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16 June
Side Two, Deja Vu by Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young
You didn't really think we'd abandon the ultimate album sides did you?
No way Jose..
Today's album side is about as full, varied and perfect an album side as you can get.. If you think Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young are corny than you are fucked in the head.. EVERY song is a masterpiece.. from the schizophrenic Deja Vu, to the tear jerkingly beautful Our House.. to the blowaway orchestral-like suite Country Girl.. this album side amazes, astonishes, moves and informs you... This is music at the highest level by four genius songwriters.. four genius voices... four incomparable artists..
When I first heard Country Girl off this side it was on a classic rock station.. I had to pull over the car I was so blown away... this is what I think about when I think of this album..
Deja Vu..
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Side Two
Produced by CSNY |
9 June
1990s Honourable Mentions
Walrus' Favourites
I thought I'd put up a bunch of songs that were on my short-list... the runner-ups..
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If I Can't Change Your Mind, Sugar (1992) Perfect pop song by Bob Mould's (of Husker Du) band, Sugar.. Songs cuts right through.. I first heard it working at the Tower Records, in Paramus, NJ.. |
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37 Push Ups, Smog (1993) 90s folk.. this was a staple of mine on my mixes.. First heard it on some compilation... I think it was called.. "Nailing Ducks to the Wall" |
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Sunshine Eyes, Johnny Bravo (1995) This is one of my favourite songs of my band, Johnny Bravo.. It was recorded in the Summer of 95.. the album was never released.. |
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Snail Shell, They Might Be Giants (1994) Great song by a great band.. great riff.. great driving piano |
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You're OK, kd lang (1995) What a song.. I played this over and over again when it came out.. Great Beatlesy chorus... Off the All You Can Eat album which is fucking great! |
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Buddy Holly, Weezer (1994) Hurt me to not include this on the main list.. so I'm including it on this one... |
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Mockingbirds, Grant Lee Buffalo (1994) Great 90s tune.. I wonder why this guy didn't become huge.. he had a wonderful soulful voice.. and this tune is gorgeous.. |
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I Left My Wallet in El Segundo, Tribe Called Quest (1990) This is as early 90s as you can get.. Song always reminds me of our old friend Rob Spallone.. One of the few rap groups I really appreciated.. |
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Beetlebum, Blur (1997) Love the chorus on this one.. how it breaks away from the verse.. and the nice run out.. Beatlesque to the max! |
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She's So Loose, Supergrass (1995) My favourite song off 'I Should Coco'... This was on every mix I made at the time.. |
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Waltz #2, Elliot Smith (1998) Yet another remarkable tune by the late-great Smith... |
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Bomb Pop, Johnny Bravo (1995) Another song off our unreleased 'Afterschool Special'.. Our friend Sage is playing the violin on this one... We made him record like different parts so it would sound like an orchestra.. |
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Rue des Jours, Ether (1993) Originally off the soundtrack to the movie "Surviving Desire" by the great director Hal Hartley... moody little number.. always liked it.. |
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Sick of Myself, Matthew Sweet (1995) My favourite song by Matthew Sweet.. Its the one song where his voice doesn't annoy me.. I also dig the nod to the Beatles song 'Piggies' at the end when he say's "One more time..." |
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About Your Fame, Apples in Stereo (1997) I always liked this one off the great album, 'Tone Soul Revolution'.. |
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Hyper Enough, Superchunk (1995) A nifty little tune.. so typical of the time.. had to be included for that reason.. |
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Da Funk, Daft Punk (1995) Loved this song when it came out.. how the different parts shift in and out.. awesome main riff... |
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Seether, Veruca Salt (1994) Great little rocker from this chick-fronted outfit.. |
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It Ain't Over 'til it's Over , Lenny Kravitz (1991) I don't care what anyone says, this song is an out and out classic.. |
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Mother Mother, Tracy Bonham (1996) As 90s as you can get.. total one hit wonder.. but a knockout chorus.. |
