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

RobMCFC said:
Although there are plenty of Britpop songs that I like, there's something about all the guff that goes with it that's never sat right with me. If it created the "lad" (and ladette) culture, then that probably lies at the root of it. I may be wrong, but in my head, it's a bunch of lads going around in large groups (god, I hate large groups of people) drinking too much, talking bollocks and shouting loudly. You can see it at the airport on a Friday.
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Ultimately Rob, the music stands on it's own feet - the 'Battle' was a media thing but really the music of Oasis, Blur, Pulp, Radiohead, Supergrass, Sleeper, Elastica, Echobelly (I could go on) and the rest will stand the test of time. It's very, very good.

Britpop definitely didn't create the 'Lad' culture and I'd say that Damon Albarn (Blur), Thom Yorke (Radiohead), Jarvis Cocker (Pulp), Gaz Coombes (Supergrass) were the opposite - these were great songwriters who had something to say. The guys who played in the likes of Sleeper, Echbelly etc weren't either from memory. I'd say for these bands, they were more 'art school' than anything!

However, Oasis appealed to the 'Lad' element a lot more and many copied their attitude. Indie clubs were very friendly places I tended to find but when Oasis arrived, it did seem to bring a different vibe into them. They were never places where you'd get fights, but you felt they were maybe more intimidating with plenty of 'Grumpy Gallaghers' patrolling!

I also think it was the times - celebrities were celebrated for being hammered and out of control. Think of the likes of Kate Moss, Chris Evans, Sara Cox etc - they were praised for being hammered. Even better if they were Ladettes as they made great content for the FHMs and the like. There was just 'something in the air' at the time and getting hammered was just part of it.

Compared to today, the mid-90s were a lot wilder. As I said, the times were optimistic and hedonistic I think. The football was improving, England were looking good, the music was top class, the upcoming PM looked modern and the good times were just around the corner. Lots of young people went to University for the first time and were enjoying new cities and people. Nowadays, I think it's a lot different to back them for a number of reasons, not just that I'm older! :)
 
GoatersLeftShin said:
Ultimately Rob, the music stands on it's own feet - the 'Battle' was a media thing but really the music of Oasis, Blur, Pulp, Radiohead, Supergrass, Sleeper, Elastica, Echobelly (I could go on) and the rest will stand the test of time. It's very, very good.

Britpop definitely didn't create the 'Lad' culture and I'd say that Damon Albarn (Blur), Thom Yorke (Radiohead), Jarvis Cocker (Pulp), Gaz Coombes (Supergrass) were the opposite - these were great songwriters who had something to say. The guys who played in the likes of Sleeper, Echbelly etc weren't either from memory. I'd say for these bands, they were more 'art school' than anything!

However, Oasis appealed to the 'Lad' element a lot more and many copied their attitude. Indie clubs were very friendly places I tended to find but when Oasis arrived, it did seem to bring a different vibe into them. They were never places where you'd get fights, but you felt they were maybe more intimidating with plenty of 'Grumpy Gallaghers' patrolling!

I also think it was the times - celebrities were celebrated for being hammered and out of control. Think of the likes of Kate Moss, Chris Evans, Sara Cox etc - they were praised for being hammered. Even better if they were Ladettes as they made great content for the FHMs and the like. There was just 'something in the air' at the time and getting hammered was just part of it.

Compared to today, the mid-90s were a lot wilder. As I said, the times were optimistic and hedonistic I think. The football was improving, England were looking good, the music was top class, the upcoming PM looked modern and the good times were just around the corner. Lots of young people went to University for the first time and were enjoying new cities and people. Nowadays, I think it's a lot different to back them for a number of reasons, not just that I'm older! :)
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Yes, I agree that in any era, the music can stand on its own, whether that’s the 60s or the 90s. The fashion and culture around stuff helps us remember the music and put it in context.
 
homerdog said:
What great taste you have mate, I fucking love Neal Casal!
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Thanks, it’s tragic he took his own life so young. Not only a great solo artist, he played guitar for lots of bands including Ryan Adam’s Cardinals.i had the pleasure of seeing him line at the cricket club in Levenshulme .One of the few of my artists the Mrs likes.
 
