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5 Amazing Alternative Rock Albums Of The 90s

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Ah, the 90’s. Some people say it’s their favourite decade of music, and it’s not that difficult to understand why – especially if you’re a fan of guitar-based albums. Rock music went under a renaissance of sorts during these golden years, with grunge, Britpop, pop punk, nu metal and indie in fine voice.

The 90s produced some of the very best alternative rock music, and no serious music fan’s collection could be complete without these five records, which have stood the test of time very well.Weezer's Lead Singer, Rivers Cuomo

So, read on and be prepared for some of the best music ever made!

1. Weezer – Pinkerton (1996)

Weezer had already released the perfect debut album in the form of the Blue Album, which had hits such as “Buddy Holly” and “Say It Ain’t So”, but they followed it up strongly with the very different Pinkerton. Critics panned the album for its bleaker and heavier tone, but unbeknownst to them, Weezer had actually seen the future of pop punk — emo. Yes, Pinkerton is now considered one of the very first emo albums and you can certainly hear why, with Rivers Cuomo’s self-deprecating and powerfully emotional lyrics. Weezer’s second album can now be considered a sort of history lesson in emo’s evolution, and who knows what Fall Out Boy’s music might have been like without it!

Key Songs: Tired Of Sex, Across The Sea, El Scorcho

2. Soundgarden – Superunknown (1994)

There were many different sides to grunge, but one of the heaviest bands that emerged from the scene was Soundgarden. Once Nirvana developed the grunge scene, Soundgarden got their big break and in 1994 they released their most commercially successful album, Superunknown. It is amazing, plus amazingly heavy! Inspired by heavy metal legends Black Sabbath, Superunknown is their most consistent album, and comes at you with hit after hit, all carried by their phenomenal musicianship and Chris Cornell’s powerful voice.

Key Songs: Black Hole Sun, Spoonman, The Day I Tried to Live

CD Of My Bloody Valentine's Loveless

3. My Bloody Valentine – Loveless (1991)

The story of this album’s creation is kind of a legend, but also a tale of warning for young bands. Loveless almost bankrupted MBV’s record label, with a lot of the budget being blown on drugs, but at the end of a stressful recording period, this masterpiece was born. A defining album in the shoegaze sub-genre, Loveless is atmospheric, fuzzy and best played very, very loud. If your ears aren’t bleeding whilst you listen to Loveless, you’re not listening to it properly.

Key Songs: To Here Knows When, When You Sleep, Soon

4. Smashing Pumpkins – Siamese Dreams (1993)Smashing Pumpkins When They Made A Guest Appearance In The Simpsons

Billy Corgan of the Smashing Pumpkins is infamous for his controlling nature of the band, but during the 90’s when things were a little more stable he created one of the greatest rock albums ever made. Siamese Dream is a long album with plenty of ambition, but it gets away with trying to punch above its weight because of its infectious heavy riffs and Corgan’s natural gift for self-defeating anthems. The most perfect of these is album highlight, Today, a wonderfully dark pop song about being on the edge of suicide and falling in love with life again.

Key Songs: Today, Cherub Rock, Hummer

5. Nirvana – In Utero (1993)

The Cover Of Nirvana's In Utero

Nirvana may have brought about the massive increase in popularity for alternative rock with Nevermind, but Kurt Cobain and co weren’t keen to just repeat the success of that album. Instead, they took a darker and heavier turn, taking more influence form their contemporaries. It was also, apparently, a deliberate ploy to make the music more inaccessible to the many thousands of people who latched on to Nirvana’s popularity. Although a little more difficult to appreciate at first, In Utero is still one of the best alternative rock albums to grace the airwaves. It’s aggressive, riff heavy and depressing tone can’t hide the fact Kurt Cobain loves to write great pop songs. It’s under rated, and should be adored by more, so grab this CD and some Nirvana clothing to educate your musical tastes.

Key Songs: Heart-Shaped Box, Pennyroyal Tea, All Apologies

These five timeless albums are just a few to get you started in discovering and celebrating the great music of the 90s. The truth is that there are hundreds more that could have been included. So what are you waiting for? Get listening!

