There are too many things to write about. Expect very little detail because it's overwhelming and I can't get it all in here. But I'll try my best. Tons of music important to my life and tons of music that was just so influential to all of music. Tons of debuts of super important musicians. And silly things that I personally love.
How about USA against Ghana, huh? Here's that silly video I promised last time because soccer and stuff:
James "Goal Goal Goal"
That's the album cover for the CD I had. Now I know I had a CD player in 1994 because I got this CD and World Cup USA and stuff. I remember being in Florida for vacation that summer and watching lots of world cup games there. I rooted for Italy and Roberto Baggio especially that year and got way into it, and then Baggio blew it in the final shootout. Scandalous! I remember Alexi Lalas and Cobi Jones were the star American players according to our Sports Illustrated For Kids. I think I even got a Cobi Jones autograph at a Rapids game when they played LA once. I wonder if that's still around anywhere...This year I'll be rooting for various teams. USA of course, and I like The Netherlands. And Mexico is impressing me greatly. And we'll see how this first round shakes out.
Oh, were we talking about music?
1994 was a landmark year for 90s punk rock. The stuff I'd listen to in '98 and surrounding years. The Bouncing Souls' The Good The Bad And The Argyle had its share of goofy songs and covers and I can still enjoy listening to it. Dixie by Avail is totally solid. The Choice of a New Generation by Fifteen still saw them be likeable and a punk rock band as opposed to a vehicle for political ranting. Let's Go by Rancid had "Radio" so that wins. And 22 more tracks in real punk rock fashion. And the quintessential 90s punk album in my view was Punk in Drublic by NOFX. Slightly less juvenile than their previous material but still full of jackassery, the energy of this CD made it the perfect driving around with friends CD. Just blast it. Countless classic songs, some leftist political leanings, and some silly things to keep it fun.
NOFX "The Brews"
And of course the big one. Dookie. Green Day exploded onto the pop world with their pop punk masterpiece. I'm not ashamed to call it that. They were in the right place to make an impact and they did it. Just what the culture ordered. Dookie would be an album my brother would get, and it would have an indirect impact on my personal change from listening to my sister's music (Hootie and the Blowfish or whatever) to listening to my brother's "alternative" music, which was closer to where I'd end up when I discovered my own music.
And with punk came ska. Well I liked the ska side first. MU330 was one of my favorite bands and here's their debut album Press! They would get much more mature as the years went on, but the goofy songs like "Stuff" kept me quite amused back then. Sing Along With Skankin' Pickle was a little less goofy as they no longer had King Goof, Mike Mattingly. I don't know what happened with that split but his band Neosoreskin had all the goofiness with just the amount of resentment that makes it uncomfortable. I hit some early Less Than Jake stuff from the Losers, Kings, and Things We Don't Understand collection. Very horn based back then.
Later I would evolve to "indie rock" or whatever. Built to Spill's There's Nothing Wrong With Love was the first album I got that I defined with that term, even if I didn't know what it meant. But that's an album that has stuck with me more for its cutesy indie pop songwriting ("Big Dipper," "Car," "Twin Falls") than their guitar virtuosity would define them more as their career continued. But damn, those are some great lyrics! The Magnetic Fields became a favorite toward the end of college (and continue to be so now). It seems they put out two albums in 1994. The Charm of the Highway Strip is one of my favorite Magnetic Fields releases with its charming concept of train songs and countryish approaches. Leaps and bounds beyond their earlier work.
The Magnetic Fields "Born On A Train"
Their other album from 1994, Holiday, happened to come on pretty quickly after Charm, and it's lovely of course. Particularly "Take Ecstasy With Me." Yup. Good stuff.
Where do I talk about Rodan? Does this work? Their only album Rusty is excellent for many different reasons. The main reason there are so many reasons is that it's all over the place in six tracks. Soft songs, hardcore songs, lots of mathy stuff...it jumps around a lot. And I love it for that. Brainiac can go into a similar category, so this will be that paragraph. Bonsai Superstar is an album it took me a while to track down (after becoming a 1341N14C fan back in college) but it became one of my favorites. And Jawbox, that For Your Own Special Sweetheart is an underrated gem.
And I gotta talk about Pavement a little bit because Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain might be their finest album. "Cut Your Hair" is a fun song to listen to and sing along to, but "Gold Soundz" is the one you really want to sing along to. But "Range Life" sounds strangely the most earnest for someone that was such an icon of such an ironic movement. And closer "Fillmore Jive" just builds perfectly into the chaotic mess that I was wanting to hear the whole time.
And now the rest of the world that I was only sort of aware of in 1994. Alternative was becoming quite the thing in 1994. Beck's big breakout song "Loser" was a "slacker anthem" or whatever so go slackers. Who knew Beck would still be doing stuff and have maturity and stuff 20 damn years later?
