Rock Evolution – The History of Rock & Roll - 1998 - (page 271)

RobMCFC said:
We all like different music. It shouldn't really come as a surprise that some of us like our music to be performed by real people with real instruments :)
Click to expand...
In the spirit of which, my final 1995 playlist pick will the the prog on steroids multifaceted monster from Dream Theater: A Change of Seasons.
 
RobMCFC said:
We all like different music. It shouldn't really come as a surprise that some of us like our music to be performed by real people with real instruments :)
Click to expand...

Getting slightly worried my next pick is going to need to come with a trigger warning :-)

Mix an early games console with out of control youngsters and what do you get?
 
When Atari Teenage Riot released their debut in 1995 they envisaged a world where the internet and associated technology would act as a force for ordinary people to liberate themselves. Now rather than simply a failed prophecy it looks like a warning from the past. In an era when people can easily fall prey to their identity being shaped by the algorithms that surround them, the album and it's title song is probably more relevant than ever.

Atari Teenage Riot - Delete Yourself

(But not from BM obvs :-))
 
Last edited:
Dance? Rock? Grunge? Electronic? Folk? Indie? Classic? Punk? Disco? Metal? Pop?

"Oh yeah? Well, your taste in music is GARBAGE!"

I can't believe no one has yet mentioned the debut self-titled album by this band that pretty much turned music on its head this year.

Butch VIg was already well known as a record producer of several successful early 90's alternative rock acts including Nirvana (1991's Nevermind), the Smashing Pumpkins (1993's Siamese Dream), L7 (1992's Bricks are Heavy), and Sonic Youth.

By this year, Vig became burned out on doing really long records. He got together with fellow producers and guitarists Duke Erikson and Steve Marker, and they started producing remixes for acts such as U2, Depeche Mode, Nine Inch Nails and House of Pain. This all featured different instrumentation and often highlighting new guitar hooks and bass grooves. This experience inspired them to form a band, in which they "wanted to take that remix sensibility and somehow translate it into all of the possibilities of a band setup." An early comment that their work sounded "like garbage" inspired the band's name.

Vig as drummer was also on vocals during early sessions, but prior work by the members of the band had them preferring a woman on lead vocals. Meanwhile in the UK, Scottish singer Shirley Manson's side project band Angelfish was touring in supporting Live. When Manson was contacted by the band's manager after hearing her, she didn't know who Vig was, until told to check the producer credits on Nevermind. The band met for the first time in on 8th of April 1994 in London, which was the same day Vig was later informed of of Kurt Cobain's suicide. The band was put on hold until Angelfish's tour was completed and then started working on the debut album together. Manson's deep voice, straightforward style and rebellious attitude helped her be deemed a "Godmother of Rock" by The New York Times.

I saw this band in concert open up for The Smashing Pumpkins the following year, and they were very enjoyable live in playing 9 tracks off their opening album, including this. I can't remember too many bands sounding like them at the time, but many have been inspired since. It was tough choosing just one track, but I'll go with one that wasn't a single, but it certainly highlights their unique musical technique, alternative rock sound, and well-matched vocals from that time.

"Supervixen" - Garbage
 
You wouldn't necessarily have predicted Scott Walker/Engel's career trajectory at the point he left the Walker Brothers, but by now he'd been off the reservation for some time and the '95 album Tilt was quite strange. However, little did we know this was just the warm up for the madness that was to come (try Bish-Bosh). But even at this point, The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine anymore it certainly wasn't :-)

Scott Walker - The Cockfighter
 
Last edited:
I had a bunch of bangers lined up for 1995 but I can not for the life of me remember what I was going to pick. One for sure was Something Must Break by Ninety Pound Wuss although there is some conflict between Spotify and Wikipedia I'm sure this came out in 1995. Anyway it's just a song that needs playing loudly whilst you smash stuff.

