Category: Alternative
-
Creed ‘Human Clay’ (1999)
Creed has long been a fixture in internet culture, first as a convenient punching bag for all that was wrong with the post-grunge movement that dominated the airwaves following Kurt Cobain’s death following Nirvana’s 1991 magnum opus Nevermind, and now as a sort of “return of the millennial” rallying cry in the 2020’s as rock…
Written by
·
-
Cherry Poppin’ Daddies ‘Zoot Suit Riot’ (1997)
Cherry Poppin’ Daddies were sort of a novelty act in the late 90’s that blended ska and swing into an energetic ball of fun. I remember as a middle schooler thinking how cool the music video for “Zoot Suit Riot” was— basically a perfect blend of punk rock culture (RIP to chain wallets, you are…
Written by
·
-
Rainbow Kitten Surprise ‘RKS’ (2015)
Rainbow Kitten Surprise was quite the surprise (yes, pun intended) for me when I flipped on their album RKS yesterday. It was suggested to me by someone in January when I was collecting album recommendations for my one album per day listening project and ended up on a spreadsheet unattributed. Put another way, I have…
Written by
·
-
Local H ‘As Good as Dead’ (1996)
Local H is predominantly known for their smash 90’s alternative rock single “Bound For The Floor” which is about as mid-90’s grunge as you can get– staccato downstroke guitar punches interspersed with lyrics that detail the weight of depression and a feeling that the feeling is inevitable without escape. It still sounds as good as…
Written by
·
-
Hole ‘Live Through This’ (1994)
An album cover can be worth a thousand words, and Hole’s Live Through This certainly is one of those album covers. A manic pageant winner, mascara streaming down her face after a bout of tears, holding up a bouquet of flowers while an almost comically ostentatious tiara adorns her head. It’s a picture that evokes…
Written by
·
-
Jimmy Eat World ‘Bleed American’ (2001)
I love a great album opener. It is a manifesto for an album that not only sets the stage but also defines what comes after it. Bleed American has an incredible opening song. The title track is hands down my favorite Jimmy song of all-time for about a million different reasons, the primary one being…
Written by
·
-
Matthew. ‘CAMBRIA: The Lost Sessions’ (2023)
So this is a fun one! Today we’re doing a write up of my newest EP entitled CAMBRIA: The Lost Sessions that just hit streaming services while your wee little heads were asleep. Before we go into each individual track and the meaning behind them, a little history lesson on how this EP came to…
Written by
·
-
Depeche Mode ‘Violator’ (1990)
Depeche Mode’s Violator took the gothic undertones of 1985’s Black Celebration and turned it up about 11 notches to create a massive arena-ready avalanche of brooding synths that cascade throughout the entire album. We’ve mentioned this about a few bands in the past (The xx being a notable example) but Depeche Mode manages to blur…
Written by
·
-
Harvey Danger ‘Where Have All The Merrymakers Gone?’ (1997)
Filled with sardonic wit and blissfully fuzzed-out guitars, Harvey Danger’s debut album Where Have All The Merrymakers Gone is a chef’s kiss representation of all the things that made 90’s alternative so titillating. Sean Nelson’s sneering and detached vocal approach is frankly a match made in heaven alongside Jeff Lin’s overdriven guitars, Aaron Huffman’s bouncing…
Written by
·
-
Matchbox 20 ‘Yourself or Someone Like You’ (1996)
As a 90’s kid Yourself or Someone Like You is one of those albums you knew was big when you were growing up but never fully completely grasped just how popular it was until you do a quick review on Wikipedia two decades later. To this day it stands as one of the Top 100…
Written by
·
-
Soundgarden ‘Superunknown’ (1993)
Superunknown is a hard rock masterpiece, merging disparate elements of grunge, heavy metal, alternative rock, and punk into a vicious pistol whip of a record. There simply was no band better at combining elements of the snakelike grooves of Black Sabbath, the electric vocal hooks of AC/DC, and the raw primal energy of Nirvana. Simply…
Written by
·
-
Black Rebel Motorcycle Club ‘B.R.M.C’ (2001)
Black Rebel Motorcycle Club has largely been somewhat of a cult underground rock band for over two decades now, dipping into the mainstream during the garage rock revival in the mid 2000’s. They are a rock fan’s rock band through and through— grimy guitars, garage rock edgy drums, bass tones loaded with fuzz, and straightforward…
Written by
·
-
Nirvana ‘Nevermind’ (1991)
