Dig Me Out: 90s & 00s Rock

Reacharound - Who's Tommy Cooper? | 90s Album Review

Tue, 14 Apr 2026 01:00:00 -0500

Never heard of Reacharound? You're not alone, which is a shame, because this band of UK expats playing punked-up rockabilly and 60s Kinks and Who influenced garage rock deserved your attention. Their only album, 1996's Who's Tommy Cooper? is a charming, straight-up rock album with enough variety to keep fans of Reverend Horton Heat, Social Distortion, or The Living End interested.

Songs In This Episode

Intro - Big & Mean

22:22 - Big Chair

26:37 - Seen It Before

33:36 - Gene Autry

Outro - Shaking Like A Leaf

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Albums of 2006 | Roundtable

Tue, 31 Mar 2026 01:00:00 -0500

2006 wasn't just any year in the 00s. It's the year Twitter launched, the year before the release of the iPhone, Nintendo debuted the Wii console, Borat burst into movie theaters, and Justin Timberlake made sure sexy was back. It was also when danceable post-punk, alternative metal, and UK post-Brit pop were making waves bubbling up to the underground, and much more. We've invited a group of our Patrons to revisit the year and discuss albums that stood the test of time (and a few that did not), overlooked and underappreciated albums, albums we were late to discover, and much more.

Songs In This Episode

Intro - Supermassive Black Hole by Muse, Young Folks by Peter, Bjorn and John, Crazy by Gnarls Barkley

22:00 - Unleashed by Front Line Assembly

31:53 - Family Band by The Tragically Hip

43:58 - Rockstar by The Fags

56:46 - Master Exploder by Tenacious D

1:00:39 - Tear You Apart by She Wants Revenge

1:17:39 - Star Witness by Neko Case

1:22:34 - Come Clarity by In Flames

1:32:26 - Standing In The Way Of Control - Gossip

Outro - Different World by Iron Maiden

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Josh Ritter - The Animal Ritter | 00s Album Review

Tue, 24 Mar 2026 01:00:00 -0500

Released during the protracted second Iraq war, Josh Ritter's fourth album The Animal Years layers a singer/songwriter album with somber lyrical depth softened by effective melodies and thoughtful instrumentation.

Songs In This Episode

Intro - Wolves

17:04 - Girl In The War

18:58 - Monster Ballads

25:29 - Thin Blue Flame

32:36 - Good Man

Outro - Here at the Right Time

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Silkworm - Firewater | 90s Album Review

Tue, 10 Mar 2026 01:00:00 -0500

Earnest without sliding into overwrought emo, Silkworm struck a balance between raw and refined on their fourth album, 1996's Firewater. Like most of their releases, the band turned to Steve Albini to engineer, capturing the live sound of the band crisp and clearly across the nearly hour running time. The band rarely overindulge, leaving those spare moments to the guitarist Andy Cohen, who channels the overdriven chaos of J. Mascis and Neil Young on tracks like "Wet Firecracker" and "Drag the River." The rhythm section, though never flashy, are tight and locked-in, with the bass taking melodic turns to support the sing-speak vocals that waver between understated and explosive. Though the band called Seattle home for the early part of the 1990s, the band eschews any grunge influence for post-punk and indie rock influences that helped separate the band from their homebase peers.

Songs In This Episode

Intro - Nerves

19:28 - Quicksand

21:28 - Drag the River

29:06 - Cannibal Cannibal

31:07 - The Lure of Beauty

Outro - Don't Make Plans This Friday

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12 Rods - Lost Time | 00s Album Review

Tue, 24 Feb 2026 01:00:00 -0500

Self-produced after parting ways with their major label, 12 Rods released the genre-bending Lost Time in 2002, combining elements of power pop, indie rock, 70s art rock and more. Eclectic songwriting, dynamic shifts, and a mixture of organic and treated sounds balance an album full of catchy hooks with inventive and occasionally straight-up weird choices, like the loungy-groove of "Fake Magic 8-Ball," falling somewhere between Eels and Ben Folds Five, or the relentlessly melodic "Twenty Four Hours Ago." The lack of cohesion is offset by the versatility of the material, never overstaying its welcome, and quality of the songwriting that welcomes repeated listens.

Songs In This Episode

Intro - Terrible Hands

17:12 - Fake Magic 8-Ball

21:19 - Summertime Vertigo

26:05 - Boy in the Woods

30:16 - Twenty Four Hours Ago

41:31 - The Time Is Right (To Be Wrong)

Outro - Accidents Waiting to Happen

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KMFDM - Naïve/Hell to Go | 90s Album Review

Tue, 10 Feb 2026 01:00:00 -0500

Is an industrial song ever really done? KMFDM’s 1993 release Naïve/Hell to Go asks that question, revisiting tracks from their 1990 release Naïve and offering new remixes and modified versions. Leaning heavily on sequenced aggression - pounding drum machines, serrated metal guitar loops, and chant-ready slogans that feel engineered as much for the dance floor as the mosh pit. Tracks like “Go to Hell” and “A Drug Against War” distill the band’s confrontational ethos into blunt, almost cartoonishly militant hooks that nonetheless hit with real force.

Songs In This Episode

Intro - Welcome/Naïve

19:10 - Got To Hell (Fuck MTV Mix)

24:57 - Godlike (Doglike Mix)

27:47 - Die Now Live Later (Born Again Mix)

Outro - Disgust (Live in Seattle)

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Broken Social Scene - You Forgot It In People | 00s Album Review

Tue, 27 Jan 2026 01:00:00 -0500

You Forgot It in People captures Broken Social Scene at their most expansive, an indie rock communal experience balancing meticulous arrangements and unhinged joyfulness. Layers of guitars, synths, horns, and rotating vocalists creates a warm chaos that rewards repeated listens, as new details constantly surface. Songs like “Anthems for a Seventeen Year-Old Girl” and “Cause = Time” balance intimacy and grandeur, pairing fragile emotion with sweeping crescendos. Two decades on, it still sounds like the 2000s blueprint for how indie rock bands like Arcade Fire, Godspeed, You Black Emperor, and many more could be messy, emotional, and deeply human without losing their ambition.

Songs In This Episode

Intro - Stars and Sons

12:15 - KC Accidental

20:29 - Cause = Time

26:03 - Anthems For A Seventeen Year-Old Girl

Outro - Pacific Theme

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Bush - Sixteen Stone | 90s Album Review

Tue, 13 Jan 2026 01:00:00 -0500

Naomi Carmack of the Dope Nostalgia podcast joins us to revisit the six times platinum debut album Sixteen Stone by Bush. Released in May of 1995, the album spawned five inescapable singles and videos released in 1995 and 1996, propelling the band into the bright media spotlight. While the band had their share of fans, they also had detractors labeling the band as radio made grunge-lite thanks to frontman Gavin Rossdale appealing to more than just a young, male audience. In revisiting the record, we take time to appreciate the guitar work of Nigel Pulsford, who riffs and slides with taste and noise throughout the well crafted record despite some lackluster album tracks.

Songs In This Episode

Intro - Machinehead

24:13 - Testosterone

28:37 - Monkey

41:09 - Comedown

Outro - Little Things

Tue, 25 Nov 2025 01:00:00 -0500

Another Thanksgiving is upon us, and our yearly post-Covid tradition continues as we gather patrons together and give thanks for the new music that gave us happiness and good vibes in 2025. There's a wide array of bands and artists, new and old, that helped make 2025 another great year for music!

Songs In This Episode

Intro - Critical Thinking by Manic Street Preachers

Outro - Disintegrate by Suede

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Tue, 28 Oct 2025 01:00:00 -0500

Appalachian folk, Gothic country, and fire-and-brimstone intensity are not sounds you heard often on alternative albums in the 1990s. Sixteen Horsepower, led by David Eugene Edwards’ trembling voice and Old Testament fervor, sings like a sermon delivered from the traveling pulpit of redemption and ruin on their 1996 debut Sackcloth 'N Ashes. Songs churn with banjo, accordion, and tremolo guitar, evoking both frontier hardship and Calvinistic spiritual warfare. The production is stark yet cinematic, allowing every haunted whisper and stomped rhythm to resonate. While fans of Nick Cave, The Handsome Family, The Gun Club, etc. will find commonality, those unfamiliar may take a bit to warm up.

Songs In This Episode

Intro - Black Soul Choir

21:14 - Prison Shoe Romp

23:37 - Horse Head

34:09 - Red Neck Reel

Outro - Strong Man

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Charm Farm - Pervert | 90s Album Review

Tue, 21 Oct 2025 01:00:00 -0500

Pervert by Charm Farm swaggered into the mid-’90s with industrial-tinged alternative rock that fused sleazy hooks with gritty guitar licks. Mechanical grooves create a sound that feels both nightclub-ready and deeply personal. Tracks like “Superstar” and “Sick” capture the era’s obsession with fame and self-destruction while wrapped in infectious, neon-lit melodies. Completely overlooked upon release, Pervert offers sleek and subversive rock at a time the mainstream sought a more radio friendly (i.e. marketable) sound.

Songs In This Episode

Intro - I'm A Man

13:52 - Sick

18:44 - Superstar

26:07 - Pain

31:14 - Pervert

Outro - Desire

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Tue, 16 Sep 2025 01:00:00 -0500

The 1992 album Five Deadly Sins by Australian hard rockers Candy Harlots was the last gasp of glam-influenced sleaze rock before grunge reshaped the musical landscape. Packed with swaggering riffs and arena-ready vocals, the record channels the spirit of Guns N’ Roses, Kix, and Bang Tango while with a raw edge. Songs like “Sister’s Crazy” and “Danger” showcase the band’s knack for solid hooks. Despite strong material, the album’s impact was limited by shifting industry tastes and lineup turmoil within the band.

Songs In This Episode

Intro - Backstreet Boys

21:19 - Danger

23:15 - The Wildest Way

32:44 - What Are We Fightin' For

38:32 - The Lady Shakes

41:35 - Cheat On Me

Outro - Sister's Crazy

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Drivin N Cryin - Fly Me Courageous | 90s Album Review

Tue, 09 Sep 2025 01:00:00 -0500

In 1991, Drivin N Cryin took a bold step towards the mainstream with their album Fly Me Courageous. While the title track became an anthemic staple of early ’90s rock radio thanks to Gulf War pilots, the album failed to connect beyond the band's regional fanbase. To help us dig into this record, we're joined by James Barber, former manager to the band, to dig into what works, what left us scratching our heads, and much much more.

Songs In This Episode

Intro - Fly Me Courageous

25:51 - Rush Hour

34:44 - Let's Go Dancing

41:24 - Chain Reaction

Outro - Look What You've Done To Your Brother

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Not From There - Sand From Seven | 90s Album Review

Tue, 02 Sep 2025 01:00:00 -0500

Jagged, urgent, experimental - the 1998 album Sand On Seven by Not From There is an inventive debut that effectively blends post-punk, slowcore, and noise rock. The Australian trio incorporate German-language vocals on several tracks, giving the album an otherworldly edge to pair with angular guitars, throbbing basslines, and restless rhythms giving 90s indie rock a uniquely disorienting twist. Songs move between abrasive noise and moody atmosphere, reflecting both tension and restraint. Though it didn’t reach massive commercial heights, Sand On Seven became a cult favorite in alternative circles and won the ARIA Award for Best Alternative Release in 1999.

Songs In This Episode

Intro - Sich Öffnen

10:57 - Hurricane Charlie

14:57 - Neurons

16:57 - Juanita's Cocktail Party

19:52 - The Orb of Discomfort

26:18 - Abgedroschen

Outro - What Is Better Now

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Love Cup - ...Grefus Gronks and Sheet | 90s Album Review

Tue, 26 Aug 2025 01:00:00 -0500

From the same Champaign-Urbana, IL music scene as Hum, Poster Children, National Skyline, and others, Love Cup is a name you might not be familiar with. Their lone 90s release, ..Grefus Gronks and Sheet, is a snapshot of mid-’90s alternative rock, tinged with grunge and post-hardcore, as well as shoegaze and space rock. Tracks like "Even When I Sleep" and "Nothing in Particular" showcase the band's knack for crafting big, straightforward yet infectious riffs, while the eight-minute closer "Green Machine / Scientifically Yours" allows for more sprawling, immersive exploration. Though not as complex instrumentally or melodically as some of their peers, the album begs to be cranked at high volume.

Songs In This Episode

Intro - Entirely Made of Wood

12:54 - Billfershort

15:46 - Heroine

26:50 - Nothing in Particular

32:34 - Even When I Sleep

Outro - Green Machine / Scientifically Yours

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Sky Cries Mary - A Return to the Inner Experience | 90s Album Review

Tue, 19 Aug 2025 01:00:00 -0500

Sky Cries Mary’s 1993 album A Return to the Inner Experience is a sprawling, psychedelic journey unlike almost anything else out of Seattle in the 90s. Formed in the late 1980s, Sky Cries Mary blends elements of trance, space rock, ambient textures, and spoken word, and this album marked their first major label release, giving them wider exposure. Across 17 tracks, the record flows like a hallucinatory dream, shifting between hypnotic rhythms, swirling guitar effects, and ethereal male-female vocal interplay from Roderick Wolgamott and Anisa Romero. At once atmospheric and tribal, the record reflects the early ’90s fascination with both electronic textures and post-psychedelic exploration, balancing cosmic ambition and underground sensibility.

Songs In This Episode

Intro - Lay Down Your Head

17:53 - 2000 Light Years From Home

22:03 - Gone

25:39 - Walla Walla

34:17 - Broken Down

Outro - Moving Like Water

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Mogwai - Come On Die Young | 90s Album Review

Tue, 12 Aug 2025 01:00:00 -0500

Mogwai’s 1999 album Come On Die Young trades some of the explosive catharsis of their debut for a slower, more deliberate exploration of mood and texture. Opening with Iggy Pop’s laconic musings on punk ethos, the record unfolds in hushed tones, with fragile guitar lines and patient rhythms evoking a late-night, half-lit world. Songs like “Cody” favor aching melancholy over the band’s trademark crescendos, making the few bursts of volume feel seismic. The production by Dave Fridmann is spacious and shadowy - it broods like an atmospheric statement that rewards deep, uninterrupted listening.

Songs In This Episode

Intro - Helps Both Ways

12:31 - Chocky

20:26 - Cody

25:20 - Christmas Steps

39:22 - Oh! How the Dogs Stack Up

Outro - Kappa

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Tue, 15 Jul 2025 01:00:00 -0500

For our latest Diamond Episode, we're checking out Jewel’s 1995 debut Pieces of You. A blend of minimalist folk ballads with polished pop, Pieces of You is a showcase for Jewel's rich and varied soprano voice. Hits like “Who Will Save Your Soul” and “You Were Meant for Me" are the rarity featuring multi-tracked instrumentation. Much of the record was recorded live at a San Diego coffeehouse, which gives an intimate feel to its confessional lyrics, but also lacks the dynamic and filled-out sound of the singles.

Songs In This Episode

Intro - Who Will Save Your Soul

32:20 - Foolish Games

38:32 - Near You Always

42:37 - I'm Sensitive

Outro - You Were Meant For Me

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Fig Dish - That's What Love Songs Often Do | 90s Album Review

Tue, 08 Jul 2025 01:00:00 -0500

Released in 1995, the waning years of grunge and riding the big wave of the alternative rock explosion, That’s What Love Songs Often Do by Fig Dish was a punchy major label debut from Chicago quartet Fig Dish. Lyrically, Fig Dish steers away from overwrought introspection in favor of sly, observational jabs at love and life, delivered with rasp and grit. Raw yet clear production allows the interplay between all the instruments shine, with just enough hooks and attitude to keep you interested.

Songs In This Episode

Intro - Weak and Mean

25:17 - Bury Me

29:29 - Seeds

35:29 - Going Gone

Outro - Chew Toy

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Hawksley Workman - For Him and the Girls | 90s Album Review

Tue, 01 Jul 2025 01:00:00 -0500

For Him and the Girls, the debut album by Canadian singer-songwriter Hawksley Workman, is an eclectic blend of glam rock, cabaret, and indie pop. Recorded largely in his home studio, the album revels in his uniquely quirky and theatrical style. Songs like “Tarantulove” and “Safe and Sound” feature lush arrangements, dramatic tempo shifts, and playful yet poignant lyrics that shift between earnest and odd. Lo-fi production adds raw intimacy, complementing the unconventional approach.

Songs In This Episode

Intro - Bullets

17:05 - Maniacs

20:37 - Don't Be Crushed

23:07 - No Sissies

27:33 - Tarantulove

39:34 - Baby This Night

Outro - Bullets

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The Connells - One Simple Word | 90s Album Review

Tue, 24 Jun 2025 01:00:00 -0500

One Simple Word, the fourth studio album by The Connells, showcases the band’s melodic southern jangle pop sound with a more polished and introspective tone. While not a commercial blockbuster, the album scored with critics and college radio listeners thanks to catchy but not overly sugary melodies that sound like attempts at a mainstream radio hit. Lush guitar interplay and heartfelt lyrics highlight their knack for emotionally resonant songwriting without leaning into melancholy.

Songs In This Episode

Intro - Stone Cold Yesterday

20:27 - Speak To Me

25:04 - Get A Gun

31:32 - Too Gone

36.21 - What Do You Want?

Outro - Take A Bow

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Underworld - Second Toughest in the Infants | 90s Album Review

Tue, 17 Jun 2025 01:00:00 -0500

Blending progressive house, techno, and ambient, the 1996 album Second Toughest in the Infants is Underworld’s ambitious follow-up to their breakout album Dubnobasswithmyheadman. Crafted with expansive, hypnotic soundscapes, tracks like “Pearl’s Girl” and the multipart suite “Juanita/Kiteless/To Dream of Love” highlight their exploration of rhythm and texture, while Karl Hyde’s cryptic, stream-of-consciousness lyrics add a surreal and poetic layer to the music.

Songs In This Episode

Intro - Confusion the Waitress

16:28 - Stagger

19:26 - Juanita : Kiteless : To Dream of Love

23:34 -Banstyle/Sappy's Curry

27:06 - Rowla

Outro - Pearls Girl

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Foreigner - Surviving the 90s

Tue, 10 Jun 2025 01:00:00 -0500

In our third installment of Surviving the 90s, we’re revisiting one of the arena rock powerhouses of the late '70s and early '80s — Foreigner. Known for a string of massive hits like "Cold as Ice," "Hot Blooded," "Urgent," "Juke Box Hero," and the chart-topping ballad "I Want to Know What Love Is," Foreigner dominated radio and MTV in their prime. Albums like Double Vision, Head Games, and 4 went multi-Platinum, cementing their legacy. But as the musical landscape shifted in the 90s, the band faced lineup changes and a changing industry. Though new material was scarce, they continued touring and remained a fixture on classic rock airwaves. We revisit their biggest hits, their activity in the 90s, and try to determine: did Foreigner thrive, adapt, or fade during the decade?

Songs In This Episode

Intro - Feels Like The First Time

30:29 - Headknocker

34:03 - Blue Morning, Blue Day

47:29 - Double Vision

50:52 - Moment of Truth

56:34 - Lowdown and Dirty

1:10:54 - Big Dog

1:19:35 - White Lie

Outro - Juke Box Hero

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Ground Components - An Eye for a Brow, a Tooth for a Pick | 00s Album Review

Tue, 03 Jun 2025 01:00:00 -0500

An Eye For A Brow, A Tooth For A Pick, the 2006 debut album by Australian band Ground Components, blends elements of garage, punk, and soul that fits in nicely with the garage rock revival of the early '00s. Featuring a mix of aggressive punk-ish guitar riffs, driving and boogie rhythms, and horn arrangements give the album a unique sound compared to contemporaries. All that is a playground lead for lead singer Joe McGuigan, who yelps and screams with soulful veracity throughout the record.

Songs In This Episode

Intro - Hands In The Air

15:27 - Stale Thoughts

20:43 - On Your Living Room Floor

28:01 - Head In The Sand

38:23 - Fistful of Dallas

Outro - Coming In from All Angles

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Buffalo Tom - Birdbrain | 90s Album Review

Tue, 27 May 2025 01:00:00 -0500

While their debut album tagged them as Dinosaur Jr Jr thanks to loud guitars and J. Mascis behind the board, Buffalo Tom's second album, Birdbrain, builds on the raw, guitar-driven sound of their debut but with more mature songwriting and production. Produced again by J Mascis of Dinosaur Jr. with Sean Slade, the album emphasizes emotional intensity over polish, with songs like "Birdbrain" and "Enemy" showcase the band’s knack for combining distorted guitars with introspective lyrics. Though not a commercial hit, the album helped solidify Buffalo Tom’s place in the early '90s indie rock scene and shows a significant step in the band’s evolution toward the more refined sound of their later work.

Songs In This Episode

Intro - Fortune Teller

17:23 - Birdbrain

23:07 - Crawl

26:26 - Heaven

29:40 - Skeleton Key

Outro - Guy Who Is Me

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Non-Intentional Lifeform - Uisce | 90s Album Review

Tue, 20 May 2025 01:00:00 -0500

Uisce (pronounced "ish-ka," the Irish word for "water") is the sole full-length album by Australian band Non-Intentional Lifeform (N.I.L.), released in 1997 by Roadrunner Records. Formed in Perth in 1995, N.I.L. was known for their eclectic fusion of hard rock, thrash metal, post-punk, rap, and funk. Energetic and unpredictable, the album is an inventive blend of genres anchored by stellar musical performances that sound like a bridge between rap-rock pioneers Rage Against The Machine and Faith No More, and late 90s alternative and nu-metal of System of a Down and Incubus.

Songs In This Episode

Intro - Living or Existing

21:36 - Farm Animals

23:37 - Sister Julienne

33.22 - Spilling All Over The Floor

Outro - Living or Existing

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The Lee Harvey Oswald Band - Blastronaut | 90s Album Review

Tue, 13 May 2025 01:00:00 -0500

A fusion of punk, garage, and noise rock, the 1996 album Blastronaut by The Lee Harvey Oswald Band is a bombastic, high energy record drawing upon 70s David Bowie, classic rock, and the Stooges. Confrontational and darkly humorous, the band leans into a satirical, sometimes absurdist tone, reflecting a punk ethos while incorporating elements of Southern culture and psychedelic weirdness. The alias-driven mystique and off-kilter presentation of the band begets an aggressive, theatrical style that may have been out of touch with the mid-1990s, but is worth revisiting.

Songs In This Episode

Intro - Rocket 69

12:27 -The Greatest Man Who Ever Walked the Face of the Earth

16:50 -Green Like the Color of Blood

18:59 - Panic in Hanoi

32:37 - Brontosaurus

35:14 - The Scorpio Letter

Outro - Morphodite

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Social Distortion - Social Distortion | 90s Album Review

Tue, 06 May 2025 01:00:00 -0500

The 1990 self-titled album by Social Distortion marked a significant turning point for the band, showcasing a more refined and mature sound compared to their hardcore roots. Frontman Mike Ness emerged from a turbulent period in the 1980s, including a stint in rehab that deeply influenced the album’s themes of struggle, redemption, and personal reflection. The album saw the band evolve from hardcore beginnings into a more melodic blend of punk rock infused with rockabilly, country, and roots rock. Tracks like “Ball and Chain” and their cover of Johnny Cash’s “Ring of Fire” highlighted this shift, combining punk’s edge with a distinctly American roots sensibility. The album's lyrical content often reflected Ness’s battles with addiction and the search for meaning, giving it a gritty authenticity that helped the band reach a larger audience and keep them on the charts throughout the 90s.

Songs In This Episode

Intro - Sick Boys

19:35 - Ring of Fire

29:10 - Ball and Chain

35:00 - Story Of My Life

40:49 - Drug Train

Outro - She's a Knockout

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Front Line Assembly - Hard Wired | 90s Album Review

Tue, 29 Apr 2025 01:00:00 -0500

Canadian electro-industrial band Front Line Assembly, led by Bill Leeb with longtime collaborator Rhys Fulber, released their eighth album Hard Wired in 1995. The album blends harsh electronic beats, cinematic synth textures, distorted vocals, and heavy guitar riffs, all characteristics of the industrial and cyberpunk aesthetics of the mid-'90s (think Hackers, Strange Days, Johnny Mnemonic). Lyrically and thematically, Hard Wired explores dystopian, technological, and transhumanist topics, reflecting fears and fascinations with the digital age, surveillance, and the loss of humanity in a mechanized world. Polished yet gritty production, mixing cold mechanical rhythms with a dark, atmospheric intensity, the album bridges the gap between their earlier EBM (Electronic Body Music) roots and a heavier, more industrial rock-influenced style.

Songs In This Episode

Intro - Neologic Spasm

33:47 - Condemned

40:12 - Modus Operandi

50:29 - Infra Rec Combat

1:01:52 - Circuitry

Outro - Barcode

Tue, 01 Apr 2025 01:00:00 -0500

"Point #1," Chevelle's 1999 debut album, showcases the Chicago-based Loeffler brothers' fusion of alternative metal and indie rock. Produced by Steve Albini, known for his work with Nirvana and PJ Harvey, the album delivers a raw, unrefined sound that captures the band's early energy. Coming in at the end of the decades, it's not surprising to hear similarities to bands like Tool and Helmet, particularly in tracks such as "Skeptic" and "Anticipation," which feature syncopated riffs and dynamic shifts between aggressive and mellow passages. While the album's repetitive structures and lack of big hooks pin this is a debut, , "Point #1" definitely laid the groundwork for Chevelle's evolving sound and hinted at their future success in the alternative metal scene.

Songs In This Episode

Intro - Black Earth

19:08 - Mia

29:32 - Open

37:49 - Anticipation

42:23 - Long

Outro - Peer

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Thelonious Monster - Beautiful Mess | 90s Album Review

Tue, 25 Mar 2025 01:00:00 -0500

Upon its release in 1992, Beautiful Mess by Thelonious Monster received plenty of critical acclaim yet not the sales or media exposure to launch the band into the new alternative explosion. Lead singer Bob Forrest’s deeply personal lyrics explored themes of addiction, relationships, and self-destruction, not all that different from other bands at the time, but musically the band sounds more in step with Minneapolis bands like The Replacements and Soul Asylum the late 1980s. Featuring a slew of notable names from bands like the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Porno for Pyros, and more as his backing band, the band succeeds at bringing Forrest's stories to life even if a few lyrics choices didn't stand the test of time.

Songs In This Episode

Intro - Song For A Politically Correct Girl From The Valley

28:33 - Vegas Weekend

35:36 - Body and Soul

39:20 - Adios Lounge

46:57 - I Live In A Nice House

Outro - Bus With No Driver

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Interview with Tom Beaujour, Co-author of Lollapalooza: The Uncensored Story of Alternative Rock's Wildest Festival

Tue, 18 Mar 2025 01:00:00 -0500

With 2024's 3-part documentary LOLLA: The Story of Lollapalooza, and our own Lollapalooza episode many years ago, you might wonder what's left to learn about the famed traveling music festival of the 1990s. Turns out, a lot. Thanks to the hundreds of interviews and thousands of hours of work by authors Tom Beaujour and Richard Bienstock completed for their second book "Lollapalooza - The Uncensored Story of Alternative Rock's Wildest Festival," this extensive oral history talks with everyone involved: artists, tour founders, festival organizers, promoters, publicists, sideshow freaks, stage crews, record label execs, reporters, roadies and more.

Songs In This Episode

Intro - Terrible Lie by Nine Inch Nails (Live at Lollapalooza 1991)

Outro - The Last Beat Of My Heart by Siouxsie and the Banshees (Live at Lollapalooza 1991)

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Billy Squier - Surviving The 90s

Tue, 11 Mar 2025 01:00:00 -0500

In our second installment of Surviving the 90s, we're revisiting one of the hitmakers from the first half of the 80s - Billy Squier. Responsible for such hits as The Stroke, Lonely Is The Night, Everybody Wants You, My Kinda Lover, and Rock Me Tonite, to name a few, Squier was all over radio and early MTV. Albums like Don't Say No, Emotions in Motion, and Signs of Life each went Platinum, and while musical trends changed, Squier still managed radio airplay into the early 90s. But by 1998, he was done, releasing his final record, Happy Blue, an all acoustic affair. We revisit his greatest hits, his 90s releases, and try to determine if Billy Squier thrived, adapted, or died in the 90s.

Songs In This Episode

Intro - The Stroke (from Don't Say No)

10:32 - 42nd Street by Piper (from self-titled)

17:41 - The Big Beat (from The Tale of the Tape)

28:19 - Rock Me Tonite (from Signs of Life)

38:28 - Young at Heart (from Creatures of Habit)

1:02:42 - Happy Blues (from Happy Blue)

Outro - Angry (from Tell The Truth)

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Tue, 11 Feb 2025 01:00:00 -0500

Los Lobos' 1990 album The Neighborhood showcases their signature blend of rock, blues, and Latin influences through the lense and ears of East Los Angeles. While it didn’t achieve the commercial success of La Bamba, the album captures Los Lobos’ musical versatility and deep-rooted cultural influences. The band shifts from Texas blues and roots rock to old school rock 'n roll and acoustic balladry with the ease of seasoned players, with lead singer/guitarist David Hidalgo guiding the band all the way. At times the reliance on traditional blues structures can stifle the endlessly creative band by locking them into particular styles and arrangements, whereas tracks written outside the format flourish thanks to the skilled band.

Songs In This Episode

Intro - Down On The Riverbed

19:17 - I Walk Alone

24:25 - The Giving Tree

26:25 - Georgia Slop

43:37 - Be Still

Outro - The Neighborhood

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Fiona Apple - Tidal | 90s Album Review

Tue, 04 Feb 2025 01:00:00 -0500

Fiona Apple's 1996 debut album Tidal remains a landmark in alternative music, blending jazz-infused piano melodies with deeply introspective lyrics. The album's breakout single, "Criminal," propelled Apple into the mainstream, earning her a Grammy and solidifying her as a unique voice in the industry. With raw emotion and poetic lyricism, songs like "Shadowboxer" and "Sleep to Dream" showcased her maturity beyond her years. Tidal was both critically acclaimed and commercially successful, influencing a generation of singer-songwriters with its confessional style. Nearly three decades later, the album's haunting beauty and vulnerability continue to resonate with listeners.

Songs In This Episode

Intro - Sleep To Dream

25:03 - Shadowboxer

34:26 - Pale September

46:16 - Criminal

50:12 - The First Taste

Outro - Slow Like Honey

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Swimmer - Surreal | 90s Album Review

Tue, 28 Jan 2025 01:00:00 -0500

We'll forgive you if you missed Swimmer's one and only album, 1999's Surreal, because we did as well. Though released on Madonna's Maverick label, the band came and went rather quickly, leaving without making a blip on Billboard, radio, MTV, and the internet in general. What they did leave behind was a forty-three minute long compact disc full of drama-laden alternative rock that sweeps through the eleven tracks with equal parts quiet emoting and bombastic explosion. Nothing about the record is ground-breaking, but as is usually the case, the sum is equal to more than the parts.

Songs In This Episode

Intro - Playing Jesus

19:12 - Dumb

21:12 - Because Today

30:11 - Kick In The Head

34:59 - Spaced Out Hat

42:50 - Dirty Word

Outro - Surreal

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...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead - Source Tags & Codes | 00s Album Review

Tue, 21 Jan 2025 01:00:00 -0500

Back in the day (i.e. the 90s), the idea of an indie band jumping to a major label was usually followed by the words "sell out." But without the restrictions of a smaller budget and less time, many artists put their increased resources to good use. Source Tags and Codes, released in 2002 by ...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead, might be one of the first landmark albums in the post-hardcore world of the 2000s. The album blends intense, chaotic energy with lush, orchestral arrangements, creating a sound that is both visceral and melodic. It received near-universal critical acclaim upon release, with many praising its ambitious scope and emotional depth, but has it retained a lasting influence Source Tags and Codes remains a defining moment in the band's career and is considered a classic by fans of the band, but does it stand up over twenty years later?

Songs In This Episode

Intro - It Was There That I Saw You

18:09 - Another Morning Stoner

22:09 - How Near How Far

25:23 - Baudelaire

30:34 - Relative Ways

Outro - Monsoon

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Singles of 1995 | Roundtable

Tue, 14 Jan 2025 01:00:00 -0500

Here at Dig Me Out we spent the last ten years starting each new season by looking back at the albums from each year that stood the test of time, disappeared without a trace, and everything in between. We kicked off with a roundtable in 2015 and revisited the albums of 1995, so it made sense to start a new series of roundtables in 1995 as well. This time we're checking out the singles of each year, looking at the year-end Modern Rock/Alternative and Hot 100 charts in the US, as well as charts from Canada, the UK and Australia for comparison. Like with all roundtables, we enlisted the help of some special guests to revisit this interesting transitional year that saw the rise of the second generation of grunge bands like Bush and Silverchair, the continued success of 1994's pop-punk breakthroughs by Green Day and The Offspring, and the juggernaut that was Jagged Little Pill by Alanis Morissette. But that doesn't tell the entire tale, so former A&R executive and audio tech writer James Barber and music writer Kevin Alexander join us to talk about all the hits, the near misses, and the weirdness that was 1995.

Lastly, our third guest, S.W. Lauden aka Steve Coulter was unable to attend due to the tragic loss of his and his family's home in the Eaton, CA. fires. If you are able, please consider donating to the Go Fund Me set-up by Steve's friends.

Songs In This Episode

Intro - You Oughta Know by Alanis Morissette (Jagged Little Pill)

12:15 - Possum Kingdom by Toadies (Marvel's Thunderbolts 2025 trailer)

24:48 - A Girl Like You by Edwyn Collins (Empire Records soundtrack)

33:18 - Bright Yellow Gun by Throwing Muses (University)

53:24 - No More I Love You's by Annie Lennox (Medusa)

1:00:23 - Common People by Pulp (Different Class)

Outro - Alright by Supergrass (I Should Coco)

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Papa Vegas - Hello Vertigo | 90s Album Review

Tue, 07 Jan 2025 01:00:00 -0500

Papa Vegas' 1999 album Hello Vertigo offers a radio friendly mix of alternative rock with polished production. It showcases the band's bi hit potential, but the songwriting occasionally feels formulaic, relying on the familiar soft/loud trope from the mid to late '90s rock scene. Tracks like "Bombshell" stand out with catchy hooks and a radio-friendly vibe, but others struggle to maintain the same level of energy or memorability. While the album has moments of creativity, such as its layered guitar work and atmospheric touches, it tends to play it safe, rarely straying from the verse/prechorus/chorus format. The album is more than competent at delivering a chorus, but the safe rhythm section and lack of dynamics give the overall record a consistency that could use a shake-up from time to time.

Songs In This Episode

Intro - Super Telepathy

17:57 - Something Wrong

20:42 - No Destination

36.37 - Mesmerized

46:38 - Bombshell

Outro - Sermon Underground

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Arcwelder - Pull | 90s Album Review

Tue, 31 Dec 2024 01:00:00 -0500

Despite being a three piece, the Midwestern trio Arcwelder put each instrument to optimum use on their 1993 album Pull. A big, post-hardcore sound without layer upon layer of overdubs thanks to off-kilter chord and melody choices that recall heavier 90s acts like Helmet and the next in the vein of noisier drone of Swervedriver. Arcwelder find a consistent, engaging sound that balances indie rock intensity with an accessibility that reveals itself over the course of several listens, the definition of a slow grower.

Songs In This Episode

Intro - Truth

14:04 - Lahabim

20:08 - Cranberry Sauce

23:33 - Remember to Forget

34:59 - What Did You Call It That For

Outro - It's A Wonderful Lie

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Season Fourteen Review

Tue, 24 Dec 2024 01:00:00 -0500

So much to to talk about when we look back on 2024. Like with our previous year-in-review episodes, we look back at our favorite new album discoveries, most brought to us by our Patreon community, as well as our most enjoyable round table experiences, and our favorite 80s Metal episodes, before previewing what's in store for next year. Here's to season fifteen in 2025!

Songs In This Episode

Intro - Dig Me Out by Sleater-Kinney

5:17 - 0 for 1 by Poster Children

10:40 - Don't Go Out with Your Friends Tonite by Ho-Hum

18:07 - Love Bomb Baby by Tigertailz

Outro - Mirror Mirror by Blind Guardian

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Styx - Surviving The 90s

Tue, 17 Dec 2024 01:00:00 -0500

We're always looking at new ways to approach the 90s, and in the past we've revisited the output from bands and artists that got that start in the 1970s and 80s, like Tom Petty, KISS, Van Halen, and others. At the suggestion of our friend and 80s Metal co-host Chip, we've revamped the format for a fresh start. We kick it off with progressive arena rock veterans Styx, and start by checking out their 70s and 80s greatest hits to re-familiarize ourselves with the songs that became staples on classic rock radio for decades - "Come Sail Away," "Renegade," "Mr. Roboto," "Lady," and many more. Then we check out their 90s releases - the 1990 album Edge of the Century, which did not feature guitarist Tommy Shaw, then guitarist for Damn Yankees, and then their 1999 reunion with Shaw, and last with lead singer/keyboardist Dennis DeYoung, Brave New World. Unlike many of their classic rock peers, Styx managed to score a hit single at the start of the decade with the ballad "Show Me The Way." From their, we catch up with the band and current status to determine if the band thrived in the 90s, merely adapted to the times, or creatively died.

Songs In This Episode

Intro - Show Me The Way (from Edge of the Century)

7:40 - Blue Collar Man (Long Nights) (from Pieces of Eight)

28:42 - Suite Madame Blue (from Equinox)

38:56 - Back To Chicago (from Edge of the Century)

41.57 - All In A Day's Work (from Edge of the Century)

58:57 - What Have They Done to You (from Brave New World)

Outro - Everything Is Cool (from Brave New World)

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Howlin Maggie - Honeysuckle Strange | 90s Album Review

Tue, 10 Dec 2024 01:00:00 -0500

From the ashes of acclaimed but underheard Royal Crescent Mob, bass player Harold "Happy" Chichester switched to guitar and lead vocal for his new band Howlin Maggie, who released their debut album Honeysuckle Strange in 1996. With an all-star cast of Columbus, Ohio players, the band produced a fierce yet catchy album for Columbia Records at the height of alternative rock, but didn't make a dent with national radio or MTV. Which is a shame, because Honeysuckle Strange is more than just your run-of-the-mill 90s alt-rock album. Carrying over from his funk rock background in RC Mob, the album never rests on simple rhythms, chord progressions, or vocal hooks, always coming up with something a bit more interesting or challenging, even if it means pushing the volume and harshness up a notch.

Songs In This Episode

Intro - Miss Universe

18:54 - Rubbing The Industry Raw

21:40 - You Are

25:57 - $3.99

31:45 - Promise To Be Happy

34:56 - I'm A Slut

40:13 - How The West Was Won

Outro - Easy To Be Stupid (Beautiful Girls soundtrack)

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No Knife - Hit Man Dreams | 90s Album Review

Tue, 03 Dec 2024 01:00:00 -0500

San Diego-based band No Knife released their sophomore album Hit Man Dreams in 1997 during the peak era of underground emo and post-grunge indie rock. The album marked a pivotal moment in their evolution thanks to the intricate guitar work by Mitch Wilson and Ryan Ferguson, who blend angular post-hardcore riffs with melodic indie rock sensibility. Tracks like "Your Albatross" and the title track showcase the band's knack for crafting dynamic compositions that shift seamlessly between tension and release. Producer Mark Trombino dials in their sound to perfection, highlighting the two-guitar attack and melodic vocals that define their style. While the band isn't as well know as many of their former pre-00s emo and post-hardcore contemporaries, Hit Man Dreams and the pair of album that follow suggest a serious reconsideration.

Songs In This Episode

Intro - Roped In - Lock On

13:30 - Your Albatross

21:34 - Charades

30:25 - Median

Outro - Jackboots

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Thankful in 2024 | Roundtable

Tue, 26 Nov 2024 01:00:00 -0500

It's our fifth year of getting the patrons together and giving thanks for the new music that gave us happiness and good vibes in 2024. There's a wide array of bands and artists, new and old, that helped make 2024 a great year for music. New albums from 1980s, 90s and 00s artists like The Cure, Pearl Jam, Judas Priest, Underworld, The Black Crowes, John Davis (Superdrag), The Sheila Divine, Jack White, Pig, the Pixies, Watershed, Sebastian Bach, Silver Sun, D-A-D, J. Mascis, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, Primal Scream, The Smile, and many more all released great late career records, while newer bands like Return to Dust, Ahem, Friko, The Blackburns, Crows, and several others landed on our radar.

Songs In This Episode

Intro - Alone by The Cure (from Songs from a Lost World)

3:38 - Trust In Me by Silver Sun (from Mild Peril)

11:49 - (Hold On) To The Dream by Sebastian Bach (from Child Within The Man)

18:11 - Lapdog by Ahem (from Avoider)

21:34 - Fallout by Pig (from Feast of Agony EP)

31:17 - Free To Fall by John Davis (from JINX)

34:32 - Trial By Fire by Judas Priest (from Invincible Shield)

42:00 - Automaticity by J. Robbins (from Basilisk)

52:01 - Wanting and Waiting by The Black Crowes (from Happiness Bastards)

1:08:41 - The Darkness by The Sheila Divine (from I Am The Darkness. We Are The Light)

Outro - Dark Matter by Pearl Jam (from Dark Matter)

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Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds - Let Love In | 90s Album Review

Tue, 19 Nov 2024 01:00:00 -0500

The 1994 album Let Love In by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds is a masterful exploration of beauty and brutality. Blending gothic rock with bluesy undertones, Cave delivers haunting melodies with vivid, poetic lyrics. Tracks like "Do You Love Me?" and "Red Right Hand" showcase Cave's magnetic storytelling and the band's dynamic range, taking the wildness of his previous band The Birthday Party, and the noisy experimentation of fellow Aussies The Dirty Three, and utilizes it in surprisingly restrained ways. Themes of passion, despair, and redemption weave through the music, and while a few of the louder tracks break up the flow, overall the album creates a dark, immersive experience unlike anything from the decade.

Songs In This Episode

Intro - Red Right Hand

15:55 - Do You Love Me?

20:02 - Ain't Gonna Rain Anymore

23:45 - Jangling Jack

27:06 - Do You Love Me? (Part 2)

30:48 - Thirsty Dog

Outro - I Let Love In

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Blind Guardian - Nightfall in Middle-Earth | 90s Album Review

Tue, 12 Nov 2024 01:00:00 -0500

The 1998 concept album Nightfall in Middle-Earth by Blind Guardian brings the epic scope of J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Silmarillion to life through power metal. The album tells the tragic tales of elves, men, and gods embroiled in a war against the dark lord Morgoth, blending rich lyrical storytelling with complex arrangements, and finds a sweet spot between the technical skill of bands like Metallica and Helloween with the melodic bombast of Queen. Each track serves as a chapter in the larger saga, with both interludes and full songs capturing key moments via a variety of unique approaches. Mixing soaring vocals, symphonic elements, and Brian May-esque guitar riffage, the band create a sense of grandeur that mirrors the mythic subject matter.

Songs In This Episode

Intro - Into The Storm

14:49 - A Dark Passage

19:42 - Nightfall

24:50 - The Eldar

34:08 - Thorn

38:53 - Mirror Mirror

Outro - The Minstrel

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Unbelievable Truth - Almost Here | 90s Album Review

Tue, 05 Nov 2024 01:00:00 -0500

Almost Here is the 1998 debut album by the Unbelievable Truth, fronted by Andy Yorke, who you may have just discovered (like us) is the younger brother of Radiohead’s Thom Yorke. Infused with haunting melodies and introspective lyrics that lean on melancholy, emotional conflict, and introspection, the album showcases Yorke's evocative vocals and a minimalist approach Throughout the album, songs like "Settle Down" and "Stone" highlights the band’s thoughtful arrangements and subdued sound, tasteful integrating keys and organs without overpowering the mix.

Songs In This Episode

Intro - Solved

15:27 - Higher Than Reason

18:02 - Stone

25:57 - Settle Down

Outro - Finest Little Space

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Smashing Pumpkins - Gish | 90s Album Review

Tue, 29 Oct 2024 01:00:00 -0500

The 1991 debut album Gish by The Smashing Pumpkins marked the band's entry into the alternative rock scene with a unique mix of psychedelic rock, heavy metal, and dream pop elements. Produced by Butch Vig, who would later work with Nirvana on Nevermind, the album showcases the band's early experimentation with layered guitars, intricate rhythms, raw energy, and dense sonic textures that would become hallmarks of the Pumpkins sound. Although Gish did not initially achieve mainstream success, it garnered a strong underground following, helping to set the stage for the band's breakthrough with Siamese Dream in 1993. Celebrated for its unique blend of intensity and melody, it serves as an early glimpse into the Pumpkins' evolving musical ambitions, complete the fingerprints of Jane's Addiction, Van Halen, and Black Sabbath.

Songs In This Episode

Intro - Tristessa

16:57 - I Am One

21:57 - Rhinoceros

30:36 - Window Paine

33:46 - Siva

Outro - Bury Me

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Jesus Jones - Perverse | 90s Album Review

Tue, 22 Oct 2024 01:00:00 -0500

Most people know Jesus Jones from their big hit in 1991, "Right Here Right Now." Thanks to the explosion of grunge and alternative rock that was already bubbling up from the underground to the mainstream, the techno-rock of Jesus Jones took a back seat and relegated them to one-hit wonder status. But instead of changing their sound to blend in with the loud guitars from Seattle, the band and primary songwriter/singer Mike Edwards went in the opposite direction and leaned into their electronic elements for 1993's Perverse. Recorded entirely on computers, the album marks on the second fully digital release, and the sounds Edwards and band created sound positively futuristic compared the 1993 musical landscape.

Songs In This Episode

Intro - Zeroes and Ones

24:43 - Spiral

27:49 - The Devil You Know

41:09 - Yellow Brown

Outro - Magazine

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Pig - Sinsation | 90s Album Review

Tue, 15 Oct 2024 01:00:00 -0500

An original member of KMFDM, producer, musician and singer Raymond Watts has been ensconced in the electronic and industrial music scenes for going on five decades. His own project PIG started out far more raw and aggressive, but over time Watts evolved the sound and eventually found a home on Trent Reznor's NOTHING label for the 1996 release of Sinsation (released the previous year in Japan only). With nods to Reznor's Nine Inch Nails and fellow industrial metal act Ministry, among others, Sinsation adds some unexpected and well-placed orchestra and horn samples to give the album a cinematic feel that would sound appropriate backing a dystopian science fiction film.

Songs In This Episode

Intro - Hamstrung on the Highway

16:01 - The Sick

22:04 - Serial Killer Thriller

30:31 - Transceration

35:48 - Hot Hole

Outro - Paniac

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Soul Asylum In The 80s | Roundtable

Tue, 08 Oct 2024 01:00:00 -0500

Although they've released over a dozen albums covering four decades, odds are if you ask someone on the street to name a song by Soul Asylum, it's going to be the mega-hit "Runaway Train" off their 1992 album Grave Dancers Union. There were other singles, "Black Gold" and "Somebody To Shove" off Grave Dancers Union, "Misery" and "Just Like Anyone" off the follow-up Let Your Dim Light Shine, but those albums and songs represented a band that had worked and toured and recorded since the early 1980s, taking a primordial post-punk and hardcore sound and slowly evolving album by album, starting with their debut Say What You Will, Clarence...Karl Sold The Truck in 1984. Like their Twin/Tone Records labelmates The Replacements, the manic youthful energy gave their lead singers an opportunity to gradually find their literal and lyrical voice. On each successive album, and a jump to major label A&M, the band continued to refine and improve their brand of midwestern alternative college rock, and reached the heights of their songwriting prowess just as a second major, Columbia, took a chance that would land them a home for their sixth album and eventual double platinum seller, the aforementioned Grave Dancers Union.

Songs In This Episode

Intro - Down On Up To Me (from Hang Time)

22:24 - Voodoo Doll (from Say What You Will, Clarence...Karl Sold The Truck)

28:36 - Masquerade (from Say What You Will, Clarence...Karl Sold The Truck)

33:16 - Tied to the Tracks (from Made To Be Broken)

36:46 - Can't Go Back (from Made To Be Broken)

40:20 - Freaks (While You Were Out)

47:22 - Endless Farwell (Hang Time)

51:30 - Cartoon (Hang Time)

Outro - Closer To The Stars (While You Were Out)

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Magic Dirt - Young And Full Of The Devil | 90s Album Review

Tue, 01 Oct 2024 01:00:00 -0500

On their second album Young And Full Of The Devil, Magic Dirt blended fuzzed out psych and stoner riffage with a grunge-tinged snarl. The throat shredding vocals of Adalita Srsen lend comparisons to bands like Hole, The Distillers, or L7, but the band delves into darker, scuzzier territory on tracks like the opening opus "Babycakes" and the closer and bonus track "Babycakes You Always Freeze Me Up." The foursome display a penchant for uptempo riffage on songs like "Rabbit With Fangs" and the appropriately titled "She-Riff" layered in a variety of guitar pedals and effects, but some odd choices on the back half of the record left us scratching our heads about what started out with strong intentions but veered into less concise territory.

Songs In This Episode

Intro - Short Black

22:03 - Shrinko

28:54 - She-Riff

35:02 - Ascot Red

43:36 - X-Ray

Outro - Rabbit With Fangs

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Pavement - Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain | 90s Album Review

Tue, 24 Sep 2024 01:00:00 -0500

It's hard to reconcile the importance of a band like Pavement considering their lack of mainstream popularity and pedestrian album sales But like The Velvet Underground and others before them whose underground popularity helped launch a thousand bands, Pavement's twisted takes on pop rock, post-punk, jam bands, and even country somehow make their 1994 sophomore album Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain made a big impression on those looking for something the radio and MTV didn't offer. Witty lyrics, slacker vibes, jangly and occasionally conflicting guitars were present on their debut, but the band honed their skills to craft catchy, off-kilter melodies on tracks like "Cut Your Hair" and "Range Life."

Songs In This Episode

Intro - Cut Your Hair

24:36 - Silence Kid

37:06 - Fillmore Jive

46:59 - Heaven Is a Truck

56:53 - Range Life

Outro - Gold Soundz

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doubleDrive - 1000 Yard Stare | 90s Album Review

Tue, 17 Sep 2024 01:00:00 -0500

Like so many second and third wave grunge bands, aka post-grunge, the opportunity for chart and sales success depended on a big hit. For Atlanta, Georgia's doubleDrive, they didn't manage to score the big radio or MTV single in 1999 with their debut album 1000 Yard Stare, but what they produced was something more interesting than what many of their contemporaries had to offer. The production gives the entire band a chance to shine, and the twin guitar attack gets closer to the post-hardcore of Helmet, Quicksand, and Handsome at times. Unlike their post-grunge contemporaries Puddle of Mudd or Creed, the band doesn't slog around the mid-tempo for long, injecting plenty of energy and avoiding a ballad completely. But also like their post-grunge contemporaries, a reliance on the vocal stylings of singers like Eddie Vedder and Scott Weiland put a stamp on the sound that chips away at the originality.

Songs In This Episode

Intro - 1000 Yard Stare

22:31 - Belief System

27:12 - Tattooed Bruise

35:02 - Vamp

38:45 - Gone

40:50 - Reason

Outro - Hell

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Tue, 27 Aug 2024 01:00:00 -0500

Is Nü Metal the most divisive music subgenre of the 1990s? It sure seems to generate a lot of hate, but is also beloved by millions of fans. Eschewing the traditions of classic NWOBHM bands (guitar solos, leather, fist-pumping athems), Nü Metal rose from the same underground that embraced both hip-hop and mosh pits, with its own style (baggy pants, tracksuits, baseball caps) more reminiscent of Run D.M.C. than Judas Priest. In the same way that punk was a response to the bloated stylings of 70s corporate and progressive rock, Nü Metal stripped away the overindulgence of previous metal incarnations and focused on rhythm and catharsis. Bands like Korn, Papa Roach, and Linkin Park wrote about the dark underbelly of suburban home life, with varying musical approaches, while others like Slipknot, Mudvayne, and Static-X added a layer of theatrical presentation in their looks. We revisit not just the Nü Metal period, but also what came before it, bands like Anthrax and Public Enemy teaming up, the alternative approaches of Primus, Faith No More, and Rage Against The Machine, and explore the looks, the sounds and legacy of Nü Metal.

Songs In This Episode

Intro - Blind by Korn (from Korn)

17:11 - Snap Your Fingers, Snap Your Neck by Prong (from Cleansing)

26:20 - We Care A Lot by Faith No More (from Introduce Yourself)

37:04 - Denial by Sevendust (from Home)

49:32 - Last Resort by Papa Roach (from Infest)

50:27 - Rock That Doesn't Roll / Dope Nostalgia podcast promos

58:21 - A.D.I.D.A.S. by Korn (from Life Is Peachy)

1:11:24 - 10 Seconds Down by Sugar Ray (from Lemonade and Brownies)

1:24:35 - Boom by P.O.D. (from Satellite)

Outro - Rollin' (Air Raid Vehicle) by Limp Bizkit (from Chocolate Starfish And The Hot Dog Flavored Water)

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Faithless - Sunday 8 PM | 90s Album Review

Tue, 20 Aug 2024 01:00:00 -0500

Bands scoring a hit with a single that doesn't sound much like the rest of the album is not unusual. Blur, Sugar Ray, the Butthole Surfers, Nada Surf, and more had hits that might have confused buyers when the bought the respective albums, and the same goes for Faithless, and their 1998 album Sunday 8 PM. Thanks to the uptempo house hit "God Is A DJ," the band gained fans on both sides of the Atlantic. However, aside from one other track, the rest of the album runs at half that speed, mixing electronic downtempo and soul sampled trip-hop. It results in an uneven album that feels more like a collection of really good singles instead of a cohesive musical statement, but the highs, including a stirring vocal performance by Boy George, make the record one worth checking out.

Songs In This Episode

Intro - The Garden

20:19 - Why Go?

32:02 - Hour of Need

36:01 - Rock That Doesn't Roll / Dope Nostalgia podcast promos

39:03 - Bring My Family Back

42:12 - God Is A DJ

Outro - Killer's Lullaby

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Massive Attack - Mezzanine | 90s Album Review

Tue, 13 Aug 2024 01:00:00 -0500

The 90s featured the rise of a several varieties of electronic music into the mainstream. The electronica of Prodigy and The Chemical Brothers and the industrial of Nine Inch Nails and Stabbing Westward became household names thanks to MTV and alternative radio station playlists, but not far behind were the late night grooves of trip-hop thanks to Portishead and Massive Attack. Combining samples and live instrumentation, and taking influence from reggae, dub, soul, jazz and more, the 1998 third album Mezzanine slowly unfurls from the start with opener "Angel" and keeps the listener entranced. From there, the band carefully weaves drum, bass, synths, and a variety of other instruments with three perfectly matched guest vocalists into a constantly shifting sonic landscape.

Songs In This Episode

Intro - Teardrop (from Mezzanine)

27:20 - Angel (from Mezzanine)

32:57 - Risingson (from Mezzanine)

35:57 - Rock That Doesn't Roll / Dope Nostalgia podcast promos

52:54 - Paradise Circus (from Heligoland)

Outro - Inertia Creeps (from Mezzanine)

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Poster Children - RTFM | 90s Album Review

Tue, 06 Aug 2024 01:00:00 -0500

Though hailing from the same Champaign, Illinois scene that birthed Hum and Braid, Poster Children might have flown under your radar. Their major label years were fruitful artistically, but record sales didn't match the critical acclaim, and so the band ended their deal with 1997's RTFM. Opener "Black Dog" unleashes a thumping uppercut with massive guitars and a pummeling rhythm section, and while some of their indie-rock brethren from the time esched showy guitar licks, brothers Rick and Jim Valentin have no qualms about turning up the distortion and letting it rip, like on the frenzied "Music Of America" or dancy "21st Century." The album packs an unexpected punch, but doesn't ignore the subtle moments as well, like on the new wave-ish "Afterglow" or bass-driven "King Of The Hill."

Songs In This Episode

Intro - Black Dog

18:49 - 0 for 1

22:39 - Dream Small

25:33 - King Of The Hill

30:45 - Rock That Doesn't Roll/Dope Nostalgia podcast promos

44:55 - 21st Century

48:00 - Music Of America

1:01:40 - Afterglow

Outro - Happens Everyday

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Depeche Mode - World In My Eyes Maxi-Single | 90s Album Review

Tue, 30 Jul 2024 01:00:00 -0500

Thanks to the sales explosion of compact discs in the 1990s, the expanded playable length of time from forty-four minutes of vinyl to nearly eight minutes gave bands plenty of room to stretch and experiment not only on albums but other releases as well. Re-enter the single, once the domain of 7" vinyl and cassingles, cd singles allowed for bands to release even more material across multiple formats, occasionally helping to propel bands on multiple charts with dance remixes and such. Depeche Mode were no stranger to using singles to release non-album material, and one fine example is the 1990 World In My Eyes maxi-single released by their American label, Sire Records. Compiling the single remix of the title track along with 12" club remixes, and adding a pair of non-album tracks in multiple mixes, turns a simple single into a forty minute, seven-track mini-album, and gives us even more Depeche Mode material to talk about.

Songs In This Episode

Intro - World In My Eyes 7" Version

29:13 - World In My Eyes (Oil Tank Mix)

33:25 - World In My Eyes (Mode to Joy)

38:50 - Rock That's Doesn't Roll / Dope Nostalgia podcast promos

50:02 - Happiest Girl (Jack Mix)

55:11 - Sea of Sin (Tonal Mix)

Outro - Happiest Girl (The Pulsating Orbital Mix)

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Big Hate - You're Soaking In It | 90s Album Review

Mon, 22 Jul 2024 18:10:00 -0500

Plenty of guitar-oriented bands rose to prominence in the 1990s thanks to wave after wave of new artists from various genres. The Seattle sound, pop punk, Britpop, etc. all offered a diverse array of sounds for six-string fans. It was like the 1980s era of guitar heroes, but with an emphasis on diversity of tone and style - the melodic mayhem of J. Mascis to the angular buzzsaw of Kim Thayil to the jazzy funk of John Frusciante - all finding the balance between creative tangents and serving the songs. That brings us to Big Hate, an Atlanta via New York band that utilize a fuzz pedal to its maximum potential. From the opener "Century," that features a lazy slide adding just the right amount of dissonance, to the riffing "Writer's Block," the band takes full advantage of their twin guitar attack. But while it shines musically, the band leaves a bit to be desired vocally, from not nailing a truly hooky chorus, to often sliding into early Our Lady Peace / Raine Maida territory.

Songs In This Episode

Intro - Century

15:46 - West Virginia

20:34 - Disappointed

22:45 - Writer's Block

24:41 - Rock That Doesn't Roll / Dope Nostalgia podcast promos

34:35 - Lemonade

38:13 - Sufi

Outro - Beauty Mark

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311 - Grassroots | 90s Album Review

Tue, 16 Jul 2024 01:00:00 -0500

By the end of the 1990s, mixing rock and other genres was no big deal, but in the first half the first half of the decade it was still a novel idea. 311 established their unique sound by mixing elements rock, reggae, hip-hop, and funk, and on their sophomore album Grassroots, bits of 70s progressive rock and psychedelic jam bands. The innovative fusion of genres, combined with high-energy vocal and musical performances, make the album an undeniable head-bobber. On the flip-side, the band can lock into a staccato delivery across instruments, not exploring interesting counter melodies or rhythms, while certain genre touches can go overboard into straight-up imitation. Depending on your musical preferences, it can make for an exciting experience or a repetitive disappointment.

Songs In This Episode

Intro - Homebrew

23:54 - Lucky

28:32 - Salsa

40:40 - Rock That Doesn't Roll / Dope Nostalgia podcast promos

48:47 - Omaha Stylee

57:43 - 8:16 AM

Outro - 1, 2, 3

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Bruce Springsteen In The 90s | Roundtable

Tue, 09 Jul 2024 01:00:00 -0500

After achieving massive success in the 1970s and 80s, Bruce Springsteen began the 1990s with the release of two albums in 1992, "Human Touch" and "Lucky Town," which showcased a departure from his work with the E Street Band. Like with his 1987 album "Tunnel of Love," Springsteen explored more personal themes at the end of his marriage and relocation from New Jersey to Los Angeles. Despite mixed critical reception, the albums produced notable singles like "Human Touch" and "Better Days." While some wrote off Springsteen as stale and out of touch, he returned on the soundtrack to the movie Philadelphia with the haunting and sparse "Streets of Philadelphia." He followed that up in 1995 with "The Ghost of Tom Joad," a stark, acoustic folk album that harkened back to the style of "Nebraska" and focused on social and economic issues, earning him critical acclaim and a Grammy Award for the title track. This period, though less commercially dominant than the 1980s, demonstrated Springsteen's versatility and commitment to evolving as an artist, and the 1998 four-disc compilation Tracks made up of 66-outtakes from the earliest years of his career up to the 90s showcased his hidden gems and concert-only favorites, leading up to his induction into the Rock 'n Roll Hall of Fame in 1999.

Songs In This Episode:

Intro - Better Days (Lucky Town)

19:12 - Leap of Faith (Lucky Town)

34:42 - Streets of Philadelphia (Philadelphia soundtrack)

45:27 - Rock That Doesn't Roll / Dop Nostalgia podcast promos

50:20 - Youngstown (The Ghost of Tom Joad)

1:03:45 - Born In The U.S.A. (Tracks)

1:11:52 - American Skin (41 Shots) (Live)

Outro - 57 Channels (And Nothin' On) (Human Touch)

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The Dwarves - The Dwarves Are Young and Good Looking | 90s Album Review

Tue, 02 Jul 2024 01:00:00 -0500

The provocative album covers and lyrical content have kept the Dwarves an underground band for four decades, appreciated by punk enthusiasts and fellow musicians across musical genres. After getting dropped by Sub Pop, the band returned with The Dwarves Are Young and Good Looking in 1997. While a cursory listen pins this as classic punk rock, the band isn't afraid to push the pop end of punk thanks to doubled and harmonized vocals spitting out obviously catch choruses that only missed mainstream attention thanks to a liberal use of explicit language and themes.

Songs In This Episode

Intro - Crucifixion Is Now

20:43 - I Will Deny

25:54 - Rock That Doesn't Roll / Dope Nostalgia podcast promos

28:17 - Everybodies Girl

30:08 - You Gotta Burn

39:02 - Unrepentant

45:52 - Demonica

Outro - We Must Have Blood

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Subrosa - Never Bet The Devil Your Head | 90s Album Review

Tue, 25 Jun 2024 01:00:00 -0500

No one would have faulted the surviving members of For Squirrels for moving on from music after the horrific accident that claimed the life of their singer, bassist, and road manager. It took years for guitarist/singer Travis Tooke and drummer Jack Griego to regroup with new bassist Andy Jim Lord under the new moniker Subrosa and land a new record deal, the end result being their 1997 lone release Never Bet The Devil Your Head. While For Squirrels drew comparisons to the college rock of R.E.M., Subrosa dials up rock, dabbling in a post-hardocre riffage while Tooke switches between a lower register singing voice and a fiery growl. Passionate but uneven, the record doesn't shy away from the past for the Tooke and Griego, who channel their catharsis in equal parts volume and melancholy.

Songs In This Episode

Intro - Never The Best

13:42 - World's Greatest Lover

23:01 - The Life Inside Me Killed This Song

28:38 - Antigen Fiend

32:33 - Dope Nostalgia Promo

34:27 - Damn The Youth

Outro - Rollercoaster

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Alanis Morissette - Jagged Little Pill | 90s Album Review

Mon, 17 Jun 2024 15:34:00 -0500

It's hard to look back on the 1990s and remember a time when Alanis Morissette was not one of its most recognizable artists. At the start of the decade, unless you were familiar with Canadian pop music or the Nickelodeon show "You Can't Do That On Television," you'd be forgiven for not knowing her name. In 1995, that all changed. Thanks to a meeting with songwriter/producer Glen Ballard, the creatively frustrated 19-year old teen pop star was able to reinvent herself by stripping away the restraints of her previous career and starting anew. Songwriting sessions with Ballard allowed Morissette to unleash her voice, sonically and lyrically, one demo at a time into what would become one of the most successful albums in history. As impressive as the sales numbers are, unlike other massive multi-platinum world sellers, Jagged Little Pill does it without being glossy and over-produced, relying on simple drum loops, tasteful guitars, and the occasional bouncy bassline to provide the foundation for Morissette's singular voice.

Songs In This Episode

Intro - You Outta Know

29:52 - Right Through You

32:35 - Dope Nostalgia Promo

37:03 - All I Really Want

46:55 - Not The Doctor

50:56 - Mary Jane

Outro - Head Over Feet

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Nine Inch Nails - The Downward Spiral | 90s Album Review

Tue, 11 Jun 2024 01:00:00 -0500

Nine Inch Nails' second studio album, The Downward Spiral, is Trent Reznor's chronicle of self-destruction through themes of addiction, depression, and existential despair. Free from the interference of TVT Records, it marked a significant recording and songwriting evolution for Reznor, building upon the . While the industrial rock genre had already combined heavy guitar riffs with electronic elements, Reznor's innovative production techniques combined with his ear for melody helped launch the album and band from the underground world to dance charts, daily MTV play, and global recognition.

Songs In This Episode

Intro - Mr. Self Destruct

33:07 - Piggy

36:42 - I Do Not Want This

40:58 - The Becoming

46:02 - Heresy

58:39 - Closer To God (single)

Outro - Hurt

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Buffalo Tom - Let Me Come Over | 90s Album Review

Tue, 04 Jun 2024 01:00:00 -0500

With their tenth album, Jump Rope, just released, a fortunate stroke of serendipity landed Buffalo Tom's third album Let Me Come Over at the top of our most recent Patreon album poll. Having recorded their first two albums with J Mascis of Dinosaur Jr., the band took a different approach for their 1992 release, heading to Fort Apache Studios to work with Sean Slade and Paul Q. Kolderie. With guitars and tempos dialed down a bit, introspective lyrics and melancholy melodies become clearer in the mix, while tasteful layers of acoustic guitars, keys, and other additions help fill-out the three-piece sound.

Songs In This Episode

Intro - Staples

15:27 - Mineral

17:24 - Stymied

26:25 - Taillights Fade

29:54 - I'm Not There

Outro - Porchlight

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Damon and Naomi - More Sad Hits | 90s Album Review

Tue, 28 May 2024 01:00:00 -0500

Following the end of Galaxie 500, Damon Krukowski and Naomi Yang were ready to give up on music. Thanks to Mark Kramer of Shimmy Disc, who coaxed them back into the studio, the pair formed Damon and Naomi, and released their debut More Sad Hits in 1992. While continuing the dream pop/slowcore sound of Galaxie 500, the band stretch their sound in various ways, with subtle basslines playing off the vocal melodies, hits of French pop and jazz, and the varied vocal approach with each taking lead, as well as harmonizing on several tracks. Neither high or lo-fi, it's melancholy but not depressing, a fine needle to thread.

Songs In This Episode

Intro - Boston's Daily Temperature

13:25 - E.T.A.

17:28 - Information Age

24:19 - Once More

28:43 - Astrafiammante

Outro - This Changing World

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Tue, 30 Apr 2024 01:00:00 -0500

The 1994 album Foolish by Superchunk might be the defining indie rock album of the 1990s. Raw musical energy paired with introspective lyrics and hooks that grab hold from the first track to the last. The band's signature blend of punk and pop shines through in every distorted chord or note that guitarist and lead singer Mac McCaughan sings or strums, creating an album that feels both urgent and timeless. Tracks like "Driveway to Driveway" and "Like a Fool" showcase the band's knack for crafting sneakily catchy melodies while maintaining the emotional depth of a record that famously followed the breakup of McCaughan and bassist Laura Balance. The end result is a vital record that defines the 1990s indie rock sound.

