Why hello there and I'm back with more details on my newest DJ show. It's my first two hour show (well, the first that I've announced online) and I'm quite proud of it. It's a big improvement on last week's show, or at least, I think so. Any feedback is appreciated if you listen to it. The Rock and Metal Double Feature Show: 30/11/13 Track listing: The Rock Hour Queen - Bohemian Rhapsody Led Zeppelin - In the Evening Kings of Leon - Use Somebody The Fall - I'm a Mummy The Quireboys - 7 O'Clock P.R.O.U.D. - Tur Kue Kwam Fun (Music Box) Suede - Filmstar David Bowie - Boys Keep Swinging The Fratellis - Henrietta Nickelback - Burn it to the Ground Foo Fighters - The One The Offspring - All I Want Sisters of Mercy - This Corrosion The Metal Show White Zombie - Electric Head Pt. 1 (The Agony) KoRn - Never Never Marilyn Manson - The Reflecting God 36 Crazyfists - Slit Wrist Theory Nine Inch Nails - Last Skindred - Kill the Power Primus - Lacquer Head Devildriver - Clouds Over California Machine Head - Now I Lay Thee Down Turmion Kätilöt - Verta Ja Lihaa Rammstein - Rammstein Slayer - Raining Blood Total show running time: 02:00:00 On info on how to listen, email me! Other entries you might want to read:
Note: I've added that second paragraph below when someone corrected me about the term 'Industrial'. I apologise if I offended anyone, hopefully the rectification makes sense.
Hey
there and welcome to another one of my Mixtapes. Now, this Mixtape was really hard to compile, that's why it's a day late. Why? Because Industrial music is really hard to tab down. There's so many influences that helped made the genre, and there are so many influences from Industrial music that helped shape music today.
The roots of Industrial music started in the seventies and with the Industrial Records company, but they weren't really successful, nor was the sound. But it inspired the "Post-Industrial" genre, what we now know as Industrial music. So if you're an Industrial purist, you could say that the list below is not Industrial music, but Post-Industrial music. I will continue to consider this Mixtape and the songs and sound as Industrial music, but let's not be ignorant to the original genre of the seventies.
So what have I defined as Industrial below? Well, after the seventies Industrial Records scene, Industrial (or Post-Industrial) roots back to the early eighties. Arguably the first Post-Industrial band was Skinny Puppy, but of course, there were bands that influenced Skinny Puppy to make the sound they made, and there were a few bands around that time that while aren't Industrial as a sole genre, they also helped to the rise. Bands like Killing Joke, Bauhaus, Ministry, KMFDM and Kraftwerk are all bands that in some way, shape or form, helped Industrial music to become what it has been in the eighties, nineties and naughties.
But, and you can argue I'm biased in saying this, but to me, the band that pioneered Industrial music is Nine Inch Nails. A lot of the 1980s Industrial lacked melody, it sounded great but it was repetitive and became almost brainless music. But Nine Inch Nails added melody, added quality vocals and also started using ground breaking electronic metal music to add to the machinery sound that was Industrial music. As I said, I could be biased, as Nine Inch Nails are my favourite band.
Not familiar with my Mixtapes? Here are the rules.
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!
This list you'll see below
isn't just Industrial music. It's a celebration of the sound, and the
sounds that have been influenced by Industrial music. Industrial music
has been used in so many genres since the boring machine sound of the
eighties, it's used in dance music, techno, alternative rock, indie,
metal and most recently, dubstep. You name the genre, chances are
Industrial had an assist in there for making the genre what it is today.
So there's a lot of bands here that aren't Industrial. But I've
selected certain songs by those bands, that have roots from the
Industrial genre, and have them showcase how good the sound can be when
done perfectly. I have some eighties industrial, nineties industrial, some electronic dance music and some heavy industrial metal. Enjoy my homage to Industrial music.
So I hope you enjoy this list. As I said, some of these bands are not Industrial, but I hope you understand their inclusion in the list. They have roots from the genre, and like to implement it into their modern sounds.
For the latest updates on my work, 'like' me on Facebook here!
Hey everyone, welcome to the seventh 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 monthly, the year 1999,
then 1998,
followed by 1997,
and 1996,
1995 and then last month, 1994.
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!
This is an important year for me personally. This is
probably the first year that I genuinely am unsure if I remember much that
happened when I was actually a four year old boy. I know for a fact that I
heard some of these songs when I was a little older, but as a four year old,
who knows? 1992 is a definite no that’s for sure.
On a minor note, this is my landmark 200th post on the site. Here's to 200 more!
Brief History of the
Year 1993 in Music
KoRn
form, becoming one of metal's greatest and biggest acts of all time.
Guns
'n' Roses end their tour in July. It's the last time the original band has
played together.
Depeche
Mode release the album "Songs of Faith and Devotion" and gets to
#1 in the US, the first alternative British act to achieve top spot across
the pond.
Daft
Punk form, transforming electro and house music forever.
Brit-pop
band Suede release their debut album and it becomes the fastest selling
debut album in the UK at the time.
In
pop, Michael Jackson is accused of child molestation, accusations that
were never disproved or proved and haunted the rest of his career.