Second pick goes to the song Punk Rawk Show from future album of the week nomination Teenage Politics by MxPx. Have I shamelessly ripped off the MxPx artwork for use on personal websites in the distant past? For sure

Like GLS I remember being in clubs and I definitely would go early to get the full eclectic experience. Sadly the rise of the lad did mean the longer you were there the more aggressive things got. In 1995 I started dating my wife so I was enjoying life too much to start fighting. A big song for her and her mates which I don't like so I'm just mentioning it and not nominating is I Wish by Skee Lo. Britpop peaked pretty quick in my opinion and had jumped the shark with Daydreamer by Menswear

I also don't want to nominate anything from an artist already highlighted. So no Flood from Jars of Clay or She's Electric by Oasis. Nothing off The Bends but would probably have been Bones.

Third nomination then is Wynona's Big Brown Beaver by Primus. An iconic video and just a banger of a song.

GLS mentioned Take That and we did see a boy band change tack and achieve some kind of reputation. The best example of that career swing is probably DC Talk who ended racism in 1995 and invented hypocrisy in 2025. They went from boy band to trendy rockers and sold two million albums in the US. I'm also Facebook friends with exactly 1/3 of them but not the fun ones. Nominating Jesus Freak for pure 90's nostalgia.

Sadly for this thread the best album released in 1995 isn't on Spotify so nothing from 1952 by Soul-Junk.
 
I had two tracks in mind for my final pick from this past weekend. One was going to go up if City drew or lost yesterday, but it wasn't what I was hoping for, and thankfully didn't come to be.

Like OB1, I was a big fan of Neil Young's album with Pearl Jam in Mirror Ball. "Throw Your Hatred Down" was my favourite track there, but the song I was thinking of wasn't off of that release. It was off of the later reciprocal EP release from Pearl Jam featuring Neil Young, Merkin Ball. Thankfully it didn't come to pass that the single "I Got Id" was chosen, but the line "I got memories, I got shit" certainly rang true for one side yesterday. The Godfather of Grunge on lead guitar really drove that song home and made it the lasting hit it was.

No, my final song is from a debut album from a band that hasn't yet been covered. When I first heard that the ex-drummer of Nirvana was releasing an album where he single-handedly played every instrument, I was a bit skeptical... until I actually heard the music. I was amazed that this mostly anonymous drummer recorded this release in a mere six days just for fun. Dave Grohl had described the process as a cathartic experience to recover from the suicide of Nirvana bandmate Kurt Cobain the previous year. The album which featured more traditional rock stylings than what was typical in grunge, is considered to have established the post-grunge genre.

This self-titled debut album was widely praised for its high-energy, raw, and melodic sound, effectively separating Grohl from his past in Nirvana and launching his long-lasting and eclipsing successful career as a frontman and guitarist. I often think of what Grohl's career might have been had he not had this chance to branch out on his own and shine like this.

So for the song that was written about singer-songwriter Courtney Love, Cobain's widow, it for the time being well sums up Manchester City's approach to the final stretch of the Premier League season.

"I'll Stick Around" - Foo Fighters
 
Last edited:
I was mostly off on my own planet this year so this seems appropriate for my last pick. The list of players on this album, in fact even just this track, was insane.

Bela Fleck - Backwoods Galaxy
 
mrbelfry said:
Had a free bit of time today at work so thrown together the playlist for 1995. If GLS wants to redo it then i can delete

Click to expand...

You absolute legend @mrbelfry !! Work has been painful this week and I've been mad busy - just sat down to do it now before tea and saw you'd done it. Thanks, that's really helped! :)
 
Alanis Morissette seemed to be the big winner in 1995 but as I scored it quite highly in the album review thread it seems fair enough. The Dream Theater track was too long to listen to more than once but I was impressed with how good it sounded particularly the drummer working his high toms very well.

I remain surprised that the Bluetones weren't bigger than they were although I guess I'm part of the problem as although I had to the album I don't remember listening to it much.
 
