DL/TL - Forgotten 90’s - Mixtape 1
A new feature (as if they weren’t all new) in which we highlight songs you might have heard and have since long forgotten. Alternative radio in the 1990’s was a very, very strange place….
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=X9WL2YAC
01. The Stone Roses - Love Spreads
02. Veruca Salt - All Hail Me
03. Babylon Zoo - Spaceman
04. Belly - Super-Connected
05. The Rentals - Friends Of P.
06. Frente! - Ordinary Angels
07. Geggy Tah - Whoever You Are
08. Folk Implosion - Natural One
09. For Squirrels - Mighty K.C.
10. White Town - Your Woman
11. Blind Melon - Tones Of Home
12. Ash - Goldfinger
13. Lush - Ladykillers
14. Refreshments - Banditos
15. Pete Droge - If You Don’t Love Me (I’ll Kill Myself)
16. Lucas - Lucas With The Lid Off
17. Local H - Fritz’s Corner
18. Ruby - Paraffin
19. Failure - Stuck On You
20. Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - Where The Wild Roses Grow (w. Kylie Minogue)
01. The Stone Roses - Love Spreads
- The Stone Roses were a very respected and influential Manchester band fronted by Ian Brown. They only released two albums before imploding and they were never really established in the states. “Love Spreads” was a Modern Rock radio staple for a little while. The guitar riffs in it are awesome!
(You might also know: “She Bangs The Drums”)
02. Veruca Salt - All Hail Me
- Veruca Salt got big with the release of “American Thighs” and the song “Seether” which was all dirty, baby-doll dress-clad chick rawk. I always liked this grinding follow-up single a lot better but it never made the dent that “Seether” did. Their follow up album, “Eight Arms To Hold You,” is an awesome album, too.
(You might also know: “Seether,” “Volcano Girls”)
03. Babylon Zoo - Spaceman
- Babylon Zoo were a one-“hit” wonder from England. When I went to Europe as a teenager, this song was everywhere and when I came back I immediately bought the cassingle. I’m not sure if I ever really heard the song here though. Babylon Zoo was a primarily electronic pop-rock band. Unfortunately, they were kind of ahead of their time as it wasn’t until several years later that this sound really took off.
(You might also know: probably nothing else, but their album “The Boy With The X-Ray Eyes” is pretty great, actually.)
04. Belly - Super-Connected
- Belly was Tanya Donnelly’s post Throwing Muses/Breeders band. They had a string of really great singles before disbanding; this is the first one from their second album, “King.” It’s a bit of a slow-burner.
(You might also know: “Feed The Tree,” “Gepetto”)
05. The Rentals - Friends Of P.
- After Weezer released “Pinkerton” in 1996 and it flopped and Rivers went crazy for a while, bassist Matt Sharp quit and started The Rentals. This was their only real hit and it unsurprisingly, it sounds a lot like Weezer. Pat Wilson from Weezer played drums and frequent Weezer colaborators Rachel and Petra Haden played and sang on it, too.
(You might also know: “Waiting”)
06. Frente! - Ordinary Angels
- Frente! were from Australia and their album called “Marvin, The Album” was somewhat successful here but outside of that they never really got big outside of Australia.
(You might also know: their cover of New Order’s “Bizarre Love Triangle”)
07. Geggy Tah - Whoever You Are
- Total one-hit wonder. This was kind of a novelty hit even for weird-ass 90’s alternative radio. This also, not surprisingly, got used in a car commercial later on.
(You might also know: nothing that I know of!)
08. Folk Implosion - Natural One
- From the soundtrack to the movie “Kids” (starring baby Rosario Dawon and Chole Sevigny and which can’t be mentioned without calling it “controvertial”). This song is a hypnotic, beat-driven mellow rocker and it still sounds pretty great.
(You might also know: nothing really, but Lou Barlow, the singer, was also in Sebadoh and Dinosaur Jr.)
09. For Squirrels - Mighty K.C.
- The “K.C.” in the title is Kurt Cobain and this was written just after his death. Sadly, not too long after that, the band had an accident while on tour that killed the singer and bass player. The album and single were still released though and this song became a hit.
(You might also know: this was their only real hit but the surviving members formed the new band, Subrosa.)
10. White Town - Your Woman
- I honestly know nothing about White Town except that they were a one-hit wonder from England. This song is still great though (this album, “Women In Technology,” is pretty good and you can usually find it in dollar bins!)
(You might also know: just this song on repeat)
11. Blind Melon - Tones Of Home
- Blind Melon will always be known as the Bee Girl band and for their single “No Rain” which was actually really unrepresentative of the rest of their music. They really sounded like a more bluesy, less grungey version of “Ten”-era Pearl Jam. This song was their first single but it got eclipsed by “No Rain.” I think it’s great though.
(You might also know: “No Rain,” the awesome “Galaxie” from their second album “Soup.”)
12. Ash - Goldfinger
- Ash is an Irish band and there have been a few incarnations of it. This is from their stellar second album “1977.” With the exception of Jucifer, seeing them touring for that album might be the loudest concert experience I’ve had.
(You might also know: “Kung Fu,” “Girl From Mars,” “Jack Names The Planets”)
13. Lush - Ladykillers
- A very obviously British band, this song was somewhat more poppy and driving than their eariler stuff. A total player-haters’ anthem.
(You might also know: the more chill “De-Luxe”)
14. Refreshments - Banditos
- Refreshments were a very South-Western US-sounding band. They were always very tongue-in-cheek and fun and this was their biggest hit.
(You might also know: “Mekong,” an awesome ode to drinking (I totally want to know how to mix a mekong); they also played the theme song to “King Of The Hill”)
15. Pete Droge - If You Don’t Love Me (I’ll Kill Myself)
- This was from the “Dumb And Dumber” soundtrack which was pretty awesome in retrospect. His only other big single was another movie song, the title track from the movie “Beautiful Girls.”
(You might also know: The Thorns, his band with Matthew Sweet and Shawn Mullins)
16. Lucas - Lucas With The Lid Off
- This song was a hit on MTV mostly because of its insanely awesome Michel Gondry-directed video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zhJp2gVtgpA&feature=fvst). Seriously, every music video he made was unbelievable.
(You might also know: nothing that I know of but he is apparently a big hit-writer/producer for folks like Britney Spears, Cee-Lo, and others.)
17. Local H - Fritz’s Corner
- Like the angrier, faster cousin to Green Day’s “Brain Stew.” This was their follow up single to “Bound For The Floor” (you know: “And you just don’t get it, keep it copacetic…”)
(You might also know: “Bound For The Floor,” “Eddie Vedder,” their awesome cover of Britney Spears’ “Toxic”)
18. Ruby - Paraffin
- This is from their album “Salt Peter,” another dollar-bin gem. Pretty, catchy trip-hop.
(You might also know: “Tiny Meat”)
19. Failure - Stuck On You
- From the awesome, awesome album, “Fantastic Planet,” by the awesome, awesome band Failure, led by Ken Andrews. The album is named after the extremely weird/creepy French animated movie of the same name, which is also definitely worth watching.
(You might also know: “Sargeant Politeness;” “The Nurse Who Loved Me,” a cover of which was recorded by A Perfect Circle and included on their second album, “Thirteenth Step.”)
20. Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - Where The Wild Roses Grow (w. Kylie Minogue)
- A duet between two people you would really not think would be singing together. A “story song” from his album “Murder Ballads,” it is just that - a love story detailing the courting and murder between a young couple.
(You might also know: “Red Right Hand,” “Lover Man,” any other Nick Cave song.)