My Top 5 Albums of
1993
#5 – “Black Tie White Noise” by David Bowie
Released: 5/4/93
Rating: ***1/2 stars
Stand-out tracks: “Black Tie White Noise”, “Looking for
Lester”, “Jump They Say”
“Black Tie White Noise” isn’t David Bowie’s best work, in fact,
it was probably the beginning of the end for good quality Bowie efforts. While
I prefer some of Bowie’s mid nineties work to it (although as an album
“Earthling” is horrendous, “I’m Afraid of Americans” remixed by Trent Reznor
and “Little Wonder” were decent tracks), “Black Tie White Noise” is a good
middle ground between what was and what was to come for Bowie. In the eighties,
Bowie changed (yet again) his image and sound, and starting to merge into a new
wave sound along with bits of jazz, rhythm, blues and soul music (a lot of this
is in the fantastic instrumental “Looking for Lester”). He keeps certain parts
of those genres in this effort; put it this way, trumpets in this album are
aplenty. But there’s a certain ambiguity evident in this album, and that was
the next attempt of an image and music transition, and that was into industrial
music, inspired by the rise of Nine Inch Nails. It was ultimately unsuccessful,
but this transition between the eighties Bowie and the nineties Bowie, was a
decent effort. It’s not great but it is good, and it’s worth a listen if you
enjoy the many faces of Bowie, and if you like some or all of the genres
mentioned above.
#4 – “Pablo Honey” by Radiohead
Released: 22/2/93
Rating: ***3/4 stars
Stand-out tracks: “Creep”, “Anyone Can Play Guitar”, “Stop
Whispering”
Along with the newest effort “The King of Limbs”, this is my
least favourite Radiohead effort, but that’s not an uncommon opinion amongst
most fans of the band. “Pablo Honey”, the debut album, seemed confused about
its musical direction and influence, and ended up a mixture of indie, grunge, alternative
rock and the beginnings of Brit-pop. But it’s still a decent listen, and
“Creep” is still one of the biggest and best indie anthems of all time, Johnny
Greenwood’s almost lightning bolt sounding guitar is as iconic a sound in music
as anything in the past 20 years. But the rest of the album falls relatively
flat; they’re not bad songs but there’s barely anything great here either.
“Anyone Can Play Guitar” has some great snarling lyrics by Thom Yorke and “Stop
Whispering” has a nice melody and is the barebones basis on which most softer
Radiohead songs would sound like. “Pablo Honey” is a decent yet unspectacular
listen if you’re interested in the roots of Radiohead’s emergence.
I have a confession to make. I’m not that big on the
Smashing Pumpkins’ albums. I like the Pumpkins and have for sometime, but their
singles are usually very good, their albums are often a step downwards in terms
of quality. While my feelings on “Siamese Dream” are similar, the difference in
quality between singles and album tracks is a lot shorter. The singles are very
good, not quite as good in my opinion as some of the other tracks they were to
later release (like “Ava Adore” and “Bullet With Butterfly Wings”) but the
album tracks are pretty damn good. Very good in fact. One thing I would like to
say however; “Disarm” is a belter of a track and is the first truly stellar
Pumpkins song in my opinion. “Siamese Dream” is definitely an album to start
with, if you’re interested in getting into this band, that’s clear.
#2 – “Everybody Else is Doing it, So Why Can't We?” by The
Cranberries
One thing I keep doing when I’ve been going back in time to
review these years is forgetting the true quality The Cranberries have. The
thing is, I hadn’t listened to the band for so long because of personal
reasons; they were my father’s favourite band and I’m happy to say I’ve not
seen him for nine years. Let’s leave it at that.
But as for The Cranberries, I’ve slowly listened to these
albums again and remembered how good they were. “No Need to Argue” is my
favourite effort by the band, but probably on par in second place with “To the
Faithful Departed” is this cracker. It’s a great album, in the early to mid
nineties there was probably no other band consistently making great music
(Radiohead are a good contender mind). “Everybody Else is Doing it, So Why
Can’t We?”, the debut album, got the band some recognition before being shot
the Irish band into superstardom, with “Linger” getting lots of praise from
critics and it being a huge hit too. The rest became history, as The
Cranberries were to become THE Irish band at the time.
Huzzah! I can have my say on a Nirvana album! I’ve been
doing this yearly music review for 7 months now and my time has come!
I’ve always gone through phases in terms of what my
favourite Nirvana release is; it started off at Nevermind, as it did for a lot
of people. It then discretely went to Bleach, before I loved Incesticide more
than anything else despite it being a rarities and covers album. But for the
past three or four years it’s been In Utero, and I think it might stay that way
in all honesty. “In Utero” lacks the polish that Nevermind unintentionally has.
It’s funny to say that Nevermind has polish, but the album and its songs have
been played and talked about so religiously that’s how it feels. In Utero,
because it’s never played any where near as much, feels raw and venomous, and I
say that with praise. “In Utero” is Kurt Cobains “fuck you world” album, before
he unfortunately gave his life up because he couldn’t cope anymore. And it’s
bold, it’s brash, and it oozes excellence, “Scentless Apprentice” is possibly
my favourite Nirvana song as it contains everything that made the band great;
the excellent drums, the distorted guitars and Cobain’s wailing vocals. “In
Utero” is full of this and sounds as amazing in 2012 as it did 19 years ago.
