Nothing Means Nothing Anymore! 90's Music chopped, repackaged and re-marketed!
(I am guessing that the Buzz comes from the fact that a lot of these tracks were Buzz tracks on MTV in the early 90s)
I must be going though the stages of grief, first there was;
1. SHOCK & DENIAL
Really, no really, am I really seeing this. Let me back up, last night I was catching a couple of moments of the Fall of Rome (Rock of Love) on VH1 (or which ever station the devil was showing it on) and a ad comes on for this crass, de-fanged, Ran-Dumb, collection.
2. PAIN & GUILT
The first words out of my mouth to my Brother and Sister were.... Do you remember when I literally used to joke about this day. And then it hit me, my cynicism catching up with me and the knowledge that something that meant something to me, the Alt Music scene wave 1, was now just cheap nostalgia.
3. ANGER & BARGAINING
There wasn't any bargaining, but a flash of anger did settle through me when I saw that it was worse than a pair of lame comps it was this:
4. "DEPRESSION", REFLECTION, LONELINESS
Wow, really has it been that long? Did some of these tunes really resonate with me? was there something that I thought was going to change the world? Where is everyone? All those people I stood on the stairs with at Warehouse Records the night that Pearl Jam's second album came out?.... shit did I really look forward to Pearl Jam's second record (I no longer have the LP or the CD of that one, I only have my CD copy of Ten, which I haven't seriously listened to in over 10 years)...... and what is missing from these comps? why isn't some of that great stuff that got lost in the shuffle on there to be rediscovered?
5. THE UPWARD TURN
Wait what is missing? a lot of stuff, I wonder what wasn't considered for inclusion? who told the PR fucks to go fuck themselves and their tracks aren't for sale? Screaming Trees? Alice in Chains? Soundgarden? Pearl Jam? The Melvins? Temple of the Dog? Mother Love Bone? Afgan Wigs? maybe someone still has a scruples?.... and yes I wonder how many of the artists on these comes didn't have a choice, did they sign contracts that allowed the labels to license their stuff for comps like this? How many saw the chance to pay some bills and gave in?
6. RECONSTRUCTION & WORKING THROUGH-
I recall Iggy Pop saying that his songs were not conceived commercially and if someone 20+ years later want to pay to use them, sure. I understand the way it all works, artists often make little or no money off of their sales and if these comps bring in some cash, cause some people to start looking back and wanting to see live shows by people that had an impact on them when they were young, why not. Just because I don't choose to live in the musical era that I was brought up in (my playlists tend to be time traveling, as anyone that reads my monthly playlist post on mog should know), doesn't give me the right to be snobby and tell others that there is more to life than the records that came out and were popular during their late teens and early twenties.
7. ACCEPTANCE & HOPE
I am old, I am aging (Still aging as TSOOL said), there are plenty of tracks missing from this pop confection, and when I look at it in comparison with other collections of this type is that others often times include a mix of the hits and best known or recalled tracks of the era, but also the overlooked, forgotten, and odd ball bands and tracks of the era. If you look at almost any of the great Rhino box sets, (any of the Nuggets, The loud, fast, and out of Control, the Doowop boxes, Rockin' Bones, ect) you will see that in addition to the music there is great liner notes that give a history of the scene, photos and info on the bands, and other historic information about the scene and era.
There is also the hope that Rhino will get their act together and do a proper box set, more likely a couple of them. A Seattle box, a first wave of Alternative box, a Nuggets from the First Alternative era box (which I have written about before a couple of years back, and I would call it Splinters, but hey I don't get to produce the set, so what,)..... and now, next what?
Luckily for me the other scenes that I have been involved with and care about never were above ground enough to warrant the kind of nostalgia this collection is trading on....
Thoughts, comments, media-care, spare change?
(I am going to post the track list in the comments, and I hope that anyone reading this will look it over and let me know what's missing)
Comments (10)
