Tag: Alternative
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Lou Reed ‘Transformer’ (1972)
Few artists have embodied the essence of New York cool in the way Lou Reed did. With a deadpan delivery espoused subject matter which challenged society’s conventions at every turn, Reed’s brand of sex, drugs, and rock n roll always felt like a bit of an art project put on by a neurotic socially awkward…
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The Offspring ‘Americana’ (1998)
The Offspring’s 1998 album Americana is a trip down memory lane, a time when punk rock was having its mainstream moment and MTV was pushing those music videos with reckless abandon. The Offspring were one of the first punk bands to break out into the mainstream with their (wait for it) smash-hit Smash, followed it…
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Brian Fallon ‘Local Honey’ (2020)
Brian Fallon’s rise as a Jersey-born songwriter has drawn a lot of comparisons to the legendary Bruce Springsteen, and it’s clear at points during Fallon’s career with The Gaslight Anthem he was trying to fill those shoes a little too earnestly. Fallon’s solo career has been equally nostalgia-infused and songwriting driven, but in 2020’s Local…
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Matt Corby ‘Rainbow Valley’ (2018)
Matt Corby’s Rainbow Valley is loaded with atmospheric sheen that’s smoother than a can of peanut butter. Recorded in Corby’s home studio on a five-acre plot in Byron Bay, Australia, Rainbow Valley is a wide-ranging musical journey into the spacey world of Indie R&B. The backing tracks feature an impressively set of instruments all played…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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