So a few entries ago I was talking about unexpected songs being favourable when I mentioned how Crazy Town (the guys who did that awesome “Butterfly” song) have done an awesome song that had made my list. That same feeling was felt more than once in 2014 or early 2015, when I found out that Hot Action Cop had returned.
Now, HAC have done only two albums. Their first was self-titled in 2003 and it was just brilliant, I even ranked it at #11 in my list of favourite albums between 2000 and 2009. After that album, NOTHING. Nothing for six years. I was so disappointed because I really thought they were going to be one of the best bands in that decade. And in six years? They release an EP. And I’m sorry but it was just bad. Just my opinion. But it was pretty bad. Also, sorry, but this new album? Not good. It’s better than the EP but I didn’t think much of it. Sometimes bands release a great album and can’t seem to find that magic consistently for a long time, or even the rest of their careers.
But what was a piece of absolute magic on the new album was the main single, “House of Pain”. What we have here is a song that’s best described as a mixture of Prince and the Red Hot Chili Peppers. It’s just brilliant. It’s been clear for a long time that HAC have been influenced by the funky grooves of the Chilis and the rap metal of Limp Bizkit and the crude and funny lyric styles of the Bloodhound Gang. But what I didn’t see coming was the brilliant Prince-esque vocals Rob Werthner provides in this song. They’re insane. And the song is just ridiculously catchy. If you’re a fan of the Chilis and have not heard Hot Action Cop I demand you listen to this song below. And if you like it, listen to “Fever for the Flava” or any of their other stuff off their fantastic self-titled debut album. You won’t regret it.
Hey everyone, welcome to the ninth edition in a series of
reviews of a year in music. So far I have covered all the 2000s together as the
Noughtie series,
and so far 1999,
then 1998,
followed by 1997
and 1996,
1995,
1994, 1993 and 1992.
Just in case you’re not familiar with it, here’s the format.
It will be done in five parts. I'll do a brief history of what happened in that
year, followed by my five favourite albums of the year, then what I think the
five best videos are. I'll then do a Top 10 most impactful (still refraining
from using the word important) songs from that year. To wrap it up, I'll do my
favourite songs in a mixtape format. So now that you know where I'm going with
this, let's get to it!
1991 was an odd year for music. Probably until September, when “you know what” got released by Nirvana, it pretty much felt like the old guard getting rusty from the eighties. Times were changing, the people who found success in the eighties were struggling to take to this change, and people wanted something new, something fresh. Nirvana and the grunge movement brought that, but it didn’t really come to full effect until 1992. So what we have here is a mixture of good and… okay. Enjoy the review!
Brief History of the
Year 1991 in Music
Nirvana
release "Nevermind", one of the, if not the biggest album
released since, and the grunge genre movement explodes to the mainstream
Lead
singer of Queen, Freddie Mercury, dies of AIDS.
Oasis
form, becoming probably the biggest British band of the nineties.
Metallica
release their self titled album (also called The Black Album), their most
successful album in their 31 year career.
Rage
Against the Machine form, starting the nu-metal era of metal, and become
one of the most outspoken and controversial bands of the nineties.
Talking
Heads, one of the biggest post-punk and new wave bands of all time, disband.
They would only play one more time together, in 2002, when they were inducted
into the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame.
My Top 5 Albums of
1991
#5 – “Blood Sugar Sex Magik” by the Red Hot Chili Peppers
Released: 24/9/91
Rating: ***3/4 stars
Stand-out tracks: “Breaking the Girl”, “Give it Away”,
“They’re Red Hot”
I
love the Chilis. They’re a great band. They make music like no other artist out
there. There are have been a few bands that have tried to put their spin on the
funk rock sound that the Chilis have perfected but none have had anywhere near
the success that the Red Hot Chili Peppers have. But my problem with the Chilis
is that their album material is usually a step down from their singles. Quite
consistently in their career. Now I’m sure there are many people who disagree
with me on that of course. It’s just me, I know. Blood Sugar Sex Magik is a
great album though, I thoroughly enjoy listening to it. I mean, it’s the same
pattern, the singles are by far the best songs on the album, but the
non-singles are fun too. If I were to recommend one Chilis album, it’d probably
be this.
