#3 Modern Rock Hits: The mid-90's heyday

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"The History of Glam -- before Velvet Goldmine"

the objections to Drake from non-REAL HIPHOP people (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Tuesday, 7 January 2014 12:08 (ten years ago) link

man I've no trouble with Everclear. Old-ish dude moderates his guitar attack ever so slightly and scores some convincing hits.

the objections to Drake from non-REAL HIPHOP people (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Tuesday, 7 January 2014 12:08 (ten years ago) link

It was kind of funny watching radio jump on each successive single like "oh, THIS one will..." Like, I remember "In Hiding" getting a real buildup.

Here it was "Faithfull."

the objections to Drake from non-REAL HIPHOP people (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Tuesday, 7 January 2014 12:12 (ten years ago) link

"In Hiding" was actually the last gasp of the "random Pearl Jam album cut that gets so much radio airplay it charts" phenomenon, although i somehow forgot to make it a poll option here: Pearl Jam songs that charted without being officially released as A-sides

some dude, Tuesday, 7 January 2014 13:03 (ten years ago) link

That Guitar Magazine cover is one for the 'men who look like old lesbians' thread.

bizarro gazzara, Tuesday, 7 January 2014 14:07 (ten years ago) link

Everclear also noteworthy for their recent records consisting mostly of re-recorded versions of their older, more popular songs.

intheblanks, Tuesday, 7 January 2014 15:13 (ten years ago) link

wikipedia also telling me that Alexakis put together an alt-rock oldies-circuit tour with Sugar Ray, Lit, Marcy Playground, and the Gin Blossoms

intheblanks, Tuesday, 7 January 2014 15:14 (ten years ago) link

I have no use for Everclear after Sparkle & Fade. Everything after that was so repetitive and dull, cynically mining his dysfunctional family life for a buck. It probably was from the start, but "Santa Monica" and "Summerland" were the right songs at the right time for me, and they're too wrapped up in nostalgia for me to look at them critically.

Voted "Malibu" because that was the song Courtney Love was basically born to sing. Well, that and "Celebrity Skin."

Your Favorite Album in the Cutout Bin, Tuesday, 7 January 2014 16:04 (ten years ago) link

this list of songs made me shudder

mambo jumbo (La Lechera), Tuesday, 7 January 2014 16:07 (ten years ago) link

watch the world die

Euler, Tuesday, 7 January 2014 16:08 (ten years ago) link

It was a huge revelation to see Beck doing "New Pollution" on SNL with his Devo/Kraftwerk-aping keyboard player. Everything else was pretty much miserable.

Emperor Cos Dashit (Adam Bruneau), Tuesday, 7 January 2014 16:08 (ten years ago) link

it would be hard for me to defend "wonderful" but i would try

dyl, Tuesday, 7 January 2014 16:55 (ten years ago) link

Did I tell you I didn't cry? Well I lied. I lie-lie-lie-lie-lie-lie lied

LimbsKing, Tuesday, 7 January 2014 17:01 (ten years ago) link

''Wonderful'' was just such a dramatic ''well, these guys are straight up out of material'' moment for me. And then they followed up with ''AM Radio,'' which...christ.

Doctor Casino, Tuesday, 7 January 2014 17:18 (ten years ago) link

lol i forgot about that one

dyl, Tuesday, 7 January 2014 19:01 (ten years ago) link

If you squint at the video you can see the other bandmates repeating to themselves that the paycheck is worth it, the paycheck is worth it.

Doctor Casino, Tuesday, 7 January 2014 19:06 (ten years ago) link

Everclear also noteworthy for their recent records consisting mostly of re-recorded versions of their older, more popular songs.

― intheblanks, Tuesday, January 7, 2014 10:13 AM (4 hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

bahahahahahaha

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51Xt0QnQ3-L._SY300_.jpg

some dude, Tuesday, 7 January 2014 19:16 (ten years ago) link

I wish I could forget "AM Radio."

Mmm yes hello (crüt), Tuesday, 7 January 2014 19:19 (ten years ago) link

so much for the afterglow has one of my favorite guitar tones of all time, sounds like fifteen guitars piled on each other all of the time. lots of weird threads of ambition anchored into three-minute three chord songs on that record.

emo canon in twee major (BradNelson), Tuesday, 7 January 2014 19:25 (ten years ago) link

HAHAHA

Track Listing:
1. Santa Monica
2. Wonderful
3. Father Of Mine
4. I Will Buy You A New Life
5. Everything To Everyone
6. I Won t Back Down
7. Unemployed Boyfriend
8. The Joker
9. I Will Follow You Into The Dark
10. Every Breath You Take
11. AM Radio
12. Brown Eyed Girl

Your Favorite Album in the Cutout Bin, Tuesday, 7 January 2014 19:34 (ten years ago) link

well of course i have to listen to this now

also lol/wtf at "Wonderful" actually being their highest-charting Hot 100 single, surely this is just an artifact of "Santa Monica" et al not benefiting from airplay under Billboard rules at the time?