Songs In This Episode

Intro - Water Wings

17:23 - Driveway to Driveway

29:41 - Why Do You Have to Put a Date on Everything

35:07 - Kicked In

40:18 - Like A Fool

Outro - The First Part

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Muse - Showbiz | 90s Album Review

Tue, 23 Apr 2024 01:00:00 -0500

When Muse released their debut album Showbiz in 1999, the Radiohead and Jeff Buckley comparison were unavoidable. Lumped in with Coldplay, Paloalto, Ours, and other bands whose male vocalists utilized a falsetto, the band never actually quite fit in, and their trajectory in the 2000s is evidence they were thinking bigger. While so many music critics were happy to cast aspersions of Matthew Bellamy for his vocal approach, the actual music got less attention than it deserved. Only a three piece, the rhythm section of bassist Chris Wolstenholme and drummer Dominic Howard were largely overlooked, which is a shame. Plenty has been written about Bellamy's vocals, but combined with the melodic bass lines often harmonizing with the vocal, or the variety in Howard's playing, that slyly incorporates non-rock rhythms like on the tango-influenced "Uno," the band is much more adventurous than any of its contemporaries.

Songs In This Episode

Intro - Sunburn

16:11 - Muscle Museum

23:39 - Falling Down

30:20 - Uno

Outro - Sober

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INXS - Full Moon, Dirty Hearts | 90s Album Review

Tue, 16 Apr 2024 01:00:00 -0500

In 1992, INXS released Welcome to Wherever You Are and instead of touring, headed back into the studio for a quick follow-up. 1993's Full Moon, Dirty Hearts was the result, a mixed bag of innovation incorporating bass grooves on tracks like "The Gift" and "Cut Your Roses Down" while still writing anthemic choruses on tracks like "Days of Rust" and "Time." In the midst of the grunge takeover of America, it's not surprising the album didn't fare well with radio or the charts. While guest vocalists Ray Charles and Chrissie Hynde of The Pretenders are welcome, their inclusion didn't push the needle. Revisiting the album, it's an interesting crossroads of what the band was and the sounds of the decade to come, with electronic elements sneaking in that wouldn't sound out of place later in the decade.

Songs In This Episode

Intro - The Gift

21:17 - Time

25:13 - Cut Your Roses Down

32:16 - Kill The Pain

41:12 - Please (You Got That...)

Outro - Days of Rust

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Monique Powell of Save Ferris | 90s Artist Interview

Thu, 11 Apr 2024 12:00:00 -0500

All the way back in season seven, we reviewed Save Ferris’s 1997 release It Means Everything, the first ska album discussed on a deep dive for the podcast. Seven years later, we catch up with Save Ferris lead singer Monique Powell who discusses how she joined the ska-punk band, the highs and lows of signing to a major label, what it was like being on the road with artists like Sugar Ray and The Offspring in the late ‘90s and the current status of the band. During the interview, we briefly discussed the legal fight Powell was engaged in with former members which led to Powell taking ownership of the group and retroactively being given co-songwriting credits for songs that appeared on It Means Everything and 1999’s Modified. To read more about the case, read the 2019 Forbes magazine feature.

Songs in this Episode:

Intro - The World Is New

30:47 - Come On Eileen

Outro - The World Is New

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Supergrass - In It for the Money | 90s Album Review

Tue, 09 Apr 2024 01:00:00 -0500

Rock music genres often get reduced to a "Big Four." For Grunge, it was Alice In Chains, Nirvana, Pearl Jam, and Soundgarden. For Thrash, Anthrax, Megadeth, Metallica, and Slayer made the grade. In 90s Britpop, Oasis, Blur, Pulp and Suede got the nod. But as if often the case, the bands on the cusp are often as interesting or even more-so thanks to being just outside the spotlight. In the case of Supergrass, The Beatles and The Rolling Stones creep in as influences like their Britpop contemporaries, but the energetic attitude and willingness to embrace the chaos of The Who's rhythm section and the concise songwriting perfection of The Kinks helps their second album, 1997's In It for the Money, exceed not just their debut, but most of the Britpop catalog. Looking at the charts, it's not hard to see why killer singles like "Richard III," "Cheapskate," "Sun Hits The Sky" and "Late in the Day" failed to impact American radio and pop culture consciousness. While Blur had "woo-hoos" and Third Eye Blind had "do do do's," Supergrass ditched guitar solos for theremins and vintage synthesizers, constructing layered pop gems that deserve revisiting.

Songs In This Episode

Intro - In It for the Money

27:40 - Sun Hits the Sky

31:42 - You Can See Me

35:45 - Going Out

40:08 - Tonight

Outro - Richard III

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Pollen - The Glorious Couch Life | 90s Album Review

Tue, 02 Apr 2024 01:00:00 -0500

You're forgiven if you tried to search for Pollen on the internet and struggled to find this band. Besides the numerous bands named Pollen, there is also the issue of their debut 1998 album The Glorious Couch Life not appearing on streaming services, rendering it hard to find for the average music listener. That's a shame, because throughout the record, Pollen finds the combination of indie rock energy tinged with a little garage and some danceable rhythms, topped with catchy melodies and smart lyrics. Shades of American bands like Superchunk, Guided By Voices, Beck, Death Cab For Cutie, and Sebadoh peak through, as well as Australian contemporaries like Screamfeeder, Ratcat, Ammonia, and Moler, permeate the sound, from the propulsive "Greater Than" and "Sin as Fast as You Can" to the angular "Walruses to Whales" and quirky "Settle the Score on the Dancefloor."

Songs In This Episode

Intro - Million Destinations

12:25 - Sin as Fast as You Can

16:18 - Brighter Day

21:28 - Settle the Score on the Dancefloor

25:08 - Soma and Nerves of Steel

27:56 - Special Features

Outro - Not Rocket Science

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Hobey Echlin of Majesty Crush | 90s Artist Interview

Thu, 28 Mar 2024 01:00:00 -0500

Formed in a city best known for either Motown Soul or Garage Rock, shoegazers Majesty Crush were an anomaly in the early ‘90s Detroit music scene. Inspired by the music coming out of the UK, Majesty Crush’s sound employed swirling guitars, hazy vocals, and captivating dreaminess while incorporating elements of soul and R&B. After their song “No. 1 Fan” received significant airplay during prime hours on the Windsor radio station 89X, Majesty Crush - David Stroughter (vocals), Mike Segal (guitars), Hobey Echlin (bass) and Odell Nails (drums) - signed with Dali Records, a subsidiary of Warner/Elektra and released their debut full-length, Love 15, in 1993. However, just a month after the album came out, Dali Records folded bringing Majesty Crush’s momentum to a halt and, ultimately, to an end just a few years later. Though their time was short, the band amassed a small but loyal following in the shoegaze scene of the early ‘90s and have been cited as an influence for everything from indie guitar groups to metal bands. And curators of this style of music have sought out Majesty Crush’s music to include on compilations like Third Man Records’ Southeast of Saturn which features 19 tracks from Detroit shoegaze and dream pop artists. In March 2024, Numero Group released Butterflies Don’t Go Away, a 2 LP set featuring the Love 15 album as well as singles, EPs, and rarities, all remastered from the original tapes. The package is completed by a 24-page booklet. Majesty Crush bassist Hobey Echlin joins us on this episode for a deep dive into not only his band’s career but the ‘90s independent music world. As a music journalist, Echlin has amassed a number of stories over the years and this conversation - at times - goes to places you’d never expect.

Songs in this Episode:

Intro - No. 1 Fan

29:33 - "Club Connect" TV show intro

33:46 - Worri

1:25:17 - Space Between Your Moles

1:30:47 - Where the F**k is Kevin Shields? (by PS I Love You)

Outro - Uma

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Dredg - Leitmotif | 90s Album Review

Tue, 26 Mar 2024 01:00:00 -0500

Leitmotif, released in 1999 by Los Gatos, California quartet Dredg, is a concept album exploring themes of identity and time. The album blends elements of alternative rock, progressive rock, nu-metal, and post-hardcore, showcasing the band's skillful versatility, drawing comparison to fellow California bands Tool and Deftones. With its intricate instrumentations and dynamic shifts, Leitmotif takes listeners on an emotive musical journey through its narrative arc. Where the band runs into trouble is in the indulgences, stretching out noisy outros or delayed intros far too long, and ending on an unnecessary jam below their skill set. What looks like an album quickly shrinks to something more like a long EP, missing a few tracks that focused on their talents instead of their experimentation.

Songs In This Episode

Intro - Movement I: @45N. 180W

13:15 - Lechium

16:57 - Movement IV: RR

23:40 - Penguins in the Desert

32:13 - Traversing Through the Arctic Cold, We Search for the Spirit of Yuta

Outro - Yatahaze

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The Lemonheads - It's A Shame About Ray | 90s Album Review

Tue, 19 Mar 2024 01:00:00 -0500

Released during the decline of 80s hair metal and rise of 90s Seattle grunge and alternative, the 1992 album It's A Shame About Ray by The Lemonheads is rarely mentioned as being in the pantheon of 90s album, but maybe it should. Sporting tight and smart songwriting arrangements with track after track of catchy hooks, lead singer and guitarist Evan Dando, bassist and backup singer Juliana Hatfield, and drummer David Ryan make the most of their sub-thirty minute album, packing short songs with simple but well-thought-out changes and dynamics on par with contemporaries like Sugar, Buffalo Tom, and Dinosaur Jr.

Songs In This Episode

Intro - It's A Shame About Ray

21:39 - Hannah & Gabi

27:41 - My Drug Buddy

33:05 - Alison's Starting to Happen

40:30 - Bit Part

Outro - Confetti

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Keith and Glenn Kochanowicz of Riverside | 90s Artist Interview

Thu, 14 Mar 2024 12:00:00 -0500

With the music landscape dominated by the grunge movement coming out of Seattle, it’s little wonder that Pennsylvania’s Riverside, a band influenced by the likes of The Smiths and Echo and the Bunnymen, didn’t stand a chance. Featuring Keith Kochanowicz (vocals, guitar, organ) and his brother Glenn Kochanowicz (bass, vocals), Kenneth Jackson (guitars), and Geoff Verne (drums), the band’s debut - and ultimately lone - album for Sire Records, One, was released in 1992. While featuring a number of alt-rock-radio friendly songs (“Waterfall,” “Cinnamon Eyes,”), Riverside couldn’t catch a break and were dropped by the label despite finishing a sophomore album, Taste. More than 30 years after One’s release, the Kochanowicz brothers hooked up with the Lost in Ohio record label and a Kickstarter campaign was launched to fund the first-ever pressing of the album on vinyl. Despite never achieving massive success in the ‘90s, the campaign was fully funded within weeks of the announcement and the vinyl will be available later this summer. In this conversation, the Kochanowicz brothers discuss the formation of the band, how fellow Pennsylvania band The Ocean Blue served as mentors, the realities of having a major label record deal in the ‘90s, and what happened after Sire dropped Riverside.

Songs in this Episode:

Intro - Waterfall

7:15 - General Nature

57:00 - Waterfall

1:04:48 - Marvel (from Taste)

Outro - Cinnamon Eyes

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Sinéad O'Connor - Universal Mother | 90s Album Review

Tue, 12 Mar 2024 01:00:00 -0500

By 1994, Sinéad O'Connor had established herself as a musical powerhouse willing to take risks behind the microphone and under the hot spotlight of the media. Following up her third album, the 1992 release Am I Not Your Girl?, consisting mostly of jazz standards, O'Connor returned with an album of diverse musical styles, blending elements of folk, rock, and traditional Irish sounds. The mix of acoustic and electric instrumentation, from the trip-hop flavored singles "Fire On Babylon" and "Thank You For Hearing Me," bookend a much more subdued and intimate affair, including a cappella tracks and a hushed cover of "All Apologies" by Nirvana. While some of the 90s electronic production ends up sounding dating, overall the album reflects a generational talent pushing the limits of mainstream music.

Songs In This Episode

Intro - My Darling Child

20:36 - John I Love You

23:41 - Fire on Babylon

34:44 - All Babies

40:59 - Famine

1:00:26 - Thank You For Hearing Me

Outro - Red Football

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It Came From Slimey Valley compilation | 80s Album Review

Tue, 05 Mar 2024 01:00:00 -0500

Compilation albums have helped define a musical scene or time period for decades, and the roots of 90s alternative rock are unmistakably tied to the underground music of the 1980s. While punk exploded into the mainstream 1994 thanks to million selling albums by Green Day and The Offspring, the seeds were planted in the small scenes across the country more than a decade earlier, many of which were never documented. Luckily, those that got laid down on vinyl or tape often have unknown gems waiting to be discovered. In the case of the 1984 compilation, It Came From Slimey Valley, which documents the Oxnard, California "nardcore" scene, the hardcore sound isn't as predictable as one might expect, with bands occasionally slowing the tempo, incorporating more dynamics, or turning up the fuzz.

Songs In This Episode

Intro - Prophesy by False Confession

16:24 - Death of Two Lovers by Flower Leperds

20:08 - Violent Children by Reign of Terror

22:43 - In the Trenches by Rigor Mortis

34:37 - Old Towne Mall by The Grim

39:09 - Boy's Life by Dr. Know

Outro - There's Someone in the Cellar by Crankshaft

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The Hookers - Black Visions of Crimson Wisdom | 90s Album Review

Tue, 27 Feb 2024 01:00:00 -0500

The 1999 album Black Visions of Crimson Wisdom by The Hookers is a loud, pummeling rock record that draws influence from the New Wave of British Heavy Metal as well as '80s hardcore and punk. Guitar riffs that would sound at home on Iron Maiden or Judas Priest albums rip while a thundering rhythm section propels the band with hardcore energy, keeping the songs short and tight and the album under thirty minutes. That turns out to be the right move, as the pummeling sound of the band never lets up, and lead singer Adam Neal has one gear - full-throat-shredding-throttle.

Songs In This Episode

Intro - Maximum Overdrive

19:03 - Behold God's Candy

23:38 - Black Magic Stallion

27:10 - The End Is Comin'

47:09 - Ride The Dragon To The Crimson Light

Outro - Ball Crusher Love Machine

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The Brady Bunch Lawnmower Massacre - Desperate Football | 90s Album Review

Tue, 20 Feb 2024 01:00:00 -0500

In a bar in Perth, Australia in the late 1980s and early 1990s, Fred Negro and his various bands tore through country-tinged punk rock soaked in beer and satire. One of these incarnations was The Brady Bunch Lawnmower Massacre, a short-lived name that produced a single, an EP, and the 1992 album Desperate Football. Like fellow garage post-punks The Scientists or The Birthday Party, on the surface the sound is big, loud and messy. But repeated listens reveal tighter than anticipated musicianship with some chorus hooks that will stay in your brain longer than expected.

Songs In This Episode

Intro - Drink Myself to Live

20:21 - Nothing on Telly

24:59 - When Jesus Goes Surfing

31:09 - Carpark

36:00 - Blood Money

Outro - I've Only Got One Dick

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Jawbreaker - Dear You | 90s Album Review

Tue, 13 Feb 2024 01:00:00 -0500

By the time 1995 rolled around, punk had exploded into the mainstream thanks to releases the previous year by Green Day and The Offspring, as well as Bad Religion, Rancid, NOFX, and many more. It was also the year Jawbreaker released their third album 24 Hour Revenge Therapy, as well as the year they made the jump to a major label for their fourth and final album, Dear You. Showcasing a departure from their earlier raw sound towards a more polished, melodic approach, the band faced criticism from some punk purists who felt the band had strayed too far from their DIY roots, with accusations of selling out and alienating their hardcore fanbase. Despite the divided opinions, the album's impact has endured, influencing subsequent generations of punk and alternative rock musicians.

Songs In This Episode

Intro - I Love You So Much It's Killing Us Both

19:00 - Save Your Generation

30:10 - Bad Scene, Everyone's Fault

42:04 - Oyster

Outro - Fireman

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Indigo Girls - Swamp Ophelia | 90s Album Review

Tue, 06 Feb 2024 01:00:00 -0500

Released in 1994, the Indigo Girls' fifth album "Swamp Ophelia" marked a significant chapter in their career, following the critical and commercial success of their earlier works. The album, co-produced by Peter Collins, showcases the duo's distinctive harmonies and poignant songwriting, seamlessly blending folk and rock influences. Tracks like "Galileo" and "Power of Two" became anthems of the era, displaying their lyrical prowess and melodic charm. "Swamp Ophelia" received acclaim for its introspective and socially conscious themes, tackling issues such as love, identity, and environmental concerns. Despite its positive reception, the album leans towards a more polished sound compared to their previous works, potentially sacrificing some of the rawness that defined their earlier releases.

Songs In This Episode

Intro - Fugitive

15:16 - Reunion

21:37 - The Wood Song

31:17 - The Power of Two

45:09 - Touch Me Fall

Outro - Least Complicated

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Albums of 1994 | 90s Roundtable

Tue, 30 Jan 2024 01:00:00 -0500

In our latest and final "Albums of..." roundtable, we're tackling what might have been the most prolific year for releases of the entire decade. With the major labels scooping up bands to ride the alternative and grunge wave explosion into mainstream radio and on MTV, 1994 saw not only huge album releases from Soundgarden, Pearl Jam, Stone Temple Pilots, Nine Inch Nails, Alice In Chains, R.E.M. Nirvana, and more, but also the punk explosion thanks to Green Day, The Offspring, Rancid, Bad Religion, and others. This was also the year that across the pond from the US, Britpop topped the charts in the UK thanks to Blur and Oasis, while a new wave of alternative bands shot up the charts like Veruca Salt, Bush, Live, Weezer, Toadies, etc. while the indie underground produced classic records from Pavement, Guided By Voices, Low, Stereolab, Sebadoh, and Superchunk, to name a few. For a big year, we have a big group with a super-sized length. Enjoy!

Songs In This Episode:

Intro - 1994 Medley (Interstate Love Song by Stone Temple Pilots, Loser by Beck, Self Esteem by The Offspring, Buddy Holly by Weezer, I'm Broken by Pantera, March of the Pigs by Nine Inch Nails)

16:05 - Last Goodbye by Jeff Buckley

23:36 - Girls & Boys by Blur

39:10 - Everything Zen by Bush

50:25 - Very Best Years by The Grays

1:07:19 - Suffering by Satchel

1:13:30 - Bernie by Failure

1:30:40 - I Am I by Queensrÿche

1:50:51 - Feel The Pain by Dinosaur Jr.

Outro - Faster by Manic Street Preachers

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Love Nut - ¡Baltimucho! | 90s Album Review

Tue, 23 Jan 2024 01:00:00 -0500

Although only active for a short time in the 1990s, Baltimore, Maryland's Love Nut still managed to bounce from indie to major labels back to the indies over the course of their two albums. Originally recorded for Interscope Records, the band ended up releasing their second and last album on the smaller label Big Deal, meaning more freedom but less budget money for promotion and marketing. Which is a shame, because revisiting ¡Baltimucho! it's clear the band were ripe for discovery with big, hooky power pop choruses that leaned on the 70s glam pop of Sweet as much as Cheap Trick.

Songs In This Episode

Intro - Love Found You

15:58 - Everchanging World

21:20 - Bomb Pine

26:48: Everything Is Going Your Way

34:48 - Crop Duster

Outro - Stolen Picture

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The Verve - A Northern Soul | 90s Album Review

Tue, 16 Jan 2024 01:00:00 -0500

While Britpop bands like Oasis and Blur aped the sounds of British invasion bands like The Beatles and The Kinks, other UK bands explored less radio-friendly material. In the case of The Verve, long psychedelic jams improvised in the studio established the sound of the band on their 1993 debut album A Storm in Heaven. For their long-play 1995 follow-up, A Northern Soul, the band entered the studio with more composed ideas that edged away from formless psychedelia to incorporate more defined verses and choruses, and even an acoustic ballad on par with Wonderwall.

Songs In This Episode

Intro - A New Decade

16:50 - On Your Own

19:12 - Life's An Ocean

21:58 - So It Goes

31:57 - History

Outro - A Northern Soul

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Fountains of Wayne - Utopia Parkway | 90s Album Review

Tue, 09 Jan 2024 01:00:00 -0500

Nailing down what exactly is "power pop" can be frustrating (we did a whole roundtable on it!), but the "power" end of it is usually found in the guitar section. From the big riffs of Cheap Trick's Rick Nielsen to Robert Quine's excited guitar leads on Matthew Sweet albums, just because it's "pop" doesn't mean it doesn't rock. For their second album, Fountains of Wayne duo Adam Schlesinger and Chris Collingwood recruited former Belltower guitarist Joey Porter and former Poises drummer Brian Young to complete the foursome. Two veteran players mean a tightened rhythm section and a bigger guitar sound that allows the band to expand their sound, touching not only on power pop from the 70s, 80s, and 90s, but elements of Britpop, psychedelia, and Queen grandiosity.

Songs In This Episode

Intro - Red Dragon Tattoo

13:00 - Utopia Parkway

17:48 - Lost In Space

25:45 - Denise

Outro - A Fine Day For A Parade

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Ben Folds Five - Ben Folds Five | 90s Album Review

Tue, 02 Jan 2024 01:00:00 -0500

It's hard to imagine a piano-led trio playing power-pop and 70s singer-songwriter influenced songs making headway in the sea of sorrow that was the first half of the 90s. Maybe it's better Ben Folds Five made their debut in 1995, when labels abandoned looking for the next Pearl Jam or Nirvana and went after anyone with a radio-friendly song that could pair with an MTV video. Boasting Billy Joel and Elton John-style piano flourishes over fuzzed out basslines and active drums, the trio move deftly through a dozen tracks of "punk rock for sissies" with smarts and savvy, keeping the songs tight with memorable melodies throughout. Though they would shoot into the mainstream on their follow-up, the self-titled debut effort shows the band had the songwriting chops from the start.

Songs In This Episode

Intro - Jackson Cannery

21:55 - The Best Imitation of Myself

38:32 - Video

44:47 - Underground

Outro - Philosophy

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Season Thirteen Review

Tue, 26 Dec 2023 01:00:00 -0500

There is a lot to talk about when we look back on 2023. Albums new and old from 90s and 00s artists blasted from our speakers and headphones everyday. As with our previous year-in-review episodes, we look back at our favorite new album discoveries, most brought to us by our Patreon community, as well as our most enjoyable round table experiences, and our favorite interviews conducted by Chip Midnight. Here's to season fourteen in 2024!

Songs In This Episode:

Intro/Outro - Dig Me Out by Sleater-Kinney

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Warrant - Dog Eat Dog | 90s Album Review

Tue, 19 Dec 2023 01:00:00 -0500

The explosion of Nevermind in 1991 pushed Sunset Strip bands that dominated the 1980s off of radio and MTV in favor of Seattle's Big 4 - Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, and Alice in Chains. Promotion and marketing budgets dried up, tours saw decreasing attendance, and it left many hair and glam rock bands wondering what to do next. For Warrant, who made a name on power ballads and Cherry Pie, the shifting winds allowed them to explore the songwriting talent of frontman Jani Lane. On 1992's Dog Eat Dog, innuendo is swapped for political and social commentary on "April 2031" while "All the Bridges Are Burning" tackles drug addiction, neither standard fare for LA bands. While there are a few straightforward nods to the first two albums, the band make it clear they were capable of entering Queensryche or other previously unexplored territory with ease, whether their fanbase and radio were ready or not.

Songs In This Episode

Intro - Machine Gun

13:06 - April 2031

32:01 - Sad Theresa

41:13 - The Hole In My Wall

57:12 - Inside Out

Outro - Bonfire

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Pearl Jam - Ten | 90s Album Review

Tue, 12 Dec 2023 01:00:00 -0500

For the next installment of our series looking back at the Diamond selling albums of the 1990s, we're revisiting the 1991 debut album Ten by Pearl Jam. Though it wasn't an immediate smash upon release, Ten built success on the back of singles like "Alive," "Evenflow," and "Jeremy" with heavy support from radio and MTV. Though the band pulled the plug on videos from then until their 1998 album Yield, demand for the band didn't diminish, as the follow-up Vs. became one of the bestselling debut weeks in music history. But Pearl Jam was not without their detractors, criticizing everything from Eddie Vedder's singing style to album production choices, lyrical content, their credibility as "Seattle band," dismissed as nothing more than classic rock, and more. Much has been said and written over the two-plus decades since its release, so is there really much more to explore? Yes, there is. Like, was Jeff Ament's bass playing the secret sauce that drove the Pearl Jam engine? Is the derided reverb-tinged production actually what makes the album special? And in the world of Gen Z and Alpha sporting Nirvana t-shirts, is Pearl Jam relevant to anyone under forty? Or have they become the new Grateful Dead?

Songs In This Episode

Intro - Evenflow

28:49 - Once

38:35 - Yellow Ledbetter

45:07 - Footsteps

45:47 - Times of Trouble (Temple Of The Dog)

55:18 - Alive

1:14:59 - Black (Live, Dissident Single)

Outro - Release

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Sigur Rós - Ágætis byrjun | 90s Album Review

Tue, 05 Dec 2023 01:00:00 -0500

"Ágætis byrjun" by Sigur Rós was released in 1999 but didn't get proper attention until touring with Radiohead in 2000. The Icelandic post-rock band's sophomore album is lead by Jónsi Birgisson's haunting falsetto vocals partially in Hopelandic, a nonsensical language created by the band, is unlike anything from the time period. The album blends ambient, classical, and rock elements, creating a dreamlike and cinematic atmosphere. Each track is like it's own mini-movie, exploring a new sonic landscape that evokes everything from blissful euphoria to introspective melancholy. Hailed as a landmark album that pushed the boundaries of experimental music, the band employ a mix of classical orchestration and modern electronic elements, creating a one-of-a-kind cinematic and atmospheric experience.

Songs In This Episode

Intro - Starálfur

21:14 - Svefn-g-englar

25:33 - Hjartað hamast (bamm bamm bamm)

45:06 - Olsen Olsen

Outro - Ný batterí

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Velocity Girl - Copacetic | 90s Album Review

Tue, 28 Nov 2023 01:00:00 -0500

After a string of indie label seven inch releases, Velocity Girl from College Park, Maryland, released their debut album Copacetic on Seattle's legendary Sub Pop records. Taking their name from the Primal Scream track, the band leans into the UK sound of shoegaze with a layer of American indie and noise rock. Lead singer Sarah Shannon's vocal hover above the fray, the anchor in the three-to-four minutes of brittle guitars and thin rhythms that hamper the potential of Copacetic.

This episode is dedicated to Steven Jon, who passed away on November 23rd, 2023. RIP.

Songs In This Episode

Intro - Crazy Town

19:15 - Audrey's Eyes

26:09 - Here Comes

30:49 - Pop Loser

38:29 - A Chang

Outro - Void I: Thousand Year Drift by Hollow Earth

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Music We’re Thankful For In 2023 | Roundtable

Tue, 21 Nov 2023 01:00:00 -0500

It's our fourth year of getting the patrons together and giving thanks for the new music that gave us happiness and good vibes in 2023. There's a wide array of bands and artists, new and old, that helped make 2023 a great year for music. New albums from 1980s, 90s and 00s artists like Slowdive, The Hives, Louise Post of Veruca Salt, Depeche Mode, Drop Nineteens, Samiam, Gaz Coombes of Supergrass, Madder Rose, Juliana Hatfield, The Hold Steady, Brad, Ash, OMD, Allen Epley of Shiner and The Life And Times, The Church, PJ Harvey, Blur, DJ Shadow, and many more all released great late career records, while newer bands like Crown Hands, Spotlights, Houston, Vast Robot Armies, and several others landed on our radar. We also spend an inordinate amount of time rambling about the new Andre 3000 album, New Blue Sun.

Songs In This Episode

Intro - Scapa Flow by Drop Nineteens

5:30 - Ghosts Again by Depeche Mode

20:43 - In The Moment That You're Born by Brad

35:40 - Graveyard Love by Mutoid Man

57:30 - Ants To You, Gods To Who? - Andre 3000

Outro - Countdown to Shutdown - The Hives

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Elastica - Elastica with special guest Rob Harvilla | 90s Album Review

Tue, 14 Nov 2023 01:00:00 -0500

Elastica burst onto the scene in 1995 with their highly acclaimed self-titled debut album, showcasing the band's distinctive blend of punk-inspired energy and catchy pop hooks. Elastica's minimalist sound and frontwoman Justine Frischmann's laid back vocals separated the band from their Britpop counterparts Blur, Suede, Oasis and Pulp. To help us revisit their freshman effort, we're joined by Rob Harvilla, host of the 60 Songs That Define the 90s podcast and his new corresponding book, out November 14th.

Songs In This Episode

Intro - Connection

27:09 - Car Song

35:05 - Blue

39:43 - Indian Song

Outro - Line Up

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Dirty Three - Horse Stories | 90s Album Review

Tue, 07 Nov 2023 01:00:00 -0500

Leaving behind traditional rock 'n roll structures for more experimental avenues is nothing new for post-rock bands stretching back to The Velvet Underground drones or Brian Eno's ambient albums. It's stretches boundaries into free jazz, krautrock, math rock, and more often with a mechanical feel. That is quite the opposite of what the Dirty Three accomplish on their 1996 album Horse Stories, filled with the improvisations of Warren Ellis on violin, Mick Turners on guitars and bass, and Jim White on drum. The three-piece creates a wide cinematic scope, using space and slow building dynamics to evoke European folk ballads, traditional blues, classical music and much more.

Songs In This Episode

Intro -Sue's Last Ride

19:39 - At The Bar

28:03 - Warren's Lament

Outro - Red

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Superdrag - Head Trip In Every Key | 90s Album Review

Tue, 31 Oct 2023 01:00:00 -0500

Superdrag first gained recognition with their debut album, "Regretfully Yours," which featured the hit single "Sucked Out." Elektra records upped the dough for a sophomore album hoping the band would follow-up the hit with more radio friendly singles. Instead, "Head Trip in Every Key," marked a significant departure from their freshman effort. The band continued to deliver their trademark catchy melodies, but this time, they incorporated more diverse musical elements, like psychedelic rock and Beach Boys-esque pop. The album featured a broader range of instruments and experimental sounds, showcasing the band's evolving musical maturity. The band's sound became more intricate and layered, reflecting a greater musical complexity in their compositions. Despite these changes, Superdrag's unmistakable energy and John Davis' distinctive vocals remained at the core of their sound, making "Head Trip in Every Key" an important milestone in their musical evolution.

Songs In This Episode

Intro - Do The Vampire

19:32 - I'm Expanding My Mind

30:36 - Pine Away

42.25 - Mr. Underground

Outro - Hellbent

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Course Of Empire by Course Of Empire | 90s Album Review

Tue, 24 Oct 2023 01:00:00 -0500

Dark, brooding atmospheres with intense, pulsating rhythms complemented by searing guitar work and haunting, enigmatic lyrics roughly sum up the wild ride that it is self-titled debut album by Course Of Empire. If an album can be called "dystopian," which is usually reserved for science fiction novels and movies, Course Of Empire may qualify. Thanks to hypnotic, almost tribal percussion via a pair of drummers, the band stretches from tabla jams to industrial beats to ambient drone guitar to poppy new wave, all drenched in a very specific moodiness. Defined by its experimental and uncompromising nature, the album is a great example of the 1980s/90s crossroads that alternative music found itself as college rock rose to prominence on MTV and radio, resulting in the band re-releasing the album in 1992 via a major label deal with Zoo Entertainment.

Songs In This Episode

Intro - Ptah

17:40 - Peace Child

23:14 - Copious

27:01 - Dawn Of The Great Eastern Sun

35:58 - Sins of the Fathers

Outro - Mountains Of The Spoken

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Duster - Stratosphere | 90s Album Review

Tue, 17 Oct 2023 01:00:00 -0500

Duster's 1998 debut Stratosphere came out to little fanfare at the time of release. Featuring a distinctive blend of dreamy, reverb-soaked guitars, buried vocals, and a deliberate, slow tempo, the band creates an atmospheric sound that is occasionally mesmerizing. Characterized by its introspective and melancholic mood, tracks like "Heading for the Door" and "Gold Dust" transport listeners to a sonically immersive and otherworldly place, making it a cult classic in the indie rock and shoegaze communities. Over the years, the album has gained recognition for its influence on subsequent generations of musicians exploring similar sonic landscapes. But buzz can be a double-edged sword, so will this revered record live up to the hype?

Songs In This Episode

Intro - Inside Out

22:00 - Heading For The Door

26:32 - Stratosphere

29:23 - Gold Dust

33:50 - Earth Moon Transit

37:23 - Topical Solution

Outro - Docking The Pod

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Samiam - You Are Freaking Me Out | 90s Album Review

Tue, 10 Oct 2023 01:00:00 -0500

Following the release of 1994's Clumsy for Atlantic, Samiam took their completed fifth album back from the major label and found a new home with Ignition. Unfortunately, that label ran into money troubles, leaving copies of You Are Freaking Me Out difficult to come by. For a band that evolved out of the same Bay Area punk scene as Green Day, Bad Religion, Operation Ivy, and many more, the band never reached the same commercial heights as some of their contemporaries, but maintains a dedicated fanbase to this day. While some may have questioned the band's evolution from skate punks to something closer to post-hardcore, emo, and even pop-punk, the key ingredients - catchy hooks, big guitar riffs, and a propulsive rhythm section, keep the record on track even when they take chances with quieter and more subdued moments, and even a Beatles cover.

Songs In This Episode

Intro - She Found You

20:44- Full On

27:06 - Cry Baby Cry

29:46 - Charity

Outro - Ordinary

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Blur - Blur | 90s Album Review

Tue, 03 Oct 2023 01:00:00 -0500

Having blazed a trail with some of the most successful Britpop albums of the 1990s, Blur was heading for implosion following their tabloid battle with Oasis in 1995 and inter-band turmoil. To reorient themselves, they turned to the country that used to be a target of scorn - America. Specifically, American indie rock like Pavement. You can hear the influence throughout the album as the band takes the noise, the jagged guitar lines, the lo-fi aesthetics, and put their unique spin on it. That unique spin, of course, would end up creating one of the most memorable songs of the 90s, "Song 2," that still gets played in stadiums at sporting events around the world, and is a staple on 90s classic radio. But "Song 2" is just the tip of a very weird, very singular sound that would find the band taking chances that mostly paid off.

Songs In This Episode

Intro - Song 2

18:57 - Strange News From Another Star

24:40 - On Your Own

29:56 - Death of a Party

37:56 - I'm Just A Killer For Your Love

Outro - Beetlebum

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Tracy Bonham - The Burdens of Being Upright | 90s Album Review

Tue, 26 Sep 2023 01:00:00 -0500

Major label debuts for any artist can be a double-edged sword. Recording a group of songs you've had years to craft means they've spent plenty of time in the woodshed, but the pressure to produce a hit, especially in the back half of the 90s, means sometimes the obvious singles get the most attention in the studio and post-production. That is the semi-issue with Tracy Bonham's 1996 freshman release The Burdens of Being Upright. Chock full of interesting, catchy tunes like the hit single "Mother Mother," the bouncy "The One," the punky "Bulldog," and others helps the record fly by in entertaining fashion. As high as the highs are, there are no low lows, just some disappointing valleys that sound like the first draft of what could have been much more.

Songs In This Episode

Intro - Navy Bean

16:28 - Mother Mother

22:45 - Tell It To The Sky

32:29 - Sharks Can't Sleep

Outro - The One

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Flu Thirteen - In the Foul Key of V | 90s Album Review

Tue, 19 Sep 2023 01:00:00 -0500

Before changing their name to Diffuser and scoring a couple of hits in the early 00s, the long island quartet Flu Thirteen banged out jagged post-hardcore riffs and rhythms on par with bands of the time. Getting producer J. Robbins, whose work in the 90s on albums by Braid, Texas Is The Reason, The Promise Ring, and many more helped define the late 90s indie rock sound, was a perfect match to help refine and define the band's sound. On their 1998 album In The Foul Key of V, the band unleashes a steady stream of dynamic arrangements, shifting between blazing dissonance and subdued restraint that occasionally recalls the valleys of Sunny Day Real Estate.

Songs In This Episode

Intro - Romeo-Core

12:30 - Stale

17:41 - The Ghost of the Organ Player at the Hockey Coliseum

20:45 - Accessing the Know-How

26:10 -Jerome Does a Dance in Hi-Fidelity

Outro - My Beijing Hot Rod

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Bad Religion - Stranger Than Fiction | 90s Album Review

Tue, 12 Sep 2023 01:00:00 -0500

"Sell-out" was a phrase tossed around in the 1990s whenever an indie or small-label band jumped to a major record label. Among the most surprising were Bad Religion because their guitarist Brett Gurewitz owned the label they had released their first seven albums on Epitaph Records. While sell-outs were accused of trading integrity for money, Bad Religion's eighth album "Stranger Than Fiction" makes the case that not only was the jump a good move, but helped kick-start the pop-punk takeover of 1994 along with Green Day and The Offspring, who released million-selling albums the same year in "Dookie" and "Smash," respectively. Thanks to a re-recording of "21st Century (Digital Boy)," a song the band was unhappy with the previous studio version, they had a proper radio and MTV single to expose the suburban masses around the United States to a headier lyrical approach backed by sugar-sweet harmonies.

Songs In This Episode

Intro - Incomplete

25:23 - 21st Century (Digital Boy)

30:46 - Stranger Than Fiction

38:39 - Infected

Outro - The Handshake

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Downset by Downset | 90s Album Review

Tue, 05 Sep 2023 01:00:00 -0500

Incorrectly tagged as Rage Against The Machine followers (they actually existed before Rage), downset. offer a glimpse into the Los Angeles hardcore and metal scene as it transitioned from the 80s to the 90s. Like Rage, downset. combined big guitar riffs with social and political commentary on their self-titled 1994 debut, but traded the guitar histrionics of Tom Morello for a more streamlined approach. The result is a prime example of the unique 90s rock subgenre of rap rock, which would later evolve into nu-metal with the emergence of bands like Korn and Limp Bizkit, who brought the volume without the content.

Songs In This Episode

Intro - Downset

18:54 - Ritual

22:18 - Anger

30:22 - My American Prayer

Outro - About To Blast

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Milk - Tantrum | 90s Album Review

Tue, 29 Aug 2023 01:00:00 -0500

We don't think of many bands coming out of the UK in the early nineties that could fit nicely on a bill with The Jesus Lizard or Mudhoney, but the 1991 album Tantrum by UK band Milk makes the case that noise rock wasn't just an American phenomenon coming out of hardcore. Frenetic rhythms and dissonant guitars shine on the record, covering for a solid but unremarkable vocal performance. The band is at its best when the volume and intensity quickly shift into quasi-blues riffs and thrash metal shredding via Neil Young.

Songs In This Episode

Intro - Is That It?

13:08 - Claws

19:46 - Hot Seat

28:36 - Book One, Page One

Outro - Billy and Bobby

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Idaho - Three Sheets To The Wind | 90s Album Review

Tue, 22 Aug 2023 01:00:00 -0500

The slowcore sound can be simplified down to tempo and a minimalist approach, but like every genre or subgenre of rock music, there are always those pushing the boundaries and reinventing. On the 1996 album Three Sheets To The Wind by Idaho, the boundary pushing comes as a pair of straight-up rock songs that wouldn't sound out place on a Dinosaur Jr. or Heatmiser album. From there, the band adds jazzy and soulful elements - brushed drums here, an electric piano there - paired with Jeff Martin's evocative vocal that falls somewhere between the folky sadcore of American Music Club's Mark Eitzel and the more experimental post-rock of Low's Alan Sparhawk.

Songs In This Episode

Intro - If You Dare

18:18 - A Sound Awake

23:03 - Shame

30:08 - Alive Again

34:00 - Pomegranate Bleeding

Outro - Catapult

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T-Ride - T-Ride | 90s Album Review

Tue, 15 Aug 2023 01:00:00 -0500

Ever wonder what it would sound like if Terry Lewis and Jimmy Jam, famous for producing the likes of Janet Jackson and Boyz II Men, got behind the board of a three-piece rock band? And what if that band drew influence from bands like Queen, Van Halen, and Faith No More? You might end up with the 1992 self-titled (and lone) album from T-Ride, a record that sounds simultaneously of the time and completely out of place during the grunge explosion. Though tagged as "heavy metal," even a cursory listen informs the listener that there is much more going on, from the deranged power-pop of "Luxury Cruiser" to the industrial dance of "Hit Squad." At just thirty-four minutes long, the band finds a sweet spot of not overstaying their welcome but loading up each song with sonic gold nuggets that demand multiple listens.

Songs In This Episode

Intro - Luxury Cruiser

15:28 - Hit Squad

25:09 - I Hunger

31:40 - Fire It Up

Outro - Zombies From Hell

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Pale Saints - Slow Buildings | 90s Album Review

Mon, 07 Aug 2023 18:23:00 -0500

An established band changing lead singers is always a tricky proposition. With the departure of founding member, singer, and bassist Ian Masters following their second album In Ribbons due to a lack of interest in touring, Pale Saints could have called it quits. Instead, guitarist and backing vocalist Meriel Barham stepped into the fire, having briefly filled the same spot in Lush well before the band established themselves. The result draws obvious comparisons to Barham's former band, but Pale Saints have a few more tricks of their sleeves on their third album Slow Buildings. Whether it is long, slow burn tracks like "Henry" or "Suggestion," or three-minute rockers like "Under Your Nose" or "Angel (Will You Be My)," the band gels around the ethereal voice of Barham.

Songs In This Episode

Intro - Angel (Will You Be My)

18:59 - Under Your Nose

27:53 - King Fade

33:19 - Little Friend

Outro - Henry

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Tue, 11 Jul 2023 01:00:00 -0500

The story of Glide is one of potential cut short with the death of lead singer William Arthur before the end of the decade. Commanding a voice with equal parts sneer and croon, the appropriately titled debut Open Up & Croon from 1995 manages to fuse a variety of sounds into a coherent vision. Jangly acoustic guitars accompany fuzzed electrics and a potent rhythm section across the twelve tracks that range from the uptempo title track opener to a wide array of moods, from the Westerbergian "Why You Asking?" to the more dramatic twists in turns on the back-half of the album like "Caterwaul" and closer "Picking At Your Paws."

Songs In This Episode

Intro - He Sees A Way

14:30 - Caterwaul

18:21 - Line

21:59 - Why You Asking?

27:43 - Spin Doctor

31:36 - Open Up and Croon

Outro - Something

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Controversial Albums and Music of the 1990s | Roundtable

Tue, 04 Jul 2023 01:00:00 -0500

From the cover art for Ritual de lo Habitual by Jane's Addiction to the music videos for Jeremy by Pearl Jam or Closer by Nine Inch Nails, the 1990s were full of controversial and provocative artists and music. Whether it was rapper Ice-T fronting hardcore thrash band Body Count and their single "Cop Killer" to Marilyn Manson pushing boundaries musically and visually, there was no shortage of outrage and hysteria aimed at Gen-X musicians and their fandom. Bands and artists as varied as Tool, Soundgarden, Nirvana, Madonna, Green Day, Megadeth, NOFX, Tin Machine, Ministry, Sublime The Prodigy, Suede, Van Halen, Manic Street Preachers, Slayer and many more faced backlashes for lyrics, album artwork, videos, or just existing.

Songs In This Episode

Intro - Closer by Nine Inch Nails

25:55 - Jesus Christ Pose by Soundgarden

32:55 - Smack My Bitch Up by The Prodigy

40:52 - Cop Killer by Body Count

55:24 - Love Is a Good Thing by Sheryl Crow

Outro - Jeremy by Pearl Jam

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Holly McNarland - Stuff | 90s Album Review

Tue, 27 Jun 2023 01:00:00 -0500

After her 1996 self-released EP was picked-up and re-released by MCA, Holly McNarland set out to make her debut album Stuff. In the wake of the success of fellow Canadian singer/songwriters Alanis Morissette and Sarah McLachlan, the table was set for McNarland to make similar waves even if the alternative rock field was getting more crowded by the day. While there is no "You Oughta Know" or "Building a Mystery" on Stuff, there is McNarland's voice, which finds the balance between on edgy angst rockers one moment and soaring pop balladry the next. Backed by a solid band, including then ex-Pixies guitarist Joey Santiago in the studio, the songs are elevated beyond straightforward singer-songwriter material to deeper depths thanks to occasional cello and synths popping in and out of tracks. But while the first half is full of knock-out material, the back half left us divided on experiments with trip-hop and Seattle grunge.

Songs In This Episode

Intro - Elmo

11:27 - The Box

17:34 - Mystery Song

23:46 - Water

31:07 - Twisty Mirror

Outro - U.F.O.

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Black Lab - Your Body Above Me | 90s Album Review

Tue, 20 Jun 2023 01:00:00 -0500

The back half of the 1990s was deluged with more post-grunge bands that we can count, and cutting through the noise wasn't always easy. For bands like Black Lab, who aimed for both radio and something more interesting, that meant not reaching the chart-topping highs of bands like Our Lady Peace, Semisonic, or Live. Their 1997 debut You Body Above Me for Geffen is a prime example of making the most of the back-half album tracks, as vocalist Paul Durham takes some inventive detours with his vocals, bouncing between the emotive lead single "Wash It Away" and the more expressive attack of "All the Money in the World" or Bring It On." A cursory pass may leave the listener wondering what the fuss is about, but slap on the headphones and you'll hear some impressive choices from each instrument, playing off of and pushing each other for something more with a clear and full sound that impresses even today.

Songs In This Episode

Intro - Wash It Away

18:23 - Can't Keep the Rain

23:30 - All the Money in the World

29:15 - She Loves Me

39:52 - Sleeps With Angels

Outro - Time Ago

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Catherine Wheel - Chrome | 90s Album Review

Tue, 13 Jun 2023 01:00:00 -0500

Catherine Wheel's 1992 debut Ferment is a bonafide shoegaze classic, full of swirling guitars and ethereal vocals. For their 1993 follow-up Chrome, the band brought in Gil Norton, who had a resume boasting bands like the Pixies, Throwing Muses, Pale Saints, Echo & the Bunnymen, and more. With Norton on board, the band dialed down the waves of distortion and used it more sparingly, and a more crafted sound emerged. Harder guitar riffs, paired with Rob Dickinson's chameleon-like voice that could deliver throaty shouts and crooning coos, edged the band towards a more refined sound without leaving their shoegaze roots completely behind. The end result is a exceptional transitional album before the band would fully embrace a harder edge on their third album Happy Days.

Songs In This Episode

Intro - Crank

26:22 - Chrome

34:22 - Ursa Major Space Station

47:57 - Fripp

Outro - Show Me Mary

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Dave Smalley of Down By Law, All, Don’t Sleep, and Dag Nasty | 90s Artist Interview

Tue, 06 Jun 2023 01:00:00 -0500

Dave Smalley’s been a punk rock fixture since the early ‘80s when he fronted DYS. Stints as the lead singer in Dag Nasty and ALL followed before the touring life caused him to reconsider what it meant to be in a band. In 1991, Smalley formed Down By Law, signed with Epitaph Records, and released six full length albums before the decade was done and another four in the 2000’s with the most recent being 2021’s Lonely Town. In addition to Down By Law, Smalley currently lists Dave Smalley & The Bandoleros and Don’t Sleep on his punk rock resume, the latter of which is releasing their fourth album, See Change, on June 2.

Songs in this Episode:

Intro - Promise Made by Don't Sleep

9:41 - Still Waiting by Dag Nasty

Outro - Denim and Leather by Down By Law

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Something For Kate - Beautiful Sharks | 90s Album Review

Tue, 30 May 2023 01:00:00 -0500

Many, many years ago, we checked out the 1997 debut album Elsewhere For Eight Minutes by the Melbourne, Australian trio Something For Kate. Thanks to a Patreon patron we checked out their 1999 sophomore follow-up Beautiful Sharks to hear the evolution of the band. Whereas the debut offered some catchy alt-rock, Beautiful Sharks is a more subdued yet intricate album, putting new bassist Stephanie Ashworth on display as the guitars back-off to allow more space for lead singer/guitarist Paul Dempsey to weave intricate vocal and musical melodies. The result uniquely combines alt-rock that forgoes volume for dynamics and speed for tension.

Songs In This Episode

Intro - Beautiful Sharks

10:51 - Before Butterfly's Wings

16:41 - Big Screen Television

23:55 - Electricity

Outro - Easy

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Kylie Minogue - Impossible Princess | 90s Album Review

Tue, 23 May 2023 01:00:00 -0500

We're as shocked as anyone to be talking about a Kylie Minogue album, but here we are thanks to a Patron. If you're a 90s grunge and alternative fan, chances are your exposure to Kylie is limited to her late 80s cover of "The Loco-Motion" or her earworm early 00s hit "Can't Get You Out Of My Head." But after growing tired of the musical restrictions of her pop success, Minogue explored collaborations with artists like Nick Cave and the Manic Street Preachers in the mid-90s. The end result is her 1997 album Impossible Princess, still full of dance and pop singles, but with very deliberate attempts to stretch into new sounds. Trip-hop, electronica, trance, Britpop and more are explored, making for a diverse if sometimes uneven album.

Songs In This Episode

Intro - Too Far

15:09 - Dreams

21:05 - Some Kind Of Bliss

28:02 - Cowboy Style

32:37 - Drunk

Outro - I Don't Need Anyone

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Interview with Joe Pernice of Pernice Brothers and Scud Mountain Boys | 90s Artist Interview

Thu, 18 May 2023 01:00:00 -0500

Following the breakup of the mid-90s alt-country band Scud Mountain Boys, lead singer/songwriter Joe Pernice teamed up with his brother to write and record the debut Pernice Brothers album, Overcome by Happiness, for SubPop Records in 1998. While it was the only Pernice Brothers album released by the legendary Seattle label, Joe’s continued to release music under that moniker through a label, Ashmont Records, that he started with his long-time business partner, Joyce Linehan. Superfan, and New West Records Vice President of Publicity, Brady Brock is responsible for the 25th anniversary, first-time-on-vinyl, reissue of Overcome by Happiness which is available in a deluxe version that includes a comprehensive 52-page hardback book documenting the history of the band, recollections of the recording of the album, lyrics, and a track-by-track walkthrough.

Songs in this Episode:

Intro - Overcome By Happiness by Pernice Brothers

11:03 - In A Ditch by the Scud Mountain Boys

Outro - Bum Leg by Joe Pernice

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Oleander - February Son | 90s Album Review

Tue, 16 May 2023 01:00:00 -0500

By the end of the 1990s, grunge had run its course, seeing two and three waves of followers come and go. Nu-metal was ascendant thanks to the likes of Korn, Limp Bizkit, Deftones and others ruling MTV and radio, along with post-grunge acts like Creed, Chevelle, Drowning Pool and more. For a band like Oleander, their take on Nirvana-tinged grunge meant leaning into the manic energy of Bleach as much as the sculpted songwriting of Nevermind. On their 1999 major label debut February Son, itself a recording of an earlier independent album with a few track changes, the band shoot for radio with solid targeting.

Songs In This Episode

Intro - Stupid

22:13 - Never Again

31:22 - Boys Don't Cry

38:00 - I Walk Alone

Outro - Why I'm Here

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Thomas Andrew Doyle (TAD) | 90s Artist Interview

Thu, 11 May 2023 08:47:52 -0500

Formed in 1988 and one of the earliest acts to put out music on SubPop, TAD paved the way for bands like Nirvana and Soundgarden with their heavy and sludgy guitar noise. After releasing three albums on the infamous Seattle label, TAD put out two albums on majors, 1993’s Inhaler on Giant/Warner Bros and 1995’s Infrared Riding Hood on East West/Elektra before breaking up by the end of the decade. Lead singer Tad Doyle went on to front Hog Molly and Brothers of the Sonic Cloth before going the solo route and releasing albums that sound like SciFi-Horror soundtracks under his given name, Thomas Andrew Doyle.

Songs in this Episode:

Intro - Grease Box (from Inhaler)

8:04 - Clairvoyant Witness (from Aberrant)

Outro - Probabilities (from Aberrant)

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Jets To Brazil - Orange Rhyming Dictionary | 90s Album Review

Tue, 09 May 2023 01:00:00 -0500

After the dissolution of Jawbreaker in 1996, lead singer and guitarist Blake Schwarzenbach spent the next year not playing music, but DJ'ing and writing video game reviews. But the itch to create came back with the help of former Texas Is The Reason drummer Chris Daly and Handsome singer Jeremy Chatelain on bass. Jets To Brazil isn't so much a reinvention as a natural evolution, leaving behind the sometimes rigid restraints of punk and hardcore, and exploring new sounds with keyboards and guitar effects.

Songs In This Episode

Intro - Crown of the Valley

20:37 - Starry Configurations

24:24 - Resistance is Futile

30:15 - King Medicine

40:16 - I Typed For Miles

Outro - Morning New Disease

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The Afghan Whigs - 1965 | 90s Album Review

Tue, 02 May 2023 01:00:00 -0500

By the end of the 1990s, The Afghan Whigs were critical faves without the breakthrough single that propelled some of their contemporaries into the platinum or multi-platinum stratosphere. While 1993's Gentlemen and 1996's Black Love explored the dark, 1998's 1965 turned on the light long enough to find the party and get down to the business of feeling good, as lead singer Greg Dulli sings on the opener "Somethin' Hot." Much about the record is a change-up from previous efforts - guitars are dialed down while horns, pianos, and backing vocalists make their presence known on a record that shows off the band integrating the New Orleans vibe of their surroundings during recording. The result acts as a bridge between what the Whigs were and what Dulli and new collaborators would explore in the 2010s as The Twilight Singers.

Intro - 66

17:53 - Somethin' Hot

35:27- The Slide Song

39:29 - Omerta

45:46 - Uptown Again

Outro - John The Baptist

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Moving Targets - Fall | 90s Album Review

Tue, 25 Apr 2023 01:00:00 -0500

By 1991, Moving Targets were already well established in the Boston music scene upon the release of their third full-length, Fall. Lead by Kenny Chambers on vocals and guitar, the band that started out playing Husker Du-esque hardcore evolved like their contemporaries, downshifting the tempos and finding more melody. Tracks like "Answer" and "Away From Me" were primed for college radio alongside The Replacements, Goo Goo Dolls, Dramarama, and other post-punks finding their songwriting footing. The twists and turns, like using an e-bow on a mid-album instrumental track, add a layer of creativity not many other post-hardcore bands would attempt, even if the payoff doesn't always hit.

Songs In This Episode:

Intro - Taang! Intro

14:18 - Answer

22:00 - Overated

31:50 - Away From Me

Outro - Travel Music

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Thu, 30 Mar 2023 09:17:49 -0500

A perfect pick for a Dig Me Out episode, Fretblanket never seemed to get the mainstream attention the way their peers did. Formed in Stourbridge, England when the members were still in high school, the band caught the attention of Polygram Records in ‘93 and signed a deal before singer/guitarist Will Copley had graduated. A year later, Junkfuel was released with the single “Twisted” gaining a modest amount of airplay on U.S. alternative and college rock stations. Guitarist Clive Powell wrote most of the guitar-rich songs which fit in alongside artists like Sugar, The Doughboys, The Wedding Present and Ride while Copley’s grungy vocals earned comparisons to Kurt Cobain. Though they were very much of the time, the biggest touring exposure they had was opening for Oingo Boingo, a sad mismatch that likely didn’t earn the band any new fans. In 1997, they released Home Truths From Abroad which leaned more into the Brit rock side of things than the grungier side and caused a minor MTV buzz with their video for “Into the Ocean.” Songs for a third album were recorded in Michigan with Tim Patalan (Sponge, Watershed) but shelved after it was apparent there was no longer label interest and the members went their separate ways. On March 30, 2023, that long lost album, The Distance In Between, was released as a way to celebrate the 30th anniversary of Fretblanket signing a record deal.

Songs in this Episode:

Intro - Twisted from Junkfuel

13:06 - Digging Your Scene from The Distance In Between

Outro - Into The Ocean from Home Truths From Abroad

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Depeche Mode In The 90s | Roundtable

Tue, 28 Mar 2023 01:00:00 -0500

Few bands have stayed artistically and commercially relevant over forty years into their career, but with the release of their new album Memento Mori in March 2023, Depeche Mode continue to defy the odds. In the 80s the band built a fanbase in Europe over their first few releases before entering the global stage with "People Are People" in 1984. By the end of the decade, they were regularly a top ten album charting band in the UK while making serious inroads in North America. They entered the 90s with an album primed by the infectious single "Personal Jesus" that would launch them into the stratosphere. With Violator and its many singles, like R.E.M. and other alternative acts, mainstream radio and MTV formerly dominated by pop and hair metal were beginning to shift direction before the dam burst in 1991. But lurking beneath the surface was inter-band tensions and various addictions that would threaten to derail the band at the height of their global success.

Songs in this Episode:

Intro - Personal Jesus (from Violator)

19:59 - World in My Eyes (from Violator)

35:11 - Death's Door (Until The End Of The World soundtrack)

43:31 - One Caress (from Songs of Faith and Devotion)

1:03:11 - Home (from Ultra)

Outro - Only When I Lose Myself (from The Singles 86>98)

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No Doubt - Tragic Kingdom | 90s Album Review

Tue, 21 Mar 2023 01:00:00 -0500

Diamond certified records, those that have sold ten million or more albums in the United States, are a rare achievement that few bands and artists can lay claim to. But as important as it is to talk about obscure and underappreciated 90s rock albums, we thought it was time to go in the opposite direction for a new series diving into the full albums of 90s rock Diamonds. With that, we start our Diamond series with the 1995 album Tragic Kingdom by No Doubt. Was there any escaping "Don't Speak" in 1996? No, there wasn't. Every media outlet was covering the chart topping single not only for its chart performance but the drama that surrounded the band. Along with huge singles "Spiderwebs" and "Just a Girl," Tragic Kingdom was in the cultural zeitgeist for years after its release, but how many people actually listened to the whole album? We definitely didn't, and we're here to correct that oversight.

Songs In This Episode:

Intro - Don't Speak

19:04 - Happy Now?

21:29 - Sunday Morning

24:14 - Tragic Kingdom

35:25 - Just A Girl

40:15- Spiderwebs

Outro - Hey You

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Filter - Title of Record | 90s Album Review

Tue, 14 Mar 2023 01:00:00 -0500

Sophomore albums can be a difficult proposition. The standard refrain is you get a lifetime to make the first one and a few months to make the follow-up. In the case of Filter, it took a little longer, four years to be exact. Title of Record came out in 1999 in a much different musical landscape than their 1995 debut Short Bus. Luckily, their hard rock sound, with a touch of industrial, fit in well with the end of the decade, and they struck literal gold with the atypical single "Take A Picture." Even with an entirely new backing band and the loss of his songwriting counterpart, Richard Patrick separated himself further from the Nine Inch Nails comparisons by embracing a big rock sound with a few interesting diversions.

Songs In This Episode:

Intro - Welcome To The Fold

26:02 - The Best Things

32:24 - Cancer

37:56 - Take A Picture

Outro - It's Gonna Kill Me

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The Gits - Frenching The Bully | 90s Album Review

Tue, 07 Mar 2023 01:00:00 -0500

Blessed with fire and passion on display through her voice and lyrics, the murder of Mia Zapata robbed the world of her potential. With The Gits, she and guitarist Joe Spleen, bass player Matt Dresdner, and drummer Steve Moriarty made grunge mixed with hardcore punk on their 1992 album Frenching The Bully. With only four years together, the debut record displays potential in the same way Bleach gives hints of what Nirvana was to become on the released but unfinished follow-up album Enter: The Conquering Chicken.

Songs In This Episode:

Intro - Another Shot of Whiskey

17:18 - Spear and Magic Helmet

23:08 - It All Dies Anyway

27:39 - Insecurities

Outro - Absynthe

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Tue, 14 Feb 2023 01:00:00 -0500

Coming off the hit "Here and Now" from their debut Aurora Gory Alice, Letters To Cleo followed-up with the equally catchy Wholesale Meats and Fish. Lead single "Awake," with it's handclaps and catchy hook by lead singer Kay Hanley, is just one of many power-pop adjacent tunes that lean more towards the noisy side of the genre inhabited by The Posies and Matthew Sweet. But to pin down LTC would be a mistake, as the opening ripper "Demon Rock" demonstrates, or the sixties-infused "Little Rosa" demonstrate. The band packs a nice sonic punch, even when diverging from comfortable sounds for quieter moments that are hit and miss.

Songs In This Episode:

Intro - Fast Way

14:44 - Demon Rock

21:08 - Little Rosa

27:27 - Acid Jed

32:13 - I Could Sleep (The Wuss Song)

Outro - Awake

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Chad Clark of Smart Went Crazy and Beauty Pill | 90s Artist Interview

Thu, 09 Feb 2023 01:00:00 -0500

Born in NYC but spending his formative years in Washington DC, Chad Clark’s passion for music was born when his dad dropped a pair of headphones on his son’s head and introduced him to the Beatles. In the mid-90s, Clark formed the artsy, indie rock outfit Smart Went Crazy with Abram Goodrich and Hilary Soldati, signed with Dischord Records and released an EP and two full lengths - 1995’s Now We’re Even and 1997’s Con Art. Even before Smart Went Crazy’s ending, Clark was thinking about his next project, Beauty Pill, which he started with Goodrich in 2001 and continues through this day. With members coming and going over the last 20+ years, Beauty Pill’s released two full lengths - 2004’s The Unsustainable Lifestyle and 2015’s Beauty Pill Describes Things As They Are - and a handful of EPs, most of which have been critically lauded. Earlier this year, Beauty Pill released a double album, Blue Period, consisting of their Dischord output - The Unsustainable Lifestyle and the You Are Right to Be Afraid EP - as well as previously unreleased outtakes and demos. On this episode, Beauty Pill members past (Ryan Nelson) and present (Erin Nelson), join Clark to talk about the last 25+ years of music.

Songs In This Episode:

Intro - A Good Day by Smart Went Crazy

6:39 - Goodnight For Real by Beauty Pill

Outro - Fugue State Companion by Beauty Pill

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Hole - Live Through This | 90s Album Review

Tue, 07 Feb 2023 01:00:00 -0500

Released in the shadow of her husband's death, Courtney Love and Hole delivered their sophomore album Live Through This in a tsunami of emotional turmoil. Propelled by three hit singles, the album would launch Love into stardom and influence a generation of visceral, outspoken musicians that took inspiration from songs about motherhood, abuse, postpartum depression, and other topics not found on Billboard 200 charting albums. In looking back almost thirty years, the layers of musicianship that might have been glossed over by the larger moment are revealed. Guitarist Eric Erlandson's shifts between vitriolic riffing and crunchy leads to subtle and understated without missing a beat. Speaking of beats, drummer Patty Schemel shines, adding controlled bombast that, paired with bassist Kristen Pfaff, gives the album a tightness without feeling stale or rote.

Songs In This Episode:

Intro - Miss World

23:54 - Violet

36:38 - Credit in the Straight World

40:00 - Rock Star

Outro - Doll Parts

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Wünderband by Wünderband | 90s Album Review

Tue, 31 Jan 2023 01:00:00 -0500

We've revisited plenty of albums released on major and independent labels from the 90s, but digging into self-released albums isn't something we've explored much - until now! Take New York City's Wünderband, who self-released their self-titled album in 1997. On the opening track, the band make their sound clear - punchy, catchy power-pop with some twists and turns. From the opening Aimee Mann call-out track "Yes Yes Hey Hey" to the Jellyfish inflected "I Don't Mind," the band sounds right at home alongside fellow 90s three-and-a-half-minute power pop magicians like Fountains of Wayne, Sloan, or The Figgs.

Songs In This Episode:

Intro - Pinup

13:18 - Yes Yes Hey Hey

21:30 - Mayqueen

25:26 - I Don't Mind

35:46 - Circle and Fall

Outro - Another Guy

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Soundgarden - Badmotorfinger | 90s Album Review

Tue, 24 Jan 2023 01:00:00 -0500

Badmotorfinger sits in the middle of the Soundgarden discography at an interesting crossroads. With new bass player Ben Shepherd on board, the band expanded upon their Black Sabbath meets Black Flag twist on metal with precision riffs and rhythms that integrate odd time signatures and alternate guitar tunings. While other bands were relegated to in-the-know hardcore fandom, thanks to the once-in-a-generation vocals of Chris Cornell, Soundgarden began their ascent as a commercial entity on MTV and mainstream radio.

Songs In This Episode:

Intro - Outshined

4:39 - Birth Ritual

29:01 - Jesus Christ Pose

36:05 - Somewhere

45:18 - Mind Riot

50:39 - Room A Thousand Years Wide

Outro - Rusty Cage

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Albums of 1993 | 90s Roundtable

Tue, 17 Jan 2023 01:00:00 -0500

By 1993, it was an alternative world, from MTV to mainstream radio. The Smashing Pumpkins, Nirvana, Counting Crows, Depeche Mode, Radiohead, Tool, and many more became household names with million selling albums while college radio and indie labels saw bands take off unexpectedly, with hits from The Breeders, The Lemonheads, Mazzy Star, Juliana Hatfield, Letters to Cleo, Ween, and many more. While pop music maintained its position with the likes of Mariah Carey, Billy Joel, and Duran Duran scoring hits, hip-hop was also ascendant with landmark albums from A Tribe Called Quest, Snoop Doggy Dogg, The Wu-Tang Clan, and more. We dive into it all, talking about records that have stood the test of time and those that haven't, albums overlooked upon their release and those best left to the dustbin of history.

Songs In This Episode:

Intro - 1993 Medley (Lemon by U2, Animal Nitrate by Suede, Fade Into You by Mazzy Star, 20th Century by Brad, Give Back The Key To My Heart by Uncle Tupelo)

Outro - I Feel You by Depeche Mode

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Limblifter - Limblifter | Album Review

Tue, 10 Jan 2023 01:00:00 -0500

Taking time off from The Age of Electric, Ian Summers (bass) joined the Dahle Brothers (Ryan on vocals, guitars and keys, Kurt on drums and vocals) for Limblifter in 1996. Those familiar with TAOE will recognize the sharp songwriting and guitar pop sensibilities, as the band effortlessly blasts out three-minute, radio-ready tunes like "Vicious" and "Tinfoil." Their sensibilities are definitely on the pop side, but the choruses aren't necessarily syrupy blandness. If anything, the band could have turned up the melodic hooks a bit more for our tastes.

Songs In This Episode:

Intro - Vicious

1:15 - First impression of Sideways Skull by The Hold Steady

20:04 - Opiñata

27:50 - Round The "2"

35:14 - Do I Feel Involved?

Outro -Screwed It Up

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Carcass - Heartwork | Album Review

Tue, 03 Jan 2023 01:00:00 -0500

Heavy but melodic guitar riffs, intricate beats that switch between a Pantera groove and extreme metal blast beats, and otherworldly vocals are the cornerstones of Heartwork, the fourth studio album by English band Carcass. Expanding upon their earlier grindcore approach, Heartwork is a journey that grabs you by the (shredded) throat and won't let go for nearly forty-two minutes. From the NWOBHM styled "This Mortal Coil" to the ferocious hardcore stomp of "Carnal Forge," the band never lets up. In addition to tackling this classic of the genre, we also check out the YouTube video by Steve Welch, "If Guns N' Roses 'Appetite For Destruction' was written by 12 different bands" to find out how Steve did turning G N' R songs into tracks by Oasis, W.A.S.P., Danzig and more.

