ARTIST: THE ROOTS
ALBUM: N/A
SONG: THE SILENT TREATMENT
DATE: 1994
STATUS: NOT ACQUIRED
The Roots is one of the top five Hip-Hop acts of the 90's. Nobody sounds like them because of their live backing sound, and Black Thought is a supremely effective rapper and front man. This early jam is so smooth and so funky.
ARTIST: TONY TONI TONE
ALBUM: SONS OF SOUL
SONG: LEAVIN'
DATE: APRIL 12, 1994
STATUS: NOT ACQUIRED
Tony, Toni, Tone, was a great little soul band. Real music, real vocals. They were miscast as a New Jack Swing act, and many of there recordings suffer from the flat tinny sound of this style, but they quickly moved into a Proto-Neo-Soul mode that produced gem's like this one.
ARTIST: FAITH NO MORE
ALBUM: ANGEL DUST
SONG: A SMALL VICTORY
DATE: AUGUST 3, 1992
STATUS: ACQUIRED
Faith No More was the genre bending act that seemed determined to never break out into the main stream. They wanted to thrash and rock, but were never afraid to mix in dance and hip hop influences. They created a strange mix much like Tai food. It's not as popular as Chinese, but those who like it, love it.
ARTIST: R.E.M.
ALBUM: OUT OF TIME
SONG: LOSING MY RELIGION
DATE: FEBRUARY 19, 1994
STATUS: AQUIRED
There are two R.E.M.s. The one before Out of Time, an emotional punkish rag tag act out of the southern collegiate hinterland of Athens Georgia, and the one after, a full blown artistic machine that could fully recognize any notion it collectively held.
"Losing My Religion's" instrumental exploration would set the metric against which all other R.E.M. work would be compared, before, after, return, etc. The lyrics are wonderfully poetic and impassioned without ever honing in on a narrative.
ARTIST: THEY MIGHT BE GIANTS
ALBUM: APOLLO 18
SONG(S): FINGERTIPS
DATE: MARCH 24, 1992
STATUS: NOT ACQUIRED
Technology drives innovation, and innovation drives technology. In the early 90's, we had these things called "Compact Discs" or CD's for short. They were like records only they were digital, not analog. These CD's were played in machines that could play an album from beginning to end as they had been forever, or they could play the songs in a random order by pressing a button labeled "shuffle".
As an exploration of the potential of this technology, They Might be Giants recorded 21 mini songs for their 1992 album "Apollo 18". When one pressed "shuffle" there was no predicting what order the songs would come, but by far the weirdest way to play them was beginning to end, something TMBG does regularly in concert.
ARTIST: EVERCLEAR
ALBUM: WORLD OF NOICE
SONG: FIRE MAPLE SONG
DATE: 1993
STATUS: ACQUIRED
For those of you who haven't heard Everclear's first album, World of Noise, do yourself a solid and pick it up. It is what the title says it is.
I don't think "Fire Maple Song" is about anything I can relate to directly, but there's something in his voice that makes me cry. literally makes me cry. I'll just lose it when out running with my head phones on or riding on the bus. Does it every time. Suddenly a door opens connecting my inner and outer worlds. Things I've been keeping separate for so long I don't even know the barriers are there until their gone. Reminds me people I've lost.
ARTIST: DAVE MATTHEW'S BAND
ALBUM: UNDER THE TABLE AND DREAMING
SONG: SATELLITE
DATE: 1995
STATUS: ACQUIRED
A friend of mine who was really into Hip-Hop, lets call him Sepi, was riding in my car when "Satellite" came on.
"Stop" he said, "I love this song" After a little while he asked me if I could explain the lyrics.
"Well...um...satellites?"
It was hard to say. Its not literally about anything. Its about satellites as a metaphor, as many metaphors all at once. Cycles, perspectives, life, death, eternity, the sublime of it all, and probably being a little stoned and watching the weather channel.