01 What I Got | Sublime
02 What's The Frequency, Kenneth? | R.E.M.
03 All Mixed Up | 311
04 How's It Gonna Be | Third Eye Blind
05 Zombie | Cranberries
06 Inside Out | Eve 6
07 Take A Picture | Filter
08 Shine | Collective Soul
09 Closing Time | Semisonic
10 Good | Better Than Ezra
11 Far Behind | Candlebox
12 You Get What You Give | New Radicals
13 What It's Like | Everlast
14 Cumbersome | Seven Mary Three
15 One Week | Barenaked Ladies
16 Feed The Tree | Belly
17 All I Want | Toad The Wet Sprocket
18 Runaway Train | Soul Asylum
CD 2
01 Lightning Crashes | Live
02 Champagne Supernova | Oasis
03 If You Could Only See | Tonic
04 Glycerine | Bush
05 Doll Parts | Hole
06 Santeria | Sublime
07 Hemorrhage (In My Hands) | Fuel
08 A Long December | Counting Crows
09 Counting Blue Cars | Dishwalla
10 Linger | Cranberries
11 Hanging By A Moment | Lifehouse
12 Runaway Train | Soul Asylum
13 Til I Hear It From You | Gin Blossoms
14 Here's To The Night | Eve 6
15 What Do I Have To Do? | Stabbing Westward
16 Out Of My Head | Fastball
CD 3
01 It's Been Awhile | Staind
02 Jumper | Third Eye Blind
03 Wasting My Time | Default
04 Everything You Want | Vertical Horizon
05 Sex And Candy | Marcy Playground
06 Far Behind | Candlebox
07 The Freshman | The Verve Pipe
08 Take A Picture | Filter
09 What It's Like | Everlast
10 Something's Always Wrong | Toad The Wet Sprocket
11 World I Know | Collective Soul
12 Desperately Wanting | Better Than Ezra
13 Angry Johnny | Poe
14 Save Me | Remy Zero
15 Easy | Faith No More
16 Smells Like Teen Spirit | Tori Amos
CD 4
01 You Get What You Give | New Radicals
02 Can't Get Enough Of You Baby | Smash Mouth
03 Breakfast At Tiffany's | Deep Blue Something
04 Hey Leonardo (She Likes Me For Me) | Blessid Union Of Souls
05 Celebrity Skin | Hole
06 Steal My Sunshine | Len
07 Follow You Down | Gin Blossoms
08 Out Of My Heart | BBMak
09 The Bad Touch | Bloodhound Gang
10 Naked Eye | Lucious Jackson
11 All For You | Sister Hazel
12 Follow You Down | Gin Blossoms
13 White Town | Your Woman
14 Mouth | Merril Bainbridge
15 Do Right | Jimmie's Chicken Shack
16 Standing Outside A Broken Phone Booth | Primitive Radio Gods
CD 5
01 Live Forever | Oasis
02 Song 2 | Blur
03 Down | 311
04 Tomorrow | Silverchair
05 The Distance | Cake
06 Clumsy | Our Lady Peace
07 Fall Down | Toad The Wet Sprocket
08 Shimmer | Fuel
09 Peaches | The Presidents Of The United States Of America
10 Not An Addict | K's Choice
11 Misery | Soul Asylum
12 Two Princes | Spin Doctors
13 Pepper | Butthole Surfers
14 You | Candlebox
16 Molly (16 Candles) | Sponge
17 Feed The Tree | Belly
CD 6
01 Kryptonite | Three Doors Down
02 Fat Lip | Sum 41
03 I Miss You | Blink 182
04 Blurry | Puddle Of Mud
05 I'd Do Anything | Simple Plan
06 Celebrity Skin | Hole
07 Sour Girl | Stone Temple Pilots
08 Last Resort | Papa Roach
09 Running Away | Hoobastank
10 Hangingaround | Counting Crows
11 Lakini's Juice | Live
12 Hanging By A Moment | Lifehouse
13 The Way | Fastball
14 What It Is To Born | Finch
15 The Chemicals Between Us | Bush
16 Smooth Criminal | Alien Ant Farm
01 Higher | Creed
02 Meant To Live | Switch
03 Butterfly | Crazytown
04 Hemorrhage (In My Hands) | Fuel
05 My Own Worst Enemy | Lit
06 I Will Buy You A New Life | Everclear
07 Amber | 311
08 Somewhere Out There | Our Lady Peace
09 Bodies | Drowning Pool
10 I Hate Everything About You | Three Days Grace
11 Inside Out | Eve 6
12 Send The Pain Below | Chevelle
13 Wherever You Will Go | The Calling
14 Fly | Sugar Ray f/ Supercat
CD 8
01 My Own Worst Enemy | Lit
02 Flavor Of The Week | American Hi-Fi
03 Walking On The Sun | Smash Mouth
04 Hanging By A Moment | Lifehouse
05 The Way | Fastball
06 Running Away | Hoobastank
07 Down | 311
08 Absolutely (Story Of A Girl) | Nine Days
09 The Impression That I Get | The Mighty Mighty Bosstones
10 Flagpole Sitter | Harvey Danger
11 Touch, Peel, And Stand | Days Of The New
12 I Alone | Live
13 More Human Than Human | White Zombie
14 Sell Out | Reel Big Fish
15 Teenage Dirtbag | Wheatus
16 Girl All The Bad Guys Want | Bowling For Soup
17 Backpack | Stroke 9
18 Tomorrow | Silverchair
CD 9
01 Slide | Goo Goo Dolls
02 Every Morning | Sugar Ray
03 Hey Man Nice Shot | Filter
04 I'd Do Anything | Simple Plan
05 Popular | Nada Surf
06 December | Collective Soul
07 Desperately Wanting | Better Than Ezra
08 She Don't Use Jelly | The Flaming Lips
09 Into Your Arms | Lemonheads
10 In The Meantime | Spacehog
11 Pretend That We're Dead | L7
12 Here & Now | Letters To Cleo
CD 10
01 Mr. Jones | Counting Crows
02 Hey Jealousy | Gin Blossoms
03 Sex And Candy | Marcy Playground
04 Breakfast At Tiffany's | Deep Blue Something
05 Runaway Train | Soul Asylum
06 All I Want | Toad The Wet Sprocket
07 Little Miss Can't Be Wrong | Spin Doctors
08 Brick | Ben Folds Five
09 Everything Falls Apart | Dog's Eye View
10 Lump | The Presidents Of The United States Of America
11 The Freshman | Verve Pipe
12 No Rain | Blind Melon
13 Pets | Porno For Pyros
14 Pepper | Butthole Surfers
15 Steal My Sunshine | Len
16 Fade Into You | Mazzy Star
17 Mother Mother | Tracy Bonham
18 Save Tonight | Eagle Eye Cherry
hahahahaha.......and how many of these songs do you know by heart. DONT LIE IREN!