#4 – “Out of Time” by R.E.M.
Released: 12/3/91
Rating: ***3/4 stars
Stand-out tracks: “Losing My Religion”, “Shiny Happy
People”, “Radio Song”
Why the Radio Song is not on any Greatest Hits album R.E.M.
have released is beyond me. What a cool track that is.
Anyway, “Out of Time” is an R.E.M. effort that I forgot
about, until I made this article for your pleasure. It surprised me a little
with how good it is. I mean I do prefer “Automatic for the People”, but I take nothing
away from this album, it’s a cracker. One of my favourite non-singles is
“Country Feedback” a song really pulls at the heartstrings, and was so good
that it was released on R.E.M.’s final release of compilation tracks. Michael
Stipe has also called that his favourite ever song, which is quite the
statement. There’s a lot of gold on “Out of Time”, and deserves a lot of
respect as one of R.E.M.’s finest albums.
#3 – “Look Mom, No Head!” by The Cramps
Released: November 1991
Rating: ****1/4 stars
Stand-out tracks: “Bend Over, I'll Drive”, “Dames, Booze,
Chains and Boots”, “I Wanna Get in Your Pants”
Look at Poison Ivy. Man, she was so hot.
Anyway,
I love The Cramps. I don’t swear often on this site but it deserves it here. I
fucking love The Cramps. If I were to list you a set of bands that deserve more
attention for their discography The Cramps would be very high on that list. The
Cramps are a band that started a genre. Psychobilly wouldn’t exist if it wasn’t
for The Cramps. They’re so good, and while their songs going into the nineties
were slowly losing quality, this is their last great effort. There are some
absolute gems on this album; those three songs above are there for starters.
They only released one single off it with “Eyeball in My Martini”, which is
pretty good, but some of the other non-singles are brilliant. Just look at
those song titles. Aren’t they brilliant? You know what you’re going to get
with The Cramps, dirty yet sexy licks, with funny innuendo in their lyrics.
They’re just a band that really deserves more attention; please PLEASE check
them out if you’ve never heard them before. You’re missing out!
#2 – “Metallica” by Metallica
Released: 12/8/91
Rating: ****1/2 stars
Stand-out tracks: “Enter Sandman”, “The Unforgiven”, “Sad
But True”
There are two albums from the year 1991 that probably get
more recognition and praise than any other. It doesn’t matter who you are, what
music you like, or anything else, there are two albums that trumped everything
else in terms of attention and longevity. These two albums are to put simply,
two of the greatest albums of all time.
First
is “The Black Album”, or the self titled “Metallica” album. That’s got to be
one of the coolest album covers ever. I’m not the biggest Metallica fan, especially for their albums, but if you love metal, it doesn’t
matter what type of metal you like, you have to listen to this. It goes without
saying. It’s just from the first track to the last, pure quality in the metal
genre. The Black Album oozes brilliance throughout. It’s amazing how fucking
good this album really is. And as I said, I’m not a huge Metallica fan, and
it’s still damn good. You simply, can’t call yourself a metal fan until you
appreciate this album. It’s a true classic, a true piece of legendary music that
will go down in history as one of the finest albums ever recorded. It’s that
simple.
It’s probably not a surprise that this is my favourite album
from 1991. But what you may find surprising is that I found it very hard to
give this a star rating of ****1/2 stars. It’s one of those albums that for me
is between ****1/4 and ****1/2, but because of the nostalgia, the impact and
the significance of the album, I gave it the latter rating.
This isn’t my favourite Nirvana album. In fact, a case can
be made that it’s my least favourite Nirvana album. But no one can dispute that
this album is great. It’s a fantastic album. It annoys me when a lot of people
talk about this album being crap. It’s not. It’s far from it. But… it was
overplayed. Nirvana as a band, we’re overplayed, overhyped. I wouldn’t say
overrated, but they got so much attention and it was shoved in everyone’s
throats for a long long time. Nevermind was played so much during the nineties,
especially “Smells Like Teen Spirit”. And as I say, rightfully so in a certain
way as it is a great album. But enough was enough.