It’s a true classic and is by far the best album released in 1993, in my
opinion.
My Top 5 Music Videos
of 1993
#5 – “Losing You” by Jan Terri
Okay, I’m kinda putting this in as a joke but to be fair,
there weren’t many ‘great’ videos in 1993. But this baby, seriously, you have
to watch it above. Jan Terri’s video for “Losing You” does everything bad about
making videos and crams it into one huge mess. She’s lip synching badly, she’s
wearing some pretty bad looking leathers, all she does in the entire video is
leave a hotel, go in a cab, ride her motorcycle and pose next to a sewage pipe,
then goes back home. And while all of this is happening, the whole thing looks
like it’s done on a camcorder, and the person filming keeps zooming either to
her face a little closely, or worse, away from her and to the skies… and then
back in her direction. It’s an incredible display of incompetence on camera and
that’s why it’s one of my Top 5 videos of 1993. Honest. No I’m joshing but you
seriously have to watch it, it’s very funny and disturbing at the same time!
#4 – “Cannonball” by The Breeders
It’s not the best of videos in terms of quality and artistic
movement, but nevertheless “Cannonball” is a distinctively memorable video. The
nice calm verses usually have the band playing and sitting in a bedroom, where
as the angry choruses tend to show the band in a frenzy. There are shots of
lead singer (and bass player of The Pixies) Kim Deal singing under water and of
a huge cannonball rolling down the street. As I said it’s not the flashiest
video, but it fits the song perfectly and grabs your attention at the same
time. Also, it was an early Spike Jonze effort, the man who would be one of the
best music video directors of all time.
#3 – “Big Time Sensuality” by Bjork
How can you not like Bjork in this video? She’s so cute! Set
in New York, the video was actually inspired bizarrely, by “Give it Away” by
the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Bjork liked the black and white video and how it
looked, and wanted it for this video. So the video is basically her singing and
dancing on the back of a large truck that’s moving through the streets of New
York. It’s not much more than that, but it’s still a striking video, and
Bjork’s facial expressions are great. It’s just one of those videos that is
hard to keep your eyes off. There’s not much else to say really.
#2 – “Heart-Shaped Box” by Nirvana
The video for “Heart-Shaped Box” is a visually stunning
piece of work. Kurt Cobain had his own imagination and imagery for how he
wanted the video to look and worked with director Anton Corbijn closely to get
it as close to the idea in Cobain’s head as possible. From what has been said
Cobain was really happy with the overall product and is probably his favourite
Nirvana music video. A lot of the video doesn’t seem to make much sense unless
you try to analyse it properly and has mixtures of a terminal man in hospital
going to a dream-like location and climbing up a ladder to a cross. There’s a
lot of references to the human foetus and birth as well, probably all from Cobain’s
widely reported anxiety of the birth of his baby daughter at the time. There’s
a lot more, a young girl dressed up as a member of the Ku Klux Klan and a large
woman wearing a costume that has internal organs painted on it. It’s just a
dream-like artistic masterpiece, one that shows the true visions of Cobain’s
complex mind, but for us music fans, it’s a truly stunning piece of work to
watch and try to interpret.
#1 – “Everybody Hurts” by R.E.M.
Not many videos are as perfect for the song they represent
as “Everybody Hurts” is. Explaining what happens in this video is simple, but
the imagery, the interpretation of what happens, is as strong a message as the
song itself. A huge traffic jam happens on a very long road, and throughout the
first two thirds of the video everyone’s thoughts are displayed on screen. Some
people are contemplating life, or what people think of them, or motives they
have that are too strong to be said in person. It’s a multitude of people with
different backgrounds all thinking different things, but all ultimately,
negative. All of a sudden everyone starts leaving their cars and walk off into
the distance.
The video is open to interpretation but to me, it’s all of
these people, deciding, “fuck it”, and moving on with their lives. It’s
everyone with different motives and problems, and they all decide to leave
their problems behind and “hold on”. It’s a strong video, one of the most
memorable videos of the decade and all time, and more than worth seeing if you
haven’t before.
The Top 10 Most
Impactful Songs of 1993
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.
#10 – “Big Time Sensuality” by Bjork
While “Play Dead” did get higher in the charts, “Big Time
Sensuality” for me is the song that really gave Bjork a strong following as an
artist, particularly in the States. “Debut” was a big album for the Icelandic
singer, and she was seeing some success already, but this song solidified her
as an artist of the future. It had the right mix of oddity and cuteness to be
expected by the small yet fiery lady, and the video was iconic for its time
too. Getting to #19, it set the tone for a lot of Bjork’s immediate future
releases, although she was naturally to change her style and artistic direction
as the new millennium was approaching. Still “Big Time Sensuality” was a great
track, and was a taste of what was to come.
