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I made a list of a few Alternative albums from the 90's that I am particularly fond of. I'm planning on staying away from some of the more popular landmark albums like: Nevermind, Siamese Dream, and Ok Computer. As much as I enjoy those albums, I'm sure others are tired of seeing them always on lists and want to see other albums.
Let's start off:
Goo Goo Dolls: Superstar Car Wash
Many are familiar with their ballady stuff like Iris, Name, Black Balloon. Well those might be great songs, but before they wrote ballads, they were formally a hardcore punk band. Though this is their fourth album and much of their punk sound has faded away, but there is some great jems in this album. There are some great guitar riffs, something that may sound foreign to modern Goo fans. This is also the album where Johnny Rzeznick began to experiment with some alternative tunings. Though it will take Johnny until the next album to utilize the crazier tunings, for example Name, but nonetheless they exist. We Are the Normal is the only single off of the album and the lyrics were written by the legendary Paul Westerberg himself.
recommended tracks: Fallen Down, Stop the World, So Far Away.
Jeremy Enigk: Return of the Frog Queen
The name Jeremy Enigk may not ring any bells, but the name of his band, Sunny Day Real Estate, might be more familiar, especially with fans of old school Emo music. Gone are the heavily distorted guitars and in come in orchestral instruments playing chamber style music. The music is much more personal than his SDRE work, much of the songs consist of him with either just an acoustic guitar, or a piano with minimal instrumentation behind him. The album is quite mellow and slow or medium tempo until the major highlight of the album Shade and the Black Hat has an intense buildup and you can feel that Enigk put the album rest with the next and final song.
recommended tracks: Shade and the Black Hat, Explain, Call Me Steam.
Bash and Pop: Friday Night is Killing Me
Frontman Tommy Stinson might not be a familiar name, but his position as the bassist to the legendary band, The Replacements, is quite a position. He is also currently the bassist in Guns N Roses (currently known as Axel and Friends). Bash and Pop is Tommy's first foray into the music world without the Mats and his first album as guitarist and singer. It feels like Stinson never forgot how to rock out. Many might have lost hope after the much mellower final Replacements albums: Don't Tell a Soul and All Shook Down, but this shows he remembers the Mats' punk roots. Even without Paul Westerberg by his side, you can still hear Westerberg's influence in his songwriting. Songs like Fast and Hard and First Steps could pass off as Westerberg classics if Paul himself sang them. Though it may sound like I'm making the Westerbergyness of his songs as a bad thing, I am not. These are still well crafted songs that would make not only Replacements fans, but also Alternative and fans of Garage style rock.
recommended tracks: Friday Night is Killing Me, Fast and Hard, First Steps.
So far this is all I'm adding. I may be missing a few albums, but hey, first blog.
Let's start off:
Goo Goo Dolls: Superstar Car Wash
Many are familiar with their ballady stuff like Iris, Name, Black Balloon. Well those might be great songs, but before they wrote ballads, they were formally a hardcore punk band. Though this is their fourth album and much of their punk sound has faded away, but there is some great jems in this album. There are some great guitar riffs, something that may sound foreign to modern Goo fans. This is also the album where Johnny Rzeznick began to experiment with some alternative tunings. Though it will take Johnny until the next album to utilize the crazier tunings, for example Name, but nonetheless they exist. We Are the Normal is the only single off of the album and the lyrics were written by the legendary Paul Westerberg himself.
recommended tracks: Fallen Down, Stop the World, So Far Away.
Jeremy Enigk: Return of the Frog Queen
The name Jeremy Enigk may not ring any bells, but the name of his band, Sunny Day Real Estate, might be more familiar, especially with fans of old school Emo music. Gone are the heavily distorted guitars and in come in orchestral instruments playing chamber style music. The music is much more personal than his SDRE work, much of the songs consist of him with either just an acoustic guitar, or a piano with minimal instrumentation behind him. The album is quite mellow and slow or medium tempo until the major highlight of the album Shade and the Black Hat has an intense buildup and you can feel that Enigk put the album rest with the next and final song.
recommended tracks: Shade and the Black Hat, Explain, Call Me Steam.
Bash and Pop: Friday Night is Killing Me
Frontman Tommy Stinson might not be a familiar name, but his position as the bassist to the legendary band, The Replacements, is quite a position. He is also currently the bassist in Guns N Roses (currently known as Axel and Friends). Bash and Pop is Tommy's first foray into the music world without the Mats and his first album as guitarist and singer. It feels like Stinson never forgot how to rock out. Many might have lost hope after the much mellower final Replacements albums: Don't Tell a Soul and All Shook Down, but this shows he remembers the Mats' punk roots. Even without Paul Westerberg by his side, you can still hear Westerberg's influence in his songwriting. Songs like Fast and Hard and First Steps could pass off as Westerberg classics if Paul himself sang them. Though it may sound like I'm making the Westerbergyness of his songs as a bad thing, I am not. These are still well crafted songs that would make not only Replacements fans, but also Alternative and fans of Garage style rock.
recommended tracks: Friday Night is Killing Me, Fast and Hard, First Steps.
So far this is all I'm adding. I may be missing a few albums, but hey, first blog.
