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James
 Rep: 664 

Re: What Are You Listening To?

James wrote:

The 90s were just off the charts awesome. It's beyond words. There was just so much killer stuff and quirkiness going on underneath the iconic mainstream bands and pop acts lighting up the charts.

I'm really enjoying my look back on the decade this past month or so. In hindsight it just seems like too much to digest at the time.

That was one of those 'blink and you miss it' tracks.

That should've been bigger.


I say it all the time.....we will never, EVER experience another decade like it again.


There needs to be a lengthy documentary or miniseries on women in Rock in the 90s. An hour show on VH1 or whatever could never do it justice.

I love how the whole girls rock/girl power/riot grrl thing almost exploded into the stratosphere and changed the game.

I need to find a book covering this.... similar to The Last Party which covers the rise and fall of Britpop.

PaSnow
 Rep: 205 

Re: What Are You Listening To?

PaSnow wrote:
James wrote:

I love how the whole girls rock/girl power/riot grrl thing almost exploded into the stratosphere and changed the game.

Yeah, this was great & 'almost exploded' really summarizes it well. Around 95 they seemed unsure, trying. You had early alternative like L7, Sonic Youth, Pixies/The Breeders, and Four Non-Blondes etc. Also more underground like Liz Phair, Ani DiFranco, Juliana Hatfield maybe. So 95 it segues and pinnacles at Alanis Morrisette, along with less-riot grrl Jewel & Sheryl Crowe. Legitimate Musicians.. it waters down a bit into vanessa Carlton & Michelle Branch (I always mixed those two up lol), then MTV really shit things with the rise of BackStreet Boys & NSync.  As great as MTV was in hindsight with 80s & 90s music, they effed it all up when they sold out there & TRL. Which led to, thru no fault of her own, Brittany Spears. She should've been kept to a side audience, or MTV try to better handle 'Rock' and 'Pop' (MTV/MTV2?). Instead they doubled down on a teen pop sensation, followed her up with Aguilerra & Jessica Simpson etc, and it was all over.

From L7 to Brittany Spears, sheeez.

James
 Rep: 664 

Re: What Are You Listening To?

James wrote:

The whole Britney/Christina, boy band, and nu metal of the late 90s was definitely going in the wrong direction, the fatal blow struck to music was MTV and the media going all in on rap in the late 90s. It was shoved down society's throat to the point where in the year 2021, we still haven't recovered from it and never will.

It permanently altered the musical landscape to the point where it now feels like a form of social engineering.

Within less than a decade we went from Yo! MTV Raps to every kid in the suburbs wearing their pants down to their ankles speaking ebonics while supposedly relating to songs about killing cops, bitches, living in the ghetto, and "the N word" being said every few minutes.

The alternate path we could've taken with the bands you listed above (and others) doesn't look so bad in hindsight, does it?


and it was all over.

The girl Rock/riot grrl thing was basically over by 95. Yes there were successful female artists after that.... Alanis, Jewel, Sheryl, Fiona....hell...even Luscious Jackson surprisingly got a couple minor hits(five years too late)....but it was no longer attached to any movement.


Taking things back to Liz Phair.....

It's unfortunate that she wasn't more ambitious and that her success was more an accidental quirk of fate more than anything else.

The media gave her a huge opening but she hesitated. It closed and two years later they gave the opening to Alanis....who took the ball and ran with it. By then, everything is different. We're coasting towards the millennium and rap is now on front Street.

Hole was also given an opening but this got intertwined with Cobain's death as they happened at the same time. She was too unstable...and now too rich....to lead any sort of girl Rock movement.

Heroin and other drugs also played a role in it dying on the vine. These women already had one hand tied behind their backs, the other was holding a syringe.

1990-94 is the meat and potatoes of the movement. The roots are in the late 80s but its height is that four year window.

The world took it for granted.

James
 Rep: 664 

Re: What Are You Listening To?

James wrote:

This song....a minor hit in 1988....came out 2-3 years too early.

Listening to it you can imagine it blowing up under different circumstances.

Now it's only famous for being in the movie Dumb and Dumber.

James
 Rep: 664 

Re: What Are You Listening To?

James wrote:

The demo from 1985 is even better. Grittier.

James
 Rep: 664 

Re: What Are You Listening To?

James wrote:

Been listening to The Cardigans album First Band on the Moon.

Great stuff. They did not deserve the One Hit Wonder status they got here in the US.

Without Lovefool getting a single rerelease and being on Romeo and Juliet, we might never have heard of them.

How in the hell did these two singles not catch on?


That is awesome. Sounds like a lost track from Stone Temple Pilots Tiny Music...

That's just as good as Lovefool but rocks a little harder.

Couple things the label could've done to help push them....

Lame album cover. When it's the 1990s and you have a hot chick as your singer, be sure to point that out on the cover.

Push the fact this band does poppy Sabbath covers. Gives them some 'street cred' that's always lacking from these types of bands.

Had a chance at a quick second wind but blew it. She covered The Bluest Eyes in Texas for the film Boys Don't Cry....but solo with Nathan Larson (her future husband) instead of The Cardigans.


I gotta listen to their follow up to First Band on the Moon, Gran Turismo, next.

Axl S
 Rep: 112 

Re: What Are You Listening To?

Axl S wrote:

I am just binge listening to Spiritbox these days. If you don't like metal with screaming in it, still give it a listen - it's mostly just Courtney singing clean.

James
 Rep: 664 

Re: What Are You Listening To?

James wrote:

I have a new favorite song for at least the next 48-72 hours....

I don't remember this at all. After discovering this, I went ahead and listened to all of Vitalogy. Only song I remember hearing on the radio back then is Better Man... which I didn't like.

I wish I had bought this album back then.  Who knew it had an ass kicker on it like this?

The only Pearl Jam album I ever got into is Ten, I loved their Unplugged, and of course Daughter is great.

My fandom ends there.

It's time for the clearly overdue deep dive into their discography.

metallex78
 Rep: 194 

Re: What Are You Listening To?

metallex78 wrote:

Ten, Vs and Vitalogy are the holy trilogy of Pearl Jam albums. After that, they were a bit hit or miss with good and bad tracks. You could kinda hear that they were starting to run out of steam on some Vitalogy tracks, but overall, it’s still a great album. And I actually prefer Vs to Ten. Such a great album, front to back, with the band let off the leash, pun intended.

James
 Rep: 664 

Re: What Are You Listening To?

James wrote:

I had never heard of this song or band before. Talk about slipping through the cracks of the 90s zeitgeist.

It's not amazing but you'd think it would have gotten at least a bit of airplay.

Hell....this video only has 18k views! In a world where a dog farting can pull in half a billion views, that's nothing.

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