#9 – “Today” by the Smashing Pumpkins
It’s amazing looking back to the year 1993 that “Today”
wasn’t the lead single of “Siamese Dream”, but “Cherub Rock” did. It was
debated what should be the lead single and Billy Corban used the latter, yet
it’s barely remembered or considered as an impactful Pumpkins song. “Today” was
a sleeper hit, and remains one of the Smashing Pumpkins’ finest singles for
both critical and commercial success. The relatively optimistic sounding lyrics
and music is in deep contrast to the suicidal tendencies that Billy Corgan was
going through and writing about when making this song. The lyrics are probably
intentionally ironic to the darkness that Corgan was engulfed in, and it’s
often got fans confused about what the song’s lyrics are about. Regardless,
getting to #44 in the UK charts isn’t that great, but it’s remembered more than
most of the songs that charted higher since.
#8 – “Cannonball” by The Breeders
It may have only got to #40 in the UK charts but this song
will live forever as one of the best indie songs of all time. The Pixies bass
player Kim Deal’s band only really had this one hit, although it didn’t chart
well, before she went back to the Pixies later on in her career. But what a
song it is. It’s a great track and as previously stated the video is excellent
too. “Cannonball” packs a lot of punch with it’s buzzing guitars and quietly
sung verses, and screams ‘girl power’ before the Spice Girls even existed.
#7 – “Insane in the Brain” by Cypress Hill
I’m very selective when it comes to rap, hip hop, dance,
techno and other non rock related genres, but this is a hip hop classic.
Cypress Hill have had higher charting songs but in terms of longevity nothing
comes close to how big this song is. It has many samples in it, and is actually
a diss song about how rapper Chubb Rock was mocking their music. Who would have
thought that it would become one of the most influential and highly regarded
hip hop songs of all time? It’s a cracker of a song and is favoured by fans of
many genres from pop to rock and metal. It’s that good a song.
I was debating whether or not to put this song in this list
being a pop song of sorts, but the band also produce dance music and are an
extension of the New Wave bands of the early eighties. Originally a song by the
Village People, the Pet Shop Boys took this song by the scruff of the neck and
made it their own. It’s not my genre of music but the fact that the song still
has a strong following nineteen years later, especially as a football anthem
says more than the fact that it got to #2 in the UK charts. Regardless of the
definition of the Pet Shop Boys representing any genre in particular, this song
is above that debate. It’s simply a classic.
#5 – “Walk” by Pantera
I’ve said it a few times but this list isn’t just about
success, it’s about longevity, it’s about the songs creating a legacy that will
more than likely live forever and become legendary tracks in music history. And
these credentials all fit “Walk” by Pantera to a tee. There aren’t many metal
songs in the past twenty years that are as universally as popular as “Walk”. It
was an instant classic, what with the amazingly heavy yet simple riff, the
‘walking’ riff as it’s known as that sounds absolutely badass. Then the Dimebag
Darrell guitar solo towards the end of the song completely contrasts the
simplicity of the main riff; it’s an incredible guitar solo. “Walk” only got to
#35 in the UK charts, but not many songs released in 1993 will be remembered as
fondly down the line, it’s just a true metal classic in every way.
#4 – “Linger” by The Cranberries
While “Zombie” is more likely to be the song that is most
widely associated with The Cranberries, “Linger” is a debated song to claim
that title as well. “Linger” was the band’s first major hit, getting to #14
here in the UK but it got higher in the Irish and US charts. It’s safe to say
that without “Linger”, The Cranberries probably wouldn’t be the band they are
today, and that is one of the biggest bands of the nineties, and probably THE
biggest band from Ireland in the past twenty years. “Linger” still gets decent
airplay today, along with “Zombie”, and they are both indie classics. I’m using
the word ‘classic’ a lot today huh? There are a lot of classic tracks from
1993, and here’s three more!
#3 – “Heart-Shaped Box” by Nirvana
Getting to #5 in the UK charts, this is Nirvana’s highest
charting single. Obviously a lot of the singles released off “Nevermind” made a
bigger impact and get more airplay, but “Heart-Shaped” box is still a classic,
and lyrically, one of Cobain’s finest efforts. Pressure was at an all time high
for Nirvana to replicate or surpass the legacy of “Nevermind”, and with the
release of “Heart-Shaped Box” and the album “In Utero”, I think Nirvana did as
good a job they could have to appease the fans and critics. “Heart-Shaped Box”
is another classic, a great song and one that like the band and Cobain himself,
will live forever.
Yeah, Meat Loaf. Most people either love him or hate him. I
lean towards the latter, especially musically, but you can’t deny the success,
the legacy and longevity this song has. I was torn between this and the song
below about what should be #1, they’re both huge huge songs for completely
different reasons. But this song in terms of grandeur is hard to beat, that is
in any song in any era of music. This song is just grand in every way. But it’s
funny how it all happened really.
In 1977 Meat Loaf released the highly acclaimed classic “Bat
Out of Hell” album with the music single of the same title. It’s gone 7 times
platinum here in the UK, 14 times platinum in the US and 24 times platinum in
Australia. While success was always there for Meat Loaf, he never reached those
heights, arguably ever again. But in 1993 he took a huge gamble. A really big
gamble. He made a sequel album called “Bat Out of Hell II: Back Into Hell” and
this was the main single release. It’s a big risk because not many sequels,
album-wise, are good in music. They’re often frowned upon. But this song, not
necessarily the album, but the song surpassed anything Meat Loaf did 16 years
prior, and helped Meat Loaf get the album platinum 6 times here and 5 times in
the US.