Songs In This Episode:

Intro - Carnal Forge

2:22 - If Guns N' Roses 'Appetite For Destruction' was written by 12 different bands - by Steve Welch

18:55 - Buried Dreams

22:37 - This Mortal Coil

27:27 - Heartwork

35:07 - Doctrinal Expletives

Outro - Embodiment

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Season Twelve In Review

Tue, 27 Dec 2022 01:00:00 -0500

There is a lot to talk about when we look back on 2022. Albums new and old from 80s and 90s artists blasted from our speakers and headphones on a daily basis. As with our previous year-in-review episodes, we take a look back at our favorite new album discoveries, most brought to us by our Patreon community, as well as our most enjoyable round table experiences, and our favorite interviews conducted by Chip Midnight. Here's to season thirteen in 2023!

Songs In This Episode:

Intro - Dig Me Out by Sleater-Kinney

Outro - Dig Me Out by Sleater-Kinney

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Love Battery - Dayglo | Album Review

Tue, 20 Dec 2022 01:00:00 -0500

Though Love Battery emerged from the Seattle scene with numerous connections and an ascendant Sub Pop label backing them, the band never managed to breakthrough to the mainstream like their various label mates. Their 1992 debut Dayglo may shed some light on the reasons. The guitars are loud, loud, loud, sometimes overpowering the other instruments the way James Williamson would in The Stooges, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. Thanks to a group of innovative, stellar musicians, the band can fluidly move from aggressive garage rock to punk indie rock without missing a beat.

Songs In This Episode:

Intro - Out of Focus

16:59 - See Your Mind

20:57 - Foot

26:23 - Side (With You)

32:02 - Blonde

Outro - Cool School (Trane of Thought)

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Hayden - Everything I Long For | Album Review

Tue, 13 Dec 2022 01:00:00 -0500

Canadian singer/songwriter Paul Hayden Desser, known simply as Hayden, released his debut Everything I Long For on his own label in 1995. Shortly after, it was picked up and later re-released in 1996 on Sonic Unyon (internationally on Outpost Recordings/Geffen Records) after receiving acclaim in his home country. Channeling the likes of Leonard Cohen and Tom Waits, Hayden deep voice carves out a unique niche in 1990s folk, indie, and alternative rock. Though the album is almost always in first gear, Hayden ups the volume occasionally, matching it with a more aggressive, guttural vocal. If you enjoy confessional singer/songwriters with a penchant for deliberate slowcore, this might be an album worth checking out.

Songs In This Episode:

Intro - Bad As They Seem

14:30 - I'm To Blame

20:24 - Hardly

24:56 - Skates

Outro - In September

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Jeremy Toback of Brad | Interview

Fri, 09 Dec 2022 01:00:00 -0500

Dig Me Out listeners know Jeremy Toback from his time playing bass in Brad with Shawn Smith (vocals), Stone Gossard (guitars) and Regan Hagar and his appearance on that band’s first three albums: Shame (1993), Interiors (1997) and Welcome to Discovery Park (2002). During the ‘90s, he also released 2 full-lengths, Perfect Flux Thing (1997) and Another True Fiction (1999), as well as a self-titled EP (1996). After being burned out by the music industry and the major label experience, Jeremy took some time off before discovering a new outlet for his songwriting. With the help of a long-time friend, Renee Stahl, Jeremy began recording softer lullabies for young children which eventually led to peaceful reinterpretations of popular rock songs by artists ranging from the Red Hot Chili Peppers to Led Zeppelin to INXS. Renee and Jeremy’s latest single is a cover of Harry Styles’ “As It Was.” In November, Jeremy released his first new solo song in two decades, the beautifully minimalistic “Conjuring,” with an equally enthralling video.

Songs In This Episode:

Intro - Unbecome (from Perfect Flux Thing)

4:24 - Circle & Line (from Interiors by Brad)

34:26 - 20th Century (from Shame by Brad)

1:08:36 - Buttercup (from Shame by Brad)

Outro - Butterfly Elephant (from Perfect Flux Thing)

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Swervedriver - Raise | Album Review

Tue, 06 Dec 2022 01:00:00 -0500

The twin guitar attack by Adam Franklin and Jimmy Hartridge on Swervedriver's 1991 debut Raise is unlike anything else under the shoegaze umbrella. While 80s dream pop was a touchstone for many of their contemporaries, the band from Oxford, England took some American influences like Dinosaur Jr., The Stooges, Sonic Youth, and Hüsker Dü into consideration. Their sound is more aggressive, more visceral, and often more exciting, leaning into the guitar's ability to shift tones quickly without relying on a wall of noise and feedback.

Songs In This Episode:

Intro - Raise

12:10 - Sci-Flyer

17:29 - Son of Mustang Ford

25:15 - Feel So Real

Outro - Deep Seat

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New Music We’re Thankful For in 2022 | Roundtable

Tue, 29 Nov 2022 01:00:00 -0500

It's our third year of getting the patrons together and giving thanks for the new music that gave us happiness and good vibes in 2022. There's a wide array of bands and artists, new and old, that helped make 2022 a great year for music. New albums from 1980s and 90s artists like The Afghan Whigs, Suede, Archers of Loaf, The Cult, Rammstein, The Crystal Method, The Hellacopters, and many more all released great late career records, while newer bands like The Glad Machine, Noiseheads, The Bishop's Daredevil Stunt Club, Goodbye June, and a number of others landed on our radar.

Songs In This Episode:

Intro - I'll Make You See God by The Afghan Whigs (How Do You Burn?)

11:43 - Nervous by Noise Unit (Cheeba City Blues)

26:23 - Times Like These by Soulside (A Brief Moment In The Sun)

32:44 - Magical Thinking by Sloan (Steady)

41:40 - Feed The Wound by Pig (The Merciless Light)

53:00 - October's Song by Skid Row (The Gang's All Here)

1:10:39 - Reality Spiral by Greg Puciato (Mirrorcell)

Outro - Personality Disorder by Suede (Autofiction)

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Gun - Swagger | Album Review

Tue, 22 Nov 2022 01:00:00 -0500

Scotland's Gun didn't make much of a dent stateside in the 80s or 90s, slightly out of tune with what was happening in mainstream. Their third album, Swagger, is aptly named, as the band is fully in control of their 80s AOR meets 90s hard rock approach. While 1994 was ground zero for grunge and alternative on US radio and MTV, Gun injected their sound with Bon Jovi big rock, Billy Idol energy, and even some Red Hot Chili Peppers funk on the questionable cover of "Word Up" by Cameo.

Songs In This Episode:

Intro - Don't Say It's Over

13:43 - Find My Way

21:59 - Something Worthwhile

31:52 - Word Up

Outro - Vicious Heart

Tue, 25 Oct 2022 01:00:00 -0500

The past few decades have solidified Linda Perry as a pop songwriting machine for the likes of Pink, Christina Aguilera, Gwen Stefani, and many more artists in the 2000s. But the talent was already there in 1992 when "What's Up!" struck a chord with listeners as the first track off of the one and only 4 Non Blondes album "Bigger, Better, Faster, More!" While the neo-folk of "What's Up!" slotted in nicely alongside fellow non-grunge acts like Blind Melon, Spin Doctors, Blues Traveler, Dave Matthews Band, and others, the rest of the record tackles a variety of genres, like the shuffling blues of "Pleasantly Blue" to the bass-popping funk of "Superfly" to mixed results.

Songs In This Episode:

Intro - What's Up!

17:12 - Drifting

23:56 - Old Mr. Heffer

32:15 - Calling All The People

Outro - Superfly

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Soulwax - Much Against Everyone’s Advice | Album Review

Tue, 18 Oct 2022 01:00:00 -0500

Soulwax is best known for their remixes of such 2000s artists as LCD Soundsystem, Tame Impala, Gorillaz, Tiga, and more, but the band actually got their start as a catchy alternative rock band produced by the Chris Goss (of Masters of Reality) on their debut and Dave Sardy (Barkmarket) on their sophomore album, Much Against Everyone's Advice. Splitting their sound between chunky distorted guitars on tracks like "Too Many DJs" and "Conversation Intercom" and more a delicate approach on "Overweight Karate Kid" and "Flying Without Wings," it gives the album variety. But depending on which version you listen, the album can run long after an elongated lull in the middle that could be rectified with a reshuffling of the track list.

Songs In This Episode:

Intro - Much Against Everyone's Advice

14:27 - Too Many DJs

16:48 - Overweight Karate Kid

21:05 - Flying Without Wings

25:13 - My Cruel Joke

Outro - When Logics Die

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Le Tigre - Le Tigre | Album Review

Tue, 11 Oct 2022 01:00:00 -0500

An established artist starting a new musical project is always a tricky proposition, and the 90s were no different. Whether releasing a solo album or starting a new band, quality doesn't always matter when it comes to fans accepting a new sound or direction. After the amicable split of Bikini Kill in 1998, Kathleen Hanna returned a year later with the retro-inspired Le Tigre, forgoing punk bombast for dancier sounds rooted in homemade drum loops, Farfisa organs, 60s girl groups, 80s new wave and electroclash. But that doesn't mean politics and social commentary take a back seat, as Hanna is as sharp lyrically as ever on the self-titled debut album while balancing pop melodies with a lo-fi approach.

Songs In This Episode:

Intro - Deceptacon

11:22 - Les and Ray

17:36 - What's Yr Take On Cassavetes

24:46 - Phanta

28:56 - Eau D'Bedroom Dancing

Outro - My My Metrocard

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Salmonblaster - Salmonblaster | Album Review

Tue, 04 Oct 2022 01:00:00 -0500

The line between influence and blatant copying is thin, but bands like Salmonblaster fall more towards the former on their 1996 self-titled and only officially released album. The howling vocals and chugging guitar riffs easily recall Nirvana but in a way that pays respect rather than simply aping the sound, and it's not the only trick the band has up their sleeves. Guitars are big and occasionally chaotic in a shoegaze way that makes the more restrained elements shine brighter, while the band shifts between sounds as easily as their lead vocalist jumps from cathartic screams to melodic harmonies.

Songs In This Episode:

Intro - Sugarrush

14:26 - Transistors & Turbines

20:36 - Freeway

26:46 - Brian Jones

31:49 - Visonblur

Outro - The Perfect Fit

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Garage Rock Revival | Roundtable

Tue, 27 Sep 2022 01:00:00 -0500

Garage rock can be a catch-all term that rubs shoulders with punk, rockabilly, surf, and more. But thanks to a variety of known and lesser-known bands, there has always been a group of dedicated musicians writing and playing revved up and relatively simple rock that traces its lineage back to the primitive and raw sounds of 60s that popped up after the British Invasion with roots in American rhythm and blues. After a very underground 80s, the sound returned in fits and starts with bands like Jon Spencer Blues Explosion and later The White Stripes, The Hives, The Strokes, and plenty of other bands starting with "The." We dig into the whole sound, the local scenes that helped foster the sound over decades, and much more.

Songs In This Episode:

Intro - Fell In Love With A Girl by The White Stripes

16:20 - Paint It Black by The Avengers

21:49 - Touch Me I'm Sick by Mudhoney

31:09 - (Gotta Get Some Action) Now! by The Hellacopters

40:11 - Heaven by The Hydromatics

1:07:31 - The Reproduction of Death by The (International) Noise Conspiracy

Outro - Singin' A Song About Today by The Mooney Suzuki

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Adorable - Against Perfection | Album Review

Tue, 20 Sep 2022 01:00:00 -0500

Shoegaze is a term tossed out whenever a band leans in on the wall-of-sound distortion and pairs it with obscured vocals and dreamy feedback. But few bands actually stuck to My Bloody Valentine's template, adding their own flavors like the 1993 debut album Against Perfection by Adorable. Here the vocals are less obscured, and even hooky at times, recalling everyone from Echo & the Bunnymen and The Smiths to The Verve and Spiritualized. But it's not just the vocals that give Adorable a unique twist, as the rhythm section, especially an occasional Pixies-like bassline, gets their times to shine as well.

Songs In This Episode:

Intro - Breathless

17:49 - Sister Chapel Ceiling

21:26 - Homeboy

28:07 - Sunshine Smile

34:45 - Still Life

Outro - A To Fade In

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Menthol - Menthol | Album Review

Tue, 13 Sep 2022 01:00:00 -0500

Chicago and the surrounding areas like Champaign-Urbana nurtured a big guitar rock sound found in the Smashing Pumpkins, Hum, Catherine, Veruca Salt, Fig Dish, and others. Originally called Mother for their debut, the band signed to a major label, changed their name to Menthol, and produced an album worthy of that group with 1995's self-titled release. But the band takes a different approach vocally, spitting big chunks of lyrics filled with a variety of references and twisted wordplay.

Songs In This Episode:

Intro - Dry Heaves (Of The Well-Adorned)

17:34 - Stress Is Best

20:35 - U.S.A. Capable

26:35 - Perfect Spirals

32:58 - Briefcase Full Of Cash

Outro - Francis Scott Key

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The Sharp - This Is The Sharp | Album Review

Tue, 06 Sep 2022 01:00:00 -0500

Bands cultivating a look to match their sound in rock and roll is nothing new, but the 90s weren't the most receptive decade to a well thought out image. The Sharp, with their black and white color scheme, upright bass, and precise take on 80s new wave with twists of rockabilly and power-pop, make a case that The White Stripes would follow at the end of the decade with their 1993 debut This Is The Sharp. Sounding blender filled with albums by The Knack, Brian Setzer, sElf, Joe Jackson, Fountains of Wayne, Jellyfish, and more, the tight, clean sounds are at odds with the distorted grunge overtaking the music world in 1993. But their charm of being totally at odds with the times means the skill and craftsmanship of the songwriting really shines, even if it dips into familiar patterns at times.

Songs In This Episode:

Intro - Scratch My Back

17:28 - Talking Sly

24:12 - Love Kiss

33:04 - Kiss Me Again

Outro - Don't Waste My Time

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Antenna - Hideout | Album Review

Tue, 30 Aug 2022 01:00:00 -0500

College rock is a broad term, but one that can be applied to the post-Blake Babies band Antenna founded by John Strohm and Freda Love. On the second and final album by the band, 1993's Hideout, the influences of American indie and underground pop are infused with strands of shoegaze and dream-pop noise, with tasteful guitar effects, and unexpectedly crafty baselines and backing vocals. All of that makes it not entirely appealing to mainstream radio in 1993 looking for the next Nirvana or Pearl Jam, but ideal for the college radio crowd in search of something different.

Songs In This Episode:

Intro - Wallpaper

12:43 - Don't Be Late

21:09 - Easy Listening

31:21 - Stillife

Outro - Shine

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Tue, 26 Jul 2022 01:00:00 -0500

Montreal's Doughboys, like so many bands who tipped their toes in the power-pop sound, were mostly ignored by US listeners. Unless led by a ballad like the Goo Goo Dolls or pushing a punkier sound, artists with layered harmonies and a keen sense of melodic hooks were often overlooked for pure pop. On their 1993 album Crush, the band never compromise on the guitars, combining hardrock riffs with catchy leads and an occasional ripping solo. Only when the band slows down and gets dirgy does the momentum falter on an overall underappreciated gem.

Songs In This Episode:

Intro - Tearin' Away

18:00 - Fix Me

27:03 - Everything

30:25 - Neighborhood Villain

Outro - Shine

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Union by Union | Album Review

Tue, 19 Jul 2022 01:00:00 -0500

Bruce Kulick, a member of KISS from 1984 to 1996, and John Corabi, a member of Motley Crue from 1992 to 1997, joined forces to form Union with capable players Jamie Hunting on bass and Brent Fitz on drums. The songwriting style Corabi brought to Crue is evident from the first track "Old Man Wise," which combines classic hard rock riffs with melodies and vocals that fit well into 90s alternative and grunge, such as Alice In Chains. What helps make this something more than just another album is the small touches - the harmony vocals from all members paired with clean and unfussy production that serve the songs well.

Songs In This Episode:

Intro - Old Man Wise

13:56 - Around Again

20:20 - October Morning Wind

28:40 - Let It Flow

39:26 - Pain Behind Your Eyes

Outro - Get Off My Cloud

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G. Love | Interview

Thu, 14 Jul 2022 01:00:00 -0500

While G. Love is currently doing the press circuit to discuss his latest album, Philadelphia Mississippi, the affable blues artist is more than happy to talk about his experiences in the ‘90s. Born in Philadelphia and raised on the finest music that city had to offer in the ‘70s and ‘80s, namely soul and blues, G. Love moved to Boston to continue his busking career with hopes of landing a record deal. As glam became grunge, and grunge became pop-punk, G. Love’s alternative hip-hop with blues-style guitar playing was a bit of an anomaly though, in retrospect, artists like Beck and Fun Lovin’ Criminals could now be considered peers. A deal with Sony imprint Okeh was solidified in ‘94 with the release of the first G. Love and the Special Sauce album and G. Love got into the write, record, tour cycle for the rest of the decade releasing three more albums before the turn of the new century. Looking at G. Love’s discography, he never slowed down though he left Okeh to release solo - and band - albums on Brushfire Records, all the while maintaining a consistent touring lifestyle. 2022’s Philadelphia Mississippi was born out of pandemic SoulBques where G and his makeshift group of musician friends would hang out, grill up some meats, and sit around playing blues music. You can catch G. Love on stage opening the Dispatch/O.A.R. tour as well as headlining some of his own dates this summer.

Songs In This Episode:

Intro - Rhyme for the Summertime

8:06 - Baby's Got Sauce

Outro - Blues Music

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Dinosaur Jr. in the 80s | Roundtable

Tue, 12 Jul 2022 01:00:00 -0500

In the 1990s Dinosaur Jr. was primarily the J Mascis show, with both Lou Barlow and Murph out of the band. Their 2000s reformation has resulted in a steady release of some of the band's best material, but the origins trace back to the early 80s and the high school hardcore band Deep Wound where J and Lou began. Then known only as Dinosaur, the band toned down the hardcore elements for more jangle, and with J growing into a guitar shredder somewhere between Sonic Youth and Neil Young. On each of their three releases, the band grows as songwriters and players, and production considerably improves as the studios and budgets slowly increase. We dive into the early years to hear the earliest inklings of what the band would later become on albums like Green Mind and Without A Sound.

Songs In This Episode:

Intro - The Leper from Dinosaur

17:49 - Repulsion from Dinosaur

28:21 - In a Jar from You're Living All Over Me

34:03 - The Lung from You're Living All Over Me

41:06 - No Bones from Bug

Outro - Freak Scene from Bug

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Skeleton Key - Fantastic Spikes Through Balloon | Album Review

Tue, 05 Jul 2022 01:00:00 -0500

Though known for a variety of harder post-hardcore bands like Helmet, Quicksand, Biohazard, and many more in the early 90s, the New York City indie music also include a number of outliers who had their major label moments. Like Soul Coughing or Firewater, Skeleton Key sought to do something slightly different. Sure, there are guitar-driven alternative rock tunes like "Wide Open" or "The Worlds Most Famous Undertaker," but the majority of the album isn't so straightforward. With a "junk" percussionist, there is a pallet of sounds not regularly heard on most alternative rock records of the decade.

Songs In This Episode:

Intro - Watch The Fat Man Swing

23:05 - Wide Open

28:22 - All The Things I've Lost

35:24 - Vomit Ascot

Outro - The Worlds Most Famous Undertaker

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Dishwalla - And You Think You Know What Life’s About | Album Review

Tue, 28 Jun 2022 01:00:00 -0500

One-hit wonders are not unique to the 1990s, and revisiting sophomore albums is always a hit-or-miss experience. Double down on what made the band or artist successful, evolve the sound into something unexpected, or somewhere in between? After scoring a hit with "Counting Blue Cars" on their 1995 debut Pet Your Friends, Dishwalla returned in 1998 with And You Think You Know What Life's About. From the opening track, the band play with sounds and melodies that stretch from the industrial rock of Stabbing Westward to the big choruses of Oasis to the experimental quirk of Radiohead. The album is unafraid to go BIG, with soaring guitar lines and vocals, but does it add it up more than just a collection of disparate influences?

Songs In This Episode:

Intro - Healing Star

11:56 - Stay Awake

18:03 - Until I Wake Up

23:06 - Pop Guru

Outro - Bottom Of The Floor

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Little John - Derailer | Album Review

Tue, 21 Jun 2022 01:00:00 -0500

The late mid-to-late 90s were overwhelming based on the number of new album releases each week. Unfortunately, that meant bands like Little John either had a breakout single and video or were quickly relegated to the cut-out bin. In the case of their 1996 album Derailer, full of pop-rock that veers between Dinosaur Jr. guitar riffs and the quirky lyrics and melodies of They Might Be Giants, the band crafted some earworms alongside some less engaging album tracks. From the opening title track to the Presidents Of The United States of America-esque "Evel Knievel," the band craft tight, fun songs that more people should know.

Songs In This Episode:

Intro - Fell From The Sun

15:24 - Shoelace

22:05 - Scared

31:40 - Evel Knievel

40:49 - Derailer

Outro - Down On Me

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Art Alexakis of Everclear | Interview

Thu, 16 Jun 2022 09:15:44 -0500

There isn’t a Dig Me Out listener who isn’t familiar with Everclear, a staple of ‘90s alternative rock radio and MTV. With a string of hits like “Santa Monica,” “I Will Buy You a New Life,” and “Father of Mine,” Everclear spent the better part of the decade relentlessly touring, playing to sold-out crowds around the globe. But, had it not been for the relative success of the band’s 1993 debut, World of Noise, Everclear might have been just another footnote in a long line of forgotten bands. Singer Art Alexakis had tried his luck in San Francisco with the band Colorfinger in the late ‘80s/early ‘90s but after that band’s demise, moved with his pregnant girlfriend to Portland, Oregon where he decided to give the music thing one last try. Though World of Noise was cheap to make, the songs that Alexakis recorded with bassist Craig Montoya and drummer Scott Cuthbert - rough and raw as they were - caught the ears of major label A&R reps looking for the “next Nirvana.” After an initial release on indie label Tim/Kerr Records, Capitol Records picked up the band and reissued the debut, and set Alexakis on the way to a career that has lasted 30+ years. For the first time ever, World of Noise is now available on all major streaming services, and a vinyl reissue is planned for later 2022. While Montoya and Scott Cuthbert (and Cuthbert’s replacement, Greg Eklund) are long gone, Alexakis continues to make a living by releasing new Everclear music and touring. While the venues may be smaller, the passion is still there and Everclear will be celebrating World of Noise, and the rest of its catalog, on a summer tour with openers Fastball and The Nixons.

Songs In This Episode:

Intro - Fire Maple Song

4:38 - Nervous and Weird

Outro - Sick and Tired

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Face To Face - Ignorance Is Bliss | Album Review

Tue, 14 Jun 2022 01:00:00 -0500

Face To Face had established themselves over their first three albums as a skate punk band with elements of Bad Religion and Hüsker Dü. But for 1999's Ignorance Is Bliss, they purposely showed the tempos and expanded the pallet to a much more alternative rock sound. That left some fans confused, others angry, but also welcomed new listeners into the fold. Depending on whether you're a punk purist or prefer creative detours, there is plenty to enjoy on the album, which sounds confident and catchy in a way that only veteran players with songwriting chops could pull off.

Songs In This Episode:

Intro - Heart of Hearts

15:37 - The Devil You Know (God Is A Man)

22:33 - Prodigal

27:26 - (A)Pathetic

40:25 - I Know What You Are

Outro - Overcome

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Headstones - Picture of Health | Album Review

Tue, 07 Jun 2022 01:00:00 -0500

Describing rock bands can be tricky, as there is usually a need for comparison to set expectations. In the cast of Headstones, it's not that simple. The band is heavy, but not metal. They rock in a way that fits into the 90s, but they're not grunge or alternative. Smart lyrics, big guitar riffs, and short catchy songs that have hints of Australian bands like AC/DC or The Angels, with a touch of Guns 'n Roses and even a ballad or two. On their 1993 debut Picture of Health, all the ingredients for a smash hit debut are there, and while the band is beloved in Canada, they didn't make a ripple outside their home country.

Songs In This Episode:

Intro - When Something Stands for Nothing

17:10 - Heart of Darkness

22:39 - Oh My God

35:19 - It's All Over

Outro - Judy

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C-Tec - Darker | Album Review

Tue, 31 May 2022 01:00:00 -0500

Composed of Jean-Luc De Meyer of Front 242, Mark Heal of Cubanate, and Ged Denton of Crisis n.T.i., along with special appearances by members of Front Line Assembly and Haujobb, C-Tec is something of a 1990s industrial supergroup. What that allows is the members to experiment on their debut Darker with a broader range of sounds away from their regular bands, like including breakbeats on "Being Nothing," going 80s on "The Lost," or punishing noise on "Shift IV." Of course, there are some four-one-the-floor thumpers made for the 12" remix, like the Rammstein-esque "Foetal" and driving "Stateless." A few of the tracks take a little more time than necessary to get going, and De Meyer's vocal approach won't be for everyone, but Darker is a worthwhile album to add to your industrial collection.

Songs In This Episode:

Intro - Flowing

10:25 - Being Nothing

15:37 - Foetal

25:38 - Flowing

28:19 - Shift IV

Outro - The Lost

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EPs of the 90s | Roundtable

Tue, 24 May 2022 01:00:00 -0500

The EP, that strange format in-between singles and albums. What makes up an EP? It can be anything - all new material, demos, live tracks, remixes, or anything else an artist (or record label) can think of. While around since 1919, the EP format never had a more successful decade on the charts than in the 1990s. "Jar of Flies" by Alice In Chains became the first artist to have an EP reach number one on the Billboard 200 chart, and that wasn't the only commercially successful EP of the era. Nine Inch Nails, Ugly Kid Joe, Radiohead, My Bloody Valentine, Nirvana, Ride, The Smashing Pumpkins, and many more released essential music on EPs.

Songs In This Episode:

Intro - EP of the 90s Medley (Wish by Nine Inch Nails, I Stay Away by Alice In Chains, Blue by The Smashing Pumpkins)

15:15 - Everything About You by Ugly Kid Joe

22:40 - Making Love by Shiner

35:23 - Come See About Me by The Afghan Whigs

42:51 - JC Auto by Sugar

53:38 - One Too Many Mornings - The Dust Brothers

1:08:54 - I Could See The Dude by Spoon

Outro - Shooting Star by Golden Smog

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Sandpit - On Second Thought | Album Review

Tue, 17 May 2022 01:00:00 -0500

Melbourne, Australia's Sandpit only managed one full-length, 1998's On Second Thought, along with a few earlier EPs before disappearing. Mellow and sparse one minute, abrasive and noisy the next, the band finds a sweet spot between the two thanks to inventive vocal melodies that play with phrasing and cadence to keep the listener's ears engaged. Like American counterparts in Slint, Seam, or Polvo, there are slowcore and post-hardcore benchmarks the band hits with ease, while still creating interesting guitar lines between the crawling drum and snare hits.

Songs In This Episode:

Intro - Hold Yr Horses

11:23 - Walking in a Straight Line

19:04 - Metamorphosis

21:52 - I Positively Hate You Now

24:16 - Along The Moors

Outro - Helicopters

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Bike - Take In The Sun | Album Review

Tue, 10 May 2022 01:00:00 -0500

Known as the more melodic half of the New Zealand alternative "Dunedin Sound" rock band Straightjacket Fits for their first two albums, Andrew Brough left in the early 90s to forge his own path. By the mid-90s Bike had formed and in 1997 would deliver their one and only album, Take In The Sun. The name is appropriate, as the album is full of shimmering, psychedelic sounds, and melodies that cry out for sunshine and warmth. But the band isn't a 60s retro act, incorporating fevered 80s alternative like on "Keeping You In Mine" or shoegaze noise on "Inside." On a pair of headphones, the album swirls and surrounds the listener, an aspect lost on lesser speakers that may turn off less engaged ears. As mentioned in the episode, our Patreon suggester wrote a eulogy for Andrew Brough after his passing in 2020 that is worth your time.

Songs In This Episode:

Intro - Take In The Sun

10:35 - Save My Life

18:20 - Inside

23:44 - Keeping You In Mine

Outro - Circus Kids

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Madder Rose - Bring It Down | Album Review

Tue, 03 May 2022 01:00:00 -0500

On their 1993 debut Bring It Down, Madder Rose's Mary Lorson brings melodic sharpness and emotional depth to her vocals that helps make the band special. Billy Coté's guitar matches Lorson, weaving intricately disjointed solos and leads, while also bringing in shoegaze-styled textures and noise. This gives the band a unique niche in 90s rock, somewhere between the East Coast alternative rock of Belly, Letters to Cleo, or the Breeders along with UK bands like Lush or Slowdive. But with all the magic happening in the songwriting and performances, the end result is missing a gear. A lackluster production, with thin guitars and bass, doesn't give the band a needed punch when the energy levels rise.

Songs In This Episode:

Intro - Beautiful John

22:03 - While Away

29:22 - Swim

34:43 - Altar Boy

Outro - Bring It Down

Tue, 12 Apr 2022 01:00:00 -0500

Terms like post-punk, post-rock, emo, indie, etc. get tossed around when talking about 90s rock bands that strayed from the mainstream to embrace a different take on the soft/loud dynamic. Boston four-piece Karate takes the angular twin-guitar and vocal attack of Fugazi and shave off some of the rougher edges while incorporating Slint-like slowcore, dialing down the tempos and volumes ready to burst. Karate adds a twist with jazzy phrasings and even a dirgy blues riff, giving the band an opportunity to work with a wider sonic pallet while leaving plenty of open space that occasionally feels underdeveloped.

Songs In This Episode:

Intro - It's 98 Stop

17:30 - New Martini

27:22 - New Hangout Condition

35:46 - Wake Up, Decide

Outro - Die Die

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Tue, 22 Mar 2022 01:00:00 -0500

Before the alternative explosion led by Nirvana in 1991, bands like Jane's Addiction, R.E.M., Red Hot Chili Peppers, and Faith No More were already paving the way on MTV and modern rock playlists. Coming off the success of iconic rap-rock tune "Epic" from their sophomore album The Real Thing, Faith No More followed up with 1992's Angel Dust, further exploring the edges of thrash metal, funk, new wave, and more. While the record stretches the boundaries of what could still be called a mainstream, major label release, the end result is full of relentlessly catchy earworms that often defy categorization.

Songs In This Episode:

Intro - Smaller And Smaller

16:30 - A Small Victory

21:43 - RV

29:07 - Be Aggressive

40:30 - Midlife Crisis

Outro - Everything's Ruined

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Powderfinger - Double Allergic | Album Review

Tue, 15 Mar 2022 01:00:00 -0500

After their 1994 debut album not only failed to make a commercial dent for Polydor Records, but was also panned by critics and even the band themselves, Powderfinger returned to the studio with veteran Australian producer Tim Whitten (Hoodoo Gurus, The Go-Betweens, Clouds, etc.) for the sophomore album Double Allergic. The pairing paid off as the group put the studio to good use while maintaining a tight band feel that shifts between American alternative and more adventures diversions. The twin guitar work of Ian Haug and Darren Middleton carves out a wide range of sounds and textures that remain tasteful while dropping enough ear candy to make repeated listens pay off, while vocalist Bernard Fanning finds simple yet effective melodies to craft several radio-friendly tunes, all with the backing of a tight and versatile rhythm section.

Songs In This Episode:

Intro - Pick You Up

16:25 - Boing Boing

23:08 - Oipic

32:05 - Skinny Jean

40:09 - Come Away (Hidden Track)

Outro - Living Type

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Christopher Hall of Stabbing Westward | Interview

Tue, 08 Mar 2022 01:00:00 -0500

Though most people’s introduction to Stabbing Westward was via their major label debut, Ungod, in 1994, Christopher Hall (vocals) and Walter Flakus (keyboards) had been making music together since their college days nearly a decade earlier. Blending the industrial influences of Nine Inch Nails, Ministry and Skinny Puppy with the goth rock of early Smashing Pumpkins and Depeche Mode, Stabbing Westward found themselves smack dab in the middle of the mid-90s alternative wave and toured with a wide range of acts ranging from KISS to the Sex Pistols to Killing Joke to Placebo. While fans may have appreciated the consistent releases (Ungod in ‘94, Wither Blister Burn & Peel in ‘96, Darkest Days in ‘98), it put a strain on relationships within the band and, after being dropped by Columbia and releasing a self-titled album on Koch Records in ‘01, Stabbing Westward came to end. Hall started The Dreaming, a band very much in the vein of Stabbing Westward’s sound, while Flakus got into the radio business as a program director and DJ. A reunion in 2015 to celebrate the band’s formation 30 years prior led to occasional live shows and eventually Hall retired The Dreaming name to reform Stabbing Westward with Flakus and some of his Dreaming band members. In 2020, Stabbing Westward released three new songs which led to a full album of new material, Chasing Ghosts, out on March 18, the first Stabbing Westward in 21 years.

Songs In This Episode:

Intro - Save Yourself (from Darkest Days)

6:52 - Ghost (from Ghost EP)

Outro - What Do I Have To Do (from Wither Blister Burn & Peel)

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Pure - Generation Six-Pack | Album Review

Tue, 01 Mar 2022 01:00:00 -0500

A disaffected and laid-back vocal combined with loose playing will always draw a comparison to Pavement when talking 90s rock. And Pure definitely dabble in the slacker rock vibe, albeit with more chill than snark, and on Generation Six-Pack the chill is via a nice layer of fuzzy guitar that is somewhere between early Weezer and space rock Hum. The band uses some standard 90s tropes to good effect, like the quiet/loud dynamic of "Anna," while also integrating slide guitar to add a layer of distortion and countermelody while also integrating some bluesy licks, like on "The Tip" and "Denial." Where the record falters for us it may not for others - the relaxed approach occasionally smoothers what could have been some delicious power-pop-esque gems like on "Lemonade," where a slightly tighter approach would have resulted in a resilient earworm.

Songs In This Episode:

Intro - What It Is

12:52 - Nobody Knows I'm New Wave

18:37 - Monster

24:00 -The Tip

31:05 - Lemonade

Outro - Anna

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Heather Duby | Interview

Thu, 24 Feb 2022 01:00:00 -0500

After her band Clementine, with Reggie Watts (Comedy Bang! Bang!, The Late Late Show with James Corden) and Ryan Link, broke up, Heather Duby joined forces with noted Seattle producer Steve Fisk (Pigeonhed) to write and record what would become her 1999 Sub Pop debut, Post to Wire. A far cry from the punk and grunge acts the label was known for, Duby was released from her contract when Post to Wire failed to make waves. While she continued to make albums for Sonic Boom Records (2003’s Come Across the River, 2006’s Heather Duby), Duby was going through some deeply personal things which put her music career in the back seat. She moved to New York in 2007, was involved in a terrible bike accident in 2011, earned a Law degree in 2017 and recorded a new EP in 2018 with John Agnello (Dinosaur Jr., Sonic Youth, Son Volt) that hit streaming services until 2020.

Songs In This Episode:

Intro - Judith

6:16 - Falter

Outro - September

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Deathray - Deathray | Album Review

Tue, 22 Feb 2022 01:00:00 -0500

After the platinum, multi-hit single success of Cake's sophomore album Fashion Nugget, members Greg Brown (guitar and keyboard) and Victor Damiani (bass) left to form Deathray. It would take three years for their self-titled debut to be released, and while catchy pop-power and new-wave revivalists had brief moments in the spotlight during the 90s (Weezer, Matthew Sweet, The Posies, The Rentals, Imperial Teen), by 2000 their brand of dry, quick, and quirky pop had been kicked off the radio and MTV. As a result, Deathray probably isn't as well known to power-pop and general 90s rock audiences as it should be, with a quick thirty-five minutes and thirteen songs of catchy earworms that deserve a discovery.

Songs In This Episode:

Intro - My Lunatic Friend

13:07 - Scott

16:26 - Baby Polygon

22:41 - Zero

34:08 - This Time

Outro - Only Lies

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The Cure In The 90s | Roundtable

Tue, 15 Feb 2022 01:00:00 -0500

Ending the 1980s with the creative one-two punch of Kiss Me Kiss Me Kiss Me and Disintegration, like many of their alternative college rock counterparts, The Cure were poised for global superstardom at the start of the next decade. Filled with compilations, live albums, and contributions to various soundtracks, the band managed two proper albums - 1992's Wish, which featured the now ubiquitous single "Friday, I'm In Love," and the polarizing "Wild Mood Swings," whose title accurately describes the inconsistent sound and musical approach.

Songs In This Episode:

Intro - A Letter To Elise (from Wish)

16:48 - Never Enough (from Mixed Up)

26:03 - Friday, I'm In Love (from Wish)

47:19 - The 13th (from Wild Mood Swings)

Outro - Maybe Someday (from Bloodflowers)

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Ride - Nowhere | Album Review

Tue, 08 Feb 2022 01:00:00 -0500

Ride's debut album Nowhere sits at the crossroad of 1980s and 90s rock. Shoegaze was still an underground curiosity, and Rider were initially lumped in with Slowdive, My Bloody Valentine, and Lush. But as much guitar noise and neo-psychedelia as the band dabbles in, there is an equal amount of 1960s jangle pop and Who-like bombast from the explosive rhythm section to help them stand out from the crowd. Sure, the production is stamped in 1980s reverb and chorus, but Ride were able to craft songs as well as noise to maximum effect.

Songs In This Episode:

Intro - Seagull

17:03 - Kaleidoscope

24:43 - Dreams Burn Down

30:21 - Nowhere

40:09 - Vapour Trail

Outro - In A Different Place

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Adam Elk of The Mommyheads | Interview

Thu, 03 Feb 2022 01:00:00 -0500

The Mommyheads are the quintessential artist for Dig Me Out. Formed in the late ‘80s by guys who went to a performing arts high school in New York City (yes, the same one that the movie/TV show Fame was based on) and who enjoyed experimenting with lo-fi recording equipment, The Mommyheads had no interest in aping what they were hearing on FM radio or MTV. Instead, they looked up to the underground bands that were also experimenting with 4-track recording, bands like Fish & Roses, They Might Be Giants, and Flaming Lips. In the early ‘90s, they signed with Simple Machines and released a long out-of-print collection of demos and 4-track recordings titled Swiss Army Knife. Dreams of “making it” led to a relocation to San Francisco where, after a string of indie releases on various labels, Geffen Records came calling. Like so many bands covered on the Dig Me Out podcast, the major label deal was not all it was cracked up to be and shortly after The Mommyheads’ self-titled album came out in ‘97, they were dropped and the band broke up. After drummer Jan Kotik passed away from cancer in 2008, the other members got back together and have been active (VERY active) ever since releasing new albums and re-issuing the albums from the ‘90s at a regular pace. A new album is due later in 2022 and there are no signs of slowing down.

Songs In This Episode:

Intro - In In Awe from The Mommyheads

8:31 - Wedding Day from Coming Into Beauty

Outro - Spiders from Flying Suit

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Black Grape - It’s Great When You’re Straight...Yeah | Album Review

Tue, 01 Feb 2022 01:00:00 -0500

Making commercially successful funky dance pop music amid Britpop's reign may have only been possible via Shaun Ryder. The then ex-Happy Monday hooked up with producer Danny Saber and a group of new cohorts to produce 1995's debut album by Black Grape, It's Great When You're Straight...Yeah. Mixing the big beats of Big Audio Dynamite with touches of ascendent electronic music like trip-hop, while still dipping a toe in the Madchester scene, there's plenty going as slide guitars and sitars brush up against funk basslines and saxophone solos. It's not entirely successful, but Ryder and Co. manage to push the best material to the limits and create a truly unique sound for the middle of the decade.

Songs In This Episode:

Intro - Reverend Black Grape

12:48 - Tramazi Party

20:08 - A Big Day In The North

30:41 - Shake Well Before Opening

Outro - Kelly's Heroes

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The White Stripes - The White Stripes | Album Review

Tue, 25 Jan 2022 01:00:00 -0500

Little did anyone know that a two-piece garage rock band from Detroit would kick off a sonic revolution in 1999. The White Stripes debut of minimalist blues paired down to just vocals, guitar, and drums wasn't completely without precedent in the underground music scene with bands like the Flat Duo Jets and Bassholes preceding them. And while it would be a few years and a few albums before the mainstream caught on, the core elements of The White Stripes sound were there from the start.

Songs In This Episode:

Intro - Jimmy the Exploder

20:07 - The Big Three Killed My Baby

26:53 - Sugar Never Tasted So Good

35:26 - Astro

40:56 - Slicker Drips

Outro - Cannon

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Ben Osmundson and Ali Tabatabaee of Zebrahead | Interview

Thu, 20 Jan 2022 01:00:00 -0500

With the success of acts like Rage Against the Machine, Limp Bizkit, 311, and Korn in the mid-90s, by the end of the decade, labels were jumping on the bandwagon and signing bands that incorporated rap and hip-hop into rock, metal, and punk. Zebrahead, from the pop-punk hotbed Orange County, were one of the bands to benefit from this trend and released their debut, Waste of Mind, on Columbia Records in 1998 featuring the singles “Get Back” and “The Real Me.” Though the music industry would shift to boy bands and teen starlets by the early 2000s, Zebrahead soldiered on, finding success in Europe and Japan. As two of the founding, and original members, of Zebrahead, Ben Osmundson and Ali Tabatabaee join us to discuss the band’s longevity, why their sound clicked with listeners, and how they’ve managed to stay together for 25 years while continuously releasing new music.

Songs In This Episode:

Intro - Check from Waste Of Mind

6:30 - Playmate of the Year from Playmate of the Year

Outro - Falling Apart from MFZB

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Suicidal Tendencies - The Art of Rebellion | Album Review

Tue, 18 Jan 2022 01:00:00 -0500

California thrashers Suicidal Tendencies had already been called "sell outs" when they released the video for the iconic single "Institutionalized." Mike Muir, never one to buck to expectations, took ST in the directions he wanted through the 80s and early 90s, and their 1992 album The Art of Rebellion might be the creative apex for the band. Yes, they thrash. Yes, the rock. But the band was already evolving, and TAOR shows a level of arrangement and playing craftsmanship that doesn't come easy. From the charted MTV single "Nobody Hears" to the shape-shifting opener "Can't Stop," Muir is the most surprising discovery in our revisit, taking his voice and lyrics into a variety of sounds and ideas that still resonate. Of course, having an already established line-up of killer musicians backed by the lone appearance of drumming monster Josh Freese helps to further flesh out all the ideas and sounds into a truly unique record for the time period.

Songs In This Episode:

Intro - Accept My Sacrifice

19:06 - Can't Stop

23:56 - It's Going Down

27:09 - Gotta Kill Captain Stupid

31:34 - Nobody Hears

Outro - Tap Into The Power

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Albums of 1992 | Roundtable

Tue, 11 Jan 2022 01:00:00 -0500

While 1991 is regarded as the true launch of the 1990s alternative explosion into the mainstream, the sheer volume and diversity of music that followed in 1992 might lay claim to the crown as the most interesting year of the decade. The mainstays of 80s college rock were alive and well, with albums by R.E.M., Bob Mould's new band Sugar, Faith No More, The Cure, The Lemonheads, Sonic Youth, Soul Asylum, and many more. The ubiquitous "grunge" sound was fully ensconced in radio and MTV with Stone Temple Pilots, Alice In Chains, and Screaming Trees added to playlists, while more aggressive sounds emerged from the likes of Rage Against the Machine, Helmet, Pantera, and White Zombie. Underground scenes cracked the mainstream as well, as industrial and electronic acts such as Ministry, Nine Inch Nails, The Orb, Curve, Aphex Twin, and others made significant noise, and the growing UK shoegaze scene produced records from Lush, Catherine Wheel, Ride, Moose, etc. And this barely scratches the surface, as hip-hop saw the release of the decade-defining albums The Chronic by Dr. Dre and Check Your Head by the Beastie Boys, as well as albums by Arrested Development, Ice Cube, Das EFX, Redman, The Pharcyde, and more. And that barely scratches the surface.

Songs In This Episode:

Intro - 1992 Medley (Them Bones by Alice In Chains, Wish by Nine Inch Nails, Unsung by Helmet, Somebody To Shove by Soul Asylum)

Outro - Miles Iz Dead by The Afghan Whigs

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Terry Ilous of XYZ, Great White, and Land of Gypsies | Interview

Thu, 06 Jan 2022 01:00:00 -0500

Of late, Terry Ilous is probably best known as Jack Russell’s replacement in Great White (“Once Bitten, Twice Shy”), a position he held from 2010 until his surprising dismissal in 2018, but from the mid-80s until the mid-90s, Ilous fronted the Sunset Strip band XYZ (“Inside Out”, “What Keeps Me Loving You”, “Face Down in the Gutter”). In this revealing conversation, Ilous shares how XYZ bassist Pat Fontaine tricked him into moving to the U.S. from France with promises of sex, drugs, and rock n’ roll, the unlikely way XYZ landed a record deal with Enigma Records, working with Don Dokken on the band’s 1989 debut, touring with the likes of Foreigner, Ozzy Osbourne, and Ted Nugent, the arrival of grunge and the devastating effects it had on Ilous’s career for the rest of the ‘90s and how he left the music business for a number of years before being lured back in through the unlikeliest of ways (voiceover work for cartoons). Ilous has reformed XYZ and still plays shows under that band name while also releasing solo material and fronting Land of Gypsies, whose self-titled debut was released by Frontiers Music in December.

Songs In This Episode:

Intro - Inside Out by XYZ (from self-titled)

12:56 - Face Down In The Gutter by XYZ (from Hungry)

Outro - Don't Say No by XYZ (from Hungry)

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Meat Puppets - Too High To Die | Album Review

Tue, 04 Jan 2022 01:00:00 -0500

In the fall of 1993, if you heard the name Meat Puppets attached to the newest single Backwater blasting from your local alternative radio station or on MTV, you would be forgiven for thinking this was a new band from Seattle riding the grunge wave. In truth, this was the band's eighth release, and they hailed from the much sunnier climate of Phoenix, Arizona. As veterans of the indie rock scene who had spent the 80s on famed SST Records, Too High To Die was their second major-label release, and the band was as much an influence on the current wave of alternative acts breaking through as a contemporary, as evidenced by Nirvana's choice to cover three of the band's songs on their MTV Unplugged performance and have the Kirkwood brothers join them onstage. With Too High To Die, the band shows off all of their skills, crafting finger-picked bluegrass tracks alongside ripping Soundgarden-esque tunes.

Songs In This Episode:

Intro - Backwater

20:27 - Shine

24:19 - Things

29:17 - Severed Goddess Hand

37:48 - Evil Love

Outro - We Don't Exist

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Season Eleven In Review

Tue, 28 Dec 2021 01:00:00 -0500

While 2020 seemed like it lasted several terrifying years, 2021 flew by with somehow the same number of days, and for us, episodes. As with our previous year-in-review episodes, we take a look back at our favorite new album discoveries, most brought to us by our Patreon community, as well as our most enjoyable round table experiences, and our favorite 80s album discoveries, episodes which are exclusive to our patrons. And we've got news to share about 2022!

Songs In This Episode:

Intro - Dig Me Out by Sleater-Kinney

Outro - Dig Me Out by Sleater-Kinney

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Clouds - Penny Century | Album Review

Tue, 21 Dec 2021 01:00:00 -0500

While Nirvana famously helped give the college and underground rock scene one final push into the mainstream, the late 80s and early 90s were full of US and UK bands already making noise that connected with more than just the hip in-crowd. In Australia, the quick bursts of the Pixies and twin vocals of Throwing Muses and The Breeders are paralleled by the dual-songwriters fronting Clouds, whose 1991 debut Penny Century is full of two and three minute catchy harmonized indie pop.

Songs In This Episode:

Intro - Immorta

11:29 - Hieronymus

18:33 - Pocket

23:43 - Visionary

27:30 - Souleater

Outro - Foxes Wedding

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Coverdale Page - Coverdale Page | Album Review

Tue, 14 Dec 2021 01:00:00 -0500

Throughout his career, David Coverdale has been dogged with comparisons to Robert Plant's Led Zeppelin years thanks to a similar style and range, even if the performances rendered different musical outcomes. By the time the early 90s rolled around, Coverdale put Whitesnake on hiatus and Page was working on Led Zeppelin compact disc remasters when the two met up and began a casual songwriting relationship that eventually led to their (so far) lone record together - the eponymous 1993 release Coverdale * Page. Fans of both bands, of which there was probably plenty of crossover, had much to rejoice about. Page riffing sounds invigorated and Coverdale is his equal, coming up with memorable hooks on several tracks. But while these artists made their names during the vinyl era, the bloat of the compact disc is length is in full display, as tracks better suited for three or four minutes get stretched to six and seven.

Songs In This Episode:

Intro - Shake My Tree

25:03 - Pride And Joy

29:28 - Over Now

33:38 - Feeling Hot

Outro - Waiting On You

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The Black Crowes - Amorica | Album Review

Tue, 07 Dec 2021 01:00:00 -0500

Trends came and went in the 90s, some propelling underground subgenres into the mainstream, while others revitalized previously dormant sounds. A few bands, mostly under the radar like Cry Of Love, The Four Horsemen, The Screamin' Cheetah Wheelies, Raging Slab, and Brother Cane, were ignoring the sounds of Seattle for rock rooted in 60s and 70s blues, r&b, southern, country, and hard rock. Leading the pack was Marietta, Georgia's The Black Crowes, who had been kicking around since the 1980s under various names, led by the mercurial Robinson brothers, Chris and Rich. Their debut is full of well-known radio singles, while their follow-up expanded their sound and garnered further accolades. But sessions for their third album, originally titled Tall, became mired in endless and expensive experimentation. After refocusing, the band wrote and rewrote to land on Amorica, displaying a matured and relaxed vibe with the guitar fire that made the band favorites, but without devolving into navel-gazing jams that others in the compact disc era regularly abused.

Songs In This Episode:

Intro - Gone

24:59 - Wiser Time

30:17 - P.25 London

37:28 - A Conspiracy

Outro - High Head Blues

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Music We‘re Thankful For In 2021 | Roundtable

Tue, 30 Nov 2021 01:00:00 -0500

Last year we spent Thanksgiving Eve with our patrons and friends sharing new music we were thankful for during a difficult year. 2021 has presented its own challenges, but we're lucky to have so many musical artists and creatives to turn to for escape. From the metal and hard rock of Iron Maiden, Danko Jones, and Mammoth WVH to the trip-hop of Morcheeba, Sneaker Pimps, and Hooverphonic, to the electronic and industrial of Front Line Assembly, Martin Gore, and Gary Numan, to a host of other artists like Brandi Carlisle, Dave Gutter, Palm Ghosts, The Hold Steady, Spectres, King Buffalo, Ben Kweller, and many more, there was plenty to celebrate.

Songs In This Episode:

Intro - Don't Back Down by Mammoth WVH (from Mammoth WVH)

7:27 - All My Heroes Are Dead by Dave Gutter (from I've Been Here Awhile EP)

15:12 - John Carpenter by Palm Ghosts (from The Lost Frequency)

18:24 - The Creeps by Garbage (from No Gods No Masters)

24:29 - Family Farm by The Hold Steady (from Open Door Policy)

30:13 - Blink Twice by Jim Ward (from Daggers)

36:42 - Swan Song by Lindsey Buckingham (from Lindsey Buckingham)

46:12 - Submarines by Failure (from Wild Type Droid)

57:38 - Ouch by The Tragically Hip (from Saskadelphia EP)

Outro - This Love Ain't Dead by Aaron and the Lord (from Aaron and the Lord)

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Tue, 26 Oct 2021 01:00:00 -0500

Just like how the 1990s produced hundreds of alternative bands signed to major labels that barely made a dent in radio, MTV, or Billboard, the 80s had their fair share of obscure and forgotten acts of might-have-beens. Those rock bands that straddled the line between the two decades often suffered the worst, coming in at the tail end of hair/glam rock dominance into the emergent alternative and college rock scene ready to explode. Phantom Blue is a perfect example of this interesting time, a band whose 1989 debut is more in line with 80s metal, while their 1993 follow-up (and last) record Built to Perform shows growth in multiple directions, incorporating the drop-d riffing of Soundgarden and Alice In Chains flawlessly with Guns 'n Roses licks and energy.

Songs In This Episode:

Intro - Better Off Dead

15:32 - Lied To Me

21:11 - Little Man

31:01 - My Misery

Outro - Time to Run

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Bands From the 90s Reuniting - Part 2 | Roundtable

Tue, 19 Oct 2021 01:00:00 -0500

Band reunions aren't new, as some of the best-selling and most well-known bands have gone on hiatus or broken up for extended periods of time. Back in 2015, we discussed 1990s rock bands that had broken up and gotten back together. Six years have passed, and more bands have reunited, released material, or at least toured. We decided to revisit the topic and discuss bands like Swervedriver, Hum, The Psychedelic Furs, The Vapors, Guns 'n Roses, and many more who have been back in the studio (either to record or rerecord) and hit the road together.

Songs In This Episode:

Intro - Step Into You by Hum

11:50 - Thread by Shades Apart

18:09 - Don't Believe by The Psychedelic Furs

34:50 - Amputation by The Jesus And Mary Chain

47:00 - The Colour of Love by The Smashing Pumpkins

Outro - Mary Winter by Swervedriver

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Creeper Lagoon - I Become Small and Go | Album Review

Tue, 12 Oct 2021 01:00:00 -0500

Before Creeper Lagoon scored a minor hit with "Wrecking Ball" on their 2001 major label, radio-friendly alternative rock album Take Back The Universe and Give Me Yesterday, the band released a much more intimate debut. 1998's I Become Small and Go, co-produced in part by John King of The Dust Brothers, finds an even balance between catchy indie-pop, and more produced and layered tracks. Using a host of loops, oddball sounds, and other studio tricks gives tracks like "Wonderful Love" just enough earworm material to balance with the more subdued songs like "Sylvia." Unfortunately, the band can't hold up the momentum, and the album takes a noticeable dive in quality towards the end, but that doesn't erase what is a re-listenable record.

Songs In This Episode:

Intro - Dear Deadly

17:16 - Wonderful Love

20:23 - Sylvia

24:04 - Drink and Drive

Outro - Empty Ships

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Tom Waits - Bone Machine | Album Review

Tue, 05 Oct 2021 01:00:00 -0500

He's an outlier, an enigma, an iconoclast, an original. We're talking about Tom Waits, whose career is more closely tied to the 70s and 80s, but who released his Grammy Award-winning album Bone Machine in 1992 just as the first wave of grunge was talking off in 90s rock. Trying to compare Waits, and this album in particular, to any of his contemporaries, is a fool's errand. Sure, there's a bit of Nick Cave here, some Mark Lanegan there, even some Morphine and Beck, but Waits is often on another planet entirely. Using a collection of non-traditional percussion instruments (some homemade) combined with buzzing guitars and ramshackle pianos, to create a junkyard orchestra. It often sounds like it's falling apart before it even starts, but Waits can bring it together with his vocals, even if they are the most divisive aspect of a Tom Waits album.

Songs In This Episode:

Intro - I Don't Wanna Grow Up

17:26 - Black Wings

24:49 - That Feel

29:54 - Whistle Down The Wind

34:26 - Goin' Out West

Outro - The Earth Died Screaming

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90s Guilty Pleasures | Roundtable

Tue, 28 Sep 2021 01:00:00 -0500

In popular culture, whether it's music, films, books, or television, the idea of a Guilty Pleasure has existed as long as people have formed opinions on entertainment. High versus low art, serious versus inconsequential, intimate versus manufactured - everyone has their own criteria. We discuss the power of shame, such as when a once-popular genre falls out of favor, or when the personal behavior of an artist can affect an audience, the phrase can take on an even more serious interpretation.

Songs In This Episode:

Intro - Barbie Girl by Aqua

Outro - I'm Too Sexy by Right Said Fred

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Wellwater Conspiracy - Brotherhood of Electric: Operational Directives | Album Review

Tue, 21 Sep 2021 01:00:00 -0500

Members of Seattle's biggest bands of the 90s rock scene were often dabbling in side projects, like Temple of the Dog, Mad Season, and Brad. Matt Cameron and John McBain had previously played together in Hater, and along with Soundgarden bassist Ben Sheppard started Wellwater Conspiracy By the time they got around to album number two, Sheppard left, leaving Cameron and McBain to make the 1999's Brotherhood of Electric: Operational Directives, along with some friends. One of those friends is Josh Homme, not long after the end of Kyuss and just as Queens of the Stone Age is starting up, who hops on board for vocals on three tracks. Cameron tackles most of the rest and does a nice job with some 60s-influenced garage rock tunes that wouldn't sound out of place on a Hives record. Unfortunately, the side-project nature of the band leaves room for lots of noodling and experimentation. Some good, most not, which turns what would have been a tight, rockin' record into a much more bloated affair in need of a editor.

Songs in this Episode:

Intro - Good Pushin'

13:09 - Compellor

20:55 - Right Of Left Field

23:38 - B.O.U.

28:07 - Van Vanishing

Outro - Red Light Green Light

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Pinback - Pinback | Album Review

Tue, 14 Sep 2021 01:00:00 -0500

Toward the middle of the 1990s, the shift away from loud grunge, post-hardcore, and punk resulted in a wide variety of more introspective sounds. Some bands were tagged with emo, some with slowcore, others with simply indie rock. From Death Cab for Cutie and John Vanderslice to Elliott Smith and Iron & Wine, the late 90s and early aughts were full bands turning down both the volume and tempo. San Diego's Pinback, comprised of veteran scene musicians Rob Crow and Armistead Burwell Smith IV, utilize a wide variety of instruments and approaches on their self-titled debut from 1999. A simple drum preset can carry an entire song, mixing a variety of analog keyboard and guitar sounds, while occasionally introducing samples, guitar-mimicking vinyl scratching, or vocal loops. It's a melancholy but charming debut that presents many interesting ideas that sometimes lack a second or third gear to make them truly inspired.

Songs in this Episode:

Intro - Hurley

17:34 - Tripoli

20:20 - Rousseau

25:33 - Crutch

Outro - Lyon

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Ida - Will You Find Me | Album Review

Tue, 07 Sep 2021 01:00:00 -0500

While 90s rock is known for the volume-pushing bands from Seattle, Boston, Chicago, and other parts around the world, a loose movement of quiet and introspective artists rallied (quietly) around sparse arrangements, hushed vocals, and an appreciation for traditional to 60s folk. Ida covers most of that ground and more on their fourth album, 2000's Will You Find Me. Thanks to a wide range of guest musicians and a major label budget, the band incorporates electric piano, moog, wurlitzer, viola, and a host of other instruments to fill out the nooks and crannies of their deliberate sound. When at their best, the foursome use the three vocals to perfection, crafting haunting and beautiful sound scapes. But on the flip-side, some of the less fussed-over tracks sound bare in comparison, or tracks meander when they should be more concise.

Songs in this Episode:

Intro - Shrug

21:24 - Down on Your Back

26:19 - Turn Me On

32:29 - Encantada

40:18 - Shotgun

48:09 - Man in Mind

Outro - The Radiator

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Deftones in the 90s | Roundtable

Tue, 31 Aug 2021 01:00:00 -0500

By the early 90s metal music faced a crossroads - fixtures of the 70s and 80s influenced by Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin were less connecting less with a younger generation of fans whose exposure to the thrash of Metallica, the hardcore of Bad Brains, and a new wave of guitar gods like Vernon Reid of Living Colour and Tom Morello of Rage Against The Machine. From their early years in high school through years of demoing and playing gigs in Southern California, the Deftones tapped into this wide variety of sounds, as well as new wave and post-punk, to craft a uniquely 90s take on metal. Thought dubbed nu-metal at the time on their 1995 debut album Adrenaline and 1997 follow-up Around The Fur, both with producer Terry Date, their sound continued to expand in the 2000s, incorporating shoegaze, space rock, and more. We revisit their 1990s output to trace the beginnings of one of the most interesting and influential alternative metal bands of the past twenty years.

Songs In This Episode:

Intro - My Own Summer (Shove It) from Around The Fur

20:11 - 7 Words from Adrenaline

35:23 - Be Quiet And Drive (Far Away) from Around The fur

42:28 - The Chauffeur (Duran Duran cover)

Outro - Bored from Adrenalin

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Ned’s Atomic Dustbin - Are You Normal? | Album Review

Tue, 24 Aug 2021 01:00:00 -0500

Few names evoke the 90s like Ned's Atomic Dustbin. It doesn't hurt that the band also sported an unusual line-up of two bass players that made full use of the sonic range - one carrying the low end and the other mid-range riffs ala Peter Hook of New Order. It gave The Neds something extra to play with, and on 1992's Are You Normal? the band shed their punkier, less polished debut sound for a rhythmic, bouncy follow-up effort. While the rhythm section carries a large amount of songs, if gives the guitar room to roam, from metalish funk riffs to blissed out delays. On the stronger material, it gels nicely, but the album takes time to find its footing, with a back-half that shows more range and depth that keeps us from loving the whole.

Songs In This Episode:

Intro - Suave And Suffocated

29:42 - Walking Through Syrup

40:30 - Not Sleeping Around

57:03 - Intact

Outro - Swallowing Air

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Wicker Man - Wicker Man | Album Review

Tue, 17 Aug 2021 01:00:00 -0500

Chicago had a reputation for producing some of the notable heavier bands of the 1990s, including Ministry, Smashing Pumpkins, The Jesus Lizard, Shellac, and My Life with the Thrill Kill Kult. You can now add Wicker Man to that list. Not familiar with the band Wicker Man, you say? We're here to help, thanks to one of our knowledgeable Patreon patrons. The band managed just one full-length, their 1995 self-titled debut for Hollywood Records, and it's both hard and easy to understand why the band is all but forgotten. The quality and craftsmanship is clear, heavy riffs that touch on power metal, stoner rock, post-hardcore, and more that could satisfy a wide variety of metal fans. But looking back on 1995, it's also easy to see how the band was out of step with the emerging nu metal and industrial scenes, which makes rediscovering the band all the sweeter.

Songs In This Episode:

Intro - You Annoy Me

19:26 - Party Grrrl

26:56 - Don't Believe A Word

29:58 - Hey Hey Hey

39:47 - Brainfreeze

Outro - Sugarfoot

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Rusty - Fluke | Album Review

Tue, 10 Aug 2021 01:00:00 -0500

Rusty's 1995 debut album Fluke pulls off a neat trick, sound both of the times and yet somehow ticking the boxes of previous generations. There is the swampy garage blues of "Warning" that Royal Trux or Beck would appreciate as much as ZZ Top of Rory Gallagher. There is a blast of hardcore-ish punk on the aptly titled "Punk" and nods from everyone to the Stooges, Nirvana, Dinosaur Jr. and The Replacements across the record. Separated, the guitars might sound too gnarly or the drums to lo-fi, but the overall combination mostly finds the sweet spot.

Song In This Episode:

Intro - Groovy Dead

13:22 - Misogyny

18:07 - K.D. Lang

19:52 - Warning

23:50 - Punk

Outro - California

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Collective Soul - Disciplined Breakdown | Album Review

Tue, 03 Aug 2021 01:00:00 -0500

Best known for their string of mid-90s hit singles that smoothed off the harder edges of what we once called alternative rock, Collective Soul returned in 1997 under difficult circumstances with Disciplined Breakdown. A legal battle with their ex-manager lead to a canceled tour and recording the record on their own. Thanks to Ed Roland's tenured history as a musician and songwriter, the band barely misses a step combining pop-friendly melodies with rock arrangements and sounds, even taking some unexpected detours that work ("Link") and don't work ("Full Circle").

Songs in this Episode:

Intro - Precious Declaration

25:02 - Disciplined Breakdown

34:51 - Link

40:18 - Crowded Head

Outro - Listen

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Double Albums of the 90s | Roundtable

Tue, 27 Jul 2021 01:00:00 -0500

While the double album (two vinyl LPs) has long been the medium for big-thinking artists from Bob Dylan to Pink Floyd, introducing cassettes and compact discs in the 1980s changed the format length and what actually qualified as a double album. In the 1990s, artists again began pushing the limits of the dominant medium, as evidenced by double album releases over two compact discs not only by 90s rock bands like The Smashing Pumpkins or Wilco, but with hip-hop, electronic and others expanding their releases like from The Notorious B.I.G., Nine Inch Nails, The Orb, Tupac Shakur, and others.

Songs in this Episode:

Intro - We're In This Together by Nine Inch Nails (from The Fragile)

21:26 - Bodies by The Smashing Pumpkins (from Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness)

30:06 - Outta Mind (Outta Sight) by Wilco (from Being There)

46:40 - Brown Paper Bag (Single Remix) by Roni Size - Reprazent (from New Forms)

56:20 - The Sound by Swans (from Soundtracks For The Blind)

Outro - Little Fluffy Clouds by The Orb (from The Orb's Adventures Beyond The Ultraworld)

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Widespread Panic - Bombs and Butterflies | Album Review

Tue, 20 Jul 2021 01:00:00 -0500

The moniker "jam bands" had been around for decades before their 90s counterparts in Phish, Rusted Root, and String Cheese Incident brought their own takes out on the road. Athens, Georgia based Widespread Panic draw on the southern sounds of The Allman Brothers Band as well as other guitar heroes like Eric Clapton and J. J. Cale to craft their guitar and keyboard driven sounds. The trick with jam bands, regardless of decade, has always been converting the energy and improvisation of the live performance into a crafted studio product. On 1997's Bombs and Butterflies, Widespread Panic smartly avoids overly long passages for trimmed down and concise songwriting.

Songs in this Episode:

Intro - Radio Child

17:18 - Aunt Avis

19:06 - You Got Yours

41:18 - Glory

52:32 - Hope In A Hopeless World

Outro - Gradle

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Swell - Too Many Days Without Thinking | Album Review

Tue, 13 Jul 2021 01:00:00 -0500

Plenty of bands messed around with a lo-fi sound in the 90s, sometimes to euphoric effects, sometimes not so much. Swell dabbles: a white noise fractured guitar lead here, a flat acoustic guitar riff there. But on Too Many Days Without Thinking, they are merely small pieces of a more layered puzzle. Had it been played on Les Paul's through big amps, the album would have sounded very familiar, so dialing back the noise and putting it to sparing use helps elevate the band above their 90s rock peers.

Songs in this Episode:

Intro - Make Mine You

14:27 - When You Come Over

19:08 - Throw the Wine

22:36 - What I Always Wanted

29:01 - (I Know) The Trip

Outro - F*ck Even Flow

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#547: Hash by Hash

Tue, 06 Jul 2021 01:00:00 -0500

Well-regarded music historians often explain the 90s explosion of alternative music into the mainstream boiled down as the rise of Seattle grunge, the So-Cal pop-punk sound going national, and the movements that followed like the swing revival, electronica, nu-metal, and more. But lost in that simplicity is the more difficult and (quite frankly) weirder starting point of the decade, where bands were mixing and moshing across a spectrum of hard rock, funk, and more. A prime example is the one-and-done band Hash, who released their self-titled album on Elektra in 1993. The band sounds comfortable mixing Red Hot Chili Peppers-style funk with Living Colour-esque swagger and shredding with touches of 60s sitar-spiked psychedelia, all topped with big melodies and harmonies. It's a talented if at times overcooked stew, but finding bands that can play in this many sandboxes and maintain a level of quality is few and far between, even if some of the big swings are misses.

Songs In This Episode:

Intro - Twilight Ball

17:09 - In The Grass

22:08 - Ghetto

27:58 - Mr. Hello

29:36 - Traveling

Outro - American Chorus

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#546: Make A Pest A Pet by The Age of Electric

Tue, 29 Jun 2021 01:00:00 -0500

Lots of bands have brothers, but how about two pairs of brothers? Perhaps growing up with a musical sibling is the reason the Kerns and Dahle brothers are able to crafty such a hooky and satisfying album of power-pop tinged rock on their third and final released as The Age of Electric - 1996's Make A Pest A Pet. Along with fellow Canadian 90s rock bands like Sloan, Odds, and Zumpano, TAOE bring their own take to the nebulous power-pop genre, bashing through three-minute guitar lead bursts without sacrificing dynamics or melody.

