90s Classic Albums (Featuring: Matchbox Twenty)

[jammindude]

@TAC

Absolutely.   I have a totally different perspective now.  But the "who cares?" moniker that punk used in the 70's became a true and deep seated sentiment in the late 80's.    The Reagan years had brought prosperity, but it didn't solve any of the deeper issues of making anyone feel fulfilled.   It's like, "if this is what it feels like to be on top of the world then f- it because life still sucks."   

It's an oversimplification...but ya.  I could go on a bit more.  But I've already derailed a bit.   I suppose I'm still on the topic of the movement that was behind this album.

[jammindude]

Even better.   If you truly want the album that started EVERYTHING....this is it. 

Green River (the band that invented the sound, then divided and split after one album with the two camps forming Mudhoney on one side and Mother Love Bone (and later Pearl Jam) on the other)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hViy_uIqUSI

[Calvin6s]

THIS is grunge if you live in Seattle.  And it's freakin awesome, but totally different from what grunge is in the national perspective.   

Mudhoney - Superfuzz Bigmuff (full album)

That wasn't even really a Seattle secret.  I was totally aware of all this going on at the time.  All of this stuff just fit right into the metal diet.  Sure, glam rock was big, but so was Thrash, Guns N Roses and Stevie Ray Vaughan.  Glam Rock might have been selling more, but most people I knew that weren't casual listeners had all of this stuff in some form in their library.

And there were the usual divisions that always exist between those that can only love on genre, but it all seemed to co-exist perfectly fine until Nirvana.  If anything, the big artists all seemed to be pushing their blues bona fides at the time.  I got feel.  I don't need no FX.  I can play just one note.  Blues is gonna save us all you watch ..... Hello, hello, hello, how low 

[bl5150]

THIS is grunge if you live in Seattle.  And it's freakin awesome, but totally different from what grunge is in the national perspective.   

Mudhoney - Superfuzz Bigmuff (full album)

That wasn't even really a Seattle secret.  I was totally aware of all this going on at the time.  All of this stuff just fit right into the metal diet.  Sure, glam rock was big, but so was Thrash, Guns N Roses and Stevie Ray Vaughan.  Glam Rock might have been selling more, but most people I knew that weren't casual listeners had all of this stuff in some form in their library.

And there were the usual divisions that always exist between those that can only love on genre, but it all seemed to co-exist perfectly fine until Nirvana.  If anything, the big artists all seemed to be pushing their blues bona fides at the time.  I got feel.  I don't need no FX.  I can play just one note.  Blues is gonna save us all you watch ..... Hello, hello, hello, how low 

The thing that shocked me was the rapidity with which some of the changes occurred around the time of Nirvana breaking.  Take one of my favourite debut melodic rock albums by a band called Unruly Child.   They were on Interscope , had an album sitting in boxes ready to ship that had seen a big budget backing with a huge Beau Hill production and just as it was all about to happen the A&R guy associated with all the melodic rock/hair metal was sacked , the promotion budget was cancelled and that was that - it was barely released.  A similar thing happened to a band called Wildside who had been signed to one of the biggest deals ever in that sphere........cancelled in a blink.

[erwinrafael]

I can see now the difference in how I view Nirvana and grunge from how you guys in the US see it. I guess for a lot of you, it really felt like "grunge" killed genres that were thriving.

Here it is different. It was a weird combination of Nirvana, Guns N Roses, Metallica (Black album), and Bon Jovi (Keep the Faith era, especially Bed of Roses!) that broke the stranglehold of pop over mainstream radio airplay and album sales. Back in the 1980s and the start of the 1990s, the only "metal/hard rock" songs that get regular airplay are the Scorpion ballads (which are videoke staples) and the occasional hairmetal pop hits. The local scene is even worse, as only one rock band is getting regular airplay then. But when the "dam" broke, Wow was it wonderful. Which is why it was not weird here back then to like Nirvana, Metallica, Guns and Roses and Skid Row at the same time  . That breakthrough led to the influx of rock and metal albums from the US and UK that we have not had access to before. For example, there was a time when I though Bleach was a follow-up to Nevermind,a nd that Lies is a GnR 1990s album.  The biggest impact, however, is in the local scene as local rock bands finally gained a foothold on the mainstream. I was in high school then, and wow, everybody is just trying to learn to play guitar, and drums. And suddenly this Catholic school I was studying in started to hold an Annual Battle of the Bands. It was so crazy, that a Woodstock-like day/night-long rock festival was one of the events during the visit of Pope John Paul II for World Youth Day. 