ARTIST: BOOGIE DOWN PRODUCTIONS
ALBUM: EDUTAINMENT
SONG: LOVE'S GONNA GET'CHA
DATE: JULY 17, 1990
Hands down, KRS-One is one of the top two or three MC's of the late 80's and 90's. His work with Boogie Down Production mates D-Nice and DJ Scott La Rock spans from the choppy rough collage sounds of early Hip-Hop to more complex De La Soul influenced tracks like Love's Gonna Get'Cha. Through it all and in to a solo career KRS never bends his lyrics to anyone's expectations. He keeps it knowledgeable and honest. His reverent respect for the art of Hip-Hop rings through in every lyric. He never takes it easy on a track.
This is a fantastic minimal video. Cool, minimal, and hard, just like the cut.
ARTIST: WEEN
ALBUM: N/A
SONG: FREEDOM OF '76
DATE: 1995
STATUS: NOT ACQUIRED
Ween, a band so weird they can play it totally straight and come out sounding crazy avant-garde. Just a simple little ditty paying homage to the joys of their hometown, Philthadelphia. Where every you go, there you are. All things are equal.
ARTIST: MAD COBRA
ALBUM: HARD TO WET EASY TO DRY
SONG: FLEX
DATE: 1993
STATUS: ACQUIRED
I had some very cool art teachers in high school. They offered a huge variety of classes. I took a photography class in which we made our own pin hole cameras. Very cool stuff. We'd spend have the class walking around the school unsupervised taking the pictures, and then our teacher would turn the class room into a dark room and we'd spend the second half of class all but unsupervised. Attempting to torment her by yelling obscene things in the dark was a favorite pass time. She never rose to the bait.
During dark room time a friend of mine and I would take turns yelling "Flex!" only to have the other reply "Time to have sex!"
ARTIST: RUPAUL
ALBUM: SUPERMODEL OF THE YEAR
SONG: SUPERMODEL (YOU BETTER WORK)
DATE: NOVEMBER, 17, 1992
STATUS: NOT ACQUIRED
Settle down, not every thing good is about starving children in Kosovo, or lonely teenage girls and their acoustic guitars. Fun's important. Sometimes damn important. In times of repression important ideas retreat to the world of frivolous and fabulous where they hide under a vale of vanity.
RuPaul burst on the national stage just as gays where making major strides towards widespread acceptance. It confused the hell out of a lot of suburban teenage boys, but one of the important things about the song is that it is unabashedly of its roots and doesn't apologize for itself. Love it for what it is.
Get up and vogue a little in your cubical too. It'll be good for you.
ARTIST: PRIMUS
ALBUM: TALES FROM THE PUNCH BOWL
SONG: MRS. BLAILEEN
DATE: MAY 23, 1995
STATUS: ACQUIRED
I have to guess that there are at least a few teachers out there that did little Les Claypool wrong. Mrs. Blaileen you're on the list! all little Don wanted to be was a fisherman.
ARTIST: GRANT LEE BUFFALO
ALBUM: COPPEROPOLIS
SONG: BETHLEHEM STEEL
DATE: JUNE 1996
STATUS: ACQUIRED
I love the mix, the piano pounding low in the background and the way the song grows and swells. The lyrics sound a bit like Springsteen subject. Its Monday in America. Time to get out there and deliver some services!
ARTIST: NAUGHTY BY NATURE
ALBUM: N/A
SONG: HIP HOP HOORAY
DATE: 1992
STATUS: ACQUIRED
They never actually say it in this song, but really you should just put your hands in the air and wave them like you have no consideration for what other people in your work place will say.
ARTIST: WAS (NOT WAS)
ALBUM: WHAT UP DOG?
SONG: WALK THE DINOSAUR
DATE: SEPTEMBER 1987
STATUS: ACQUIRED
This song is inexplicable. It feels like a throw back to earlier 80's songs, but there's something so willfully unmarketable about it that it, in some strange way, is a prelude to the assault of weirdness that would be alternative radio. There's also no denying the sensuality of this music. The voices are big and self assured and the instrumentation tight.
Its goofy as hell, and the video doesn't help, but its 100% true to maestros David Was and Don Was' vision.