Songs In This Episode:

Intro - Remote Control

18:56 - Mad at the World

21:34 - Nothing Happens

29:35 - Don't Wreck It

Outro - Unity or Grenadine

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#545: Lollapalooza in the 90s

Tue, 22 Jun 2021 01:00:00 -0500

Launched in 1991 by Perry Farrell as a farewell tour for Jane's Addiction, Lollapalooza immediately became the defining musical tour of the decade. Inspired by the UK festivals like Reading, Farrell concocted an underground music celebration based on the bands he wanted to see and tour with - Siouxsie and the Banshees, Living Colour, Nine Inch Nails, Ice-T & Body Count, Butthole Surfers, Rollins Band, Violent Femmes, and Fishbone. After it proved a success, the tour exploded in size until, but seemed to lose steam at point through the decade, as the once groundbreaking festival became another opportunity to chase trends and showcase already hugely popular bands. We look back at each tour in the 90s, as well as compare it to the current incarnation as a corporate-driven destination festival in Chicago.

Songs in this Episode:

Intro - Smells Like Teen Spirit by Soundgarden (Nirvana cover, 7/22/92)

Outro - Sabotage by Beastie Boys (8/6/94)

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#544: Throwing Copper by Live

Tue, 15 Jun 2021 01:00:00 -0500

Of all the bands to release big albums in 1994, there may be none bigger than Live's sophomore album Throwing Copper. In the studio heavyweights like Jerry Harrison (production), Lou Giordano (engineering), and Tom Lord-Alge (mixing) helmed the album that prepared the band for multiple radio singles, MTV hits, album sales around the globe. It also helped that they leaned into their successful influences, channeling U2, R.E.M., and Pearl Jam without coming across as imitators. Revisiting an album that was everywhere for over a year (it took fifty-two weeks to reach number one, the third-longest ever), digging into the lesser-known album tracks reveals a band that could embrace simplistic fun as easily as dour universalism.

Songs in this Episode

Intro - All Over You

17:19 - Selling The Drama

22:11 - Stage

33:13 - Lightning Crashes

44:19 - Waitress

Outro - I Alone

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#543:Golden Duck by Moler

Tue, 08 Jun 2021 01:00:00 -0500

With vocals equal part sneer and sweet, supported by a thick and fuzzy bass, Moler is a little pop, a little punk, slightly grunge, and very interesting on their lone album from 1997, Golden Duck. The three-piece is at no loss for volume, cranking out over a dozen two and a half to four-minute gems that have plenty of attitude and energy. Lead singer and bassist Helen Cattanach, along with Julien Poulson on guitar and Steven Boyle on the drums, are a tight unit that only falters when the melodies don't shine, which happens a few times on the back half of an otherwise engaging album.

Songs on this Episode:

Intro - Mustang Base

11:35 - Pseudoephedrine

23:06 - I Do, I Do

31:39 - Warning Sign

Outro - Red Light Disco

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#542: Maximum Sincere by Big Heavy Stuff

Tue, 01 Jun 2021 01:00:00 -0500

We've revisited many 90s rock bands from Australia of various types, but Big Heavy Stuff is the first to nail the post-hardcore sound made (underground) famous by bands in D.C., Kansas City, and Chicago. On 1997's Maximum Sincere, the band takes full advantage of the spacious room recording to showcase the drumming via slowed tempos and minimal arrangements that spark and blaze sonically at just the right times. There is enough melody and interesting guitar work to keep the album interesting, always a tricky proposition when slowing down, but that leads to some less than stellar material on the back half the overall strong album.

Songs in this Episode:

Intro - The Train Stops Here

14:07 - Maximum Sincere

25:31 - Cheating on a Dead Wife

29:43 - May

Outro - Big Mouth

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#541: Soundgarden in the 80s

Tue, 25 May 2021 01:00:00 -0500

Few bands are more rightly associated with the rise of alternative music from the underground to the mainstream than Soundgarden. Starting out in the mid 80s as a prototypical Seattle band backed by Sub Pop, produced by Jack Endino, and indebted to the heavy thud of 70s Black Sabbath combined with punk aggression, the original line-up quickly coalesced, releasing a slew of material in just three years. With Sub Pop in financial dire straits, the band recorded the debut album for SST, and showcased Chris Cornell's unique falsetto paired with the band's growing technical proficiency. A year later, they would end the decade on A&M records and release Louder Than Love, which further evolved the band into the metal sound that drove original bassist Hiro Yamamoto to quit, unhappy with the musical direction of the band. Within these recordings are the DNA that would lead to the breakthrough Badmotorfinger, and set the band up as the pre-eminent hard rock band of the 90s.

Songs In This Episode:

Intro - Hands All Over (from Louder Than Love)

14:48 - Nothing To Say (from Screaming Life EP)

32:07 - Flower (from Ultramega OK)

42:26 - Head Injury (from Ultramega OK)

50:46 - Ugly Truth (from Louder Than Love)

Outro - I Awake (from Louder Than Love)

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#540: Spilt Milk by Jellyfish

Tue, 18 May 2021 01:00:00 -0500

For such a short career, Jellyfish managed to pack decades worth of musical ambition and melodic knowhow into just two studio albums. The comparisons are nothing new - The Beatles, Queen, The Beach Boys, Badfinger, Wings - but while plenty of bands have been tagged with the "power-pop" label over the years, Jellyfish occupy a unique space of both defining and transcending the label. On 1993's Spilt Milk, for as much Raspberries and Cheap Trick influence a listener can spot, the band is clearly going for a bigger, more grandiose sound that draws inspiration from the stage and screen.

Songs In This Episode:

Intro - Joining A Fan Club

17:36 - All Is Forgiven

28:13 - Brighter Day

32:55 - Sebrina, Paste and Plato

Outro - New Mistake

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#539: Killjoy by Shihad

Tue, 11 May 2021 01:00:00 -0500

On their 1995 sophomore album Killjoy, New Zealand's Shihad might fool you with their opening Helmet-like salvo of "You Again" and "Gimme Gimme," two tracks of chugging down-tuned riffage with bass and kick locked-in. But this is not a Helmet clone, or a clone of any American post-punk band you might conjure, as the band shows off a variety of stylistic and rhythmic approaches that recall late 80s albums by The Cure. Somehow this band managed to slip under our radar in the mid-nineties, which is surprising considering the comparisons to bands such as Barkmarket and Jawbox.

Songs In This Episode:

Intro - You Again

19:22 - Deb's Night Out

26:55 - The Call

34:34 - Bitter

41:49 - Silvercup

Outro - Gimme Gimme

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#538: Abort by Tribe

Tue, 04 May 2021 01:00:00 -0500

Eclectic bands can be a tricky proposition. Too much genre-switching and musical diversity can strip a band of an identity, with the disparate parts not adding up too much. But done right, and finding a unified sound in the song-to-song evolution, can make for an exciting listen. Luckily, with Boston's Tribe and their 1991 album Abort, it's the latter. While chronologically they're at the start of the emerging 90s rock scene, their sound harkens back to the 80s in a variety of ways, weaving in new wave, jangle pop, and underground college rock with layered harmonies, nods to shoegaze and dream pop, while keeping the arrangements tight.

Songs In This Episode:

Intro - Joyride (I Saw The Film)

19:19 - Abort

21:03 - Here At Home

29:42 - Jackpot

32:25 - Daddy's Home

Outro - Tied

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#537: Are You With Me? by Cowboy Mouth

Tue, 27 Apr 2021 01:00:00 -0500

Regionality isn't talked about much outside Seattle with regard to 90s rock, but just like how the Pacific Northwest was experimenting with punk and metal in unique ways, other parts of the United States had an impact on the bands from their locales. Like our recent Better Than Ezra episode, Cowboy Mouth is from Louisiana, a state which boasts a deep and rich musical history that can't help but imprint on the latest generation. In the case of Cowboy Mouth and their 1996 album Are You With Me?, and the members' previous 80s bands Dash Rip Rock and Red Rockers, the influence of roots rock, blues, Americana, and more can be heard throughout in subtle nods and swinging rhythms. Unfortunately, some of the personality gets sanded off for a sound that is ready for mainstream radio, but also lacking some needed edge.

Song In This Episode

Intro - Jenny Says

20:39 - Man On The Run

30:27 - God Makes The Rain

34:28 - Love Of My Life

38:02 - How Do You Tell Someone

Outro - New Orleans

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#536: Lo-Fi in the 90s

Tue, 20 Apr 2021 01:00:00 -0500

Lo-fi isn't unique to the 1990s, but it is the first decade that the recording technique (meaning literally "lo-fidelity") merged with indie rock and take on a genre identity. Artists like Pavement, Sebadoh, Guided By Voices, Liz Phair, and more found their bedroom and basement recordings appealing to more than just a tape-trading crowd with the advent of cheap CD reproduction and small labels with better distribution. But it begs the question - is lo-fi simply a recording technique based on circumstance, or an aesthetic artists strive for to attain a particular emotional effect.

Song In This Episode

Intro - I Am A Scientist by Guided By Voices

12:57 - Splendid Isolation by The Bevis Frond

22:49 - Drive All Over Town by Elliott Smith

32:37 - Losercore by Sentridoh

45:56 - Parting Shot by The Grifter

1:06:38 - Anytime You Want by Eric's Trip

Outro - Summer Babe (Winter Version) by Pavement

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#535: Rotting Piñata by Sponge

Tue, 13 Apr 2021 01:00:00 -0500

After the early 90s explosions of Seattle grunge and alternative rock, labels swept up bands from across the country (and globe) that had any sonic resemblance to the chart toppers. By 1994, the signing frenzy was in full swing, and bands new and old found their way to major labels. Some were teenagers from Australia, while others might have veterans of midwestern hard rock and metal bands, as was the case with Sponge. If there is a reason why their major label debut Rotting Piñata from 1994 sounds so confident, it's because these weren't first timers figuring it out. That confidence shows as the album balances tight, melodic singles with album tracks that incorporate a wide pallet of influences from 80s Psychedelic Furs and R.E.M. to 90s shoegaze and metal.

Songs In This Episode:

Intro - Molly

16:32 - Miles

18:00 - Neenah Menasha

28:00 - Giants

31:36 - Pennywheels

Outro - Drowned

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#534: Pushing the Salmanilla Envelope by Jimmie's Chicken Shack

Mon, 05 Apr 2021 11:05:00 -0500

Bands only get to make their debut album once, but for Jimmie's Chicken Shack, a few practice swings paid off. Taking tracks from several low-profile independent releases and combining them for the 1997 major label debut means the material on Pushing the Salmanilla Envelope sounds refined and well-thought-out without being stale and lifeless. Unlike some contemporaries who relied on thick, down-tuned guitars to push their angst, JCS work in layers of intricate guitar leads that recall 1970s progressive rock or 90s math rock but with a funk metal twist.

Songs In This Episode

Intro - High

21:00 - Dropping Anchor

24:16 - When You Die You're Dead

33:14 - This Is Not Hell

36:02 - Milk

Outro - Hole

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#533: Bring On The Juice by Hoss

Tue, 30 Mar 2021 01:00:00 -0500

We've listened to plenty of Australian 90s rock that made little to no impact in the United States many times but rarely has a band sounded so US-based in its influences as Hoss. On their third album Bring On The Juice, swinging punk rhythms recall Detroit's 70s action rock scene, while more dissonant moments sound like pre-90s grunge from the likes of Mudhoney or early Dinosaur Jr. Attitude, confidence, and swagger abound on these eleven tracks, sometimes leading the band into overly long excursions that could use some trimming. But overall, Hoss finds a way to sound off the moment and timeless concurrently, not an easy feat to pull off.

Songs In This Episode

Intro - 11:11 Again

21:36 - Mighty Hand

28:04 - Lip From Lip

31:27 - Gentle Claws

Outro - The Tiredest Man Awake

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#532: Sophomore Slump Revisited - Congratulations, I'm Sorry by Gin Blossoms

Tue, 23 Mar 2021 01:00:00 -0500

While 1996's Congratulations, I'm Sorry charted higher than 1992's New Miserable Experience for the Gin Blossoms, it failed to produce the same number of singles and managed only a quarter of the sales. The simplistic answer is to pin the decline on the loss of guitarist and songwriter Doug Hopkins, who penned their biggest and most enduring hit "Hey Jealousy." But as we have learned, the landscape changed fast for bands in 90s rock. NME singles made an impact in 1993 and 1994, and the band's contribution to the Empire Records soundtrack, "Til I Hear It From You," was also a hit. Is it possible listeners had Gin Blossoms fatigue in 1996? The album charted well upon release, and "Follow You Down" was a hit, but no other singles connected, and the band would break-up the following year for a four-year hiatus. So does Congratulations, I'm Sorry deserve its sophomore slump status, or is it worthy of redemption?

Songs In This Episode

Intro - Follow You Down

20:38 - Virginia

30:54 - Day Job

45:46 - Competition Smile

Outro - As Long As It Matters

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#531: Mint 400 by Ammonia

Tue, 16 Mar 2021 01:00:00 -0500

By 1995, it was difficult for American "alternative" bands to make a dent in the US, let alone a rookie Australian band on a new label with just a handful of releases to crack MTV and radio. Ammonia did that with the quirky single "Drugs," which found singer/guitarist Dave Johnstone melding the quiet/loud bombast of Nirvana with a delivery more reminiscent of Wayne Coyne. But "Drugs" is the classic case of a single not exactly representing the sound of the record, as the rest of Mint 400 shifts between big fuzzed-out riffing in the vein of Swervedriver's shoegaze and Superchunk's early noise pop. The band works best in short, loud bursts, only losing focus when the tempo drops and running time drags.

Songs In This Episode:

Intro - Drugs

22:17 - Suzi Q

30:40 - Ken Carter

43:41 - Mint 400

Outro - Sleepwalking

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#530: Friction, Baby by Better Than Ezra

Tue, 09 Mar 2021 01:00:00 -0500

Of the all bands that scored alternative hits in the 90s rock, few managed to recapture that sales magic on ensuing albums. But that doesn't mean their follow-ups records were lesser, and in some cases they made superior albums that got overlooked by fickle record buyers. Case in point: Better Than Ezra. After having their 1993 self-released sophomore album Deluxe repackaged and reissued by Elektra in 1995, and scoring a hit single with "Good," the band quickly reconvened and recorded the follow-up Friction, Baby. What the 1996 album lacks is the killer-hook single, but what it gains is confidence. While still boasting a pair of quality radio friend tracks in "King of New Orleans" and "Desperately Wanting," the album overall has the air of a band confident and secure in the sound while still stretching. That can lead to some magic, like on the blazing "Long Lost" and somber "Speeding Up To Slow Down," but also some hubris to go too far on the bad funk of "Normal Town" and "Still Live with Cooley."

Songs In This Episode:

Intro - King of New Orleans

19:36 - Long Lost

27:33 - Scared, Are You?

31:24 - Speeding Up To Slow Down

34:31 - Normal Town

Outro - Desperately Wanting

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#529: Eyewitness by Shades Apart

Tue, 02 Mar 2021 01:00:00 -0500

The balance between the "pop" and the "punk" in "pop-punk" can be tricky, especially when a band comes from the latter scene. On the Shades Apart 1999 album Eyewitness, the punk of the 90s (i.e. Green Day, The Offspring, Blink-182, Rancid, etc.) is represented more in the songwriting than the speed, something a lot of those bands would incorporate as time wore one. But Eyewitness goes one step further by adding subtle yet effective ska and reggae flourishes more akin to The Police than Less Than Jake. With producer Lou Giordano behind the board, the band crafts a well-manicured sonic pallet but like many, falls victim to the late 90s/early 00s guitar tones that haven't aged as well as the songwriting.

Songs In This Episode:

Intro - Edge Of The Century

19:35 - Stranger By The Day

31:14 - One Starry Night

37:03 - Chasing Daydreams

Outro - 100 Days

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#528: Tokyo An*l Dynamite by The Gerogerigegege

Tue, 23 Feb 2021 01:00:00 -0500

Count to four. Do it seventy-five times, only interrupted by blistering feedback, screaming, and manic drums. And do it in about thirty-one minutes. That is Tokyo An*l Dynamite by The Gerogerigegege. In the world of experimental and avante-garde, noise has been tackled by artists as big as Neil Young and Lou Reed. Sonic Youth made a career out of crafting feedback into a symphony of melody. But if punk is about stripping rock 'n roll down to components and putting in the hands of the most rudimentary players, Tokyo Anal Dynamite might be the most punk rock album ever made.

Songs In This Episode:

Intro - Rock 'n Roll

Outro - Atama

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#527: Cats and Dogs by Royal Trux

Tue, 16 Feb 2021 01:00:00 -0500

Despite what the million-dollar deal with Virgin Records might have implied, Royal Trux we're never going to be hitmakers. The label bought their cool factor based largely on the 1993 album Cats and Dogs, their first to embrace the songwriting end of their lo-fi aesthetic that danced on the edges of 90s rock via critical praise and underground hype. Part droning Velvet Underground, part deconstructed Exile On Main Street-era Rolling Stones, with touches of Sonic Youth and Pavement, Royal Trux concocted a stew of brittle, off-kilter blues without a hint of irony. The result is occasionally blistering, but not without fragile moments that sound like collapse is imminent.

Songs In This Episode:

Intro - The Flag

15:48 - Let's Get Lost

18:38 - Up the Sleeve

25:42 - Turn of the Century

37:22 - Driving in That Car (with the Eagle on the Hood)

Outro - The Spectre

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#526: Neil Young In The 90s

Tue, 09 Feb 2021 01:00:00 -0500

Neil Young has always been one to buck convention and follow his own muse, but the 80s saw him fall out of favor with mainstream audiences as he explored rockabilly, synthesizers, hard rock, traditional country, etc. with half-baked results. By the end of the decade, he was back on solid footing with Freedom, setting up Young's renaissance in the 90s. 1990's Ragged Glory paired him again with Crazy Horse, marking the start of a decade that found him touring with a variety of taste-making young acts, like Sonic Youth, Soundgarden, and Pearl Jam, who backed him on the generational crossover album Mirror Ball. Unlike many well-known acts from the 70s and 80s that continued in the 90s, Young might have been the most fully immersed in what was actually happening in 90s rock and pop culture.

Song In This Episode:

Intro - Downtown from Mirror Ball

17:47 - Love To Burn from Ragged Glory

22:25 - Harvest Moon from Harvest Moon

37:56 - Peace And Love from Mirror Ball

49:31 - Big Time from Broken Arrow

Outro - Arc

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#525: Clutch by Clutch

Tue, 02 Feb 2021 01:00:00 -0500

While stoner and desert rock has been associated primarily with California bands like Kyuss, Fu Manchu, and Sleep, in reality artists across the country were putting their own spin on Black Sabbath's tracks like "Sweet Leaf" for decades. Bands like Monster Magnet in New Jersey, Corrosion of Conformity in North Carolina, and Clutch in Maryland have each contributed to 90s rock and beyond. On Clutch's sophomore self-titled album from 1995, the band tone down their freshman punk and louder tendencies, dialing back the distortion and locking into 70s psychedelic head-nodding grooves paired with the occasional frantic jammy freak out. The dividing line for listeners is vocalist Neil Fallon, who possesses one of the most otherworldly heavy voices that can bellow with the best, but is unafraid to explore funkier, sing-songy melodies that may not be for everyone.

Songs In This Episode:

Intro - Big News II

15:31 - Rock N Roll Outlaw

23:42 - Spacegrass

30:40 - Droid

Outro - Seven Jam

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Listen to the episode archive at DigMeOutPodcast.com.

#524: Rid Of Me by PJ Harvey

Tue, 26 Jan 2021 01:00:00 -0500

With three decades of records to look back on, it's safe to say Polly Jean Harvey doesn't stand still for long. From the minimalist blues of To Bring You My Love to the eerie piano pieces of White Chalk, Harvey has become indie rock's David Bowie, evolving her style steadily and consistently, often at odds with expectations. On her second album as PJ Harvey, Rid Of Me stands the test of time thanks to her raw and intimate approach while unleashing Pixies-ish punk and Bo Diddley blues rhythms. Harvey plays in a big sandbox, and her handpicked producer Steve Albini is game, giving plenty of space for light and dark to crash and thrash.

Songs In This Episode:

Intro - 50ft Queenie

16:19 - Rid Of Me

27:03 - Dry

32:52 - Me-Jane

44:03 - Yuri-G

Outro - Missed

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#523: Frizzle Fry by Primus

Tue, 19 Jan 2021 01:00:00 -0500

While much is made of genres like punk breaking through and topping the mainstream of 90s rock, the late 80s success of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Living Colour and Faith No More just as successfully pushed underground/alternative funk metal onto MTV. In 1990, Primus unleashed their twist on the sound with the progressive rock-influenced debut Frizzle Fry. Within a few years, thanks to catchier and catchier tunes paired with creative videos, the band would graduate from Headbanger's Ball to 120 Minutes to daytime rotation, solidifying them as a definitive band of the decade. But what to make of their first studio release, which finds Les Claypool's unendingly inventive approach to bass paired with equally stellar musicians in drummer Tim "Herb" Alexander and guitarist Larry LaLonde. If progressive rock, funk metal, or Claypool's distinct vocal and melodic approach aren't to your taste, is there still something worth checking out?

Songs In This Episode:

Intro - John the Fisherman

18:18 - Too Many Puppies

28:50 - The Toys Go Winding Down

47:45: Harold of the Rocks

Outro - To Defy the Laws of Tradition

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#522: Albums of 1991 Roundtable

Tue, 12 Jan 2021 01:00:00 -0500

Is there a more crucial turning point for 1990s music and 90s rock than 1991? Artists released important albums weekly that would shape the decade (and even entire careers) such as Pearl Jam, U2, Soundgarden, Gun 'n Roses, Smashing Pumpkins, R.E.M., Red Hot Chili Peppers, Primal Scream, Blur, Metallica, and more. Then there were the underground bands that lurked on college radio and outside the Billboard charts like Slint, My Bloody Valentine, Slowdive, Mr. Bungle, Fugazi, Ride, Uncle Tupelo, Mudhoney, and Throwing Muses. It's the debut of Lollapalooza, the year trip-hop and desert / stoner rock would begin their ascension, the year Freddie Mercury released one last album with Queen before his passing, and the year "grunge" became a word everyone knew. It's a super-sized episode with lots of guests and lots to cover.

Songs In This Episode:

1991 Medley (Unbelievable by EMF, Rusty Cage by Soundgarden, There's No Other Way by Blur, Girlfriend by Matthew Sweet)

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#521: Yank Crime by Drive Like Jehu

Tue, 05 Jan 2021 01:00:00 -0500

Few bands can really be described as influential, most either affecting the latest pose or regurgitating a nostalgic vibe. On the other hand, some bands are so ahead of the curve, it can take time for the rest of the world to catch up. That's the case with Drive Like Jehu's sophomore 1995 album Yank Crime, which in the worlds of 90s rock, sounded like a runaway train of mixed up genres - post-hardcore, math rock, emo, post-punk, and more that weren't invented yet. It's not speculation to call this record and this band influential - members of At The Drive-in, Deftones, Modest Mouse, Jimmy Eat World, and more have weighed in over the years on DLJ's unique place in 90s rock canon.

Songs in this Episode:

Intro - Here Come The Rome Plows

22:22 - Luau

32:22 - New Intro

Outro - Do You Compute

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#520: Season Ten - Year In Review

Tue, 29 Dec 2020 01:00:00 -0500

Our look back at Season Ten of the podcast, during which we hit milestone episode five hundred, is a great recap to a not so great year. Our Patreon community continued to support us and lead way, picking interesting and unexpected albums to revisit via individual selections and our monthly polls. It allows us to check out noteworthy 90s bands we had previously missed like Mudhoney, that dog., Neutral Milk Hotel, Dig, Morphine, and PJ Harvey, as well as discover a bevy of lesser-known acts such as Ricaine, Odds, Cosmic Psychos, Giants Chair, and more. From the Hindustani jazz fusion of Indian Ocean to the 70s funk of Big Chief, our sonic pallet was once again expanded thanks to our patrons, who also helped us launch our Discord community, which lead to our new weekly Box newsletter. We looking forward to moving into 2021 and Season Eleven!

Songs In This Episode:

Intro/Outro - Dig Me Out by Sleater-Kinney

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#519: Every Good Boy Deserves Fudge by Mudhoney

Tue, 22 Dec 2020 01:00:00 -0500

Mudhoney may have written some of the most recognized pre-Nirvana breakthrough tracks associated with the Seattle sound of the 80s like "Touch Me, I'm Sick," "Suck You Dry," and "In 'n Out Of Grace," but the band has had as much in common musically with the sound of Detroit punk and garage bands like MC5, Iggy & The Stooges, The Gories, Sonic's Rendezvous Band, etc. On their second full-length album, Every Good Boy Deserves Fudge, released in 1991 just months before Nirvana's Nevermind changed the musical landscape, the band took their established template and added vintage organs, blazing harmonicas, and acoustic guitars to expand their sound. While it helps break up what can become a repetitive listen thanks to the eight-track lower-fidelity production, the band can't deliver on a killer melody or hook the way they had on their previous standout songs.

Songs In This Episode:

Intro - Let It Slide

14:05 - Generation Genocide

18:55 - Something So Clear

23:36 - Pokin' Around

28:03 - Fuzzgunn '91

Outro - Into The Drink

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Tue, 24 Nov 2020 01:00:00 -0500

The third album by that dog. album didn't happen. 1997's Retreat From The Sun was intended to be lead singer Anna Waronker's debut solo album, but after pressure from her record label, it turned into a full-band effort. The result might be the highlight of the that dog. catalog, and one of the best guitar pop albums of the decade. Three minute mid and uptempo radio-friendly tunes with enough grit and subtly layered instrumentation allow Retreat From The Sun to work on two levels - a catchy pop record for casual fans, and a headphone experience for those desiring a deeper listen. With the talented Hayden sisters on vocals and multiple instruments, the record finds the balance between crafted and fresh.

Songs In This Episode:

Intro - Retreat From The Sun

18:27 - Never Say Never

21:39 - Annie

25:05 - Gagged and Tied

Outro - Long Island

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#514: Boggy Depot by Jerry Cantrell

Tue, 17 Nov 2020 01:00:00 -0500

On this episode, we invited Drew Zakmin of the Songs Gone Wrong podcast on to discuss his pick of the 1998 Jerry Cantrell solo debut, Boggy Depot. While his guitar prowess and backing vocals in Alice Chains were well regarded in the 1990s, it wasn't clear what a large part Cantrell played in the overall sound of the band until this album, which features plenty of riffs and melodies on part with tracks on Facelift or Dirt. The heavier and darker sounds associated with the band are significantly reduced, as Cantrell indulges his songwriter side on longer tracks like "Settling Down" and "Cold Piece," while adding horns, piano, and other non-AIC instrumentation to the mix. But producing his own record may have led to some choices that a seasoned producer might have questioned, such as the overlong run-time and (at times) oddly mixing choices that occasionally bury the guitar leads. Once you're done with this episode, make sure to head over to Songs Gone Wrong for the other half of our podcast swap to hear us discuss the 1997 single Tubthumping by Chumbawamba.

Songs In The Episode:

Intro - Cut You In

12:01 - Dickeye

17:21 - Settling Down

22:27 - Devil By His Side

26:01 - Hurt A Long Time

Outro - My Song

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#513: Cattlemen Don't by Triplefastaction

Tue, 10 Nov 2020 01:00:00 -0500

Way back in season number one of Dig Me Out we were joined by an old friend (Chip Midnight, who would become a frequent guest on the show) to discuss one of his favorite bands and albums, the 1996 album Broadcaster by Triplefastaction. During that episode we talked about eventually revisiting the second and final album by the band, 1997's Cattlemen Don't. While we predicted it would be five thousand episodes later, it only ending up being five hundred episodes later, as we are joined by Brian and Kevin from the band, along with producer John Agnello popping in for a bit, to revisit the record and discuss the just-announced double LP vinyl reissue on Chicago's Forge Again Records. From the label, Justin Wexler joins us to share the in's and out's of how a vinyl reissue happens, and of course, our old friend Chip is back to share stories and more with the group.

Songs In This Episode:

Intro - Pure

11:31 - Heroes

35:09 - Eurogirl

1:11:33 - If

Outro - Duck And Run

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Listen to the episode archive at DigMeOutPodcast.com.

#512: Favorite Record Labels of the 90s

Tue, 03 Nov 2020 01:00:00 -0500

Instead of tackling an individual label for this roundtable, we decided to invite our Patreon patrons on the show to discuss some of their favorite record labels of the 1990s. While many started out with a narrow musical focus, some developed and expanded their roster of bands, while others stay true to their original mission. We talked about the pop-punk of Berkeley, CA's Lookout Records, the New York hardcore of Revelation, the garage punk of Bellingham, WA's Estrus Records, the post-punk of Chicago's Touch and Go Records, and many more.

Songs In This Episode:

Intro - B.L.U.R.E.M.I. by Blur

6:43 - Mouth Breather by The Jesus Lizard (Touch & Go)

19:24 - The Young Influentials by Juno (Desoto)

31:31 - Graveyard Girlfriend by The Groovie Ghoulies (Lookout)

48:28 - Killing A Camera - Braid (Polyvinyl)

Outro - Mutate Me by Into Another (Revelation)

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#511: Dirt Track Date by Southern Culture on the Skids

Tue, 27 Oct 2020 01:00:00 -0500

For every obvious major label signing in the mid-90s trying to capitalize on the success of a variety of Seattle-sounding guitar bands, there was an equal number of head-scratchers that seem to make little sense in retrospect. Take Southern Culture on the Skids, a North Carolina rockabilly outfit that had kicked around since the mid-80s, but found a home on Geffen Records alongside Weezer, Sonic Youth, Veruca Salt, and White Zombie for their 1995 release Dirt Track Date. What the three-piece had going for them is a tight unit of skilled players steeped in American music history, smoothly transitioning from steel-pedal Hawaiian influenced ballads to B-52s-esque kitschy minimalist pop. Dirt Track Date may have only made the slightest dent thanks to its quirky single "Camel Walk," but like the swing revival, the attempt at recapturing the sounds of the past comes across as earnest rather than nostalgic.

Song In This Episode

Intro - Camel Walk

17:50 - Firefly

22:50 - Nitty Gritty

26:08 - Make Mayan A Hawaiian

Outro - 8 Piece Box

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Dig Me Out '80s revisits Fair Warning by Van Halen

Fri, 23 Oct 2020 12:00:00 -0500

For our latest Dig Me Out '80s episode, available only to our Patreon community, we revisit the 1981 album Fair Warning by Van Halen. While tensions mounted within the Van Halen camp between Eddie, Dave, and producer Ted Templemen, the band explored dark sounds and themes, integrating dirty disco grooves, screaming slide guitar, and synthesizer mayhem that marked a turning point in the Van Halen story.

Check out the first thirty-five minutes of this two-hour and fifteen-minute episode for free, join the Dig Me Out Union to access the previous dozen '80s episodes, vote in our monthly album pick polls, and more.

#510: Whiskey For The Holy Ghost by Mark Lanegan

Tue, 20 Oct 2020 01:00:00 -0500

The success of the 1993 Screaming Trees album Sweet Oblivion and the single "Nearly Lost You" may have put Mark Lanegan on the mainstream map, but as a solo singer/songwriter, Lanegan was already successfully forging a different path with 1990's The Winding Sheet. By the time 1994's Whiskey For The Holy Ghost was released after a protracted recording period, the split between the streamlined grunge of the Trees and Lanegan's forays into folk and blues were fully on display. With only one track, the escalating "Boracho," featuring prominent electric guitar and distortion, the album finds more similarities with fellow Seattle folksters The Walkabouts (with whom Lanegan appeared as a guest) than most of his Seattle contemporaries. The result is Lanegan's voice, sought after as a collaborator for decades to come, fully out front, which serves him well while exposing some of the cracks in the instrumental performances and production.

Songs In This Episode:

Intro - House A Home

13:11 - The River Rise

17:47 - Boracho

31:18 - Sunrise

36:58 - Ride The Nightingale

Outro - Judas Touch

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Tue, 22 Sep 2020 01:00:00 -0500

After the industrial noise rock of Cop Shoot Cop, lead singer/bassist Tod Ashley moved on to the eclectic sounds of Firewater, drawing on the sounds of American indie rock equally with European traditional music such as cabaret and Klezmer. With the help of future Gogol Bordello guitarist Oren Kaplan and a variety of skilled players, the band jumps from the Screaming Trees-esque alternative rock of "I Still Love You, Judas" to the Peter Gunn aping intro track "Ponzi's Theme." At their best, Firewater are a challenging and diverse listen thanks to the gravel-voice Tod A., but that's counterbalanced by some kitschy organ and piano sounds that sound more Smash Mouth than Tom Waits.

Songs In This Episode:

Intro - Green Light

10:23 - So Long, Superman

13:40 - Knock 'em Down

21:15 - Whistling In The Dark

Outro - Caroline

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#505: In A Perfect World by Season To 'Risk

Mon, 14 Sep 2020 17:38:00 -0500

Something must have been in the Missouri River that helped produced so many Kansas City post-hardcore heavy-hitters. We've already talked about Shiner and Giants Chair on this podcast, and this time we're checking out the 1994 sophomore album In A Perfect World by Season To Risk, who shared members with Shiner and Molly McGuire, also of K.C. Leaning more into the more chaotic noise rock of early Soundgarden, Killdozer, or The Jesus Lizard, with a manic rhythm section, and Lemmy-meets-Buzz Osborne, the fact that this was released on a major label at the height of Seattle radio and MTV dominance is a testament to the talent of the band and the free flow of major label money in the decade. There is a radio single on the sledgehammer of an album, but any attempt to reign in the mayhem would have resulted in a watered-down and inferior release.

Songs In This Episode:

Intro - Jack Frost

21:25 - Nausea

26:29 - Future Tense

34:50 - Timebomb

Outro - Remembered

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Listen to the episode archive at DigMeOutPodcast.com.

#504: Dummy by Portishead

Tue, 08 Sep 2020 01:00:00 -0500

Portishead may remain the most interesting enigma of the 1990s. First is Beth Gibbons, who channels Liz Fraser of the Cocteau Twins, Billie Holiday, and Jane Birkin into an unmatched vocal for the decade. Second is Geoff Barrow, creating 60s and 70s sounding spy movie and spaghetti western sound scapes via downtempo, gothic, and hip-hop samples and influences, with the tone-perfect playing of Adrian Utley on guitar. Though cast with trip-hop peers Massive Attack, DJ Shadow, and Bjork, Portishead forge an entirely unique path.

Songs In This Episode:

Intro - Sour Times

21:07 - Glory Box

31:19 - Wandering Star

36:25 - Roads

Outro - Mysterions

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#503: Athens, Georgia in the 1980s and 90s

Tue, 01 Sep 2020 01:00:00 -0500

The Athens, Georgia music scene might have been put on the map by R.E.M., but in truth they were one piece of a vibrant, diverse puzzle that included Pylon, The B-52s, Love Tractor, and others. A college town with nowhere to play in the late 70s and early 80s, bands and artists made their own spaces happen. Thanks to day-long drive to New York City and an influential college arts program, the sleepy Georgia town transformed in the 80s into one of the most important centers of musical, political, and social expression in the country. The 90s continued that exploratory spirit, finding a home for The Elephant 6 Collective and its respective bands, and well into the 2000s. To help us track the decades worth of stories and details, we're joined by college professor Grace Elizabeth Hale, author of "Cool Town: How Athens, Georgia, Launched Alternative Music and Changed American Culture" and guitarist Mark Cline of Love Tractor.

Songs In This Episode:

Intro - Athens, GA Medley (Radio Free Europe by R.E.M., Rock Lobster by The B-52s, Party Train by Love Tractor)

13:46 - Cool by Pylon

47:30 - Sarcophag by Bar-B-Q Killers

1:11:03 - Grey Hats by The Glands

Outro - Jane by Elf Power

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#502: In The Aeroplane Over The Sea by Neutral Milk Hotel

Tue, 25 Aug 2020 01:00:00 -0500

Very few bands can claim the influence and legendary status as Athens, Georgia's Neutral Milk Hotel. While the band released just a pair of records, an EP, and single in their ten years, 1998's In The Aeroplane Over The Sea has grown from critically appreciated to cult status over the past two decades. With enough distance from the release, it's easy to see why, as 2000s bands such as The Decemberists, Arcade Fire, Beruit, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, and more picked-up on the lo-fi, psychedlic sounds that countered the late 90s/early 00s mainstream push of processed and packaged third-generation grunge, comically aggressive nu-metal, and sanitized pop-punk. Maybe the mystique was assisted by the long step out of the spotlight by singer/songwriter Jeff Mangum, who has never attempted a follow-up. Did he make his magnum opus, or was there nowhere else to go?

Song In This Episode:

Intro - Two-Headed Boy

24:23 - King Of Carrot Flowers Pts. 2 & 3

39:03 - In The Aeroplane Over The Sea

46:22 - [Untitled]

Outro - Holland, 1945

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#501: Cure For Pain by Morphine

Tue, 18 Aug 2020 01:00:00 -0500

Were the 90s just Nirvana, Pearl Jam, and various other grunge bands and their followers? Of course not, but revisiting Morphine's 1993 album Cure For Pain makes a strong case that the true alternative of the decade never bubbled up to MTV TRL, Clear Channel playlists, or Rolling Stone covers. A horn driven, blues and jazz influenced rock band that channeled Tom Waits and The Velvet Underground was never going to sell ten million albums. But along with fellow outsiders like those in Soul Coughing, The Jon Spencer Blue Explosion, and others, there was room on college radio and 120 Minutes for more askew views of what rock and pop meant.

Songs In This Episode:

Intro - Buena

24:28 - Thursday

29:53 - A Head With Wings

32:42 - I'm Free Now

Tue, 21 Jul 2020 01:00:00 -0500

Funk music might be most commonly associated with 1970s bands like Funkadelic, Parliament, Sly & The Family Stone, the Ohio Players, and other more, but the 1990s saw their fair share of funk enthusiasts slip into the alternative mainstream. The Red Hot Chili Peppers had become an MTV staple, Primus and Faith No More explored the outer edges, while bands like the Beastie Boys, Living Colour, Infectious Grooves and more put their own spin on the sound. In Ann Arbor, Michigan, the remnants of 80s hardcore bands the Necros, Laughing Hyenas, and others formed Big Chief, whose 1991 skewed towards the alternative metal sound. That would not be the case on their 1993 follow-up, Mack Avenue Skullgame. Dubbed an "Original Soundtrack" for a movie that does not exist, the album is a faithful throwback to the 70s blaxploitation sounds of soundtracks like Shaft, Superfly, Cleopatra Jones and others. The band lays down authentic if updated funk sounds and adds the necessary vocals of Thornetta Davis to add melodic punch. But like all soundtracks, can the concept work without the imagery to go with it?

Songs In This Episode:

Intro - My Name Is Pimp (Mack's Theme)

19:08 - One Born Every Minute (Doc's Theme)

24:18 - If I Had A Nickle For Every Dime

27:32 - No Free Love On The Street

32:55 - Cop Kisser (Mack F*cks Up The Scene At The Freezer)

Outro - Cut To The Chase

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#496: To Bring You My Love by PJ Harvey

Tue, 14 Jul 2020 01:00:00 -0500

In 1995 PJ Harvey was relatively unknown in the US, aside from college radio and others tuned into the underground. Thanks to the breakout single "Down By The Water," for a brief moment she was in the same spotlight as Tori Amos, Bjork, Sarah McLachlan, Liz Phair, and other female artists who transcended the dominance of Seattle grunge and guitar rock. On To Bring You My Love, Harvey bounces between the minimalist blues of the title track and the krautrock drive of Working For The Man, and the blistering distortion of Meet Ze Monsta and pounding drive of Long Snake Moan. But in the age of Spotify skipping, can minimalism and restraint with bursts of nasty distortion still catch an ear?

Songs In This Episode:

Intro - Down By The Water

22:22 - C'mon Billy

26:09 - Long Snake Moan

34:10 - The Dancer

38:03 - Working For The Man

Outro - Meet Ze Monsta

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#495: Desert Rain by Indian Ocean

Tue, 07 Jul 2020 01:00:00 -0500

Thanks to our Patreon community, every so often we get to step outside the our 90s comfort zone of American, UK and Australian alternative and indie rock. Having previously gotten hip to the rock en español of Café Tacvba and the Indian/Britpop fusion of Cornershop, this time we're getting the fusion from a different starting point. On the 1997 live recording Desert Rain by Indian Ocean, the fusion starts with the North Indian style of Indian classical music known as Hindustani, and from there incorporates elements of jazz, rock and folk. Able to stand on its mightily on its own with regard to craft and technical ability, making sonic connects to artists such as Tool drummer Danny Carey and his use of the tabla or the mathematical improvisation of Steely Dan helped our understanding and deepened our appreciation for our latest discovery.

Songs In This Episode:

Intro - Village Damsel

20:17 - Euphoria

23:42 - From The Ruins

33:35 - Going to ITO

Outro - Melancholic Ecstasy

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#494: Tribute Albums of the 90s

Tue, 30 Jun 2020 01:00:00 -0500

Maybe more so than any other decade, the 90s pumped out tribute albums at a furious rate. Whether it was loving takes on beloved artists, exposing underground heroes to new audiences, or updates with kitschy and nostalgic themes, nearly every month a new tribute compilation CD was probably at your local record store. Our roundtable shares what makes a successful tribute album and what can derail an effort, whether it's simply cloning the original song, or completely ignoring it. We also investigate the phenomenon of random, lesser-known bands popping up in tracking listings alongside a group of heavy-hitters, and the one-off collaborations that showed up on occasion.

Songs In This Episode:

Intro - Tribute by Tenacious D

5:39 - Hard Luck Woman by Garth Brooks (Kiss My Ass - Classic Kiss Regrooved)

9:24 - Summer Of Drugs by Soul Asylum (Sweet Relief - A Benefit For Victoria Williams)

14:31 - Making Plans For Nigel by The Rembrandts - XTC: A Testimonial Dinner

21:02 - We Only Just Begun by Grant Lee Buffalo (If I Were A Carpenter)

27:02 - Clampdown by the Indigo Girls (Burning London: The Clash Tribute)

36:48 - She Don't Use Jelly by Ben Folds Five (Lounge-A-Palooza)

Outro - She's Lost Control by Girls Against Boys (A Means To An End: The Music Of Joy Division)

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Tue, 26 May 2020 01:00:00 -0500

When they released their debut album Showbiz in the US in 1999, Muse were one of a number of bands compared to the Pablo Honey/The Bends era of Radiohead thanks to Matt Bellamy's Thom Yorke like tenor and Johnny Greenwood's guitar acrobatics. But Muse were doing it as a three-piece, and over time the band shed the unfair comparisons to forge a path that paid as much homage to the bombast of classic Queen to the aural assault of Rage Against The Machine, all the while releasing a slew of hit singles, moving from opening slots, to sheds, to arenas across the globe, and becoming one of the few bands to still carry the dying torch of rock. We revisit their debut, their early EPs, and touch on their 2000s releases to trace the origins of the band that has gained a global audience while splitting fans over their embrace of poppier and dancier material.

Songs In This Episode:

Muscle Museum (from Showbiz)

6:40 - Cave (from Showbiz)

17:28 - Falling Down (from Showbiz)

23:47 - Uno (from Showbiz)

42:14 - Plug In Baby (from Origin Of Symmetry)

1:02:49 - Agitated (B-Side)

Outro - Sunburn (from Showbiz)

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#488: Dig by Dig with Scott Hackwith

Tue, 19 May 2020 01:00:00 -0500

Thanks to old friend of the show Chip Midnight, when patron Dewey Cole suggested revisiting the 1993 self-titled debut album from Dig, Chip reached out to lead singer and guitarist Scott Hackwith to have him join us to revisit this record. Dewey only came to record recently, so he provides a unique perspective of discovering an album seventeen years after its release. Chip interviewed Scott when the band was just starting out, gigging around the country with frequent stops in Ohio in the early-to-mid 1990s. Scott, who started out as a guitarist in T.S.O.L., learned to be a producer on the spot making the debut album, which led him to work on records by the Ramones, Spiritualized and other, shares stories and insights on album artwork, demo'ing tracks on a four-track machine, making music videos, and working on new Dig music.

Songs In This Episode:

Intro - Believe

32:22 - Let Me Know

37:24 - Feet Don't Touch The Ground

1:00:33 - Conversation

Outro - Unlucky Friend

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#487: Spanaway by Seaweed

Tue, 12 May 2020 01:00:00 -0500

If you've listened to this podcast long enough, you know that we are not always in agreement about what works and doesn't work for us on various albums. One of the earliest disagreements was back in Season One when we checked out the 1993 album Four by Seaweed. Thanks to a recent listener suggested poll on our Patreon site, we're back ten years later to check out the 1995 follow-up Spanaway, the band's only release on the Hollywood Records label. While the band faced the tired "sell-out" label for signing to a major, in reality, the band stayed close to what they did well - a bombastic combo of East Coast post-hardcore and PacWest grunge, with some extra nuance thanks to the skilled fingers of Andy Wallace behind the mixing board, as well as guest visits in the drum throne by Barrett Martin (of Screaming Trees) and Matt Cameron (of Soundgarden). The question remains - has anything changed in our diverging opinions?

Songs In This Episode

Intro - Start With

18:45 - Magic Mountainman

22:53 - Assistant (To The Manager)

31:59 - Free Drug Zone

Outro - Last Humans

Tue, 07 Apr 2020 01:00:00 -0500

Though not as lauded as grunge, Brit-pop, the rise of pop-punk or other 90s-centric genres, electronic music evolved throughout the decade as well thanks to subtler sounds coming out of the UK. While electronica and trip-hop each had their moments in the mainstream spotlight, groups like the brother-duo Boards of Canada from Scotland slid under the radar with slightly different takes, theirs being a more chill, downtempo approach utilizing vintage synths and drum machines, tape loops and field recordings. Music Has The Right To Children, their 1998 debut after several well-regarded singles and EPs, takes full advantage of the tools, creating atmospheric soundscapes backed by drum and bass loops that lived-in rather than dialed-up, giving the record a timeless element that so many of their contemporaries failed to achieve.

Songs In This Episode:

Intro - Telephasic Workshop

18:06 - Roygbiv

20:48 - Turquoise Hexagon Sun

27:09 - Aquarius

Outro - Open The Light

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#481: Ebbhead by Nitzer Ebb

Tue, 31 Mar 2020 01:00:00 -0500

Though the mid-to-late nights are more regarded for the commercial rise of electronic music, specifically in the form of UK electronica from the Chemical Brothers, Prodigy and others, the mainstream interest in high octane beats and synth-over-guitar was nothing new. As the 80s transitioned to the 90s, bands like Depeche Mode and New Order were firmly established global phenomenons, while up-and-comers like Ministry and Nine Inch Nails were bringing industrial sounds to the mainstream on MTV. Nitzer Ebb began in 1982 and established themselves throughout the decade as an Electronic Body Music (EBM) pillar, but when 90s arrives the band pivoted to a more pop sound, and on 1991's Ebbhead, the band fully embraced pop structure and sound, crafting catchy hooks at trimmed down lengths. But that evolution, while moderately successful in getting the band on mainstream rock radio, didn't necessarily sit well with the fans who discovered the band during their EBM period.

Songs In This Episode

Intro - Reasons

12:52 - I Give To You

15:09 - Lakeside Drive

18:57 - Godhead

28:00 - Family Man

Outro - Sugar Sweet

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#480: Sophomore Slump Revisited - American Highway Flower by Dada

Tue, 24 Mar 2020 01:00:00 -0500

As we have learned in our Sophomore Slump Revisited roundtable series, there are many factors and circumstances that can sink a band's second album, especially when coming off a hit single. In the case of Dada and their 1994 release American Highway Flower, the lack of an obvious radio single to match Dizz Knee Land off their debut is a fair consideration. Rather than repeat a formula, the skilled trio of singer-guitarist Michael Gurley, singer-bassist Joie Calio and drummer Phil Leavitt pushed the band in a variety of directions while maintaining a more consistent sound than their first release. But pushing the envelope doesn't always result in a match with the cultural trends, and while the band flexes their muscle with harmonious power-pop and '60s psychedelic flourishes while unafraid to get extra noisy or delicately hushed. They may not have scored a Top 5 single or moved a million units with American Highway Flower, but that doesn't mean this sophomore release qualifies as a slump.

Songs In This Episode:

Intro - All I Am

13:11 - Feet To The Sun

17:22 - Feel Me Don't You

23:00 - Real Soon

30:35 - S.F. Bar '63

Outro - Pretty Girls Make Graves

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#479: Choochtown by Hamell On Trial

Tue, 17 Mar 2020 01:00:00 -0500

Edward James "Ed" Hamell, better know as Hamell On Trial, has been writing, recording, and touring for over thirty years, bouncing from major labels to minor labels to his own, with either a studio or live album out almost every other year. While production values have shifted, the fiery anti-folk and spoken word approach has remained constant, and his 1999 album is definitely on the lower end of the recording quality spectrum. That doesn't impact the performances or songs, as Hamell On Trial makes stunning use of his Gibson acoustic guitar, plucking out staccato rhythms on one track before leading a dirty blues romp on the next. All of it adds up to a uniquely singular performance and vision, one that can definitely split opinions on what worked and didn't work.

Songs In This Episode:

Intro - Hamell's Ramble

17:56 - I'm Gonna Watch You Sleep

24:07 - The Lottery

28:10 - Nancy's Got a New Boyfriend

35:18 - When Bobby Comes Down

46:30 - Shout Outs

Outro - Bill Hicks

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#478: LP2 by Sunny Day Real Estate

Tue, 10 Mar 2020 01:00:00 -0500

Sunny Day Real Estate has famously been a band of influence but impermanence, with multiple break-ups and rumors of an unfinished album in the can for over a decade. On their second release, the 1995 self-titled or Pink Album or LP2, vocalist/guitarist/lyricist Jeremy Enigk left unfinished vocals as placeholders as the band splintered. What it creates is something unique, while words or phrases pop in occasion, the majority of the record utilizes the vocals as an instrument in a way that a band like My Bloody Valentine features vocalist Bilinda Butcher. But what makes SDRE special is the contributions from all four members - who each get their moment to shine in a way that recalls 1970s progressive rock without overly-long world-building and self-indulgence.

Songs In This Episode

Intro - Red Elephant

16:38 - Rodeo Jones

22:45 - 5/4

30:36 - 8

Outro - J'Nuh

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#477: Caviar by Caviar

Tue, 03 Mar 2020 01:00:00 -0500

So many bands got signed to major labels in the 1990s it could keep our podcast going well into the 22nd century. Rarely did artists get a second go-around as a new act, as was the case with vocalist Blake Smith and bassist Mike Willison after the breakup of their band Fig Dish. After recruiting a new guitarist and drummer, they formed Caviar and in 2000 released their self-titled debut on Island Records. While Smith's catchy melodies are still present, the band takes advantage of their second major-label chance by adding a variety of samples, including a bossa nova intro on the single "Tangerine Speedo." The band tries to walk a thin line between the quirky pop sounds of Sugar Ray, Smashmouth or Cake, the more aggressive pop-punk guitar of bands like Blink-182 or Weezer.

Songs In This Episode:

Intro - Tangerine Speedo

19:42 - OK Nightmare

22:09 - I Am The Monument

26:13 - Goldmine

30:39 - Looked So Hard I Nearly Wrecked My Eyes

Outro - Sugarless

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#476: R.E.M. In The 90s Roundtable

Tue, 25 Feb 2020 01:00:00 -0500

Lots of bands were successful in the 90s, but few reached the decade long highs and success that R.E.M. managed while constantly shifting their sound. Perhaps only U2 matched the same levels of critical acclaim and pushback, album sales and slumps, turmoil and triumph of R.E.M., conquering not only their home countries but stadiums around the globe. In our past "In The 90s" episodes, we've looked back at bands that first gained success and notoriety in the 1980s and traced their path through the alternative landscape of the 1990s, but it could be said that R.E.M. was leading the charge of the underground into the mainstream long before anyone else. As they entered the 90s, they were no longer college radio upstarts, but MTV and commercial radio regulars who would shoot through the stratosphere with "Losing My Religion" of 1991's Out Of Time. The rest of the decade would see them tackle everything from fuzzed-out 1970s glam rock to minimalist programmed beats to Beach Boys-esque harmonies. In other words, they evolved, but in doing so, did they lose the sound that made them stand out in the first place? We revisit the decade with a group of knowledgable R.E.M. fans who walk us through an often exciting and occasionally perplexing decade for the band.

Songs In This Episode:

Intro Medley - Losing My Religion/Everybody Hurts/What's The Frequency, Kenneth?/Bittersweet Me/Daysleeper

18:15 - Country Feedback from Out Of Time

28:45 - Drive from Automatic For The People

42:36 - Star 69 from Monster

55:02 - The Wake Up Bomb from New Adventures In Hi-Fi

1:09:53 - At My Most Beautiful

Outro - Man On The Moon from Automatic For The People

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#475: Satisfied Mind by The Walkabouts

Tue, 18 Feb 2020 01:00:00 -0500

Among the many signings by the legendary Sub Pop label in the 1980s and 1990s, a few bands get tagged with "the first" label. The Afghan Whigs were the first band from outside region to be signed to the label, and in the case of this week's episode, The Walkabouts were the first country (or folk, or Americana, or alt-country) band to be signed to the label. Core members vocalist Carla Torgerson and vocalist/songwriter Chris Eckman started playing together in 1984, and by the time of their sixth album Satisfied Mind released in 1993, the band had built up quite a following and list of friends in the area. Guests include Mark Lanegan of the Screaming Trees, Peter Buck of R.E.M., and Ivan Kral of the Patti Smith Band, who all manage to blend into this uniquely timeless sound channeling some expected artists (The Carter Family, Gene Clark, Charlie Rich) and some more unexpected choices (Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, John Cale, Patti Smith) that all sound seamless together.

Songs In This Episode

Intro - Satisfied Mind

15:09 - Free Money

20:51 - Buffalo Ballet

23:53 - Feel Like Going Home

28:44 - Dear Darling

Outro - Loom Of The Land

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#474: 100 Broken Windows by Idlewild

Tue, 11 Feb 2020 01:00:00 -0500

You may ask yourself, why is a 90s-centric podcast revisiting an album from 2000? Well, we are nothing without our listeners, and if they suggest and then vote for an album that came out in 2000, but was from a band that got their start and had several releases in the 90s, who are we to argue. And it turns out revisiting Idlewild's 2000 album 100 Broken Windows gave us an excellent opportunity to look back upon the decade and see how its various sounds and genres were interpreted by younger artists. In the case of Idlewild, with veteran producers Dave Eringa and Bob Weston behind the board for the young band meant channeling the volume and chaos of their earlier releases into a weapon to be deployed skillfully, giving the band a blistering edge and allowing vocalist Roddy Woomble the opportunity to craft unique earworm melodies. It may not make the top 100 albums of the decade or the year, but there's a case to be made for 100 Broken Windows as one of the finest distillations of everything that went right musically in the 90s.

Songs In This Episode

Intro - Little Discourage

19:45 - Idea Track

24:26 - Roseability

29:52 - Mistake Pageant

Outro - These Wooden Ideas

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#473: Red And Clear by Giants Chair

Tue, 04 Feb 2020 01:00:00 -0500

It took twenty-three years for Giants Chair to follow-up their 1996 sophomore album Purity And Control with the 2019 album Prefabylon, which we discussed briefly in our 2019 New Albums Roundtable. Though we've covered plenty of 90s bands reuniting a decade or two later to make new records, prior to Prefabylon Giants Chair weren't on our radar. Thanks to one of Patreon patrons we got the chance to revisit this Kansas City, Missouri band's 1995 debut. While the post-punk math-rock sounds fit nicely into our previously expressed admiration for bands such as Jawbox, Shudder To Think and Quicksand, as well as the neighboring Shiner, we didn't expect to unearth a local scene that included Season To Risk, Molly McGuire, Boys Life, and others all dishing out their own versions of angular guitars, tricky rhythms, and indie/emo vocals. Perhaps a Digging Your Scene episode is in the future, but on this one, we got to dive into this three-piece and their unique take on mid-90s post-punk.

Songs In This Episode:

Intro - Gunshot And The Jogger

11:55 - New Orleans

24:03 - Mother Brother Sister Lover

26:31 - Weed Roses

Outro - Semi

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#472: Albums of 1990 Roundtable

Tue, 28 Jan 2020 01:00:00 -0500

1990 is a strange, contradictory year for music. How else do you explain alternative and underground bands like Jane's Addiction, Concrete Blonde, Faith No More and The B-52's taking up regular MTV rotation slots next to MC Hammer, Warrant, Paula Abdul and Vanilla Ice? There's a good chance you saw They Might Be Giant's "Birdhouse In Your Soul" right after Billy Idol's "Cradle of Love," or "We Die Young" by Alice Chains on the same Headbanger's Ball episode as "Unskinny Bop" by Poison. What we're saying is, there was a lot going on, and we attempt an overview of some of the most interesting overlooked, under-appreciated, and influential albums of the year.

Songs In This Episode:

Intro - Stop! by Jane's Addiction

10:46 - Graveyard Shift by Uncle Tupelo

24:15 - Is She Weird by Pixies

36:12 - There You Are by Goo Goo Dolls

47:41 - Candy by Iggy Pop

Outro - Cliffs Of Dover by Eric Johnson

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#471: Hormone Hotel by Bandit Queen

Tue, 21 Jan 2020 01:00:00 -0500

One and done bands are always an interesting listen, whether they were full-formed bands, one-off side-projects or solo albums, or something else entirely. In the case of Bandit Queen, they formed out of the ashes of Swirl, retaining three of the four members and an indie rock sound. Gone were the jammy rhythms and chorus'd guitars for a more straightforward approach, reminiscent of American female-led alternative acts like Throwing Muses and The Breeders. While the harmony vocals and honest production kept us interested throughout, a few more soaring vocal hooks would have made Hormone Hotel a can't miss record.

Songs In This Episode:

Intro - Back In The Belljar

14:00 - Big Sugar Emotional Thing

18:54 - Blue Black

20:57 - Scorch

Outro - Give It To The Dog

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#470: Apollo 18 by They Might Be Giants

Tue, 14 Jan 2020 01:00:00 -0500

There are plenty of anomalies in what did and didn't become popular in the rise of alternative music during the 1990s. Take for instance They Might Be Giants, who's breakthrough 1990 album Flood with almost thirty tracks of weird and quirky songs that combine humor and musical knowledge into a wholly unique recording. So what then to follow it up? The band decided to produce themselves, and rock out a bit more on the 1992 follow-up Apollo 18. While the experimentation with a slightly more traditional pop-rock sound on songs like The Statue Got Me High and Dig My Grave made the band a bit more palatable to our ears, the stripped-down reliance on simplistic looped drums held back what expanded in year with a full band backing them.

Two notes: Tim was battling a cold, hence the nasal congestion you can clearly hear in his voice. Also, this was recorded prior to the death of Rush drummer/lyricist Neil Peart, which is why there was no mention of it when Rush was briefly brought up during the episodes. #RIPTheProfessor

Songs In This Episode:

Intro - I Palindrome I

11:48 - The Statue Got Me High

16:15 - My Evil Twin

24:17 - Mammals

38:47 - Spider

Outro - Dig My Grave

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#469: Post Orgasmic Chill by Skunk Anansie

Tue, 07 Jan 2020 01:00:00 -0500

By 1999, the musical landscape had seen the rise and fall of a variety of genres touted as the next big thing. The electronic sounds of The Chemical Brothers and The Prodigy offered varying takes on electronica, which bands would incorporate elements of over the years that followed. In the case of Skunk Anansie and their 1999 album Post Orgasmic Chill, it means adding layers to an already layered sound. Guitars are buzzsaw aggressive on one track, followed by a pop ballad approach on the next. Feedback is replaced by orchestrated strings. Booming drums by breakbeats. And making it all work is the dynamic Skin, who vocally covers all the ground with thought-provoking lyrics and near-unparalleled range.

Songs In This Episode:

Intro - Charlie Big Potato

17:00 - The Skank Heads

21:32 - Good Things Don't Always Come To You

Outro - We Don't Need Who You Think You Are

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#468: Season Nine - Year In Review

Tue, 31 Dec 2019 01:00:00 -0500

Our look back at Season Nine of the podcast really highlighted how much growth we've experienced and how much more we have ahead of us. We turned over the selection of our roundtable episodes to our Steering Committee and Board of Director level Patreon patrons, and the results did not disappoint. Our poll selected episodes were as interesting and diverse as ever, and our patrons selected reviews also provided us with a chance to revisit some familiar names (Nirvana, The Verve Pipe, etc.) as well as expand the sounds and genres to include rock en español, symphonic metal, avant-garde noise pop, and much more.

Songs In This Episode:

Intro/Outro - Dig Me Out by Sleater-Kinney

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#467: New Album Reviews for 2019 Roundtable

Tue, 24 Dec 2019 01:00:00 -0500

For our final roundtable of 2019, we invited several of our Patreon patrons to discuss the new albums released this year from artists connected to the 1990s. Turns out, 2019 had dozens of albums that qualified, over a hundred in reality. We talked about new releases from bands like UK shoegazers Swervedriver and Ride, the long-awaited return of Tool, a stellar new release from The Sheila Divine, plus names you know like Bob Mould, Fastball, UNKLE, Beck, Sleater-Kinney, etc., as well as lesser-known releases like Giants Chair and New Rising Sons.

Songs In This Episode:

Intro - Saw Lighting by Beck from Hyperspace

10:07 - White Collar by Fastball from The Help Machine

18:42 - Russian Racehorse by Giants Chair from Prefabylon

31:34 - Future Love by Ride from This Is Not A Safe Place

40:25 - Age Is Just A Number by The Sheila Divine from Beginning Of The End Is Where We'll Start Again

1:06:07 - Can I Go On by Sleater-Kinney from The Center Won't Hold

1:15:07 - Miracle Pill by Goo Goo Dolls from Miracle Pill

Outro - Africa by Weezer from Weezer (Teal Album)

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#466: Animal Bag by Animal Bag

Tue, 17 Dec 2019 01:00:00 -0500

Bands like Animal Bag were dime a dozen in the early 1990s. Getting signed, putting out a record, the musical landscape shifts, and suddenly your sound is outdated and the record label is in flux. Their 1992 self-titled debut has reverb-filled production that pins it to the start of the decade, and taking cues from fellow Californians like Faith No More, Jane's Addiction, and Red Hot Chili Peppers. But their funk and weirdness only shows up in short bursts, as this band could easily be lumped in with the jeans and t-shirt alternative metal and grunge bands like Raging Slab, Mind Funk, and label mates Mother Love Bone. Though they lack Andy Wood's penchant for an epic ballad, there is no doubt Animal Bag had their sights set on Seattle rather than the Sunset Strip. Does it all come together in a timeless way? Depends on the listener.

Songs In This Episode:

Intro - Another Hat

21:24 - Personal Demons

35:55 - Mirrored Shades

42:11 - Everybody

Outro - Moonsong

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#465: Sleep's Holy Mountain by Sleep

Tue, 10 Dec 2019 01:00:00 -0500

Where is the line between rock and metal? What about stoner or desert? And what is doom besides a video game and bad movie? All questions worthy of discussion as we revisit the 1992 album Sleep's Holy Mountain by Sleep. Baked into the sound of Sleep is the ever-present influence of 70s Black Sabbath, but with an occasional pummeling dirge closer to The Melvins, while trafficking in the same sun-soaked low-end riffage of Kyuss. It's dark, heavy, psychedelic, drone-filled head-nodding rock that works best when the rhythm section gets to swing.

Songs In This Episode:

Intro - The Druid

17:00 - Evil Gypsy/Solomon's Theme

25:20 - Holy Mountain

30:31 - Inside The Sun

Outro - Dragonaut

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#464: San Diego In The 90s

Tue, 03 Dec 2019 01:00:00 -0500

San Diego may be known for beaches and year-round mild weather, but the second-largest city in California is also home to a vibrant if isolated music scene dating back to the 1960s with Gary Puckett & The Union Gap and Iron Butterfly. As per our "Digging Your Scene" episodes, we're interested in sounds of the 1990s - where those bands played, bought and sold records, recorded their music, read and listened to other bands, and all the other interesting and unique elements that help define a scene. What we discovered is a deep and vast collection of guitar rock heading off in multiple directions - from punk to post-punk, hard rock to nu-metal, industrial to experimental. To help us discover it all, we're joined by members of No Knife, Jejune and aMiniature to talk bands, venues, record stores, labels and more.

Songs In This Episode

Intro Medley (Academy Flight Song by No Knife / Peddler's Talk by aMiniature / Hileah by JeJune

28:16 - Does Not Compute by Drive Like Jehu

53:33 - Flexiclocks by The And/Ors

Outro - Deadbolt - Voodoobilly Man

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#463: This Is Greta! by Greta

Tue, 26 Nov 2019 01:00:00 -0500

Greta was and is definitely not a household name when discussions of 90s bands come up. But like so many, major labels still found them and on occasion put out stellar releases that have gone forgotten, which is sort of the entire point of this podcast. Their second and final album, 1995's This Is Greta! may not fall into the stellar and must-have category, but it's got a lot going for it. Tight alt-rock songs with tinges of Beatle and Cheap Trick pop on a few tunes, hard-driving rockers with big guitars, all backed by a solid rhythm section has more than it's share of standout performances. They keep the songs tight, but perhaps a little too reliant on the well-worn verse/chorus/verse formula, that keeps everything familiar but also stale after a listen or two.

Songs In This Episode:

Intro - About You

9:08 - Some People

11:35 - Charade

18:03 - Rocking Chair

23:47 - Nothing At All

Outro - Stained

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#462: Split by Lush

Tue, 19 Nov 2019 01:00:00 -0500

By 1994, shoegaze was no longer the hip, underground music scene the UK press was enamored with just a few years prior. The Britpop of Blur, Oasis, Elastica, and Pulp had taken over, My Bloody Valentine had collapsed, and blissing out on feedback and layers of guitar was no longer novel. Smartly, the singing/songwriting/guitar-slinging tandem of Miki Berenyi and Emma Anderson of Lush evolved, and on 1994's Split, the band toe the line between the underground dream pop and shoegaze sounds that got them started, while mixing in some less noisy and more melodic tunes. It sounds both remarkably stamped to 1994 in its tones and production, but with the resurgence of dream pop and shoegaze in the 2010s, that doesn't mean it out of place.

Songs In This Episode:

Intro - Blackout

14:19 - Hypocrite

18:31 - Never-Never

23:49 - Undertow

Outro - Light From A Dead Star

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#461: In Utero by Nirvana

Tue, 12 Nov 2019 01:00:00 -0500

A lot of ink has been spilled on the biggest band of the 90s. Whether it was reviews, interviews or in-depth cover stories, or modern retrospective or anniversary pieces, it's not hard to find a "your favorite band's album ranked" clickbait article on nearly every "grunge" platinum seller. What is there anything left to say about these bands? When Nirvana's 1993 album In Utero enter into our review queue, it timed nicely with our recent Producers Of The 90s roundtable, because it's hard not to discuss In Utero without the sonic contributions of Steve Albini. For as slick and radio-friendly their sophomore album Nevermind sounded, Albini and the band take a utilitarian approach to In Utero. Effects are minimal, overdubs are minor, reverb is hardly noticeable, Cobain growls and howls with abandon. It's the sound of a band making a fast and deliberate record for themselves, with an undeniable ear for hooks and melodies that manages to stand the test of time.

