Slanted and Enchanted: The 19 Gods of 90s Alternative Rock/Pop
Submitted by thecritic on Thu, 04/19/2001 - 12:54
Tags:
- 1. Nirvana
- 2. Pavement
- 3. Bjork
- 4. Blur
- 5. Beck
- 6. Massive Attack
- 7. Suede
- 8. Beastie Boys
- 9. Tricky
- 10. Radiohead
- 11. Primal Scream
- 12. Portishead
- 13. Pearl Jam
- 14. Happy Mondays
- 15. U2
- 16. R.E.M.
- 17. Liz Phair
- 18. My Bloody Valentine
- 19. Jane's Addiction
Author Comments:
*n order of quality, only including their work released in the 90s - I could've have done a top twenty, but since alternative rock is slightly skewed and bent, I decided to be as well*
No Pixies, Guided By Voices, or Butterglory. I assume you never heard these bands....
Pearl Jam?
Primal Scream!!!!????!!!
Primal Scream, for Screamadelica, which finished the Stone Roses' experiment of fusing dance beats and effects into rock music, Vanishing Point, an album that even included ex-Roses bassist Mani, and the surprisingly great remix album, Echo Dek. Believe it or not, this band's incorporation of the dance world into alternative rock opened the doors for trip-hop and big beat's wider acceptance in England and the rest of the world. Did I mention that Screamadlica is also a fantastic album?
And I'm not even mentioning their second best album, XTRMNTR, which didn't arrive until 2000.
Certainly Pearl Jam, for Vitalogy, Vs., No Code, and, especially, Ten. PJ actually managed to meld arena rock with post punk - an unholy marriage few would even conceive of - and the result was the perfect hard rock of the 90s. Most folks tuned out around Vs., but PJ continued through the decade with No Code and Vitalogy, two challenging yet inspiring discs. Pearl Jam certainly deserves a position on this list.
You assume very wrong. The Pixies are excluded only because the bulk of their great work was completed in the 80s (only Bossanova and Trompe le Monde were 90s albums). Guided by Voices were considered but eventually defeated by the bands listed. Butterglory has one great album, Downed, and it took more than one great album to make this list.
Wow! Unless I'm forgetting someone, it seems that all of my favorites are here: Nirvana, Pavement, Beck, Tricky, Radiohead, U2, Liz Phair, and especially My Bloody Valentine. Maybe PJ Harvey should be considered?
Johnny Waco
Again, thank you. PJ Harvey is great, and you will find her on my second list here.
I personally think that Garbage is one of the most underrated bands of the 90's, with what may be my favorite debut album of the 90's.
Isn't it hard to label any group that garner as much sales, radio airplay, and critical attention as Garbage did under-rated?
For the record, I thought the first albums was fairly good, but that's really all the band has to stand on right now. You prefer it to Pavement, Liz Phair, Counting Crows, or Nirvana's debuts?
Glad to hear from you again, AAA!
Shalom, y'all!
L. Bangs
You're right, under rated is not what I'm looking for. Now, thinking about it, "Garbage" probably falls just below "Nevermind" by Nirvana for best debut. I loved both their first and second albums. The second album was much more studio infulenced, and that is not necessarily a bad thing, it just makes it seem not as fresh as the first. I suppose what I mean by under rated, is that people seem to ignore Garbage when putting together lists like these.
Garbage is more of a personal favorite than a critical one. I also have a slight crush on Shirley.