[rts] twenty years ago, part 2
Dec. 17th, 2011 04:36 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
jon_chaissonMore videos from the second half of 1991, for your perusal...
The Dream Academy, "Love" from A Different Kind of Weather, rel. July 1991.
Another Beatles-related cover this year, this one from a band that referenced them in their big hit "Life in a Northern Town" back in 1985. Very indicative of the British trippiness of the dance pop of the time.
The Meat Puppets, "Sam" from Forbidden Places, rel. July 1991.
One of those wonderful MP songs that really doesn't make much sense at all, but is nonetheless a fun song. WFNX had a field day playing this one that summer.
Bootsauce, "Scratching the Whole" from The Brown Album, rel. July 1991.
WFNX loved this one too. Strange funk metal from Canada, this band really didn't do much of anything stateside, but this was another great song from that year.
Gary Clail On-U Sound System, "Human Nature" from The Emotional Hooligan, rel. July 1991.
On a slightly different note, the club/house/electronica sound had already started popping up some years earlier, and Gary Clail was right there with the best of them over in the UK--check out his Tackhead albums for a more dark industrial sound, though. This was definitely a club favorite in Boston at the time.
Ned's Atomic Dustbin, "Kill Your Television" from God Fodder, rel. 7/2/91.
Gotta love a band that uses two bass players, one playing the high end and one playing the low end. More guitar-infused Britpop, this album is well worth picking up just for the musicianship alone.
The Wolfgang Press, "A Girl Like You" from Queer, rel. August 1991.
Probably one of my top 10 favorite albums of the year, this was the opening track to the US version of the album, and a very interesting change of direction for them--these were the 4AD guys who were more noise-oriented only a few years earlier.
The Orb, "Little Fluffy Clouds" from The Orb's Adventures Beyond the Ultraworld, rel. August 1991.
(No official video) This one really didn't get noticed until 1999 (I think) when Volkswagen used it in a commercial, but I remember hearing it every now and again late at night on the radio. Definitely a techno staple.
Voice of the Beehive, "Monsters and Angels" from Honey Lingers, rel. 8/20/91.
Everyone remembers the other single from this album (their fun cover of "I Think I Love You"), but I always liked this band and this song. Nice use of a Hopper painting in this one.
Tribe, "Joyride (I Saw the Film)" from Abort, rel. 9/10/91.
Oh, man. Tribe was THE hot band in Boston at the time, and Janet LaValley was THE hot local female singer. It's a pity they never went much further than one more album--by the time they hit the big time, harder grunge had taken over the airwaves--but they were an AWESOME local band done good. Nifty Trivia: post-breakup, the lead guitarist, keyboardist, and bassist founded a company called Harmonix, which created the hugely popular video game Guitar Hero. Somewhat related, check out "Outside", my favorite track of theirs, a playable track on Rock Band.
The Golden Palominos, "The Haunting" from Drunk with Passion, rel. 9/17/91.
I was a passive fan of this band until this album. Maybe it's the 4AD-like cover (I believe 23 Envelope was involved), the heavy reverb, and the Cocteau Twins-ish atmosphere, but it's a beautiful album from start to finish--even with Bob Mould's screamfest "Dying from the Inside Out" as the next-to-last track. SO worth picking up.
Pixies, "Alec Eiffel" from Trompe Le Monde, rel. 9/23/91.
This was sadly their last official album and the last we'd see of them for years, but they never gave up being loud, heavy, and sufficiently nerdy when need be. Who else would come up with the lyric "Pioneer of aerodynamics..." about an architect?
MC 900 Ft Jesus, "The City Sleeps" from Welcome to My Dream, rel. 9/24/91.
Loved the creepiness of this song, especially since it's sung in the POV of a serial arsonist. It was never a big hit, but it's definitely a memorable track from the time. The Boston clubs loved this one as well, interestingly enough.
Primal Scream, "Higher Than the Sun" from Screamadelica, rel. 10/8/91.
My top favorite album of 1991 (actually, it's The La's eponymous, but that officially came out late 1990). This is an EXCELLENT piece of Britpop history that effectively captures the blissed-out trippiness of house/electronica/club, as well as the band's original Stones-y like rock. This is my favorite track from it. You MUST have this one in your collection.
