Metal is a curious thing, a world which values extreme forms of expression but which often doesn’t value diversity of expression. So many metal classics are albums that establish the conventions of a particular sub-genre, which will later ossify into something many people view as inviolable. Not this record.
Category: 1995
Tilt (1995) by Scott Walker
Scott Walker had one of the most incredible second acts in popular music, utterly transforming his sound at a point at which most people could be forgiven for having forgotten about him (if they knew about him at all). His late career albums are some of the most vital, original singer-songwriter albums you’ll ever hear. …
Nobody Else (1995) by Take That
Take that were way, way less of a big deal in North America than they were in the UK – like most if not all UK manufactured pop – and so I was barely aware they existed, except that “Back for Good” was an actual hit over here. But I basically only know they exist …
Electr-o-Pura (1995) by Yo La Tengo
My biggest issue with many dream pop bands is that they make music that just doesn’t appeal to me, it’s just a not a sound I particularly enjoy. But there is a subgenre of dream pop which includes noisy guitars, and that’s a subgenre I can usually get behind. That’s the world that Yo La …
Fun Trick Noisemaker (1995) by The Apples in Stereo
My understanding is that this is the first Elephant 6 album. So, for people who care about such things, that’s a really big deal. For the rest of us, it’s certainly much less of a big deal. Moreover, the degree to which The Apples in Stereo truly represent that beloved “lo fi indie pop” aesthetic …
Astro-Creep: 2000 – Songs of Love, Destruction and Other Synthetic Delusions of the Electric Head (1995) by White Zombie
Like so many albums, I am coming to this backwards: I’ve heard a Rob Zombie solo album before listening to this. It’s possible that this colours my experience of this record and will make my review unfair. It’s also possible that I just don’t like what Rob Zombie does nor what his band does, whether …
Nihil (1995) by KMFDM
So I don’t like KMFDM. And I’m starting to think I know why. But my general dislike of a band always makes it kind of hard to fairly review them. This record seems to be the consensus best or second best of their career. But I do not like what they do here. I gave …
Tindersticks [II] (1995)
I’m not sure exactly what it is, but Tindersticks hit me in a place where I am just incapable of disliking them. It’s like Staples et al. just stumbled upon the formula for music I like, and for convincing me that it’s totally okay to release three double LPs to start your career. (If another …
Return to the 36 Chambers: The Dirty Version (1995) by Ol’ Dirty Bastard
Wild Love (1995) by Smog
My biggest problem with Bill Callahan is just the wild inconsistency from track to track. (I understand that this is why some people like him.) This is only my second Smog album, and this record is arguably just as inconsistent as the other one – full of ideas, many of which are half-baked (third-baked? quarter …
Ocean Beach (1995) by Red House Painters
This is my first encounter with Red House Painters and…wait a minute, it’s not? Apparently I positively reviewed their debut in 2017 but I have zero memory of that. I know from my review and from looking at the track listings that the debut is a different beast than this record but I wish I …
Symbolic (1995) by Death
Me Against the World (1995) by 2Pac
So I guess the first thing I have to talk about with this record is expectations, which is often a problem for me when I first encounter someone about which an absolute ton of ink (both literal and proverbial) has been spilt. 2Pac is one of the most lionized rappers in history as far as …
Ball-Hog or Tugboat? (1995) by Mike Watt
What do I do with this sprawling, all-star record? It’s as if Watt wanted to make a new Minuteman record with 17 different bands. The results are, uneven, to say the least.
