Music
Great Albums from 1993: Alt-Rock, Female Voices, and More Hip-hop!
Week 37: 1001 Album Challenge
I’m listening to 1001 albums in a year from the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die by Robert Dimery and documenting the journey on Medium and in more depth (with costumes and characters!) on Youtube. If you want more information on the rules, check this out. For my channel and to watch the latest videos, click here.
This week, I listened to another twenty albums, mostly from 1993.
But where’s Snoop Dogg’s Doggystyle? And what about Sebadoh’s Bubble and Scrape?
I’ll be talking about them next week. Don’t you worry!
But let’s talk about the albums I listened to this week, shall we?
Takeaways From This Week:
- With repurposed Black Sabbath riffs, hair metal vocals, and a grunge approach, Alice in Chain’s Dirt will remain a 90s classic, even though looking back, the album is quite dark. The vocalist Layne Staley had severe drug problems, giving lots of songs on the album a more depressing meaning.
- Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds’ Henry’s Dream has songs about betrayal, murderers, and shame. To a degree, the album feels like gothic Tom Waits. Cave expressed that the songs were heavily influenced by street beggars he met in Brazil who banged on one or two strings, hammering out songs from the heart. With that in mind, you won’t get the most intricate songs on this album, but they will be raw, enjoyable, and definitely unique.
- Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and Party’s Devotional Songs is Islamic prayer music that was popularized through Peter Gabriel’s world music label. In it, you’ll get an album of drumming, mandolin strumming, handclaps, and joyful singing.
- P.J. Harvey’s Dry infused sex appeal and feminism into a record that takes from rock and post punk. This album is bassy and dark with lofi production. It may have been an acquired taste for me, but I enjoyed the record a lot more as I listened.
- Suede’s self-titled is one of the first Brit-pop records and sold extremely well at the time. I can see why as it’s a catchy and enjoyable listen! With glammy vibes that channel Mott the Hoople and early Bowie, you’ll get a decent album here overall with dashes of trippy Britishness and the ghostly vocals of the Smiths. Although the press may have thought this band would have had more staying power, the album was still a bunch of fun.
- Paul Weller’s Wild Wood could have come out in 1973, not 1993. With funky blues sounds, great guitar solos, and even some acoustic ditties, you’ll get great music, but this is a continuation of the type of music he did in both The Jam and The Style Council.
- The Smashing Pumpkins’ Siamese Dream showcases how the band repurposes the music of Sonic Youth into a more desirable grungy rock form. Although Billy Corgan had all the ambition to create the “heaviest, meanest, rockingest” album ever, his other bandmates were struggling with heroin addiction and relationship issues. Despite Corgan’s bad press for being tyrannical in production, this album features great shoegaze, dream pop, and heavy metal elements that all combine together to create great music.
- The Auteurs’ New Wave was another band that was part of the glam rock revival. This wasn’t one of my favorites, but if you want more Suede’s self-titled, this is it.
- Liz Phair’s Exile in Guyville helped female voices enter the grunge genre, and because of this the album is incredibly influential. I though the track “Flower” in particular hit well for me, although others were a bit too out there for me.
- The Afghan Whigs Gentlemen had strong jangly chords with swirling guitars, but the songs themselves didn’t hit for me as hard as I expected.
- Aimee Mann’s Whatever fortifies her reputation as a great songwriter on this piece. This album is a microcosm of 90s indie singer-songwriter history, as she showcases her distinct female vocal sound which will be repurposed by other indie artists as her producer Jon Brion goes on to work with other indie stars like Fiona Apple and Rufus Wainwright.
- Grant Lee Buffalo’s Fuzzy is a trippy album with fuzzy guitar that reminded me a lot of the ’60s. With an acoustic-like soft rock feel, melodic basslines, tribal drums and organs, it was well-received. Michael Stipe of REM proclaimed it album of the year.
- Nirvana’s In Utero may not be as metal as Bleach or as polished as Nevermind, but that’s a good thing. With great tracks like “Heart Shaped Box”, “Rape Me”, and “Dumb”, it’s still a ’90s classic.
- Jamiroquai’s Emergency on Planet Earth is jazzy and soulful with great grooves and awesome sax solos.
- Pet Shop Boys Very is a happier album than Behaviour with more techno backbeats that are jazzier and more upbeat. With lots of musical layers, you’ll get an intricate album that is more commercial sounding and was made for MTV.
- P.J. Harvey’s Rid of Me stretched out quite a bit in this album, using more skewed song construction and weird time signatures. I found the album to have a more bluesy feel than the last. Although sometimes a bit bizarre, it was interesting, and I’ll have to revisit it.
- Blur’s Modern Life is Rubbish is very Kinks inspired with a nostalgic ’60s Brit pop sound.
- Sheryl Crow’s Tuesday Night Music Club has a fantastic mix of country, dance, and rock. It’s unsurprising it won three Grammys.
- The Fall’s The Infotainment Scan was inconsistent. Although tracks like “Past Gone Mad” were fantastic, others like ‘Light/Fireworks” had Christopher Walken style vocals and a weird backbeat that was hard to enjoy. The album is a mixed bag and I enjoyed earlier selections by the band (like Live at the Witch Trials) much more.
- Björk’s Debut is weird, but I like it. With help from 808 State, Björk features electronic music backings on most of the tracks, although some have world music vibes or even harp like on “Like Someone to Love.” Regardless of genre, the most intriguing and entertaining portion of this album is Björk’s voice. From growls to screams, as it soars above and rattles beneath the instruments, it is always unique and puts a smile on my face.
To Sum It All Up…
Here’s the Spotify playlist for the music I listened to this week. Check it out to discover new music!
And just so you know…I talk about music all the time on my Youtube Channel. From video essays to creating sitcom-style impression videos that cover every album in the 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die, all music is treated equally, as well as analyzed and criticized with humor elements thrown in.
If this seems like your thing, give it a shot and check it out here!
I’m Bill. I write about music. A lot.
Give me a follow if you like my vibe.