Doctor Casino, Tuesday, 7 January 2014 19:51 (ten years ago) link

sounds like fifteen guitars piled on each other all of the time.

it's the post-Vig nineties sound. Celebrity Skin too.

the objections to Drake from non-REAL HIPHOP people (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Tuesday, 7 January 2014 19:51 (ten years ago) link

surely this is just an artifact of "Santa Monica" et al not benefiting from airplay under Billboard rules at the time?

Non-sales singles couldn't chart on the Hot 100 until 1998 (wow, coincidence??).

Anyone else have a sweet spot for "You Make Me Feel Like a Whore"?

LimbsKing, Tuesday, 7 January 2014 19:55 (ten years ago) link

wow, surprise surprise, this album sucks, total contract-filling crap. Was hoping Art would have tried to show his reflective thoughtful side by redoing "Santa Monica" as a slow acoustic ballad, or with a guest rapper or something. They even fake the Jean Knight sample for "AM Radio"!

"Santa Monica" actually did have a physical single though, and it did chart (#29 on the Hot 100)...

Doctor Casino, Tuesday, 7 January 2014 19:57 (ten years ago) link

oops, wait, my bad - not released in the US, I guess that would kill it, huh?

Doctor Casino, Tuesday, 7 January 2014 19:59 (ten years ago) link

it's the post-Vig nineties sound. Celebrity Skin too.

yep, but i also like how well it applied to everclear songs. gave it a punchier, brighter feel

emo canon in twee major (BradNelson), Tuesday, 7 January 2014 20:03 (ten years ago) link

Check that Wikipedia footnite:

A ^ "Santa Monica" did not enter the Billboard Hot 100, but peaked at number 29 on the Hot 100 Airplay chart.

LimbsKing, Tuesday, 7 January 2014 20:03 (ten years ago) link

ahhhh, got it got it. My bad. Man, what a rip. It doesn't really matter in the grand scheme of things, but I hate the way it totally distorts band's picture/narrative/legacy. Also, picturing upstart "Wonderful" fans trying to lord its "biggest hit" status over the historical record.

I still think "Awful" is the best thing to come out of Celebrity Skin but it always seems to get overlooked...

Doctor Casino, Tuesday, 7 January 2014 20:05 (ten years ago) link

"Wonderful" was by far their biggest adult contempo crossover hit, though, so for a lot of people it is their biggest song

some dude, Tuesday, 7 January 2014 20:23 (ten years ago) link

I wonder why Capitol approved Alexakis' idea to do a Use Your Illusion-style double record, but with the second entry released four months later.

intheblanks, Tuesday, 7 January 2014 20:31 (ten years ago) link

re: "Wonderful" as the "these guys are straight up out of material" moment, I think most people who liked or kind of liked Everclear probably felt the same way. The second "Songs From an American Movie" record debuted at #66 and has sold 100K, after the first one hit #9 and is platinum.

intheblanks, Tuesday, 7 January 2014 20:34 (ten years ago) link

The Fuddy/Duddy Experience

some dude, Tuesday, 7 January 2014 20:36 (ten years ago) link

it was their "New Jersey"

intheblanks, Tuesday, 7 January 2014 20:37 (ten years ago) link

i never even HEARD the single from the 2nd 'American Movie' album, only a 5-second clip in commercials for the movie Antitrust

some dude, Tuesday, 7 January 2014 20:37 (ten years ago) link

Yeah, looking at Everclear's wikipedia page, it seems like Capitol said, "Sure, release another record, whatever, but we're only going to promote the one you released a few months ago"

intheblanks, Tuesday, 7 January 2014 20:40 (ten years ago) link

It really does seem baffling in hindsight, given all the failed alt-rock records we've discussed from several years earlier. Could any band just have walked up and gotten two records in one year? Yeah, no promotion, but somebody paid for a video for "When It All Goes Wrong Again." Granted, it has some movie clips, but otherwise it seems to be mostly Art mugging just like the ones before.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EdQjqY9JDmI

The idea, IIRC, was that this was the "rock" side to the previous "pop" album.

Doctor Casino, Tuesday, 7 January 2014 20:50 (ten years ago) link

I recall at the time they were supposedly loved by critics and marketed as some kind of modern The Who (intelligent power pop?) but I never really cared for them.