The song was a #1 hit in no less than 28 countries. That’s a
huge feat. The music video and the song still get played today more so than
most other songs of the nineties. It’s a true classic if there ever was one.
But the song below, the song I put as the #1 song of 1993 surpasses this song
in different ways.
#1 – “Everybody Hurts” by R.E.M.
No it didn’t get to #1 in 28 countries, in fact it got to a
decent #7 here in the UK. But this song is a modern heart wrencher. Aimed at
teenagers who are struggling with coping with the wears and tears of everyday
life and that they are not alone with their problems, “Everybody Hurts” did
more than that, it hit everyone in a way stronger than most people anticipated.
This song breaks genres and musical tastes. It’s more than a song about
teenagers struggling with their issues. It’s a song for the modern age, a song
about modern Western culture, where we all at different ages and social
backgrounds all struggle with life, for many difference reasons whether it’s
social, financial, emotional or mental issues. We all hurt. We all struggle.
And we all need to hold on. And that’s why this song continues to make an
impact now, nearly twenty years later and probably will for a long long time to
come. Everybody hurts sometimes.
The Year 1993 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 1993. Yes,
this is a biased list.
You can now listen to this playlist on YouTube! Just click here!
And there we go! The year 1993 in review! Next month
naturally I’ll be covering 1992 and continue my descend into music history.
What we your favourite songs and albums from 1993? Any other comments or
queries? Raise them below. Thanks for your time.
For the latest updates on my work, 'like' me on Facebook here!
Hello, and very Happy New Year to you all! Welcome to the sixth 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 monthly, the year 1999,
then 1998,
followed by 1997
and 1996 and then last month, 1995.
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!
We’re half way through the decade now. 1995 was a great year
for albums, but I think 1994 will be even better. Let’s see if I’m right.
Brief History of the
Year 1994 in Music
Kurt
Cobain, lead singer of Nirvana, commits suicide. The band disbands shortly
after.
Rammstein
form, becoming one of industrial metal's finest acts.
Green
Day release "Dookie" and are arguably responsible for the punk
rock revival of the mid nineties.
After
many other names, Muse is the name three young English boys decide to call
their band. Five years later their debut was released, starting a very
successful music career.
Oasis
release "Definitely Maybe", at the time becoming the quickest
selling debut album of all time.
System
of a Down also start their career, becoming one of metal's biggest bands
of the Noughties.
My Top 5 Albums of
1994
#5 – “No Need to Argue” by The Cranberries
Released: 3/10/94
Rating: **** stars
Stand-out tracks: “Dreaming My Dreams”, “Ode to My Family”,
“Daffodil Lament”
In the 1996 review The Cranberries’ next album, “To the
Faithful Departed” was listed as #4 in my favourite albums, and while this is
ranked #5 for albums from 1994, this is my favourite Cranberries effort. 1996
wasn’t the best year for albums where as there was some really strong
competition in 1994, from Oasis and Beck who both missed out on my Top 5 (with “Definitely
Maybe” and “Mellow Gold” respectively).
This is a great album, it’s definitely my favourite album by
the Irish band, and it’s probably their most popular and most widely praised
piece of work. And while “Linger” gave the band a lot of worldwide notice, it
was inevitably “Zombie” that helped this album sell over 7 million copies alone
in the US, and become the song that the band are most famous for. But it’s not
just “Zombie” that is good on this album, from start to finish this is an
alternative Irish rock clinic, and Dolores O'Riordan’s vocals are as beautiful
and striking as they ever were. This is definitely the album to get if you want
to try and get into The Cranberries as it’s a damn solid album.
#4 – “Let Love In” by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds
Released: 18/4/94
Rating: **** stars
Stand-out tracks: “Red Right Hand”, “Jangling Jack”, “I Let
Love In”
“Let Love In” was the first time really that Nick Cave was
really taken seriously and favourably with both critics and fans. When he was
with The Birthday Party, he had the fans on his side yet the band eventually
ceased to exist and they weren’t taken seriously, they were just considered a
nutty post –punk band. For a lot of the eighties when he formed The Bad Seeds,
he never really made much of an impact, especially as his new band was such a
contrast in comparison to the crazy and frenetic style of his old band, his
fans didn’t take to The Bad Seeds straight away, and while he was critically
more well received, he still looked like he was floating around, not cementing
any style of clarity in terms of what his music was about and what he wanted to
achieve.
But with the release of the super cool and sexy “Red Right
Hand”, people started to notice. The man matured. The music was toned down and
smooth. The lyrics were just excellent (I mean they have never been bad, but
critically they were much better received). “Let Love In” started cementing
what would be one of the best underground careers Britain has seen. Nick Cave
has never really made hits, he’s never really sold records. But the critics
love him and their cult fans love him even more. And “Let Love In” really
started the whole thing off, even if I much prefer “The Murder Ballads” to it.