The History of Rock & Roll - 1995
The indescribable moments of your life
(Tonight)
The impossible is possible tonight
(Tonight)
Believe in me as I believe in you
Tonight

A very eclectic first offering from @GoatersLeftShin on the original starting two baseball teams that made up the origins of the playlist. I did feel that 60s vibe in the initial songs. Starting with Oasis and Blur was pretty direct, and again Oasis took this round for me, but both songs and albums are quite enjoyable and appropriate for the year as lead-off hitters. I hadn't heard Pulp's "Common People", but I did catch that Kinks vibe too. You could have picked any track off of Radiohead's The Bends and it would be a winner for me, which might have been my favourite album from the UK that year. I've long enjoyed Supergrass' "Alright", so another winner there. Black Grape's "Reverend Black Grape" was just a fun dance tune with that harmonica intro and funkiness and religious overtones that was a big part of this year, but more on that later. Songs like this really provide the reward for these playlists, so that was a nice highlight of the original group. Well done psychedelic tunes like that with a catchy guitar groove was a nice winner. The Chemical Brothers' "Leave Home" was another new-to-me song, but very catchy, and not surprising would be a strong track in the dance clubs. Enough rock in this song that was still very accessible.

Of the remaining set, another highlight was revisiting Underworld's "Born Slippy" from my Trackspotting import CD. I still remember how much I enjoyed that tune when I picked up that disc in Newcastle back in 1997.

Not much into rap then or now, but 2Pac's "Dear Mama" was a nice slow down groove song, so that was a good intro to the artist. I remember Take That's "Back for Good", so that was a good way to end the initial songs with a home run.

The Big Winner(s)
@mrbelfry for putting the rest of the playlist together so I could hear lots of these songs I'd not yet heard, very much appreciated as I wouldn't have gotten here without it!

"Bluetonic" - The Bluetones, by now it doesn't surprise me when @homerdog puts up a tune I've not heard yet really enjoy. From their debut indie rock album that never charted here in the US, this was a fantastic rollicking number with some great guitar licks and great backing vocals that had me singing along. I recognized many of the bands on their Spotify radio list, so this is a band I'll be catching more of soon on my own, and hopefully here as the years progress.

Top New Songs
  1. "Maybe California" - Neal Casal, wow, what nice country rock song, sounded like something from the 70's with a nice organ backing sound. Part of the Cardinals, eh? That explains much on this. Thanks, MCD!
  2. "Never Enough" - Del Amitri, where's Coatigan to pile on when you need him? This was not surprisingly enjoyable, so well done Rob for picking up the slack.
  3. "Broken Stones" - Paul Weller, sounds like it came from the 70's circa Traffic, the organ and harmonica really worked well
  4. "Sparky's Dream" - Teenage Fanclub, nice guitar driven alternative rock
  5. "Black Steel" - Tricky, Martina Topley-Bird, not sure what this was, but I loved it. Not surprised Bowie did either.
  6. "Undecided" - Shack, I've heard Michael Head from the Album Club thread with the Pale Fountains, and this was even more enjoyable. The UK early-R.E.M. equivalent? Hmm...
  7. "Backwoods Galaxy" - Béla Fleck and the Flecktones, loved this instrumental jazzy gem led by the banjo and strong piano and sax throughout
  8. "Pray For Me" - The Jayhawks, nicely done harmonies on this country tinged folk rock song
  9. "Yes" - McAlmont & Butler, nice crafty pop song with exceptional vocals
  10. "A Change of Seasons" - Dream Theater, mid 90's with a flashback to mid-70s Rush and Yes and 80's Satriani and maybe Queensryche, this one had it all with a Rob unapproved 23 minute whopper and more time changes than you can shake a "get on with it!" fist at. Loved it! ;-)
  11. "Delete Yourself" - Atari Teenage Riot, what the hell was THAT? Yeah, I laughed too, and my Garbage followed this, so well done on the unintentional flow of music that worked too.
Top Songs I Knew Quite Well (still too many to list them all by this year)
  1. "Tonight, Tonight" - The Smashing Pumpkins, I would have nominated something from this double album if OB1 didn't but I'm glad he did. Nearly my big winner, but I went for something new.
  2. "Morning Glory" - Oasis, and the whole darn album while we're at it, but this song is such a classic closer, it has to be highlighted. Such great lyrics from this track. Need a little time to wake up, wake up...
  3. "The Ghost of Tom Joad" - Bruce Springsteen, Bruce finding his way back to relevance on this release, a brilliant song acoustic or with Tom Morello doing his thing, always a winner
  4. "Cry Love" - John Hiatt, great tune from an underrate artist
  5. "A New Decade" - The Verve, from an even better yet underrated album A Northern Soul
  6. "Down By The Water" - PJ Harvey, great haunting vocals down to the whisper from a classic alternative hum song
  7. "Box Full of Letters" - Wilco, an early eclectic indie rock song from Jeffy Tweedy and Co. was a sign of good things to come
  8. "Wrecking Ball" - Emmylou Harris, a great cover of Neil Young's original, better vocals here
  9. "Midway Park" - Whiskeytown, alt-country playing this song right down the road from me at The Brewery and Cat's Cradle, who knew?
  10. Alanis Morissette songs - ironically a bit hit or miss, already covered this on the album thread.
Dear God...
Although I didn't think about it at the time, there was some good faith based bands or songs that were part of this year that made it on this playlist. Besides the Jars of Clay song I nominated, I really enjoyed revisiting Joan Osbourne's performance of Eric Bazilian's crafty and well written 'what if?' hit "One of Us". Of course we all remember Bazillian as a member of the Philly rock band The Hooters, and here he delivers a contemplative song about how we treat the others we meet in our day to day. However, I wasn't prepared for the all-out-enjoyment I got from "Jesus Freak" from DC Talk, which was an enjoyable track that reminded me of RHCP with a strong hip-hop and heavy rock guitar influences. (Ho, ho) indeed. That my best friend was born in a manger. Another big winner in my book.

