The Board Dot's Top 100 Albums of the 1990s (Discussion)

[ten15]

It’s pretty well known on the board that I am a huge fan of power pop. For me, it started with The Raspberries, (The) Sweet and, most of all Cheap Trick. However, Chicago’s own Material Issue stole my heart by releasing my favorite power pop album. International Pop Overthrow was an instant classic. The 1-2-3 punch of songs about girls (Valerie, Diane and Renee) immediately sets the tone. While the album may be a song or two too long, it always puts a smile on my face.

The band were amazing live, and they are still the act I’ve seen perform live more than anyone else (probably 20+). It wasn’t until after Jim Ellison took his own life that I really noticed the underlying sadness to so many of the songs.

Fun fact, the drummer, Mike Zelenko, went to my high school. He’s a couple years older than me, but some of my friends knew him pretty well.

[venom]

Pulp - Different Class (1995)



july 4, 1999. two friends from high school and i take the bus from our hometown to new york to see jon spencer blues explosion and luscious jackson at summerstage. the plan is to spend the night with a friend who's at NYU for the summer. it is a brutally hot and humid day. ten minutes in manhattan and one friend splits off to meet with another friend. we lose him for the rest of the day.

when we show up at NYU, it turns out our friend and his entire dorm floor are on probation for throwing a blowout party and they can't have any guests. i call some other friends to see about staying over and just get machines. a few of us head over to summerstage and completely miss jon spencer, but catch about a half-hour of luscious jackson. afterward, my hometown friend says something like "so what if we can't stay the night with them? we'll just sleep in the park and go back home tomorrow like we planned." i am hesitant about this plan. back at NYU, the dorm security guard has taken a bathroom break so we scramble in. but now we're stuck in there. if the guard sees us leaving, my friend and his roommates get even more probation tacked on for sneaking in guests. (at least that's the story we're given.) so we sit there fucking roasting in this dorm with just a little window a/c unit humming its inadequate very best.

everyone decides to pass the time playing chess. i don't play chess. yet there is nothing else to do there. it's hot and boring. i am simply miserable. but there is salvation. one of my friend's roommates is playing an album that's speaking to me. at that time, song lyrics were not a big factor in my enjoyment of music. i considered them to all be esoteric or vague. if i understood them, that was great. but lyrics would not make or break my opinion unless they didn't sound good. this is different, though. the stories in these songs are about someone who doesn't quite fit in. he is on the periphery of a desired social group but unwilling to give up certain ideals in order to integrate. he's just trying to be happy in his niche, but pretty much failing at it while watching others succeed. at best, he is awkward with sex and intimacy. and i believe every word. it was the first time i can recall lyrics dominating my opinion of music. but the actual music is good too. it isn't like what i'd been listening to. it's synthy and poppy. there are big hooks, super catchy melodies, and anthemic choruses. one song, in particular, stands out to me. i'd heard it before. but in context it's a tour de force. i ask "who is this?" and the roommate mumbles incomprehensibly.

so while the chess continues in near silence, i dive into this newfound seedy world of angst and lust. i drop myself into the stories. i can picture every situation. and then the album ends. what the fuck am i going to do now?! luckily, the roommate is too involved in the chess to switch CDs so he just presses play again. i am back in! midway through play #2, everyone catches up to my outward boredom. someone distracts the security guard. we run outside. i talk my friend into not sleeping in central park. we catch the midnight bus. i walk into my home at 3am and go to sleep still humming bits and pieces of what i heard earlier.

in the morning i wake up and immediately go to hotbot.com to type in "i want to live with common people like you." pulp. different class. huh, ok. i ride my bike to the record shop, tell my friend who works there that i just heard an amazing album, and then find the CD used for $6.99. easy purchase. i soak in the album through the remainder of summer. at school in the fall it has become comfort music. twenty years later it still evokes a strong reaction.

[zircona1]

^ Great album. I discovered it because my library had it, and I remembered rock critics crowing about it in Spin and Rolling Stone. Never heard any songs on the radio so I checked it out. That run of the first 5 tracks had me hooked. (It took a little bit longer to warm up to the second half of the album).

[chvrchbarrel]

My go-to Pulp has always been This is Hardcore but this deserves another listen based on that post alone.

[facts]

Jul 3, 2019 10:50:10 GMT -6 ten15 said:

It’s pretty well known on the board that I am a huge fan of power pop. For me, it started with The Raspberries, (The) Sweet and, most of all Cheap Trick. However, Chicago’s own Material Issue stole my heart by releasing my favorite power pop album. International Pop Overthrow was an instant classic. The 1-2-3 punch of songs about girls (Valerie, Diane and Renee) immediately sets the tone. While the album may be a song or two too long, it always puts a smile on my face.