If
you take away all the hype and attention away and strip this album down to its
core and listen to it, it’s a great effort. It’s not the best, but it’s damn
good. There are some fantastic songs on here, and the music singles were
awesome too. They’re just not my favourite tracks on the album. But if,
somehow, you haven’t heard this album, I do recommend you listen to it at least
once. Regardless of your taste in music, if you like metal, rock, grunge, pop,
dance music, RnB, it doesn’t matter. This is an album that strips musical
barriers, and appeals to a vast audience. Simply at its core, “Nevermind” is a
legendary album that is an album you have to hear before you die. It’s as
simple as that.
My Top 5 Music Videos
of 1991
#5 – “Give it Away” by Red Hot Chili Peppers
I have to be honest 1991 wasn’t really that great for videos
but one that always stands out is “Give it Away” by the Chili’s. How can a
video where half naked men in shiny pants and make up in a black and while
video be considered so popular? It’s beyond me in some ways but no one can deny
how this video became iconic. You have to give credit to the director as the video
matches the song perfectly, it’s lively, it’s a little crazy and it actually
looks fun to direct. Just like the song “Give it Away” is all of those things
to a certain extent. “Give it Away” is just a video you have to see to
understand, and to experience.
#4 – “Smells Like Teen Spirit” by Nirvana
It may be an odd choice but this was a great music video.
It’s not the best music video in the world, and it doesn’t have much artistic
direction, but it’s so iconic. It’s a legendary music video. And yes, it is
purely because of the attention the song and the band got, but regardless, this
is a good music video. It shows what Nirvana do best, play music in a raw and
hostile environment. I love all the shots of the dirty gymnasium, the greasy
hair, the playing hard, the cheerleaders, everything. It’s just a music video
that does exactly what music videos are supposed to do, promote the song and
promote the band. And it does both of these things perfectly.
#3 – “Shiny Happy People” by R.E.M.
I forgot how hot Kate Pierson is in this video, and at the
age of 43 as well. What? What can I say? I love redheads! Anyway, I can’t help
but love this video. I think it’s just because band members are all trying
their hardest to look happy but all still look discretely despondent, with the
exception of Kate Pierson anyway, of the B52’s, whose smiles just gleam the
video camera lense. The video is just great, it’s just totally watchable
despite not much really happening apart from the above, in front of a large
painting of childrens drawings of ‘happy people’. It’s just an awesome video.
Oh and one more thing, Michael Stipe’s incredibly brown suit and cap turned
sideways is another amazing highlight of the video.
#2 – “Black or White” by Michael Jackson
If you’re wondering once again I’m including Michael Jackson
when I don’t include pop artists as a rule it’s because I think Michael Jackson
is above and beyond genre dividing. Michael Jackson is a member of an elite
elite ELITE set of musicians of probably 5 to 10 bands or performers that are
untouchable.
“Black or White” is possibly an odd choice for some of you.
There’s, of course, the debate about the message of the video anyway,
considering the weird change of skin colour of Michael Jackson throughout the
eighties and nineties. But take that situation out of the way for a moment and
you have a very cheesy, yet entertaining music video.
Macaulay Culkin plays as the kid who loves rock music and
pisses his father off, and when getting told off, retorts by cranking his electric
guitar volume to a ridiculous level, and the father gets blown away by the
noise to what looks like Africa, where Michael Jackson is dancing and singing
the song (so weird to say that sentence). It’s very cheesy but behind the
cheese is a very serious message about equality and diversity amongst the races
of humanity. At the end of the video was quite memorable and innovative at the
time, is loads of people’s faces of different skin colour and complexions
morphing from one person to another. This type of imagery and technology was
rarely used before Michael Jackson used it in this video, so it was pretty
cool. This video is pretty good but cheesy.
