May 1999

On That Note…(continued)


Marc Mickelson

The Replacements – Let it Be [Twin Tone 8441]

Alienation, embarrassment, restlessness, androgyny -- some ready-made alternative themes -- are all covered on this 1984 release by one of the best bands of the '80s, before alternative as we now know it was a twinkle in anyone's eye.

R.E.M. – Lifes Rich Pageant [IRS IRSD-5783]

R.E.M.'s fourth full-length studio release builds on the obscurity and inventiveness of the collections that precede it, especially the seminal Murmur. Fun and puzzling, like a bag of old trinkets found in a long-unopened drawer.

Liz Phair – Exile in Guyville [Matador OLE 051-2]

An 18-track guitar-driven collection whose title points out its subject, Exile in Guyville balances anger with insight and tunefulness, never becoming an all-out rant. Phair knows men, some of them at least, and Exile is the work of a woman scorned and pissed.

Jennifer Trynin – Cockamamie [Squint/Warner Brothers 9 45931-2]

Probably doomed to endless comparisons to Chrissie Hynde and Liz Phair, Jen Trynin (she shortened her first name for her second album, Gun Shy Trigger Happy) was a desktop publisher by day and singer-songwriter by night whose first collection, Cockamamie, caught the ears of Warner Brothers, who re-released it in its entirety. Urban and lovestruck, the story-songs on Cockamamie, none over four minutes, groove with heart.

Gin Blossoms – New Miserable Experience [A&M 75021 5403 2]

Taking over a year to find its audience, New Miserable Experience cemented alternative's ability to be a big money-maker for a big label. You won't see the name Doug Hopkins listed as part of Gin Blossoms, but he wrote a number of the songs on New Miserable Experience, was ousted from the band shortly after the collection was completed, and committed suicide in late 1993, a short time after his song "Hey Jealousy" went gold.


Steve Rochlin:

Various – Punk O Rama Volume 2 [Epitaph 86484-2]

Well, it seems as though I'm gonna take the low high road here. Instead of just picking an album, time to lay on you a compilation. Scraight from the folks at Epitaph comes a measly $4 sampler disc taken from their 1995-1996 bands. New it might not be, but whatever they are calling "alternative" today is lame. At least this disc will give you an idea what real alternative is like -- if not quite a "full flave" of da true underground alternative scene. We will get to that later. Songs like Bad Religion’s "Give You Nothing," which proudly hails "I give you me, I give you nothing," and T.S.O.L.’s "Code Blue," which is about necrophagia, are surely a relief from this watered-down pop-progressive that makes me wanna yak. Of course, the great Epitaph-signed band Pennywise is here singing "Screw the perfect people, fuck they all look the same" from their song "Perfect People." Tunes from SNFU, Down By Law, Descendents and DFL are here too! There are a total of 16 tracks on this $4 CD that will just give you an idea what real music is like in this genre. Just say no to lame sell-out alternative music.

Various – ESPN X-Games Volume 1 [Tommy Boy TBCD 1173]

My goodness, here is another 1996 release! Maybe 1996 was a good year for alternative. This is before the majors (labels) bought and sold (out) alternative as fast as the Spice Girls, Backstreet Boys, and N-Sync. Here we have the Goo Goo Dolls "Only One Performed," which will let you hear their earlier stuff, the killer band Gravity Kills screaming their song "Guilty" like a cop sez to me each time I get yet another speeding ticket for going over 100 MPH, and Korn doin' "Blind." Yeah, Korn! The recording quality is actually quite impressive too. Korn’s "Blind" starts out with nice cymbals and some bass. Eventually, it goes into all out warfare, just like I likes it. Are you ready?!? In fact, even Lenny Kravitz "Are You Gonna Go My Way" is here on this amazingly good 17-track CD. Looky here, I dunno who ESPN picked to choose these 17 tracks, but it obviously was not some lame corporate suit weasel! There is just no way for me to describe how great the independent bands were years ago. Let’s call this "old school alternative" -- and remember who ya heard the phrase from first! Oh, before I bolt on outta this album review, Ministry "Jesus Built My Hot Rod" is another great blast on this CD. Yeah, I love fast cars, SE tube amps and high-sensitivity speakers. Just call me the "old school alternative high-performance audio dude." Soon I discovered that this SE tube/high sensitivity speaker thing was true…all of a sudden I found myself in love with the world. So there was only one thing that I could do is: ding-a-ding-dang my dang-a-long-ling-long.