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Velouria, Pixies (1990) Gorgeous song by the band that started it all.. |
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Long Way Down (look What the Cat Drug In), Michael Penn (1992) Beautiful ditty by Sean Penn's bro, Michael.. He really caught lightning in a bottle with this one.. I think it's as good as anything.. |
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Going Out, Supergrass (1997) You starting to tell how much I love this band?? Another great one... |
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We Hate it When Our Friends Become Sucessfu, Morrisseyl (1992) Love the song.. love the sentiment.. |
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Who Are You This Time, Tom Waits (1992) Heartbreaker off one of the great albums of the 90s... Waits continued to re-invent himself on this one.. remaining relevant for a third decade... |
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Setting Sun, Chemical Brothers (1997) Sporting the beat from the Beatles 'Tomorrow Never Knows', its fitting that Beatles worshipper Liam Gallagher should sing it.. and it works.. |
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This is a Call, Foo Fighters (1995) Dave Grohl showed he had what it took to stick around with this album.. |
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It was a Good Day, Ice Cube (1992) An entertaining song by an entertaining guy.. Was just having this conversation with my brother last week.. how Ice Cube always tried so hard to be this tough guy and yet looked this teddy bear.. couldnt take him seriously.. and now that he's doing famiy movies now, he's come full circle.. he is now having the career he was always meant for.. good song though.. a bit silly but great groove.. |
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Can I Ride, Polvo (1992) Quintessential 90s indie rocker.. |
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Harvest Moon, Neil Young (1992) Young continuing to write genius songs... you can smell the Autumn in this song.. |
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Wish, Nine Inch Nails (1992) Awesome rousing song.. Easily my favourite NIN song.. as I'm not a fan.. I stole this EP from some other record store I worked at in Jersey... |
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Siva, Smashing Pumpkins (1991) First song I ever heard from the Pumpkins.. GREAT guitar work on this one.. still fucking impressive |
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Sugarcubes, Hit (1992) This was the song that started my early 90s crush on Bjork.. Would be GENIUS if not for the dorky guy singing in the middle of it.. who my brother always hilariously dubbed "the Fred Schneider of the Sugarcubes" |
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Double Talkin' Jive, Guns n Roses (1991) Great Izzy-sung tune off of Use Your Illusion I... neat bit at the end where the guitars switch to an acoustic.. |
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My Own Girlfriend, Papas Fritas (1995) I always put this song last on all my mix cassettes of the time.. cause it was so short.. it fit perfectly.. and so I end this mix the same way.. |
6 June
Well.. We've reached the end.. to find out what's on the top 10.. click HERE5 June
I've almost reached the end of my rope with this list, so to speak... Wouldve been easier to have made it a top 100.. ahh.. fuckit..
(20-11)
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20. Sabotage, Beastie Boys (1994) One of the real huge hits of the decade.. From the song's opening drum hits that fire off like shotgun blasts.. It speeds along like a beat up Chevy Nova through the streets of San Francisco.. this is what the Beastie Boys do best |
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19. Needle in the Hay, Elliot Smith (1995) |
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18. Caught by the Fuzz, Supergrass (1995) You really wanna know who's better Blur or Oasis?.. Supergrass that's who! This terrific song recounting the tale of a kid getting caught with cocaine and berated by his mum is raw, and funny and charming.. Wonderful brash guitars, great harmonies... well-crafted songwriting.. Their debut I Should Coco, is one of the greatest debuts of a band ever.. they STILL make great music.. |
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17. Fake Plastic Trees, Radiohead (1995) Another great one from Radiohead... The amount they progressed from their first to second albums was truly remarkable in the modern era... The Bends still remains one of the great modern rock albums of all time.. they had matured and found their own voice.. this song was a huge hit for them and deservedly so.. what a song.. |