Songs In This Episode:

Intro - Heart-Shaped Box

19:03 - Scentless Apprentice

31:13 - Milk It

Outro - Pennyroyal Tea

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#460: 20th Anniversary of Through Being Cool by Saves The Day with Chris Conley

Tue, 05 Nov 2019 01:00:00 -0500

Twenty years ago, emo wasn't a Hot Topic brand or a nostalgic DJ night. It was the sound of teenagers and twenty-somethings taking the urgency of punk, combining it with emotional and confessional (re: not sad) lyrics, and playing to a generation of kids too young for the early 90s grunge wave. If you were apart of that scene, hitting all-ages venues or DIY punk houses at the end of the 20th century, there's a chance you caught Saves The Day on one of those nights, perhaps after the release of their 1999 album Through Being Cool. Joining us to discuss the 20th anniversary of the record is lead singer, guitarist and songwriter Chris Conley, sharing thoughts on making and revisiting the album for its re-release, the emo label, touring then and now, being a rock 'n' roll parent, and much more.

Songs In This Episode:

Intro - Shoulder To The Wheel

23:15 - Third Engine

Outro - All-Star Me

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#459: Music Producers Of The 90s Roundtable

Tue, 29 Oct 2019 01:00:00 -0500

Steve Albini. Nigel Godrich. Butch Vig. Bob Rock. Jack Endino. Michael Beinhorn. J Robbins. Sean Slade. Paul Kolderie. Youth. Ric Ocasek. Dave Fridmann. Ken Andrews. Brendan O'Brien. Brad Wood. Rick Rubin. Ted Niceley. Stephen Street. Flood. Terry Date. Dave Jerden. Alan Moulder. Dave Ogilvie. Chances are, if you purchased a CD in the 1990s and read through the liner notes, whether it was a major label release or a regional indie label, there is a possibility their name, or someone else you may recognize, is listed as the producer. But what does a producer do, and how do they influence the sound of a record? We often talk about liking or not liking some aspect of the production, and on this roundtable, we dig into what exactly that means, who does what in the studio, and some traits, commonalities, and differences of producers who worked in the 1990s.

Songs In This Episode:

Intro - Stuck On You by Failure (Ken Andrews)

8:04 - Rusty Cage by Johnny Cash (Rick Rubin)

17:36 - Pull The Cup by Shellac (Steve Albini)

41:56 - Holes by Mercury Rev (Dave Fridmann)

49:04 - Buddy Holly by Weezer (Ric Ocasek)

1:08:59 - Girls And Boys by Blur (Stephen Street)

Outro - Never Said by Liz Phair (Brad Wood)

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#458: Re by Café Tacuba

Tue, 22 Oct 2019 01:00:00 -0500

When our listeners bring us an obscure 90s album to check out, it's usually something along the lines of a rock band on an indie label that managed one or two releases before fading into obscurity. On the flip side, we have Café Tacuba - a massively successful band around the world, including the United States. Unless you are tuned into the rock en español bands, you've probably never heard them or of them. While rock en español goes back decades, the 90s saw the incorporation of a variety of sounds, including ska, industrial and alternative rock. On their 1994 sophomore album Re, the band explores all that and more alongside norteño, huapango de mariachi, and bolero. With twenty tracks, it's easy to be overwhelmed, but that approach means whether your interested in more traditional sounds or newer flavors, there really is something for everyone.

Songs In This Episode:

Intro - El Tlatoani del barrio

14:08 - El borrego

16:52 - Madrugal

21:51 - El metro

26:52 - Verde

Outro - La pinta

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Patreon Preview: Junkyard by The Birthday Party

Thu, 17 Oct 2019 10:09:53 -0500

If there is a new episode of Dig Me Out in your feed on a Thursday, that can only mean one thing - we are sharing with you a preview of our latest Dig Me Out '80s episodes. With the help of our Patreon Board of Directors and Steering Committee tiers, we're revisiting another album from the 1980s based on suggestions and votes of our patrons. This month we're checking out the 1982 album Junkyard by The Birthday Party. Join the DMO Union for as little as $2 a month and get access to bonus content like this episode, vote in our album review polls, get exclusive merchandise and more!

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#457: World Of Noise by Everclear

Tue, 15 Oct 2019 01:00:00 -0500

Though best known for their string of pleasant if repetitive mid-to-late 90s alt-rock radio hits, Everclear started out as a scrappy, rough-around-the-edges early 90s trio with as much fire in their sound as their lyrical content. On their 1993 indie-label debut World Of Noise, singer/guitarist/songwriter Art Alexakis was able to channel the trendy soft/loud verse/chorus format made commercially successful by Nirvana without devolving into a Nirvana clone. The reported $400 recording sounds immediate and visceral, pairing well with his matured voice and lyrical content, and left us wondering what would have happened if the band had kept some of their raggedness going forward to keep from becoming too slick and sterile in comparison.

Songs In This Episode:

Intro - Your Genius Hands

14:10 - Nervous And Weird

18:31 - Fire Maple Song

Outro - Malevolent

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#456: whitechocolatespaceegg by Liz Phair

Tue, 08 Oct 2019 01:00:00 -0500

The 1993 debut Exile In Guyville by Liz Phair was declared a landmark album that helped define the 1990s almost as soon as it was released. To be a decade-defining artist can be a stifling burden, but Phair managed to release a worthy follow-up in 1994 with Whip-Smart, sticking with mostly the same group of players and studio folks for both. On her third album whitechocolatespaceegg from 1998, all the lo-fi was stripped away as 3/4's of R.E.M. and a bevy of other musicians and studio pros joined the team on Phair's quest to reinvigorate and reorient her sound. From touches of trippy psychedelia on the opening title track to the swinging sixties Baby Got Going, Phair isn't afraid to explore and expand. Layers of guitars and synths pair well with her songwriting, which switches between character-driven story songs and personal sketches of aging, motherhood, and marriage. But at sixteen tracks and over fifty minutes, the precise production can get fatiguing on the ears, and we wondered if some editing and rearranging would have been for the best.

Songs In This Episode:

Intro - Polyester Bride

11:26 - What Makes You Happy

13:44 - Whitechocolatespaceegg

22:02 - Baby Got Going

Outro - Johnny Feelgood

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#455: This Is The Way It Goes And Goes And Goes by Juno

Tue, 01 Oct 2019 01:00:00 -0500

Having a three-guitar band can often mean the lead singer simply strumming chords on an acoustic while the other two do the heavy lead lifting and riffing. That's not the case with Juno, and their 1999 debut album This Is The Way It Goes And Goes And Goes on DeSoto Records. Like their then label-mates Shiner, Juno unleashes a big, layered guitar sound, but Shiner sound much leaner in comparison, as Juno gets full usage out of their three axe attack. The sound shifts from a hoe-gaze influenced, wall of sound approach that dips its toes in the space and math rock sub-genres, as delayed guitar leads bleed over lush mid-range distortion, to straight-on instrumental jams that would find a nice spot on any Explosions In The Sky album.

Songs In This Episode:

Intro - Rodeo Programmers

11:26 - A Listening Ear

14:55 - The Great Salt Lake/Into the Lavender Crevices of Evening the Otters Have Been Pushed

20:33 - January Arms

27:15 - Leave a Clean Camp and a Dead Fire

Outro - All Your Friends Are Comedians

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#454: The Honeymoon Is Over by The Cruel Sea

Tue, 24 Sep 2019 01:00:00 -0500

What if Nick Cave or Mark Lanegan decided to record an album of Bob Marley, ZZ Top, War, and Slim Harpo covers? That's the question posed by the 1993 album The Honeymoon Is Over by The Cruel Se a, an instrumental blues and surf band from Australia that added Beasts of Bourbon frontman Tex Perkins to create a weird and oddly compelling album. Somehow, that combination managers to come together better than we could have ever expected, as the players involved completely buy into the swampy grooves with organ stabs, lurching bass lines and more. It may not be for everyone, and we may not even agree on it completely, but it's definitely worth a spin to reorient your understanding that the 90s weren't just grunge, pop-punk, industrial rock, etc.

Songs In This Episode:

Intro - Delivery Man

5:27 - Black Stick

14:36 - Naked Flame

21:48 - Woman With Soul

Outro - Better Than Love

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#453: Rubberneck by Toadies

Tue, 17 Sep 2019 01:00:00 -0500

On their 1994 debut album Rubberneck, the Toadies managed to score a hit single that is still a staple of rock stations spinning 90s alternative hits. But like a lot of people, that one single is our starting point with the band. When we gave the entire album a listen, we discovered a band confident from the get-go in their style and strengths - energetic, concise, no-frills alternative riff-rock with a distinctive lead vocalist. Spending time with the record, the deeper layers revealed themselves - a circular rockabilly-esque riff on I Come From The Water, nods to the blues-based thump Led Zeppelin on Backslider - without being obvious or sounding dated. But the superior single Possum Kingdom also made us wonder what happened to the distinctive and inventive lead guitar driving that tune, and wonder if this material translated better to the live setting.

Songs In This Episode:

Intro - Possum Kingdom

17:59 - I Burn

20:17 - I Come From The Water

22:22 - Backslider

Outro - Quitter

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#452: Sophomore Slump Reversed

Tue, 10 Sep 2019 01:00:00 -0500

To paraphrase a rock 'n roll saying, you get a lifetime to make your first record, but six months to make your second. As we've discovered in our Sophomore Slump Revisited series, it is not always the case that limited time causes the dreaded Sophomore Slump. Record label management shake-ups, shifting radio playlists and various other factors have impacted the success or failure of second albums. But what about the opposite? Bands that made okay or solid freshman efforts, but kicked it up a notch on their sophomore album and finally "discovered their sound" or "delivered on their promising debut." Or bands that released massive, chart-topping first albums, only to equal or exceed with their follow-up. There's a lot to cover, and a lot to discuss as we talk about a bunch of bands and albums that reversed the curse of the Sophomore Slump.

Songs In This Episode:

Intro - Sophomore Jinx by Self

9:57 - Cut Your Hair by Pavement

24:34 - Not Too Late by Satchel

37:20 - Pen Pals by Sloan

48:41 - Until You Came Along by Golden Smog

Outro - Spice Up Your Life by Spice Girls

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#451: Bareback by Hank Dogs

Tue, 03 Sep 2019 01:00:00 -0500

While we've touched on some alternative country over the years on the podcast, we've never encountered a straight-up folk record. Until now. Thanks to a patron selection, we checked out the 1999 debut album Bareback by Hank Dogs. A family band with lineage to the Sex Pistols, we had no idea what to expect, though the name and album cover tipped us off to something country-ish. The reality is much more traditional, recalling the English folk of The Fairport Convention, Pentangle, Steeleye Span, Richard Thompson, etc. - all well outside our respective wheelhouses. But albums like this help expand our musical horizons, even if they fall victim to the overstuff compact disc era, and foreshadow the 2000s folk and freak-folk revival.

Songs In This Episode:

Intro - Lucky Break

13:06 - 18 Dogs

19:52 - I'm An Angel

25:27 - Take Back My Own Heart

Outro - Sun Explodes

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#450: Sunday Morning Music by Thornetta Davis

Tue, 27 Aug 2019 01:00:00 -0500

If we told you that a soul/blues singer from Detroit released a record on Sub Pop on 1996 backed by funk rockers Big Chief, who had themselves just released an album influenced by 70s Blaxploitation films, you'd think we'd have a crazy game of Mad Libs going on. But the end result of Thornetta Davis' debut solo album Sunday Morning Music is much more traditional than expected, find space between the 1990s neo soul of Maxwell, D'Angelo and Erykah Badu, and the new wave of young American blues artists like Jonny Lang and Kenny Wayne Shepard.

Songs In This Episode:

21:35 - Ted's River Song

31:22 - Quiet Angel

Outro - Mission Bells

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#446: Modest Mouse In The 90s

Tue, 30 Jul 2019 01:00:00 -0500

Maybe you listened to Modest Mouse in 1996 or 1997 and thought, yes, this band will invade the public consciousness with a catchy single in the 2000s, launching them into elite status as a festival headliner, collaborate with a legendary guitarist, and influence a new generation of artists like Silversun Pickups, Future Islands, Car Seat Headrest and more. Most likely like us, you didn't, and figured a solid career in the indie music world was their destiny. We're okay with not foreseeing what may end up being the underground's last stab at infiltrating the mainstream, and decided to revisit for our second "Origins" roundtable the early years of Modest Mouse in the 1990s. Isaac Brock's unique songwriting style is present immediately, but the refinement of later years hasn't happened, allowing for exploration and experimentation across expansive (re: long) albums. It's in 1997's sophomore album The Lonesome Crowded West that the band gels, the focus sharpens, and the seeds of what were to come begin to sprout just enough at the intersection of distinct yet recognizable.

Songs In This Episode:

Intro - Teeth Like God's Shoeshine

10:30 - Novocaine Stain

16:18 - Talking Shit About A Pretty Sunset

23:29 - Sleepwalking

31:04 - Trailer Trash

39:48 - Float On

Outro - Gravity Rides Everything

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#445: Bloodletting by Concrete Blonde

Tue, 23 Jul 2019 01:00:00 -0500

Albums made in 1990 or 1991 often have the "sound" of the 80s in their production - lots of reverb on the drums, particular guitar effects, etc. Sometimes in reviewing albums from this period, it can date the album, pinning it down to a certain time instead of receiving the "timeless" accolade that so many well-regarded albums receive. But what if big, booming reverb gives the album a personality instead of a stamp? That's the case with the 1990 album Bloodletting by Concrete Blonde, who mined the vampire novels of Anne Rice to deliver an album that matches lyrical content with its musical approach. "Goth" is the term thrown around, and the album plays with dark themes matched with occasional dissonance. But what is really on display is a singer fully in command of their voice, constructing unique melodies, wrapped around a diverse selection of songwriting styles and approaches that deliver over and over again.

Songs In This Episode:

Intro - The Bloodletting (The Vampire Song)

17:47 - Tomorrow, Wendy

21:57 - The Sky Is A Poisonous Garden

24:14 - Caroline

35:05 - Joey

Outro - Darkening Of The Light

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#444: Backbeat Soundtrack

Tue, 16 Jul 2019 01:00:00 -0500

Movie soundtracks, as we have learned, come in all shapes and sizes. The 1994 Backbeat soundtrack is an interesting concept - get a bunch of well-respected alternative musicians of the day, and have them tackle early cover songs played by The Beatles. The list is impressive even today: Dave Pirner of Soul Asylum and Greg Dulli of The Afghan Whigs sharing vocal duties, Thurston Moore of Sonic Youth and Don Fleming of Gumball handling the guitars, Mike Mills of R.E.M. on bass guitar and vocals, and Dave Grohl, then of Nirvana, later of Foo Fighters, pounding away on the drums. On the one hand, you'd love to hear what this band could do with the restriction of making these period specific recordings to fit the film, or what actual Beatles tunes might sound like. On the other, hearing the band stick to the format, and tear through two-minute rock 'n roll classics is its own special thing. We hope they were having fun, because the energy and enthusiasm for the material is evident, leaving us to wonder what would/could happen if this line-up reunited every so often.

Songs In This Episode:

Intro - Money

12:11 - Rock and Roll Music

15:36 - Good Golly Miss Molly

24:26 - Please Mr. Postman

Outro - Carol

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#443: The Ideal Crash by dEUS

Tue, 09 Jul 2019 01:00:00 -0500

By the end of the 90s, a number of bands had penetrated the mainstream with ambitious, layered albums. Like with OK Computer, The Soft Bulletin, Deserter's Songs and Ladies & Gentlemen We Are Floating In Space, dEUS took a turn on their third album, 1999's The Ideal Crash. Dialing down the Frank Zappa and Captain Beefheart influences and incorporating contemporary sounds from trip-hop, electronica and alternative rock slot The Ideal Crash nicely alongside the aforementioned, even managing to find spots for banjos and theremins. But like so many bands utilizing the compact disc format, too much of a good thing can be a negative, as the band often turns what could be a three minute gem into five-plus minutes.

Songs In This Episode:

Intro - Put The Freaks Up Front

11:44 - Instant Street

16:03 - The Ideal Crash

27:33 - Everybody's Weird

Outro - Magdalena

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Patreon Preview: Flick Of The Switch by AC/DC

Thu, 04 Jul 2019 10:00:00 -0500

If there is a new episode of Dig Me Out in your feed on a Thursday, that can only mean one thing - we sharing with you a preview of our latest Dig Me Out '80s episodes. With the help our Patreon Board of Directors and Steering Committee tiers, we're revisiting another album from the 1980s based on suggestions and votes of our patrons. This month we're checking out the 1983 album Flick Of The Switch by AC/DC. Join the DMO Union for as little as $2 a month and get access to bonus content like this episode, vote in our album review polls, get exclusive merchandise and more!

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Listen to the episode archive at DigMeOutPodcast.com.

#442: Kill Rock Stars with Slim Moon

Tue, 02 Jul 2019 01:00:00 -0500

We're kicking off a new roundtable series with Slim Moon and Kill Rock Stars, who shares with the history of the Olympia, Washington (now Portland, Oregon) independent label that has been home to an amazing roster of musicians and bands, including Sleater-Kinney, Unwound, Bikini Kill, Bratmobile, The Decemberists, Elliott Smith, Huggy Bear, Mary Lou Lord, Gossip, Deerhoof and many more. We discuss how the label got started, leaning on K Records founder Calvin Johnson for advice, the riotgrrl scene and bands in Olympia, how bands were discovered, the impact of success with Elliott Smith and the importance of legacy catalogs, the end of the decade digital music revolution, and so much more.

Songs In This Episode:

Intro - New Energy by Unwound

3:45 - Words and Guitar by Sleater-Kinney

1:07:45 - Between The Bars by Elliott Smith

Outro - I Could Have Loved You by The Peechees

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#441: International Pop Overthrow by Material Issue

Tue, 25 Jun 2019 01:00:00 -0500

In 1991, Material Issue released their long-in-the-works debut album International Pop Overthrow. Along with bands and artists like Jellyfish, Matthew Sweet, The Posies, Redd Kross, major labels were taking chances on the hard-to-pin-down genre known as Power Pop, and the future looked bright until the steamroller known as Nirvana arrived in the fall. Rather than scoop up the next Big Star or Cheap Trick influenced outfit, the next Pearl Jam and Alice In Chains were the priority, and Beatles, Byrds and Badfinger devotees rarely found their favorite bands on mainstream radio or MTV. In retrospect, that might be what makes an album like IPO so listenable after so many years.

Songs In This Episode:

Intro - Valerie Loves Me

13:12 - Diane

18:02 - This Far Before

22:27 - This Letter

Outro - Li'l Christine

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#440: Villains by The Verve Pipe

Tue, 18 Jun 2019 01:00:00 -0500

What's your memory of The Verve Pipe? Are they filed away with the alternative rock one-hit wonders of the 90s thanks to the single "The Freshman"? Are they lumped in with other mid-decade "alt rock" bands like Live and Bush? Did you see them in their early indie days when the were Midwest up-and-comers? Did you bother to check out their 1999 post-hit follow-up album? Did you check out more than the singles? As listeners who reassess with an ear on the past and present, the 1996 album Villain provides lots to chew on. Album tracks reveal divergences into slightly more adventures territory while the singles show off noisy guitar licks and tones that sound foreign compared to the modern Top 40.

Songs On This Episode:

Intro - Cup Of Tea

18:01 - The Freshman

23:11 - Villains

26:39 - Photograph

37:28 - Real

Outro - Barely (If At All)

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#439: Spiderland by Slint

Tue, 11 Jun 2019 01:00:00 -0500

The 1991 album Spiderland by Slint has taken on icon status since release, the bridge between Sonic Youth noise, Velvet Underground drone, Joy Division dread and the 1990s wave of post, math, indie and other alternative rock sub-genres. Like so many revered albums discovered via slow burn over years thanks to the accolades of musicians and rock journalists, the influence of Spiderland can be heard in bits and pieces in dozens of bands, yet tracing them back to the source leads us to a perplexing conclusion - what happens when an album of modest creation becomes mythic when listening with fresh years decades after the release?

Songs In This Episode:

Intro - Breadcrumb Trail

8:49 - Good Morning Captain

25:06 - Nosferatu Man

35:33 - Washer

Outro - For Dinner...

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Listen to the episode archive at DigMeOutPodcast.com

Tue, 14 May 2019 18:23:00 -0500

The 1997 album Nothing Feels Good by The Promise Ring lays at an interesting crossroad. On the one hand, vocalist Davey Von Bohlen can grind on a melodic hook like a power pop pro, giving the listener plenty of ear candy on this tightly constructed record, while backed by a tight and creative rhythm section that never looses the groove. On the other hand, there are enough jarring structures, repetitious lyrics and twin-guitar abrasiveness to keep the hardcore kids happy. With vet J. Robbins behind the board, they definitely add some muscle, but it's not the clean and beefy guitar sounds he would get out of Braid, or what Jimmy Ear World would accomplish with Clarity, leaving us slightly underwhelmed.

Songs In This Episode:

Intro - Nothing Feels Good

14:35 - Perfect Lines

19:06 - Is This Thing On?

20:56 - Raspberry Rush

Outro - Pink Chimneys

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#434: Odyssey Number Five by Powderfinger

Tue, 07 May 2019 01:00:00 -0500

By the time of their 2000 album Odyssey Number Five, Brisbane, Australia's Powderfinger had sharpened their sound and created an album that found a balance between sweet radio friendly alternative rock hooks and melodies, while also giving headphone listeners interesting bits to revisit the album over and over again. At home, this lead to a string of chart topping albums and singles, but abroad, the band failed to find a foothold. Not surprising, considering the band drew not from the popular sounds of the moment, but from a wide range of influences, both in terms of songwriting and production. With veteran producer Nick DiDia behind the board, the band swiftly moves from Oasis balladry to bluesy riffing to arena anthems with ease, finding cohesion among them all, albeit with perhaps too much cohesion among the tempos from song to song.

Songs In This Episode:

Intro - My Happiness

17:19 - My Kind Of Scene

20:30 - Up And Down And Back Again

25:09 - Like A Dog

35:57 - Thrillology

Outro - Waiting For The Sun

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#433: Everclear by American Music Club

Tue, 30 Apr 2019 01:00:00 -0500

By the time of their fifth album Everclear from 1991, American Music Club was anything but a household name. If you caught their single "Rise" on late on night on MTV, or by chance on an adventurous radio station, you are among a lucky few. Considering the musical landscape for rock, where 80s hair/glam metal was still dominant while ascendent alternative had yet to be come a proper decade-defining brand name, it's easy to see why you may have missed it. AMC evokes ideas of genres without ever settling on one, making mainstream classification all but impossible. Touches of Americana thanks to acoustic guitars, but not really any twang. Downbeat and bleak slowcore until Mark Eitzel furiously strums an acoustic in bursts of kinetic release. The album feels timeless, yet could easily be the recollection of a single night of boozing and fury. It did make Rolling Stone take notice, granting the album "of the year" consideration and naming Mark Eitzel the preeminent songwriter of the moment, so maybe it's time everyone else finds the reverbed-out beauty in Everclear.

Songs In This Episode:

Intro - Rise

15:02 - Why Won't You Stay

17:21 - The Dead Part Of You

22:35 - The Confidential Agent

29:16 - Miracle On 8th Street

Outro - Sick Of Food

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Patreon Preview: Max Q by Max Q

Thu, 25 Apr 2019 09:14:41 -0500

If there is a new episode of Dig Me Out in your feed on a Thursday, that can only mean one thing - we sharing with you a preview of our latest Dig Me Out '80s episodes. With the help our Patreon Board of Directors and Steering Committee tiers, we're revisiting another album from the 1980s based on suggestions and votes of our patrons. This month we're checking out the 1989 album self-titled album by Max Q. Join the DMO Union for as little as $2 a month and get access to bonus content like this episode, vote in our album review polls, get exclusive merchandise and more!

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#432: Our Finest Flowers by The Residents

Tue, 23 Apr 2019 01:00:00 -0500

Neither of us had any previous exposure to The Residents prior to this review, and it's a weird entry point. The avant-garde music collective celebrated their twentieth anniversary in 1992 not by released a greatest hits album, but instead taking bits and pieces of old songs and combining them into new works. The result is Our Finest Flowers, a rather low-key affair that relies on drum loops, synths, some occasional singing, and a variety of randomness that includes both female backing vocalists and possibly acetylene torches. This may be the least "rock" album we've ever done to date, but our appreciation for the material ultimately landed on whether the songs stand on their own, which on a sixteen-track album, unfortunately had a lot of misses for us.

Songs In This Episode:

Intro - Mr. Lonely

11:48 - The Sour Song

15:18 - Dead Wood

19:58 - I'm Dreaming Of A White Sailor

24:57 - Forty-Four No More

Outro - Ship Of Fools

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#431: Blue by Third Eye Blind

Tue, 16 Apr 2019 01:00:00 -0500

With their 1997 self-titled debut, Third Eye Blind charted five hit singles, three that made the Billboard top ten, while moving six million units worldwide. Over a year after the release, they were still logging hit singles and touring, and as we've learned over many episodes, the follow-up doesn't always get the same attention to detail. With the 1999 sophomore album Blue, their limited studio time didn't stop the band from stretching musically, conducting some interesting sonic experiments to compliment Stephan Jenkins rapid fire sing/speak delivery. But 1999 looked very different from 1997 - radio changed, Napster would become a thing, pop music was dominant - was their even room for a jangly rock band anymore? Whether trying to keep up with the times or not, they delivery the most pop-friendly single of their career in "Never Let You Go." While the music takes a leap forward on the rest of the album, the melodies and lyrics either sound under baked or over thought, leading to a potential dreaded sophomore slump.

Songs In This Episode:

Intro - Never Let You Go

18:47 - 1000 Julys

23:37 - Farther

32:06 - Darwin

46:51 - The Red Summer Sun

Outro - 10 Days Late

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#430: Formula by OLD

Tue, 09 Apr 2019 01:00:00 -0500

Grindcore band Old Lady Drivers, or OLD, ended their four-album run in 1995 with the wildly eclectic Formula. Despite the title, Formula is anything but, swapping heavy guitar dirges for tape loops, synths, drum machines and lots of experimentation. Switching gears from Napalm Death to electronic instrumentals might have failed in the hands of lesser musicians, but James Plotkin and Alan Dubin manage to create a compelling, hypnotic record.

Songs In This Episode:

Intro - Last Look

14:27 - Under Glass

24:30 - Thug

29:53 - Devolve

34:49 - Amoeba

Outro - Break (You)

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#429: New Order In The 90s Roundtable

Tue, 02 Apr 2019 01:00:00 -0500

When New Order entered the 1990s, they were coming off their first number one album on the UK charts along with two top twenty singles. So what did they do? Immediately split into multiple factions. While the well received 1993 album Republic would produce one of their finest singles in Regret, the 90s for New Order are defined by side projects. For bassist Peter Hook, it started with Revenge and continued with Monaco. For Bernard Sumner, he paired up with former Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr, and brought along a number of notable collaborators from bands such as the Pet Shop Boys, Kraftwerk and Black Grape to form Electronic, while Stephen Morris and Gillian Gilbert formed the slightly passive-aggressively named The Other Two for a pair of albums. Along with our guests, we revisit the entire decade for the band and their various extracurricular activities, and how that impacted the sound New Order in the 90s and 2000s.

Songs In This Episode:

Intro - Regret by New Order

8:51 - World In Motion by New Order

14:05 - Pineapple Face by Revenge

19:49 - Tasty Fish by The Other Two

28:47 - World by New Order

39:54 - What Do You Want From Me? by Monaco

56:36 - Rock The Shack

Outro - Getting Away With It

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#428: Aenmia by Tool

Tue, 26 Mar 2019 01:00:00 -0500

Whenever we have a guest on to discuss an album either they made, had a hand in producing or releasing, our are suggesting for a review, we always come away with unique personal insights not always available from just a surface listen or new release review. For the sophomore 1996 album Aenima by Tool, our guest Patrick had a close personal connection to the music and the lyrics of the band that he shared with us that gave a deeper appreciation for one of the most original and trailblazing bands and albums of the decade.

Songs In This Episode:

Intro - Stinkfist

32:50 - Eulogy

42:50 - Aenima

51:41 - Third Eye

1:03:30 - Jimmy

Outro - Forty Six And 2

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#427: Soup by Blind Melon with Christopher Thorn

Tue, 19 Mar 2019 01:00:00 -0500

Sophomore albums are notoriously tricky, we've even dedicated a round table series to the phenomenon of hugely successful 90s debuts with follow-ups that, for a variety of reasons, didn't connect with audiences in the same way as their first release. Sometimes it record label politics scuttling the promotional support, sometimes its the shifting musical landscape after time off, and sometimes its artists evolving in ways listeners weren't expecting. To help us explore the 1995 sophomore Soup by Blind Melon, we're joined guitarist Christopher Thorn and longtime contributor Chip Midnight to delve into an album that, upon release, received a notoriously scathing review from Rolling Stone, but has since garnered praise and adulation upon it's twentieth anniversary. We discuss forming the band, the rollercoaster ride that was their debut, the legacy of "No Rain," writing and recording Soup, and the tragedy that followed it's release with the death of Shannon Hoon, and much, much more.

Songs In This Episode:

Intro - Galaxie

28:38 - Vernie

40:15 - Toes Across The Floor

53:11 - St. Andrew's Fall

Outro - 2x4

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Thu, 21 Feb 2019 11:00:00 -0500

You're probably wondering, why is there a new episode in my podcast feed on a Thursday? We wanted to share with you a preview of our first of six Dig Me Out '80s episodes in 2019. Starting this month, and continuing every other month this year, with the help our Patreon Board of Directors and Steering Committee tiers, we'll be revisiting an album from the 1980s based on suggestions and votes of our patrons. This month we're revisiting the 1980 album Panorama by The Cars. Join the DMO Union for as little as $2 a month and get access to bonus content like this episode, vote in our album review polls, get exclusive merchandise and more!

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#423: Pod by The Breeders

Tue, 19 Feb 2019 01:00:00 -0500

The shadow of Kim Deal and Tanya Donelly looms large over 1990s alternative and indie rock. They were both members of seminal 1980s bands, Deal in the Pixies, and Donelly in Throwing Muses, and had second acts in the 90s in their own bands, The Breeders and Belly. For one album, before Kim's sister Kelley joined the band, Donelly joined forces with Deal on the 1990 album Pod by The Breeders, then conceived as a side project for the two. The result is a subtle and restrained record that only hints at the pop prowess the two would unleash with future singles like "Last Splash" and "Feed The Tree." With engineer Steve Albini behind the board, the album pushes the artists to work with space, finding equal footing for all the instruments. For some, the deliberate nature may turn plodding, but the atmosphere created is one truly unique, and it's clear why musicians like Kurt Cobain would find the tension between hard hitting drums, melodic bass lines and stripped down guitar lines so appealing.

Songs In This Episode:

Intro - Happiness Is A Warm Gun

14:44 - Glorious

17:02 - Oh!

23:15 - Fortunately Gone

Outro - Hellbound

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#422: Pop-Punk In The 90s Roundtable

Tue, 12 Feb 2019 01:00:00 -0500

The term "Pop-Punk" started showing up in the mid-90s - a hybrid of the breakthrough punk sound via bands like Green Day and The Offspring, but with a decidedly more pop (re: melodic) twist in the vocal department. It's not easy to pin down with what band or at what time pop-punk took off, but from what we discussed with our guests, we know artists such as Blink-182 helped set the proverbial table for what would be a full-on pop-punk explosion in the 2000s. We put our thinking caps on and try to determine the unique characteristics, good and not so good, that made pop-punk unique, and how it factors into the story of the 1990s music scene.

Songs In This Episode:

Intro - What's My Age Again? by Blink-182

15:56 - May 16 by Lagwagon

26:08 - Redundant by Green Day

38:15 - Come Out And Play by The Offspring

Outro - Nineties by Busted

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#421: Machine Fish by Galactic Cowboys

Tue, 05 Feb 2019 01:00:00 -0500

Compact discs were the predominant physical medium for music in the 90s that, like cassettes and vinyl before, came with positives and negatives. No more rewinding or fast forwarding to find a song. Mobility meant moving from your home stereo, to your Discman, to your car with ease. Plus, you had almost eighty minutes to work with. That last one, however, became a curse as much as a blessing with albums like the 1996 release Machine Fish by Galactic Cowboys. If you're into hard rock/metal with a melodic bent, this album is just up your alley. Alas, left to their own devices, the gentlemen of Galactic Cowboys manage to stuff nearly every minute of this compact disc with riff upon riff, sometimes burying a gem behind walls of guitars, turning what could be three minute pop metal masterpieces into bloated five minute head scratchers. If this were an eight or nine songs album released on vinyl in the 1970s, that wouldn't be as much of an issue, but at fourteen songs and almost seventy minutes, even the most hearty will start to fatigue.

And if that wasn't enough, we even conducted a bonus review of the Feel The Rage EP exclusive at our Patreon page.

Songs In This Episode:

Intro - Feel The Rage

18:25 - 9th Of June

30:33 - Fear Not

35:15 - Easy To Love

43:47 - Patting Yourself On The Back

Outro - Psychotic Companion

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#420: Goat by The Jesus Lizard

Tue, 29 Jan 2019 01:00:00 -0500

Sometimes we revisit albums that have little to no internet presence, reviews that only appeared in print, and barely managed to slip into the big name publications. When that happens, there is little baggage or preconceived notion of what we're getting into. On the other end of spectrum, we have the 1991 album Goat by The Jesus Lizard. Now heralded as one of the defining alternative rock albums of the 90s, specifically of the "noise rock" sub genre, the list of bands that draw influence back to this band and album are numerous. But it left us questioning - what exactly is noise rock? To us, this was another example of Steve Albini's sharp and clean production paired with top notch musicianship. We split on our appreciation for David Yow's vocals, which shouldn't be a surprise - they are an acquired taste, but we agreed that this compact, thirty-minute recording is worth revisiting.

Songs In This Episode:

Intro - Mouth Breather

15:08 - Then Comes Dudley

17:24 - Nub

22:44 - Monkey Trick

Outro - Rodeo In Juliet

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#419: Albums of 1999 Roundtable

Tue, 22 Jan 2019 01:00:00 -0500

The release of Nirvana's album Nevermind in 1991 shaped the musical landscape of the 1990s in numerous ways, but 1999 may be the year that truly upended everything. Along with our favorite albums, our hidden gems, our late discoveries, and our long forgottens, we also dig into the year that foretold the re-emergence and dominance of pop music that has never been challenged since, the year that gave us Napster, the return of Woodstock, the rise of Nu-Metal and Rap-Rock, and much more.

Songs In This Episode:

Intro - 1999 Medley (Wilco, Blur, Nine Inch Nails, Live)

7:16 - Driftwood by Travis from The Man Who

21:10 - Church On Sunday by Stone Temple Pilots from No. 4

38:47 - Muscle Museum by Muse from Showbiz

51:03 - Swingin' by Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers from Echo

1:02:28 - Shooting Stars by The Black Halos from s/t

Outro - Fast As You Can by Fiona Apple from When The Pawn...

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#418: Mossy God by Mantissa

Tue, 15 Jan 2019 01:00:00 -0500

We're not sure what album Mantissa intended to make with their 1992 debut Mossy God. On the one hand, it's got the guitar riffage that would find allies in heavier/dirtier 1980s hard rock/metal bands like Circus Of Power or Faster Pussycat. On the other hand, with producer Terry Date onboard, there is a tinge of the Seattle sound, like early Alice In Chains or pre-Superunknown Soundgarden. There is even a touch of Red Hot Chili Peppers funk. What does this all add up to? Kind of a mess, but not surprising considering the shifting landscape of early 90s hard rock/metal, where band either stuck to their quickly out-of-date guns or attempted an alternative makeover. Along with a confused albums comes and evening confusing (and exasperating) back story of an Australian band trying to "break" in America.

Songs In This Episode:

Intro - Sanctify

23:02 - Ruby's Mind

27:44 - Dream Alone

32:41 - Extro

36:52 - Mystery Line

Outro - Mary Mary

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#417: Wrecreation by Stanford Prison Experiment

Tue, 08 Jan 2019 01:00:00 -0500

The term "album tracks" gets thrown around to describe perfectly fine songs that are clearly not going to be a radio single for a band. It represents what the band does, but maybe is less melodic in favor of a sound that expands, experiments or diverts enough to make it worthy of inclusion. For a band like Stanford Prison Experiment, we tossed around the term "album track" a number of times for a band that subtly takes turns inhabiting the styles and sounds of a variety of contemporaries. On their third and final record, 1998's Wrecreation, we found a lot to like in a band that touched on punk, post-punk, post-hardcore, emo, math-rock and grunge, but do they ever find themselves? Tune in to find out.

Songs In This Episode:

Intro - Hightower

15:14 - Contusion

18:09 - Burner

24:27 - I'm A War

32:44 - Machaca

Outro - But Of Course

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#416: Sunrise On The Sufferbus by Masters Of Reality

Tue, 01 Jan 2019 01:00:00 -0500

To understand "Desert Rock" and the Palm Desert Scene, you have too look further than Queens Of The Stone Age, as we learned on our Desert Rock episode. That's when you discover a number of bands and important figures, including Chris Goss and his band Masters Of Reality, contemporaries of Kyuss and others who helped bring the bass heavy guitar dirges of the desert to the mainstream. But there is more to it than that as we discover on 1993 album Sunrise On The Sufferbus, which explores quieter moments that left us scratching our heads at times. With the propulsive pulse of Cream drummer Ginger Baker behind the kit for this album, songs like She Got Me (When She Got Her Dress On) bounce to life, but in a grunge dominated era it's no wonder this is relegated to cult status. Is it worthy of revisiting?

Song In This Episode:

Intro - Gimme Water

12:40 - T.U.S.A.

20:18 - She Got Me (When She Got Her Dress On)

25:04 - Gimme Water

32:08 - Moon In Your Pocket

Outro - J.B. Witchdance

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#415: Season Eight In Review

Tue, 25 Dec 2018 01:00:00 -0500

2018 seem to fly by, and with it another slate of reviews, roundtables and interviews that we look back upon with equal parts amazement and exhaustion. Thanks to our great community of folks at Patreon, the burden of actually picking records to revisit was lifted off our shoulders this year, and we got to check out some completely new discoveries like Fini Scad, Sheena Ringo and The Gathering, while also going deep on records by The Posies, Scott Weiland and Mansun we already knew but hadn't fully connected with over the years. Of course, our roundtables continued to be a highlight, digging the scenes of New York City and Dayton, Ohio, diving into the origins of Spoon, dissecting 90s Power Pop and Desert Rock, and much more. Thanks to all who helped make 2018 a great year, see you in 2019!

Songs In This Episode:

Intro - Dig Me Out by Sleater Kinney

12:08 - I Am A Liar by Sheena Ringo

17:13 - Soaked In Cinnamon by Ultimate Fakebook

Outro - Dig Me Out by Sleater Kinney

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#414: In On The Kill Taker by Fugazi

Tue, 18 Dec 2018 01:00:00 -0500

Although we host a 90s-focused music podcast, if you think Fugazi is a no brainer for us, think again. While we both had passing interest and exposure, neither of us were ardent followers of punk, hardcore or post hardcore during that time, and really only came to it years later thanks to our varied appreciations for bands like Jawbox, Sonic Youth and At The Drive-in. This makes revisiting Fugazi's 1993 third album In On The Kill Taker an even more enlightening experience. The band stretches their sound, we won't call it jamming, incorporating long musical passages that teeter on the edge of ambient dissonance. With their stellar rhythm section, the guitars and vocals play off each other with increasing confidence.

Songs On This Episode:

Intro - Returning The Screw

15:18 - Facet Squared

24:43 - Great Cop

29:31 - Rend It

Outro - Smallpox Champion

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#413: Good Morning Spider by Sparklehorse

Tue, 11 Dec 2018 01:00:00 -0500

With his work as Sparklehorse, Mark Linkous left behind a collection of music wholly unique - masterfully combining the intimacy of his home recording setup paired with his singular lyrical approach. His songs shift from abrasive guitar driven "Pig" and "Ghost Of His Smile" to the laid back pop of "Sick Of Goodbyes" with little interruption, managing to find common ground in melody with such contemporary artists as Grandaddy, The Jayhawks and Guided By Voices.

During this episode we discussed our current partnership with Sudio. Check them out online and use the discount code "DMO" to receive 15% off your purchase. For the holiday season, each purchase includes a gift box, and shipping is free worldwide.

Songs On This Episode:

Intro - Painbirds

11:53 - Pig

14:58 - Ghost Of His Smile

22:19 - Sick Of Goodbyes

30:27 - Chaos Of The Galaxy/Happy Man

34:04 - Maria's Little Elbows

Outro - Hundreds Of Sparrows

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#412: The Lateness Of The Hour by Eric Matthews

Tue, 04 Dec 2018 01:00:00 -0500

While the Seattle record label Sub Pop is primarily associated with "grunge," the list of artists and catalog of releases is far more broad. Take for example Eric Matthews, whose whispered vocal and orchestral arrangements couldn't stray further from the so-called Sub Pop sound. On his sophomore solo release from 1997, The Lateness Of The Hour, Matthews expertly and often densely constructs songs that would sound at home on either an Elliott Smith album or coming out of Pet Sounds by The Beach Boys, never forgetting to layer sweet melodies on top of his sometimes classical arrangements. While the vocal approach took some getting used to, we discovered an album that reveals more musicially and emotionally upon repeated listens.

Songs In This Episode:

Intro - Ideas That Died That Day

12:02 - My Morning Parade

14:48 - Festival Fun

16:49 - Pair Of Cherry

26:07 - Everything So Real

Outro - Dopeyness

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#411: Free Mars by Lusk

Tue, 27 Nov 2018 01:00:00 -0500

There are not many 1990s albums that fall under the "alternative rock" banner that prominently feature harp and horns the way the lone 1997 album Free Mars by Lusk does. The fact that it does so featuring a wide cast of characters from bands such as Tool (Paul D'Amour), Failure (Greg Edwards), Guns 'n Roses (Chris Pitman) and Medicine (Brad Laner) only adds to the unique and intriguing charm of this one-and-done release.

Songs In This Episode:

Intro - Backworlds

16:15 - Savvy Kangaroos

23:02 - The Hotel Family Affair

30:31 - Free Mars

Outro - Kill The King

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Tue, 23 Oct 2018 01:00:00 -0500

Built To Spill have remained an anomaly in a number of ways throughout their career - a band steeped in classic rock conventions that seamlessly integrates 1990s indie rock guitar shredding, but does so without sacrificing vocal melodies, and doing in on major label Warner Bros. for twenty years. On 1999's Keep It Like A Secret, Doug Martsch shortened the length and kept the six plus minute long jams to a minimum, but still manages to concoct his stew of six string wizardry and even throw in a kitschy tune (You Were Right) that would have sounded at home on a Ben Folds Five album.

Songs in this Episode:

Intro - Carry The Zero

19:49 - The Plan

22:49 - Time Trap

29:55 - You Were Right

Outro - Center Of The Universe

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#405: Stomp 442 by Anthrax

Tue, 16 Oct 2018 01:00:00 -0500

After the success of the Sound Of White Noise album with new lead singer John Bush, New York city thrashers Anthrax took the band in a direction that angered and alienated longtime fans. For Stomp 442 from 1995, the band relied less on the chugging thrash riffage of their past, and played with sounds that would be at home in Helmet's post hardcore and alternative metal sound, or the mainstream hard rock that Metallica had cultivated on their Black album. While tag as a "grunge" sell-out, over twenty years later we find it hard to locate an trace of Seattle sound, and find a band brimming with confidence and swagger. Perhaps they made the wrong album at the wrong time, but looking back, it's not hard to hear why so many were confused by the new direction - hopefully this time around they'll give it another spin.

Songs in this Episode:

Intro - Fueled

11:19 - Fueled

15:22 - In A Zone

23:14 - Perpetual Motion

29:21 - Nothing

33:36 - Bare

Outro - Random Acts Of Senseless Violence

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#404: Digging' Your Scene - Dayton, Ohio

Tue, 09 Oct 2018 01:00:00 -0500

Cleveland is the home of the Rock 'n Roll Hall of Fame, Cincinnati is home to legendary soul label King Records and The Afghan Whigs, Akron has Devo and the The Pretenders, but if there is a 1990s alternative and indie rock epicenter of Ohio, it's Dayton, known for its Air Force Base and (alleged) alien cover-ups. The Breeders, Guided By Voices and Brainiac all call Dayton home, breaking through in their own unique ways, but Dayton's musical roots dig deep into 1980s punk and 1970s funk all the way into the 2000s. We discuss the venues, record stores, bands and more that made and make Dayton unique.

Songs in this episode:

Intro - Dayton Medley (Guided By Voices, The Amps, Brainiac)

12:56 - No Wrong Track by The Method

23:48 - God Bless America by Toxic Reasons

30:33 - Flying Pizza by Swearing At Motorists

41:40 - Listen To The Quiet by Mink

45:13 - Toilet Knife by Dirty Walk

Outro - Weapons Of Love Destruction by Shesus

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#403: Since by Richard Buckner

Tue, 02 Oct 2018 01:00:00 -0500

For his 1998 album Since, Richard Buckner enlisted a strong supporting cast (John McEntire of Tortoise, The Sea And Cake / Dave Schramm of Yo La Tengo, The Schramms / David Grubbs of Squirrel Bait, Gastr Del Sol, Bastro) to shape an Americana/Alt Country record that feels out of place for the time, but perfectly in sync with the Jason Isbell's and John Moreland's of today's musical landscape. It helps that Buckner's poetic approach eschews the compact disc bloat and hones a tight sixteen track / thirty seven minute album that actually left us wanting more in spaces rather than wishing for restraint and editing.

Songs in this episode:

Intro - Believer

12:04 - Raze

16:56 - Brief & Boundless

20:12 - Lucky Buzz

29:34 - Coursed

Outro - Goner w/Souvenir

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#402: Mellow Gold by Beck

Tue, 25 Sep 2018 01:00:00 -0500

We revisit Beck's major label debut Mellow Gold, was it a warm-up for the multi-platinum Odelay, or is Loser the only worthwhile nugget?

Songs in this episode:

Intro - Loser

12:54 -Soul Suckin' Jerk

17:58 - Beercan

26:28 - Truckdrivin Neighbors Downstairs (Yellow Sweat)

Outro - Sweet Sunshine

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Patreon Preview: Power Pop in the '00s Discussion

Thu, 20 Sep 2018 01:00:00 -0500

Wondering about our exclusive content over at Patreon? Here's a sample of the first five minutes of our extended twenty minute discussion on Power Pop as we chat about the 2000s.

Hear the entire bonus content, be eligible for quarterly contests, vote in our polls, and support the podcast at patreon.com/digmeout.

#401: Power Pop Of The 90s

Tue, 18 Sep 2018 01:00:00 -0500

For a lot of people, the rock music subgenre known as "power pop" is one of those "you know it when you hear it" situations. However, over the years many have tried to describe and dissect what makes power pop unique from musical cousins such as pop rock or jangle pop. Like the 70s and 80s before them, 90s power pop bands put their own spin on the sound, adding a little more guitar crunch while incorporating the hallmark harmonies, British Invasion influenced melodies and arrangements, and other key elements, thanks bands like Sloan, Jellyfish, Teenage Fanclub, Superdrag, Fountains Of Wayne and The Posies, and artists like Matthew Sweet, Tommy Keene and Jason Falkner. With our panel, we dig into the sounds, the songs, the albums and the artists of 90s power pop.

Songs in this episode:

Intro - Sick Of Myself by Matthew Sweet

32:14 - Buddy Holly by Weezer

37:05 - Bottle Of Fur by Urge Overkill

46:17 - Money City Maniacs by Sloan

52:41 - What You Do To Me by Teenage Fanclub

Outro - Red Dragon Tattoo by Fountains of Wayne

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#400: Half Dead and Dynamite by Lifter Puller

Tue, 11 Sep 2018 01:00:00 -0500

Craig Finn is best known for his distinctive vocal and lyrical style thanks to The Hold Steady in the 2000s. But while that band channeled Bruce Springsteen, The Replacements and The Band for musical inspiration, his 1990s outfit Lifter Puller took a decidedly more angular approach with nods to Television, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds and Pavement. Digging into 1997's sophomore released Half Dead and Dynamite, the drugged up and drunken stories familiar to Finn fans are there, but the band backing him presents a different sonic approach, eschewing bombast and power chords for jagged rhythms and Radioshack keyboards.

Intro - The Gin and the Sour Defeat

10:45 - Half Dead and Dynamite

17:03 - Nassau Coliseum

21:18 - I Like The Lights

29:17 - Rock for Lite Brite

Outro - The Bears

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#399: Pack Up The Cats by Local H

Tue, 04 Sep 2018 01:00:00 -0500

Concept albums are as old as albums themselves, though defining what exactly qualifies as a concept album is flexible. The 90s were no different, as many bands and artists took loose ideas and strung together narratives and themes to form a cohesive idea. Of all the bands you were probably expecting to do so back in day, Local H was probably not high on that list, but songwriter/guitarist/singer Scott Lucas has dipped into the concept album well often during the past several decades, first with their 1996 break-through As Good As Dead, and then the 1998 follow-up Pack Up The Cats. Lucas and drummer Joe Daniels weave a tale not unfamiliar to rock fans - the rise and fall of a musician, but with the decade specific twists and turns that make it a uniquely 90s affair, both lyrically and sonically, and craft a concept album worthy of the decades medium of choice: the compact disc.

Intro - All The Kids Are Right

32:13 - All-Right (Oh Yeah)

34:49 - Cool Magnet

36:58 - Laminate Man

40:47 - Deep Cut

43.46 - Lucky Time

50:16 - Hit The Skids

Outro - What Can I Tell You

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#398: Frosting On The Beater by The Posies

Tue, 28 Aug 2018 01:00:00 -0500

The 1990s are known as the grunge decade, but really Seattle's reign was contained to the first half, which is when The Posies power-pop tour de force Frosting On The Beater happened to be released in 1993. It's not hard to understand why this band from the Pacific Northwest struggled to find an broad audience - the singles are teeming with Big Star, Cheap Trick, The Beatles, and other classic power pop influence, and only Matthew Sweet was able to crack mainstream radio playlists and MTV video rotation with a similar but equally melodic approach. It doesn't help that in an era of Discman players and vinyl decline, Don Fleming's beefed up production truly only finds its sweet spot when the stereo speakers are pushing serious air, which we are happy to oblige.

Intro - Dream All Day

9:54 - Definite Door

13:28 - Love Letter Boxes

19:51 - How She Lied By Living

29:37 - Solar Sister

Outro - Flavor Of The Month

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#397: Side Projects Of The 90s

Tue, 21 Aug 2018 01:00:00 -0500

When musicians aren't busy writing, recording and touring with their main band, often times you'll find them in side projects, mixing it up with new sounds and new collaborators. The 1990s were no different, as folks from the biggest bands to lesser known indie artists often found a new creative outlet outside their main gig. But what exactly makes it a side project, as opposed to just putting out a solo album, or recording with a fabled "super group?" We try to lay down some (admittedly) shaky criteria to figure out what makes a side project, revisiting those that worked, a few that didn't, some that left us scratching our heads and some that left us wanting more.

Intro - Side Project Medley (Friends Of P by The Rentals, Hunger Strike by Temple Of The Dog, Tipp City by The Amps)

7:17 - That's Just How That Bird Sings by The Twilight Singers

20:06 - Gimme Indie Rock by Sebadoh

26:48 - Wasting Away by Nailbomb

40:57 - Song For A Dead Girl by Three Fish

46:54 - 20th Century by Brad

Outro - Yoo Hoo by Imperial Teen

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#396: Into The Pink by Verbena

Tue, 14 Aug 2018 01:00:00 -0500

After Nirvana exploded in the 1990s, bands across the globe got signed for sounding just enough like the Kurt, Krist, and Dave, an inevitable result of major labels hoping to find "the next Nirvana." It was also inevitable that young artists would be influenced by the band dominating radio and MTV, and so began the delicate balance of imitation and influence, recycling and reinterpretation. On their sophomore album Into The Pink, Verbena had a lot to shoulder. With the multi-pronged assault of electronica, nu-metal and manufactured pop, some decried the end of rock'n'roll in the later half other decade, and searched for a savior. With a single that tipped a nod to Cobain vocally and Nirvana sonically, and with Dave Grohl onboard as producer, the hype machine declaring Verbena to be "the next Nirvana" was in full swing, coloring the band before most got to hear the record in full. We try to get beneath the marketing and figure out what really worked, what didn't, and why rock music fans in general are so intent on tearing down the latest thing.

Intro - Into The Pink

15:09 - Baby Got Shot

19:06 - John Beverly

24:41 - Monkey, I'm Your Man

Outro - Pretty Please

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#395: Tin Cans With Strings To You by Far

Tue, 07 Aug 2018 01:00:00 -0500

On their 1996 major label debut Tin Cans With Strings To You, the Sacramento, CA band Far find themselves at an interesting crossroads. By this point in the decade, grunge is well past its expiration date, so how do you describe a rock band that can synthesize New York City post-hardcore and Washington D.C. emo, with hints of the burgeoning San Diego screamo scene? Thanks to our Patreon patrons suggestion, we revisit a record that on the surface hits all of our respective musical sweet spots, but gave us some some head scratching moments as well with regard to production choices and track list order.

Intro - Love, American Style

13:14 - Girl

22:30 - Celebrate Her

36:25 - Joining The Circus

Outro - Seasick

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#394: Interview With Jonny Polonsky

Tue, 31 Jul 2018 01:00:00 -0500

For the tens of thousands of bands who signed to a major label, put out a record, scored a minor hit and disappeared, there just as many divergent stories of what happened after the temporary spotlight dimmed. In the case of Jonny Polonsky, his tale started in the suburbs of Chicago, home recording cassette albums as a teen in his bedroom and dialing up famous guitarists for feedback, which lead him to move to Boston, the support of Frank Black of the Pixies, and a deal with Rick Rubin's American Recordings. His 1996 debut Hi My Name Is Jonny scored a college radio hit with "In My Head," but like so many in the mid and late 90s music industry machine, the churn happened quickly and soon after he find be looking to new outlets for releasing music and relocating to Los Angeles to start anew. There is a chance you've heard or seen Jonny in the 2000s without even realizing it, playing on records by Pete Yorn, Puscifer, Neil Diamond, Johnny Cash, Minnie Driver and more, while hitting the road with many more. Jonny shares with us his story, his approaches to songwriting, recording, learning new instruments, his love of David Bowie's side-project Tin Machine, and much much more.

Intro - In My Mind

Outro - Love Lovely Love

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#393: Prick by Prick

Tue, 24 Jul 2018 01:00:00 -0500

When an established name like Trent Reznor shows up in the credits of a 90s industrial album, the natural starting point is to compare it Nine Inch Nails. But what about when the artist is not a contemporary or disciple, but a predecessor? That's the case with Kevin McMahon, veteran of new wave group Lucky Pierre going back to the 70s, and where the Reznor connection occurs in the late 80s. Thanks to having over a decade worth of experience, on the 1995 eponymous debut by Prick, Reznor acts as less an overwhelming force upon McMahon and his band and more of a slightly different flavor. It's not hard to pick out which tracks Reznor had a hand in, but compared to the majority of the album, they pair nicely with the overall experience rather than stick out like the proverbial sore thumb. While so many industrial acts can either get weighted down by lyrical dreariness, musical repetition or underwhelming vocal performances, McMahon uses his new wave background wisely, crafting melodic hooks and not losing the rock aspect of industrial rock thanks to some well-produced guitar riffing.

Intro - Animal

9:36 - Tough

12:19 - Crack

14:44 - Other People

18:12 - No Fair Fights

25:42 - I Apologize

Outro - I Got It Bad

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#392: Origins - Spoon In The 90s

Tue, 17 Jul 2018 01:00:00 -0500

In the first of a new roundtable series, we're taking a look back at the 90s origins of Spoon, and how they went from devotees of Frank Black and Robert Pollard, to one of the most consistently interesting and successful bands of the 2000s. Britt Daniel and Jim Eno, the core singer/songwriter/guitarist and drummer/producer of Spoon, have been at it for almost thirty years. In the 2000s, starting with Girls Can Tell, and up to their most recent release Hot Thoughts, the band has managed to expertly toe the line between slick songwriting worthy of radio, television and film placement, while keeping a shape-shifting edge that expertly slips back and forth between minimalist and embellished production, tied together with Daniel's emphatic but easy on the ears delivery that manages to inhabit Ray Davies, Tom Petty and Prince all at the same time. But before they began their run of successful 2000s releases, the band was almost another tragic tale of the 1990s major label signing frenzy, bouncing between taste-maker Matador for their debut Telephono and EP Soft Effects, to then jump to the majors on A Series Of Sneaks at Elektra that saw them dropped four months after their sophomore release. Like so many before that have carved out long careers, the early years of Spoon reveal a band struggling to channel their influences into something wholly unique while Daniel's begins the process of finding his own voice.

Intro - Utilitarian (A Series Of Sneaks)

14:42 - Theme To Wendell Stivers (Telephono)

18:54 - Nefarious (Telephono)

22:43 - Mountain Of Sound (Soft Effects EP)

33:49 - The Minor Tough (A Series Of Sneaks)

47:39 - Metal Detektor (A Series Of Sneaks)

Outro - The Agony Of Laffitte (Laffitte 7" single)

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#391: Six by Mansun

Tue, 10 Jul 2018 01:00:00 -0500

Let's get this out of the way - thanks to the ridiculous nature of regional rights and legal mumbo-jumbo surrounding album releases, we are occasionally stuck reviewing the edited and inferior US release of an album rather than the original UK or Australian version that the artist intended. That's what happened when one of our Patreon patrons selected the sophomore album Six by Mansun for us to check out. The original 1998 UK release features extra songs, a different track list and mixes, and is overall considered to the superior to the chopped-down and rearranged US version released in 1999. Back in the day, we would have made a visit to the local Virgin Megastore and dropped twenty to thirty bucks on an important version, but that option is long gone, so we're playing the hand as dealt. While the band made no secret on their debut Attack of the Grey Lantern that straight-up Brit-pop was of no interest, the band managed to craft radio-friendly pop melodies with twisted instrumentation and odd embellishments. Six takes it one step further, honing the pop songs while doubling-down on the twisted and odd, taking long divergences into instrumental passages, drastic tempo shifts and, uh, The Nutcracker?

Intro - Six

14:23 - Negative

20:23 - Legacy

26:06 - Anti-Everything

34:48 - Being A Girl

Outro - Fall Out

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#390: The Infotainment Scan by The Fall

Tue, 03 Jul 2018 01:00:00 -0500

Mark E. Smith of The Fall was a divisive character, turning people on or off with his kinetic one-note, occasionally slurred, stream of consciousness vocal delivery. After a decade and a half of abrasive post punk, line-up changes and restlessness led to a stylistic change, accounting for several electronic and IDM influenced albums. 1993's The Infotainment Scan falls into this era, while still featuring a jagged guitar line, clean (or sterile) production on programmed drums and synth keyboards dominates the overall sound, featuring odd cover song choices and sonic stretches that left us scratching our heads. There's a lovable cantankerous aspect to Smith's vocals that endears us to his limitations, but hearing the band go full rave seemed to a bridge too far.

Intro - Paranoia Man In Cheap Sh*T Room

14:17 - Glam Racket

19:30 - It's a Curse

28:44 - Ladybird (Green Grass)

Outro - Lost In Music

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#389: Foma by The Nixons

Tue, 26 Jun 2018 01:00:00 -0500

The story of The Nixons is not unlike a number of 1990s bands. Record some demos and release them on your own, find a small regional label to release your first album recorded on a shoe-string budget, get some buzz, the major labels swoop in, offer to re-release the album with a few new tracks, new cover art and a fresh mastering job, then throw out a single or two in hopes of a "next big thing" hit, only to see the follow-up album a year or two later (if they got one) get lackluster promotion and be promptly dropped. If bands like this were lucky, they managed one single that made an impression. With their 1995 album Foma, The Nixons managed just that with "Sister," which finds itself at the perfect crossroad of early Pearl Jam earnestness and Matchbox 20 radio pleasantry. What struck us and our guest about Foma was not the second wave of grunge sound that pins it so specifically to the decade, but the unexpected amount of social and political commentary in the lyrics that come across equally daring and off-putting. Listeners can still hear "Sister" on alternative rock radio stations across the country today, but thanks to a sound that covers all the 90s alternative rock touchstones, do they even know their listening to The Nixons?

Intro - Sister

17:37 - Sweet Belief

30:45 - Drink The Fear

Outro - Happy Song

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#388: Wider Screen by Fini Scad

Tue, 19 Jun 2018 01:00:00 -0500

Fini Scad only managed to release one album during their short existence, but thanks to one of our listeners we're giving it a new lease on life. 1998's Wider Screen, and their EP from two years early, got the band onto Australian radio and television, but they burned out quickly and were gone the same year the album came out. We don't know what exactly happened, but we do know they left behind an interesting album, partially thanks to the production work of John Agnello (Buffalo Tom, Dinosaur Jr.), who helps gives the guitars twin guitar attack the right amount of punch. Singer/guitarist Dave Thomas kept us guessing, as his vocals morphed from bellowing hard rock one moment to whispered and intimate the next, which worked on most if not all the album. As our listener noted, it's a shame Fini Scad never managed to follow-up Wider Screen, because what they do well could have easily been refined and expanded upon, and the few nitpicks we had could easily be rectified.

Intro - Coppertone

5:45 - Sonic Boy

8:13 - Just A Show

17:12 - Wider Screen

20:27 - It's Not Real

Outro - More Of The Same

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#387: Drummers Of The 90s Roundtable

Tue, 12 Jun 2018 01:00:00 -0500

Every decade of rock music and its various sub genre offshoots has produced oft-debated lists of notable drummers, and the 1990s is no exception. From the jazz-influenced speed of The Smashing Pumpkins Jimmy Chamberlain, to the technical progressive prowess of Dream Theater's Mike Portnoy, there is drummer for every style and flavor. Rather than discuss "the best," we're talking favorites, both well known and not-so-well known. Who gave us fills we still air drum to at our desks? Who pounded rhythms that make us shake our heads in awe? Whose beats influenced the next generation of drummers? From the groove metal of Pantera's Vinnie Paul to the skittish bounce of Dismemberment Plan's Joe Easley, we're scratching the surface and a bit more to get the conversation started on drummers of the 1990s.

Intro - Drum Medley (I Am One by The Smashing Pumpkins / Pacific 231 by Burning Airlines / Jesus Christ Pose by Soundgarden / The City by Dismemberment Plan)

8:04 - Rhinosaur by Soundgarden

18:34 - Would? by Alice In Chains

34:37 - Hello by Oasis

41:32 - Wiser Time by The Black Crowes

58:06 - Puppets by Hum

1:02:30 - Andalusia by Shiner

1:15:07 - Milwaukee Sky Rocket by Braid

Outro - Enjoy The Silence by Failure

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#386: Munki by Jesus And Mary Chain

Fri, 01 Jun 2018 05:00:00 -0500

By the time William and Jim Reid of the Jesus And Mary Chain put out the 1998 album Munki, the band had been through several iterations. From the noise drenched simplicity of Psychocandy to the pulsing beats of Automatic and the lazy strums of Stoned and Dethroned, the brothers had covered plenty of musical territory while still maintaining the attitude and sound unique to the band. In what would be their last release together until 2017's Damage And Joy, they manage to revisit nearly every phase of the band, and even explore some new ideas. But at seventeen songs and seventy minutes, the sheer length of the album, especially with some ill-advised forays into overlong noodling and keyboard driven tracks, left us wondering if the lack of an outside voice (i.e. a producer with a surname other than Reid) would have shaped a more concise, cohesive and ultimately satisfying listen.

Intro - I Love Rock'n'Roll

11:46 - Degenerate

16:14 - Moe Tucker

20:37 - Perfume

23:03 - Commercial

Outro - I Hate Rock'n'Roll

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#385: Psychohum by Falling Joys

Tue, 29 May 2018 01:00:00 -0500

Hailing from Canberra, Australia, the 1992 sophomore album Psychohum by the Falling Joys is what alternative or college or indie rock, however you want to classify it, looked to be heading pre-Nirvana and Pearl Jam. Eclectic and unpredictable, with guitar tones and vocals that easily slip between shoegaze, jangle pop, new wave and mainstream rock riffing, the Falling Joys sound like a band hitting their stride as songwriters and musicians. Led by vocalist/guitarist Suzie Biggie, who manages to invoke 79/80 Blondie one moment and Spooky era Lush the next, pulls off a wide array of styles with melodic cohesion. Paired with bassist and vocalist Pat Hayes on tunes like Incinerator, and Stuart Robinson's effected riffage on a song like God In A Dustbin, there is a lot to like about Psychohum. At the same time, that uninhibited approach can take a band down some lesser advised paths, with odd tangents into Chili Pepper funk and Sinatra swing. Which approach wins out? Tune in to hear our take on Psychohum.

Intro - Dynamite

10:16 - Black Bandages

15:05 - Incinerator

19:50 - A Winter's Tale

22:17 - Lullaby

24:36 - Fortune Teller

Outro - God In A Dustbin

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#384: This Will Be Laughing Week by Ultimate Fakebook

Tue, 22 May 2018 01:00:00 -0500

Our Patreon patron Brandon wanted to check out the 1999 (or 2000, if you bought the Sony rerelease) album This Will Be Laughing Week by Ultimate Fakebook. Through the magic of our Facebook page, we ended up connecting with lead singer and guitarist Bill McShane and drummer Eric Melin, and they ended up joining us as well. In addition, we gave away a pair of Sudio Regent headphones to one of our lucky Patreon patrons. It's a jam-packed episode! In addition to talking about the actual record, we also discuss what went on with the band signing to a major label at the end of the 1990s, touring, songwriting, band origins, vinyl reissues, Manhattan vs. Lawrence, new music and much more.

Special thanks to Sudio Sweden for providing our May giveaway. On episodes 381 and 382 we followed up on our previous Tre and Regent reports, if you like what you hear and want to grab a pair, use the code DIGMEOUT for 15% off your purchase during the month of May.

Intro - She Don't Even Know My Name
32:58 - Soaked In Cinnamon
59:46 - Real Drums
1:07:27 - Little Apple Girl
Outro - Tell Me What You Want

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#383: From The Choirgirl Hotel by Tori Amos

Tue, 15 May 2018 01:00:00 -0500

By 1998 Tori Amos was already established an artist who balanced both commercial success and critical praise. With her fourth album, From The Choirgirl Hotel, Amos dialed down the piano and dialed up the band, exploring a fuller sound that moved between electronic(a) beats, Beatle stomps and a slew of new sounds. In surrendering her confessional piano ballad comfort zone, a broader approach does reveal some cracks that left us scratching our heads both from a songwriting and production standpoint. Gone are the unmistakable hooks of "God" or "Crucify" while the vocals, now competing with a bigger sounds from the background players, get compressed and pushed up front to a dizzying degree. It's a frustrating episode for as much as we liked about the album, we found ourselves unable to connect with the material like expected.

