been recording Fula music since 1984, and was now encountering criticism for some of his less traditional production experiments. As usual, the patronizing critics had their heads up their asses.

Chico Science & Nação Zumbi – De Lama Ao Caos (Chaos) | Brazil
Tortoise – Tortoise (Thrill Jockey) | USA | Bandcamp
Massive Attack – Protection (Wild Bunch) | UK
God – The Anatomy of Addiction (Big Cat) | UK
`O’rang – Herd of Instinct (Echo) | UK
Transglobal Underground – International Times (Nation) | UK | Bandcamp
Baaba Maal – Firin’ In Fouta (Mango) | Senegal
Mundo Livre S.A. – Samba esquema noise (Banguela) | Brazil
Moonshake – The Sound Your Eyes Can Follow (Too Pure) | UK
Trenchmouth – Trenchmouth vs. the Light of the Sun (EastWest) | USA
Cornershop – Hold On It Hurts (Merge) | UK
Mano Negra – Casa Babylon (Virgin) | France
Café Tacvba – Re (WEA) | Mexico

Electronic

This UK collective took a global approach to their breakbeat/downtempo/tribal ambient dance, drawing from Asian classical, Middle Eastern, African, Jamaican dub and more. Vocalist Natacha Atlas grew up in Belgium and would put out several impressive Arabic pop albums. I saw them live a couple times and the energy was kinetic and celebratory. Remembering the optimism of the 90s is a pretty bittersweet thing now.

Associated with the blossoming post-rock scene courtesy of Simon Reynolds, Insides were pretty slippery, like influencers A.R. Kane, in that they shifted suddenly from R&B infused downtempo dream pop to a single 38 minute track of ambient minimalism, bearing some resemblance to Mike Oldfield’s Tubular Bells (1973). Of the other pure electronic artists getting started, most of my favorites of the decade were accounted for with Autechre, Mouse On Mars, Orbital and Oval. Of course shit for brains everywhere will use the popularity of electronic music to declare the death of rock, again. As if we can’t enjoy more than one thing?

Transglobal Underground – International Times (Nation) | UK | Bandcamp
Insides – Clear Skin (Guernica) | UK
Autechre – Amber (Wax Trax! ) | UK | Bandcamp
A.R. Kane – New Clear Child (3rd Stone) | UK | Bandcamp
David Toop & Max Eastley – Buried Dreams (Beyond) | UK
Mouse on Mars – Vulvaland (Too Pure) | UK
Orbital – Snivilisation (ffrr) | UK | Bandcamp
Global Communication – 76:14 (Dedicated) | UK
Karlheinz Stockhausen – Oktophonie (Stockhausen) | Germany
Underworld – Dubnobasswithmyheadman (JBO) | UK
Oval – Systemisch (Mille Plateaux ) | Germany | Bandcamp
Sparks – Gratuitous Sax & Senseless Violins (Logic) | USA
Sabalon Glitz – Ufronic (Trixie) | USA

R&B, Soul & Funk

Intrigued by the completely unique year-end lists British magazine The Wire had been compiling in the early 90s, I started reading it regularly by late ’93. For a magazine historically focused on avant-jazz, improvisational music and “out rock,” it was covering some of the most accessible music during this time, from Too Pure bands like Pram and Laika and Simon Reynold’s historic “Shaking the Rock Narcotic” article where he introduced the term post-rock, to the Bristol trip hop scene, spearheaded by a crew originally called The Wild Bunch, who morphed into Massive Attack, who’s debut album Blue Lines (1991) was, uh, massively influential. While Protection is slightly less cohesive, it’s sultry after-hours vibe would reverberate through pop music for the rest of the decade. The core trio of Mushroom, Daddy G and 3D included a pretty diverse roster of talent with reggae legend Horace Andy, Everything But the Girl’s Tracey Thorn, and Tricky, who already released two solo singles, “Aftermath” and “Ponderosa.” Trip hop would soon be watered down into horrid compilations of some of the most uninspired, generic crap you’ll ever hear. But good did come out of it, along with three great albums from Massive Attack, there was Portishead and Tricky’s debut album, Maxinquaye (1995) which would start off with “Overcome,” a remake of “Karmacoma” from Protection.