I don't think that I could sing any of them, I can say that there are songs on here that I like, and songs that I even have, thinking about this whole thing further it's the lack of a context for these all to be tied together.... also there is a lot of songs from the time missing from this set........ so Kevin, how many of them can you sing?
I agree about them being tied together in a random fashion. As for me being able to sing, well I know quite a few of them rather well. Lets see, I would say about 50 or so, but if I ever hear that god awful butterfly song ever again there will be a public shooting
I like the fact that so many songs are repeated disc after disc. Marketing genius you are.
Wow, great post. I loved it. However, I wouldn't consider ANY of these songs as being from the "first wave of alternative". In fact, by the time most of these tracks came along, the term "alternative" was already losing its meaning very quickly. I know; I was there. In fact, I would call the majority of these tracks the LAST wave of "alternative", and anyone using that term for music coming out today is just clueless.
scottsalsman: I break down the chronology thusly.
College Rock (which I see as proto- alternative) 1985-1990
This would be your Replacements, REM, and U2s.
First Wave of Alternative 1991 – 1996
This was the era where a lot of labels were looking for anything that might sell, and that’s how stuff like:
Flaming Lips, The Butthole Surfers, and King Missile (who is missing from this collection) and a handful of outsider weirdoes ended up on the radio.
Second Wave 1996 to present (and I’ll concede that there are a lot of tracks from this period are on the set).
For me this is the era where bands were out and out aping the bands of the first wave, Days of the New, Creed, and their ilk trying to sound like Pearl Jam or Alice in Chains, Goldfinger changing from a near hair metal hard rock called The Electric Love Hogs into their better known Ska Core group. This is also the era where it felt like the con men running the music industry figured out how to wring the last drops of blood from the Alternative Stone, before moving on to selling hyper pop to teenagers and abandoning the Gen X masses as consumers.
My main points of reference are things like Nevermind entering the mainstream charts as the start of first wave of alternative, I also strongly would make the case that the Screaming Trees album Dust was the last album of the first wave of alternative.
as for songs that I would consider part of the first wave of Alt Rock: how about (for better or worse):
Far Behind | Candlebox
Cumbersome | Seven Mary Three
Feed The Tree | Belly
Runaway Train | Soul Asylum
Linger | Cranberries
Til I Hear It From You | Gin Blossoms
Far Behind | Candlebox
The Freshman | The Verve Pipe
Easy | Faith No More
Smells Like Teen Spirit | Tori Amos
Follow You Down | Gin Blossoms
Two Princes | Spin Doctors
You | Candlebox
Molly (16 Candles) | Sponge
The Impression That I Get | The Mighty Mighty Bosstones
I Alone | Live
More Human Than Human | White Zombie
Tomorrow | Silverchair
Hey Man Nice Shot | Filter
She Don't Use Jelly | The Flaming Lips
Into Your Arms | Lemonheads
Pretend That We're Dead | L7
Here & Now | Letters To Cleo
Hey Jealousy | Gin Blossoms
Little Miss Can't Be Wrong | Spin Doctors
Pets | Porno For Pyros
Fade Into You | Mazzy Star
Well, I suppose it's all in how you look at it, but I, for one, compleeeeeeeeetely disagree with you. Still, I enjoyed your post very much. :)
That's fine, what would you consider the first wave of Alt music? What tracks would you include on a box set of those?
By the way, anyone that wants to read my thoughts on a 90s box set it's posted HERE