Those were very good days.

[Calvin6s]

Grunge was just one element.  Quite frankly, one of the smallest elements.  Industrial, hip hop and even prog metal were taking off around the same time frame.  The best of that era survived in some form, no different than any other musical era.

[PuffyPat]

kurt was such a great, sincere songwriter/vocalist, krist is a solid bassist, and dave is a fucking monster on the kit. put all those together, and you get, in my opinion, one of the greatest records of all time. sure, kurt's not jimi and dave isn't bonham and krist isn't sir paul, but they had a lot of talent, vision, and a bunch of great songs, and they executed it perfectly. this album is up there w/ abbey road for me.

[jammindude]

When am I going to learn to keep my big mouth shut. 

This is related.    So while I was doing some digging on Green River (because of this thread) I find that GR's debut EP (the FIRST "grunge" record) was released in May of 1985. 

So I go to my editer of Northwest Music Scene and I'm like, "hey!  How did we miss the 30th Anniversary of grunge?"    He said, I don't know...did we miss it?   I'll ask Alex (GR's drummer....long since retired).    Alex chimes in and says....ya, 30 years but who cares.   I hate that album.   

I'm like....awww man surely we can sit around and gab a bit....hey Mr editer?  Can we get the rest of the guys too?   Editer says that Mark and Steve will be easy, we've already got Alex, but Jeff and Stone would be more difficult but not impossible. 

So just by opening my big fat mouth, my editor is attempting a Green River reunion interview for The Jammin Dude Show which I haven't done in a year now.     I love doing the show, but it's emotionally exhausting and takes a lot away from a family that needs me.   But man...what an opportunity if it pans out..

Stay tuned.

[erwinrafael]

See, these threads actually lead to something. 

[hefdaddy42]

I never cared for this album, or for Nirvana.  Just never tickled my fancy at all.

But we got the Foo Fighers, so it is all good.

[Fluffy Lothario]

www.youtube.com/watch?v=DGPbHUZQ-VE

A video of teens watching Nirvana videos and commenting. The dude interviewing them hypes the band in his questions, but a lot of their answers are pretty interesting.

[Lowdz]

I never cared for this album, or for Nirvana.  Just never tickled my fancy at all.

But we got the Foo Fighers, so it is all good.

Hated Nirvana. They destroyed the music I was into just as it was hitting its stride and bands were bringing out their best work. SLTS is ok and a couple of their other songs were fine, but it was noisy, obnoxious, depressing stuff.
Ok, it wasn't Nirvana that did this, it was the music business and media, but grunge didn't resonate with me. I was having a great timeand life wasn't this shit thing the grunge era was selling.
But man, that decade was a wasteland for good music. I had to go cold turkey almost in my music buying addiction. The local music store went bust! It was pre internet so finding the now underground stuff was harder. Bands that I liked chased the new sound, and that was truly depressing.
Yeah, fucking Nirvana 

FF don't do anything for me either.

[erwinrafael]

Well, the 80s bands chasing the sound of the grunge movement did give us the only good Motley Crue album, so that's one thing to be happy about.  Darn I love that Motley Crue album. John Corabi is a beast.

[bl5150]

Well, the 80s bands chasing the sound of the grunge movement did give us the only good Motley Crue album, so that's one thing to be happy about.  Darn I love that Motley Crue album. John Corabi is a beast.

You should check out the new Dead Daisies then my friend........good stuff.  Corabi, Tichy, Mendoza.

[BlobVanDam]

Well, the 80s bands chasing the sound of the grunge movement did give us the only good Motley Crue album, so that's one thing to be happy about.

lolx10

I never cared for this album, or for Nirvana.  Just never tickled my fancy at all.

But we got the Foo Fighers, so it is all good.

Hated Nirvana. They destroyed the music I was into just as it was hitting its stride and bands were bringing out their best work. SLTS is ok and a couple of their other songs were fine, but it was noisy, obnoxious, depressing stuff.
Ok, it wasn't Nirvana that did this, it was the music business and media, but grunge didn't resonate with me. I was having a great timeand life wasn't this shit thing the grunge era was selling.
But man, that decade was a wasteland for good music. I had to go cold turkey almost in my music buying addiction. The local music store went bust! It was pre internet so finding the now underground stuff was harder. Bands that I liked chased the new sound, and that was truly depressing.
Yeah, fucking Nirvana 

FF don't do anything for me either.

I love this post so much I want to make babies with it.

[Outcrier]

But man, that decade was a wasteland for good music.