Rage Against the Machine – Evil Empire [Epic 57523], or their self-titled album [Epic ZK-52959], both on vinyl

Step away from that sick 1999 pop/alternative clique. It's time we take the power back! BAM! Here's the plan! Rage Against the Machine’s (R.A.T.M.) first serial thriller release was in 1992. This self-titled, self-released (!) highly explosive album featured the photo of a dude who set himself on fire! In fact, this is none other then the famous Pulitzer Prize-winning photo of Thich Quang Duc, who was a Buddhist monk, immolating himself on a main intersection in Saigon Vietnam on June 11, 1963. This was in protest to the rule of Ngo Dinh Diem, the American-backed leader of Vietnam who led an anti-Buddhist campaign in Southern Vietnam. Anyway, the whole point here is that the music is awesome. In fact. R.A.T.M.’s second album released, Evil Empire, went to #1 on the US charts! So what's the music like? One kinda rage-arifficly slammin' funky kinda beat. It’s diverse, fresh even today, and has driving drums and upbeat bass that make ya wanna join the mosh pit. The Rage seems to basically be about freedom, fairness, and asking listeners to fight for their beliefs. Both albums are great in my humble opinion, though if I had to choose a favorite, it would be their self-titled album. Songs like "Bombtrack," "Take The Power Back," and "Fistful of Steel" are the kind of music that makes me wanna kill my TV set. Well, there'd be no great loss there anyway. Another great tune called "Settle For Nothing, " which goes on and sez: "Landlords and power whores. On my people they took turns. Dispute the suits I ignite and then watch 'em burn. Burn, burn, yes ya gonna burn." Kinda sez it all right there. After all the rage is relentless… and available on vinyl too!

Suicidal Tendencies – Suicidal For Life [Epic EK-57774]

While Rage Against the Machine is all about caring and standing up for what you believe in, Suicidal Tendencies is all about "I don’t care, but let's fight for it anyway. What the fuck." Suicidal For Life was released in 1994, and I consider it the band’s best effort. With song titles like "Don't Give a Fuck," "No Bullshit," and "I Wouldn't Mind (Seeing You Dead)," it is quite obvious what we have here. One big "screw everyone else, I'm OK, you ain’t got a clue and leave me the hell alone" attitude that makes me proud to love this group. Now imagine that mind-set put to hard-driving chords, screaming guitar solos, and thrashing drums. It all adds up to Suicidal Tendencies at their finest! I must admit these guys are about as innocent as I am with always driving the speed limit in my car. Still, when it's late at night and no one is on the road, who is to say what speed is legal? Question: If you drive at 120+ MPH on a deserted road late at night, are you guilty of breaking the speed limit? It is this same attitude with shatteringly killer guitar licks and energetic drumming that forces my body into overdrive while listening to this album. Of course, it could just be that these guys and I are psycho! Lemme turn ya on to some lyrics:

"…I got to think a different way
The old way got me nowhere
The new way got me somewhere
But nowhere where I wanted to go or where I belong
I gotta go back to the old way…"

So I guess to conclude this tasty treat, there ain’t no one that can make you feel like (you are) someone. How can you love someone if you think that you're no one? Life is a paradox. Nuff said.


Greg Smith:

Violent Femmes – Violent Femmes [Slash 9 23845-2]

I am not a person apt to appear spontaneously on a dance floor. So when I tell you that pretty much any song from the Violent Femmes' first album usually gets me moving in a fashion quite dangerous to those in my immediate vicinity, you know that this collection really is something. Here in Hoboken, the Femmes early work is a popular favorite among cover bands, but none of them come close to capturing the manic intensity of the original. Gordon Gano's clever, angst-ridden lyrics are sung in an appropriately frantic style, and the band's energy is infectious and memorable. Every time I hear the unmistakable opening notes to "Blister in the Sun," you can be guaranteed there will be a smile on my face and at least a tapping foot. That's your cue to step back before I get into motion and endanger anyone in the near vicinity.

