Tag: The 1990’s
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Naughty By Nature ‘Naughty By Nature’ (1991)
Naughty by Nature pulled off what most couldn’t—massive pop hits without losing an ounce of street cred. Formed in East Orange, NJ by three high school friends, the group started out playing talent shows as New Style before catching the right ears and signing with Tommy Boy Records. Their 1991 breakout single “O.P.P.” lit up…
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Jawbreaker ’24 Hour Revenge Therapy’ (1994)
24 Hour Revenge Therapy is one of those records that echoes far louder than its initial release might suggest. Dropping in 1994, it helped shape what punk would become over the next decade, offering a version of hardcore that was emotional without being soft, smart without being smug. Blake Schwarzenbach’s lyrics read like scuffed-up poetry,…
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Archers of Loaf ‘Icky Mettle’ (1993)
Archers of Loaf’s Icky Mettle is the kind of rag-tag early 90’s debut that feels like it’s about to fall apart at any second. But that’s exactly where its magic lives. It planted the band squarely in the center of indie rock’s messy glorious heart during the midst of the grunge wave, all jagged guitars,…
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Neutral Milk Hotel ‘In the Aeroplane Over the Sea’ (1998)
Released in 1998 to little mainstream attention, In the Aeroplane Over the Sea grew quietly until it became a sort of sacred text in the history of indie folk music. Lo-fi, cracked open, and bizarre in many ways, it made room for a type of vulnerable artistic expression that would define indie rock for the…
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Raekwon ‘Only Built 4 Cuban Linx…’ (1995)
Like we said when we discussed Ghostface’s 2000 album Supreme Clientele, any member of the Wu Tang Clan had their legacy pretty much cemented due to the sheer epicness of the group’s 1993 album 36 Chambers. But goddamn did their members ever have some bangers for solo albums, with Raekwon being no exception to that…
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Emmylou Harris ‘At the Ryman’ (1992)
I had the distinct pleasure of spending some time in Nashville a month ago on a dual work and personal trip. The city is literally made for me (for all the reasons you can imagine) and one of the highlights was two days spent at the Ryman Theatre. I went on a tour of the…
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D Generation ‘No Lunch’ (1996)
Imagine if Ramones and The New York Dolls got together to form a supergroup that was fronted by a garage rock version of Billy Corgan and you have a good understanding of what D Generation sounds like. With a mix of glam, punk, and garage rock, it’s pretty clear from the jump that No Lunch‘s…
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CKY ‘Camp Kill Yourself V1’ (1999)
If you were a millennial male hitting your teenage years in the early aughts you were familiar with the band CKY almost by default. The band’s drummer Jess Margera was the brother of Bam Margera. Before connecting with Johnny Knoxville and crew to create the smash-hit Jackass, Bam created the precursor to that media empire…
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Fenix TX ‘Fenix TX’ (1999)
I went on a bit of a pop punk bender this weekend busting out some of the old classics like Blink-182 and Sum 41 which usually leads to a “Shirtless Saturday” type situation with my toddlers where we take our shirts off and dance around the house like crazy (I swear I’m a good dad…
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Toni Braxton ‘Toni Braxton’ (1993)
1990s R&B was built on a foundation of deep sultry grooves and powerhouse vocal performances. The genre often featured slow-burning ballads and mid-tempo jams that highlighted the rollercoaster ride found in romance. And damn is that production style iconic– lush, polished tracks using warm synth pads, deep basslines, and crisp drum programming that put every…
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Aqua ‘Aquarium’ (1997)
Aqua’s “Barbie Girl” has experienced a bit of a renaissance in the past two years ever since the 2023 film featuring Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling took over pop culture for an entire summer, and while I’m about 18 months late to really capitalize on the film’s notoriety to drive some traffic to my humble…
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Kid Rock ‘Devil Without A Cause’ (1998)
Kid Rock’s journey to mainstream success was anything but overnight. After his 1990 debut Grits Sandwiches for Breakfast led to his departure from Jive Records, he spent much of the decade toiling in relative obscurity, self-releasing albums and cultivating a small but loyal Midwest following. And by the time rap-metal exploded into the mainstream in…
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R.E.M. ‘Out of Time’ (1991)