The band were amazing live, and they are still the act I’ve seen perform live more than anyone else (probably 20+). It wasn’t until after Jim Ellison took his own life that I really noticed the underlying sadness to so many of the songs.

Fun fact, the drummer, Mike Zelenko, went to my high school. He’s a couple years older than me, but some of my friends knew him pretty well.

Material REissue opened the Lemonheads show at Taste of Chicago a few years back when it was still free and they had quirky bookings. There was maybe 100 people there total. Both acts were delightful. Do I have to do the writeups for 90s Lemonheads albums or is someone else on that?

[Pale Hose]

Local H - As Good As Dead (1996)



This album will always have a special place in my heart. As Good As Dead felt like a little bit of a throwback in that it was released after the true grunge movement had ended, but didn't sound like most of the other post grunge manufactured music that was being played on alternative radio. This is an album that can (and should) be played front to back - I don't think there's a bad song on here. My personal favorites include "Eddie Vedder" & Fritz's Corner". Unfortunately, this album represented the peak of Local H's success, despite the fact that they have continued to put out quality music since.

[chvrchbarrel]

Fritz’s is the only song I’ll still get in a pit for

[zircona1]

I've seen Local H a number of times throughout the years. The first time I saw them was pre-'Bound For the Floor' radio play in '96. They were opening for Gravity Kills (remember them?). For a two-piece band, they kicked ass. In retrospect, I think they won the night.

[chvrchbarrel]

Biting off my full, uninterrupted listen of Mellon Collie this morning.

[chvrchbarrel]

Jul 8, 2019 6:49:52 GMT -6 chvrchbarrel said:

Biting off my full, uninterrupted listen of Mellon Collie this morning.

I'm not sure I've heard this from start to finish in a few years. It is much more wonderful than I remembered - I still don't think it needs to be as long as it is, but my old abbreviated playlist of "essentials" doesn't do the album enough justice.

Second disc could be half as long - We Only Come Out At Night sounds like such a great ending to the album, the fact that there's almost 20 minutes of music after it is sort of a let down.


late edit: i launched directly into Siamese Dream after MCIS, and it is just goofy how much better of an album SD is. The whole thing is an immaculate trip.

[chvrchbarrel]

Today I'll share a write-up sent to me via PM when I initially requested a few to stockpile.


Fudge Tunnel - The Complicated Futility of Ignorance (1994)

By: @sethcantpickanamefu



Sludge-idealists, Fudge Tunnel's The Complicated Futility of Ignorance brings off-kilter grooves, extreme metal blasts and antagonistic vocals that paint this band's third and final release red with anger.

Hailing from England and fronted by 90s grammy-nomniated noise rock legend Alex Newport, somewhat known for his work with Max Cavalera and their one hit, industrial metal wonder, Nailbomb. He would go on to producing and collaborating with smash hit artists like At The Drive In, Death Cab for Cutie and The Mars Volta.

Letting their name dissuade you would be a mistake, especially if you're on the hunt for deep-cut, 90s metal gems... or just a punch to the face.

my spotify app is not responding rn so i will add an album link l8r

[Deleted]

I wonder if anyone even noticed my Paw review.

@wretched in particular on dat Fudge Tunnel

[thebosma]

W.S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan- The Gondoliers (1890)




The last of the successful Gilbert and Sullivan operas, The Gondoliers tells a story of romance, mistaken identities, and class consciousness.

We're first introduced to our heroes in the number "List and Learn" as dozens of women love the effortlessly handsome gondoliers, but due to the social constructs of the time period insist that the men be the ones to choose their partners. Through various hijinks involving drunkards and the spanish inquisition, the story unfolds in the most unexpected ways, resulting in changes in power dynamics that shock the small community.  

Lacking the assumed nobility of H.M.S. Pinafore and the overt racism of The Mikado, The Gondoliers is one of the most successfully interesting pieces of the (18)90s, and a worthy addition to our list.

[thebosma]

Love getting texts from my friends at theboarddot

[Tweet]

This is good content

[chvrchbarrel]

Superdrag - Head Trip In Every Key (1998)



If I had to guess what Superdrag did after the release of 1996's (also great) Regretfully Yours, I'd say...