Just in case you were wondering, the original video was
quite controversial as it had racial graffiti all over it, but this isn’t the
version I’m placing at #2 in my list, but the revised version now found all
over music channels that cuts this section out.
#1 – “Enter Sandman” by Metallica
What can I say about “Enter Sandman”? It’s just one of the
best music videos of the early nineties. What it lacks in technological quality
it makes up in vivid imagery. The video pretty much follows the lyrics song,
and deals with a child who can’t sleep properly and dreams vividly of the
Sandman, who, in the video, is a very strange old man that is haunting the
little girl. The girl falls from the top of a building, gets covered in snakes,
gets chased by a truck and falls from a mountain while trying to escape the
truck, all the while the Sandman lurks in and around her dreams throughout the
video. And while all of these events are happening, the band is playing in
parts and throughout the entire time, the screen is flickering, only showing
you in parts what’s happening. It’s just a truly magnificent video, especially
when it aired in 1991, and one that really needs to be seen if not seen before.
The Top 10 Most
Impactful Songs of 1991
As I said, I'm NOT calling it the 'important' list, although
it's more than just popularity as well. Anyway, here are the 10 songs of the
year. It's an unbiased list.
By trade this is a pop song of course, but it’s status is
legendary as a one-hit wonder of a balanced feeling of cringe and awesomeness.
I mean that. This song is absolutely awesome, but it’s cringe-worthy at the
same time. It’s just a truly remarkable song of cheese, slime and facepalmingly
bad lyrics but I dare you not to like it. This track got to #2 in the UK
charts, but it’s never gone away. It’s too bad not to go away. Right Said Fred
has made a career from this song and you will like it, if you like it or not.
That didn’t make sense. In summary, you love this song so don’t deny it!
Getting to #3 in the UK charts, this GnR song was their highest
charting single in our country until they released “Knockin’ On Heavens Door” a
year later, and the video promoted the classic film “Terminator 2: Judgement
Day”, one of my favourite films ever. It’s tainted nowadays by arguably better
songs like “Paradise City”, “Welcome to the Jungle” and “November Rain”, but
for Guns ‘n’ Roses to get a #3 hit was quite a big deal, and kudos to them for
that. Sorry, I’m not a big fan of Guns ‘n’ Roses or this song! But yeah, you
can’t argue facts, and facts are that in 1991 this was a big hit. A very big
hit.
Probably by today’s standards this song isn’t that popular
in comparison to other U2 songs, but this song got to #1 in the UK and at the
time showed a very different side to the band, a slightly harder edge. The song
is probably more famous for being the song that knocked Bryan Adams’
“Everything I Do (I Do it for You)” off the #1 spot after a 16 week stay up
there. That being said it’s only U2’s second #1 single in the UK, and they’ve
had seven. It definitely showed that U2 are capable of branching their sound to
different genres so kudos to them for that.
#7 – “There’s No Other Way” by Blur
Before the days of “Girls and Boys”, “Parklife”, “Country
House”, “Song 2” and “Coffee and TV” came “There’s No Other Way”, only Blur’s
second single, and the single that brought them huge mainstream attention. The
rest of Blur’s career speaks for itself, but if it weren’t for this song, life
would have been a lot more difficult for the Britpop band that made such an
impact over the course of this decade. It’s one of Blur’s more simple songs,
but it’s still exceptionally catchy, and got to #8 in the UK.
If there’s any song by Queen that’s tragic on a personal
level it’s probably this. The song got to #16, and was written primarily by
legendary guitarist Brian May, and speaks volumes of the pain that Freddie
Mercury was going through in the final year of his life. So much in fact, there
were many concerns whether or not Freddie Mercury could actually sing the song,
but in Brian May’s words, despite all his struggles, Freddie Mercury “he went
in and killed it, completely lacerated that vocal”. So strong is Freddie’s
performance in this song you’d be hard to believe he had any problems at all,
but that was the strength of the man. This was Queen’s last single in the life
of Freddie Mercury. He died six weeks later.
