As The BBC and wider British media celebrate 20 years of Britpop this week we thought it would be the appropriate time to continue our mini series of musical decades. We’ve visited the noughties which you can catch up with here and today we’re looking at the decade in which we were all forced to decide whether we liked Oasis or Blur the most (Me: “I like them both is that ok?” The Media: “NO. CHOOSE. NOW!”)
The 90s wasn’t all about Britpop though – join me on a journey of nostalgic 90s musical re-discovery…
Exactly as before I am going to highlight five key albums from the decade. It’s going to be a struggle and my choices are going to be personal. I am not saying these albums were the best the 90s had to offer by any means but they are all gems that sum up the music of my decade. For the record I was 10 years old in 1990 so this period spans pretty much every ‘awkward’ age we face in the growing up game.
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THE CURE: Wish (1992)
Yes… I went through a goth phase… In fact there is a picture of me on my instagram profile which you can see here of me dressed as The Cure lead singer Robert Smith in 1994 (this was for a fancy dress party I hasten to add – I didn’t walk around like this all the time… Although the black nail varnish was ‘models own’).
The critics preferred The Cure’s previous album ‘Disintegration’ which is also awesome but for me ‘Wish’ is the perfect mix of angst, wailing guitars and those distinctive Smith vocals. It is also a lyrical masterpiece and not as morose as most people imagine a Cure album might be. It is littered with pop hooks and optimism. Listen to ‘High‘ if you don’t believe me (and check that awesome so-90s-it-hurts video via the link) And who does’t love ‘Friday I’m in Love‘? It’s The Cure with a very rare smile on their faces.
PULP: Different Class (1995)
Released at the height of Britpop, this album for me was Britpop. Don’t get me wrong I loved Oasis and Blur… But Pulp had the edge. Jarvis Cocker is one of the great frontmen, the band were lively and entertaining and you could never quite guess what they would do next. ‘Different Class’ with songs like ‘Common People‘ ‘Disco 2000‘ ‘Sorted For E’s and Whizz‘ as the title suggests really is in a different class. These thunderous anthems spoke to the 90s teenager in plain English. Jarvis Cocker has a knack for telling the sort of story that you desperately want to listen to and to be able to tell that story so clearly, so concisely and for it to also rhyme and last for about four minutes is dead clever.
AIR: Moon Safari (1998)
This album, sliding in toward the end of the decade opened my eyes to electronic music. I did love bands like The Pet Shop Boys and New Order but they were guilty pleasures for me in the 90s. Air helped change my opinions and stand up for what I liked. ‘Moon Safari’ is a collection of beats and bleeps beautifully crafted into an often sparse but always melodic lo-fi masterpiece. It’s Sunday morning but it can just as easily be very, very late Saturday night. Undeniably beautiful and undeniably French. I remember hearing ‘Kelly Watch The Stars‘ on the radio a few times but frustratingly never catching who it was by. Oh, the days before Shazam (Actually it was the days before having any kind of regular access to the internet!). In the end I rediscovered Kelly and her astronomical fascinations sometime later on a compilation album that I randomly purchased in the summer of ’99. Imagine the joy sweeping across my face as I was reunited with this beautiful tune. Next stop HMV.
‘Moon Safari’ left home with me in September that year and became the soundtrack to my first few terms at University, along with The Red Hot Chilli Peppers’ ‘Californication’ which miraculously has not made it onto my list… That’s an outrage!
COUNTING CROWS: August And Everything After (1993)
When I was 13 years old I had a tiny little rectangular radio that ran on a single AA battery. You could buy them from Argos for about £7.99 if memory serves. I used to sneak it into bed and listen on headphones when I should have been asleep… Sorry Mum. I’d regularly listen to a radio show on either Virgin 1215 or Atlantic 252… Can’t remember which but it was hosted by Nick Abbott. It was a phone-in show and I used to think Nick Abbott was cool because he’d basically take the p!&* out of anyone stupid enough to ring in to chat about that evening’s topic. He played great music too and would regularly open his show with “Mr Jones” by Counting Crows… I thought it was an old song because it had that Van Morrison / Springsteen middle America rock sound to it and so was surprised after asking for The Counting Crows in Ourprice to be directed to the new releases.
That’s not your typical album review granted, but listen to ‘Mr Jones‘ (underneath a duvet through some terribly cheap flimsy aliceband style headphones from 1988 if at all possible) and if you enjoy the experience then you’ll love this album.