Massive Attack – Protection (Wild Bunch) | UK
Cornelius – The First Question Award (Trattoria) | Japan
Beastie Boys – Ill Communication (Grand Royal/Capitol) | USA
Dan Penn – Do Right Man (Sire) | USA
Gil Scott-Heron – Spirits (TVT) | USA
Jamiroquai – The Return of the Space Cowboy (Sony) | UK
Pizzicato Five – Overdose (Columbia) | Japan
Casiopea – Asian Dreamer (Pony Canyon) | Japan
TLC – CrazySexyCool (LaFace) | USA
Mary J. Blige – My Life (Uptown) | USA
Joi – The Pendulum Vibe (EMI) | USA
The Brand New Heavies – Brother Sister (Delicious Vinyl) | UK
Seal – Seal (ZTT) | UK

Hip Hop & Rap

Beastie Boys continue their reign, honing their MC skills even more while also sharpening their funk and hardcore punk chops as a live band. As such massive cultural icons of the 90s, one would have thought they’d have inspired a whole slew of artists. If they did, it’s hard to think of any, other than Eminem somewhat, who was primarily the acolyte of Dr. Dre. He too would take a similar journey, growing up in public and shedding his misogyny and pseudo-gangsta hard man posturing. That growth might be the most valuable offering the Beasties had, but sadly the hip hop community in general did not choose to benefit from it.

Beastie Boys – Ill Communication (Grand Royal/Capitol) | USA
Justice System – Rooftop Soundcheck (MCA) | USA
Digable Planets – Blowout Comb (Pendulum) | USA
Organized Konfusion – Stress: The Extinction Agenda (Hollywood Basic) | USA
Nas – Illmatic (Columbia) | USA
Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth – The Main Ingrediant (Elektra) | USA
Gang Starr – Hard To Earn (Chrysalis) | USA
DJ Shadow – What Does Your Soul Look Like EP (Mo Wax) | USA
DJ Krush – Krush (Shadow ) | Japan
The Gravediggaz – 6 Feet Deep (Gee Street) | USA
The Notorious B.I.G. – Ready to Die (Bad Boy) | USA
Public Enemy – Muse Sick-N-Hour Mess Age (Def Jam) | USA
Outkast – Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik (LaFace) | USA

Folk & Americana

While Royal Trux and Pussy Galore were keen students of The Rolling Stones’ decadent era, exemplified by Exile on Main Street, with the latter actually covering the album, Chicago’s Red Red Meat perhaps best processed that shambling spirit, their blues and folk rock tapping more into the Americana sounds that the New Yawk hipsters had no understanding of. Talked up by Billy Corgan, the lemmings sniffed at the band and moved on, perplexed by their utterly unique sound. After two more solid albums, the three of the members continued with the even folksier Califone.

Red Red Meat – Jimmywine Majestic (Sub Pop) | USA | Bandcamp
Kristin Hersh – Hips and Makers (4AD) | USA
Souled American – Frozen (Moll) | USA | Bandcamp
Mark Lanegan – Whiskey For the Holy Ghost (Sub Pop) | USA
Beck – Mellow Gold (Geffen) | USA
Johnny Cash – American Recordings (American) | USA
Richard Buckner – Bloomed (Merge) | USA | Bandcamp
Shane MacGowan and the Popes – The Snake (ZTT) | Ireland
Chris Bailey – 54 Days at Sea (Mushroom) | Australia
The Walkabouts – Setting The Woods On Fire (Creativeman) | USA | Bandcamp
Mekons – Retreat From Memphis (Quarterstick) | USA
Latin Playboys – Latin Playboys (Slash) | USA
Grant Lee Buffalo – Mighty Joe Moon (Slash/Reprise) | USA

Country, Country Blues/Psych/Rock/Soul

Despite being a pretty tireless touring band since 1987, Chicago’s Souled American has missed out on the credit they deserve as being alt-country and Americana pioneers, stripping and slowing down elements of old folk, Neil Young, Gene Clark, in really unique manner. Their fifth album has been given the slowcore and ambient Americana tags which work in retrospect, but never would have occurred to anyone at the time. Kurt Wagner of Lambchop and Jeff Tweedy from Wilco most certainly were fans.