Lots of friends liked Weezer and their Blue Album but I never got into it until much later. I don't know why not. I'm sure I would have liked them. But by the time I really heard them (other than the "Buddy Holly" video, which I more enjoyed for its non-Weezer aspects) I was way into punk rock and found them too poppy for my tastes. Good thing I'd eventually give them another chance, because it is one solid pop rock album. Bush was popular too.
Okay and there's the Brit pop showdown! In one corner, Parklife by Blur. Fabulous record right there, much better in my opinion than Definitely Maybe by Oasis in another corner. Lots of energy but they would probably do better on Morning Glory. And the winner? His 'n' Hers by Pulp, who wasn't even in a corner but managed to win the Brit Pop Showdown of '94! Without even putting out their best effort yet!
Pulp "Have You Seen Her Lately?"
And hip hop was completely turned on its head in 1994, for better or worse. While I found the early 90s to be dominated (from my collection's perspective at least) by alternative hip hop goofballs, 1994 had some albums that would just change the course of the genre completely. Outkast's debut Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik is a lot of fun (but more commercial and less experimental than what they would go on to do). The Notorious B.I.G. changed everything on Ready To Die. The most vivid depiction yet (in my collection) of what inner city life looked like, the desperation, the pressure, it just paints a beautiful picture of suffering. It's a shame he left so soon.
The Notorious B.I.G. "Things Done Changed"
And this was followed up immediately in the playlist by Illmatic by Nas, which I need to listen to more but it's more of that realness. Then Method Man's first solo album (the first Wu-Tang solo album) Tical came around and solidified it.
Finally, a comeback. Johnny Cash. Rick Rubin. American Recordings. Just a man and his guitar, the way it's always been meant to be. It's so fantastic how he was able to resurrect his career just by finding someone that knew what to do with his talent. And there he was, covering Leonard Cohen! And having songs written for him by the likes of Tom Waits and Danzig!
Johnny Cash "Thirteen"
That's a good place to stop. Except I have a couple more things. Another comeback! The Beatles released a "new song" in 1994 and I remember it happening! But I still don't really find "Free As A Bird" as exceptional as most Beatles songs. But how exciting it was that it was coming out at the time! I think I saw it on 20/20 or something.
And I have to close on Jeff Buckley because this is the only album we get. Grace. Beautiful vocals. Rock and roll. I could post the famous "Hallelujah" cover but you probably know that. And I want to make it clear that this album is more than just that. Buckley's short career is more than just that. "Last Goodbye" would be clever but maybe too clever. Let's just do this song and call it done. I like it because it places so much focus squarely on the vocals.
Jeff Buckley "Lilac Wine"
Done.
Other things to note, there are many:
- The Rollins Band song "Liar" used to make me laugh in its ridiculousness.
- Elliott Smith early stuff! "Drive All Over Town" is great.
- I wish I had more to say about Let Love In by Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, other than the fact that it's probably my favorite Nick Cave album and I just realized that when I was listening to it for this thing.
- Man or Astro-man?'s closing theme music from Space Ghost Coast to Coast came on, which means I would soon discover Space Ghost and it would be the best thing ever for a while. And I would also soon discover Man or Astro-man? who are the spaciest, surfiest instrumental rock n roll partiers around.
- Portishead is a good band that I probably should be way into but it just kind of washed over me.
- I never got way into Nine Inch Nails but The Downward Spiral feels important. It has that "Closer" song and "Hurt."
- New Times was an early Violent Femmes purchase I made based on it being available at a used CD store. I have a soft spot for it and can't judge it objectively.
- Without A Sound is the only "mid period" Dinosaur Jr album I have, but I like it quite a bit. Not as much as the early period or late period stuff though.
- Experimental Jet Set, Trash and No Star is a better Sonic Youth album.
- I think I've said most of what I'm going to say about the Beastie Boys but still. Ill Communication. Plus this talk of Weezer, Dinosaur Jr, and this album (it includes "Sabotage") tells me we were in that great music video era of Spike Jonze and the like. I almost had MTV at this point. Almost.
- Not to say the hardcore rap of Biggie/Nas/Etc totally shut out the jazzy hip hop...Gang Starr's Hard To Earn may be their finest effort, and I loved Guru's guest spot on Digable Planets' Blowout Comb.
- Brutal Youth is one of the first Elvis Costello albums I got and of course it's wonderful.
- My wife really liked Warren G. Who knew??
Next Time...
I figure out a better way to tackle these giant lists.
Hip hop: Aceyalone keeps things light, Wu-Tang solo artists go nuts, Mobb Deep, more Pharcyde, The Roots
Punk/ska: AFI was still a punk band, Blue Meanies, Citizen Fish, D-Plan, Don Cab, Fugazi goes slightly different, Jawbreaker goes mainstreamish, Pezcore, Pietasters, Rancid, RBF
Alternative?: Another Kim Deal band, Archers of Loaf, Bjork, another favorite Magnetic Fields album of course, PUSA! Radiohead, Smashing Pumpkins
Another brit pop battle between Blur, Oasis, and Pulp
Curios: Elvis Costello's covers album, the final Queen album with Freddie Mercury
And more...