With Out of Time R.E.M. transitioned from beloved college rock icons to full-fledged international superstars, crafting an album that expanded their jangly guitars into a world of strings, horns, and unexpected guest musicians. While still maintaining their signature introspective lyricism, the album took on a more brooding, atmospheric tone, trading some of their earlier urgency…
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Incubus ‘Make Yourself’ (1999)
Make Yourself was a musical revelation for me the first time I heard it. It was one of the first albums I can remember playing on repeat on my trusty blue Sony Walkman CD player. This album legitimately went everywhere with me in the early 2000’s– baseball practice, family road trips, walks to a friend’s…
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Pulp ‘Different Class’ (1995)
Different Class is a cornerstone of 1990’s Britpop, synth-pop theatrics combined with razor-sharp lyricism that at one point put them in the same stratosphere as the legendary Oasis. Released in 1995, the album examined themes of sex and social class through a lens that was biting and witty in a way our friends across the…
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The Goo Goo Dolls ‘Dizzy up the Girl’ (1998)
Buffalo, New York in the mid-80s was the unassuming cradle of The Goo Goo Dolls, a scrappy trio carving their niche in the hardcore punk scene. With John Rzeznik’s gritty guitar riffs and Robby Takac’s punk ethos their sound was raw and in your face aggressive (yes, really). They were far from the polished, radio-friendly…
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The Tragically Hip ‘Fully Completely’ (1992)
The Tragically Hip rose to prominence in the late 1980s with their blues-infused alternative rock, becoming a cornerstone of Canadian cultural identity in the process. Led by lead singer Gord Downie, whose evocative lyrics painted vivid portraits of Canadian landscapes and histories, The Hip struck a chord that resonated deeply with fans across the country.…
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*NSYNC ‘Home For Christmas’ (1998)
Released at the height of the boy band craze, *NSYNC’s 1998 holiday album Home for Christmas was a glittering addition to the genre that dominated the late ’90s. I never loved *NSYNC as much as I did the Backstreet Boys, but it’s impossible not to get a little giddy every time I hear Timberlake and…
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Sunny Day Real Estate ‘Diary’ (1994)
Diary came during a time when grunge dominated the airwaves but despite the fact Sunny Day Real Estate was based in grunge’s birthplace of Seattle their unique blend of post-hardcore and emo rock was able to cut through the noise (it also didn’t hurt that frontman Jeremy Enigk could channel the hell out of Kurt…
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Beck ‘Odelay’ (1996)
Beck has had such a wide-ranging and successful career that it’s almost impossible to really define who he is as an artist– as my brother (who is probably one of Beck’s biggest fans) can attest to, his varied musical influences are as wide-ranging as any artist. Odelay is a kaleidoscopic masterpiece that redefined alternative music…
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Red Hot Chili Peppers ‘Blood Sugar Sex Magik’ (1991)
By 1991, the Red Hot Chili Peppers were already known as the wild children of Los Angeles’ rock scene, blending funk, punk, and irreverent humor into their music. But while their early albums showcased raw energy, they had yet to fully channel their potential into a cohesive masterpiece– before Blood Sugar Sex Magik that is.…
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New Found Glory ‘Nothing Gold Can Stay’ (1999)
Recorded on a shoestring budget in Miami, Florida, Nothing Gold Can Stay captured the raw, unfiltered essence of suburban teenage life and was a staple in my Walkman during my middle school years. Tracks like “Hit or Miss” blended catchy hooks with a relentless tempo, laying the groundwork for the infectious, emotionally charged sound that…
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The Promise Ring ‘Nothing Feels Good’ (1997)
As a certifiable emo kid in my teens there were a few albums that had an outsized impact on many of my favorite bands. I didn’t know it at the time, but some of my favorite artists like Taking Back Sunday, Dashboard Confessional, and Jimmy Eat World owed a ton to Nothing Feels Good by…
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Lauryn Hill ‘The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill’ (1998)
The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill redefined hip-hop and soul music almost immediately after it was released. At the time Lauryn Hill was already a respected member of the Fugees, but following a somewhat tumultuous breakup of the group. she was determined to create something entirely her own. Drawing inspiration from her new experience with motherhood,…