-Rented That Thing You Do
-Thought Pinkerton was really good but not melodic enough
-Found a great copy of Revolver in mono and took the exactly correct amount of drugs

I may be spitballing here, but in the two years between these albums, they seem to have learned something. Head Trip In Every Key's best quality is its mix. I cannot stress it enough. The songs are wonderful, but the vast space captured in the recordings let them all breathe. "The Art of Dying" is the perfect example.

Throughout Head Trip In Every Key, you'll hear AC/DC stomp-rock, ska horns, perfectly recorded acoustic guitar, and interplay between power pop and post-grunge. Sometimes all in the same song.

Highlights: I'm Expanding My Mind, Do the Vampire, Mr. Underground, Annetichrist, Shuck & Jive, The Art of Dying

[Timbo]

Slowdive - Pygmalion (1995)



Shoegaze pretty much died right after Slowdive released their sophomore record Soulvaki in 1993. The genre had grown tiresome, with imitators adding very little to the genre. Ride's "Going Blank Again" came out in 1992 and became one of the closest crossover records for the genre, and after that other bands became well known like Swervedriver. But even with Ride, the idea of shoegaze escaped them. With their third record, the universally despised "Carnival of Light," they moved firmly into brit-pop, and soon after their fourth record "Tarantula" they were gone.

That didn't happen with Slowdive. Their story was unfinished when they broke up in 1995, soon after the release of their best album "Pygmalion." Best? That's right. As complete piece of music, "Pygmalion" surpasses "Soulvaki" and "Slowdive" and "Just for a Day." Its also not really a shoegaze album, so its hard to compare the albums when one is clearly not like the rest. Whether we can credit Slowdive with ushering in the usage of electronics into mainstream rock, is left to be verified, but "Pygmalion" takes everything you love about Slowdive - the lush and comfortable blanket of reverb, the angelic vocals from Rachel Goswell, the quietly sinister lyrics of Neil Halstead - and pulls it apart bit by bit. Instead of filling the void with noise, the pieces of "Pygmalion" are stretched further than you would expect them to. The vocals heard on here are far less decipherable (even for a shoegaze band) and find a droney, ambient warmth accompanying them often.

Even if it lead to the demise of Slowdive, and even if fans weren't ready for it, "Pygmalion" represents a band taking a drastic risk, with little support from fans and the label (they were dropped a week after release). It's self indulgent, sure. Songs go on longer than you expect, and what actual vocals you hear, are so drenched in cavernous echoes that it makes it impossible to find a beat or a tempo that you can groove to. But it's so captivating. This is a contemplative record, a crowning achievement for post-rock, a bold step for shoegaze (even if it failed to take off then), and an endearing swan song for the one of the scene's most beloved acts. It's all of the muses of gifted musicians spiraling out, and challenges it's listener like "Metal Machine Music" did or "NYC Ghosts" would end up doing. "Pygmalion" is essential listening for the 90s. It's thoughtful, provoking, and surreal.

[chvrchbarrel]

We heard "U Can't Touch This" on the drive back from Louisville and I had so much fun with it

[chvrchbarrel]

We're roughly halfway through this project, so lets shake the thread up a little bit.

Feel free to share / comment on / review / discuss your favorite compilations, live albums, MTV Unpluggeds, etc. of the '90s.

These are still ineligible for final lists.

I will begin with the always-mesmerizing performance Natalie Merchant gives on "These Are Days" with 10,000 Maniacs from 1993.

[teekoh]

Big Natalie Merchant fan.

[chvrchbarrel]

Jul 3, 2019 10:50:10 GMT -6 ten15 said:

It’s pretty well known on the board that I am a huge fan of power pop. For me, it started with The Raspberries, (The) Sweet and, most of all Cheap Trick. However, Chicago’s own Material Issue stole my heart by releasing my favorite power pop album. International Pop Overthrow was an instant classic. The 1-2-3 punch of songs about girls (Valerie, Diane and Renee) immediately sets the tone. While the album may be a song or two too long, it always puts a smile on my face.

The band were amazing live, and they are still the act I’ve seen perform live more than anyone else (probably 20+). It wasn’t until after Jim Ellison took his own life that I really noticed the underlying sadness to so many of the songs.

Fun fact, the drummer, Mike Zelenko, went to my high school. He’s a couple years older than me, but some of my friends knew him pretty well.

I've also been going back through all the reviewed albums and making sure to listen to them all - this has some greeaaatttt tunes on it. I swore I'd heard this before but couldn't remember any of it. What a good one.