Souled American – Frozen (Moll) | USA | Bandcamp
Dan Penn – Do Right Man (Sire) | USA
Meat Puppets – Too High To Die (London) | USA
Johnny Cash – American Recordings (American) | USA
Richard Buckner – Bloomed (Merge) | USA | Bandcamp
The Walkabouts – Setting The Woods On Fire (Creativeman) | USA | Bandcamp
Grant Lee Buffalo – Mighty Joe Moon (Slash/Reprise) | USA
Lambchop – I Hope You’re Sitting Down [aka Jack’s Tulips] (Merge) | USA | Bandcamp
Nick Lowe – The Impossible Bird (Demon) | UK
Neil Young & Crazy Horse – Sleeps With Angels (Reprise) | Canada
Iris DeMent – My Life (WB) | USA | Bandcamp
Smoke – Heaven on a Popsicle Stick (Long Play) | USA | Bandcamp
Primal Scream – Give Out But Don’t Give Up (Creation) | UK

Jazz, Jazz Fusion

After a decade long prolific run of a dozen albums, ending with Moving Target (1982), Gil Scott-Heron took a break, and Spirits was his first album in twelve years. Moving from jazz-funk to this time framing his spoken word poetry with soul jazz, Gil also incorporates touches of modern influences like trip hop, which he could be considered an original source influence of. After this, he’d go quiet once again for another sixteen years, until I’m New Here (2010), released just a year before he died.

Gil Scott-Heron – Spirits (TVT) | USA
PainKiller – Execution Ground (Subharmonic) | USA | Bandcamp
The Necks – Aquatic (Fish Of Milk) | Australia | Bandcamp
Masada – Alef (DIW) | USA
John Scofield & Pat Metheny – I Can See Your House from Here (Blue Note) | USA
Maleem Mahmoud Ghania with Pharoah Sanders – The Trance of Seven Colors (Axiom ) | USA/Morocco | Bandcamp
Peter Brötzmann – Die Like a Dog: Fragments of Music, Life and Death of Albert Ayler (FMP) | Germany
Jamiroquai – The Return of the Space Cowboy (Sony) | UK
Dixie Dregs – Full Circle (Capricorn) | USA
Casiopea – Asian Dreamer (Pony Canyon) | Japan
Patricia Barber – Café Blue (Premonition) | USA
David Torn, Mick Karn & Terry Bozzio – Polytown (CMP) | USA

Non-Metal For Metalheads

I know, Pram seems an odd choice, but their experimental nature and morbid, spooky lyrics and atmospherics make it a solid candidate. Metal and Industrial of course had close ties, particularly with Ministry’s last several albums. It was a natural evolution for Trent Reznor to get heavier, starting with the Industrial Metal on the Broken EP (1992) and adding noise rock influences on The Downward Spiral, just as Nine Inch Nails would start to reflect ambient and post-rock influences on The Fragile (1999) and Still (2002).

Disco Inferno – DI Go Pop (Rough Trade) | UK | Bandcamp
Pram – Helium (Too Pure) | UK
God – The Anatomy of Addiction (Big Cat) | UK
Dog Faced Hermans – Those Deep Buds (Alternative Tentacles) | Netherlands | Bandcamp
`O’rang – Herd of Instinct (Echo) | UK
Nine Inch Nails – The Downward Spiral (Nothing/Interscope/Halo) | USA
Scorn – Evanescence (Earache) | UK | Bandcamp
Boredoms – Chocolate Synthesizer (Warner Japan) | Japan
Killing Joke – Pandemonium (Butterfly) | UK
Main – Motion Pool (Beggars Banquet) | UK
Praxis – Metatron (Subharmonic ) | USA | Bandcamp
Moonshake – The Sound Your Eyes Can Follow (Too Pure) | UK
Earthling – Nothing EP (Linga) | UK

Labels

Last year Elektra was on top with ten albums making the rankings, followed by Sub Pop at nine. Caroline, Virgin, WB, American, 4AD and Dischord all fell out of the top ten. Note that this isn’t ALL their releases, just ones that made my rankings.