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Green Day ‘Dookie’ (1994)
In 1994 Green Day’s Dookie exploded onto the music scene like explosives duct-taped to someone’s spine (yes that is a “Having A Blast” reference), vaulting the band into the mainstream. They were born in the gritty punk clubs of California’s East Bay right up the road from me, in an underground scene where DIY ethics…
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Lee Greenwood ‘American Patriot’ (1992)
Today is election day in the United States and no matter which side of the political aisle you stand on it sounds like everyone feels like it’s the most important election in the history of human civilization. With that backdrop I’d say it’s probably in your best interest to get out there and vote and…
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AFI ‘All Hallows EP’ (1999)
If you’re looking for an absolute ripper of a Halloween album to put on today it’s hard to beat AFI’s 1999 extended play All Hallows EP. Clocking in at a tidy 13 minutes across four songs, the band blasts through some Halloween-inspired fare in a way that only old school AFI could muster. The songs…
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Savage Garden ‘Savage Garden’ (1997)
Savage Garden’s “Truly Madly Deeply” is up there for me as one of the better pop love songs of all-time for the sole reason that it came at a pretty formative point in my life. Whether you want to call it my band boy phase or something else a little less accusatory (although boy band…
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Lagwagon ‘Let’s Talk About Feelings’ (1998)
Lagwagon’s Let’s Talk About Feelings stands apart from a lot of its late 90’s skate-punk peers by exploring darker, more introspective themes while avoiding the toilet humor and sexism that dominated a lot of that genre. Joey Cape’s lyrics tackle personal struggles and frustrations, blending vulnerability with sharp commentary. The album’s tight, melodic punk sound…
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Metallica ‘S&M’ (1999)
The marriage between Metallica and orchestral music is almost too good to be true. It’s no secret that the heavyweight heavy metal band’s arrangements have always had a flair for the dramatic, and the classical music influences in their songs were a big component of former bassist Cliff Burton’s songwriting approach that dominated their mid-80’s…
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311 ‘311’ (1995)
When I was in elementary school I had a friend whose house I would spend a ton at. He was a little rough around the edges despite growing up in a really affluent family, and had an older brother who always had a collection of CD’s that were super interesting and (most importantly) had the…
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Refused ‘The Shape of Punk To Come’ (1998)
When you look at the history and development of punk rock music it’s easy to reference some of the most iconic albums throughout it’s forty year run– there is of course what I refer to as The Holy Trinity of Punk Albums (Ramones self-titled debut, The Clash’s London Calling, and Sex Pistols’ Never Mind The…
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Dr. Dre ‘The Chronic’ (1992)
The Chronic revolutionized hip-hop and established the G-Funk sound as a defining genre of the West Coast rap scene. Following his tumultuous departure from N.W.A. (which is detailed rather extensively throughout the entire album), Dre sought to carve out his own identity, blending smooth funk samples with hard-hitting beats. The album’s lush production, characterized by…
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Smoking Popes ‘Destination Failure’ (1997)
Smoking Popes lead singer Josh Caterer was famously obsessed with big band tunes, and that love affair helped him develop a vocal style that was decidedly unique in the punk rock world. You can hear the influence Caterer had on his contemporaries when you listen to Alkaline Trio bassist Dan Andriano, whose vocal style and…
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Backstreet Boys ‘Backstreet Boys’ (1996)
I was nine years old living in a two-bed two-bath apartment when I first heard the Backstreet Boys’ debut album. It was one of the first albums I would ever own alongside Third Eye Blind’s self-titled debut and Mighty Mighty Bosstones Let’s Face It, which in retrospect is a pretty awesome trio of albums to…
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Ice Cube ‘AmeriKKKa’s Most Wanted’ (1990)
Fresh off an acrimonious split with his prior group N.W.A. and riding the wave of massive superstardom that came along with their 1988 album Straight Outta Compton, Ice Cube hit the studio to record his debut solo album. What he delivered in the face of those expectations is largely considered a hip-hop classic. It’s pretty…
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