BEN FOLDS 5: Whatever & Ever Amen (1997)
A game changer. I’d always been into very guitary bands and then Ben Folds 5 comes along and doesn’t have any. This three-piece from Chapel Hill, North Carolina had drums, bass and grand piano but their music (particularly the self titled first album) was heavily influenced by guitar garage bands and the grunge sound that was happening in the USA.
‘Whatever & Ever Amen’ is a much more laid back affair that mixes clever lyrics that tell simple stories with masterful musical craftsmanship blending rock and pop with hints of jazz and even the occasional nod to metal thrown into the mix! For melody and deep meaning at its best listen to ‘Brick’ below or to hear the jazz/swing/funk influence check out ‘The Battle Of Who Could Care Less’. To hear them rock out you need to watch ‘One Angry Dwarf’ and check out those crazy piano hands!… I love this band.
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{LISTEN AT HOME}
If you fancy getting yourself a copy of any of the albums I’ve talked about today then Amazon is a really good source for buying music for download busting prices!…
THE CURE: Wish
PULP: Different Class
AIR: Moon Safari
COUNTING CROWS: August And Everything After
BEN FOLDS 5: Whatever & Ever Amen
{ALSO RAN}
In all honesty I could probably have written a top five for each year of the 90s. My choice has really been a biographical one and that means that there are a hell of a lot of totally amazing albums that did not make it into the top 5. Sorry Nirvana, Sorry Radiohead, Sorry Portishead, Sorry REM and sorry DJ Shadow. I’ve narrowed this extended list to 20 and there are still some glaring omissions that I am sure you lot can bring up in the comments section!
- Pet Shop Boys: Behaviour (1990)
- Nirvana: Nevermind (1991)
- Guns & Roses: Use Your Illusion I & II (1991)
- REM: Automatic For The People (1992)
- Alanis Morissette: Jagged Little Pill (1995)
- Suede: Suede (1993)
- Pearl Jam: Vitalogy (1994)
- Blur: Parklife (1994)
- Portishead: Dummy (1994)
- Greenday: Dookie (1994)
- Radiohead: The Bends (1995)
- Oasis: (What’s The Story) Morning Glory (1995)
- Tricky: Maxinquaye (1995)
- The Manic Street Preachers: Everything Must Go (1996)
- Beck: Odelay (1996)
- DJ Shadow: Entroducing (1996)
- Spiritualized: Ladies And Gentleman We Are Floating In Space (1997)
- Belle & Sebastian: The Boy With The Arab Strap (1998)
- Gomez: Bring It On (1998)
- Fatboy Slim – You’ve Come A Long Way Baby (1998)
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What’s The Story?
For the stats lovers out there I can tell you that the UK’s best selling album of the decade was (What’s the Story) Morning Glory? by Oasis selling a little over four million units by the end of the decade. No mean feat considering its release date was over halfway through the decade on October 2nd 1995. Blur didn’t even make the top 10. Simply Red, The Spice Girls, Madonna, The Verve, ABBA and even Robson & Jerome all did though. You can blame your mothers for the last one.
So, five albums 10 years… What was the definitive soundtrack of your 1990s? Please do share in the comments. I loved reading through all your choices last time and it gave me some new music to listen to as well which was aces. Which musical gems did I miss out this time?
Adam.
Oh my god, if I had a pound for every time I listened to RHCP Californication, well lets just say I wouldn’t be sitting at my desk right now, I’d be sitting on a YACHT!!
PS ‘I listen to long wave radio Atlantic 252, now give me my money!’
Just me…?
Ha ha ha I remember that!! Pulp is my all-time fave 🙂
You are not alone 😉
Yeah if this had been a top 6 The Chilli Peppers would have snuck in. And Pulp (especially that album) that’s how you do it!!
Ahh… SO many greats… for me…
Longpigs – The Sun Is Often Out
🙂
I never got into the Longpigs… I’ll have to try them again, maybe 20 years on I’ll love them.
Like Olives.
Manic Street Preachers – Everything Must Go
Spice Girls – Spice
Supergrass – Supergrass
Lauryn Hill – The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill
The Verve – Urban Hymns
and most of your list above too!! The 90’s ruled – Fact!! 🙂
I knew someone was going to mention the Spice Girls at some point 🙂
Ah I’d forgotten about Brick just clicked and it’s taken me back to my uni days love it 🙂
Glad to be of service… I’d not seen the video until I was digging through YouTube for this post… I watched it about 12 times now 🙂
I was definitely an Oasis girl but I also had big love for Morcheeba, Air and Jamiroquai. Total soundtrack to my university days.