XTC – Skylarking [Mobile Fidelity UDCD 615]

At one point, most people have roommates with different tastes in music than their own. One person I lived with for over a year was the most maddening. While we had a number of common musical interests, the bulk of each of our collections was quite disturbing to the other. XTC's Skylarking was his only successful effort to get me interested in something he loved that I didn't like at first listen. This one grew on me quite; there are some catchy bits that hooked their way into my brain without really holding for years. All of the sudden, one day it went from being an album that I merely tolerated to something that I liked quite a bit. I still don't "get" most of the rest of the stuff from the group very much. Skylarking was done under the intrusive production of Todd Rundgren and benefits from his influence in my view (and the Mobile Fidelity remastering makes for especially excellent CD sonics). You'll find some of the smoothest transitions between songs you'll ever hear on Skylarking. There are a number of tracks that I never realized were separate until I looked at the liner notes and figured out where the break was. For those who, like me, could never find something to buy to file under the letter X, you won't find anything better than this.

Nine Inch Nails – Pretty Hate Machine [TVT 2610-2]

If you could capture 49 minutes of anger in digital form and release it on compact disc, you'd probably get something that sounds a lot like Pretty Hate Machine. As the liner notes say, Nine Inch Nails is Trent Reznor, and Trent Reznor has serious issues with the world. The target is constantly shifting: money, God, women, infidelity, the devil, drunken romance, all the things that make our lives so wonderful. Spinning Pretty Hate Machine is an emotional roulette wheel, accompanied by the one-man array of sonic textures Reznor weaves. The layered, synthesized soundstage is a sonic marvel to listen to. Later imitators of Nine Inch Nails are just whining; Trent is seriously pissed off about being pushed around by everything and everyone. Forget about the explicit-lyrics sticker: Pretty Hate Machine should include a warning to hide all the razor blades, medication, and guns you might have around the house.

Pearl Jam – Ten [Sony SRCS 5634]

It seems obvious to include Pearl Jam's zillion-selling debut on a list of alternative-music titles, but I always thought it stuck out as a particularly noteworthy gem from an era where pop radio was a barely listenable mess to me. The straightforward rock sensibilities of the band's playing recalled a host of guitar-laden bands from decades before, the same ones I was listening to while hiding from the music of the early 90s. The dark lyrics contrast against catchy musical hooks and slick pop production. In my opinion, later work from Pearl Jam never came close to equaling the quality of this album. The Japanese version of Ten that I have includes a bizarre cover of the Beatles "I've Got a Feeling," while also giving a name to the mysterious bonus track: "Master/Slave." Pearl Jam is certainly the master of their material on this album, which justly deserves all its accolades (and sales).

Matthew Sweet – Girlfriend [Zoo 72445-11015-2]

I still don't know where this recording came from. Listening to Matthew Sweet's mediocre earlier releases, like 1986's Inside and 1989's Earth, you would never have known the guy would work up to making a true classic like Girlfriend. Grounded in a classic-pop-and-rock style, Girlfriend is a perfectly crafted release that lets Sweet's formidable playing skills loose with guitars, bass and piano, all accompanied by his plaintive vocals. Any of the 15 tracks on this album could have been a hit single. The songs that did get lots of radio play just scratch the surface of the fantastically constructed music here. Sadly, Sweet's albums after this one have declined steadily in quality, but for this one disc he got everything right.


Todd Warnke:

Cocteau Twins – Blue Bell Knoll – [4AD C2-90892 CD – 4AD 807 LP]

Shoegazer pop, alternative pop, experimental adult pop: it doesn’t matter what you call this trio, especially when Elizabeth Fraser is singing, or whatever it is she calls those sounds. Blue Bell Knoll is this duo’s major-label debut, and it gives up nothing to reach a wider audience. Ethereal, enigmatic and at turns both vague and ambiguous, this 1988 recording is the best entry point to the Cocteau Twins. If you like it, don’t miss their collaboration with minimalist/ambient composer Harold Budd, The Moon and the Melodies.

Sundays – Reading Writing & Arithmetic – [DGC D2-24277]

This 1990 recording, the debut from the duo that is The Sundays, is still their best work. The album is a canny combination of dream-pop and jangle rock, and the hit, "Can’t Be Sure" is just one of a host of very good to great songs on the disc. Out of print from 1991 to 1996 (the original label, Rough Trade, went out of business), R, W & A, is back and worth looking up.