On Second Thought
Tried as I might, most of the electronic dance tracks still just didn't work for me, but "Lump" was a good revisit from this one-hit wonder. And yes, I've heard "Peaches" before too...

I liked the Primus track more than I thought I would, but their overall musical delivery does suffer from those vocals, IMHO.
 
Last edited:
Blue Moon Rock Evolution – 1996

@BlueHammer85 was due to write-up this year but as he’s still not around, I’ve stepped in at the last minute to provide this write-up. I daresay that my list looks a lot different to how it would have been if Hammer was around, but hopefully there are at least a few choices that he’d appreciate.

1996 was a pretty big year for me. I’d been in my job in the sonar industry for 6 years, and whilst I enjoyed it, I felt that my career was going nowhere. I got myself an agent and set about sorting out some interviews. Remarkably, even though my agent was based in Buckinghamshire, the best thing he came up with was a company that was literally across the road from my current place of work. I went for the interview and when they asked me what I wanted, I came up with a nice round figure that was 25% more than I was currently being paid. I thought that the interview went well, but as the weeks went by, I began to lose hope.

Never mind, I had an amazing holiday to look forward to. My wife and I went to Orlando with my brother-in-law and his wife. It was on this trip that I bought three CDs that all feature in the playlist below. I can’t put into words how life-affirming this holiday was. It jumpstarted a love of the Florida theme parks and Disney in general that continues to this day. I also can’t put into words how miserable I felt when I got home; I’d had the post-holiday blues before, but not on this level; everything seemed so mundane after two weeks of wall-to-wall entertainment in Florida! But good news, when I got back, there was a letter confirming that I’d got the job applied for – and they’d give me the exact salary I’d asked for. Maybe I was worth something after all. I’m proud to say that it’s a job that I still hold today, 30 years later, albeit based in the centre of Manchester. The company has changed hands four times since I started.

It’s fair to say that my first trip to Florida and getting that job rank among the top 5 things that have happened to me outside of the personal relationship and kids stuff. So, yes, 1996 was a big year.