#5 – “Black or White” by Michael Jackson
It may have got to #1 in the UK (and in no fewer than
fourteen other countries) but this song has really tainted over time as a song
that is considered a great Michael Jackson song. It’s not bad don’t get me
wrong, but over his entire career his nineties work is really not taken in high
regard, and even when compared to his other songs of the nineties, this song
still doesn’t really shine ‘brilliance’. Maybe it’s due to the fact that
Michael Jackson is asking us all not to judge a man or woman by the colour of
their skin, yet the mysteries of his skin colour changing over time definitely
questions that logic. Regardless of is Michael Jackson had skin pigmentation
surgery or not, this song and its ethic and moral message, is still important,
and obviously the song had a fantastic impact in 1991.
It was initially hard to choose between “Give it Away” and
“Under the Bridge” as the Chili’s song from the classic “Blood Sugar Sex Magik”
album but after a deeper thought it became very obvious that this song had to
be included in a list of songs that created the most impact. Sure, on a
commercial level, “Give it Away” is the cooler, funkier, more mainstream track,
but deeper down, on a personal level for Anthony Kiedis himself, and as a song
that has created more for the band long term, there’s barely no dispute that
this is one of the Chili Peppers’ finest moments in their illustrious career.
What a song this is. Getting to #13 in the UK, it’s only one of two songs in
the entire Chili’s discography to go platinum in the US (the other being the
far inferior “Dani California”). It’s just a beautifully sad song that deals
with loneliness and depression, and is one of Kiedis’ finest pieces of music.
#3 – “Losing My Religion” by R.E.M.
Once again, another song by another band has been more
successful (this time it’s “Shiny Happy People”) but is omitted for a song that
may not have charted as high, but has had a far larger impact on the career of
the band long term. “Losing My Religion” got to #19, their second biggest hit
in the UK at the time (“The One I Love” got to #16). The song’s lyrics deal
with pining for someone who doesn’t really feel the same way, a feeling I’m
sure we’re all very familiar with. But the song is much more famous for the
riff on the mandolin, an instrument Peter Buck, the guitarist was only starting
to learn at the time. It’s such a beautiful instrument and is the key to why
this song is so memorable. What a song.
#2 – “Enter Sandman” by Metallica
Getting to #5 in the UK is no easy feat for a metal artist,
but Metallica did just that with this blistering effort (they also did it a
second time with “Until it Sleeps”). It’s arguably one of, if not the biggest
Metallica song ever. The lyrics are infamous, the music video memorable, but
nothing can beat the opening intro of the song. It’s absolutely sublime; it’s
one of the best openings to a song ever. “Enter Sandman” is responsible for
turning heads to how good metal can sound, and then “The Black Album”
solidified that foundation. It’s such a huge track, such a brilliant song, and
it’ll forever go down in history as one of metal’s finest efforts.
#1 – “Smells Like Teen Spirit” by Nirvana
It’s not really a dispute about what was the most
“Impactful” song of 1991. You can easily make a case that this song made a bigger
impact than any song of the nineties. But that’s a conversation for another
day. For today, is the day we celebrate “Smells Like Teen Spirit”, THE song of
the year 1991.
My opening paragraph talks about how the old guard of the
eighties were losing their hold on the change in music. Something was needed to
shake music up, but nothing new was really coming. Until September. “Smells
Like Teen Spirit” changed music history forever.
I don’t even know how or why. It’s not as if it’s the most
amazing song. Nirvana have made much better songs than this. I mean, I really
like “Teen Spirit” but I prefer other songs. But something happened, something
clicked, a bond was made between audience and song, and it changed Nirvana
forever. It changed grunge forever, alternative rock and music changed.
Suddenly bands who were previously considered uncool became cool and it changed
the pop charts for a good amount of time. “Smells Like Teen Spirit” is
responsible for that change, and if you like the song or not, you have to
appreciate what impact this song had. It may have only got to #7 in the UK, but
it simply changed everything.
The Year 1991 Mixtape
Just in case you didn't know by now...