Featured images:

Geoffrey Clarke is a part-time music blogger whose favourite band on this list is Smashing Pumpkins.




The way we get our music sure has changed over the years

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I don’t know how many of you remember when the only way you could get new music was to go to the record store and buy a record or even dare I say this – a 45. Do you remember the terms LP, EP and 45’s? Of course while you were at the record store you could also buy music on cassette tapes as well.

I can remember trying to make my own cassette tapes by trying to record music off the radio or taping records as they played. When I was young I didn’t have my tape recorder hooked up through the stereo so the recordings were not very good!

By the time I was a young teenager CDs were starting to come into the picture. I don’t think any of us thought they would last at the time. That kind of reminds me of the Beta video. Little did we know that CDs were here to stay and were only a harbinger or things to come in the form of digital music.

It’s so easy to buy music digitally now I bet that almost all the people who read this post have purchased at least one song or album digitally if not hundreds. Have you ever wondered how the online music industry has evolved over time? Here’s some interesting information about it.
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Via: Kaza Gold

Endless, what a great Toto song!

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Toto is one of those great bands from the 70’s and 80’s that didn’t get a ton of good reviews. Sure, some of their tunes were down right too pop-ish for some peoples likings but other songs they performed were great! For example there’s Rockmaker, Georgy Porgy, and one of my favorites is Child Anthem. Other bands that fit their genre are Saga and Cerafim.

I recall picking up Toto’s first album and fell in love with it right away. Everything from the arrangements/progressions to the vocals were the kind of style that I would have really enjoyed playing. Too bad back then there wasn’t any musicians living in my home town who wanted to venture off in this musical direction, their loss. In my defense, I remember playing in my first band Deuce that played Toto’s Hold the Line at St. Bernard School way back in 1979?

I vividly recall playing the opening song called Duece, and Brian M singing the words “Get up and get the Hell on out of here!” The kicker is he was looking directly at this nun in the first row, that was way too funny! Way to go Ginchy!

My nephew and I were in a car traveling to my cousin’s house 2 years ago to do some landscaping and gardening, see I’m good at something else too as I said in my last e-mail. He pulled out this new Toto album called Toto’s Greatest Hits Silver Box set. The kid is the Data of the movie trivia and facts world. The guy is just amazing at what he knows about movies, it borderlines on scary actually. Check out his site, he’s working on it just to give you a head up.

The band had put just about the the whole first album on it! I was floored when we put in the stereo. The songs on this CD instantly brought back all those childhood memories, thanx again JC!

Now a days while taking the pooch out for a walk along the Danforth, I listen to this collection on the old iPOD. Over the past couple of hours the one song that gets me going the most called Endless. It’s originally on the Isolation album if anyone if interested. Everything about this one is outstanding, listen for yourself!

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HE63SN46AeA

Love ya Live!

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Gibson was Raided for Illegal Wood possession

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Can you believe that some US Federal Institute raided Gibson Guitar’s main manufacturing plants in Nashville and Memphis, Tennessee because of wood that they use in creating the worlds most valuable guitar?

It seems that the Feds believe the wood obtained from India is illegal because Indian law states that wood exported from it’s country must be completely finished before being exported for another countries use. So I guess the wood being exported to Gibson factories was raw wood product or at least that’s what the Feds must think.

Gibson CEO said last week that they will continue their fight against the US Government’s raid, for the second time one in 2 years, in similar charges. The first time the wood in question was imported from Madagascar.

After the raid, the US agents obtained the illegal wood from India and sent all the workers home. What a way to get out of the shop.

While the Justice agents are still contemplating the charges against Gibson Guitars, Gibson is in the process of suing them to retrieve it’s product back so that the plants can resume production.

“Gibson has complied with foreign laws and believes it is innocent of any wrong doing,” Chief Executive Officer Henry Juszkiewicz said in a statement. “We will fight aggressively to prove our innocence.”

Juszkiewicz has stated the company, has and will work in close concert with groups like the Rainforest Alliance to help certify that the wood Gibson uses in it’s highly prized guitar come from ensure its wood imports are from sustainable authorities.

In an affidavit, agent John Rayfield of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said U.S. Customs agents in June detained a shipment of sawn ebony logs from India.