Has our conscience shown?
Has the sweet breeze blown?
Has all kindness gone?
Hope still lingers on

I wanted to pick a song that didn't chart in the UK that I was listening to heavily this year. This was the band's second release, but first full album, and it was quite the alternative rock hit. This self titled album put this Georgia band firmly on the rock stage for this decade.

Lead singer Ed Roland explained the inspiration behind this track I've chosen:

"I wrote that when we had a day off in New York City. This was [in 1992], when we were in Times Square, which is not what Times Square is now, which is like Disneyland. There was still some grit and dirt to New York City - especially around Times Square and Union Square back then. I literally walked out of the room, took a two-hour walk around New York, and just absorbed and observed from the highs and lows of what society was offering in the greatest city in the world."

This has to be one of the first songs of theirs that I gravitated towards and had a very nice melodic flow with an acoustic guitar as the driving instrument, accompanied by distinct cello, bass, and drums.

"The World I Know" - Collective Soul
 
Excellent write-up on 1995. I can’t share the love for the year although the sentiment that it is all downhill in following years may prove to be fair but I think the trend has been downwards for some time. I not sure if any surveys or research has been done on the subject but the best music does appear to correlate with one’s youth. I do think those of us who were in their youth during the 70’s were rather privileged when it comes to music though.
 
I bought quite a few albums in the 90’s that proved to be once only purchases for the artists involved. Alanis Morrissette would be a prime example; Shawn Mullins would be another example but we aren’t there yet. Joan Osbourne was one from 1995 and her One of Us is a track I have put on playlists down the years so I will offer it up here.
 
threespires said:
Not sure how everyone can be saying it's all down from now when next year we've got Return of The Mack.
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I've just listened to the initial 18 and there were some enjoyable indie tracks there, but I just can't get with all this club rubbish in the 2nd half of the list. I'm afraid it does nothing for me.
 
RobMCFC said:
I've just listened to the initial 18 and there were some enjoyable indie tracks there, but I just can't get with all this club rubbish in the 2nd half of the list. I'm afraid it does nothing for me.
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Much like the prog shit does nowt for me.
Dance music exploded and went on to conquer the world. You can't just dismiss it cos you can't dance.
 
The album Waterpistol was originally recorded in 1989 but due to a studio fire and the believe that all the master tapes had been destroyed wasn't released until 95 after a copy was found.

By that time the band has disbanded and Mick Head had descended into drug addiction.

He got himself together and joined the band touring with his musical hero Arthur Lee.

I've often wondered if it had released in 89 if life for Mick had been somewhat different. Noel G is a big fan.

I still believe his best work is The Magical World Of The Strands and that album was reviewed on the album thread but this is right up there.

Shack - Undecided
 
stonerblue said:
Much like the prog shit does nowt for me.
Dance music exploded and went on to conquer the world. You can't just dismiss it cos you can't dance.
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I get that plenty of people like it, but I don’t. I just don’t like music that has a relentless pounding beat. I hear it from cars or people playing it way too loud outside and it’s just awful. I just associate it with a lot of negative things.

What happens in the clubs should stay in the clubs. Lowest common denominator.

You’re right though, I can’t dance.
 
RobMCFC said:
I get that plenty of people like it, but I don’t. I just don’t like music that has a relentless pounding beat. I hear it from cars or people playing it way too loud outside and it’s just awful. I just associate it with a lot of negative things.

What happens in the clubs should stay in the clubs. Lowest common denominator.

You’re right though, I can’t dance.
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I’m with you. Can’t stand that dance shite.
 
OB1 said:
Excellent write-up on 1995. I can’t share the love for the year although the sentiment that it is all downhill in following years may prove to be fair but I think the trend has been downwards for some time. I not sure if any surveys or research has been done on the subject but the best music does appear to correlate with one’s youth. I do think those of us who were in their youth during the 70’s were rather privileged when it comes to music though.
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Totally get where you're coming from @OB1 and you know by now how much I love the music of the 70s.