Special thanks to Sudio Sweden for providing our May giveaway - a pair of Regent headphones. Join us at Patreon by May 15th to be eligible to win, winner announced on episode 384. We’re following up on our previous Tre and Regent reports, if you like what you hear and want to grab a pair, use the code DIGMEOUT for 15% off your purchase.

Intro - Spark

10:46 - Raspberry Swirl

14:33 - Cruel

19:11 - She's Your Cocaine

27:32 - Jackie's Strength

Outro - Iieee

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#382: U2 In The 90s Roundtable

Tue, 08 May 2018 01:00:00 -0500

Through the 1980s, U2 had gone from upstart punks to political firebrands to stadium superstars, reaching the critical crossroad of either delivering what people expected and remaining creatively stagnant or reinventing their sound and risk alienation. By all accounts, 1991's Achtung Baby managed to position the band as a force at the beginning of the decade creatively, commercially and critically. That comes with its own risk, as one reinvention begets another - as the earnest and sincerity of the past is replaced with irony and spectacle. With Zooropa and the Passengers project with Brian Eno, the band continued to evolve sonically, but the U2 of The Unforgettable Fire and War was essentially retired. Depending on who you talked to, the band reached their 90s apex or nadir on 1997's Pop, forcing the band to release their greatest hits collection shortly after, and then to dial back the disconnect and on 2000's All That You Can't Leave Behind. With our guests, we dig deep into the U2 of the 90s, and try to figure out what what right, went went wrong, and where it left the band at the start of the new millenia.

Intro - Discothèque from Pop
25:17 - The Fly from Achtung Baby
30:37 - Mysterious Ways from Achtung Baby
40:28 - Numb from Zooropa
43:47 - Stay (Faraway, So Close!)
Outro - Staring At The Sun from Pop

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#381: The Proximity Effect by Nada Surf

Tue, 01 May 2018 01:00:00 -0500

Nada Surf scored a quirky one-hit wonder with "Popular," and as with most one-hit wonders, pressure from the record label to follow it up caused a divide. In this case, Nada Surf were dropped, record in hand, which they were able to release on their own label. While The Proximity Effect received some positive press upon release in 1998 (in the UK, 2000 in the US), it went mostly unnoticed. It wasn't until Let Go in 2002 that the band fully arrived, garnering rave reviews, following that up with Chris Walla-produced The Weight Is A Gift in 2005. Upon reflection, The Proximity Effect comes across as a transition album, with the band sound clearing, fuller and more confident, while not quite hitting the highs they would reach on their next two releases.

Intro - Hyperspace

14:34 - Firecracker

21:23 - Dispossession

28:18 - Spooky

36:29 - Amateur

Outro - Robot

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#380: Shōso Strip by Ringo Sheena

Tue, 24 Apr 2018 01:00:00 -0500

While we have traveled, musically speaking, to Europe and Australia quite often, Japan has been a much rarer trip, and we've never revisited an album that wasn't primarily recorded in English. Until now. Thanks to a patron selection, we're checking out the 2000 album Shōso Strip by Ringo Sheena. It's hard to nail down the sound or style of Ringo Sheena on her second album, which bounces from electronic pop to metallic distortion to cabaret swing, all backed by a talented band and produced to the nth degree, using every studio trick in the book. For a pop record, there is almost no western comparison. The better comparisons are trailblazing iconoclasts Bjork or Tori Amos, but even that fails to truly capture the twisted and wild ride that is Shōso Strip.

Intro - I Am A Liar

7:30 - Instinct

14:47 - Excuse Debussy

25:37 - Sickbed Public

32:31 - A Broken Man and Midnight

38:27 - Stoicism

Outro - Bathroom

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#379: Sophomore Slump Revisited - The Chinese Album by Spacehog

Tue, 17 Apr 2018 01:00:00 -0500

Do you remember 1995? If you do, you probably remember "In The Meantime" by Spacehog off their debut album Resident Alien. The single went to number one on the US mainstream chart, number two on the US modern rock chart, and top fifty in about every country that had a radio station. The album went Gold in the US and Platinum in Canada, and the video was in constant rotation on MTV. So what happened with their second effort, 1998's The Chinese Album? We don't know because neither the album nor any single charted in the US. So it's time for a sophomore slump revisited, and decide once and for all if we need to revisit Mungo City, or leave it a ghost town.

Intro - Mungo City

15:45 - Goodbye Violent Race

18:15 - Captain Freeman

23:07 - Beautiful Girl

Outro - One Of These Days

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#378: Laid by James

Tue, 10 Apr 2018 01:00:00 -0500

By 1993, James were already established with a string of successful UK singles on their four previous album. But with the release of Laid, they managed to crack wide open United States college and mainstream radio playlists with the quirky and catchy title track. However, like so many albums released in the 90s, a hit single does not always represent the sound of the band overall. While James had their fair share of uptempo tunes, including the New Order-esque Say Something from the same album, with the help of our Patreon patron Patrick (of Three Bines Hopped Spirits) who picked the album, we discovered a moodier, more melancholy sound, driven by bass and atmospheric guitars. While some of that credit is probably due to legendary musician/producer Brian Eno, the band themselves unveil a unique combination of post-punk edge, folk storytelling, Madchester bounce and Brit-pop swagger. It all makes for a listen that bares repeated listens to discover the layers, which also reveal some deficiencies that grew over time.

Intro - Laid

13:23 - Say Something

16:51 - Out To Get You

27:27 - Five-O

Outro - Sometimes

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#377: Darkest Days by Stabbing Westward

Tue, 03 Apr 2018 01:00:00 -0500

Our Patreon patrons often surprise us. Our poll for April of 1998 included revered and critically acclaimed albums, but instead the votes went a surprising way. Stabbing Westward's third album Darkest Days, could (and was) written off in some circles as a Nine Inch Nails wannabe. In revisiting this, and other records there were not critical darlings in the 1990s, it is easy to see why. Following up a hit single (one-hit wonder?) on their previous record, the odds were against them pulling out another, especially while wrapping it all in a sixteen track, sixty-four minute concept album, in a genre (industrial rock) as pinned to the 1990s as grunge. But a funny thing happened, while lesser bands were layering oodles of synths and metallic guitars on top of mechanical drum beats, Stabbing Westward remember to write the hooks and keep it grounded in the more rock end of industrial rock. Sure, it's loud and abrasive one minute and whisper quiet serious the next, but with production master Dave Jerden assisting behind the board, the band manages to make it all in work despite the odds.

Intro - Save Yourself

12:15 - Waking Up Beside You

23:23 - Haunting Me

27:23 - When I'm Dead

33:13 - Goodbye

Outro - You Complete Me

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#376: The Process by Skinny Puppy

Tue, 27 Mar 2018 01:00:00 -0500

Upon release in 1996, Skinny Puppy's eight album The Process divided and confused longtime fans, some accusing the band of selling out and writing rock and metal singles for a major label. While a band like Ministry was able to slip the heavier/noiser end of industrial into periphery of mainstream of MTV and commercial radio with Psalm 69, neither reached the heights of a band like Nine Inch Nails, or the legion of wannabes who followed. Thanks to our patron Josh "funkdoc" Ballard bring this record to us, we're able to not only check out a diverse and divisive album fraught with creative tension and tragedy, but also examine the shifting concept of what "commercial" and "selling out" meant in 1996 versus today. Check out Josh's article on Medium, "The Billion-Year Voyage”: Skinny Puppy’s Last Rights.

Intro - Candle

14:18 - Curcible

19:36 - Hardset Head

23:02 - Amnesia

34:31 - Jahya

Outro - Blue Serge

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#375: Digging Your Scene visits New York City

Tue, 20 Mar 2018 01:00:00 -0500

New York City has been a global epicenter for music and culture in general for decades, so it is no surprise that the the 1990s are no different. From the legendary Velvet Underground, KISS and Blondie, to indie rock progenitors Sonic Youth, Talking Heads and Television, to the punk of the New York Dolls, Ramones and The Dictators, as well as the hip-hop, disco, electronic and dance scenes, the 1990s combined it all into a stew of unique sounds interpolated by artists such as the Beastie Boys, Living Colour, White Zombie, Girls Against Boys, Helmet, Biohazard, and more. Like every scene we've dug into, finding the venues, the media, the record stores, recording studios and labels that fostered the sound for the band, New York City has its own spin. How do you get gear to shows in a city most travel by subway? How do you get your band noticed in a sea of competition? How do you not get robbed and randomly punched in the face on the street? To help us unpack it all, we're joined by Eli Janney of Girls Against Boys and The 8G Band from Late Night with Seth Meyers, Mike Lustig of Ruth Ruth, and Mike Stuto from Brownies and Beggars Banquet Records.

Intro - New York Medley (New York City by The Cult, New York State of Mind by Billy Joel, Back in the New York Groove by Ace Frehley, New York City by T. Rex)

Outro - Safe In New York City by AC/DC

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#374: 12 Bar Blues by Scott Weiland

Tue, 13 Mar 2018 01:00:00 -0500

During our revisit of the one and only Talk Show album featuring the three guys not named Scott Weiland from Stone Temple Pilots during their infamous 1997 hiatus, we remarked how the music remained steady but the vocals and melodies were less interesting. Now we get to examine the other side of that temporary split with Weiland's 1998 solo debut 12 Bar Blues. Would the lack of the DeLeo brothers inventive riffing similarly hamper the lead singers creative output? The simple answer is no, thanks to Weiland's willingness to experiment, filling the record with interesting sounds and surrounding himself with accomplished musicians. It is an admirable, if occasionally messy, attempt to shatter the perceptions of what it meant to be "the lead singer of Stone Temple Pilots," but more often than not, the influences start to show. Sadly, this left us wondering if the lukewarm critical reception, albums sales and radio play pushed Weiland back into the easy embrace of Stone Temple Pilots too quickly, who churned out successive radio friendly if bland riffage that palled to their primer-era output. Weiland never pushed the envelope like he did on this record, and we try to figure out why.

Intro - Barbarella

13:20 - Mockingbird Girl

18:05 - About Nothing

29:28 - Son

Outro - Lady, Your Roof Brings Me Down

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#373: Shapeshifter by Marcy Playground

Tue, 06 Mar 2018 01:00:00 -0500

Like any decade of rock music and commercial radio, the 1990s had plenty of one hit wonders, many of which we talked about in our One Hit Wonders Roundtable. Marcy Playground managed their own, with Sex and Candy in 1997 spending fifteen weeks at number on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart, and top ten on four other US charts, as well as top ten in Canada and Australia, and top thirty in the UK. In other words, it was a massive hit, so how did they follow it up? In 1999 they released Shapeshifter, the whips between more radio friendly pop, Americana-folk, Butthole Surfer weirdness and Nirvana riffage. In other words, it is all over the place. Sometimes an eclectic approach provides a interesting and diverse selection of tunes, other times it is a mess of one-off attempts and half-way-there ideas. Where does Shapeshifter fall? Tune in to find out.

Intro: It's Saturday

12:25 - America

14:09 - Love Bug

19:33 - All The Lights Went Out

24:14 - Secret Squirrel

Outro - Bye Bye

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#372: Desert Rock Discussion with Director Jason Georgiades

Tue, 27 Feb 2018 01:00:00 -0500

Going into this episode, we thought desert rock and stoner rock were the same thing. We were wrong. We thought the "desert rock sound" started with the Sabbath influence lowend fuzzed riffs of Kyuss. We were wrong on that as well. There is an important lesson here - makes sure you are open to preconceived notions being challenged because the truth maybe more interesting than the vision in your head. That wasn't only the case for us. We invited on Jason Georgiades, director of Desert Age, a film about the 80s and 90s desert rock scene, who also had to shift his thinking once he started digging into history, talking to the people, and hearing the music of the California desert around Palm Springs. You've heard of Queens of the Stone Age and Kyuss, but what about Across the River and Yawning Man? Or Unsound or Target 13? We talk the bands, the landscape, the (lack of) places to play and the illegal substances that made the desert rock scene of the truly most original in punk, alternative and hard rock. We also get a behind the scenes look at the making of a rock documentary in the twenty first century.

Use the promo code "Green Machine" to get 15% off anything in the Desert Age store.

Intro - Green Machine by Kyuss

11:05 - Monster in the Parasol from The Desert Sessions, Vol 3 & 4

24:04 - N.O. by Across The River

35:37 - She Got Me (When She Got Her Dress On) by Masters of Reality

53:33 - Rock Formations by Yawning Man

Outro - Rodney on the Roq by Target 13

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#371: Interview with Craig Wedren of Shudder To Think

Tue, 20 Feb 2018 01:00:00 -0500

You may know him from the "avant-punk" of 1990s Shudder To Think, but you'd probably been listening to Craig Wedren in some way in the last twenty years. From his frequent collaborations with writer/director David Wain on the various Wet Hot American Summer television seasons and movie, Role Models, Stella and Wainy Days, to his recent work on shows like Fresh Off The Boat, GLOW, Powerless, Hung and Blunt Talk, or his contributions on films such as Velvet Goldmine, School of Rock, Search Party, Wanderlust and many more, Craig has put his ear for 70s rock radio and 80s MTV to work. He stops by to talk about his latest solo release, Adult Desire from 2016, and discuss the virtual reality component that took us back to the immersion of yesteryear when audio and visual worked in thoughtful tandem. We also discuss his years spent in the Cleveland area, fronting teenage coverbands and enjoying the sounds of the Michael Stanley Band and Donnie Iris on WMMS, his apprehension writing music for 1990s based television, watching director and former Lemonheads bassist Jesse Peretz burn a suitcase on tour, and of course, KISS, plus so much more.

Intro - I Am A Wolf, You Are The Moon from Adult Desire

5:26 - Are We from Wand

12:07 - Safe Home (Live) from Adult Desire

38:52 - Main Title Song from Role Models

50:11 - Spin Doctor-ish Song from Wet Hot American Summer: Ten Years Later

51:06 - Pearl Jam and RHCP-ish song from Wet Hot American Summer: Ten Years Later

1:15:46 - Until Summer by BAby

Outr - I Am A Wolf, You Are The Moon from Wet Hot American Summer: First Day of Camp

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#370: Little Plastic Castle by Ani DiFranco

Tue, 13 Feb 2018 01:00:00 -0500

There are independent artists, and then there is Ani DiFranco. Forging her own path since starting Righteous Babe Records at age nineteen, busking tapes out of the back of her car in Buffalo, NY, DiFranco has remained as proficient and relevant for three decades. After a string of critically acclaimed albums and a well received live album, she released Little Plastic Castle in 1998 and was nominated for a Grammy for Rock Female Vocalist. Known for her folk rock staccato, Little Plastic Castle opens up the sound to incorporate horns, extra percussion, keyboards and more, and finds her breaking the rapid-fire delivery for songs built around mood and groove. Those alterations provide her with a large sonic pallet to play with, but come with some questionable choices, which left us split on what we liked and didn't like about the album.

Intro - Glass House

9:03 - Fuel

12:26 - Pulse

15:25 - As Is

19:44 - Independence Day

22:52 - Pixie

Outro - Little Plastic Castle

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#369: Wonderful Life by The Tories

Tue, 06 Feb 2018 01:00:00 -0500

Like so many previous artists and bands referred to as "power pop," The Tories debut album Wonderful Life from 1997 came and went with little fanfare. Perhaps it was timing, as the early and mid-nineties alternative rock gold rush led to a unwieldy number of releases, most which got lost in the shuffle. Perhaps it was due to the label, which specialized in East Coast jazz and house music instead of California pop rock. Or was it the songs? No, it wasn't the songs. The Tories have the songs, as well as the melodies, the harmonies, the guitar fuzz, everything you expect when the chemistry is right, and creates a power pop album worth checking out. Along with our Patreon special guest, we try to figure out what went right and wrong with Wonderful Life.

Intro - Flying Solo

13:39 - Gladys Kravitz

23:40 - Happy

29:12 - Spaceships in the Sky

Outro - Not What it Appears

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#368: This Is My Truth Tell Me Yours by Manic Street Preachers

Tue, 30 Jan 2018 01:00:00 -0500

"We live in urban hell, we destroy rock and roll." Those were the closing sentiments of the 1991 single Motown Junk by the Manic Street Preachers, a band of Welsh nihilist iconoclasts who declared greatness from the start, aligning themselves with The Clash, Public Enemy and Guns n' Roses. Four albums and the disappearance of one member later, the band was no longer a confrontational blitzkrieg. 1998's This Is My Truth Tell Me Yours is the sound of a band collectively exhaling and confronting both the past and their heartache, while building upon the success achieved on the previous album, Everything Must Go. On TIMTTMY, the band embraces a clean pop production that would propel the single "If You Tolerate This Your Children Will Be Next" to number one in the UK, trading in guitars for organs, electric pianos and sitars. We revisit the record recognizing now that the band would continue on the path of deconstruction with Know Your Enemy three years later and the synth heavy Lifeblood in 2004. In fact, it would take almost a decade to recapture the guitar driven bombast on 2007's Send Away The Tigers. It's a fascinating if uneven attempt to pair pathos and pop sensibility that works for some but not all.

Intro - If You Tolerate This Your Children Will Be Next

13:38 - Ready for Drowning

17:43 - Black Dog on My Shoulder

26:45 - Tsunami

41:20 - If You Tolerate This Your Children Will Be Next

Outro - The Everlasting

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#367: Apocalypse Dudes by Turbonegro

Tue, 23 Jan 2018 01:00:00 -0500

There was a brief flicker of a moment at the end of the 90s, before the garage rock rival of The Strokes and White Stripes, before the post-post-punk of Interpol and Bloc Party, before Jimmy Eat World and Dashboard Confessional took emo to the mainstream, that the American underground punk of the New Bomb Turks and Rocket From The Crypt were going to have their moment. At the same time, across the pond in Scandinavia, it took the shape of The Hellacopters signing to Sub Pop and veterans Turbonegro refining their sound with the 1998 release Apocalypse Dudes. Maybe it was wishful thinking that those who previously embraced AC/DC, Motley Crue and Buckcherry would find common cause with the action rock crowd, one that favored Iggy and Stooges as much as Bob Seger and Lynyrd Skynyrd. While The Hellacopters and Gluecifer traffic'd in their own brand of riffage gymnastics, Turbonegro added an extra layer - social and political commentary via bombastic lyrics and outrageous stage presence. In retrospect, it may have all been too much, like the layer upon layer of guitar tracks that would make Billy Corgan crack a smile. It's confrontational, it's explicit (earmuffs for the kids!) and it's also a lot of fun.

Intro - Get It On

13:19 - Rock Against Ass

23:14 - Humiliation Street

27:15 - Don't Say Motherf*cker, Motherf*cker

32:42 - Zillion Dollar Sadist

Outro - Are You Ready (For Some Darkness)

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#366: Albums of 1998 Roundtable

Tue, 16 Jan 2018 01:00:00 -0500

It's time to travel back twenty years and revisit the albums of 1998. What albums were overlooked upon release that have gained critical acclaim and fans in the years since? Which albums were big releases that have stood the test of time, and which ones have failed that same test? Are there albums we bought back in 1998 and immediately regretted the purchase? And what are our favorite albums from this wildly divergent year that witnessed the rise of nü-metal bands like Korn and Limp Bizkit along with the pop of Britney Spears and the Backstreet Boys, that also featured new albums from major artists like Madonna, the Beastie Boys, Pearl Jam and The Smashing Pumpkins. To help us dig into it all, we're joined by Andy Derer of The Andy Derer Show, Chip Midnight of Kids Interview Bands and Jim Hanke of Vinyl Emergency.

Intro - 1998 Medley (Marilyn Manson, The Smashing Pumpkins, Semisonic, Beastie Boys)

15:54 - Starfighter Pilot by Snow Patrol

23:18 - Poets by The Tragically Hip

36:29 - Something' Hot by The Afghan Whigs

51:02 - At My Most Beautiful by R.E.M.

1:08:25 - California Stars by Billy Bragg and Wilco

1:12:29 - Car Radio by Spoon

Outro - Ray of Light by Madonna

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#365: How to Measure a Planet? by The Gathering

Tue, 09 Jan 2018 01:00:00 -0500

We haven't reviewed much (or any) European progressive gothic doom metal shoegaze trip-hop, so thanks to our latest Patreon pick, we're checking out the 1998 double-album How to Measure a Planet? by The Gathering. The question we ask is - how to measure a band that is equal parts Massive Attack, the Cocteau Twins, Pink Floyd, Radiohead, Dream Theater and Slowdive? What we do know is that in the age of overlong compact discs, a double album had better be worth it, and like most 90s double albums, the indulgence doesn't quite live up to the output. However, there is definitely something unique and interesting happening, providing us with a true album that sounds best listened to as a whole rather than searching for singles. The ambitions are grand, but surprisingly it is the restraint in both the playing and production that make HTMAP? an album that both reinterprets the past and forges a path for bands of the 2000s.

Intro - My Electricity

15:31 - Liberty Bell

26:03 - Travel

29:44 - Great Ocean Road

Outro - The Big Sleep

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#364: Ill At Ease by The Mark Of Cain

Tue, 02 Jan 2018 01:00:00 -0500

On their third full-length album, Adelaide, Australia's The Mark Of Cain enlisted Henry Rollins to produce their rooArt debut, 1995's Ill At Ease. The band scored a number one on the independent album chart and managed two successful Triple J singles. Recalling Rollins work with his own Rollins Band, as well as post-hardcore bands such as Helmet and Quicksand, Ill At Ease succeeds and suffers thanks to lead singer and guitarist John Scott, whose guitar riffing alternates between inspired and generic, and whose voice maintains a consistent bark. But while there are all the hallmarks pinning this band to its 1990s influences, we also discovered sounds reminiscent of the alternative metal of 2000's band like Mastodon.. Give a listen and share your thoughts on Ill At Ease.

Intro - First Time

9:52 - LMA

13:43 - The Contender

21:14 - You Let Me Down

Outro - Point Man

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#363: Season Seven in Review

Tue, 26 Dec 2017 01:00:00 -0500

Another season is complete, so we’re looking back at our favorite album discoveries, roundtables, interviews and more from 2017. We also pick our five favorite tunes from season seven, which featured everything from the guitar power pop of Brendan Benson and pop punk of Ruth Ruth to the Indian-meets-Britpop sounds of Cornershop and alternative fuzz of Violetine. We also give a sneak peak of 2018 - discussing some of the early reviews picked by our Patreon patrons and our various roundtables.

Special thanks to Sudio Sweden (Facebook/Instagram), who hooked us up with two pairs of Tre earphones to test out. We’re reporting on them all month - if you like what you hear and want to grab a pair, use the code DIGMEOUT15 for 15% off your purchase.

Songs in this Episode:

Intro - Dig Me Out by Sleater-Kinney

7:43 - Freak by Silverchair

11:44 - All Sideways by Scarce

17:53 - I Think I’m In Love by Spiritualized

29:08 - Crosseyed by Brendan Benson

32:23 - Uptight by Ruth Ruth

37:38 - 6am Jullander Shere by Cornershop

40:53 - The Bright Light by Tanya Donelly

Outro - Temptation by The Tea Party

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#362: Arc Angels by Arc Angels

Tue, 19 Dec 2017 01:00:00 -0500

Formed after the untimely death of Stevie Ray Vaughan, Arc Angels pick-up the Texas blues-rock torch on their 1992 self-titled release. Pairing the seasoned rhythm section of drummer Chris Layton and bassist Tommy Shannon with guitarist and singers Doyle Bramhall II and Charlie Sexton, the band expands upon Vaughan’s blues template and mildly dips its toes in more pop and radio friendly territory. At times it works, but at other times it comes off sound like imitations of better known tunes. We discuss, as well as where this fit in the early 1990s landscape.

Songs in this Episode:

Intro - Living In A Dream

8:54 - Too Many Ways To Fall

17:58 - Shape I’m In

23:34 - Good Time

27:02 - Spanish Moon

Outro - The Famous Jane

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#361: Stain by Living Colour

Tue, 12 Dec 2017 01:00:00 -0500

In 1993 Living Colour released an album filled songs of alienation, social commentary and heavy themes that still resonate today. Stain was the first album with Doug Wimbish on bass, and the band fires on all cylinders with their unique brand of metal, sliding easily from funk to experimental to thrash and hard rock with ease. But two years later the band would take a five year break, and Stain would temporarily leave the band frozen on dark and foreboding note. Thanks to a Patreon pick, we revisit the record with fresh ears and take in all that Vernon Reid and his arsenal of guitar wizardry has to offer.

After checking out our review of Stain, visit our Patreon page to hear our quick review of Living Colour’s latest release - Shade from this past September.

Make sure to sign up at Patreon to hear bonus content from this and other episodes, as well as be eligible to win our 2017 4th Quarter Giveaway of the exclusive Newbury Comics limited edition white vinyl pressing of Sleater-Kinney’s 1997 album Dig Me Out and a copy of Tom Mullen’s new book Anthology of Emo Volume One.

Songs in this Episode:

Intro - Never Satisfied

11:35 - Ignorance Is Bliss

19:03 - Bi

25:50 - Go Away

32:52 - Mind Your Own Business

Outro - Leave It Alone

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#360: KISS in the 90s Roundtable

Tue, 05 Dec 2017 01:00:00 -0500

We’re back with another “In The 90s” episode, this time tracking the chronology of rock legends KISS through the decade. After rising to fame in the 70s, the 80s were less kind to the band, who shed the makeup, band members and eventually albums sales through a turbulent time They entered the 90s on a positive note, with 1989′s Hot In The Shade scoring a hit with the power ballad “Forever,” but faced tragedy with the death of fan favorite drummer Eric Carr. While 1992′s Revenge initially sold well, it struggled to reach Gold and hte ensuing tour sputtered as the shifting musical landscape at the beginning of the decade pointed the band in a heavier direction foretold by the Revenge single “Unholy.” The eventual result would be 1997′s Carnival of Souls, with heavy nods to Alice In Chains and Soundgarden, but by the time of release it was an afterthought thanks to the 1995 MTV Unplugged performance that reunited the original line-up and stoked a short lived KISS revival in popular culture. The end result would be the 1998 album Psycho Circus, a reunion album in name only. It was a tumultuous ten years in which KISS would recapture their past at the cost of their future.

To help us break it all down, joining our roundtable is Julian Gill, the man behind KissFAQ.com, author of a number of books on the band and host of the KissFAQ podcast, Joe Royland of Sit and Spin with Joe, and the Patreon patron who made this episode happen, Chris Martz.

Songs in this Episode

Intro - Psycho Circus (from Psycho Circus)

18:16 - Unholy (from Revenge)

21:37 - God Gave Rock ‘n Roll To You II (from Revenge)

27:13 - I Just Wanna (from Revenge)

51:16 - Master and Slave (from Carnival of Souls)

58:12 - Into The Void (from Psycho Circus)

1:04:10 - We Are One (from Psycho Circus)

Outro - I Walk Alone (from Carnival of Souls)

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#359: Interview with Rick Ruhl of Every Mother’s Nightmare

Tue, 28 Nov 2017 01:00:00 -0500

Rick Ruhl and Every Mother’s Nightmare are back with a new album, and he stops by to share their story. He takes his back to his formative years, his first concert (Alice Cooper!) and his earliest bands before forming EMN, who ended up signed by the legendary Clive Davis to Arista records after just thirteen gigs together. We dig into the awkward early 90s when bands with ballads and hair were lumped together regardless of their sound, and then written off collectively as grunge and alternative exploded. We discuss the Perris Records years, the various guest artists who appear on the new album, and a whole lot more.

Special thanks to Bill Chavis at HighVolMusic for helping put this together!

Songs in this Episode

Intro - Loco Crazy

1:46 - Loco Crazy

50:56 - Upper Hand

Outro - Blown Away

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#358: Gran Turismo by The Cardigans

Tue, 21 Nov 2017 01:00:00 -0500

On the follow-up to their breakthrough album, The Cardigans 1998 release Gran Turismo asks you to put on headphones and chill. Though known for their bouncy pop single Lovefool, words like moody and introspective better represent their overall sound. Taking cues from a wide range of musical styles and distilling them into a controlled and unique album that owes as much to 90s downtown electronica and trip-hop as well as metal and industrial music. Yes, we’re dead serious, there more on going here than you probably noticed at first glance, so allow us to indulge our digressions, then let us know if you agree or disagree on our take.

Songs in this Episode

Intro - Erase/Rewind

9:44 - My Favorite Game

18:22 - Paralyzed

21:27 - Do You Believe

32:43 - Your Love Alone Is Not Enough (Manic Street Preachers feat. Nina Persson)

Outro - Explode

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#357: Sophomore Slump Revisited - Freak Show by Silverchair

Tue, 14 Nov 2017 01:00:00 -0500

On the follow-up to their teenage debut, Silverchair fattened the sound but not the sales, we try to figure out what happened. When 1995′s Frogstomp exploded, the kids from Australia were pegged as Nirvana wannabes with plenty of growing to do. The still managed to sell millions of albums and score a bunch of hit singles. The sophomore release Freakshow from 1997 actually fared better with critics, but the sales dipped considerably, both in the US and their native Australia. To help us determine if this is truly a sophomore slump, we’re joined by Jeff Takacs (Rocketfuel podcast), Joe Royland (Sit and Spin with Joe vidcast) and Steve Muczynski (Hollow Earth) to revisit the record with fresh ears.

Hear bonus content from the show over at Patreon.

Songs in this Episode:

Intro - Freak

14:31 - Slave

25:21 - Cemetery

47:56 - Roses

Outro - Abuse Me

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#356: Firecracker by Lisa Loeb

Tue, 07 Nov 2017 01:00:00 -0500

On her sophomore release Firecracker, Lisa Loeb mixes pop hooks and confessional ballads with mixed results. Known for the hit “Stay” from the Reality Bites soundtrack and the 1995 album Tails, her 1997 release under her own name has some made for radio pop singles as well as more intimate material. Sometimes the sparse approach works, adding flavor to the sound, and other times the musicians backing her leave us wondering who this album is for - pop listeners? Adult contemporary stations? Coffee house singer songwriters? Our confusion left us with mixed opinions - give a listen and share your thoughts if we got it right or wrong on Firecracker.

Songs in this Episode:

Intro - I Do

11:38 - Falling In Love

16:47 - Let’s Forget About It

18:50 - Firecracker

Outro - Truthfully

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#355: Re-Animation Festival by The Groovie Ghoulies

Tue, 31 Oct 2017 01:00:00 -0500

It’s Halloween, a perfect time thanks a requested review to revisit the the Groovie Ghoulies 1997 album Re-Animation Festival. With a mixture of early rock ‘n roll riffs courtesy Chuck Berry and Buddy Holly, mixed with Ramones energy and Monkees goofiness, all wrapped in a Misfits-style horror punk sound, the Ghoulies give us some good creeps on All Hallows Eve. The band hit their stride keeping it simple, and our complaints are few. We also wonder if the Ghoulies were ahead of their time and missed out on an opportunity to cross platforms and launch a Doc McStuffins/Jake and the Neverland Pirates kids show.

Songs in this Episode

Intro - Graveyard Girlfriend

8:46 - Zombie Crush

12:03 - Tunnel of Love

14:30 - Graceland

15:45 - If You Need Me

18:47 - Evading The Grays

Outro - Chupacabra

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#354: Woman’s Gotta Have It by Cornershop

Tue, 24 Oct 2017 01:00:00 -0500

Cornershop’s 1995 sophomore album Woman’s Gotta Have It gives a hint of the hit they would release two years later. The album shifts between rhythm driven “Hindi Pop” and jarring, dissonant indie guitar rock. While both have their merits, the melodies flow smoother on the former leaving the latter wanting. This album may have been out of step with the UK Battle of Britpop taking place between Blur and Oasis in 1995, but we contemplate if the sounds of Woman’s Gotta Have It would influence Damon Albarn’s songwriting on future Blur releases.

Bonus audio from this episode can be found at Patreon, including a mini-review and discussion on the Foo Fighters latest album Concrete and Gold.

Special thanks to Sudio Sweden (Facebook/Instagram), who hooked us up with two pairs of Regent headphonesto test out. We’re reporting on them all month - if you like what you hear and want to grab a pair, use the code DIGMEOUT15 for 15% off your purchase with free worldwide shipping.

Songs in this Episode:

Intro - Wog

8:48 - My Dancing Days Are Gone

12:09 - 6am Jullandar Shere

22:05 - Hong Kong Book of Fung Fu

Outro - Camp Orange

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#353: Forever And Counting by Hot Water Music

Tue, 17 Oct 2017 01:00:00 -0500

The second album from Hot Water Music gives us plenty to like, but much to scratch our heads at as well. Whether you call them punk, post-punk, post-hardcore or emo, HWM forge a unique path on 1997′s Forever and Counting, avoiding the rhythms and structures traditionally associated with punk rock. While we dug the diversity, the presentation left us wanting, as a dynamic-less mix and some questionable guitar and bass tones muddied the water. Give a listen and share your thoughts.

Special thanks to Sudio Sweden (Facebook/Instagram), who hooked us up with two pairs of Regent headphones to test out. We’re reporting on them all month - if you like what you hear and want to grab a pair, use the code DIGMEOUT15 for 15% off your purchase with free worldwide shipping.

Songs in this Episode:

Intro - Translocation

14:26 - Just Don’t Say You Lost It

18:36 - Manual

22:24 - Man The Change

33:45 - Three Summers Strong

Outro - Position

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#352: Digging Your Scene - Roundtable Discussion on Minneapolis-St. Paul in the 90s

Tue, 10 Oct 2017 01:00:00 -0500

We’re heading to the land of ten thousand lakes to uncover the Minneapolis St. Paul music scene of the 1990s. With names like The Replacements and Husker Du, the twin cities have been established as an 80s mecca for underground hardcore and punk rock, but the story of the city is much deeper and broader. In the 90s bands like Soul Asylum and Semisonic scored massive hits, while The Jayhawks, Low and the Dillinger Four expanded the sonic pallet. And of course, there’s Prince. To help us understand the roots of the punk and hardcore scene, we invited author/writer/KFAI DJ Cindy “Cyn” Collins, who recently released Complicated Fun: The Birth of Minneapolis Punk and Indie Rock, 1974-1984 to talk the early years and bands like The Suicide Commandos and The Suburbs. Returning is Michelle Leon, former Babes In Toyland bassist and author of I Live Inside: Memoirs of a Babe In Toyland to give us insights on the various famous (and infamous venues) and more, along with record producer, engineer, singer-songwriter and touring musician Jamie Woolford of The Stereo, Animal Chin and Let Go to share memories of various record stores, local media and other important aspects of the Minneapolis St. Paul scene.

Be sure to join us at Patreon for bonus content from this episode.

Special thanks to Sudio Sweden (Facebook/Instagram), who hooked us up with two pairs of Regent headphones to test out. We’re reporting on them all month - if you like what you hear and want to grab a pair, use the code DIGMEOUT15 for 15% off your purchase with free worldwide shipping.

Songs in this Episode:

Intro - Minneapolis by that dog.

8:54 - Attacking the Beat by The Suicide Commandos

33:28 - Dust Cake Boy by Babes in Toyland

39:03 - Walks Alone by Cows

Outro - She Would Hever by The Stereo

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#351: One Mississippi by Brendan Benson

Tue, 03 Oct 2017 01:00:00 -0500

With help from Jason Falkner of Jellyfish, Brendan Benson crafted a fine if overlong debut album in 1996′s One Mississippi. Some of us may have discovered Benson thanks to his team-up with Jack White in The Raconteurs, but he had a number of solo releases to his name by that point, and One Mississippi shows the promise of what was to come. Like so many 90s albums, the first half was satisfying while the back half became less focused and felt padded, but there is still plenty to like about this power pop debut, brought to us thanks to a twelve-month Patreon anniversary pick by past guest Keith S.

Special thanks to Sudio Sweden (Facebook/Instagram), who hooked us up with two pairs of Regent headphones to test out. We’re reporting on them all month - if you like what you hear and want to grab a pair, use the code DIGMEOUT15 for 15% off your purchase with free worldwide shipping.

Songs in this Episode:

Intro - I’m Blessed

13:31 - Emma J

18:40 - Got No Secrets

23:00 - Insects Rule

32:08 - House in Virginia

Outro - Crosseyed

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#350: Seemless by Into Another

Tue, 26 Sep 2017 01:00:00 -0500

Into Another bring the riffs, the big vocals and locked-in rhythm section on 1995′s Seemless. Even though we’re fans of New York City bands such as Quicksand and Handsome, Into Another somehow flew under our radar. However, thanks to Patreon patron Chris M. with his twelve-month anniversary pick, he enlightened us on the major label debut (and third overall) album by the band. We dug deep into the record, enough to give you some bonus content over at Patreon discussing b-sides and more.

Songs in this Episode:

Intro - Mutate Me

12:43 - Mutate Me

21:42 - For a Wounded Wren

27:20 - The Way Down

30:30 - Actual Size

Outro - T.A.I.L.

In the 1990s the term alternative country appeared, we’re talking the bands, the sound and influences. What is alternative country an alternative to? Country? Rock? We dig into the unique aspects that separate alternative country from its more mainstream counterparts and the sounds that help create it. We talk some of the biggest influences upon 90s alternative country, including Gram Parsons, Neil Young, the punk rock from labels like SST and more. We talk about our favorite 90s alternative country albums, and which artists today are carrying the alternative country torch. To do so, we’re joined by returning roundtable guests Eric Grubbs of Dallas Observer, Jim Kopeny of Chicagoist and Jim Hanke of Vinyl Emergency.

Songs in this Episode

Intro - Are You Ready for the Country by Neil Young

16:42 - Blue by The Jayhawks

29:08 - Postcard by Uncle Tupelo

47:36 - California Stars by Billy Bragg and Wilco

1:01:32 - Dancefloors by My Morning Jacket

Outro - Hot Burrito #2 by Dinosaur Jr (Flying Burrito Brothers cover)

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#349: Alternative Country Roundtable Discussion

Tue, 19 Sep 2017 01:00:00 -0500

Songs in this Episode

Intro - Are You Ready for the Country by Neil Young

16:42 - Blue by The Jayhawks

29:08 - Postcard by Uncle Tupelo

47:36 - California Stars by Billy Bragg and Wilco

1:01:32 - Dancefloors by My Morning Jacket

Outro - Hot Burrito #2 by Dinosaur Jr (Flying Burrito Brothers cover)

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#348: Talk Show by Talk Show

Tue, 12 Sep 2017 01:00:00 -0500

What happens when you remove Scott Weiland from Stone Temple Pilots - you get Talk Show. Attempting to fill the hole left by Weiland’s drug problems in 1996, the DeLeo brothers and drummer Eric Kretz recruiter former Ten Inch Men frontman/guitarist Dave Coutts to take the lead on this self-titled release from 1997. The album failed commercially and band quickly dumped Coutts to welcome Weiland back into the fold. We revisit the album with fresh ears to try to figure out if Talk Show was a missed opportunity for listeners or a misfire by the band. We also delve into the career trajectory of Stone Temple Pilots to determine if Talk Show was a harbinger of things to come for the band as they chased radio friends sounds (i.e. “Down”) and relevancy in the 2000s.

Over at Patreon, we take a few minutes to discuss if any band successfully pulled off the lead singer switch, whether with an existing band (like AC/DC or Alice in Chains) or a new outfit (Audioslave).

Songs in this Episode:

Intro - Hello Hello

14:08 - Peeling An Orange

15:34 - Everybody Loves My Car

24:16 - Wash Me Down

28:28 - Ring Twice

Outro - So Long

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#347: It Means Everything by Save Ferris

Tue, 05 Sep 2017 01:00:00 -0500

The debut Save Ferris album It Means Everything is everything you know and love/hate about 90s ska-punk. The snappy snare, the upstroke guitar lines, the energetic horn stabs - all the hallmarks of the familiar 90s sound utilized by early No Doubt, The Mighty Mighty Bosstones, Reel Big Fish and others. Save Ferris don’t break the mold, but they do add a few extra layers, inserting a distorted guitar from time to time, as well as taking advantage of Monique Powell’s pipes to slow down the tempos into classic reggae and dub influenced grooves. Neither of us are ska punk aficionados, or really fans for that matter, but did Save Ferris win us over? Tune in to find out.

Songs in this Episode:

Intro - Come On Eileen

18:11 - Lies

22:56 - SuperSpy

32:20 - The World Is New

Outro - Goodbye

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#346: Transmission by The Tea Party

Tue, 29 Aug 2017 01:00:00 -0500

From up north comes The Tea Party, creating a stew of eastern scales, industrial rhythms and Zeppelin-esque dramatics. Their 1997 sophomore release Transmission is the quintessential headphones album. Though only a three piece, they pile on a wide range of non-traditional instrumentation to create a unique, swirling sound that goes big rock in the vein of The Cult or Led Zeppelin while grounding with industrial rhythms at home on a Nine Inch Nails or Stabbing Westward record. All while frontman Jeff Martin bellows and shrieks like the lost cousin of Jim Morrison and Ian Astbury. It can be exciting and overwhelming just a few bars apart - we try to figure out which way the overall experience leans. Tune in to find out.

Songs in this Episode:

Intro - Temptation

15:11 - Gyroscope

17:54 - Psychopomp

22:05 - Babylon

Outro - Alarum

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#345: Mindfunk by Mindfunk

Tue, 22 Aug 2017 01:00:00 -0500

Sandwiched between 80s metal and 90s alternative, Mindfunk occupy the same limbo space as Mother Love Bone and Saigon Kick. We’re checking out their self-titled 1991 debut, a mix of big metal riffs, groove rock with funk influences and some slow burn nods to what would later be called desert or stoner rock. While Jason was familiar with this from when it was released and bought it on cd when it came out, Tim had never heard a note prior to reviewing the record. Does it still hold up for Jason? Is it a worthwhile discovery for Tim? Tune in to find out.

Songs in this Episode:

Intro - Sugar Ain’t So Sweet

14:17 - Bring It On

16:55 - Sister Blue

22:21 - Blood Runs Red

Outro - Innocence

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#344: Interview with Greg Glover of Arena Rock Recording Company

Tue, 15 Aug 2017 01:00:00 -0500

Greg Glover, co-founder of the Arena Rock Recording Company stops by for a lengthy chat. After some initial Goonies talk, we revisit our recent review of Harvey Danger’s Where Have All The Merrymakers Gone to fill in some blanks and learn some information about the behind the scene machinations involving the record business. We cover Greg’s childhood and college days, running a fanzine and how he got into “the music industry.” He share how Superdrag ended up being release number one for Arena Rock and the story of how they returned to the label years later. We get into reissuing previous releases, and how the Mineral rereleases came together, as well as the dreaded “unsolicited demos,” signing Elf Power, MTV and 1980s, dinners with Seymour Stein at Sire, how to get free shipping and much, much more.

Songs in this Episode:

Intro - NA Kicker by Superdrag

8:12 - Flagpole Sitta by Harvey Danger

15:34 - Private Helicopter by Harvey Danger

40:20 - Lighting The Way by Superdrag

47:34 - Let It Out by The Life And Times

Outro - Calling All Lovers by The Sheila Divine

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#343: Compilations Albums of the 1990s Roundtable

Tue, 08 Aug 2017 01:00:00 -0500

From charity comps to label samplers, the 1990s may have been the peak decade for compilation albums. We discuss the qualities that make a worthy compilation album with our guests Keith Sawyer from WMBR, Jim Hanke of Vinyl Emergency and Eric Peterson of Love That Album. We pick our favorite comps and favorite compilation-only tracks, and discuss whether compilation albums are still relevant in the age of streaming music playlists.

We’ve got over ten minutes of bonus content over at Patreon this week.

Songs in this Episode:

Intro - Sexual Healing by Soul Asylum (Marvin Gaye cover), from No Alternative

13:14 - Riot on the Rocks by The Hellacopters, from Riot on the Rocks Vol. 1

20:35 - Effigy by Uncle Tupelo (Creedence Clearwater Revival cover), from No Alternative

42:03 - Einstein on the Beach (For an Eggman) by Counting Crows, from DGC Rarities Vol.1

Outro - Compilation Blues by Sonic Youth, from DGC Rarities Vol.1

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#342: Lovesongs for Underdogs by Tanya Donelly

Tue, 01 Aug 2017 01:00:00 -0500

With her first solo outing, Tanya Donelly attempts to balance her indie rock past with a radio friendly approach. 1997′s Lovesongs for Underdogs, our latest album selected by our Patreon voters, came with the burden of Tanya having been a part of numerous successfully and respected indie rock group, including Throwing Muses, The Breeders and Belly. Striking out on her own with a bevy of players, she shows off a wide array of songwriting styles all grounded by her sharp and hooky melodies.

Songs in this Episode

Intro - The Bright Light

8:25 - Pretty Deep

12:01 - Lantern

14:06 - Bum

19:45 - Clipped

Outro - Breathe Around You

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#341: Where Have All The Merrymakers Gone? by Harvey Danger

Tue, 25 Jul 2017 01:00:00 -0500

Harvey Danger being tagged as a “one hit wonder” can be both a blessing and a curse. Is the rest of the album criminally overlooked, or does it pale in comparison? We put it to a vote on our Patreon page, and our patrons made Where Have All The Merrymakers Gone?, released in July 1997 our latest review. Reviews at the time were mixed, but this album and band have gained their share of advocates, who praise lead singer Sean Nelson’s witty and self-deprecating lyrics and the tight power-pop-punk songwriting of this and their follow-up album, King James Version. One of of us thought this was a start-to-finish gem worthy of revisiting, and one of us thought the brilliance of Flagpole Sitta set the rest of the album up to fail. Disagreement!

Songs in this Episode:

Intro - Flagpole Sitta

9:21 - Radio Silence

14:48 - Carlotta Valdez

Outro - Jack The Lion

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#340: Guitar Gods of the 1990s Roundtable

Tue, 18 Jul 2017 01:00:00 -0500

For our latest roundtable we aim at the heavens and request an audience with the gods! The guitar gods, that is. The 60s had Clapton and Hendrix, the 70s had Page and Blackmore, the 80s had Eddie and a slew of gunslingers, now it’s time to christen the guitar gods of the 90s. First, we try to figure out what exactly elevates a guitarist to god status. Then we open the floor for nominations. Some of the names will be familiar and expected, while others may be more obscure and surprising. To help us, we’re joined by returning guests Andy Derer, Eric Grubbs and Joe Royland.

Make sure to visit Patreon for over fifteen minutes of bonus content from this episode at https://www.patreon.com/digmeout.

Songs in this Episode:

Intro - Guitar God Medley (Rage Against The Machine, Soundgarden, Dinosaur Jr., Pantera)

13:28 - Bulls on Parade by Rage Against The Machine

27:50 - No More Tears by Ozzy Osbourne

33:09 - Chemical World - Intermission by Blur

1:00:21 - Tired of Sex by Weezer

Outro - Pull Me Under by Dream Theater

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#339: Laughing Gallery by Ruth Ruth

Tue, 11 Jul 2017 01:00:00 -0500

Back when we started this podcast, we created a long list of albums we wanted to eventually get to, mostly due to only knowing one song off an album thanks to a lone minor radio hit single. One of those bands is Ruth Ruth, and it’s finally time we got around to checking out their 1995 debut Laughing Gallery. To help us dig into this album, we invited roundtable alum Jeff Takacs of Rocket Fuel Podcast, who authored a history of Ruth Ruth for Punktastic a few years back, for some insight on why this band with a catchy pop-punk-flavored single in the heyday of mainstream punk didn’t make it past the first single. Where they miscategorized? Does the album hold up? Tune into find out.

Songs in this Episode:

Intro - Uninvited

13:08 - Uptight

19:19 - I Killed Meg The Prom Queen

23:19 - I Grew Up

Outro - All Readydown

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#338: A Little Ain’t Enough by David Lee Roth

Tue, 04 Jul 2017 01:00:00 -0500

On this Fourth of July, we could think of nothing better than to revisit the human firecracker himself - David Lee Roth. With help from our friend Gavin in Australia, we’re checking out the 1991 album A Little Ain’t Enough, the third solo release after Dave departed Van Halen. For this outing, there were lineup changes, producer changes and a changing musical landscape.

Songs in this Episode:

Intro - A Little Ain’t Enough

7:47 - Sensible Shoes

17:43 - Last Call / Walk This Way by Aerosmith

22:33 - Tell The Truth / Black Velvet by Alannah Myles

Outro - It’s Showtime!

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#337: Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating In Space by Spiritualized

Tue, 27 Jun 2017 01:00:00 -0500

For our last review of June 2017, our Patreon patrons selected from one of four albums from June of 1997, and settled on Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating In Space, the third album by Spiritualized. Much has been written about the album, from reviews to anniversary retrospectives detailing the creation and recording of the massive achievement that finds Jason Pierce and crew exploring gospel, soul, britpop, blues, psychedelia, noise, experimentation and more, including an orchestra. It’s a headphone album of sprawling proportions one moment and cacophony worthy of a stadium the next. We try to figure out which works better for us, if at all.

Songs In This Episode:

Intro - Come Together

10:07 - Cop Shoot Cop...

13:46 - Cool Waves

20:15 - I Think I’m In Love

Outro - Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating In Space

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#336: Eternal Nightcap by The Whitlams

Tue, 20 Jun 2017 01:00:00 -0500

We don’t often get a chance to check out bands from the 90s where the terms ragtime or waltz get tossed around, but The Whitlams qualify. We’re checking out the 1997 album Eternal Napcap by this Newtown, Australian band. Led by vocalist/pianist Tim Freedman, The Whitlams can tow the line between indulgent Rufus Wainwright-style balladry and Ben Folds-esque pop, remaining radio friendly with mature lyrical content. Does it all work for us? Tune in to find out.

Songs in this Episode:

Intro - No Aphrodisiac

11:42 - You Look Like Louis Burdett

15:09 - Life’s A Beach

20:23 - Charlie No. 1

Outro - Buy Now Pay Later (Charlie No. 3)

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Tue, 23 May 2017 01:00:00 -0500

We gave our Patreon patrons the opportunity to vote one four different releases from May of 1997, and the consensus winner was eclectic soundtrack from the Batman & Robin movie starring George Clooney, Chris O’Donnell, Alicia Silverstone and more. A mixed bag for sure, there are some clear gems and some awful groaners. We sift through track-by-track and try to find more of the former than the latter. What is worth a revisit? Tune in to find out.

Songs in this Episode:

Intro - The End Is The Beginning Is The End by The Smashing Pumpkins

10:53 - Look Into My Eyes by Bone Thugs-n-Harmony

13:46 - Gotham City by R. Kelly

21:12 - Lazy Eye by Goo Goo Dolls

27:08 - The Bug by Soul Coughing

34:15 - True to Myself by Eric Benét

Outro - The Beginning Is The End Is The Beginning by The Smashing Pumpkins

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#331: Cockamamie by Jennifer Trynin

Tue, 16 May 2017 01:00:00 -0500

The winner of our first quarter Patreon contest stops by with his free requested review pick - 1995′s Cockamamie by Jennifer Trynin. Though part of a fertile 90s Boston music scene, Jen Trynin is a bit of an anomaly, self-releasing her debut album prior to a major label bidding war. Her guitar playing shifts between familiar alternative pop and more angular riffing with a rock solid rhythm section. But ultimate, it’s the songs that matters. She managed to score a minor hit with “Better Than Nothing,” but how does the rest of the album fair? Tune in to find out.

Songs in this Episode:

Intro - Better Than Nothing

5:17 - Happier

8:59 - Knock Me Down

17:54 - Do It Alone

Outro - One Year Down

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#330: Duran Duran In The 90s

Tue, 09 May 2017 01:00:00 -0500

We’re back with another “In The 90s” roundtable, our chance to revisit a popular artist from the 1980s and see how they navigated the shifting musical landscape of the 1990s. With fourteen Top 40 hits and two number one singles in the U.S., Duran Duran were one of the most successful artists of the 80s. However, they entered the new decade on the decline, their fifth album Big Thing failing to resonate with fans or critics the way their previous four releases had. How did their 90s output fare in comparison? To help us navigate through their catalog, we’re joined by Annie Zaleski (Salon, AV Club), Chip Midnight (Kids Interview Bands) and Keith Sawyer (WMBR).

Songs in this Episode:

Intro - Duran Duran Medley (Come Undone, Ordinary World, Electric Barbarella)

9:21 - All She Wants Is (from Liberty)

18:23 - Too Much Information (from Duran Duran/The Wedding Album)

28:36 - 911 is a Joke (from Thank You)

36:31 - Out of My Mind (from Medazzaland)

Outro - White Lines (from Thank You)

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#329: Interview with Marko DeSantis of Sugarcult, The Ataris and more

Tue, 02 May 2017 01:00:00 -0500

Musician, label owner, DJ, writer, teacher - you name it, Marko DeSantis has probably done it. You probably know him as the guitarist in pop punk band Sugarcult, and he shares the history of their formation, as well as his involvement in bands such as The Ataris, Nerf Herder, the Swingin Utters, Bad Astronaut. Marko shares his experiences growing up in Santa Barbara, CA, and contributing to the upcoming Sweet Relief “Strange 80s” benefit show.

Make sure to visit our Patreon page for bonus content.

Songs in this Episode:

Intro - Pretty Girl (The Way) by Sugarcult

Outro - Lately by The Ataris

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Tue, 28 Mar 2017 01:00:00 -0500

For our next installment of the Digging Your Scene roundtable series, we are exploring sights and sounds of Los Angeles in the 1990s. To help us do so, the following guests joined us:

Brian Klein of Scout B Entertainment - his first time on the show, Brian moved to Los Angeles in the early 90s, starting as an intern at Rick Rubin’s American Recordings label as well as employee of Aron’s Records, he has worked in management and promotion of dozens of bands and currently manages Fitz and The Tantrums among others.

Kellii Scott of Failure - making his third visit (#211 & #239), Kellii moved to LA in the 80s and played in a number of bands before joining Failure, later drumming for Blinker The Star, Campfire Girls, Veruca Salt and more. Failure are currently wrapping up the Pledgemusic campaign for the 20th anniversary live recording of their 1997 album Fantastic Planet.

Shawn Michael Foster, director - also making his third visit (#64 & #236), Shawn moved to LA in the latter half of the 90s and started as music video director for bands such as Stabbing Westward, Chevelle, Sugarcult, Drive-by Truckers and many more. He is currently working on a television pilot and videos for Los Kingdom.

We talk music clubs, weekly papers, records stores and more, plus reminisce about bands starting out that made it big and those that should have but never did, plus muggings, drugs, tangents and more tangents. It’s a lively, loose conversation that would have taken place at the Rainbow Room in 1998 if we had a time machine and a bunch of cash. Also, what’s the coolest thing currently about Ohio according to Kellii Scott, who shares some details on the next Failure album.

Songs in this Episode:

Intro - LA Medley (Jane’s Addiction, Weezer, Beck, Rage Against The Machine, Tool)

Outro - Stuck on You by Failure

Previous Episodes Referenced:

#060: Cheer Up by Plexi with Michael Angelos and Michael Barragan

#072: August Everywhere by Blinker The Star with Jordon Zadorozny

#156: Villa Elaine by Remy Zero

#200: Use Your Illusion 1 & 2 by Guns ‘n Roses with Chip Midnight

Tue, 28 Feb 2017 01:00:00 -0500

Tim Kasher of The Good Life and Cursive has a new solo album out this March (No Resolution) on a new label (15 Passenger). We talk to him about the why he decided now was the time to start the new label away from Saddle Creek and the plans for reissuing late 90s Cursive material later this year. We discuss the transition in the mid-00s from writing as a band to writing alone at home and how that changed not only his writing style, but the way he sings. We chat about his current move out to Los Angeles, as well as his previous relocation out west a decade ago to work on films and his experience writing screenplays, and the independent film he recently completed. All this and much more, including how Tim identifies with Steve Harris of Iron Maiden and which trip-hop band is a major influence.

Also, make sure to visit 15 Passenger and pre-order the new album before the release date of 3/3/17 and be entered into contest to win all the releases from the label forever.

Songs in this Episode:

Intro - An Answer for Everything

Outro - Break Me Open

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#319: Electronica in the 90s Roundtable

Tue, 21 Feb 2017 01:00:00 -0500

Remember Electronica? Well we do, and we’re not quite sure what it was, so we’re hosting a roundtable discussion this week to talk about the explosion of electronic music that hit MTV, radio, Billboard and more in the late 90s. To help us figure out what it means, we’ve got a pair of guests, returning regular Andy Derer from The Andy Derer Show, and a first time visit from our old college radio music director Matt Shiverdecker, currently of the Austin-American Statesman Austin360. We look back at the origins of Electronica, revisit four pivotal albums from 1997, and how this all evolved into the ‘00s juggernaut that is EDM (or Electronic Dance Music).

Songs in this Episode:

Intro - Medley (The Chemical Brothers, The Prodigy, The Crystal Method & Filter, Daft Punk)

12:25 - Setting Sun by The Chemical Brothers

27:09 - Around The World by Daft Punk

37:10 - Firestarter by The Prodigy

43:12 - Busy Child by The Crystal Method

Outro - Ray of Light by Madonna

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#318: Upstyledown by 28 Days

Tue, 14 Feb 2017 01:00:00 -0500

Thanks to our friend Gavin in Australia, we’re checking out 28 Days from Melbourne and their sophomore album Upstyledown from 2000. Though it charted at #1 on the Australian ARIAnet album chart, the band failed to make a dent in the United States, which seems like a missed opportunity considering the band combines the sounds of late 90s/early 00s pop punk and rap rock into a familiar sound. Though the band has an ear for hooks and it sounds good, we revisit the “timeless” vs. “dated” production debate and wonder whether some of the musical and lyrical choices were the right ones. If you’re a fan of bands like Zebrahead, Sum 41, Biohazard, Phunk Junkeez, etc., this might be a lost gem waiting to be discovered.

Songs in this Episode:

Intro - Rip It Up

7:19 - History of the Band

11:53 - Sucker

14:06 - Song for Jasmine

19:02 - Information Overload

Outro - 16 Kill The Fake (Seshoo) (Featuring Uzumaki)

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#317: Hissing Prigs in Static Couture by Brainiac

Tue, 07 Feb 2017 01:00:00 -0500

As The Pretenders once sang, we’re going back to Ohio to check out Dayton’s legendary Brainiac thanks to the winner of our 2016 year-end Patreon giveaway. In just five years, the band put out a significant body of work, including three full-length albums, half a dozen 7″s and a pair of EPs. We’re checking out their third and final album Hissing Prigs in Static Couture, released on Touch & Go Records in 1996, recorded with Eli Janney of Girls Against Boys. Besides exploring the record we also spend some time (too much?) discussing the Super Bowl and our guest Chris makes his pick for a future roundtable episode. You wanted the best, you got...well, us.

Songs in this Episode:

Intro - K155 M3, U JACK3D UP J3RK

19:13 - PU55YF00T1N'

21:08 - 5TRUN9

29:25 - 1 AM A CRACK3D MACH1N3

Outro - H0T 53AT CAN'T S1T D0WN

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#316: ReadySexGo by Marvelous 3

Tue, 31 Jan 2017 01:00:00 -0500

We got a requested review for an album released in 2000, and since we’re not above stretching the rules outside the 90s occasionally, this week we’re revisiting the third and final Marvelous 3 album ReadySexGo. Between Butch Walker’s stint in late 80s/early 90s glam metal band SouthGang and his current occupation as a successful music producer (who releases solo albums when not working on albums with Katy Perry or Taylor Swift) he fronted this rock trio that scored a hit with Freak of the Week, which sounded suspiciously like another song. We had differing opinions on what we liked and didn’t like about this album, about Butch Walker as a songwriter, and the early 2000s pop rock movement he was at the forefront of - give a listen and then let us know what you think.

Some links from our requestor Luke:

Butch’s comments about ReadySexGo at the time of its release.

Butch’s comments six years later.

Songs in this Episode:

Intro - Get Over (from ReadySexGo)

5:51 - Freak of the Week (from Hey! Album) / So You Wanna Be A Rock ‘n Roll Star by The Byrds

16:47 - Radio Tokyo (from ReadySexGo)

19:54 - Grant Park

25:33 - Cigarette Lighter Love Song (from ReadySexGo) / All The Young Dudes by Mott The Hoople

28:48 - Better Off Alone (from ReadySexGo) / Movin’ Out by Billy Joel

Outro - I Could Change

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#315: Deadsexy by Scarce with Joyce Raskin and Chick Graning

Tue, 24 Jan 2017 01:00:00 -0500

On the surface, our latest requested review for the 1996 album Deadsexy by Scarce sounds eerily familiar to a lot of 90s band. Band forms, records demos, puts out singles on small indie labels, gets some buzz, major labels start calling, band signs and puts out their debut, no singles race up the charts, and the band is done. But there is more to the story, so we invited singer/bassist Joyce Raskin and singer/guitarist Chick Graning to give us the bigger picture, take us through the demo’ing, writing and recording process, the major label cat and mouse game, the tours, and the album release, as well as the dramatic life-changing event that nearly ended it all, and how art acted as a cathartic release and the rebirth of the band.

Check out Chick Graning’s solo album M.T. on iTunes and at CD Baby.

Check out Joyce Raskin’s books Aching To Be, The Fall and Rise of Circus Bloy Blue, My Mom Is a Rock Star and more at Lulu and Amazon.

Songs in this Episode:

Intro - All Sideways

24:55 - Rains of Kansas

27:41 - All Sideways

Outro - Honeysimple

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#314: Roundtable Discussion on the albums of 1997

Tue, 17 Jan 2017 01:00:00 -0500

It’s our first roundtable discussion of 2017, and we’re tackling the albums from 20-years prior, with special guests Andy Derer (The Andy Derer Show), Eric Grubbs (Do You Know Who You Are podcast) and Jeff Takacs (Rocketfuel podcast) to help us cover the best, the overlooked, the letdowns and faded-aways of ‘97. While 1997 might be remember as the year that saw the return of pop music in the US with albums by the Spice Girls and the Backstreet Boys, it was also the year Radiohead released their masterpiece OK Computer, the year Dave Grohl took the Foo Fighters to the next level with The Colour and The Shape, the year britpop heavyweights Blur and Oasis took different paths while their successors like Travis, Supergrass and Stereophonics put out solid releases. In other words, 1997 was all over the map, musically and geographically.

After you’re done listening to this episode, be sure to visit our Patreon page for our extended chat on albums that didn’t make it into this episode.

Songs/Topics in this Episode:

Intro - 1997 Medley (Foo Fighters, Blur, Ben Folds Five, U2)

5:11 - Albums from 1997 that have stood the test of time

13:55 - Albums from 1997 that were overlooked upon release

23:11 - Albums from 1997 that have not aged well

36:27 - Albums from 1997 discovered much later

46:18 - Albums from 1997 that were disappointments on purchase

55:25 - Favorite album from 1997

Outro - Stereo by Pavement

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#313: Baby Animals by Baby Animals

Tue, 10 Jan 2017 01:00:00 -0500

Every year we dig deeper and deeper into bands from Australia that didn’t make much of an impact in United States to try to understand the global story of music in the 1990s thanks to requested reviews from our dedicated listeners down under, and this week we’re back to check out the self-titled 1991 debut by Sydney’s Baby Animals. The sound of the band harkens back to a more straightforward ‘80s AOR sound that draws comparison to Heart or the radio-friendly sounds of The Pretenders thanks to a skilled if nondescript backing band behind dynamic lead singer Suze DeMarchi. Even though it came out the same month as Nevermind by Nirvana and Use Your Illusion I & II by Guns ‘N Roses, there isn’t much in common with those bands - that’s both a good and bad thing. Tune in and chime in with your comments.

Songs in this Episode:

Intro - Rush You

13:20 - Early Warning

15:35 - Ain’t Gonna Get

18:54 - Break My Heart

Outro - Painless

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#312: Disco Volante by Mr. Bungle

Tue, 03 Jan 2017 01:00:00 -0500

For our first episode of season seven, it’s a requested review thanks to a Patreon subscriber. We’ve talked about Mike Patton previously on the podcast, but never actually revisited an album from one of his many musical outfits. For the first week of 2017, we’re checking out the 1995 sophomore album Disco Volante by Mr. Bungle. Although Faith No More is known for their eclectic brand of hard rock/alternative metal, Mr. Bungle move well past that, playing around with sounds that borrow from a variety of styles including tango, doom metal, country, jazz, easy listening, Arabic and more. We revisit the album with our suggestor Scott, who shares how he discovered the band, what went into seeing the band eight nights in a row in eight different cities, neural pathways, double grooved records, and much more.

Songs in this Episode:

Intro - Desert Search for Techno Allah

5:33 - History of the Band

17:04 - Platypus

25:36 - Carry Stress In The Jaw

30:44 - Merry Go Bye Bye (Nothing)

Outro - After School Special

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#311: Season Six Review

Tue, 27 Dec 2016 01:00:00 -0500

As is our year-end tradition, for our final episode of 2016, we look back at season six of the podcast to review the year that was and look forward to season seven in 2017. We give thanks to our long list of supporters on Patreon and our requested reviews, as well as all of our roundtable participants and interview guests. We also pick our favorite roundtable and interview episodes, choose which 90s album we revisited was our favorite discovery and what new album released by in 2017 we enjoyed.

Songs in this Episode:

Intro - Dig Me Out by Sleater-Kinney

20:05 - Hard Drugs by Screaming Jets

26:25 - Any Way But Down by The Lees of Memory

Outro - Lazarus by David Bowie

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#310: Tom Petty In The 90s Discussion with Author Paul Zollo

Tue, 20 Dec 2016 01:00:00 -0500

Our previous “In The 90s” episodes examined the careers of Van Halen and Metallica in that decade and discussed if they had managed to survive the turbulence that was the rise of alternative and independent rock music. For our latest edition, we’re joined by author/songwriter Paul Zollo to revisit the career of Tom Petty, who released the book Conversations With Tom Petty in 2006. Starting with the Jeff Lynne produced Heartbreakers backed album Into The Great Wide Open, we dig into the changes in Petty’s songwriting, the band personnel changes, his second solo album Wildflowers with producer Rick Rubin onto the decade closing album Echo. Of course, there is much more to the story, so be sure to tune and then leave us your thoughts on Tom Petty in the 90s.

Songs in this Episode:

Intro - Medley (Into the Great Wide Open, Learning to Fly, Mary Jane’s Last Dance, You Don’t Know How It Feels)

47:07 - Walls (Circus) from She’s The One

Outro - Honey Bee from Wildflowers

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#309: Hater by Hater

Tue, 13 Dec 2016 01:00:00 -0500

For our final review episode of the year, we’re tackling one of those oddball side-projects from major label artists that seemed to pop up on a weekly basis in the 90s. The self-titled 1993 debut by Hater, featuring members of Soundgarden, Monster Magnet and Devilhead isn’t what you’d expect. Instead of polished hard rock and metal riffs, there’s 60s garage and psychedelic rock. If you bought this thinking you were getting some Badmotorfinger-esque, you might have been disappointed. Were we? Tune in to fine out.

Songs in this Episode:

Intro - Who Do I Kill?

12:58 - Roadside

15:36 - Lion and Lamb

25:50 - Down Undershoe

Outro - Circles

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#308: Imperial Drag by Imperial Drag

Tue, 06 Dec 2016 01:00:00 -0500

With ties to the perfectionist power-pop of Jellyfish and Guns ‘n Roses guitarist Slash’s Snakepit, this one-album-and-done band is perfect fodder for Dig Me Out - Imperial Drag and their self-titled 1996 album. Combining T. Rex grooves with analog synths, Imperial Drag we found more in common with British glam revisionists like Suede and Placebo than their North American alternative and indie rock counterparts. So why didn’t these radio friendly hooks grab mainstream listener ears? We discuss, and make sure to share your thoughts as well.