Erasure, "Chorus" from Chorus, rel. 10/14/91.
I've always liked this band, and I've seen them live twice (and trust me, seeing singer Andy Bell dressed up as the Statue of Liberty and later shaking his butt at the audience is kinda hard to forget, no matter how hard you try). This was a great pop song from them, and their second single "Love to Hate You" (which shamelessly steals from "I Will Survive") was great as well.
The Shamen, "Move Any Mountain" from En-Tact, rel. 10/22/91.
Another club favorite from the early 90s that I've always liked. This album contained work from producers that later became big names in the electronica field: Orbital, William Orbit, Paul Oakenfold, Graham Massey, Steve Osborne...it's a great dance album worth having.
Matthew Sweet, "Girlfriend" from Girlfriend, rel. 10/22/91.
I always wanted to do a cover of this song! This one pushed him into the big time, and it's well worth it...he's a great songwriter and singer. I also loved the fact that he used anime for his video here (and for the video for "I've Been Waiting", which features Urusei Yatsura).
Wir, "So and Slow it Grows" from The First Letter, rel. 10/22/91.
The Robert Gotobed-less Wire dropped the last letter of their name, turned a three sideways to create the "W" in the name, and put out one album, one single, and later one 12-inch before temporarily breaking up again. Being the huge Wire fan that I am, I loved this album even though it pales in comparison to many of their other releases.
My Bloody Valentine, "Only Shallow" and "Soon" from Loveless, rel. 11/4/91.
The album that nearly bankrupted Creation Records, and the last MBV album released, and yes, the critics are right--it's an effing BRILLIANT album of pure Britpop/Shoegaze goodness. A few weird tracks here and there, but the music nerd in me is always asking, "How the hell did he get that sound out of a guitar?"
U2, "Until the End of the World" from Acthung Baby (rel. 11/19/91) and Until the End of the World soundtrack, rel. 12/10/91.
Do yourself a favor, and find a copy of Wim Wenders' movie Until the End of the World on VHS, or find a dvd player that'll play all regions and get the international version (known under its German title of Bis ans Ende der Welt). It's by no means his best (that would of course be Wings of Desire) but it's an absolutely wonderful movie with an excellent soundtrack. One of my top 10 movies of all time.
The Dream Academy, "Love" from A Different Kind of Weather, rel. July 1991.
Another Beatles-related cover this year, this one from a band that referenced them in their big hit "Life in a Northern Town" back in 1985. Very indicative of the British trippiness of the dance pop of the time.
The Meat Puppets, "Sam" from Forbidden Places, rel. July 1991.
One of those wonderful MP songs that really doesn't make much sense at all, but is nonetheless a fun song. WFNX had a field day playing this one that summer.
Bootsauce, "Scratching the Whole" from The Brown Album, rel. July 1991.
WFNX loved this one too. Strange funk metal from Canada, this band really didn't do much of anything stateside, but this was another great song from that year.
Gary Clail On-U Sound System, "Human Nature" from The Emotional Hooligan, rel. July 1991.
On a slightly different note, the club/house/electronica sound had already started popping up some years earlier, and Gary Clail was right there with the best of them over in the UK--check out his Tackhead albums for a more dark industrial sound, though. This was definitely a club favorite in Boston at the time.
Ned's Atomic Dustbin, "Kill Your Television" from God Fodder, rel. 7/2/91.
Gotta love a band that uses two bass players, one playing the high end and one playing the low end. More guitar-infused Britpop, this album is well worth picking up just for the musicianship alone.
The Wolfgang Press, "A Girl Like You" from Queer, rel. August 1991.
Probably one of my top 10 favorite albums of the year, this was the opening track to the US version of the album, and a very interesting change of direction for them--these were the 4AD guys who were more noise-oriented only a few years earlier.
The Orb, "Little Fluffy Clouds" from The Orb's Adventures Beyond the Ultraworld, rel. August 1991.
(No official video) This one really didn't get noticed until 1999 (I think) when Volkswagen used it in a commercial, but I remember hearing it every now and again late at night on the radio. Definitely a techno staple.
Voice of the Beehive, "Monsters and Angels" from Honey Lingers, rel. 8/20/91.
Everyone remembers the other single from this album (their fun cover of "I Think I Love You"), but I always liked this band and this song. Nice use of a Hopper painting in this one.