[zircona1]

I could not get into that Material Issue album, which is weird because I love Freak City Soundtrack, one of their later albums.

[ten15]

They changed producers for FCS and it was definitely less of a power pop and more of a rock power trio kind of sound. The harder sound (admittedly, still not very hard) was an attempt at trying to fit in better with the Chicago scene that was happening at the time. The single from FCS was a cover ("Kim the Waitress") that was similar to the traditional Mat Ish sound. Unfortunately, the album flopped.

I like FCS, but it is definitely my least favorite of their 3 albums.

[ten15]

Too Much Joy - Cereal Killers

Another power pop outfit, but Too Much Joy was almost a novelty act. Goofy lyrics, pop culture references, and songs about beer, Too Much Joy was a riot.

Cereal Killers was the group’s third and most popular album. They never could match the popularity of this one, and they dissolved a few years later. Fans of They Might Be Giants should definitely find something to like here.

Standouts are “Crush Story” (the album’s single), Good Kill (with a KRS-One guest appearance), King of Beers, and the closer, Theme Song - which became a drunken sloppy sing along at the end of their shows ( at least the 2 times I saw them). “Smash a glass, and cry Too Much Joy!”

[Tweet]

Ha, remember when I said I was gonna write more reviews for this? Lol amirite?

[zircona1]

Jul 16, 2019 14:59:50 GMT -6 ten15 said:

Too Much Joy - Cereal Killers

Another power pop outfit, but Too Much Joy was almost a novelty act. Goofy lyrics, pop culture references, and songs about beer, Too Much Joy was a riot.

Cereal Killers was the group’s third and most popular album. They never could match the popularity of this one, and they dissolved a few years later. Fans of They Might Be Giants should definitely find something to like here.

Standouts are “Crush Story” (the album’s single), Good Kill (with a KRS-One guest appearance), King of Beers, and the closer, Theme Song - which became a drunken sloppy sing along at the end of their shows ( at least the 2 times I saw them). “Smash a glass, and cry Too Much Joy!”

Whoa, I didn't know you liked Too Much Joy! Awesome. I got into them after reading an interview with Tim Quirk where he told all these crazy stories about how they got sued by Bozo for sampling him on the early version of 'Clowns', and their idea to go down to Florida to play 2 Live Crew songs with a bunch of other bands just to get arrested.

Cereal Killers is good, but my favorite is Son of Sam I Am. I have toyed with covering 'Crush Story' at times. 

I'm gonna go listen to them right now. 

[chvrchbarrel]

Jul 16, 2019 20:35:25 GMT -6 Tweet said:

Ha, remember when I said I was gonna write more reviews for this? Lol amirite?

You've still got a month! Take your time. I've got one or two up my sleeve that may come out today.

...............


I put together a little goth-rock playlist the other night on a whim and it has led me to listen to quite a bit more of Type O Negative. 

It rules. I'm not sure a full album of theirs will make my list but I am very happy to have discovered it.

[goodson]

omg fuck yes i love type o negative

[chvrchbarrel]

Phish - Billy Breathes (1996)




“When the band can play anything...what should they play?” .
-Steve Lillywhite


I love hearing Phish follow each other through jams. It's easy to hear the torch being passed gently across solos and breaks in songs, sometimes songs-within-songs, until you’re somewhere wildly different than where you started. Until...once again, before you know it, you’re back where you began.



No album in Phish’s catalog captures this wanderlust spirit as enjoyably as Billy Breathes. With a mix of songs that had been performed on the road for years, songs that would become live classics, and songs that wouldn’t be played live for 20 years - Billy Breathes does actually breathe. Throughout its 47 minutes, Phish abbreviate some of their best ideas from the road, distilling them to songs that belong on a studio record and yet still beg to be heard live and expanded.



Despite Harris Wittels’ description of getting “zeroed” at a Phish show, I’d go nuts hearing Character Zero to close out a set. The pair of Cars, Trucks, Buses and Talk (the latter unplayed in about a decade) make for an eclectic segue into Theme From the Bottom, maybe the phishest song on the album. Bliss and Swept Away are breaths of fresh air, later on.



This is such an easy listen. Any jam band's catalog can be intimidating to break into, but that melts away when you dive into Billy Breathes. The concepts of Rift or the songwriting of Story of the Ghost are probably equally popular choices for big Phish fans ranking their records - but when I think of Phish, Billy Breathes is everything.

[Deleted]

man if anyone besides me or pale hose get to do the Type O Negative write up then i say we quit the board lol