Songs in this Episode:

Intro - Boy or a Girl

2:10 - History of the Band

8:46 - Crosseyed

15:30 - The Man in the Moon

18:55 - Dandelion

25:42 - Playboy After Dark

Outro - Stare into the Sun

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#307: II by The Presidents of the United States of America

Tue, 29 Nov 2016 01:00:00 -0500

Our Patreon patrons voted on which November 1996 release we should check out, and they voted on the sophomore album II by the Presidents of the United States of America, who scored a number one single with Lump a year earlier off their debut. With such a quick turnaround from their freshman release, is a dip in quality or are their gems to be rediscovered? Tune in to find out.

Songs in this Episode:

Intro - Mach 5

6:33 - History of the Band

16:30 - Tiki God

21:27 - Ladies And Gentlemen Part I

Outro - Toob Amplifier

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#306: Unit by Regurgitator

Tue, 22 Nov 2016 01:00:00 -0500

Our latest requested review features a band from Australian we were completely unfamiliar with - Regurgitator. Their second album Unit came out in 1997, going triple platinum, producing hit singles and winning music awards. It’s an eclectic mix of pop, rock and punk powered by ‘80s synth sounds and melodies galore. We previously encountered Spiderbait and enjoyed their genre-hopping approach, does Regurgitator match their success? Tune in to find out.

Songs in this Episode:

Intro - I Like Your Old Stuff Better Than Your New Stuff

3:09 - History of the Band

8:44 - The Song Formerly Known As

12:31 - Just Another Beautiful Story

1734 - Mr. T

23:06 - I Will Lick Your Arsehole

Outro - Polyester Girl

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#305: Roundtable - Sophomore Slump Revisited - Razorblade Suitcase by Bush

Tue, 15 Nov 2016 01:00:00 -0500

For our second sophomore slump revisited episode of 2016, we jump in the time machine again to revisit 1996 and check out the second album from Bush, the Steve Albini-produced Razorblade Suitcase. Following up a massively successful debut with five hit singles is a tough job, but doing so in short period of time makes the job even harder. It sold half as many and failed to place as many hit singles on the charts, so we’ve invited back Matt Wardlaw (Ultimate Classic Rock, Lost Together Podcast) and Joe Royland (Sit And Spin VideoCast) to help us figure out if this is a true sophomore slump or an album worth redeeming.

Songs in this Episode:

Intro - Swallowed from Razorblade Suitcase

8:32 - Machinehead from Sixteen Stone

18:33 - Personal Holloway from Razorblade Suitcase

31:55 - Mouth from Razorblade Suitcase

41:19 - Mouth (The Stingray Mix) from Deconstructed

Outro - Greedy Fly from Razorblade Suitcase

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#304: Building by Sense Field

Tue, 08 Nov 2016 01:00:00 -0500

Our latest requested review gives us a chance to revisit the 1996 album Building, the third release by Sense Field. Concise, urgent songs packed with guitar and vocal hooks, the album flies by at just thirty five minutes. We dig into it, and find sounds and styles varying from Bob Mould to The Offspring to Tool. Give a listen, and let us know if you agree with our take on Building.

Songs in this Episode:

Intro - Overstand 3:19 - History of the Band 12:45 - Will 16:59 - Leia 21:17 - Shallow Grave Outro - No Man’s Land
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Tue, 11 Oct 2016 01:00:00 -0500

We’ve reached a new milestone, and to help us celebrate, we’ve invited the author of the 33 1/3 book entry for Dig Me Out by Sleater-Kinney to join us, author and historian Jovana Babovic. We discuss how the album was chosen, researching and writing the book, and the difficulty of writing about sound. We get into the nitty gritty of the 33 1/3 submission process, the importance of ‘zines to the history of 90s music and the concept of “selling out.” We also talk about the shifting coverage of Sleater-Kinney in the music and mainstream press, the influence of the band in the ‘00s and much, much more.

Songs in this Episode:

Intro - Dig Me Out 8:14 - Words And Guitar Outro - Turn It On
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#299: Fountains of Wayne by Fountains of Wayne

Tue, 04 Oct 2016 01:00:00 -0500

We gave our Patreon subscribers four album options that were released in October 1996, and they decided we should revisit the self-titled debut by Fountains of Wayne. All the hallmarks of power pop are present - tight songwriting, big vocal hooks with guitar riffs to match, and the occasional harmony to sweeten the sound - from the band that would go on to write the massive single “Stacy’s Mom.”

Songs in this Episode:

Intro - Radiation Vibe 4:04 - History of the Band 12:36 - Leave The Biker 18:11 - She’s Got A Problem 27:51 - Radiation Vibe Outro - Sink To The Bottom
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#298: Interview with Michelle Leon of Babes in Toyland

Tue, 27 Sep 2016 01:00:00 -0500

This week we’re joined by former Babes in Toyland bassist Michelle Leon, author of the recently released book I Live Inside: Memoirs of a Babe in Toyland. We discuss her upbringing in suburban Minnesota prior to joining the band at the age of 17, her struggle with the idea of “authenticity” and defying expectations writing a “rock biography.” We get into the nuts and bolts of writing the book, how she approached reconstructing memories from over twenty-five years ago, muscle cars, oversized bass cabinets, her time as a realtor in New Orleans, Prince, and much, much more.

Songs in this Episode:

Intro/1:58 - He’s My Thing Outro - Dust Cake Boy
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#297: Swing Revival Roundtable + Interview with Scotty Morris of Big Bad Voodoo Daddy

Tue, 20 Sep 2016 01:00:00 -0500

Our roundtable for September is actually a two-parter on the swing revival of the 1990s. We start with an interview with Scotty Morris of Big Bad Voodoo Daddy joining us to talk about his early musical upbringing, how BBVD came together in the early 90s, being a part of Swingers, the 1999 Super Bowl and the arc of swing music in the 90s. In part two, we’re joined by Eric Grubbs and Eric Peterson to take a big picture view of the swing revival in the 90s.

Songs in this Episode:

Intro/1:21 - Kind of Swing by Big Bad Voodoo Daddy 50:30 - You & Me & The Bottle Makes 3 Tonight (Baby) by Big Bad Voodoo Daddy Outro - Go Daddy-O by Big Bad Voodoo Daddy

Be sure to visit our Patreon page for bonus material from this episode.

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#296: Salutations from the Ghetto Nation by Warrior Soul

Tue, 13 Sep 2016 01:00:00 -0500

This week we are checking out the 1992 album Salutations from the Ghetto Nation by Warrior Soul. Brash and loud with one foot in the sound of 80s hair metal and the other in 90s alternative, the band is hard to pin down musically. Lyrically, not so much, as they cover anti-government and anti-corporate territory that would make friendly bedfellows with Rage Against The Machine.

Songs in this Episode:

Intro - Love Destruction 10:20 - The Party 17:34 - Punk And Belligerent 19:23 - Dimension Outro - Ghetto Nation
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#295: Animal Rights by Moby

Tue, 06 Sep 2016 01:00:00 -0500

Thanks to our voters at Patreon, this week we’re checking out the 1997 album Animal Rights by Moby. Plenty of ground is covered on this 72+ minute long, sixteen track album. Slow burning ambient tunes? Check. Pulsing instrumentals? Check. Industrial metal? Check. Down-tuned dirges? Check. Post punk cover? Check. There is a little bit for everyone, but who is this really for? We try to figure that out and more.

Songs in this Episode:

Intro - That’s When I Reach For My Revolver 22:17 - That’s When I Reach For My Revolver 24:44 - Come On Baby 28:02 - Say It’s All Mine Outro - Love Song For My Mom
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#294: Trouble at the Henhouse by The Tragically Hip

Tue, 30 Aug 2016 01:00:00 -0500

The Tragically Hip have been mentioned a few times on the show, but we’ve never gotten around to reviewing an album on an actual episode. Until now. Hailing from Kingston, Ontario, Canada, the band has been a stadium act for over two decades up north while making smaller inroads in the lower forty eight. With the spring announcement of lead singer Gord Downie’s terminal brain cancer, and their just completed tour for their thirteenth album Man Machine Poem, we decided to ask our friend/college radio alum/fellow Columbus musician Billy Peake (of Miranda Sound and Bicentennial Bear) to help up dig into their moody and sparse 1996 album Trouble at the Henhouse, which sits sandwiched between the successful albums Day for Night and Phantom Power. We talk about the album, the legacy of the band, the perceptions and misconceptions about them, the (possibly) final show on August 23rd (the day before this was recorded), and much more.

Songs in this Episode:

Intro - Ahead by a Century from Trouble at the Henhouse 23:58 - Gift Shop from Trouble at the Henhouse 28:42 - I’ll Believe In You (Or I’ll Be Leaving You Tonight) from Up To Here 36:26 - Springtime in Vienna from Trouble at the Henhouse 46:37 - Heaven Is A Better Place Today from In Between Evolution Outro - Coconut Cream from Trouble at the Henhouse
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#293: Disappearing Acts Roundtable

Tue, 23 Aug 2016 01:00:00 -0500

#287: Interview with Andrew Low of The Jazz June

Tue, 12 Jul 2016 01:00:00 -0500

Tue, 31 May 2016 01:00:00 -0500

Since May gave us a bonus Tuesday to post an episode, we decided to try something new, as in new album reviews. We gathered up some of our roundtable regulars and Patreon subscribers, and put together a bunch of reviews for new albums released in the winter and spring of 2016.

Steve Muczynski reviews You Know Who You Are by Nada Surf Joe Royland reviews Hidden City by The Cult Annie Zaleski reviews Night Thoughts by (London) Suede Annie Zaleski reviews The Narrows by Grant-Lee Phillips Scott Russell Halgrim reviews Post Society EP by Voivod Jeff Takacs reviews Weezer (The White Album) by Weezer Jeff Takacs reviews Patch The Sky by Bob Mould Jim Kopeny reviews Black Star by David Bowie Jim Kopeny reviews Distroland by The Dandy Warhols Eric Grubbs reviews The Astonishing by Dream Theater Eric Grubbs reviews Protection by Face to Face Andy Derer reviews Change of Fortune by Soul Asylum Andy Derer reviews A Moon Shaped Pool by Radiohead
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#280: The Return of John Davis of The Lees of Memory

Tue, 24 May 2016 01:00:00 -0500

This week John Davis (Superdrag, Epic Ditch) returns to chat about the second soon-to-be-released album by The Lees of Memory. We go track-by-track through Unnecessary Evil, talk song origins, recordings, influences, instrumental and mix choices, album artwork and much, much more.

To hear 12 minutes of bonus material, become a subscriber at Patreon.

Songs in this Episode:

Intro - Unnecessary Evil 13:17 - Any Way But Down 29:12 - XLII 1:04:18 - Artifical Air 1:17:22 - Squared Up Outro - Stay Down
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#279: Metallica in the 90s Round Table

Tue, 17 May 2016 01:00:00 -0500

The memory remains how much fun we had during our Van Halen In the 90s round table episode last year. The struggle within was to find another artist to fuel our conversation and load up on great guests, because in the end nothing else matters. Mama said Metallica would be our choice, with special guests Annie “Fixxxer” Zaleski (AV Club, Salon and more), “Unforgiven” Eric Grubbs (Do You Know Who You Are, Dallas Observer and more ) and Matt “Prince Charming” Wardlaw (Ultimate Classic Rock) doing the devil’s dance to determine if it’s sad but true James, Lars, Kirk and Jason trans versed through the never of the 90s as king nothings, or if they were really hero’s of the day.

Songs in this Episode:

Intro - Enter Sandman from Metallica 44:49 - Until It Sleeps from Load 1:04:32 - Fuel from ReLoad Outro - The Memory Remains from ReLoad
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#278: Trance States in Tongues by Zen Guerrilla

Tue, 10 May 2016 01:00:00 -0500

After our chat about the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion last week, we decided to go a little further down the 1990s garage rock rabbit hole and check out a band we had both seen live, Zen Guerrilla, and their 1999 album Trance States in Tongues. Whereas JSBX took a more stripped down and deconstructed take on the blues, ZG amps up the tempo and volume to eleven for a high energy brand of rock. But does that come at a cost to the songwriting? Tune in to find out.

Songs in this Episode:

Intro - Moonage Daydream (David Bowie cover) 3:01 - History of the Band 8:14 - Preacher’s Promise 12:58 - Ghetto City Version Outro - Heart Attack
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#277: Now I Got Worry by the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion

Tue, 03 May 2016 01:00:00 -0500

This week Jim Hanke of the Vinyl Emergency podcast joins us to revisit the 1996 album Now I Got Worry by the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion. We explore the unique sound and place JSBX has in the overall landscape of 90s music. We also spend the first half of the show reminiscing about our personal recollections of Prince and his impact on our music listening history.

Songs in this Episode:

Intro - Wail 24:27 - 2Kindsa Love 37:32 - Skunk Outro - Can’t Stop
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#276: Hold Me Up by Goo Goo Dolls

Tue, 26 Apr 2016 01:00:00 -0500

With there eleventh album about to be released, we decided it was a perfect time to revisit the Goo Goo Dolls first release of the 1990s. For their third album Hold Me Up from 1990, the band began it’s transition from Robby Takac-led pop/punk band to alternative rock hit-makers of the 2nd half of the decade. This album shows the pieces falling into place, with guitarist John Rzeznik taking the lead vocals on five of the fourteen tracks, up from two on the previous two albums. From track to track, you can hear the past and future of the band colliding, but does that make for a worthwhile overall listening experience? Tune in to find out.

Songs in this Episode:

Intro - Never Take The Place of Your Man 18:48 - There You Are 20:48 - Two Days In February 34:59 - Kevin’s Song Outro - Million Miles Away
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Tue, 22 Mar 2016 01:00:00 -0500

Last year we had a lot of fun (and learned a lot) during our Australian music of the 90s episode. In fact, we had so much fun, we decided to turn it into new series we’re calling “Digging Your Scene,” where we explore a city or region that made an impact on alternative and indie music in the 1990s.

To kick off the series, we’re heading to a city once described (like a few others) as “the next Seattle,” Chicago, Illinois. To help us getting dig deep into the Chicago music scene, we’ve invited back Andy Derer of the Chicago-based Andy Derer Show podcast, Chicagoist Senior Editor Jim Kopeny and Annie Zaleski, writer for AV Club, Salon and more, to talk the history, the bands, the venues, the record stores, the legacy and more of Chicago.

Songs in this Episode:

Intro - Chicago Medley (The Smashing Pumpkins, Veruca Salt, Urge Overkill, Liz Phair, Ministry) 12:17 - Suffocation by The Pulars 25:15 - Valerie Loves Me by Material Issue 33:11 - Lotion by Wesley Willis 51:58 - Sugar, We’re Going Down by Fall Out Boy 55:51 - Get Over It by OK Go Outro - Via Chicago by Wilco
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#270: Icky Mettle by Archers of Loaf

Tue, 15 Mar 2016 01:00:00 -0500

Another week, another requested review! This week we’re checking out the 1993 debut album Icky Mettle by Archers of Loaf. Check out any music website, blog or magazine, and when the best alternative albums of the 90s are ranked, you’ll usually find this album somewhere on it. Propulsive drums, melodic bass, dissonant guitars and urgent vocals are combined in short bursts without adhering to the verse/chorus/verse format. The results are definitely superior to most of their 90s counterparts, but does that make it a perfect record? We have thoughts, tune in to find out what they are.

Note: we apologize for the audio quality on this one, we had some technical difficulties with Jason’s microphone.

Songs in this Episode:

Intro - Web in Front 17:35 - Last Word 23:00 - Web in Front 24:31 - Hate Paste 27:53 - Might 31:20 - Learo, You’re A Hole Outro - Wrong
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#269: Gram by The Welcome Mat

Tue, 08 Mar 2016 01:00:00 -0500

Our latest requested review brings us The Welcome Mat’s debut release Gram from 1993. This four-piece from Sydney, Australia packs some power-pop worthy hooks thanks to crisp vocal harmonies, well-crafted tunes and expert guitar riffage. It’s only when either of the vocalists steps out on their own that the songs start to suffer, but how much? It’s (mild) disagreement time!

Songs in this Episode:

Intro - Everyone’s Gone 3:13 - History of the Band 6:52 - Deathbag 8:36 - Junkmail 12:48 - All or Nothing 18:07 - Blew Outro - Gram
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#268: Interview with Jamie Hutchings of Bluebottle Kiss

Tue, 01 Mar 2016 01:00:00 -0500

Thanks to a requested review, we’re joined by Bluebottle Kiss lead singer/guitarist Jamie Hutchings to revisit the 1996 album Fear of Girls. We chat about his earlier years playing drums and how that influenced his guitar playing and singing. We discuss seeing late 80s/early 90s American indie-rock bands touring Australia before forming Bluebottle Kiss, then getting signed and working with producer Jack Endino on Fear of Girls. We talk touring, songwriting, going solo, his new band Infinity Broke and more.

Songs in this Episode:

Intro - Helping You Hate Me from Fear of Girls 18:38 - Claim from Fear of Girls 33.52 - Stained Mouth from Fear of Girls 38:51 - Return to the City of Folded Arms from Patient Outro - Outside Are The Dogs
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#267: Pure Juice by Summercamp

Mon, 22 Feb 2016 01:00:00 -0500

We’ve got a requested review this week, and to help us revisit his request, we invited Brandon Trammell, guitarist for Braidedveins and Kid Brother Collective on to talk about his pick - 1997′s Pure Juice by Summercamp. After an independent release under a different name, this was the only album released by the band, and it runs the gamut from syrupy power-pop to grungy thumpers and big rock ballads. There are some real diamonds in this rough to be discovered, but also a few lumps of coal. Is it a worthy record? Tune in to find out.

Songs in this Episode:

Intro - Drawer14:42 - Nowhere Near28:24 - Should I Walk Away39:00 - Ninety Nine49:25 - Two Shades of GrayOutro - Keep An Eye On You
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#266: Interview with Kevin Martin of Candlebox

Tue, 16 Feb 2016 01:00:00 -0500

Joining us this week is Kevin Martin to walk us through the past, present and future of Candlebox and his career in music. Kevin fills us in on his earliest musical influences - his Mom and Dad, the Texas punks, and the mid/late 80s Seattle scene. From there, Kevin walks us through the wild ride that landed Candlebox on Madonna’s Maverick record label and put the band on the road for well over the year. We explore trials and tribulations surrounding the release of the bands second album Lucy and third album Happy Pills before going on hiatus. From there, we talk reforming Candlebox, releasing new albums in the ‘00s, politics in music, songwriting (for himself and others), working with Ken Andrews, the new album on Pledgemusic and much much more.

For bonus content from this interview, be sure to join us at Patreon.com.

Songs in this Episode:

Intro - Candlebox medley (You, Simple Lessons, Far Behind, Best Friend, Change)18:25 - You from Candlebox45:18 - Butterfly from Lucy1:02:44 - Best Friend from Lucy1:12:44 - It’s Alright from Happy Pills1:31:35 - Stand from Into The Sun1:43:54 - Simple Lessons from Lucy1:50:48 - Sweet Summertime from Love Stories and Other MusingsOutro - 10000 Horses from Happy Pills
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Tue, 08 Sep 2015 01:00:00 -0500

The description “shoegaze” has been applied to My Bloody Valentine to Ride to Slowdive to Swervedriver to Lush. But what exactly is shoegaze, what links these bands and others to this late 80s/early 90s movement? To help us break it down we’re joined by Aaron Perrino, Andy Derer and Eric Grubbs to talk the bands, the sounds, the albums, the guitar pedals and much more.

Songs in this Episode:

Intro - Only Shallow by My Bloody Valentine10:53 - Duel by Swervedriver22:26 - Little Fury Things by Dinosaur Jr.32:56 - Heliotropic by Failure40:28 - Just Like Honey by The Jesus and Mary ChainOutro - The Sight of You by Pale Saints
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#242: Tatoonie by Blind Mr. Jones

Tue, 01 Sep 2015 01:00:00 -0500

Next week will be hosting our round table discussion on shoegaze, so to get in the mood, this week we’re tackling one of the lesser known entries in the genre - the 1994 album Tatoonie by Blind Mr. Jones. Many of the things you come to expect from a shoegaze band are present - etheral vocals and guitars that switch from chorus clean to distorted chaos in an instant. As we dug deeper, we discovered some nods to power pop and early Britpop that make this album more intriguing that expected, but with a few issues to overcome.

Songs in this Episode:

Intro - Disneyworld

5:40 - History of the Band

Tue, 28 Apr 2015 01:00:00 -0500

Joining us this week is Matthew Sweet for a lengthy and wide-ranging discussion. Matthew shares his insights on his latest album project, and what the fulfillment aspect of crowd-funded albums is really like. We talk about his earliest influences, from new wave and punk to 70s power pop like Big Star and The Raspberries, and discuss why power pop bands are almost always critically acclaimed but tend to gain appreciation in retrospect. Matthew explains how his various guitars impact his songwriting (which may involve recording on his iPhone), and his earliest years learning bass to Yes records and Carol Kaye instructional videos (who would later play on his album In Reverse), which got him into a college band while he was still eight grade. We dive into the discography, discuss the leaps between the first two Columbia albums and Girlfriend, to the harsher and dark sound of Altered Beast. There’s so much more, we can’t list it all! Sick of Myself! Drew Carey! 70 Challengers! Brendan O’Brien! Mad Men! Making In Reverse! Touring! Fred Armisen! Susanna Hoffs! The Telecommunications Act of 1996! Mike Myers! Pottery! It’s all in there, and we hope you enjoy.

Songs in this Episode:

Intro - Girlfriend38:22 - Dinosaur Act54:22 - Sick of Myself1:18:29 - Thunderstorm1:46:14 - Ivory Tower1:56:54 - Where You Get LoveOutro - Come to California
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#224: Interview with Matthew Sweet

Tue, 28 Apr 2015 01:00:00 -0500

Songs in this Episode:

Intro - Girlfriend38:22 - Dinosaur Act54:22 - Sick of Myself1:18:29 - Thunderstorm1:46:14 - Ivory Tower1:56:54 - Where You Get LoveOutro - Come to California
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#223: Kim Salmon & the Surrealists by Kim Salmon & the Surrealists

Tue, 21 Apr 2015 01:00:00 -0500

Our second requested review of Australia month is the self-titled 1995 album by Kim Salmon & The Surrealists. By ‘95, Kim Salmon was already a legend in Australia, having fronted the influential 70s & 80s punk band The Scientists, then The Beasts of Bourbon along with The Surrealists amongst other projects. This album finds Kim and his rhythm section exploring some familiar sounds as well as new territory. We split our opinion on this record, but not how you might think.

Songs in this Episode:

Intro - What’s Inside Your Box?2:29 - History of the Band7:40 - I Wish Upon You10:51 - What’s Inside Your Box?17:14 - Holocaust24:39 - Frantic RomanticOutro - Draggin’ Out The Truth
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#222: Discussion on Australian Bands of the 1990s

Tue, 14 Apr 2015 01:00:00 -0500

Before this month, we had reviewed thirteen albums from Australian bands in the 90s in the first four years of the podcast, but we still did’t have a good understanding of the overall history Australian music during that time. What were their influences? What were the scenes in the different cities like? What is Big Day Out? The Saints? The Scientists? To help us unlock the mysteries, we’re joined by frequent requester and friend of the show Gavid Reid, along with Dan Buhagiar, producer and writer at Double J radio.

And check out Dan’s article on the 10 Australian Bands From the ‘90s Worth Revisiting.

Songs in this Episode:

Intro - Drugs by Ammonia6:07 - (I’m) Stranded by The Saints13:20 - Tomorrow by Silverchair35:07 - Streets of Your Town by The Go-Betweens41:34 - Shazam! by Spiderbait52:18 - Don’t It Get You Down by DeadstarOutro - Railhead by Crow
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#221: Together Alone by Crowded House

Tue, 07 Apr 2015 01:00:00 -0500

To kick of our month-long visit to Australia, our first requested review for April is the 1993 album Together Alone by Crowded House. You probably know the band from their two big singles - Don’t Dream It’s Over and Something So Strong. But the band, and by the band we mean Neil Finn, have a number or strong full length albums in their history. Is it possible that Together Alone is tops them all? Tune in to find out.

Songs in this Episode:

Intro - Distant Sun3:47 - History of the Band10:01 - Walking on the Spot15:10 - Black and White Boy20:31 - Nails in My Feet24:48 - Private UniverseOutro - In My Command
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Tue, 03 Feb 2015 07:00:00 -0500

This week's Requested Review kicks off our Britpop month with one of the Godfather's of the sound, Morrissey, and his 1992 album Your Arsenal. While Morrissey's partnership with Johnny Marr in The Smiths produced legendary results, his output as a solo artists hasn't been nearly as consistent or compelling. With a new band for this album, do they match the lyrical aspirations of Morrissey? Tune in to find out.

Songs in this Episode:

Intro - Glamorous Glue3:44 - History of the Band11:47 - You're Gonna Need Someone On Your Side15:16 - We Hate It When Our Friends Become Successful17:57 - Certain People I Know20:18 - Glamorous Glue26:42 - The National Front DiscoOutro - We'll Let You Know
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#211: Interview with Kellii Scott of Failure

Tue, 27 Jan 2015 01:00:00 -0500

Joining us this week is Kellii Scott of the recently reunited Failure, who will release their first new (and fourth overall) album this Spring (most likely May). Kellii takes us through his drumming history, starting out listening to AC/DC and Rush records while staring at KISS Alive artwork, through his move to Los Angeles and starting out with Liquid Jesus before joining Failure. He shares the story of how he joined Failure (and almost blew it), through the making of Fantastic Planet to the demise of the band, as well as his post Failure gigs playing with Blinker the Star and Veruca Salt, as well as a drumming for Linda Perry, up to the writing and recording of the as-yet-untitled album (we tried to get it out of him!) in progress. How are Failure songs written? Is Fantastic Planet a concept album? What was the catalyst for the band reuniting? Can a band with "mystique" survive in the social media world? We answer all these questions and many more.

Note: the sound quality is a little bumpy for the first six or so minutes thanks to a choppy phone connection, but clears up after that.

Songs in this Episode:

Intro - The Focus by Failure9:52 - The Colourful Ones by Liquid Jesus25:46 - Let It Drip (Demo) by Failure37:03 - Heliotropic by Failure56:49 - Enjoy The Silent (Depeche Mode cover) by Failure1:09:44 - Lift Me Up by Christina Aguilera1:15:17 - So Weird by Veruca SaltOutro - Come Crashing by Failure
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#210: Blues for the Red Sun by Kyuss

Tue, 20 Jan 2015 01:00:00 -0500

Our Requested Review for this week is Blues for the Red Sun by Kyuss from 1992. Desert rock, stoner rock, metal - whatever you call it, it's heavy, and their sound has influenced bands like Mastodon, Baroness and many more for over twenty years.

Songs in this Episode:

Intro - Green Machine6:54 - History of the Band20:32 - Molten Universe26:30 - Freedom Run29:13 - Writhe35:20 - Thong SongOutro - Allen's Wrench
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#209: Discussion on Favorite and Forgotten Albums of 1995

Tue, 13 Jan 2015 01:00:00 -0500

This week, we tread new water with our first round table discussion. Joining us are Aaron Perrino of The Sheila Divine and Chip Midnight of Kids Interview Bands to revisit the albums of 1995. First we dive into our favorites from 1995 that still stand the test of time before heading in the other direction, albums that we used to love, but not so much anymore.

Songs in this Episode:

Intro - Fig Dish - Bury Me3:33 - The Abbreviated History of 1990s Music6:45 - Favorite Albums from 199529:16 - Foo Fighters discussion31:07 - Not So Favorite Albums from 199543:10 - Neil Young discussion49:59 - White Zombie discussionOutro - Red Hot Chili Peppers - Aeroplane
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#208: Hi-Fi Sci-Fi by Dramarama

Tue, 06 Jan 2015 01:00:00 -0500

Our first review of 2015 is a request to check out the 1993 album Hi-Fi Sci-Fi by Dramarama. Best known for their mid-eighties single "Anything, Anything," Hi-Fi Sci-Fi was the last recording from the band for over a decade. The sound is more refined from their earlier recordings, and incorporates a wide range of influences into their brand of rock that borders on pop punk one minute and Stones-y ballads the next. The album didn't make much of a dent commercially in '93, does it deserve a second listen? Tune in to find out.

Songs in this Episode:

Intro - Shadowless Heart4:08 - Anything, Anything5:47 - History of the Band12:46 - Work for Food15:05 - Senseless Fun22:05 - Prayer29:35 - Bad SeedOutro - Right On Baby, Baby
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#207: Season Four in Review

Tue, 30 Dec 2014 01:00:00 -0500

Tue, 04 Nov 2014 01:00:00 -0500

#199: American Grafishy by Flipper

This week we take on the only 90s release by the legendary band Flipper, their 1993 album American Grafishy. The anti-punk punk band, who traded high speed riffing for Sabbath-induced sludge, show why they encountered as much adoration as scorn with their five plus minute long dirges. Was it worth the nine year wait between albums? Tune in to find out.

Songs in this Episode:

Intro - Telephone3:57 - History of the Band12:34 - Flipper Twist18:34 - We're Not Crazy25:07 - SomedayOutro - Exist of Else
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#198: Short Forth Self Living by Medicine

Tue, 28 Oct 2014 01:00:00 -0500

This week we revisit the 1992 debut album Shot Forth Self Living by Medicine. Combining waves of distortion and breathy vocals, Medicine has been called the American My Bloody Valentine. Are they worthy of comparison to such a legendary band? Tune in to find out.

Songs in this Episode:

Intro - Miss Drugstore3:19 - History of the Band10:33 - Defective15:25 - A Short Happy Life20:36 - Sweet ExplosionOutro - Aruca
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#197: Psychic Hearts by Thurston Moore

Tue, 21 Oct 2014 01:00:00 -0500

This week we're revisiting the 1995 debut solo release Psychic Hearts by former Sonic Youth frontman/guitarist Thurston Moore. With a new solo album just released, it's the perfect time to check out Moore's first solo outing, with the inevitable comparisons to his (then) full-time gig in Sonic Youth. Shorter, stripped down and condensed songs dominate the album, but is the lack of experimentation a blessing or a curse? Tune in to find out.

Songs in this Episode:

Intro - Psychic Hearts5:22 - History of the Band15:37 - Patti Smith Math Scratch19:17 - Ono Soul21:40 - Tranquilizers25:53 - Queen Bee and Her Pals29:48 - Staring Statues32:01 - Cindy (Rotten Tanx)49:45 - Pretty Bad
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#196: Stoner Witch by The Melvins

Tue, 14 Oct 2014 01:00:00 -0500

The Melvins have a new album out, so it's the perfect time to revisit their 1994 release Stoner Witch. With their combination of metal, psyche and punk, Melvins have carved out a loyal fan base of their brand of "sludge metal." Stoner Witch is the second of their three albums on a major label, but the that doesn't make them any less metal, psyche or punk, as the band turns in some of the most exciting music in their history.

Songs in this Episode:

Intro - Queen6:59 - History of the Band9:25 - Sweet Willy Rollbar15:55 - Roadbull20:30 - Revolve24:06 - Goose Freight TrainOutro - At The Stake
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#195: Twisted Tenderness by Electronic

Tue, 07 Oct 2014 01:00:00 -0500

With a new solo album released by Johnny Marr, we decided to check out his post-Smiths band Electronic along with Bernard Sumner of New Order and their third album from 1999, Twisted Tenderness. Steeped in the dance electronic music of the 1990s, Sumner and Marr each bring their respective sounds to the band. While this frees Sumner to explore more pop melodies, Marr can occasionally get lost in the layers of loops and synths. Is Electronic a successful collaboration? Tune in to find out.

Songs in this Episode:

Intro - Make It Happen

8:06 - History of the Band

14:14 - Like No Other

16:33 - Twisted Tenderness

22:24 - Can't Find My Way Home

Tue, 26 Aug 2014 01:00:00 -0500

The Rentals have a new album out, so it's the perfect time to revisit their debut album from 1995, Return of The Rentals. The band scored a minor hit with Friend of P, and this debut is full of even more radio-friendly singles, but can the keep the vocal and musical hooks flowing throughout the record with the analog synth, fuzz bass and boy/girl vocal set-up? Tune in to find out, and to hear Jason go on a interface design rant you may or may not want to miss.

Songs in this Episode:

Intro - My Summer Girl

3:04 - Friends of P

5:51 - History of the Band

13:46 - Waiting

18:25 - Brilliant Boy

21:47 - Naive

26:32 - Please Let That Be You

Outro - The Love I'm Searching For

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#188: Twice Removed by Sloan

Tue, 19 Aug 2014 01:00:00 -0500

With a new album out soon and twenty years since their sophomore release Twice Removed, we thought now was a good time to head north of the border and investigate Sloan. We dive into the four-singer/songwriter band, try to figure out if this is the best Canadian album of all time, or even the best by the band, and end up trying to figure out the best decade for Canadian rock 'n roll.

Songs in this Episode:

Intro - Deeper Than Beauty3:41 - Money City Maniacs5:14 - History of the Band16:22 - Snowsuit Sound19:12 - People of the Sky21:21 - Coax Me/Go Your Own Way27:25 - Bells On30:28 - I Can Feel ItOutro - Worried Now
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#187: Bakesale by Sebadoh

Tue, 12 Aug 2014 01:00:00 -0500

Along with Guided By Voices, Sebadoh flew the lo-fi flag in the 90s with a similar gift for short, punchy rock songs. We revisit their 1994 release Bakesale, and dive into a discussion on the two-singer/songwriter band set-up.

Songs in this Episode:

Intro - Magnet's Coil

2:49 - Rebound

4:29 - History of the Band

14:57 - License to Confuse

17:22 - Skull

20:54 - Temptation Ride

16:29 - Polly Brown

19:04 - Sheep

Outro - Transworld Modal Operator
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#170: A Very Special Afghan Whigs Episode

Tue, 15 Apr 2014 01:00:30 -0500

Grab a beverage, find a comfortable seat, or hop in the car for a road trip, because this is a long one. We take in an in-depth look at the history of one our favorite bands, The Afghan Whigs, with special guest Lee Heidel, proprietor of SummerKiss.com, the longest running and most comprehensive Afghan Whigs, Twilight Singers, Gutter Twins and all-things Greg Dulli website on the planet. Then, we go off into uncharted territory and review a new album! Do To The Beast is the first Afghan Whigs album in sixteen years, but did the beast slay our expectations? The results may shock you, tune in to find out.

Songs in this Episode:

Intro - Gentlemen

15:27 - Retarded

21:47 - Come See About Me

35:05 - Stage Banter/Never Take The Place of Your Man

42:33 - 66

1:06:23 - Matamoros

1:17:16 - Algiers

Tue, 18 Feb 2014 01:00:51 -0500

#162: 30 Something by Carter the Unstoppable Sex Machine

Our first Requested Review of the year gives us a chance to check out Carter the Unstoppable Sex Machine, and their 1991 sophomore album 30 Something. Carter USM run the proverbial gamut of music history, from orchestral waltzes to Pet Shop Boy-esque dance anthems to Ministry and Sex Pistol vitriol, but with a bevy of digital help. Does the 1991 keyboard and drum programming stand the test of time? Tune in to find out.

Songs in this Episode:

Intro - Bloodsport for All

2:42 - History of the Band

7:32 - A Prince in a Pauper's Grave

14:51 - Billy's Smart Circus

20:12 - Surfin' USM

Outro - Anytime Anyplace Anywhere

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#161: Stereo Type A by Cibo Matto

Tue, 11 Feb 2014 01:00:27 -0500

With a new Cibo Matto album out this week, it's a perfect time to revisit the oddball band from the 90s and their sophomore album Stereo Type A from 1999. Expanding their band and sound allows the band to bring in a variety of elements and genres not heard on their debut release, but does that equal too much of a good thing? Tune into find out.

Songs in this Episode:

Intro - Spoon6:38 - History of the Band20:29 - Moonchild30:05 - Speechless43:42 - StoneOutro - Sci-Fi Wasabi
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#160: Nu-Clear Sounds by Ash

Tue, 04 Feb 2014 01:00:02 -0500

Although 90s Britpop is best known for Oasis and Blur, plenty of bands skirted the edges of stardom, among those are Ash. This week we revisit their 1998 sophomore album Nu-Clear Sounds. Dabbling equally in Britpop and American alternative, Nu-Clear Sounds bounces from delicate ballads to fuzzed-out rave-ups in an instant. Is it genius, or jarring? Tune in to find out.

Songs in this Episode:

Intro - Jesus Says

3:50 - History of the Band

8:54 - Projects

16:49 - Wild Surf

27:50 - Fortune Teller

Outro - Folk Song

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#159: Grande Rock by The Hellacopters

Tue, 28 Jan 2014 01:00:50 -0500

It’s time to bring the rock, Grand Rock that is, in the form of Sweden’s The Hellacopters, and their 1999 album. Borrowing equally from the Motown garage rock of the MCS, Stooges and Sonic Rendezvous Band, as well as stadium rockers like KISS and The Who, The Hellacopters combine it all into one big, bombastic record. While the stripped down garage rock of The White Stripes and Strokes would kick-off the '00s, The Hellacopters among a slew of other Swedish acts would put their own high-octane spin on it. We explore their game-changing third album, and discuss why Grande Rock wasn't a Grande Hit.

Songs in this Episode:

Intro - Move Right Out of Here4:12 - History of the Band17:42 - Welcome to Hell22:57 - Paul Stanley32:51 - LonelyOutro - The Devil Stole the Beat from the Lord
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#158: Happy Days by Catherine Wheel

Tue, 21 Jan 2014 01:00:32 -0500

We've talked about Catherine Wheel many times throughout the years, finally we're getting around to reviewing an album - their 1995 release Happy Days. Although their sophomore album Chrome hinted at a heavier sound from the band, their earlier shoegaze influences were still evident. Not so on Happy Days, which amps up the volume and dips into the New Wave of British Heavy Metal the same way Billy Corgan would on the Smashing Pumpkins 'Gish' and 'Siamese Dream.' Many fans were caught off guard while the band attracted a whole new audience thanks to a pair of semi-successful singles. Does Catherine Wheel's embrace of metal riffage stand the test time? Tune in to find out.

Songs in this Episode:

Intro - Judy Staring at the Sun6:34 - History of the Band12:12 - God Inside My Head24:37 - Heal32:15 - My ExhibitionOutro - Receive

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#157: Regretfully Yours by Superdrag

Tue, 14 Jan 2014 01:00:33 -0500

Our second review of 2014 takes us to Knoxville, Tennessee to revisit the major label debut album Regretfully Yours by Superdrag. Released in 1996, the same year Alanis Morissette topped the charts while bands like The Verve Pipe, Dave Matthews and Rage Against the Machine followed closely behind, the retro power-pop of Superdrag seems radically out of place. Though they managed to breakthrough with Sucked Out, a minor hit, the band never crossed over into mainstream consciousness.
Songs in this Episode:
Intro - Sucked Out4:03 - History of the Band8:52 - Slot Machine12:49 - Phaser22:41 - Destination Ursa Major31:02 - N.A. KickerOutro - Rocket
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#156: Villa Elaine by Remy Zero

Tue, 07 Jan 2014 01:00:37 -0500

For our first review of Season 4, we're revisiting the 1998 sophomore album Villa Elaine by Remy Zero. Comparisons at the time to Radiohead were common, but time reveals other influences creeping in from track to track, making what some would call a diverse, other inconsistent, listen. Is it a worthy album, or does the variety sink Villa Elaine? Tune in to find out.
Songs in this Episode:
Intro - Prophecy3:22 - History of the Band10:14 - Hermes Bird21:54 - Problem26:24 - Gramarye33:20 - FairOutro - Goodbye Little World
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#155: Season Three Review

Tue, 31 Dec 2013 01:00:16 -0500

Our third season is a wrap, so it's time to recap. We've found our favorite tunes of the past season, and picked our album discovery of the year. Surprises? Maybe. Disagreement? Possible. Tune in to find out, to hear who received our Request a Review Thank You drawing, and for news about the upcoming 2014 season.
Songs in this Episode - you have to listen to find out!
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#154: Superfriends by Sweet Water

Tue, 24 Dec 2013 01:00:17 -0500

Our final review of the year brings us the 1995 album Superfriends by Sweet Water. Although released right smack in the middle of the 90s, this album feels out of place thanks to big guitar riffs more reminiscent of the 1980s and a lack of anything "alternative." The single "Superstar" failed to connect with a big audience, but there is no doubting it's a damn good song. So how does the rest of the album compare? Tune in to find out.
Songs in this Episode:
Intro - Cake and Strychnine4:42 - History of the Band13:28 - Happy18:07 - Superstar20:44 - No Syrup for Your PancakesOutro - Adeline
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#153: Squinting Before The Dazzle by Throneberry

Tue, 17 Dec 2013 01:00:12 -0500

We haven't visited our home state of Ohio in awhile, so this week we're making a trip to Cincinnati to check out Throneberry, and their 1998 album Squinting Before the Dazzle. In the 90s they drew comparisons to fellow 'nati residents The Afghan Whigs, but time has provided more perspective on their third and final record. Are they truly a lesser imitation, or does Throneberry step out of shadow and into their light. Tune in to find out.
Songs in this Episode:
Intro - Summer School3:43 - History of the Band8:53 - Squint Before The Dazzle12:35 - Guerrilla Skies17:53 - Shut UpOutro - Isn't It A Pity
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#152: Inhaler by Tad

Tue, 10 Dec 2013 01:00:14 -0500

Jason wanted to bring the heavy back, so he made this week's pick, the 1993 album Inhaler by Tad. One of the bands often mentioned along with Soundgarden, Alice in Chains and Pearl Jam as early members of the Seattle grunge movement, but never achieving the same level of recognition or success, Tad tread in heavier and harder sounds. Some consider this a lost classic, but do we? Tune in to find out.
Songs in this Episode:
Intro - Grease Box5:55 - History of the Band19:58 - Grease Box23:39 - Lycanthrope26:53 - Just Bought The FarmOutro - Rotor
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#151: Sweet Relief - A Benefit for Victoria Williams

Tue, 03 Dec 2013 01:00:51 -0500

Thanks to a recent Facebook poll, this week we're tackling a 1990s benefit album, specifically the 1993 compilation Sweet Relief - A Benefit for Victoria Williams. As with any tribute record, some artists will stay true to the original version, while others will make the songs their own, which can lead to mixed results. Tune in to find out where Pearl Jam, Lou Reed, Shudder to Think and more come out as we go track-by-track through the album.
Songs in this Episode:
Intro - Summer of Drugs7:48 - Summer of Drugs16:22 - Weeds23:23 - This MomentOutro - Crazy Mary
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#150: Magazine by Jump, Little Children

Tue, 26 Nov 2013 01:00:00 -0500

This week's Requested Review comes from a group that started as a busking Irish folk band. But Jump, Little Children, and their 1998 album Magazine, are far from their origins, combining high-energy pop rock with more introspective mid and slower tempo tunes.
Songs in this Episode:
Intro - Not Today1:49 - History of the Band10:13 - Violet Dreams15:42 - Cathedrals18:12 - Body PartsOutro - My Guitar
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#149: Grand Slam by Spiderbait

Tue, 19 Nov 2013 01:10:37 -0500

Our latest listener request takes us back down under to revisit the 1999 album Grand Slam by Spiderbait, an odd mix of power pop, metal, trip-hop, brit pop and just about every other genre from the 90s. In fact, Grand Slam feels like a 90s mix that tries to cover a variety of sounds from the decade (minus ska and nu-metal, thankfully). It's weird, it's long, and we kinda dig it. Tune in to find out why.
Songs in this Episode:
Intro - Shazam!2:21 - History of the Band7:49 - Shazam!10:13 - Bessy's Last Journey13:17 - King of the NorthernOutro - Glokenpop
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#148: Neverland by Neverland

Tue, 12 Nov 2013 01:00:46 -0500

Having just explored the lone album from the Holy Barbarians, we decided to investigate further the guitar/drum combo of Patrick Sugg and Scott Garrett on their 1991 self-titled album by Neverland. On the edge of 80s glam metal and 90s alternative, Neverland isn't as easy to pin down as you might think, but do they do any of it particularly well? Tune in to find out.
Songs in this Episode:
Intro - Drinking Again4:11 - History of the Band14:41 - Mama Said19:02 - For The Love27:52 - Cry All NightOutro - Talking To You
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#147: Bandwagonesque by Teenage Fanclub

Tue, 05 Nov 2013 01:00:24 -0500

Almost 12 years to the day, Teenage Fanclub released their third, and some would say best, album Bandwagonesque. To help us dissect the album Spin choose as Album of the Year in 1991 (over titles like Nevermind, Badmotorfinger and Ten) is Andy Derer of The Andy Derer show. Power pop bands like Teenage Fanclub never reached the heights of success that grunge bands achieved, but that didn't stop a legion of Big Star followers from trying.
Songs in this Episode:
Intro - December5:44 - History of the Band11:53 - What You Do To Me34:20 - AlcoholidayOutro - The Concept
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#146: Do You Know Who You Are? by Texas Is The Reason

Tue, 29 Oct 2013 01:00:00 -0500

To help us discuss the one and only (and legendary) album Do You Know Who You Are? by Texas Is The Reason, we're joined by Eric Grubbs, fan of the show and author of Post: A Look at the Influence of Post-Hardcore 1985-2007. We dive into the unique story of Texas Is The Reason, as well as their influences and influence on emo and post-hardcore bands that followed. And of course, we dissect one damn fine record.
Songs in this Episode:
Intro - Johnny On The Spot9:56 - Johnny On The Spot17:21 - A Jack With One EyeOutro - Every Little Girl's Dream
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#145: Cream by Holy Barbarians

Tue, 22 Oct 2013 01:00:14 -0500

Jason has a pick for our latest episode, and it's an oddball among oddballs. Ian Astbury and The Cult towed the line between goth, hard rock and alternative, and after their break-up, he continued down the road less taken and formed Holy Barbarians. Their lone album, 1996's Cream, stands out with it's nods to '60s psychedelia combined with modern keyboard-centric twists. Our review of the self-titled 1994 Cult album ended with gushing praise, so how does the unofficial follow-up fare? Tune in to find out.
Songs in this Episode:Intro - Space Junkie2:48 - History of the Band9:55 - You Are There12:32 - Dolly Bird20:27 - Brother FightsOutro - Bodhisattva
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#144: Emergency & I by Dismemberment Plan

Tue, 15 Oct 2013 01:00:38 -0500

To wrap up our Fall of New Releases by 90s Bands schedule, we revisit the 1999 album Emergency & I by Dismemberment Plan, who recently reunited to release the new album Uncanney Valley out this week. Emergency & I combines a whole bunch of alternative rock royalty, like the Pixies, Pavement, Talking Heads and Gang of Four just to name a few, and produces a wholly individual sound. One of us is on board the D-Plan's ride, the other wants to get off after just a few stops. Yes, it's disagreement time!
Songs in this Episode:
Intro - Gyroscope2:30 - History of the Band11:50 - What Do You Want Me To Say?15:59 - A Life of Possibilities20:40 - I Love A MagicianOutro - Back and Forth
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#143: Dopes to Infinity by Monster Magnet

Tue, 08 Oct 2013 01:00:03 -0500

Monster Magnet has a new record out, so you know what that means - we ignore it and review an album from their 1990s output. Before their breakout single 'Space Lord," MM scored a minor hit with 'Negasonic Teenage Warhead' off their 1995 album Dopes to Infinity. Does the whole album live up to the promise of the single, or this a case where stoner rock experimentation turns into a big mess? And what really is stoner rock, anyway? Tune in to find out.
Songs in this Episode:
Intro - I Control, I Fly3:20 - History of the Band12:26 - King of Mars15:42 - Ego, The Living Planet20:45 - Blow 'Em OffOutro - Negasonic Teenage Warhead
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#142: Venus Luxure No. 1 Baby by Girls Against Boys

Tue, 01 Oct 2013 01:00:31 -0500

With their first new release in eleven years, it about time we got around to one of the most unique bands of the 90s, Girls Against Boys, and their sophomore release from 1993, Venus Luxure No. 1 Baby. With a pair of bass slingers and a vocalist buried in the mix that sounds like he's gargling rocks (that's a compliment), GVSB explores the dark and dirty side of alternative, combining elements of post-punk and industrial into a murky but often tasty stew.
Songs in this Episode:
Intro - Rockets Are Red3:41 - History of the Band11:00 - Satin Down16:58 - Get Down19:34 - Bullet Proof CupidOutro - Learned It
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#141: She Hangs Brightly by Mazzy Star

Tue, 24 Sep 2013 01:00:02 -0500

With a new record out, we added Mazzy Star to our list of 90s bands with new releases that we needed to check out, so this week we're revisiting their 1990 debut album She Hangs Brightly. Know for the single "Fade Into You" from their sophomore release, She Hangs Brightly showcases the band in their familiar slow-to-midtempo dreamy, shoegaze, blues-influenced sound, albeit with the occasional jazzy or noisy detour. All the elements that made "Fade Into You" a hit are there, but do they come together? Tune in to find out.
Songs in this Episode:
Intro - Ride It On4:29 - History of the Band9:53 - Halah13:10 - Be My AngelOutro - Give You My Lovin'
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#140: Interview with Glen Phillips and Dean Dinning of Toad the Wet Sprocket

Tue, 17 Sep 2013 01:00:18 -0500

Toad the Wet Sprocket just wrapped up their new album Kickstarter campaign, and with that new record out next month, founding members Glen Phillips and Dean Dinning stopped by to revisit their 1994 album Dulcinea, talk songwriting, maintaining independence in a major label world, the importance of maintaining the mailing list and much more.
Songs in this Episode:
Intro - Fall Down4:59 - Fly from Heaven33:04 - Fly from Heaven37:55 - Something's Always Wrong50:04 - Nanci55:41 - Fall Down1:04:05 - Begin1:14:17 - WoodburningOutro - Stupid
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#139: Without You I'm Nothing by Placebo

Tue, 10 Sep 2013 01:00:32 -0500

With a new Placebo album out this month, we thought it would be the perfect time to revisit the breakthrough album from this confusing and confrontational UK act. Their sophomore release, Without You I'm Nothing, moves between wholly unique sounds like Pure Morning and Allergic, to songs that conjure memories of New Order and the Smashing Pumpkins, although with the very unique vocal style of lead singer Brian Molko. Is Placebo for everyone? Tune in to find out.
Songs in this Episode:
Intro - Pure Morning3:33 - History of the Band8:53 - You Don't Care About Us18:09 - Allergic (To Thoughts of Mother Earth)Outro - Every You Every Me
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#138: Blonder Tongue Audio Baton by Swirlies

Tue, 03 Sep 2013 01:00:23 -0500

For his latest suggestion, friend-of-the-show Dirty Gert drops some shoegaze on us in the form of 1993's Blonder Tongue Audio Baton by Swirlies. Calling it "the greatest American shoegaze record" puts some high expectations on this album, but also raises a number of question, like actually defining "shoegaze."
Songs in this Episode:
Intro - His Love Just Washed Away2:39 - History of the Band9:48 - Bell #211:49 - Pancake23:21 - Tree Chopped DownOutro - Wrong Tube
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#137: Interview with Jeff Robbins of Orbit

Tue, 27 Aug 2013 07:00:26 -0500

For our latest interview, Jeff Robbins from Orbit stops by to revisit their 1997 album Libido Speedway, which featured the heavily-rotated single Medicine as well as dig into the history and formation of Orbit, various approaches to songwriting, the legendary 90s music scene in Boston, the important role of the shaker, and much, much more.
Songs in this Episode:
Intro - Bicycle Song3:02 - Bicycle Song51:26 - Why You Won't57:40 - Medicine1:30:13 - MotoramaOutro - Wake Up
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#136: Good Feeling by Travis

Tue, 20 Aug 2013 01:00:34 -0500

For our latest episode, Tim makes a pick from his favorites-of-the-past archive: 1997's Good Feeling, the debut album by Travis. Combining the brit-pop guitar bombast of Oasis with the melodies and hooks of The Beatles and Kinks, topped off with stellar production thanks to Steve Lillywhite, Good Feeling failed to connect with audiences, something their sophomore release The Man Who did thanks to multiple hit singles. Hopefully Travis fans discovered Good Feeling on their own, if not, that's why we're here - to sing the praises of an overlooked gem.
Songs in this Episode:
Intro - Good Feeling4:48 - History of the Band13:04 - U16 Girls17:42 - More Than Us22:12 - Tied to the 90s25:17 - The Line Is FineOutro - All I Wanna Do Is Rock
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#135: For The Masses - A Tribute to Depeche Mode

Tue, 13 Aug 2013 01:00:02 -0500

Thanks to our latest Facebook poll, we're tackling our first tribute album - For The Masses, featuring sixteen covers of Depeche Mode songs. Both Tim and Jason were familiar with this release back in the 90s, but haven't revisited it in quite awhile. Does it stand the test of time? Are any of the covers better than the originals? And can any explain the temporary fascination with Rammstein? Tune in and find out.
Songs in this Episode:
Intro - Enjoy The Silence9:06 - Somebody14:37 - Master and Servant16:45 - I Feel YouOutro - Never Let Me Down Again
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#134: Silver by Moist

Tue, 06 Aug 2013 01:00:43 -0500

This week Jason picks one of his favorites from North of the border, Vancouver's Moist and their 1994 debut album Silver. On the surface, the five-piece are a slightly alternative and mainstream radio-friendly band. But dig deeper, into the use of keys and organs, and a moodier and darker sound emerges. But does it go far enough to make is truly unique? Tune in to find out.
Songs in this Episode:
Intro - Silver5:59 - History of the Band11:42 - This Shrieking Love14:22 - Kill for You27:17 - Machine Punch Through31:47 - Believe MeOutro - Push
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#133: Clarity by Jimmy Eat World

Tue, 30 Jul 2013 01:00:57 -0500

Tom Mullen of the Washed Up Emo Podcast stops by to help us dissect one of the key albums of the 90s emo scene: 1999's Clarity by Jimmy Eat World. Although it didn't sell as well as later Jimmy Eat World albums, it's impact on a generation of musicians and music fans would be heard for years to come. Combining gritty, angular guitars and rhythms with introspective lyrics, layered with a varied instrumentation, Clarity represents musical highpoint for not only emo, but rock music at the end of the 20th Century.
Songs in this Episode:
Intro - Lucky Denver Mint13:06 - History of the Band18:32 - A Sunday22:12 - 12.23.9551:20 - Goodbye Sky Harbour54:34 - ClarityOutro - Crush
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#132: Judgement Night Soundtrack

Mon, 22 Jul 2013 01:00:56 -0500

Australian listener and friend of the show Gavin decided to use his free pick for 2013 to bust out the legendary (?) 1993 soundtrack to the movie Judgement Night. Featuring a roster packed with rock bands and hip-hop artists collaborating in a way that only the 1990s could produce. Some are hits, some are misses, and we talk about them all, as well as the legacy of a record possibly responsible for the late 90s nu-metal / rap metal / rap rock movement.
Songs in this Episode:
Intro - Just Another Victim9:55 - Real Thing11:57 - Me, Myself and My Microphone15:35 - Another Body Murdered19:01 - Missing Link23:43 - Fallin'Outro - Judgement Night
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#131: Give Out But Don't Give Up by Primal Scream

Tue, 16 Jul 2013 01:30:11 -0500

In our latest episode, Tim brings an oddball to the table - The Rolling Stones and Small Faces inspired fourth album from Primal Scream, 1994's Give Out But Don't Give Up. As fans of Vanishing Point, XTRMNTR and Screamadelica can tell you, Give Out... is a hard one to figure out, where honky tonk piano, blues guitar riffs and soul singers abound. Does Primal Scream make take successful detour, or get lost in the weeds? Tune in and find out.
Songs in this Episode:
Intro - Rocks2:53 - History of the Band10:11 - Jailbird17:16 - Give Out But Don't Give Up21:29 - Big Jet Plane24:18 - FreeOutro - (I'm Gonna) Cry Myself Blind
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#130: Subhuman Race by Skid Row

Tue, 09 Jul 2013 01:00:22 -0500

For Jason's latest pick, we're back in metal mode, this time revisiting the 1995 Subhuman Race by Skid Row. Many of the hair/glam rock and metal bands of the 1980s made failed attempts to update their sound in the 90s, how does Subhuman Race fare? Tune in to find out.
Songs in this Episode:
Intro - My Enemy3:33 - History of the Band10:31 - Subhuman Race12:55 - Eileen21:46 - Frozen26:45 - Breakin' DownOutro - Remains To Be Seen
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#129: Crank by Hoodoo Gurus

Tue, 02 Jul 2013 01:00:47 -0500

The requested review for this week is from our familiar friend Gavin, who takes us back down under with the Hoodoo Gurus. Coming late in a successful career, 1994's Crank marks the Hoodoo's attempt at injecting some alternative rock sound into their trademark power pop. Does it work? Tune into find out.
Songs in this Episode:
Intro - The Right Time3:39 - History of the Band10:13 - Crossed Wires13:05 - Less Than A Feeling22:01 - Hypocrite BluesOutro - Quo Vadis
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#128: Love Tara by Eric's Trip

Tue, 25 Jun 2013 01:30:14 -0500

One of our frequent suggestors, Dirty Gert, gave us three challenging records to review this year, so we thanked him for his generosity by giving a bonus review of his choosing. With that, he picked the 1993 album Love Tara by Eric's Trip. His first three picks confused and confounded us, with this follow suit, or do we finally connect witha a Dirty Gert selection? Tune in to find out.
Songs in this Episode:
Intro - Follow12:12 - Anytime You Want15:37 - Allergic To Love19:11 - Sunlight24:18 - StoveOutro - Spring
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#127: Interview with the members of Lotion

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 01:00:40 -0500

To help us revisit the suggested review of Lotion's 1996 sophomore album Nobody's Cool, we invited the whole band to join us, and they took us up on the offer. Brothers Bill and Jim Ferguson, Rob Youngberg and Tony Zajkowski all stop by to talk about history of Lotion, how their band name cost them ten grand, and we learn what happens when six Skype users can't maintain a consistent wi-fi signal. We kept the technical difficulties in this one for your amusement.

Oh, and EARMUFFs for the kids, things get a little blue.

Songs in the Episode:

Intro - The New Timmy 21:25 - Blind for Now 28:08 - Dear Sir 43:09 - The New Timmy 56:08 - Sandra Outro - Dalmacia

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#126: Year of the Rat by NY Loose

Tue, 11 Jun 2013 01:00:47 -0500

We're back with another pick by Jason, and we've got some good old fashioned disagreement! Unique and original, or familiar and predictable? Where does the the 1996 album Year of the Rat by NY Loose fall? Tune in to find out.

Songs in the Episode:

Intro - Rip Me Up

2:33 - History of the Band

7:10 - Detonator

8:53 - Sunday Morning

12:23 - Broken

17:37 - Rip Me Up

Outro - Trash the Given Chance

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#125: I Love You by I Love You

Tue, 04 Jun 2013 01:00:04 -0500

#125: I Love You by I Love You

We're back with another requested review, and this one has left us a bit confused. I Love You is a band with little history or output, but what they did leave us is a self-titled debut album that shifts between Jane's Addiction-like alternative funk and Guns N' Roses riffing. See what we mean by confused?

Songs in the Episode:

Intro - Open You

1:58 - History of the Band

4:01 - Fuzz the Whirl

8:25 - Hang Straight Up

11:27 - 2

23:47 - She's The One/I.N.S.E.T.

Outro - She's The One/I.N.S.E.T.

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#124: Naveed by Our Lady Peace

Tue, 28 May 2013 01:00:50 -0500

For Jason's latest pick we return to 1994 and tackle the debut album Naveed by Our Lady Peace. Following this record, the band found greater success with the second release Clumsy, but is Naveed actually the better album? We dig into Naveed, discuss the merits of the second wave of alternative in the 1990s, and ponder the origins of the nasally Canadian singer.

Songs in the Episode:

Intro - Supersatellite

3:33 - History of the Band

14:41 - Supersatellite

21:37 - Dirty Walls

24:14 - Neon Crossing

27:15 - Starseed

Tue, 30 Apr 2013 01:00:50 -0500

Joining us for episode #120 is Happy Chichester, formerly of Howlin Maggie, who has just released his second solo album, Torchwood Loop. After spending almost a decade in legendary funk-rock band Royal Crescent Mob, Happy formed Howlin Maggie, who released their debut album Honeysuckle Strange in 1996. After a line-up change and follow-up release in 2001, Happy struck out on his own, releasing studio and live releases, while playing sideman in the Shawn Smith/Stone Gossard band Brad. We cover all this, plus Happy's take on the current state of the music industry, analog vs. digital recording and plenty more.

Songs in this Episode:

Intro - $3.99 3:39 - Miss Universe 12:41 - How The West Was Won 28:48 - Easy To Be Stupid 34:52 - I'm A Slut 43:07 - Long Live Doug (Standing) 1:09:34 - Alcohol Outro - Rubbing The Industry Raw

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#119: The Moray Eels Eat the Space Needle by Space Needle

Tue, 23 Apr 2013 01:00:45 -0500

For episode #119, we're tackle a listener suggestion: The Moray Eels Eat The Space Needle by Space Needle from 1997. Only this time, we've brought in our listener to tell us why he decided to suggest this album, that bounces between ten-plus-minute space rock experiments to concise and bittersweet harmonized morose pop.

Songs in this Episode:

Intro - One Kind of Lullaby 4:21 - History of the Band 12:41 - Where the fucks my wallet? 14:32 - Never Lonely Alone 18:32 - Old Spice 21:17 - Hot for Krishna Outro - Love Left Us Strangers

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#118: New Parade by The Sheila Divine

Tue, 16 Apr 2013 01:00:29 -0500

For episode #118, Aaron Perrino of The Sheila Divine joins us to revisit their debut 1999 album, New Parade. Our wide ranging discussion covers a variety topics, including the whether Cleveland or Buffalo are the sadder city, the workout habits of Greg Dulli, eyeglass endorsements and contracting SARS in China. Oh, and we also talk music, songwriting, recording, touring and all that good stuff, as well as an impromptu a cappella version of Joe Esposito's "You're The Best."

Songs in this Episode:

Intro - Automatic Buffalo

17:42 - Hum

20:17 - Automatic Buffalo

33:10 - The Modern Log

1:04:20 - The Amendment

Outro - Awful Age

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#117: Pony Express Record by Shudder To Think

Tue, 09 Apr 2013 01:00:52 -0500

For our latest listener suggestion, we finally get around to a beloved album that flew under our collective radar for too long - 1994's Pony Express Record by Shudder To Think. The twists and turns are plenty on STT's major label debut, but hidden inside these dissonant and jagged tunes are melodic hooks that would make Matthew Sweet swoon. And that's not the only oddball reference we'll make, as Alice Cooper, Jesus Christ Superstar and more get tossed into the reference potluck in an attempt to figure out Pony Express Record.

Songs in this Episode:

Intro - Gang of $

3:30 - History of the Band

16:15 - No RM. 9, Kentucky

19:01 - Kissi Penny

22:02 - Earthquakes Come Home

29:00 - X-French Tee Shirt

33:06 - So Into You (Atlanta Rhythm Section)

34:36 - So Into You (Shudder To Think)

Outro - Trackstar

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#116: Murk Time Cruiser by aMiniature

Tue, 02 Apr 2013 01:00:24 -0500

Episode #116 brings us another listener suggestion, this time we check out the 1995 album Murk Time Cruiser by aMiniature (the first "a" is silent, if you didn't know). Combining disjointed rhythms and razor sharp guitar riffs, aMiniature are in the same stratosphere as the recently reviewed Knapsack, evening sharing the same producer for their third and final album, just like Knapsack. But is that where the similarities end? Tune in to find out.

Songs in this Episode:

Intro - He, The Bad Feeler

1:50 - History of the Band

12:27 - He, The Bad Feeler

14:00 - Peddler's Talk

17:21 - Long Live Soul Miner

24:39 - Bored Spy

Outro - Signer's Strut

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#115: Endless Bummer by My Head

Tue, 26 Mar 2013 01:00:01 -0500

The day has finally come - Dig Me Out is intercontinental! For episode #115, we're joined on Skype by Australian filmmaker Shaun Katz to talk about his upcoming music documentary, Underground, Inc., as well as review his pick, the 1996 album Endless Bummer by My Head.

Help back Underground, Inc. by backing the Kickstarter campaign.

Songs in this Episode:

Intro - Killer Hair

6:09 - History of the Band

14:22 - Teenage Foxes

18:20 - Carnasaur

23:38 - Fall

25:49 - Humbucker

32:34 - Don't Waste My Time

Outro - Log

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#114: Above by Mad Season

Tue, 19 Mar 2013 01:00:52 -0500

The lone release by Seattle-supergroup Mad Season, 1995's Above, is being re-released in 2013 as a box set with new material and a live concert, so now is the time to revisit. Often, musical supergroups fail to live up to the sum of their parts (re: The Thorns or Velvet Revolver), does Mad Season? Is this just another "grunge" record, or does Above rise...um, above? Tune in to find out.

Songs in this Episode:

Intro - I'm Above

3:20 - History of the Band

10:52 - Wake Up

19:27 - I'm Above

23:25 - November Hotel

36:19 - Artificial Red

Outro - I Don't Know Anything

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#113: Syrup Macrame by Radial Spangle

Tue, 12 Mar 2013 01:00:18 -0500

For listener request episode #113, we're heading down the road less, or never travelled: Radial Spangle, and their second (and last) album, 1994's Syrup Macrame. Indie and alternative aren't specific enough to describe Radial Spangle's music: neo-experimental-space-psychedelic-lo-fi-rock? We're not quiet sure what to make of much of the album, but moments shine through - are their enough? Tune in to fine out.

Songs in this Episode:

Intro - Special Love

2:38 - History of the Band

6:31 - Caf, 'Fine

9:33 - Busy Hole

14:58 - Knees

18:06 - Patio Furniture

27:17 - Sunflower Graveyard

Outro - New Dress

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#112: This Conversation Is Ending Starting Right Now by Knapsack

Tue, 05 Mar 2013 01:00:24 -0500

For episode #112, we're tackling the third and final album from Knapsack, 1998's This Conversation Is Ending Starting Right Now. Jason brings a favorite of his to review, and Tim's never heard it. Will Tim share Jason's appreciation for an album that got plenty of Facebook love, or is disagreement on the horizon? Tune in to find out.

Songs in this Episode:

Intro - Arrows to the Action

2:46 - History of the Band

10:42 - Cold Enough To Break

15:56 - Shape of the Fear

25:06 - Change Is All The Rage

28:38 - Cinema Stare

Outro - Hummingbirds

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#111: Fizzy Fuzzy Big and Buzzy by The Refreshments

Tue, 26 Feb 2013 01:00:37 -0500

We're back with another listener suggestion for episode #111 as we return to the world of 90s one-hit wonders and the 1996 album Fizzy Fuzzy Big & Buzzy by The Refreshments. Combining bar-band like guitar crunch with clever lyrics, FFBB shows of the Arizona band's musical range, adding elements unique to the Southwest like Mariachi rhythms and horns, and plenty of references to Mexico. There's no doubting "Banditos" worthiness as a 90s hit, but does the rest of the album measure up? Tune in to find out.

Songs in this Episode:

Intro - Down Together

3:17 - History of the Band

14:32 - Down Together

18:46 - Banditos

24:12 - Mexico

Outro - European Swallow

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#110: Sound Of Lies by The Jayhawks

Tue, 19 Feb 2013 01:00:10 -0500

We're back with another pick from Jason - the 1997 album Sound Of Lies by The Jayhawks. Written and recorded after the departure of co-founding lead singer and songwriter Mark Olsen, Sound of Lies rests on the shoulders of Gary Louris, who expands the Midwestern Americana sound to include psychedelic and Beatles-esque pop. Reviews were mixed at the time, but some claim this is a buried treasure. Are they right? Tune in to find out.