Well, depending on one's music taste, that can be said for any decade 

[Kotowboy]

I never cared for this album, or for Nirvana.  Just never tickled my fancy at all.

But we got the Foo Fighters, so it is all good.

Yep - The Foos output is easily better than Nirvana's output. And not just because they have 2.5x more albums - but they have more GREAT albums - and Nirvana arguably only had one GREAT album

and a couple of OK ones.

Foo Fighters, Wasting Light , The Colour And The Shape are all GREAT albums.

[Lowdz]

Well, the 80s bands chasing the sound of the grunge movement did give us the only good Motley Crue album, so that's one thing to be happy about.  Darn I love that Motley Crue album. John Corabi is a beast.

If SHout At The Devil and Drv Feelgood didn't exist 

[Outcrier]

Yep - The Foos output is easily better than Nirvana's output. And not just because they have 2.5x more albums - but they have more GREAT albums - and Nirvana arguably only had one GREAT album

I'm pretty sure Bleach and In Utero are viewed as great albums too, especially the latter

[Kotowboy]

Bleach wasn't at the time. Only in retrospect. And In Utero was riding Nevermind's coat tails.

And of course - Kurt dying probably helped too.

[Outcrier]

Whatever floats your boat.

[Fluffy Lothario]

Bleach wasn't at the time. Only in retrospect.

I read a review of Bleach from when it came out in an old music mag some years ago. They gave it 93/100, from memory. And I get the impression it had some underground buzz. But then what makes a great album, I guess.

[Lolzeez]

Foo Fighters is better than Nirvana? People actually think this? I've yet to hear a Foo Fighters song besides Everlong and maybe Pretender that feels as true as something like Something In The Way. Foo Fighters just sound like buttrock to me. (yes I went there)

[TAC]

OK. Nirvana has been a topic in this thread longer than they were actually around!

[Zantera]

Foo Fighters is better than Nirvana? People actually think this? I've yet to hear a Foo Fighters song besides Everlong and maybe Pretender that feels as true as something like Something In The Way. Foo Fighters just sound like buttrock to me. (yes I went there)

I'm not a huge Foo Fighters fan, but they're definitely better than Nirvana. Middle of the road will always be better than garbage.

[Kotowboy]

Foo Fighters is better than Nirvana? People actually think this? I've yet to hear a Foo Fighters song besides Everlong and maybe Pretender that feels as true as something like Something In The Way. Foo Fighters just sound like buttrock to me. (yes I went there)

I'm not a huge Foo Fighters fan, but they're definitely better than Nirvana. Middle of the road will always be better than garbage.

Haha.

[Kotowboy]

Whatever floats your boat.

There's no denying that Kurt dying gave Nirvana legendary status. I bet if they'd recorded In Utero and just broke up.. They'd just be That band that did Nevermind then broke up one album later. End of story.

[hefdaddy42]

Foo Fighters is better than Nirvana? People actually think this?

Fuck yes.  Any day of the week, and twice on Sunday.

[King Postwhore]

Foo Fighters is better than Nirvana? People actually think this?

Fuck yes.  Any day of the week, and twice on Sunday.

Second, sideways.

[Kotowboy]

Foo Fighters is better than Nirvana? People actually think this?

Fuck yes.  Any day of the week, and twice on Sunday.

Seven times on Sunday.

[425]

I actively dislike Nirvana and don't really have any feelings about the Foo Fighters at all, so I guess this is me as well, sort of.

[Calvin6s]

Foo Fighters         Nirvana

Pretty much sums up my feeling on the two.

[Fluffy Lothario]

I like both bands, though neither a huge amount, but I can understand people really not liking Nirvana / prefering the Foos.

The Foos are definitely not what I’d call an arty band. Not saying Dave Grohl doesn’t experiment to some extent, but his style is blatantly just modern era popular rock music. Which means if you try to find masterpieces in their stuff, you’re gonna come away wanting.

Having said that, Grohl has written many a modern rock-song-by-numbers classic, and the Foos are one of the more reliable modern popular rock bands there are.

Dunno if that makes sense.

[Kotowboy]

Foos are pretty dependable - seem really down to earth - they have GREAT videos and Dave has a great sense of humour and seems to "get" the industry.

But yeah they do some odd albums now and then. Like - Wasting Light was amazing - then they put out the most middle of the road album of their career.

That was such a let down. It's a fine album but it's nowhere near Wasting Light levels.

[sneakyblueberry]

Foo Fighters have become modern rock's AC/DC.  They're formulaic and they don't give a shit, and they're laughing all the way to the bank.