As a skater punk during my early teens Nevermind (alongside Green Day’s Dookie) was on literal repeat as me and my buddy skated in front of his house on Cleo Avenue. To say it was a formative part of my childhood experience as I made the transition from a young kid to a young man…
Written by
·
-
Sound City ‘Real To Reel’ (2013)
Ed. Note: Welcome to Sound City week here at Music of Matthew dot com! This week we’ll be covering some notable albums recorded at the legendary Sound City studio in Los Angeles, which was covered in great detail in Dave Grohl’s excellent 2013 documentary “Sound City”. To kick off Sound City week we’re starting with…
Written by
·
-
Violent Femmes ‘Violent Femmes’ (1983)
It’s sort of shocking Violent Femmes debut album came out all the way back in 1983. It sounds more 90’s alternative rock than the majority of actual 90’s alternative rock bands, and in retrospect became one of the most influential alternative albums that effectively kickstarted the genre that would take over the mainstream world a…
Written by
·
-
Alanis Morissette ‘Jagged Little Pill’ (1995)
Earlier this year we listened to Everclear’s So Much For The Afterglow and I talked your ear off about what makes the lyrics of 90’s alternative rock so great and enduring. As I said at the time: Peek under the hood of a lot of [the] songs and you’ll find some pretty depressing stories that…
Written by
·
-
Sugarcult ‘Start Static’ (2001)
Start Static will forever remind me of freshman and sophomore year high school. It’s where Sugarcult sort of started and ended for me in terms of any sort of regular listening cadence, and outside of the off the cuff nostalgic spin of “Stuck In America” once a year or so, it’s safe to say it’s…
Written by
·
-
Everclear ‘So Much For The Afterglow’ (1997)
90’s alternative rock holds a special place in my heart for a variety of reasons— it’s the almost comically distorted guitars, the undeniable influence of pop music, and the punk-like aggressiveness of the drums that make everything sound big and heavy, and lyrical themes that frankly pull no punches in the story they’re trying to…
Written by
·
-
Sugar Ray ’14:59′ (1998)
Maybe it’s Mark McGrath’s frosted tips. Maybe it’s the tight and boxy drum production. Maybe it’s the smooth acoustic guitar. Hell, maybe it’s just simply the album cover art. But no matter what it is, there is no escaping that Sugar Ray’s 14:59 sounds exactly like a wet hot summer afternoon in the late 90’s.…
Written by
·
-
The Mighty Mighty Bosstones ‘Let’s Face It’ (1997)
When I first heard Let’s Face It I was 9 years old, living in a two-bed two-bath apartment with my brother and parents. For my birthday that year I received the first three albums I would ever own. Those albums were the Mighty Mighty Bosstones’ Let’s Face It, Third Eye Blind’s self-titled debut Third Eye…
Written by
·
-
Alice in Chains ‘Dirt’ (1992)
Alice in Chains’ Dirt is a grim and grimey trek through pain and anger, an autobiographical account of lead vocalist Layne Staley’s crippling heroin addiction that eventually killed him a decade after this release at the age of 34 years old. Listening to this record you can’t help but feel a sense of hopelessness and…
Written by
·
-
Oasis ‘(What’s the Story) Morning Glory?’ (1995)
The 1995 release of (What’s the Story) Morning Glory? transformed Oasis from a popular band in the UK into a literal worldwide phenomenon. Their ascent to superstardom checked all the boxes– punk rock attitude, Beatles-esque melodies, and a lead singer with a distinctly British accent that harkened back to the golden-age of rock. All of…
Written by
·
-
The Cure ‘Disintegration’ (1989)
Epic. Grandiose. Expansive. Just a handful of words to describe The Cure’s 1989 magnum opus Disintegration. This was the album that returned The Cure to their goth-rock roots, and what a gloriously incredible return it was. One of my favorite albums this year. Lead songwriter and vocalist Robert Smith is a musical and cultural icon,…
Written by
·
-
Get Back Loretta ‘Over The Wall’ (2006)
Get Back Loretta is a deep cut. I can’t recall the first time I heard this album, who introduced it to me, or even the timespan in which I listened to it. Their Wikipedia and social media pages are quite bare. Best I can tell it looks like they were active in San Diego during…
Written by
·
-
Incubus ‘A Crow Left of the Murder…’ (2004)
Incubus means a lot to many people who mean a lot to me. This was a special album to get under the belt early in the year. The album kicks off with an absolute howitzer in “Megalomaniac”, which still stands as one of the best album openers in rock history. This is Incubus at their…
Written by
·