I loved ‘Big Calm’ I’ll have to dig that out for a spin this evening methinks…
Yep, yep, yep! Verve, Radiohead, The Charlatans, Manics, Shed Seven, Pulp, Ocean Colour Scene. I loved Oasis. As a 14 year old Manc I was absolutely Team Oasis. I completely fell for the britpop years.
My album for full on nostalgia is
Mansun – Attack of the Grey Lantern. Some say Mansun and this album signalled the end of britpop. For me, it was about changes. Growing up & going out to proper gigs (getting served at the bar) This was mine and my best friend’s favourite band. They were ‘ours’. If I put this album on it takes me right back to that specific time.
IM IN A WIDE OPEN SPAAAAACE
I loved that album. Stripper Vicar was awesome!
I get the earworm “plastic trousers” whenever I see someone wearing leather-look leggings.
I was a Pulp girl….I went to see them at the N.E.C with my Dad (!) as he loved them too.
Cant believe no-one has mentioned TLC “Crazy Sexy Cool” – I remember dancing to “Don’t Go Chasing Waterfalls” during a design technology lesson.
Also, Aerosmith – Get A Grip and Macy Gray “On How Life Is” (admittedly right at the back end of the decade in 1999)
The album that I listened to most though was Matchbox 20 “Yourself Or Someone Like You” …”3am” is still one of my all time favourite songs. Possibly not at all cool to admit that. Don’t care.
🙂
I remember when my sister got ‘Crazy Sexy Cool’ for her birthday and I thought she was the coolest person ever. I flipping loved that album. And the Miseducation of Lauryn Hill. I always wanted to spell my name with a ‘y’.
My ex boyfriend was well into Pulp. As I’m a Sheffield girl he used to make me stand outside the flat where Jarvis Cocker once lived (above a porn shop) just to look at the door. So romantic…
Ha ha hahahahahahaha this is hilarious!! He used to make you stand outside the flat?! and he lived above a porn shop?! If only you had photographic evidence!
I know! And JC had probably moved out about ten years ago!
I’m having hazy memories now that it might have been a pawn shop rather than a porn one….
Ok. So my top 5 may not have shaped the landscape of musical progression or by the standards been any good but they are still albums I listen to now, still love and that’s surely the test.
1: The Presidents of the United States of America – The Presidents of the United States of America (1995) – I know every word to every song!
2: Reef – Rides (1999) – Glow and Replenish are awesome but the drum fill intro to Newbird gets me every time.
3: Super Furry Animals – Radiator (1997) – Wales is the land of song after all.
4: Eels – Beautiful freak (1996) – Mr. E’s ever oscillating moods have some happy highs and some moments of pure melancholic genius.
5: Daftpunk – Homework (1997) – Much to the confusion of school friends and at a time where the only acceptable band were The Stereophonics (I grew up in far west Wales ) the massively accessible bass line of around the world drew me into the world of electronic music. Thank you dancing mummys!
(For the record The Stereophonics word gets around album is great but when tunnel vision for it blinkers an entire school to anything else, arrhhh! There’s only so long you can listen to chubby adolescents singing lines from 1000s trees in random order).
Cast of others appearing and in no specific order.
Weezer – Weezer, The Cardigans – Gran Turismo, Blur – Blur, Chemical Brothers – Surrender, Foos – Nothing left to lose, REM – Out of time, RHCP – BSSM, BeastieBoys – The sound from way out, Gay Dad – Leisure noise…………….Beck, Faithless, Green Day, Radiohead, JK, Divine Comedy, SoulWax, Manics, Ben Folds 5, Massive attack, Air, Fatboy Slim, Jurassic 5, Gomez….. the list could go on and on.
Not bad from memory and in the morning. Thanks Adam for the trip down memory lane.
I still listen to Presidents of the USA and sing every. damn. word
F$%k you kitty, you’re gonna spend the night OUT SIIIIDE
Ha! Brilliant…. Peaches almost killed that album for me but the rest is class.
PUSA are so much more than lump and peaches. Back porch, kick out the jams and naked and famous. 2 and 3 string guitar music at its best. 🙂
Owen, what a list… I think your comment might be longer than my post!
The Eels are one of the unsung heroes of modern music – Mistakes of my youth is my current bestest song
Loved the Presidents and although Daftpunk could easily have made my list I discovered them later on so they don’t feel very 90s to me.
It’s funny isn’t how a local band made good completely takes over the community… The best Worcester had to offer was The Wonder Stuff. Not bad but they were no Stereophonics 😉
I think it’s fair to say the 90s was a great time for British music and music in general… Thanks for your comment – you’ve inspired yet another day of 90s nostalgia on Spotify for me.
I LOVE ben folds five!