I think the 90s was also a special time because there was a lot going on musically. I don't want to equate decades really, but I can imagine the mood of the mid 90s may have been similar, and different, to that in the late 60s. It was a special time, not just because I was young but as I said in the write up, there was a lot to look forward to and music was on the up.

Grunge, Madchester, Rap. Electronic, Dance, Rave was all on the up and where there was a crossover in styles, that's where it really shone I think. The mixing of musical cultures created new sounds and exposed a lot of great music to new audiences especially in Indie clubs. To name a few: Bjork went from Indie to 'dance' and Avant Garde electronic. Norman Cook from The Housemartins (Indie) becomes Fat Boy Slim. Radiohead go from crappy Indie to an Avant Garde electronic band. Beck blended hip hop, Indie, folk, funk into country. The Prodigy and Chemical Brothers worked and sampled Indie bands (eg PWEI). Dance and Indie bands came together for the Happy Mondays, Primal Scream etc. Metal bands worked with rappers on The Judgement Night soundtrack. Rap and Rock were blended by bands like Rage Against The Machine and Faith No More. Portishead blended dance with soul. I could go on!

One to think about is that from the early 2000s, the rise of dance and r'n'b collides with some of the work done in the Swedish clubs where the DJs found that "simpler" songs were popular than "clever" ones. The rise of bass, improvements in technology, simpler sounds plays a part I think in making music a bit more 'boring'. I think the Internet then comes along and makes it incredibly difficult for coherent youth movements to come together. Programmes like TOTP become increasingly irrelevant - as much as I like watching them now, back in the 90s it was like watching a 'real life' Key 103 radio station. The music played bore no relation to anything that we were listening to. Radio becomes less important and more national and again, the music played on Radio 1, 2 etc was nothing like what was played in clubs - it become irrelevant. Finally, I think the music machine figures out that giving people what they want is very profitable.

All generations think their time was special and I will happily accept anyone from the mid-50s to the late 90s saying that. Once we get into the 2000s, the world starts to change. It becomes far less hopeful and more hope-less.
 
RobMCFC said:
I've just listened to the initial 18 and there were some enjoyable indie tracks there, but I just can't get with all this club rubbish in the 2nd half of the list. I'm afraid it does nothing for me.
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I think there's a couple of things to remember with it though.

Firstly, Goldie's Timeless and Leftfield's Leftism are hugely influential. They are cornerstones of those genres and anyone who's slightly into electronic music would agree that these albums - especially in the context of the 90s - are seminal. Music is mostly subjective but there's some things that are objective too. For example, if someone says Beethoven, The Beatles or Schoenberg are crap then we can point to their influence on others for example. Whilst I wouldn't class Timeless or Leftism at these levels, but they are widely regarded as important and influential albums. Personally, I don't think Leftism is a thump-thump album, there's a lot of styles on it and the same with Timeless. There's a lot of depth in these albums, but you need to give it time. Obviously I couldn't put all the tracks from these albums on, it's one song from each. I've put the album name on though to say that I think this album is nominated, rather than just the track.

Insomnia is a club classic, but it also crossed into indie and that riff is instantly recognisable. Yes, it's very rhythm-driven - that’s the style - but no more reductive than saying rock is just drums, bass and guitar. Tracks like "Leave Home" or "Higher State" did similar things in terms of crossing audiences. When the riff drops on Insomnia, it's one of those defining 90s moments - on a par with something like the opening of "Back in Black" or "Whole Lotta Love" or other great rock tracks.

Part of why I picked these tracks is that electronic music in the 90s felt like it was having its own kind of creative explosion, maybe similar to how rock expanded in the 60s and 70s by taking influences from all over the place. There’s a big difference between Timeless, Leftism, Insomnia and Higher State which shows how diverse the scene already was, and I've not even touched on some of the great chart/House tracks there were this year.

I know it won't change anyones view on these tracks, or style, different people like different music. That's what makes it fun to debate! :) But I do think that if you lived through the mid-90s, especially around the Britpop/dance era, you probably ended up with pretty eclectic tastes - and a pretty interesting music collection, depending on your tastes that month, because of it! :)
 
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