Songs in this Episode:

Intro - Think About It

3:06 - History of the Band

12:41 - Sixteen Down

20:26 - Trouble

23:22 - Dying On The Vine

29:18 - It's Up To You

Outro - The Man Who Loved Life

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Tue, 25 Dec 2012 01:00:17 -0500

Season Two of Dig Me Out is in the books! For the last episode of 2012, we're taking a look back at our sophomore year and picking our top five favorite songs as well as our new album discovery.

We've got plenty of thanks to dispense to those who made Season Two a huge success: all of our great guests and folks who suggested albums, and of course our listeners.

Lastly, towards the end of the show there is a special announcement regarding something brand new in 2013 (hint: it's music related).

Note: Tim imbibed too much celebratory champagne and thought this podcast went up New Year's Day instead of Christmas Day. Tim promises to lay off the champagne in future episodes.

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#101: El Moodio by Eleventh Dream Day

Tue, 18 Dec 2012 01:00:03 -0500

For our last review of 2012, of course it's a listener suggestion. To wrap it up, we're checking out Chicago's Eleventh Dream Day and their 1993 album El Moodio. EDD provides a unique sound with their male/female vocal combination and wild swings from concise jangle pop to sprawling jam ballads. Does it all work? Tune in to find out.

Songs in this Episode:

Intro - Makin' Like a Rug

2:40 - History of the Band

9:57 - After This Time Is Gone

14:26 - Makin' Like a Rug

18:18 - Bend Bridge

Outro - Rubberband

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#100: Magic and Madness by Circus of Power

Tue, 11 Dec 2012 01:00:04 -0500

Episode #100 marks the second of two listener suggestion episodes that ignore the alternative and indie rock explosion of the 1990s in favor of some straight-up rock and roll that draws influences from metal, glam and hard rock of the previous decade. This week, it's Circus of Power and their 1993 album Magic & Madness. A number of bands pinned to the hair/glam rock era of the 1980s tried to transition their sound in the 90s, some successful and some not. COP worked with Jerry Cantrell of Alice and Chains and toured with Gruntruck, making an attempt to move in a more straightforward hard rock direction. Is it magic or madness? Tune in to find out.

Songs in this Episode:

Intro - Heaven & Hell

2:29 - History of the Band

7:05 - Swamp Devil

10:37 - Mama Tequila

17:49 - Black Roses

24:50 - Otta My Head

Outro - Shine

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#099: The Silent Majority by Life, Sex and Death

Tue, 04 Dec 2012 01:00:51 -0500

Thanks to a listener suggestion we're starting a two week exploration of the metal, glam and hard rock end of the 1990s with Life, Sex & Death, and their 1992 album The Silent Majority. Jason says LSD are the best live band he's ever seen, and has plenty to share about this one-album-and-done band that featured Van Halen-style riffs with Tom Waits-esque vocals, a weird combination that shouldn't work but somehow does.

MAJOR EARMUFFS WARNING

Songs in this Episode:

Intro - Telephone Call

3:40 - History of the Band

10:48 - Blue Velvet Morning

20:59 - Schools for Fools

24:14 - Fuckin Shit Ass

29:52 - Jawohl Asshole

33:26 - Rise Above

Outro - Tank

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#098: Safe Sex Designer Drugs and The Death of Rock n Roll by Baby Chaos

Tue, 27 Nov 2012 01:00:12 -0500

For episode #98, we're using a listener suggestion as an opportunity to check out an obscure band neither of us knew about to that later became another obscure band that we actually did know about. Got it? Scottish rockers Baby Chaos are the band, and they also provide us with the longest album title to date with 1995's Safe Sex Designer Drugs & The Death of Rock & Roll. In the late 90s they changed their name to Deckard, a band we both listened back in the early 2000s. We liked Deckard, so how does Baby Chaos stack up? Tune in to find out.

Songs in this Episode:

Intro - Saliva

1:50 - History of the Band

11:17 - Sperm

13:47 - A Bullet for the End

25:38 - Go To Hell

Outro - Hello Victim

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#097: Under The Western Freeway by Grandaddy

Tue, 20 Nov 2012 01:00:46 -0500

In our quest to knock out our backlog of listener suggestions, for episode #97 we're checking out the 1997 album Under the Western Freeway by Grandaddy. Some describe Grandaddy's sound as lo-fi space-rock, drawing comparisons to The Flaming Lips, Brian Wilson and Pavement, but we also heard some more straight-forward pop in the vein of Weezer and Guided By Voices. Question is, does is work, and what could Grandaddy learn from Journey? Tune in to find out.

Songs in this Episode:

Intro - A.M. 180

2:13 - History of the Band

6:08 - A.M. 180

9:39 - Summer Here Kids

13:50 - Poised at Hartsy Thai Food

Outro - Why Took Your Advice

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#096: Comforter by Compulsion

Tue, 13 Nov 2012 01:00:05 -0500

We're back with another listener suggestion, this week tackling the 1994 debut album Comforter by Irish band Compulsion. Deemed "The New Wave of New Wave" by NME back in the early 1990s, Compulsion straddles the line between the American alternative rock of Nirvana and the Pixies, and the harder-edged guitar rock of Therapy? with a unique lyrical bent. Does it all work? Tune in to find out.

Songs in this Episode:

Intro - Mall Monarchy

2:32 - History of the Band

9:36 - Rapejacket

14:06 - Domestique

15:33 - Oh My Fool Life

Outro - Jean Could Be Wrong

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#095: Interview with Ken Stringfellow of The Posies

Tue, 06 Nov 2012 01:00:11 -0500

We've got a very special episode this week as we're joined by Ken Stringfellow of The Posies to talk about his new solo album, Danzig The Moonight. In addition, we revisit the 1993 Posies album Frosting On The Beater.

Now living in Paris, Ken talks about the varied influences behind his new album, working with a variety of musicians, songwriting, gives us the real story on The Posies relationship with DGC while making Frosting On The Beater, their contrasting experiences in the studio with John Leckie and Don Fleming, how he joined the R.E.M. fold, and so much more.

Songs in this Episode:

Tue, 09 Oct 2012 01:00:19 -0500

On episode #91 we're tackling one of the most influential albums of the 1990s - Sunny Day Real Estate debut release from 1994, Diary. Credited as a primary instigator of what would later be known as emo, Sunny Day Real Estate never like to stay in one moment too long; switching tempo, time signatures and volume at the drop of a hat. Somehow, the band manages to seamlessly combine elements of post-punk, progressive rock and grunge into one cohesive sound.

It's been eighteen years since it's initial release, and three years since the remastered re-release with bonus tracks, so the only question is - does Diary stand the test of time? And is the Batman Forever soundtrack a perfect time capsule for the mid-1990s?Tune in and find out.

Songs in this Episode:

Intro - Seven

4:10 - History of the Band

15:56 - Seven

17:36 - In Circles

24:35 - Shadows

27:32 - 47

Outro - The Blankets Were the Stairs

Note: We apologize for the slightly garbled audio on Jason's end, the internet did not want to cooperate on this particular day.

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#090: Dope Box by Jack Drag

Tue, 02 Oct 2012 01:00:13 -0500

We're back with another listener suggestion, this week tackling the 1998 release Dope Box from Jack Drag. Of all the albums we've reviewed so far, Dope Box might be the most diverse (or schizophrenic), bouncing from Prodigy-esque big beats on one song, to mid-tempo Velvet Crush-like power pop on the next. There's a lot to like about this album, and a lot of befuddlement as well. Which side did we come down on? Tune in and find out.

Songs in this Episode:

Intro - Kung Fu Dub

2:59 - History of the Band

12:12 - Debutante

14:25 - Tall Buildings

16:32 - Seem So Tired

19:12 - Best Friend

21:57 - Surfin' the Charles

Outro - Where We Are

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#089: Hand It Over by Dinosaur Jr.

Tue, 25 Sep 2012 01:00:23 -0500

Dinosaur Jr. just released a new album, so we felt episode #89 was a perfect time to revisit the 1997 album Hand It Over. Legendary guitarist/singer/songwriter J. Mascis once described the album as his favorite of the major label years, so how does it stand up fifteen years later? There are plenty of curveballs on this album, with trumpets, flutes, banjo's making front and center appearances, not what you'd expect from a Dinosaur Jr. album. Does it work? Tune in and find out.

Songs in this Episode:

Intro - Can't We Move This

4:06 - History of the Band

12:57 - I'm Insane

14:38 - I'm Insane

17:04 - Never Bought It

22:27 - Alone

27:40 - Nothin's Goin On

35:57 - Can't We Move This

Outro - Mick

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#088: Jalamanta by Brant Bjork

Tue, 18 Sep 2012 01:00:49 -0500

Mark another one off the listener suggestion pile - this week we tackle the debut solo album by founding Kyuss member and former Fu Manchu drummer Brant Bjork, the 1999 album Jalamanta.

Brant's take on "desert rock" is more stripped down with less bombast, incorporating Latin and jazz influences. It's an interesting combination, but does it work? Tune in and find out.

Songs in this Episode: Intro - Too Many Chiefs... Not Enough Indians 5:17 - History of the Band 13:05 - Let's Get Chinese Eyes 14:44 - Too Many Chiefs... Not Enough Indians 19:25 - Automatic Fantastic Outro - Defender of the Oleander Follow on Twitter / Facebook

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#087: Juice by Send No Flowers

Tue, 11 Sep 2012 01:00:12 -0500

We're doing our best to keep our promise of catching up on our backlog of listener suggestions, and on episode #86 we're back with another. This week, we give a listen to Send No Flowers from the UK, and their lone full-length release from 1996, Juice.

Like our recent review Headswim, the gentlemen of Send No Flowers are giving us their take on early '90s American alternative rock. We both found Headswim had a hard time finding their own sound, stuck repeating instead of reinventing bands like Pearl Jam and Alice In Chains. Does Send No Flowers fair any better? Tune in and find out.

Songs in this Episode:

Intro - Porcelain

6:26 - History of the Band

11:06 - Cold

14:39 - Porcelain

18:21 - Monotony

21:37 - Bitter Taste

Outro - Animal Feeder

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#086: Copper Blue by Sugar

Tue, 04 Sep 2012 01:00:59 -0500

We're taking a break from our run of listener suggestions to check out one of the classic albums of the '90s alternative music - 1992's Copper Blue by Sugar. Bob Mould has a new solo album out, so we thought it would be the perfect time to revisit his short-lived run with with this post-Husker Du power trio, especially since it's recently been re-released and remastered with bonus material thanks to Merge Records.

Joining us to talk about Copper Blue is Andy Derer from the The Andy Derer Show, who's hosted a wide array of interesting guests on his podcast that include Cris Kirkwood of the Meat Puppets, Craig Wedren of Shudder to Think and Bob Nastanovich of Pavement, just to name a few.

Be sure to check out the start of the new season of The Andy Derer Show starting on September 8th, and follow Andy on Twitter and Facebook.

Songs in this Episode:

Intro - Helpless

7:45 - History of the Band

17:49 - A Good Idea

20:23 - Changes

23:04 - If I Can't Change You Mind

27:33 - The Act We Act

37:36 - Hoover Dam

41:18 - Man On The Moon

Outro - The Slim

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#085: Jaundice by Lucy's Fur Coat

Tue, 28 Aug 2012 01:00:58 -0500

For episode #85, thanks to a listener suggestion we're tackling Lucy's Fur Coat, and their 1994 album, Jaundice. Although Jason admitted to purchasing the album years ago, he never got around to actually listening to it, so it's fresh and new for both.

We've often discussed the importance of a frontman who can do more than just sing in key, that personality can elevate a mediocre band. So what does Lucy's Fur Coat bring to the table? And what is on the Mars Rover iTunes playlist? Tune in to find out.

Songs in this Episode:

Intro - Falling Out

4:16 - History of the Band

11:17 - Easy

14:18 - Super

17:18 - Not My Fault

18:44 - Same

21:15 - Southern Cookin'

Outro - Treasure Hands

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#084: No Pocky For Kitty by Superchunk

Tue, 21 Aug 2012 01:00:26 -0500

For episode #84, we're joined by fellow podcaster Kim Ware to check out her suggestion, Superchunk's 1993 album No Pocky for Kitty. Kim spent time drumming and booking shows in Wilmington, North Carolina in the 1990s, where the legendary and lesser known Chapel Hill bands regularly gigged around town.

Tim and J were both more familiar with the later Superchunk releases than the early Matador years, so how does No Pocky For Kitty stack up? Does the energetic and sometimes frantic mix of punk, power-pop and indie rock come together? And why is Majesty Shredding so hard to pronounce after one beer? Tune in to find out.

Check out Kim's podcast - This Is The Sound

Songs In this Episode:

Intro - Punch Me Harder

11:38 - History of the Band

25:12 - Tower

34:24 - Skip Steps 1 + 3

41:46 - Sidewalk

44:40 - Punch Me Harder

Outro - Throwing Things

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#083: Flood by Headswim

Tue, 14 Aug 2012 01:00:32 -0500

For episode #83 we return to our long list of listener suggestions and check out the 1994 album Flood by Headswim. A first blush the sound is reminiscent of Seattle's biggest and brightest - Pearl Jam, Soundgarden and Alice In Chains. But when you dig a little deeper, the band is definitely stretching out to find their own sound, only question is - does is work? Tune in to find out.

Song In This Episode:

Intro - Apple of My Eye

2:42 - History of the Band

8:08 - Gone To Pot

9:45 - Soup

11:41 - Stinkhorn

15:52 - Try Disappointed

23:16 - Down

Outro - Safe Harvest

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#082: Troublegum by Therapy?

Tue, 07 Aug 2012 01:00:03 -0500

On episode #82 of Dig Me Out, we've got another listener suggestion. This week we tackle one of the more prolific and perplexing bands of the last twenty years - Therapy? No, it's not a question, the name is Therapy?, and we're checking out their 1994 album Troublegum.

The band has confounded many with their quick-witted lyrics and musical mash-up of metal, punk, rock, industrial and more. So what did we make of this equally exciting and jarring album? Tune in to find out.

Songs In This Episode:

Intro - Nowhere

3:47 - History of the Band

12:29 - Screamager

17:34 - Femtex

20:46 - Turn

22:46 - Isolation

28:04 - Hellybelly

Outro - Trigger Inside

Note: For the faint of heart, Tim apologizes for the accidental f-bomb, enthusiasm got the best of him.

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#081: Bellybutton by Jellyfish

Tue, 31 Jul 2012 01:00:17 -0500

On episode #81 we're joined by mastering engineer, record label owner and Jellyfish aficionado Steve Turnidge to revisit the band's debut release, 1990's Bellybutton. Steve is half of the team that put together the Jellyfish tribute album Sensory Lullabies and brings a deep knowledge and passion for the band to this episode. Grab a drink, find a comfortable chair and sit back, because you are about to learn everything you ever wanted to know about the most under-appreciated band of the 90s.

#080: Miss Happiness by Walt Mink

Tue, 24 Jul 2012 01:00:40 -0500

On episode #80 we're back with another listener suggestion, this week checking out the previously unfamiliar Walt Mink and their 1992 album Miss Happiness. Combining elements of Cheap Trick power pop and Jane's Addiction-esque guitar rock, Walt Mink can defy description at times. But is that a good thing, or is it the sound of inconsistency? Tune in to find out.

Songs in this Episode:

Intro - Love You Better

1:52 - History of the Band

10:31 - Smoothing The Ride

14:22 - Chowder Town

19:26 - Pink Moon

Outro - Croton-Harmon (Local)

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#079: Flipped Out In Singapore by Chainsaw Kittens

Tue, 17 Jul 2012 01:00:47 -0500

For episode #79, we push Skype to the max and welcome three special guests: drummer Aaron Preston, bassist Clint McBay and guitarist Mark Metzger, all of the Chainsaw Kittens, to revisit the 1992 album Flipped Out in Singapore.

We go deep into the history of the band, covering the arrivals, departures, working with Butch Vig and Spike Jonze, Aaron and Clint joining For Love Not Lisa, taunting O.J. Simpson, and why touring with KMFDM was as bad as it sounds.

Links:

TeenageWastelandOnline

TysonMeade.com

High In Highschool Video directed by Spike Jonze

Connie, I've Found the Door video directed by Phil Harder

Songs In This Episode:

Intro - High In High School

3:34 - History of the Band

25:43 - 2nd Theme/Flipped Out In Singapore

30:29 - Hold

45:47 - High In High School

Outro - When You Shoot

Bad Language Warning: This one definitely requires some earmuffs for the kids.

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#078: Through the Darkness by D Generation

Tue, 10 Jul 2012 01:00:48 -0500

On episode #78 of Dig Me Out, Jason brings a pick to the show - the 1999 album Through the Darkness by D Generation. Some might know lead singer Jesse Malin from his successful solo career, but with the recently reunited D Generation getting ready to release a new album soon, it's the perfect time to tackle the third album from this New York City punk rock outfit.

D Generation combine the snotty punk of the New York Dolls with power pop of Cheap Trick and '80s Sunset Strip bands. On some songs, it works like magic, on others... well, tune in to find out.

Songs in this Episode:

Intro - Hatred

5:25 - History of the Band

10:12 - Good Ship Down

13:34 - Helpless

17:35 - Lonely

23:08 - So Messed Up vs. Wild Night

26:36 - Only A Ghost

Outro - Sick On The Radio

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#077: Interview with Joe Oestreich of Watershed, Part 2

Tue, 03 Jul 2012 01:00:31 -0500

On episode #77 we're back with Watershed bassist/vocalist Joe Oestreich, author of the new book "Hitless Wonder: A Life in Minor League Rock and Roll." In part two, we revisit their 1996 album Star Vehicle and about how touring different regions of the country impacts songwriting, their place in the history of Columbus music and the wisdom of the Karate Kid.

Songs in this Episode:

Intro - She Picks The Songs

8:30 - Superstressed

14:36 - Can't Be Myself

18:27 - She Picks The Songs

28:05 - If That's How You Want It

35:19 - Something Wrong

47:59 - American Muscle

Outro - Obvious

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#076: Interview with Joe Oestreich of Watershed, Part 1

Tue, 26 Jun 2012 01:00:47 -0500

On episode #76 we're joined by Watershed bassist/vocalist Joe Oestreich, author of the new book "Hitless Wonder: A Life in Minor League Rock and Roll." Joe has spent almost three decades traversing the country bringing his band's version of Midwestern power-pop to the masses, and has plenty of stories to tell in part one of a two part interview, discussing songwriting, recording, balancing two singer/songwriters, Billy Squire, the dirty secret about "live" albums and much, much more.

Songs in this Episode:

Intro - I'd Be A Liar

14:18 - History of the Band

27:45 - How Do You Feel

37:17 - Star Vehicle

42:08 - Black Concert T-Shirt (Star Vehicle '98 version)

43:03 - Black Concert T-Shirt (The More It Hurts, The More It Works version)

51:21 - Consolation Prize

Outro - Give A Little Bit

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#075: Fitzcarraldo by The Frames

Tue, 19 Jun 2012 01:30:07 -0500

With the release of Glen Hansard's first solo record, we thought it was about time to revisit his pre-Swell Season, pre-Once band, The Frames, and their sophomore album from 1996, Fitzcarraldo. Many people know Hansard from the movie (and now Tony Award winning broadway musical) Once and his other band The Swell Season, but Hansard actually cut his teeth with his Dublin, Ireland outfit The Frames starting the early 1990s.

For Tim and Jason, this album goes back to the college radio days, and they've been singing it's praises ever since. Find out why this album is "criminally overlooked," and how that led to an end-of-show tangent about a new music-based reality show called Rock Cops coming to a channel near you very soon (or not).

Songs in this Episode:

Intro - Monument

5:21 - History of the Band

12:47 - Revelate

17:00 - Monument

21:53 - Revelate

24:49 - Angel At My Table

27:31 - In This Boat Together

30:16 - Giving It All Away

Outro - Evergreen

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#074: Do The Collapse by Guided By Voices

Tue, 12 Jun 2012 01:00:07 -0500

With Guided By Voices reunited and releasing their second of three (!) albums in 2012, we decided to spend episode #74 reviewing the 1999 album Do the Collapse.

When Robert Pollard abandoned his trademark lo-fi sound to release a major label album, produced by the legendary Cars leader Ric Ocasek, it's safe to the say the reviews were mixed. And when we say mixed, we mean numerous die-hard fans hated it with a passion. But is their vitriol justified, or is this an under-appreciated gem in the GBV catalog? Tune in to find out.

Songs in this Episode:

Intro - Surgical Focus

3:11 - History of the Band

15:49 - Teenage FBI

19:37 - Surgical Focus

22:20 - Wormhole

24:29 - Hold On Hope

27:16 - Liquid Indian

29:19 - An Unmarketed Product

Outro - Zoo Pie

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#073: Not Meant For This World by Asteroid B-612

Tue, 05 Jun 2012 01:00:22 -0500

On episode #73 we head back down under thanks to a suggestion by our Australian friend-of-the-show, Gavin and take a listen to the 1997 album Not Meant for This World by Asteroid B-612.

The early punk of The Stooges and MC5 is prevalent in the sound of Asteroid B-612: raw energy, loud guitars and a big chorus. But does the band pull it off as well as the revered Hellacopters or ? Tune in to find out.

Songs in this Episode:

Intro - Emotional Tattoo

3:47 - History of the Band

11:52 - Thanks for Nuthin'

15:16 - Destination Blues

18:02 - Believe It's True

28:09 - Farewell to the Cosmic Commander

Outro - True Romance

And as we mentioned in the show, head over to ScottMorganMusic.com to help out Scott out with his medical bills.

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#072: August Everywhere by Blinker The Star

Tue, 29 May 2012 01:00:37 -0500

On episode #72 of Dig Me Out we're joined by Blinker The Star's Jordon Zadorozny to revisit the 1999 album August Everywhere. Besides a track-by-track dissection of this under-appreciated gem, Jordon talks to us about his musical roots in Canada, making the move to Los Angeles in the mid-90s, his contributions to Courtney Love and Mandy Moore records, a songwriting bootcamp in a French castle, the influences of Duran Duran and Steely Dan, and much much more. It's a long one, so settle in, then leave us a comment on this episode.

Songs in this Episode

Intro - Crazy Eyes

3:33 - History of the Band

22:20 - September Already

27:16 - Behind The Sliding Doors

34:38 - Crazy Eyes

43:47 - All Dreamed Out

46:17 - Pretty Pictures

50:57 - Pretty Pictures Guitar Solo

52:46 - On This Earth

57:54 - I Am A Fraction

1:10:14 - There's No Where You Can Hide

1:15:22 - Right Kind of Girl

1:27:36 - Star Behind The Star

Outro - Strange As They Say

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#071: The Shape of Punk to Come by Refused

Tue, 22 May 2012 01:00:18 -0500

On episode #71, we tackle The Shape of Punk to Come: A Chimerical Bombation In 12 Bursts by Refused. Since it's original release in 1998, TSoPtC has been graced with accolades and fawning retrospectives - but is it deserved? Due the techno, beat poetry and jazz interludes sound fresh and exciting or gimmicky and contrived? Tune in to find out!

(Warning: earmuffs for the little ones, Refused liked their f-bombs)

Songs in this Episode:

Intro - Summertime Holidays vs. Punkroutine

10:30 - The Deadly Rhythm

16:54 - Liberation Frequency

25:04 - New Noise

27:32 - Tannhauser Derive

32:04 - Worms Of The Senses/Faculties Of The Skull

34:51 - Protest Song '68

Outro - The Shape of Punk to Come

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#070: Fever In Fever Out by Luscious Jackson

Tue, 15 May 2012 01:00:32 -0500

On episode #70, we revisit the 1996 album Fever In Fever Out by Luscious Jackson with a little help from lead singer/bassist Jill Cuniff. As Luscious Jackson prepare to release a new album, we look back at a band that helped define the sound of the '90s and was a leading light in the rise of the female artist during the decade.

We talk to Jill about recording with legendary producer Daniel Lanois, the influences of soul, R&B and French pop, songwriting, and the decision to release their new album independently with the help of Pledgemusic.com.

Songs in this Episode:

Intro - Electric

6:47 - History of the Band

14:14 - Naked Eye

17:42 - Interview Segment #1

24:35 - Why Do I Lie?

28:01 - Mood Swing

40:34 - Interview Segment #2

45:51 - Don't Look Back

50:06 - Faith

53:45 - Interview Segment #3

1:00:38 - Under Your Skin

Outro - Soothe Yourself

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#069: Famous Past Lives by Pretty Mighty Mighty

Tue, 08 May 2012 01:00:52 -0500

On episode #69, we make a second trip to our adopted hometown of Columbus, Ohio to revisit an under-appreciated classic, Pretty Mighty Mighty's 1999 album Famous Past Lives.

Lead singer/guitarist Jon Chinn joins us for this trip down memory lane back to when the band formed in college through their line-up changes, building (several) recording studios, surviving a house fire, scoring an unexpected radio hit and the dealing with the labels that came calling, along with an in-depth discussion on songwriting and recording.

Songs in this Episode:

Intro - Ski Instructor

31:35 - My Own Type

35:57 - Media King

42:58 - Ski Instructor

50:59 - Scratch

101:41 - St. Louis

105:35 - Deafening

1:11:20 - Heart Attack

1:21:08 - Tidal Wave

Outro - Best of the Worst

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#068b - More Interview Clips with Miles of For Love Not Lisa

Thu, 03 May 2012 01:00:55 -0500

As promised, here are some bonus clips with For Love Not Lisa guitarist Miles. Big thanks to Chip Midnight!

#068: Merge by For Love Not Lisa

Tue, 01 May 2012 01:00:48 -0500

On episode #68, Chip Midnight returns with an album suggestion and interview to go along with it. We check out the 1993 album Merge by For Love Not Lisa, and Chip talks to guitarist Miles.

Merge offers plenty of diversity, but is it too much of a good thing? We cover everything on this episode - how the wrong tours can frustrate a band, our first discussion of "Christian Rock" and it's development in the '90s, and a legendary guitarist showing up on a b-side track.

As a bonus, we'll be posting clips from Chips interview that didn't make the episode this Thursday. Consider it an early Cinco de Mayo present.

Chips links: Atomic Ned | Lipstick 'n Leather

Songs in this Episode:

Intro - Daring To Pick Up

11:30 - Softhand

15:14 - Mother's Faith

19:19 - Travis Hoffman

23:16 - Interview Segment #1

26:18 - More Than A Girl

29:08 - Interview Segment #2

34:05 - Rocket Ride

38:58 - Interview Segment #3

41:46 - Slip Slide Melting

46:53 - Interview Segment #4

Outro - Simple Line of Decline

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#067: The Dandy Warhols Come Down by The Dandy Warhols

Tue, 24 Apr 2012 01:00:21 -0500

With The Dandy Warhols releasing a new album, we spend episode #67 revisiting their 1997 album The Dandy Warhols Come Down. The Dandys bounce between '60s psychedelia, Velvet Underground drone, Neil Young guitar spasms, electronic rhythms and even some bouncy Britpop, but does it all work? Tune in to find out.

Songs in this Episode:

Intro - Minnesoter

13:51 - Cool as Kim Deal

18:17 - Not If You Were The Last Junkie On Earth

20:21 - Everyday Should Be A Holiday

23:32 - Good Morning

Outro - Boys Better

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#066: Blind by The Sundays

Tue, 17 Apr 2012 01:00:42 -0500

On episode #66, we're joined by author Frank Anthony Polito to review The Sundays 1992 album Blind. Frank's just released his third novel, Lost in the '90s, which is set in, you guessed it, the 1990s, making it perfect for our show.

Frank suggested we revisit the critically-acclaimed but lesser known sophomore release from The Sundays, so we dive in and there is plenty to discuss - from Johnny Marr-influenced guitar lines to the deceptively dark lyrics wrapped in pop melodies.

Frank's Links - Facebook (Frank) | Facebook (Lost in the 90s) | Twitter

Songs in this Episode:

Intro - Love

20:28 - On Earth

23:10 - I Feel

26:39 - God Made Me

29:57 - What Do You Think

32:23 - Love

Outro - Love

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#065: Detroit Folly by Edsel

Tue, 10 Apr 2012 01:00:07 -0500

On episode #65, we've got a packed house. Jon Solomon was kind enough to provide us with a digitally remastered version of Edsel's 1994 album Detroit Folly, released last year on his Comedy Minus One label. Not only that, he also hooked us up with Edsel's former singer & guitarist Sohrab Habibion, currently wielding his axe in Obits, for a Q & A. But that's not all, Chip Midnight is back and offering his take on an album. Got all that?

Check out Obits: web / Facebook / Twitter

Chip's Links: Atomic Ned / Lipstick 'n Leather

Songs in this Episode

Intro -Drawn Down The Moon

7:17 - Interview Segment #1

17:31 - Interview Segment #2

24:53 - Omaha Intervenes

27:43 - Interview Segment #3

34:41 - Wind Key

41:49 - Interview Segment #4

Outro - I'm No Pony

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#064: You'd Prefer An Astronaut by Hum

Tue, 03 Apr 2012 01:00:54 -0500

On episode #64, we're back with another listener suggestion. Actually, it's a multiple listener suggestion episode - lots of folks have told us to revisit Hum's 1995 album You'd Prefer An Astronaut, and we aim to please. Tim knew he was going to struggle to be objective since Hum is one of his favorite bands of all time, so in order to avoid a blubbering gush-fest, we invited a special guest to help us review the album - director Shawn Foster. Check out Shawn's website for videos of his work with the Deftones, Drive-by Truckers, The Sun and more.

There's plenty to talk about the unique Hum - their combination of metal, progressive rock and shoegaze with an space and science lyrical bent makes comparisons difficult, but we give it a shot. Shawn shares some directing experiences, including the infamous Zane's Sex Chronicles, his opportunity to fulfill all our wishes and punch Fred Durst, and somehow we end up tying it all up with The Muppets. Alcohol may have been consumed during this episode.

WARNING: Plenty of salty language in this one. Earmuffs for the kids.

Songs in this Episode:

Intro - I'd Like Your Hair Long

23:02 - I'd Like Your Hair Long

25:59 - Little Dipper

35:11 - Suicide Machine

39:52 - Stars

49:42 - Stars

Outro - The Pod

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#63: The Pink Album by Tuscadero

Tue, 27 Mar 2012 01:00:45 -0500

On episode #63 it's listener suggestion time. We review Tuscadero's 1996 release The Pink Album, and we're not quite sure what to make of it. Are they punk, post-punk, pop, alternative? And why did we gravitate towards the lyrics? Questions abound, but do we find answers? Tune in to find out.

Songs in this Episode:

Intro - Leather Idol

17:33 - Just My Size

19:14 - Hollywood Handsome

24:37 - Nancy Drew

Outro - Latex Dominatrix

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#062: Mephisto by Capsize 7

Tue, 20 Mar 2012 01:00:11 -0500

On episode #62 we're back with another listener review. This week it's the 1995 album Mephisto by Capsize 7. From Chapel Hill, North Carolina, the same scene that produced Archers of Loaf, Polvo and Superchunk, Capsize 7 has a lot to live up to when it comes to arguably the indie rock capital of the U.S. Can the lesser-known Capsize 7 hold their own? Tune in to find out.

Songs In This Episode:

Intro - Blasting Radios Off

10:52 - Column Shifter

13:39 - Armstrong

14:46 - The Safe

18:45 - Blasting Radios Off

21:46 - Connecticut

Outro - Western Friese

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#61: Deep Six Compilation with Author Mark Yarm

Tue, 13 Mar 2012 01:00:29 -0500

On episode #61, we're exiting the '90s with a special guest - Mark Yarm, author of "Everybody Loves Our Town: An Oral History of Grunge." Mark helps us dive into the legendary 1986 release Deep Six, a compilation of six seminal Seattle bands that shaped the sound known as grunge: Soundgarden, Melvins, Malfunkshun, Green River, Skin Yard and The U-Men.

You're going to want to stick around 'til the end on this one as we'll be giving away a sealed vinyl copy of the original C/Z Records release of the Deep Six compilation.

Mark's links - tumblr page, Facebook and Twitter.

Songs in this Episode:

Intro - Green River "10,000 Things"

11:56 - Soundgarden "All Your Lies"

17:38 - Melvins "Scared"

23:09 - Green River "Your Own Best Friend"

38:09 - Malfunkshun "With Yo Heart (Not Yo Hands)"

46:02 - Skin Yard "The Birds"

51:01 - The U-Men "They"

Outro - Soundgarden "Heretic"

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CONTEST RULES

No purchase or contribution necessary. Listen to the trivia question in this episode and, as instructed, answer on appropriate Facebook thread when posted. Contest ends as of Tuesday, March 19th, 2012 at midnight, 12:00am EST.

WINNER SELECTION/NOTIFICATION

Winner will be selected randomly from all the correct answers. Winners will be announced on the website and Facebook page. Winners should email digmeoutpodcast@gmail.com to claim prize.

PRIZE DESCRIPTION

Winner will receive a vinyl pressing of the 1986 C/Z Deep Six compilation.

ELIGIBILITY

All Dig Me Out listeners in the United States are eligible to win.Void where prohibited by law.

MISCELLANEOUS

By participating in this contest or accepting the prize, the entrant agrees that Dig Me Out has the sole right to determine the contest winner. The determination will be final and binding. Dig Me Out may use the winner's name for publicity purposes without further compensation.

#60b: Plexi Bonus Episode

Thu, 08 Mar 2012 01:00:01 -0500

Welcome to the bonus episode of Plexi's Cheer Up - an extra forty minutes of material that we couldn't cram into the regular show.

Check out Michael Barragan's new band Drag News and Evil Spirit Engineering, and be sure to visit Sub Pop Records to purchase the album and check out the infamous bio.

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#060: Cheer Up by Plexi

Tue, 06 Mar 2012 01:00:12 -0500

On a super-sized episode #60, we're we're joined by guitarist Michael Barragan and (briefly) vocalist/bass player Michael Angelos of the Los Angeles band Plexi to revisit their lone full-length release, 1996's Cheer Up. The dark, atmospheric sound recalls bands as diverse as My Bloody Valentine and New Order, but with punk energy and pop sensibility that recalls the Ramones and David Bowie.

Michael A. and Michael B. lay out the complete history of the band before we dive into a track-by-track dissection of Cheer Up. Be forewarned, this one gets raw and raunchy - ear muffs for the kids.

Check out Michael Barragan's new band Drag News and Evil Spirit Engineering, and be sure to visit Sub Pop Records to purchase the album and check out the infamous bio.

And if this super-sized episode wasn't enough, we'll have a bonus episode this Thursday with an extra forty minutes of material you definitely won't want to miss.

Songs in this Episode:

Intro - Forest Ranger

36:04 - Forest Ranger

45:53 - Roller Rock Cam

55:16 - Peel

1:03:43 - Dayglo

1:11:22 - Ordinary Things

1:29:18 - 56

Outro - Change

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#059: Interview with Alain Johannes of Eleven, Part 2

Tue, 28 Feb 2012 01:00:36 -0500

On episode #59, we continue our interview with singer/guitarist/producer Alain Johannes of Eleven for Part 2 of a track by track review of the 1993 self-titled album. Be sure to stick around to the end for some extra special bonus material you won't want to miss!

Marke sure to check out Part 1 for a discussion about the history of the band and Alain's 30+ years in the music industry.

Not familiar with Alain's resume? Besides Eleven, here's a few of the artists and bands he's recorded, produced, mixed, engineered, toured, written and recorded with: Queens of the Stone Age, Them Crooked Vultures, Chris Cornell, Mark Lanegan, Arctic Monkeys, No Doubt, Silverchair, Spinnerette, Eagles of Death Metal, The Gutter Twins, Millionaire, Puscifer, Wires on Fire, Mondo Generator, Sugarcult, Jason Falkner, UNKLE, Live, Melissa Ferrick, PJ Harvey, Troy Van Leeuwen, Jack Irons, John Paul Jones, Dave Grohl, Masters of Reality, Hilary Duff, Brody Dalle, Josh Homme and Matt Cameron. Just to name a few.

For more information, visit AlainJohannes.com and ElevenWorld.com. Follow Alain on Twitter and Facebook.

Songs In This Episode:

Intro - Eleven "Reach Out"

9:27 - Eleven "Crash Today"

11:10 - Eleven "Reach Out"

22:20 - Eleven "Towers"

29:50 - Eleven "Let Down (Left Out, Laughed At)"

36:27 - Eleven "Yes, Alright"

48:46 - Eleven "Ava Tar"

51:20 - Eleven "Slinky"

Outro - Eleven "Heavy"

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#058: Interview with Alain Johannes of Eleven, Part 1

Tue, 21 Feb 2012 01:00:24 -0500

On episode #58, we're joined by singer/guitarist/producer Alain Johannes of Eleven for Part 1 of a discussion about the history of the band and his 30+ years in the music industry. Next week, Part 2 dives into a track by track review of the 1993 self-titled album.

For more information, visit AlainJohannes.com and ElevenWorld.com. Follow Alain on Twitter and Facebook.

Songs In This Episode:

Intro - Eleven "Reach Out"

8:45 - What Is This "I Am A House"

15:36 - Walk The Moon "Daddy's Coming Home"

20:52 - Eleven "Seasick of You"

27:00 - Chris Cornell "Flutter Girl"

31:16 - The Desert Sessions "Hanging Tree"

41:26 - Alain Johannes "Spider"

Outro - Eleven "Heavy"

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#057: Gobbledygook by The Wendys

Tue, 14 Feb 2012 05:30:32 -0500

On episode #57 it's listener review time once again. This week we finally get to a suggestion by 'Chel over at the awesome I Hate The 90s blog and review the 1991 album Gobbledygook by The Wendys. Along with the Happy Mondays and Primal Scream, The Wendys were a part of the early 90s Madchester scene, but do The Wendys stack up to those legendary bands? Tune in to find out, then leave a comment at digmeoutpodcast.com or on our Facebook page.

Segments: 0:00-5:44 - Intro, 5:44-7:15 - History of the Band, 7:15-31:52 - Review, 31:52-32:43- Outro

Songs in this Episode: Something's Wrong Somewhere - Intro, Half Pie - 12:30, I Want You And I Want Your Friend - 13:51, Pulling My Fingers Off - 21:14, Soon Is Fine - Outro

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#056: EDC by Satchel with special guest Shawn Smith

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 05:30:05 -0500

For episode #56, we dip into the category of "so good yet criminally overlooked," exploring the world of Satchel and their 1994 album EDC. Satchel seamlessly explore Alice In Chains riffing on one song and twisted Prince grooves on the very next. Joining us for the extensive track-by-track review is Satchel frontman Shawn Smith, who gives us insight on songwriting, dealing with a major label in the '90s, and how those Reservoir Dogs samples ended up on the album. Tune in, then leave a comment on digmeoutpodcast.com or on our Facebook page.

Segments: 0:00-3:13 - Intro, 3:13-15:26 - History of the Band, 15:26-1:27:25 - Interview and Review, 1:27:25-1:29:22- Outro

Songs in this Episode: Built 4 It - Intro, 19:51 - Mr. Brown, 25:13 - Equilibrium, 30:04 - Taste It, Trouble Come Down - 33:23, More Ways Than 3 - 37:37, 48:36 - O, 52:25 - Mr. Pink, Willow - 1:00:42, The Roof Almighty - 1:02:26, Suffering - 1:06:39, Willow - Outro

(Warning: there are a few bad words in this episode - earmuffs for the kids)

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Shawn Smith links: website / twitter / Brad / Satchel

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#055: Happens Twice by Hoarse

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 05:30:59 -0500

For episode #55, we're back with another pick by Jason. This time it's Hoarse, and their 1997 album Happens Twice. Featuring former members of Sponge, Hoarse takes a decidedly different approach, drawing on punk, power pop and even a little pop metal. Does Hoarse deserve to be slotted with fellow '90s rockers like Superdrag and Watershed, or are they dog food (yes, that was a stretch for an analogy that doesn't entirely make sense). Tune in and find out, then drop us a comment at digmeoutpodcast.com or on our Facebook page.

Segments: 0:00-2:56 - Intro, 2:56-4:32 - History of the Band, 4:32-38:06 - Review, 38:06-39:00 Outro

Songs in this Episode: Crown - Intro, Diamond - 6:25, Issue - 9:10, Paint The Town Red - 10:40, On Deck - 14:15, Tuesday Morning - 19:19, Long Gone - Outro

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#054: Mission: Control! by Burning Airlines

Tue, 24 Jan 2012 05:30:06 -0500

On episode #54 we review the 1999 album Mission: Control! from Burning Airlines. J Robbins may be better known for his years in Jawbox, but is it possible Mission: Control! is his best work? Blasphemy some might say (like those who prefer Jawbox), but we'll lay out the case. Give a listen, then leave a comment if you agree or disagree either on our website or on our Facebook page.

Segments - 0:00-6:08 - Intro, 6:08-9:09 - History of the Band, 9:09- - Review, 39:18-40:22 - Outro

Songs in this Episode: Intro - Wheaton Calling, 14:35 - Pacific 231, 19:19 - Flood of Foreign Capital, 21:52 - 3 Sisters, 23:30 - Dear Hillary, 26:06 - Meccano, Outro - Scissoring

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#053: Sound As Ever by You Am I

Tue, 17 Jan 2012 05:30:15 -0500

On episode #53 we go back down under thanks to our Australian correspondent Gavin and review the 1993 album Sound As Ever by You Am I. The award-winning three-piece is still going strong today, but we travel back in time to review their debut release. Does the freshman effort show promise? Is it an out of the gate masterpiece? Or an underachieving letdown? Tune in to find out, and then leave us a comment on our website or on our Facebook page.

Segments - :00-3:47 - Intro, 3:47-8:45 - History of the Band, 8:45-43:08 - Review, 43:08-44:02 - Outro

Songs in this Episode: Intro - Forever and Easy, 12:12 - Coprolalia, 13:57 - Berlin Chair, 17:08 - Adam's Ribs, Jaimme's Got A Gal - 18:46, Ordinary - 24:59, Hidden Bonus Track - 27:39, Trainspottin' - 31:10, You Scare Me - Outro

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#052: Lula Divinia by Shiner

Tue, 10 Jan 2012 05:30:49 -0500

On episode #52 of Dig Me Out, we review the 1997 album Lula Divinia by Shiner. Lots tags are applied to Shiner - progressive, emo, alternative, angular, math rock, space rock - but all that really matters is the songs. So does Shiner deliver the goods? They've definitely got the musical chops, but is it at the expense of the vocals? Tune in and find out, then leave a comment on the website or chime in on our Facebook page.

Segments - 0:00-2:54 - Intro, 2:54-7:50 - History of the Band, 7:50-36:40 - Review, 36:40-37:36 - Outro

Songs in this Episode: Intro - Two Black Eyes, 16:46 - Sideways, 18:44 - Jim's Lament, 25:48 - Cake, Outro - Third Gear Scratch

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#051: Fossil by Fossil

Tue, 03 Jan 2012 05:30:55 -0500

Dig Me Out is back for Season Two, and we return with a good, old-fashioned disagreement. In episode #51 we review the one and only album from Fossil, their 1995 eponymous release. J contends there are too many lame attempts at bad funk, Tim still thinks 'Moon' is one of the best college radio singles of the decade and it somehow devolves into a discussion on the disappointment of Live's post-Throwing Copper releases. Tune in, then leave a comment on our website, or visit our Facebook page to chime in.

Segments - :00-5:18 - Intro, 5:18-6:26 - History of the Band, 6:26-42:03 - Review, 42:03-43:03 - Outro

Songs in this Episode: Intro - Martyr's Wife, 10:05 - Josephine Baker, 12:20 - Ocean, 17:12 - Tim, 20:43 - Fall, 24:44 - Tethered, 35:58 - Moon, Outro - Thundershower

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#050: Season One In Review

Tue, 27 Dec 2011 04:30:18 -0500

Season One of Dig Me Out is in the books! For the last episode of 2011, we're taking a look back at our freshman year and picking our top five favorite songs as well as our new album discovery.

We've also got plenty of thank you's to dispense to those who made Season One better than we ever expected: Chip Midnight, Neal Schmitt, Keith Jenkins, Gavin R., Chel at I Hate the 90s, Orcen, Norman F., Shawn F., Bill L., Jon S., Scott C., Sondra J. and Gary H., Ruthie Morris of Magnapop and Ben London of Alcohol Funnycar.

And lastly, thank you to you, the listener, who made spending a few hours each week recording and editing this podcast worthwhile. With all of the exciting, interesting and unknown albums already booked for the coming year, we can't wait to get started on Season Two in 2012.

(Assuming the Mayans weren't right, then we cannot guarantee the quality of the podcast as the world crumbles before our eyes, as depicted in the 2012.)

Have a safe and happy New Year!

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#049: Secaucus by The Wrens

Tue, 20 Dec 2011 04:00:53 -0500

On the penultimate episode of the first season of Dig Me Out, we tackle the 1996 album Secaucus by The Wrens. A sprawling 19-track album presents many challenges - can the band maintain quality from start to finish, while providing enough diversity to avoid getting repetitive? Neither of us were familiar with Secaucus, so how does it fair, and what does it mean when bands like Cursive, The Who, Guided By Voices, Spoon, The Living End, Men At Work and the Pixies all get referenced during the discussion of one album? Tune in to find out, then head over to Facebook to give us your thoughts on this episode.

Segments - :00-04:136 - Intro, 04:36-09:33 - History of the Band, 09:33-39:37 - Review, 43:26-44:26 - Outro

Songs In This Episode: Intro - Rest Your Head, 11:37 - Yellow Number Three, 13:05 - Rest Your Head, 16:25 - Indie 500, 19:25 - I've Made Enough Friends, 24:46 - Destruction/Dawn, 32:44 - Built In Girls, 35:49 - Dance The Midwest, Outro - Still Complaining

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Wed, 23 Nov 2011 07:11:18 -0500

As promised, here's the full interview with Alcohol Funnycar singer/guitarist Ben London. Big thanks to Chip Midnight!

#045: Weasels by Alcohol Funnycar

Tue, 22 Nov 2011 07:15:38 -0500

On episode #45, it's back to listener suggestions. This week we tackle the 1995 album Weasels by Alcohol Funnycar. Joining us for this episode is Chip Midnight, and he's got an interview with Alcohol Funnycar's Ben London. In our discussion, we try to determine if AFC's Weasels is the sound of '90s - a little punk, a little grunge, some melody and edginess, but pretty much just rock. Leave us a comment at digmeoutpodcast.com, or stop by our Facebook page to chime in.

And with Thanksgiving upon us, we decided to take part in the holiday tradition of overeating by not only giving you an extra large episode, we're giving you a bonus podcast - the unedited interview with Ben available tomorrow. Gobble gobble!

Segments - :00-03:53 - Intro, 03:53-08:33 - History of the Band, 08:33-58:25 - Album Review and Interview, 58:25-1:01:27 - Outro

Songs In This Episode: Intro - Shoot You Down, 20:30 - Weasels, 26:23 - Kindling, 33:17 - Napoleon, 37:42 - Sunspots, 40:02 - Objects

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#044: Circa Now! by Rocket from the Crypt

Tue, 15 Nov 2011 07:14:14 -0500

One episode #44 we were supposed to be joined by label owner Bill Litfin of the now defunct Glazed Records to review the 1992 Rocket from the Crypt album Circa:Now! Bill couldn't make it, so we're left to our own devices to review what Jason calls the album that defines the sound of RFTC. With bombastic guitars and the distinctive vocals of John Reis, it's hard to pinpoint the influences and origins of RFTC. Voice your opinion on our Facebook page or Twitter feed.

#043: Teenage Symphonies to God by Velvet Crush

Tue, 08 Nov 2011 07:16:23 -0500

On episode #43 we review the Matthew Sweet co-produced 1994 album Teenage Symphonies to God by Velvet Crush. Neither of us were familiar with the band before hearing the album, but now we're firmly on board the Velvet Crush train. If you're a fan of '60s pop like The Byrds and Beatles, the '70s power pop of Cheap Trick, Big Star and the Raspberries and '90s alt rockers like Sweet and Teenage Fanclub, you'll want to check out this episode. To comment, visit digmeoutpodcast.com for links to our Facebook page and Twitter feed.

#042: Songs from the Second Storey by The God Machine

Tue, 01 Nov 2011 06:12:30 -0500

One episode #42 we're back with another listener suggestion - the 1993 album Songs from the Second Storey by The God Machine. This band took a long journey from SoCal to NYC to the UK, and it sounds like it. Hints of Kyuss-like stoner rock meld with British shoegaze and Jane's Addiction psychedelia. But is there too much of a good thing on the longest album we've ever reviewed? Tune in and find out. To comment, visit digmeoutpodcast.com for our Facebook page and Twitter feed.

#041: Fallout by The Mayfield Four

Tue, 25 Oct 2011 06:10:04 -0500

On episode #41 we review The Mayfield Four's 1998 album Fallout. There's no doubt that lead singer Myles Kennedy, like Matthew Bellamy of Muse or Jimmy Gnecco of Ours, owes a lot to Jeff Buckley. But does he meld the alt.rock sound of The Mayfield Four with Buckley's ethereal tenor? And what's with that Marvin Gaye cover? To comment on this episode, visit digmeoutpodcast.com for links to our Facebook page and Twitter feed.

#040: 24 Hour Revenge Therapy by Jawbreaker

Tue, 18 Oct 2011 06:12:29 -0500

On episode #40, Tim and J venture into the nebulous world known as Jawbreaker. Are they punk? Are the emo? Are they pre-emo? Are they post-punk? Who knows, but we try to figure that out and give a listen to their 1994 album 24 Hour Revenge Therapy. Visit digmeoutpodcast.com for links to our Facebook page and Twitter feed.

#039: Gimmick by Barkmarket

Tue, 11 Oct 2011 06:16:07 -0500

For episode #39, we're joined again by guest Neal Schmitt to review a listener suggestion: Barkmarket's 1993 album Gimmick. It's noisy, loud, abrasive, aggressive, unrelenting and pretty damn good. If you're a fan of later Nine In Nails, the Jesus Lizard, Fugazi, Jawbox or the Deftones, we heard a little of each band in Gimmick. Give a listen and tell us if you agree. Visit digmeoutpodcast.com for links to our Facebook page and Twitter feed.

#038: Still Feel Gone by Uncle Tupelo

Tue, 04 Oct 2011 06:18:35 -0500

On episode #38 we're again joined by guest Neal Schmitt to review one of Tim's favorite all-time albums, 1991's Still Feel Gone from alt-country pioneers Uncle Tupelo. There plenty to discuss on our first hour-long episode - the varied songwriting, lyrical and musical styles of co-lead singers/songwriters Jeff Tweedy and Jay Farrar, and the drumming of Mike Heidorn are rich for review. The discussion leads to this question: has there been another band since Uncle Tupelo that produced a pair of talented singer/songwriters? To comment, visit digmeoutpodcast.com for links to our Facebook page and Twitter feed.

#037: Porno for Pyros by Porno for Pyros

Tue, 27 Sep 2011 06:11:34 -0500

On episode #37 we tackle the 1993 self-titled Porno for Pyros album. J and Tim find a mixed bag with the first album from ex-Jane's Addiction members Perry Farrell and Stephen Perkins. While the songs got shorter than your typical Jane's tune, the unique combination of funk, metal, world music and grunge collide to uneven results. To comment, visit digmeoutpodcast.com for links to our Facebook page and Twitter feed.

#036: Get In Get Out by Mink

Tue, 20 Sep 2011 06:10:39 -0500

On episode #36, it's another Ohio band. We've already tackled Sons of Elvis from Cleveland and Gaunt from Columbus. This time it's Dayton's Mink, and their 1998 album Get In Get Out, an album Tim and J both discovered back in 2000, but are happy to revisit and spread the word about Mink. To comment, visit digmeoutpodcast.com for links to our Facebook page and Twitter feed.

#035: Phaseshifter by Redd Kross

Tue, 13 Sep 2011 06:20:43 -0500

On episode #35 we review the 1993 album Phaseshifter by Redd Kross. J bought it new when it came out back in the day, but Tim had never listened to any Redd Kross before reviewing this. We're in total agreement on this one - Phaseshifter is a criminally overlooked album ripe for rediscovery for people who dig the power pop of Cheap Trick and Big Star. To comment on this episode, visit digmeoutpodcast.com for links to our Facebook page and Twitter feed.

#034: Become What You Are By The Juliana Hatfield Three

Tue, 06 Sep 2011 06:07:10 -0500

Artist: The Juliana Hatfield Three Album: Become What You Are Release Year: 1993 To comment: http://www.digmeoutpodcast.com/ Twitter @digmeoutpodcast https://www.facebook.com/DigMeOutPodcast

#033 - On The Turn by Kerbdog

Tue, 30 Aug 2011 06:20:23 -0500

On episode #33 of the Dig Me Out Podcast, Tim and Jason review the 1997 album On The Turn by Kerbdog If you want to suggest a forgotten 90s album for us to review, or just want to say hello, visit us at: http://www.digmeoutpodcast.com/ Follow us on Twitter @digmeoutpodcast And visit our Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/DigMeOutPodcast

#032 - Reloaded by Green Apple Quick Step

Tue, 23 Aug 2011 06:29:22 -0500

On episode #32 of the Dig Me Out Podcast, Tim and Jason review the 1995 album Reloaded by Green Apple Quick Step If you want to suggest a forgotten 90s album for us to review, or just want to say hello, visit us at: http://www.digmeoutpodcast.com/ Follow us on Twitter @digmeoutpodcast And visit our Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/DigMeOutPodcast

#031 - Dead Letter Chorus by Llama Farmers

Tue, 16 Aug 2011 06:26:18 -0500

On episode #31 of the Dig Me Out Podcast, Tim and Jason review the 1999 album Dead Letter Chorus by Llama Farmers If you want to suggest a forgotten 90s album for us to review, or just want to say hello, visit us at: http://www.digmeoutpodcast.com/ Follow us on Twitter @digmeoutpodcast And visit our Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/DigMeOutPodcast

#030 - Auntie Ramos' Pool Hall by The Sidewinders

Tue, 09 Aug 2011 06:23:42 -0500

In the thirtieth episode of the Dig Me Out Podcast, Tim and Jason review the 1990 album Auntie Ramos' Pool Hall by The Sidewinders If you want to suggest a forgotten 90s album for us to review, or just want to say hello, visit us at: http://www.digmeoutpodcast.com/ Follow us on Twitter @digmeoutpodcast And visit our Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/DigMeOutPodcast

#029 - Angelfish by Angelfish

Tue, 02 Aug 2011 06:26:27 -0500

In the twenty-ninth episode of the Dig Me Out Podcast, Tim and Jason review the 1994 self-titled debut album from Angelfish. If you want to suggest a forgotten 90s album for us to review, or just want to say hello, visit us at: http://www.digmeoutpodcast.com/ Follow us on Twitter @digmeoutpodcast And visit our Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/DigMeOutPodcast

#028 - Strap It On by Helmet

Tue, 26 Jul 2011 06:26:57 -0500

In the twenty-eight episode of the Dig Me Out Podcast, Tim and Jason review the 1990 debut album Strap It On by Helmet If you want to suggest a forgotten 90s album for us to review, or just want to say hello, visit us at: http://www.digmeoutpodcast.com/ Follow us on Twitter @digmeoutpodcast And visit our Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/DigMeOutPodcast

#027 - Sumo by The Superjesus

Tue, 19 Jul 2011 06:23:22 -0500

In the twenty-seventh episode of the Dig Me Out Podcast, Tim and Jason review the 1998 debut album Sumo by The Superjesus If you want to suggest a forgotten 90s album for us to review, or just want to say hello, visit us at: http://www.digmeoutpodcast.com/ Follow us on Twitter @digmeoutpodcast And visit our Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/DigMeOutPodcast

#026 - The Cult by The Cult

Tue, 12 Jul 2011 06:20:54 -0500

In the twenty-sixth episode of the Dig Me Out Podcast, Tim and Jason review the 1994 self-titled album by The Cult If you want to suggest a forgotten 90s album for us to review, or just want to say hello, visit us at: http://www.digmeoutpodcast.com/ Follow us on Twitter @digmeoutpodcast And visit our Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/DigMeOutPodcast

#025 - Hot Saki and Bedtime Stories by Catherine

Tue, 05 Jul 2011 05:35:09 -0500

n the twenty-fifth episode of the Dig Me Out Podcast, Tim and Jason review the 1996 album Hot Saki and Bedtime Stories by Catherine If you want to suggest a forgotten 90s album for us to review, or just want to say hello, visit us at: http://www.digmeoutpodcast.com/ Follow us on Twitter @digmeoutpodcast And visit our Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/DigMeOutPodcast

#024 - Example by For Squirrels

Tue, 28 Jun 2011 08:16:42 -0500

In the twenty-fourth episode of the Dig Me Out Podcast, Tim and Jason review the 1995 album Example by For Squirrels If you want to suggest a forgotten 90s album for us to review, or just want to say hello, visit us at: http://www.digmeoutpodcast.com/ Follow us on Twitter @digmeoutpodcast And visit our Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/DigMeOutPodcast

#023 - Manic Compression by Quicksand

Tue, 21 Jun 2011 05:13:36 -0500

In the twenty-third episode of the Dig Me Out Podcast, Tim and Jason review the 1995 album Manic Compression by Quicksand If you want to suggest a forgotten 90s album for us to review, or just want to say hello, visit us at: http://www.digmeoutpodcast.com/ Follow us on Twitter @digmeoutpodcast And visit our Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/DigMeOutPodcast

#022 - Hot Boxing by Magnapop

Tue, 14 Jun 2011 05:20:34 -0500

In the twenty-second episode of the Dig Me Out Podcast, Tim and Jason review the 1994 album Hot Boxing by Magnapop If you want to suggest a forgotten 90s album for us to review, or just want to say hello, visit us at: http://www.digmeoutpodcast.com/ Follow us on Twitter @digmeoutpodcast And visit our Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/DigMeOutPodcast

#021 - The Supersonic Storybook by Urge Overkill

Tue, 07 Jun 2011 05:20:00 -0500

In the twenty-first episode of the Dig Me Out Podcast, Tim and Jason review the 1991 album The Supersonic Storybook by Urge Overkill If you want to suggest a forgotten 90s album for us to review, or just want to say hello, visit us at: http://www.digmeoutpodcast.com/ Follow us on Twitter @digmeoutpodcast And visit our Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/DigMeOutPodcast

#020 - Four by Seaweed

Tue, 31 May 2011 05:28:25 -0500

In the twentieth episode of the Dig Me Out Podcast, Tim and Jason review the 1993 album Four by Seaweed If you want to suggest a forgotten 90s album for us to review, or just want to say hello, visit us at: http://www.digmeoutpodcast.com/ Follow us on Twitter @digmeoutpodcast And visit our Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/DigMeOutPodcast

#019 - Be A Girl by The Wannadies

Tue, 24 May 2011 05:31:33 -0500

In the nineteenth episode of the Dig Me Out Podcast, Tim and Jason review the 1994 album Be A Girl by The Wannadies If you want to suggest a forgotten 90s album for us to review, or just want to say hello, visit us at: http://www.digmeoutpodcast.com/ Follow us on Twitter @digmeoutpodcast And visit our Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/DigMeOutPodcast

#018 - The Word and the Flesh by Band of Susans

Tue, 17 May 2011 05:33:30 -0500

In the eighteenth episode of the Dig Me Out Podcast, Tim and Jason review the 1991 album The Word and the Flesh by Band of Susans If you want to suggest a forgotten 90s album for us to review, or just want to say hello, visit us at: http://www.digmeoutpodcast.com/ Follow us on Twitter @digmeoutpodcast And visit our Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/DigMeOutPodcast

#017 - Mezcal Head by Swervedriver

Tue, 10 May 2011 05:33:42 -0500

In the seventeenth episode of the Dig Me Out Podcast, Tim and Jason review the 1993 album Mezcal Head by Swervedriver If you want to suggest a forgotten 90s album for us to review, or just want to say hello, visit us at: http://www.digmeoutpodcast.com/ Follow us on Twitter @digmeoutpodcast And visit our Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/DigMeOutPodcast

#016 - Illuminated by 360s

Tue, 03 May 2011 05:38:10 -0500

In the sixteenth episode of the Dig Me Out Podcast, Tim and Jason review the 1991 album Illuminated by the 360s. If you want to suggest a forgotten 90s album for us to review, or just want to say hello, visit us at: http://www.digmeoutpodcast.com/ Follow us on Twitter @digmeoutpodcast And visit our Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/DigMeOutPodcast

#015 - This World and Body by Marion

Tue, 26 Apr 2011 05:35:54 -0500

In the thirteenth episode of the Dig Me Out Podcast, Tim and Jason review the 1996 album This World and Body by Marion. If you want to suggest a forgotten 90s album for us to review, or just want to say hello, visit us at: http://www.digmeoutpodcast.com/ Follow us on Twitter @digmeoutpodcast And visit our Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/DigMeOutPodcast

#014 - Eleventh Avenue by Ammonia

Tue, 19 Apr 2011 05:32:48 -0500

In the fourteenth episode of the Dig Me Out Podcast, Tim and Jason review the 1998 album Eleventh Avenue by Ammonia. If you want to suggest a forgotten 90s album for us to review, or just want to say hello, visit us at: http://www.digmeoutpodcast.com/ Follow us on Twitter @digmeoutpodcast And visit our Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/DigMeOutPodcast

#013 - Bricks and Blackouts by Gaunt

Tue, 12 Apr 2011 05:40:58 -0500

In the thirteenth episode of the Dig Me Out Podcast, Tim and Jason review the 1998 album Bricks and Blackouts by Gaunt. If you want to suggest a forgotten 90s album for us to review, or just want to say hello, visit us at: http://www.digmeoutpodcast.com/ Follow us on Twitter @digmeoutpodcast And visit our Facebook page, just go to Facebook and search for "Dig Me Out."

#012 - Fantastic Planet by Failure

Tue, 05 Apr 2011 05:36:29 -0500

On episode twelve of the Dig Me Out Podcast, Tim and Jason review the 1996 album Fantastic Planet by Failure. If you want to suggest a forgotten 90s album for us to review, or just want to say hello, visit us at: http://www.digmeoutpodcast.com/ Follow us on Twitter @digmeoutpodcast And visit our Facebook page, just go to Facebook and search for "Dig Me Out."

#011 - Starcaster by Head Candy

Tue, 29 Mar 2011 04:46:16 -0500

In the eleventh episode of the Dig Me Out Podcast, Tim and Jason review the 1991 album Starcaster by Head Candy. If you want to suggest a forgotten 90s album for us to review, or just want to say hello, visit us at: http://www.digmeoutpodcast.com/ Follow us on Twitter @digmeoutpodcast And visit our Facebook page, just go to Facebook and search for "Dig Me Out."

#010 - In Loving Memory Of by Big Wreck

Tue, 22 Mar 2011 05:27:22 -0500

In the tenth episode of the Dig Me Out Podcast, Tim and Jason review the debut Big Wreck album In Loving Memory Of. If you want to suggest a forgotten 90s album for us to review, or just want to say hello, visit us at: http://www.digmeoutpodcast.com/ Follow us on Twitter @digmeoutpodcast And visit our Facebook page, just go to Facebook and search for "Dig Me Out."

#009 - Inside Yours by Gruntruck

Tue, 15 Mar 2011 06:33:25 -0500

In the ninth episode of the Dig Me Out Podcast, Tim and Jason review the debut Gruntruck album Inside Yours. If you want to suggest a forgotten 90s album for us to review, or just want to say hello, visit us at: http://www.digmeoutpodcast.com/ Follow us on Twitter @digmeoutpodcast And visit our Facebook page, just go to Facebook and search for "Dig Me Out."

#008 - Glodean by Sons of Elvis

Tue, 08 Mar 2011 06:31:20 -0500

In the eighth episode of the Dig Me Out Podcast, Tim and Jason review Sons of Elvis debut album Glodean. If you want to suggest a forgotten 90s album for us to review, or just want to say hello, visit us at: http://www.digmeoutpodcast.com/ Follow us on Twitter @digmeoutpodcast And visit our Facebook page, just go to Facebook and search for "Dig Me Out."

Episode 007 - Maquee by Smile

Tue, 01 Mar 2011 06:32:38 -0500

In seventh episode of the Dig Me Out Podcast, Tim and Jason review Smile's 1995 debut album Maquee. If you want to suggest a forgotten 90s album for us to review, or just want to say hello, visit us at: http://digmeoutpodcast.blogspot.com/ Follow us on Twitter @digmeoutpodcast And visit our Facebook page, just go to Facebook and search for "Dig Me Out."

EPISODE 006 - Look What The Rookie Did by Zumpano

Tue, 22 Feb 2011 06:30:42 -0500

In episode six of the Dig Me Out Podcast, Tim and Jason review the 1995 debut album Look What The Rookie Did by Zumpano. If you want to suggest a forgotten 90s album for us to review, or just want to say hello, visit us at: http://digmeoutpodcast.blogspot.com/ Follow us on Twitter @digmeoutpodcast And visit our Facebook page, just go to Facebook and search for "Dig Me Out."

EPISODE 005 - Broadcaster by Triple Fast Action

Tue, 15 Feb 2011 13:48:35 -0500

In episode five of the Dig Me Out Podcast, Tim and Jason are joined by Chip Midnight to review the 1996 album Broadcaster by Triple Fast Action. If you want to suggest a forgotten 90s album for us to review, or just want to say hello, visit us at: http://digmeoutpodcast.blogspot.com/ Follow us on Twitter @digmeoutpodcast And visit our Facebook page, just go to Facebook and search for "Dig Me Out."

EPISODE 004-Ling by Seed

Tue, 08 Feb 2011 19:09:06 -0500

In episode four of the Dig Me Out Podcast, Tim and Jason review the 1994 album Ling from Seed. If you want to suggest a forgotten 90s album for us to review, or just want to say hello, visit us at: http://digmeoutpodcast.blogspot.com/ Follow us on Twitter @digmeoutpodcast And visit our Facebook page, just go to Facebook and search for "Dig Me Out."

EPISODE 003-Dragline by Paw

Tue, 01 Feb 2011 20:06:28 -0500

In episode three of the Dig Me Out Podcast, Tim and Jason review the 1993 debut album Dragline from Paw. If you want to suggest a forgotten 90s album for us to review, or just want to say hello, visit us at: http://digmeoutpodcast.blogspot.com/ Follow us on Twitter @digmeoutpodcast And visit our Facebook page, just go to Facebook and search for "Dig Me Out."

EPISODE 002-Lustre by Lustre

Tue, 25 Jan 2011 19:34:55 -0500

In episode number two of Dig Me Out, Tim and Jason review the self-titled 1996 album by Lustre. If you want to suggest a forgotten 90s album for us to review, or just want to say hello, visit us at: http://digmeoutpodcast.blogspot.com/ Follow us on Twitter @digmeoutpodcast And visit our Facebook page, just go to Facebook and search for "Dig Me Out."

EPISODE 001-Box Set by Wool

Mon, 17 Jan 2011 10:29:25 -0500

In the first episode of Dig Me Out, Tim and Jason review the 1994 album Box Set, by Wool. If you want to suggest a forgotten 90s album for us to review, or just want to say hello, visit us at: http://digmeoutpodcast.blogspot.com/ Follow us on Twitter @digmeoutpodcast And visit our Facebook page, just go to Facebook and search for "Dig Me Out."