Tribe, "Joyride (I Saw the Film)" from Abort, rel. 9/10/91.
Oh, man. Tribe was THE hot band in Boston at the time, and Janet LaValley was THE hot local female singer. It's a pity they never went much further than one more album--by the time they hit the big time, harder grunge had taken over the airwaves--but they were an AWESOME local band done good. Nifty Trivia: post-breakup, the lead guitarist, keyboardist, and bassist founded a company called Harmonix, which created the hugely popular video game Guitar Hero. Somewhat related, check out "Outside", my favorite track of theirs, a playable track on Rock Band.
The Golden Palominos, "The Haunting" from Drunk with Passion, rel. 9/17/91.
I was a passive fan of this band until this album. Maybe it's the 4AD-like cover (I believe 23 Envelope was involved), the heavy reverb, and the Cocteau Twins-ish atmosphere, but it's a beautiful album from start to finish--even with Bob Mould's screamfest "Dying from the Inside Out" as the next-to-last track. SO worth picking up.
Pixies, "Alec Eiffel" from Trompe Le Monde, rel. 9/23/91.
This was sadly their last official album and the last we'd see of them for years, but they never gave up being loud, heavy, and sufficiently nerdy when need be. Who else would come up with the lyric "Pioneer of aerodynamics..." about an architect?
MC 900 Ft Jesus, "The City Sleeps" from Welcome to My Dream, rel. 9/24/91.
Loved the creepiness of this song, especially since it's sung in the POV of a serial arsonist. It was never a big hit, but it's definitely a memorable track from the time. The Boston clubs loved this one as well, interestingly enough.
Primal Scream, "Higher Than the Sun" from Screamadelica, rel. 10/8/91.
My top favorite album of 1991 (actually, it's The La's eponymous, but that officially came out late 1990). This is an EXCELLENT piece of Britpop history that effectively captures the blissed-out trippiness of house/electronica/club, as well as the band's original Stones-y like rock. This is my favorite track from it. You MUST have this one in your collection.
Erasure, "Chorus" from Chorus, rel. 10/14/91.
I've always liked this band, and I've seen them live twice (and trust me, seeing singer Andy Bell dressed up as the Statue of Liberty and later shaking his butt at the audience is kinda hard to forget, no matter how hard you try). This was a great pop song from them, and their second single "Love to Hate You" (which shamelessly steals from "I Will Survive") was great as well.
The Shamen, "Move Any Mountain" from En-Tact, rel. 10/22/91.
Another club favorite from the early 90s that I've always liked. This album contained work from producers that later became big names in the electronica field: Orbital, William Orbit, Paul Oakenfold, Graham Massey, Steve Osborne...it's a great dance album worth having.
Matthew Sweet, "Girlfriend" from Girlfriend, rel. 10/22/91.
I always wanted to do a cover of this song! This one pushed him into the big time, and it's well worth it...he's a great songwriter and singer. I also loved the fact that he used anime for his video here (and for the video for "I've Been Waiting", which features Urusei Yatsura).
Wir, "So and Slow it Grows" from The First Letter, rel. 10/22/91.
The Robert Gotobed-less Wire dropped the last letter of their name, turned a three sideways to create the "W" in the name, and put out one album, one single, and later one 12-inch before temporarily breaking up again. Being the huge Wire fan that I am, I loved this album even though it pales in comparison to many of their other releases.
My Bloody Valentine, "Only Shallow" and "Soon" from Loveless, rel. 11/4/91.
The album that nearly bankrupted Creation Records, and the last MBV album released, and yes, the critics are right--it's an effing BRILLIANT album of pure Britpop/Shoegaze goodness. A few weird tracks here and there, but the music nerd in me is always asking, "How the hell did he get that sound out of a guitar?"
U2, "Until the End of the World" from Acthung Baby (rel. 11/19/91) and Until the End of the World soundtrack, rel. 12/10/91.
Do yourself a favor, and find a copy of Wim Wenders' movie Until the End of the World on VHS, or find a dvd player that'll play all regions and get the international version (known under its German title of Bis ans Ende der Welt). It's by no means his best (that would of course be Wings of Desire) but it's an absolutely wonderful movie with an excellent soundtrack. One of my top 10 movies of all time.