Golden Palominos – This Is How It Feels – [Restless 72735-2]

Founded by Anton Fier and Bill Laswell, Golden Palominos have been a long-time hang out for various and sundry non-mainstream rock/funk/jazz folks like Michael Stipe, Richard Thompson, Matthew Sweet, Syd Straw, Jack Bruce, John Lydon, John Zorn, Bob Mould, Bernie Worrell and Bootsy Collins. This particular version uses Lori Carson’s lyrics and vocals set against the core of the band. This is How It Feels combines excellent sonics, awesome bass lines, atmospheric melodies and intelligent lyrics. Part pop, parts dance, semi-ambient, and funk-influenced, this album best represents later Palominos. If you like this album, be sure to get the follow-up, Pure. Besides great music, the cover of Pure is the best reason to lament the loss of the 12" album jacket. And don’t miss the band’s earlier stuff. Either one of the best-of collections (1982-85 or 1986-89) will give a broad overview of this overlooked, ever-changing but never-less-than-superb band.


Ian White

Tori Amos – Little Earthquakes [EastWest CD 82358] [EastWest LP 7567-82358-1]

It’s rather fitting irony that the daughter of a strict Methodist preacher would grow up to become one of alternative music’s most provocative singer/songwriters. Tori Amos’ story is unusual, and a painful one at that. Her quirky lyrics and musings about sex, rape, religion, and love deeply engross some listeners and grossly disturb others. I fall into the "deeply engrossed" camp and find her sultry, somewhat raspy voice irresistible. While others in the alternative camp have relied heavily upon shrieking vocals and annoyingly repetitive guitar solos, Amos took the simple approach and relies on her own piano playing to help convey her rather public confessions. Little Earthquakes lacks the polished finish of Under the Pink, but its songs are far meatier in substance and deeply disturbing to my ears. There really isn’t a dud in the entire 12-song collection, but some tracks such as "Me And a Gun" and "Silent All These Years" resonate louder inside my head than others. "Me And a Gun" hauntingly describes her real-life rape, and its brutal frankness is most humbling. Amos excels at making you feel her pain, whether you want to or not. I never feel good after listening to this song.

Sonically, the vinyl absolutely massacres the CD, but it’s not the easiest to find. Piano notes have greater weight on the vinyl copy, and I find that the highs are smoother as well. The CD sounds pretty good, but the record is the way to go. Tori Amos has deviated from her strengths (stark quirky lyrics, her piano playing) on her most recent recordings and it only makes me enjoy Little Earthquakes that much more. She’s an incredibly clever, bold, and sexy storyteller who distinguishes herself from the competition when she writes songs as good as these.

Green Day – nimrod [Reprise CDW 46794][Reprise LP 9362-46794-1]

Nirvana may have been the band that opened the floodgates in the early 90s, but Green Day has kept the "true" spirit of the alternative movement alive with its hard-hitting chords and politically incorrect lyrics. It’s most certainly a stretch to compare Green Day to such bands as The Who, Led Zeppelin, The Sex Pistols, and The Clash, but the pop-punk trio from Oakland (Billie Joe Anderson, Mike Dirnt, Tre’ Cool) have an energy about them, not to mention a solid sense of humor, that is somewhat reminiscent of their predecessors. On their first three albums, they remained fairly true to their punk roots, but with nimrod, they branched off, and the results met with mixed reaction. nimrod isn’t as "angry " sounding as Dookie or Insomniac, but the music has greater depth to it. Billie Joe Anderson proves that he can play more than just three chords, and his hooks and melodies are far more memorable. I would be the first to admit that "Time of Your Life" was the most overplayed song of 1998 (they even used it on the Seinfeld finale), but there are a dozen songs out of the eighteen that are extremely catchy. Songs like "Hitchin’ A Ride," "Uptight," "The Grouch," and "King For A Day" clearly demonstrate that the boys have matured musically. The HDCD recording is top-drawer, with extremely clean-sounding vocals and articulate bass.

When life becomes too much, your rent check bounces, your girlfriend runs off with the dog trainer, don’t go looking for the 12-gauge that grandma bought you for Chanukah; pull out your copy of nimrod and jump around your listening room. It’ll be extremely cathartic.