Sub Pop (10)
Atlantic (9)
Matador (9)
Columbia (7)
Drag City (7)
Geffen (7)
Elektra (6)
Epic (6)
Quarterstick (6)
Too Pure & Touch and Go (6)

Videos

Over 110 videos. Be cautious, you might end up digging up your Doc Martens, flannel, bucket hats and tracksuits, but think hard before you wear those to work.

Shows

The video above was recorded at Jeff Buckley’s 1995 performance at Chicago’s Metro. Man, I wish that Hot House performance was recorded, as well as his Uncommon Ground (a cafe that I ended up living just a block from 12 years later) and Green Mill gigs. I’m glad I did see him several times, but still, I figured we would have decades of seeing his talent bloom and evolve. Sigh.

A few weeks before the New Orleans Jazz Festival is the less celebrated but even more diverse and interesting is the Festival International in Lafayette. Artists come from all over the world to this sleepy college town that turns into a non-stop party for six days. I wish I still had the program guide, but 30 years later, the best I can remember are highlights with Femi Kuti and classic Soukous from the Congo’s Tabu Ley Rochereau.

Jeff Buckley, Hot House
Kyuss, Empty Bottle
The Fall, Metro
Stereolab, Metro
The Afghan Whigs, Metro
Big Star, Metro
Guided By Voices, Thurston’s
The Sea And Cake, Empty Bottle
Tabu Ley Rocherau, Femi Kuti, Festival International, Lafayette, LA
The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, Lounge Ax
Dinosaur Jr., Metro
Tortoise, Empty Bottle
Eleventh Dream Day, Empty Bottle

Also: Transglobal Underground, Baaba Maal, Slowdive, Teenage Fanclub, Yo La Tengo, Swervedriver, Wilco, The Jesus Lizard, Rodan, Polvo, Scrawl, Superchunk, Low, Labradford, Veruca Salt, Girls Against Boys, Mazzy Star, The Wedding Present, Tindersticks, Arcwelder, Tar, Silkworm, Jale, June of 44, Sebadoh.

Movies

Yep, more Euro arthouse, the final film of Kieslowski’s Three Colours Trilogy. I’d have to watch it again to remember enough to write about it.

Red – Krzysztof Kieslowski (drama)
Pulp Fiction – Quentin Tarantino (thriller)
Immortal Beloved – Bernard Rose (drama/romance)
Bullets Over Broadway – Woody Allen (mystery/thriller)
Amateur – Hal Hartley (comedy)
Eat Drink Man Woman – Ang Lee (comedy/romance)
Ed Wood – Tim Burton (drama)
The Crow – Alex Provas (drama)
The Last Seduction – John Dahl (thriller)
Stargate – Roland Emmerich (sci fi)
Theramin: An Electronic Odyssey – Steve Martin (documentary)
The Secret of Roan Inish – John Sayles (drama)
Clerks – Kevin Smith (comedy)

Bubbling under: Blue, Reality Bites, Barcelona, Spanking the Monkey, Swimming With Sharks, Serial Mom, The Adventures Of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, Killing Zoe, Mod Fuck Explosion, Paris France, Shadowlands, Sister My Sister.

Television

Still mostly rented VHS movies from the video store, but I did watch The X Files and, uh, Party of Five!

Books

This is the first book I read by Murakami and it blew me away when the English translation came out in 1997. A surreal detective story first involving a missing cat, then missing wife, as well as references to trauma of WW II, reminding me very much of Pynchon and Vonnegut. Interestingly, he would revisit those themes in the last book I read of his, Killing Commendatore (2017). I’m eagerly anticipating the English translation of his latest, The City and Its Uncertain Walls (2023) which comes out November 26.

Haruki Murakami – The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle
Jonathan Lethem – Gun, With Occasional Music
Nelson Mandela – Long Walk to Freedom
Rudy Rucker – The Hacker and the Ants
John Berendt – Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil
Jeff Noon – Vurt
Charles Bukowski – Pulp
Laurie R. King – The Beekeeper’s Apprentice (Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes #1)
Laurrell K. Hamilton – The Laughing Corpse (Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter #2)
Terry Pratchett – Soul Music (Discworld #16)
Cormac McCarthy – The Crossing (Border Trilogy #2)
Anne Rice – Taltos (Lives of the Mayfair Witches #3)
Gabriel Garcia Marques – Of Love and Other Demons

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