Pieces of You (1995) by Jewel
This album is pretty infamous among critics in part because the songs that would become hits Jewel a year and a half later had to be rerecorded before they became hits – according to more than one critic because they sound so bad here. I don’t really understand what they are talking about, to me …
Maxinquaye (1995) by Tricky
I first heard the “Black Steel” cover so many years ago, by accident, on a CD I won in a magazine contest. (You can get some idea of the vintage of that by that description, I think.) It was my first experience of Tricky and I’m pretty sure I thought he was a band because, …
The Woman In Me (1995) by Shania Twain
All I remember of this record from when I was young is that I thought Shania was hot. (And that I was far from the only one who thought so: the record – and next one – suddenly popped up on a lot of male’s record shelves all of a sudden.) I had no feelings …
Pride and Prejudice (1995)
I don’t think I’ve ever seen a Jane Austen adaption, except for Clueless when I was too young to appreciate it. But somewhere along the way the culture forgot to impress upon me that Jane Austen is funny. (Imdb lists this show as a “Drama” and a “Romance”.) I find myself kind of incredulous that …
Leftism (1995) by Leftfield
My knowledge of electronic music is confined primarily to the very early days of the genre, with a few (mostly ambient) records since. My knowledge of dance music is even more limited. My knowledge of House – specifically the niceties involved in defining the different subgenres of House – is basically non-existent. So I have …
The Great Annihilator (1995) by Swans
I am still far from a Swans expert – though I have seen them in concert! – but I feel compelled to echo the comments of others about how this record feels either like “more accessible Swans” or some kind of hybrid of their ’80s sound with a more traditional approach to songwriting (at least …
Do You Want More?!!!??! (1995) by The Roots
A friend of mine in university always used to tell me that, whenever I gave hip hop a try, I should start with The Roots. He thought they would be more appealing to me. That was many years ago and, since then the Roots became a household name thanks to Jimmy Fallon. So they’ve gone …
Throwing Muses: University (1995)
There is so much alternative rock. I guess is true of any genre that was counted among the most popular in the world at a given time, but it feels like this is especially true of alternative. It’s as if, after Nirvana and Pearl Jam and Soundgarden showed it was viable, every single alternative rock …
The Rapture (1995) by Siouxsie and the Banshees
This is my first ’90s Banshees album and I must say I was a little reticent to give it a listen, for two reasons. For one thing, though I feel like their ’80s records have dated rather well for ’80s music, I must say I was worried that this record would sound pretty damn ’80s. …
Carrington (1995, Christopher Hampton)
This is an extremely episodic film about the painter Carrington and her highly unconventional personal life. The film is mostly about her personal relationships and not really about her work so if you’re looking for a biography of a painter, look elsewhere. The film won the Special Jury Prize at Cannes in 1995 but with …
A Fine Balance (1995) by Rohinton Mistry
Every day, but especially days in December, I see someone in Canada or the US on Facebook or YouTube or Twitter who is complaining about how awful our world is. If it’s not an individual, it’s an article or other post about something terrible happening. And this really drives me crazy because I know that …
As the World (1995) by Echolyn
When I was in my very late teens and early 20s, I absolutely loved prog rock. And I think that, had I heard Echolyn then, I probably would have loved them; I probably wouldn’t have cared about the things that now cause me to be concerned about this kind of music. Because this record satisfies …
Knussen: Horn Concerto, Whitman Settings, The Way to Castle Yonder, Flourish with Fireworks (1996) by Various Artists
This is a collection of Knussen’s orchestral music.
Augusta Read Thomas: Selected Works for Orchestra (2014) by Various Artists
This is a compilation of performances of some of Thomas’ writing for orchestra. I got this from the library by accident but decided to listen to it anyway.
Ives: The Symphonies; Orchestral Sets 1 and 2 (2000) by Various Artists
This is one of those Decca compilations that takes recordings from all over its catalogue – in this case from the mid ’70s and the mid ’90s – to create an ostensibly “complete” collection of a composer’s works in a given field, in this case Ives’ work for large orchestra. Of course it’s not complete, …
(What’s the Story) Morning Glory? (1995) by Oasis
When I was 14, this album was relatively ubiquitous, but not to the extent of some other records I’ve listened to recently. I only know about 3 of the songs, I think. But those 3 songs never made me want to listen to Oasis. I never really had any desire. Other bands I ignored when …