Cribbed from
Jen, ten songs from the early 90's. I had to expand the allowance... this is pretty hard for me, because I consider this period of time to be my "formative years" in terms of musical tastes. I spent an awful lot of time driving around in Orange County and L.A., listening to KROQ and scouring record shops for rare vinyl singles, imports and bootlegs. I swear, I almost killed my parents when they dumped my vinyl collection while I was in college. To tighten the category, I'm just going to exclude grunge and the Seattle sound, and everything has to have been released between 1990 and mid 1993. And I'm not exactly going to call them "top" 'cause I'm sure this list will change completely next week, they're just ten that I loved and listened to a lot, and ten that I still love. So, in no particular order (to quote Jane's Addiction) "here we go!"
1. Kool Thing, Sonic Youth. I found the cassette tape for Goo on a really hot day (they were handing out Fruitopias - remember those?) at the Fairfax and Melrose flea market for 99 cents. Score! I think I still have it.
2. World in My Eyes. Depeche Mode. Remember when albums had like, at least 5 or 6 good songs?
3. P.J. Harvey - Sheela-Na-Gig. Peej could totally kick the ass of any Lilith Fair performer.
4. Right Here, Right Now - Jesus Jones. This song, along with Unbelievable (EMF) dominated the summer of 1990.
5. Rush - Big Audio Dynamite. Is it just me, or do PB&J sample the drum loop from this song for Young Folks?
6. Getting Away With It - Electronic. Like a Britpop wet dream. All that's needed is Damon Albarn.
7. Pixies - Head On. For a long time, I thought Jesus and Mary Chain were covering them. And I've actually seen Jesus and Mary Chain live.
8. Trapped in a Box - No Doubt. Back when they were still ska. Hey, I gotta give props - they're from the County of Orange. I actually owned this album at one time. On vinyl.
9. Stop Whispering - Radiohead. I actually saw these guys play at a downtown LA club while they were promoting Pablo Honey, and they were the opening act! For Belly. Yeesh. I'm old.
10. Even Better Than the Real Thing - U2. Saving the best for last. You've had to have seen these guys coming. I picked this song cause I don't hear it on the radio as much, but the guitar hook is such a radical departure from the Joshua Tree. Plus the video's cool. It's amazing that Achtung Baby was released over 15 years ago, and it still sounds fresh. Remember when albums had like, 12 great songs?
Labels: friday five, muzak