"A Mixtape is a playlist of a certain genre, band or
era. The list is generally 80 minutes long, the same length of a blank CD, with
further recommendations if some of the songs aren’t to your taste. Remember
kids, downloading is wrong!"
So here we go! My favourite songs from the year 1991. Yes,
this is a biased list.
You can now listen to this playlist on YouTube! Just click here!
And there we go! The year 1991 in review! Next month
naturally I’ll be covering the final year in the nineties, 1990, and continue
my descend into music history. What we your favourite songs and albums from
1991? Any other comments or queries? Raise them below. Thanks for your time.
For the latest updates on my work, 'like' me on Facebook here!
I'm on my partner's sister's laptop so this isn't me being
back officially, but I do have the resource to put up a review or two. Vote on
the new poll if you can be so kind. I'll be back officially, and writing
officially hopefully in the next week or two. In the mean time, enjoy another
retro music review.
Black Holes and Revelations by Muse
It’s safe to say that Muse have made a great impact on the
rock scene and it’s undeniable that they have produced some of the greatest
guitar riffs in rock history. “Origin of the Symmetry” has been called one of
the best albums in the past ten years. But this is not about the past, this is
about the future. Do Muse still have “it” or are they going to join a number of
other bands who fail to maintain an impact on the music scene?
Of course they still have “it”, but it’s a different kind of
“it” this time around.
If you have heard “Supermassive Black Hole”, the thundering
tech-rock (and, in a slightly amusing way, very Prince-esque) new single by the
trio from Devon then it’s clear that they have took a new route into their
music. There is a lot more dance and pop in this album, and as much as it
sounds like a bad thing for the rock scene, it surprisingly enough isn’t.
Muse’s previous attempts have all sounded slightly similar; their powerful
riffs and pianos were the two diverse but recognisable trademarks on all three
albums. However there is no main sound on this album, some of their trademarks
are visible; the piano makes a reappearance in the beautifully tranquil “A
Soldier’s Poem” and powerful ruffs are easily evident in the ever-so-slightly
“Bohemian Rhapsody” influenced “Knights of Cydonia”, “Starlight” represents
similarities to the previous Muse sound with Matt Bellamy’s bellowing vocals,
the deep bass and passionate lyrics. However the rest of the album sounds very
different. “Map of the Problematique” is a great example of their new direction
its rumbling drum solo and its electronic sounds make the whole song sound so
otherworldly it cannot possibly be compared to their previous attempts; whilst
“Hoodoo” is completely different again, starting off with a mixture and Indian
and Mexican sounds before building into something resembling an early twentieth
century opera.
Despite all this, change is still a debatable subject, even
in music. A change in sound can also mean a change in appreciation; many people
may think this is a poor attempt from the trio because of its diversity. I
personally found this album hard to get into at first because of how different
its sounds were and how much anticipation I had for hearing new tracks with
amazing riffs like “Stockholm Sundrome” and “New Born”. This album for previous
Muse fans may be hard to absorb at first but it’s definitely worth trying to do
so. For new fans and listeners, it is hard to say “But this album now!” because
of how different it is. If you like “Supermassive Black Hole” and are expecting
ten other mind-blowing tech-Prince-pop-Prince-rock-Prince-electronic tracks
then don’t bother. If you are expecting songs like “New Born”, “ Muscle Museum
” and “Time is Running Out” then listen to one of their previous albums. BUT if
you are looking for a new musical experience that can mix in so many influences
and sounds, then you are in the right place. This album is definitely a new,
complex, diverse and fascinatingly difficult route into Muse’s world.
Rating: **** stars
Stand-out tracks: Supermassive Black Hole, Knights of
Cydonia, A Soldier’s Poem
This is more the type of layout I'll be leaning towards in
my new work, the review is quite short, but in terms of what it covers and how
well it's written, it's probably the best review I've ever posted in the past.
Feedback would be most welcome. Have a good day.
Another note: If I were to review this again it'd get a much
higher rating, around ****1/2 stars because it's a brilliant album.
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