The paperwork accompanying the shipment identified it fraudulently as Indian ebony fingerboards for guitars and it did not say it was going to Gibson, the affidavit said.

In July, agents observed Indian ebony and rosewood delivered to a storage facility for Gibson, according to the affidavit, which asked permission to seize Gibson’s business computers.

Gibson plants also were raided in 2009, when agents confiscated ebony imported from Madagascar.

If your a big lover of Gibson guitars and own one then this long video is something that you might find interesting. Enjoy

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H5No0Sk9NIo

Possible Fleetwood Mac Tour!

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Both Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham have both talked on the record about the possibility of the 70’s & 80’s Mega group Fleetwood Mac going out on the road to support a new album in the near future? I missed when they toured in 2009 so hell ya, I’ll go see them! All this is just talk and nothing yet is on the books … they are all just Rumors!
I hate being teased like this. Everywhere I searched, this is all that I come up with.

Anyways, have you heard of these guys before? In all honesty, I still run into some people of my age who have not.

The biggest thing that grabs my attention about the band is their distinctive sound. Not only vocally, way before Lindsey Buckingham showed up in 1975, but it’s after he joined the band when he brought with him his fantastic open tuning guitar style/sound and his unique vocals that drew me in.

I could always figure out anything that was thrown at me but I wasn’t completely satisfied with the Fleetwood Mac songs. I knew deep down inside that I was way off base here.

Open tuning was something I hadn’t heard of at the time so I had to struggle to reproduce a tune, nice try but … The greatest example of this struggle was a song called Never Going Back Again. I played this one in the first position G and D then migrating up the neck to around the 9th to 12th fret area. Some day I just have to start doing some tunes to show you what I mean.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MHoxoXw6byM&feature=related

Keep on Jammin’

Brad Delp’s voice on new Boston Album

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The band Boston is set to release their next album and will pay tribute to their iconic lead singer Brad Delp that sadly passed away on March 9th, 2007. This is coming from the people at ultimateclassicrock.com, which I tend to view from time to time. Not much else is said about the album other then that.

Like every Boston fan out there, never hold your breath about the issue date of the bands next album because of the bands agonizingly slow evolution in their recording process. Even though the band states that this album is 85% complete, I still wouldn’t dare to place a wager on the exact date. Does anyone out there recall the band taking 6 years to complete their third album Third Stage? Talk about build up to a product release!

Since Brad Delp’s death, Boston has chosen to use a couple of singers but their recent singer, Tommy DeCarlo, is the one that stuck.

Boston just has that sound that makes you stand up and take notice. Even if you not a fan of the band, I bet that you’d know them after listening to only a few bars of a song.

When my parents bought me a 50 watt 1/2 stack HIWATT (for a good laugh check out the link!) amp, the first song I played on it was Boston’s Don Look Back! I literally didn’t know how powerful it was so after 10 minutes of setting it up, I found the number 9 button on the volume control. It was so loud it work up John Elek down the street, not to mention the cat never came back for 3 days, it was at the foot of my bed, true story. Thank God the windows were open otherwise I don’t know what would have happened. I never went near number 9 again …

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KiOqHLVxZvA

So when do you think the band’s release date will be?

Keep on Jammin’

Taste of the Danforth 2011

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We decided to check out the Taste of the Danforth this year and it was … well, busy as usual. The weather was fantastic! It drizzled a little bit during the visit which brought out that high humidity that I love so much. The sounds, smells and overall atmosphere is quite intoxicating to take in, in such a short period of time.

We live about a 15 minute walk away, but it seems to take much longer due to the fact that some 1.3 million people who show up every year to the Taste of the Danforth, were right in front of us. If you ever get the opportunity to visit the festival, I highly recommend going … unless you hate crowds and good food!

This year we came armed with a decent sized back pack to put some of the zillion or so delicacies that we were bombard with from every direction in, to take home with us for later consumption. Greek food (obviously), Ethiopian, Taiwanese, Japanese, Irish, British, the Islands, Mexican, to name only a few, food stands are everywhere. Calories as far as the eyes can see. We bought a little bit of food to taste as we walked along the 3 km stretch of closed off roadway and then as I said bought a little bit more to stuff in my backpack to eat today!