With the personal news out of the way, I was going to do a quick roundup of the news this year, but it just seems so grim: plane crashes, terrorist bombings and clashes between Israel and Hamas being the order of the day. I will, however, pick out a few notable events:-

  • March 13 – Dunblane massacre: Unemployed former shopkeeper Thomas Hamilton walked into the Dunblane Primary School in Scotland and opened fire, killing sixteen infant school pupils and one teacher before committing suicide. Tennis players Andy Murray and his brother Jamie were both pupils at Dunblane Primary School at the time and were in the school when the massacre happened. Andy took cover in a classroom.
  • June 15 – An IRA bomb hit Manchester. Remarkably, nobody died but over 200 were injured and it made a right mess of Market Street. The bomb explained the distant, muffled whump that I’d heard that morning, despite being 5 or 6 miles from the centre of town.
  • Euro 96 was held in June and July – the first major tournament held in England since the 1966 World Cup. Germany won the tournament after beating England in the semi-finals via a penalty shootout.

Playlist

“In A Room” - Dodgy

After an excellent album, Homegrown, two years previous, Dodgy came up with this brilliant single from their Free Peace Sweet album.


“Feel Alright” – Steve Earle

Newly sober, clean and continuing to make fine music after his 60-day stint in prison, the (almost) title track to his 1996 album, I Feel Alright, is typical Earle. I love the clean sound of the guitar on this track. One of his best songs.


“Devil’s Haircut” - Beck

This is the opener to Beck’s landmark Odelay album. Some strong rock guitar mixed with hip-hop-infused drums and Beck’s trademark bonkers lyrics, this song an early gem.


“Bethlehem Steel” – Grant Lee Buffalo

Musically, this song is not typical of the superb Copperopolis album. Set against a hypnotic soul groove, the song was inspired by the Bethlehem steel town in Pennsylvania. As with the rest of the album, the lyrics are nostalgic and brilliant, the whole thing culminating in a fiery guitar crescendo.


"This May Not Be the End of the World" - John Mellencamp

Back in the pre-internet days (for me, at least) I had no idea a new Mellencamp album was coming. So imagine my delight whilst on the flight to Florida when I read a review of his new Mr. Happy Go Lucky album in Q magazine. I bought the CD from the Belz shopping mall in Orlando, but had to wait until I got home to finally hear the album. Whilst the trademark Mellencamp sound is in there somewhere, he went all modern and included programmed drum loops and beats, courtesy of Moe Z. M.D.


“Angels of the Silences” – Counting Crows

The second album I brought home from Florida was Counting Crows sophomore effort, Recovering the Satellites. After their rustic-sounding, T-Bone Burnett-produced debut, the band hauled in Pixies producer Gil Norton for the follow up. The result is an edgier, guitar-based sound as heard on this terrific rocker.


“Redemption Day” – Sheryl Crow

From the third album I brought home from Florida. Another artist looking to change their sound was Sheryl Crow. Her eponymous second album contains her usual chipper songs but also some with a darker or more moody edge, as exemplified by “Redemption Day”, a protest against the US’s indifference to the Bosnian War.


“Grateful When You're Dead/Jerry Was There” – Kula Shaker

There are quite a few songs that I could have picked from Kula Shaker’s brilliant debut album, K. For me, this was the best album to come out of the Britpop era because the band didn’t take themselves too seriously, weren’t afraid to take chances with several Indian-inspired songs and the playing is sublime throughout, the instrumental flourishes making you believe that you were listening to some groovy album from the late 60s.


“Monday” – Wilco

I only bought Wilco’s double-album, Being There, years after the fact. “Monday” is an enjoyable slice of alt-country rock.


"The Wake-Up Bomb" – R.E.M.

The debate will probably always rage on R.E.M.’s with regards to the band’s older work vs newer Warner Brothers era, but surely there isn’t anybody who wouldn’t enjoy this energetic little number to round off the initial playlist?


 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Unread Posts

Don't have an account? Register now and see fewer ads!

SIGN UP
Back
Top