#3 – “How to Make Friends and Influence People” by
Terrorvision
Released: 18/4/94
Rating: ****1/4 stars
Stand-out tracks: “Alice What's the Matter?”, “Oblivion”, “Pretend
Best Friend”
Released on the same day as Nick Cave’s “Let Love In” above,
was the best piece of music Terrorvision ever produced. Now Terrorvision is a
hard band to categorize, because they have mixed so many genres into their
music. This is their hardest album, it’s their most creative and a lot of the
more hardcore fans think it’s their best. But they didn’t have the most success
with it, album wise the follow-up “Regular Urban Survivors” fared best with the
single “Perseverance” getting the band their first Top 5 hit.
But in 1999 they released their song “Tequila”, which got to
#2, and took away all the coolness the band had away, and was a
dancy/party/pop-rock track that felt like a lot of 1-hit wonders. A lot of
people remember “Tequila” now when they think of Terrorvision, and while I can
listen to the track on a good day, it’s a damn shame that this album has pretty
much been forgotten about as it was so good. “Alice What’s the Matter” and
“Oblivion” are two of the coolest songs in the early nineties, they’re so
fricking awesome and deserve so much airplay but get none. If you want to see
the serious and hard edge that Terrorvision once had, the best side of
Terrorvision, get this album, you won’t be disappointed.
#2 – “Portrait of an American Family” by Marilyn Manson
Released: 19/7/94
Rating: ****1/2 stars
Stand-out tracks: “Dope Hat”, “Cake and Sodomy”, “Lunchbox”
Marilyn Manson’s debut album was great. What I love about
“Portrait” is that it’s obviously low budget, it’s obviously raw and while a
lot of people see these as negative traits I think Manson did a great job with
what he had. Trent Reznor’s work on the production was appreciated of course,
and evidence of that really is in the demos and cassettes and early music clips
that Manson released after he got even bigger than he was in 1994. The old
tracks and rare clips are in awful condition and the music is atrocious.
Looking at that a stage, a stage that Manson was in up to 1993, and comparing
it to the actual release of “Portrait”, shows the jump in quality and the
effort is there for anyone to see if you want to listen to those demos and
stuff.
“Portrait” isn’t really an industrial metal album; it’s more
an industrial rock album, with a lot of raw punk and post-punk elements. It’s a
slightly different sound to what Manson was then to release, an inferior sound
in the end, but it’s still a great listen, and there are some great tracks on
here. Of course, the best was yet to come for Manson, and I’d only recommend
you get this if you have heard some of his later work and want to hear more of
“The God of Fuck”. Because in the end “Antichrist Superstar” is THE Manson
album to get if you want to start somewhere.
#1 – “The Downward Spiral” by Nine Inch Nails
Released: 8/3/94
Rating: ****3/4 stars
Stand-out tracks: “Piggy”, “The Becoming”, “March of the
Pigs”
Was it ever in doubt what I would put down as the #1 album
of 1994? Ever since I’ve been doing this Yearly Music Review I couldn’t wait to
get to 1994 because of how good the music was this year. And NIN’s finest
effort is possibly my favourite album of all time.
If you’ve been reading my Yearly Music Review every month
I’ve always talked of the three albums on top of a large pillar of albums when
it comes to my favourite albums of all time. There’s this, and the two Manson
efforts, “Antichrist Superstar” and “Mechanical Animals”. I always change up
what is my favourite of the three but I can never make a decision on what it
truly is. I just can’t. But regardless, this album is definitely on top of the
mountain for me, and when it comes to industrial metal, you’d be hard to find
an album to top it.
The Downward Spiral is a classic metal album, it’s
considered one of the biggest and best albums of all time and rightfully so.
When Trent Reznor released “Pretty Hate Machine” back in 1989 I don’t think
anyone expected him to be considered the pioneer of industrial metal going into
the nineties. But that’s exactly what happened. If you like your metal, even if
it’s not distinctly industrial metal, this is a must listen. I don’t care if
you disagree, you must hear it!
My Top 5 Music Videos
of 1994
#5 - "Basket Case” by Green Day
“Basket Case” isn’t an amazing video, but it’s one of those
videos that are enjoyable to watch and you can respect the effort the director
put in. Set in an actual mental institution (it was abandoned), the band act
like patients throughout the video, apart from in the actual sections where
they play the music, in these scenes they’re the actual normal performers of
Green Day. The video was actually shot in black and white, and all the colours
were added in afterwards, which explains the green irises that Billy Joe
Armstrong has, and the odd colour schemes in the hospital. It all works out
well and as I said, it’s not amazing, but it’s definitely a cool little video
to watch.
#4 - "Sabotage” by Beastie Boys
Spike Jonze directed this video (and the one at #2 in this
list) and he did a damn good job. The video is basically homage to 1970’s
American Cop shows like Starsky and Hutch and Hawaii Five-O. All the band
members play as cops and do decent looking stunts (I don’t know if they were
stunt doubles mind) and just kick a lot of 1970’s ass. The video is a parody,
but it’s more homage than parody as it’s not a funny video really, it actually
looks quite cool. Danny Boyle actually says that this video inspired the
opening to “Trainspotting”, now that’s praise for the quality of the video.