Emperor Cos Dashit (Adam Bruneau), Tuesday, 7 January 2014 20:51 (ten years ago) link

Maybe Capitol thought that this was the one that was really going to break them big, maybe move them from successful double-platinum alternative band to giant rock stars

intheblanks, Tuesday, 7 January 2014 20:54 (ten years ago) link

Like it'd be their Mellon Collie, or something. Still don't understand why they'd approve releasing the albums months apart, though

intheblanks, Tuesday, 7 January 2014 20:55 (ten years ago) link

I got So Much For The Afterglow, Celebrity Skin, and The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill in 1998 from cdnow for $1 each, new. those were the days

Euler, Tuesday, 7 January 2014 20:56 (ten years ago) link

Songs From an American Movie, Vol. 1: Learning How to Smile [Capitol, 2000]

All doubts as to Art Alexakis's punk bona fides are hereby laid to rest--he doesn't have any. Instead he chooses to whup Dave Grohl, the jerk from the Verve Pipe, and if there's any justice Rob Thomas in postgrunge's Bryan Adams sweepstakes. The corn he indulges on this fondly detailed end-of-a-marriage song cycle has nothing to do with abstracted teen agony and everything with classic Garth Brooks, except that Garth never waxed nostalgic for the days he and his honey whiled away watching porn and eating Chinese. Laying on strings, horns, synths, and backup vocals to a fare-thee-well, it makes honest peace with a pop moment when honest pop is the toughest artistic challenge there is. Volume two will supposedly return to the guitar-o-rama of his roots--without any loss of principle, one trusts. A-

the objections to Drake from non-REAL HIPHOP people (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Tuesday, 7 January 2014 20:57 (ten years ago) link

*rubs temples*

Hungry4Ass, Tuesday, 7 January 2014 21:29 (ten years ago) link

anyway harvey danger no contest

Hungry4Ass, Tuesday, 7 January 2014 21:29 (ten years ago) link

it's very tempting to vote for either of the Jack Irons-era Pearl Jam tracks or the Counting Crows rocker that was better than it had a right to be, but i can't bring myself to vote for anything other than "Everlong," legit song of the decade contender.

― some dude, Monday, January 6, 2014 9:46 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark

song of the bizarro decade maybe, the mirror universe 90s where the world was so hellish that it could only be represented by a foo fighters song

'98 was def the beginning of the sea change--i think follow the leader coming out that year and getting radio play told me everything i needed to know

― call all destroyer, Monday, January 6, 2014 11:32 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark

yeah, it told u that the dark ages of rock were over and the combination renaissance & enlightenment (99-02) had begun http://i.imgur.com/l65mwLC.gif

Hungry4Ass, Tuesday, 7 January 2014 21:46 (ten years ago) link

balls, have you read this long blog by Sean Demery detailing the rise and fall of 99X from his perspective? He's a little vague in key places but it's got some telling moments.

― Doctor Casino, Monday, January 6, 2014 11:47 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark

thanks for this btw, how'd u find it

Hungry4Ass, Tuesday, 7 January 2014 21:51 (ten years ago) link

i need to not be the only person listening to the weird spoken bits in this everclear cover of "the joker" right now

Guayaquil (eephus!), Tuesday, 7 January 2014 22:17 (ten years ago) link

H4A, found it by accident trying to find a list of all the Big Day Out festivals. Did not find.

Doctor Casino, Tuesday, 7 January 2014 22:34 (ten years ago) link

I moved to Atlanta in '97 at age 14 and remember thinking 99X was at least a semi-OK replacement for KROQ for about a year. Fits in pretty well with the above. I used to think it was just that my own tastes were changing, but in retrospect it's clear that there was other, bigger stuff going on.

skip, Tuesday, 7 January 2014 22:51 (ten years ago) link

KROQ's Top 20 of the year 1998:

1. Beastie Boys - Intergalactic
2. Harvey Danger - Flagpole Sitta
3. blink-182 - Dammit
4. Sublime - Bad Fish
5. Green Day - Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)
6. Everclear - I Will Buy You a New Life
7. Marcy Playground - Sex and Candy
8. Hole - Celebrity Skin
9. Goo Goo Dolls - Iris
10. Garbage - I Think I'm Paranoid
11. The Smashing Pumpkins - Perfect
12. Save Ferris - Goodbye
13. Everclear - Father of Mine
14. The Offspring - Pretty Fly (For a White Guy)
15. 311 - Beautiful Disaster
16. Fastball - The Way
17. Beastie Boys - Body Movin'
18. Korn - Got the Life
19. Eve 6 - Inside Out
20. Everlast - What It's Like

LimbsKing, Friday, 10 January 2014 15:51 (ten years ago) link

I still think "Awful" is the best thing to come out of Celebrity Skin but it always seems to get overlooked...

― Doctor Casino, Tuesday, January 7, 2014 3:05 PM (3 days ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

"Awful" has always been my favorite song from that album!

Ian from Etobicoke (Phil D.), Friday, 10 January 2014 15:57 (ten years ago) link


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