Some years I get to publish my opinions, others I don't. But either way, at the end of every year, I always make it a point to rummage through my album collection and decide what my ten favorite albums of the year are. Usually this is a long, arduous process that requires hours of sorting, listening, re-evaluating and head scratching. This year, however, an odd thing happened. When I sifted through my CD rack to assemble all the new releases that I purchased in 1995, it soon became apparent that I had in fact purchased only ten albums this year.
Needless to say, this fact greatly simplified the process. More importantly though, it provided sad commentary on the year in music. It's got to be a pathetic year for music when I wasn't even inspired to try more than ten of the year's releases. I found this fact to be particularly disheartening; until now, I had been one of the few proponents of the idea that the '90s were destined to mark a musical renaissance in the world of rock and roll. While it's become fashionable to dismiss the ever-growing number of experimental and fringe artists in the mainstream as the "death of alternative," I personally looked upon it as a sign of optimism for the music industry. While gothic teeny-boppers and under-enlightened skinheads may bemoan the loss of their underground clique, I'm frankly quite happy that I can now occasionally turn on the radio or MTV and be greeted by something that entertains me while broadening my musical palate.
That being said, it is perhaps ironic to point out that 1995 did in fact see the release of two of the best albums that we're likely to see this decade. Read about them below, and check out eight other albums that kept me from getting too pessimistic this year...
Note: Each entry below is linked to a review of the respective album, just in case you'd like a second opinion on any of them.
Just about every review you read of these guys is going to compare them to Nirvana. But all of them seem to be afraid to admit a crucial point -- Everclear is in fact better than Nirvana. While the similarities are startling (narcotic guitars; themes of drug abuse, self-loathing and depression, etc.), the emotional passion of Everclear makes it clear that these guys (and lead singer Art Alexakis in particular) are not wanna-be's -- they're the real deal. What sets Alexakis' songwriting a notch above Kurt Cobain's however, is the sense of redemption and hope it conveys -- qualities tragically absent in Cobain's music and life. It's a shame Kurt didn't stick around to hear this album.
Check out my Everclear homepage, Nehalem.
One of the most provocatively original bands in ages, Guided By Voices also sound appealingly familiar. Listening to any of the band's 2-minute-long (more or less) lo-fi masterpieces, it's easy to catch yourself saying something like, "I've never heard anything like this, but it sounds exactly like..." -- and you can finish the sentence with the name of just about any of your favorite bands from the Beatles to R.E.M. to the Who to Cheap Trick to... infinity and beyond! Even so, it's the bottomless well of ideas in primary songwriter Bob Pollard that brings you back for repeated listens and convinces you that GBV could have invented rock and roll themselves had it been necessary.
Check out the GBV Homepage.
I don't know what the hell my problem was, but I actually waited a couple months after this was released before I finally bought it. Somehow I managed to convince myself that Shane MacGowan might be capable of failure. On what I based this assumption, I have no idea -- after all, it's not as though anything he recorded with the Pogues was disappointing in the least. Sure, you can argue that there are already plenty of rowdy Irish drinking songs -- but only until you hear MacGowan's latest batch of new ones. So do yourself a favor: buy this album and get drunk. It's the right thing to do.
No, I never expected either of Kurt Cobain's "back-up musicians" to do anything worthwhile after he, uh... lost his head... But now that I've heard drummer Dave Grohl's debut (on which he sings, writes, and plays almost every instrument), I can't help but think that he and Cobain could have (should have?) been the Lennon and McCartney of grunge.
Drums, sax, a homemade two-string bass and the coolest beatnik poetry you're likely to hear. Yes indeed.
Okay, you're probably sick of hearing about Kurt Cobain by now (I know I am), but as the man who was quoted at the end of Cobain's suicide note, Neil Young's got every right to exorcise some demons on his behalf. Although never officially declared such, "Mirror Ball" is the second half (the first being "Sleeps With Angels") of Young's attempt to come to terms with tragedy of Nirvana's frontman. Recorded with Pearl Jam as his backing band, Young dissects the hobgoblins that haunt contemporary youth with equal parts compassion, satire and cynicism. It's both classic Young and a contempory landmark.
If you want to blame Nirvana for the glut of grunge-mongers on the radio, perhaps the Ben Folds Five are the antidote. With masterful piano acrobatics instead of distortion-drenched power chords and witty insight instead of whiney navel-gazing, Ben Folds and his band (actually a trio, despite the name) laugh at the "underground" while getting on with the business of writing endlessly entertaining pop. They unapologetically and repeatedly commit the ultimate sin of having Fun. Thank God.
Of course, if you still happen to like distortion-drenched power chords thank you very much, there's always the pop/punk geekiness of Superchunk. Which also manages to be Fun, despite being hopelessly trendy. And fortunately they've got the musical chops to steer clear of the gimmicky annoyances that plague bands like the Presidents of the United States of America.
Mike Watt assembled approximately everyone currently involved in any way with alternative music to be on this album with him. (Okay, I'm exaggerating a little.) As such, it's a complete mess. And yet it's easy to imagine that it sounds exactly like he wanted it to. The main point here is that Mike Watt is probably just about the only person in alternative music with the credibility and connections to have pulled off this kind of a stunt. The fact that it succeeds on some level ought to be worth something, right?
This is a great Chili Peppers album in its own right, but with Dave Navarro taking over the guitar duties, mostly it just reminds me how much I miss Jane's Addiction. (Sigh.)
THE SMASHING PUMPKINS: Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness
P.J. HARVEY: To Bring You My Love
I don't own either of these, but I've heard them enough to think that, if I did, they would both probably be in the Top 10. So I figured I'd better mention them just to be safe. And I suppose I really ought to go buy them. Wait here, I'll be right back...
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