What more can I say? They have awesome moustaches!
#3 - "Parklife” by Blur
I love this video. It was one that I remember vividly from
my childhood, and it’s one that describes Britain very well in a nutshell. I
love the role Phil Daniels fills, both in the vocal verses and the double
glazing salesman character he portrays. I love the fact that Damon Albarn is so
placid about everything that goes on around him, and you have to give credit to
Alex James for cross dressing in the video. I also love the spoof done by Harry
Enfield and Paul Whitehouse on the TV show “Harry and Paul”, where Whitehouse
plays Phil Daniels and Nelson Mandela, played by Enfield, sings along to the
song in silly fashion. But this is about the original video, which is still great
to watch today.
#2 - "Buddy Holly” by Weezer
Spike Jonze has to be one of the best music video directors
ever. He did this cracker, he also did “Sabotage” above, he did “It’s Oh So
Quiet” by Bjork, featured last month, he did “Praise You” and “Weapon of Choice” by Fatboy Slim, he
did “Wonder Boy” by Tenacious D. “Buddy Holly” has to be up there with his
best, it’s amazing how well done this video is, with old footage from the great
1970s show “Happy Days” merged with footage of Weezer playing at “Al’s Bar”; it
looks so authentic and real but the truth is it’s all edited clips of the show.
The only genuine new footage was Weezer playing, Al the barman, who made a
cameo in the video, and Fonzie, who was a body double and they used editing for
his appearance as well. But if you didn’t know all that you would still be
guessing to how they managed to pull it off, which is full credit to Spike
Jonze in the end, and his career flourished from here.
#1 - "Closer” by Nine Inch Nails
What can I say about this video? Collectively, it’s possibly
Nine Inch Nails’ best video, and the song is considered the most popular the
band has done. The video mixes allsorts of controversial elements, especially
back in 1994, including a monkey, perceived to being tied on a wooden cross, a
decapitated pigs head turning on some weird metal instrument, a diagram of a
woman’s vagina and Trent Reznor, mastermind of the band, wearing lots of
leather and S&M and being tied up. All of these controversial images however
are beautifully crafted onto early 20th century film and the video
has been set in a very old laboratory. To block out the controversy for when
the video was viewed before the watershed they often put “scene missing” signs,
to keep with the flow of the video. It’s truly a magnificent video and fits the
song perfectly, not to mention good for you ladies who fancy Trent Reznor, who
is in the buff in the second half of the video and tied up.
The Top 10 Most
Impactful Songs of 1994
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.
#10 - "Girl, You’ll Be a Woman Soon” by Urge Overkill
This song was actually recorded two years earlier on an EP,
but was released as a single in 1994. Why? Well if you’ve heard the song before
you will know that it was featured in the classic 1994 movie Pulp Fiction. That
film, and the scene in which the film was in, propelled this song to reach #37
in the UK charts. That’s not high really, but considering no one had heard of
Urge Overkill before or really since, it says something of the song. The song
is a cover version of the original by Neil Diamond, and is just fantastic. Urge
Overkill will always be known for this cover, and because it’s featured in such
an important film in history, their name will be cemented for a long time to
come.
#9 - "Sabotage” by the Beastie Boys
Getting to #19, “Sabotage” was the Beastie Boys’ first Top
20 hit in the UK for seven years (when "(You Gotta) Fight for Your Right
(To Party!)" and "No Sleep till Brooklyn" were released, jeez,
now I feel old as I might cover these songs on this site soon!). The Beastie
Boys often take long breaks between their albums and come back with a bang, and
a usual change of direction. They often play between the lines of rock and rap,
and this was a transition to a more rock environment, with extensive usage of a
bass and drums and less rap-style vocals. It’s a decent track, and the video as
mentioned above was great, and the song is still considered one of their best,
getting decent airplay today.
#8 - "Zombie” by The Cranberries
“Zombie” got to #13 in the UK charts and is actually a
protest song against the bombing attacks of the IRA in Northern Island. But the
song regardless of its protest origins, became The Cranberries’ biggest hit,
not chart wise (that honour goes to “Salvation” and “Promises”, which got one
place higher at #13) but popularity, longevity and in terms of airplay, this is
their greatest song, surpassing “Linger” released a year earlier. The song got
to #3 in the Irish charts so the song shows its strength on the big green
island to the west. “Zombie” incorporates everything good about The
Cranberries, the hard edge their alternative rock has, Dolores O'Riordan’s
iconic vocals, her howls, and proves why they’re arguably Ireland’s best import
in the past twenty years.
#7 - "Buddy Holly” by Weezer
Weezer are an odd band, and I say that with affection. They
seem to be here with us all the time, yet manage to slip by us often. We don’t
appreciate Weezer like we should, they have consistently released good singles
with very good music videos yet their success in the charts never match how
good they are. I’m not saying they’re the best band in the world, but they’ve
been constantly good now since 1994. When “Buddy Holly” was released. It’s odd
to think of this song being as old as it is, but it shows how good Weezer have
been for so long. And the song’s credit truly is only once since, have Weezer
had a higher charting song (that was “Beverly Hills”, which got to #9, their
only Top 10 hit). “Buddy Holly” got to #12 and the song combined with the
video, are make it one of the most memorable songs of the nineties.