The journey lasted around 3.5 hours. The dogs they aren’t a barkin’ all that much but as for my wife’s … It was just plain fantastic to get out of the ‘olde house for a while and finally enjoy some of the spectacular local events that are held in the little city of Toronto.

I’ve got some pic’s on the camera phone that I’ll upload sometime soon but I can’t find that damn USB connector. Am I the only one in the world to loose that thing from time to time?

Keep on Jammin’

On the Hotest Night of the year!

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If anyone out there still considers Canada to be the land of ice, snow and igloos then check this one out! Here in Toronto Canada today the temperature is a cool 38 (C) 100.4 (F) and feels like 49 (C) 120.2 (F). Well folks, sorry to inform you but there are no snowbanks, ice or igloos anywhere to be found in our neighbourhood!

So in honour of all of you out there that have had this train of thought for a while then, this tune is for you! Stay cool out there kidz!

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Mwc43Fd9DY&feature=BFa&list=PL1C7D5F83A5E33364&index=13

Keep on Jammin’

Glenn Campbell still Jammin’

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Glenn Campbell has just performed his first concert since announcing that he was diagnosed with Alzheimer (the degenerative brain disease that slowly rob people of their memories and abilities). I cannot imagine what thoughts must have been running around his mind when he first took to the stage.

Glen Campbell leaned over his blue electric guitar, plucked a few strings and made a sour face.
“Dadgum it,” he said.
Campbell fiddled a few seconds longer while standing backstage at the IP Casino and finally found a perfect D chord.
“There it is,” he said, before turning on his heel and marching into the spotlight. He launched into “Gentle on my Mind” and — without so much as clearing his throat — nailed it.

“That first one is a doozey, ain’t it?” Campbell asked the crowd. AP

Now that would have been quite the emotional show for all who were in attendance that night in Biloxi, Miss.

I’ve read that he may have missed that odd word here or there but his teleprompter was his saving grace that show. Heck, I’ve been known to have done that from time to time accompanied with that one word I follow it with “Damn it!” Good for Glenn, I hope that he can enjoy his God given talent as long as he can.

For a guitarist/musician/singer-songwriter like Glenn Campbell, this disease must feel like someone coming up to you and hitting you in the heart with a sledgehammer. While I’m not getting any younger, I find myself once in a while walking in a room and forgetting what I went in there for and I’m sure you can find examples in your own life. I can only speculate at what he is going through.

Alzheimer, it seems to me, is a disease that appears to be coming at us as a society from all directions. It has affected a direct family member, a very dear friend’s own loving father and countless patients that I have had direct dealings with over the years.

I have seen it tear away and disregard peoples memories at will with no fear of the consequences! It not only has devastating affects on the patient themselves but their loved ones as well. If you know someone who has a loved one with this unimaginable disease, give them a hug … because they need it too!

If you feel like giving a simple donation to the Alzheimer of Canada society, check out their secure site and give a simple donation to the cause, one day you might need their help too.

The Big Band sound going Indie?

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I love that traditional Big Band sound, the feel, the excitement I get that flows through my veins after listening to a great track. The voluminous of bands like Bassie, Goodman, and Canada’s own Arthur Miller are just some of the bands that I remember listening to as a kid. Along with some RUSH, KISS, Steely Dan, YES, Zeppelin … I really had quite the eclectic musical tastes back when I was a kid. Now a days when I come across something new in the Big Band genre, it always stirs my curiosity.

While reading my biweekly Macleans, I read about this new band conducted by Darcy James Argue called Secret Society. To some out there they might not sound like the classically acknowledged Big Band groove that we have been exposed to from the past but it’s there sitting in the background, right in front of you. The way they put in some techno here and there is quite refreshing.

I hope that at least you will bring your own eclectic musical tastes with you when and if you give the below video a listen to. I like Secret Society here in this particular video but the best way to experience a group like this, in my eyes, are in a venue WITH OUT microphones! If ever had in the past then you know what I mean.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=175ygZD5VzA&feature=related

Keep on Jammin’

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