Barenaked Ladies – Gordon [Reprise 9 26956-2]

Long before actor/director/hunk Jason Priestly got his hands on Toronto’s Barenaked Ladies and made them one of the most popular bands of 1998, they recorded this gem. While the songs on their latest album, Stunt, are a major improvement over the two duds that they released following Gordon, it is the debut album that is a must-listen. While other bands in the alternative movement mope incessantly about suicide, alienation, and depression, the Barenaked Ladies use humor, satire and sarcasm to great effect. Lead singer Steven Page has a tremendous set of pipes and great range, which he clearly demonstrates with the singles "Brian Wilson," and "What a Good Boy." While they do cover serious topics like relationships, abuse, and alienation, the pop quintet shine when their bizarre and refreshingly unpretentious humor tackles life with the singles "Be My Yoko Ono," "Grade 9," and "If I Had $1,000,000." Their music is a combination of swing, pop, folk, all rolled up into one and it makes their songs eminently listenable. Since the release of Gordon, Barenaked Ladies have become too serious for their own good and have strayed from the formula that made them so popular in the early 90s. Gordon is well recorded, and the performers have a decent degree of spatial definition. Steven Page’s singing stands out because of the album’s clarity, and it gets better as you increase the volume. Ed Robertson’s guitar playing and Jim Creeggan’s double-bass playing keep the songs together and they are fairly strong front pair. A real sleeper of a debut album.

Shonen Knife – Let’s Knife [Virgin 86638]

Shonen Knife is never going to grace the cover of Guitar Player or Bass Player magazines. Their musicianship may leave a lot to be desired, but this thirty-something trio of Japanese punk rock chicks is the greatest parody of the Ramones that I have ever heard. Bassist and lead singer Michie Nakatani doesn’t exactly soothe my soul like Tori Amos, but she doesn’t send me running from the room either, which is more than I can say for Courtney Love. Shonen Knife is a parody of western culture from a Japanese perspective, and while some might find the lyrics in the singles "Twist Barbie," "Antonio Baka Guy," and "Tortoise Brand Pot Scrubbing," incredibly infantile, they are rather clever and perceptive once you let them sink in. This CD is never going to win any awards for deep social commentary, but it’s a fun album and something that you can dance to. While I don’t see the need for a DCC reissue of this CD, it’s worth the effort searching out this rather odd view of western culture and deeply more gratifying than anything that Hole ever released.

Smashing Pumpkins – Siamese Dream [Virgin 22252][Hut Recording HUTLP 11]

If you want your parents to finally throw you out of their basement, play Siamese Dream as loud as your system can handle. I take no responsibility for any damage caused to spongy wooden floors with antiquated joists. In my opinion, Smashing Pumpkins’ breakthrough second album is the greatest "air guitar" recording of the entire alternative genre, with James Iha’s thunderous, bombastic, heavy-metal riffs being the single best excuse for jumping out of your listening chair and playing air guitar in your gutkas at four o’clock in the morning. Siamese Dream is somewhat overbearing the first time that you play it, and it took me more than a dozen listens before I found myself addicted to it. It expands on the intricate melodies and detail of the Pumpkins’ debut album Gish, but also provides a number of pop-punk tracks such as "Cherub Rock," "Today," "Rocket," and "Disarm." Lead Singer Billy Corgan’s lyrics don’t always make sense, but his take on teenage angst, despair, love, and loneliness is far less depressing than Nirvana’s. Siamese Dream is far more romantic and ambitious-sounding than anything released by Nirvana, Pearl Jam, or even Soul Asylum and it is one of the few must-have recordings in the alternative category. Sonically, both the CD and the vinyl are excellent recordings, with the vinyl winning out if you want to hear just how good this recording can sound. The CD is just crying out for a DCC or MoFi reissue.

Radiohead – The Bends [Parlophone 7243 8 29626 2 5]

If you thought that anthem rock had all but vanished, think again. While MTV and VH1 tout the brilliance of Radiohead’s latest recording, Ok Computer, it is this 1995 release that should have made Thom Yorke and the lads as huge as R.E.M. or U2. Melancholy and mental anguish resonate throughout the 12 tracks. The quintet of Yorke, Greenwood, Greenwood, O’Brien, and Selway create a wonderfully textured, melodic, and ambitious sound that reminds me of another original British band, Pink Floyd, whose anthemic sound was grand, forceful, and full of hauntingly melodic tunes. These guys sound so far removed from the Seattle sound that it’s easy to get caught up by songs like "High and Dry," and "Black Star." The Bends is devoid of the monotonous repetition that is pervasive in alternative music, and it really does showcase that these guys were willing to take chances with their music and not follow what was selling the best at HMV or Virgin Records. If anything, The Bends confirms my belief that Oasis is a bunch of wanna-be rock stars with substantially less talent and creativity than Radiohead. There is a tremendous amount of detail on this album, and it’ll take more than just a few listens to discover it.


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