#6 - "Black Hole Sun” by Soundgarden
Also getting to #12 in the UK charts was Soundgarden’s
biggest hit, “Black Hole Sun”. 1994 is arguably the death of grunge, due to the
death of Kurt Cobain of Nirvana, as well as the fact that the punk revival was
kicking in around this time. “Black Hole Sun” is odd though, in terms of why
it’s such a big hit, the songs lyrics are odd and the video is freaky. It does
have a relatively catch chorus however. This isn’t personally a song I like,
nor do I like the band, but there’s no doubt at all that Soundgarden’s “Black
Hole Sun” is a song that has remained popular throughout the last 17 years and
deserves a place on this list as one of the biggest songs of 1994.
Oasis released five singles in 1994 and it was hard choosing
one for this list, but I’ve gone with “Live Forever”. It was the band’s first
Top 10 hit, getting to #10, and charted well in the US, Spain and Ireland.
“Cigarettes and Alcohol” and “Whatever” did chart higher than this, and were
also released in 1994, but I think this song has been played more than any
other song released that year, it’s more fondly thought of and also, it’s
lyrically considered better I’d say too. It’s just a great Oasis song (although
personally I prefer “Supersonic”), one that won’t go away anytime soon.
#4 - "Basket Case” by Green Day
“Basket Case” was Green Day’s biggest hit in the UK for 10
years, getting to #6 in our chart (“American Idiot”, the song I placed as the
#1 song of the Noughties, you can read that here, got to #5). It’s a great punk rock song, and I mean
it when I say punk rock, I don’t care if modern punk is considered inferior to
the originals of punk in the seventies, I consider this one of the best punk
songs ever made. The song naturally deals with paranoia, and it’s a personal
song for Billy Joe Armstrong when he was dealing with his diagnosis of a panic
disorder. It just sounds great and is fondly thought of by the Green Day
faithful and general modern punk fans. In short, it’s a classic.
For all the hype that was to come in the next few years in
the battle between Blur and Oasis, in 1994 Oasis were just getting noticed,
where as Blur had already established themselves slowly through the start of
the decade. And while I prefer “Parklife” personally, there’s no denying that
“Girls and Boys” is the bigger and more “impactful” of the two, getting Blur
their first Top 5 hit (it got to #5) and setting them up for their illustrious
career throughout the nineties. “Girls and Boys” the song stands well today, it
sounds fresh and it’s so amazingly catchy – there’s no denying this song sounds
good. The video looks amazingly dated though, but you can’t win them all!
#2 - "Closer” by Nine Inch Nails
This isn’t me being biased when I put my favourite band’s
most popular song at #2 of the most ‘impactful’ songs of the year. I try to
consider alternative genres equally with rock and indie, and when it comes to
industrial metal, and songs from that genre, there’s no bigger song. “Closer”
became an underground classic, a metal bar staple, a piece of genius to the
people of metal and alternative dance music. It’s still played extensively
today and sounds just as good now as it did then. The controversy of the video,
along with the fantastic chorus of “I want to fuck you like an animal”
definitely helped the song reach as high as #25 in the UK charts, a high that
Nine Inch Nails would not beat for another eleven years (with “The Hand That
Feeds”, that got to #7, the only Top 10 hit of NIN’s career), but there’s no
taking away from this song, it’s a classic, it’ll be played in metal bars and
dancefloors for a long long time. If you haven’t heard the song before, then
you’re missing something, it’s as simple as that.
#1 - "Loser” by Beck
The year 1994 means a lot of things to a lot of people. To
me, it marks the year of Marilyn Manson’s debut album, and the release of Nine
Inch Nails’ finest work. It also marks the first year that I truly remember
from memory rather than tracking back into music, or listening to my parents
play vinyl records and tapes to get my influences and tastes. But for the most
part, I’d say the year 1994 marks the beginning of Beck. Now, Beck doesn’t do
chart success, he never really has. He’s a brilliant musician however, and does
things his own way on his terms. “Loser” however is the anti-commercial track,
yet it managed to set Beck’s career going very well. Beck had released an album
a year earlier, and his second album, Mellow Gold, wasn’t a big hit as it was
released the week before this single. But since then the album has been
critically acclaimed and has gone platinum. “Loser” got to #15 despite its
genre of music and lack of promotion. Only “The New Polution” has charted
higher, yet Beck’s career has come leaps and bounds and the man has so much
respect across the music industry.
And to think that Beck wrote this song to describe how his
life was. The guy was a homeless singer and song songs about gibberish. “Loser”
describes the type of songs he sung on the spot. And the song has since become
one of the most important and impactful songs of the nineties.
The Year 1994 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 1994. Yes,
this is a biased list.
And there we go! The year 1994 in review! Next month
naturally I’ll be covering 1993 and continue my descend into music history.
What we your favourite songs and albums from 1994? Any other comments or
queries? Raise them below. Thanks for your time.
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