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16. Human Behaviour, Bjork (1993) Ahh Bjork.. I admit, for a little while back in the day, I had a major crush on this pixie from Iceland... Didn't hurt that she was also a musical phenom.. I was blown away by this song off her debut (entitled.. er.. Debut).. I love how it lumbers along menacingly.. her voice is incomparable.. I also love that this strange piece of music was such a hit.. and I was around to see it.. Genius video too.. |
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15. So Real, Jeff Buckley (1994) This guy had it all, looks, talent AND a rock and roll pedigree (his father was 60s icon Tim Buckley)... and yet he was another 90s casualty.. taken away in the prime of his life in a tragic accidental drowning.. Everytime I hear this song I get chills when he sings the lyric "And I couldn't awake from the nightmare that sucked me in and pulled me under... Pulled me under.." The high note he hits at the end is incredible... |
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14. Kool Thing, Sonic Youth (1990) It made sense that the band who had laid the blueprint for the "grunge" sound all through the 80s were the first to hit real big with that sound in the 90s.. This classic always sounded to me like the soundtrack to a 60s biker movie.. in a good way.. love how it opens.. the riff is a standard.. this song was the opening salvo to the whole decade.. |
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13. Say it Ain't So, Weezer (1994) Another big one from Rivers and the boys.. this song just keeps on building to the climactic bridge and moving guitar solo... great lyrics, great personal song.. |
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12. Drain You, Nirvana (1991) Thought you'd heard the last of this band on our list? I don't think so!! You kidding me? They built this city.. This song was Cobain's favourite of theirs.. and I think mine as well.. |
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11. Cut Your Hair, Pavement (1994) NO BIG HAIR!!! Another one from Pavement off their classic album Crooked Rain Crooked Rain (arguably the best album of the decade)... This song has it all.. great guitars.. messy yet rocking.. catchy, yet not sell-out catchy... When we were touring all over the US with our own band, THIS album was on repeat in our van's cd player... |
Tomorrow... The Top 10
4 June
The choices are getting murkier and murkier in my mind... I've been trying to walk the line between the songs I loved and what I considered to be the greatest songs of the era.. without making it sound like some horrible VH1 top 100 list... In the end this is WALRUS' top 50 songs of the 1990s.... so the standards have to be high...
(30-21)
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30. The King is Half Undressed, Jellyfish (1990) What an amazing song... Part Beach Boys, part Rachmaninoff, ALL genius.. a gorgeous song that throws everything but the kitchen sink at you and yet manages to be concise... a tremendous pop song.. Terrible shame this band disbanded after only two albums.. yet another 90s casualty that didn't deserve it.. |
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29. Sometimes Salvation, The Black Crowes (1992) The Crowes were never as good as on this album (Southern and Musican Companion).. every song is in the zone.. his voice has got that great tone to it.. like a warmed up tube amp.. Marc Ford's lead guitar all through the album is among the best guitaring of the decade ESPECIALLY on this solo.. great tune.. |
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28. Freedom of '76, Ween (1994) The boys from Ween made a sharp left turn on this little gem dripping with Philly soul... Still one of my favourite tunes of that period... great vocal on this one that shows the phenomenal versatility of this talented duo |
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27. The Spark That Bled, The Flaming Lips (1999) This song literally shook me to my core when I first heard it.. I kept playing it over and over again.. trying to figure out what about it had touched me so deeply.. has everything to do with the wonderful string arrangements, heavy looped drums that sound like Bonham on steroids, and the strange, chilling lyrics about soft bullets.. sounds like a Disney soundtrack gone terribly wrong.. and yet so right.. |
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26. Man in the Box, Alice in Chains (1990) This wouldn't be a valid list without the inclusion of this song.. This is as good as metal gets.. It will always be rock radio staple as long as there is radio... Layne Staley's voice soars on the chorus with a power that few others have ever achieved before or since.. |
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25. Pay No Mind (Snoozer), Beck (1994) My favourite song by Beck.. in fine Dylanesque form here, the lyrics are both funny, moving and powerful... so many great lines in it.. "Give the finger to the rock n roll singer as he's dancing upon your paycheck the sales climb high through the garbage pail sky, like a giant dildo crushing the sun"... fucking brilliant. |
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24. Coffee and TV, Blur (1999) Blur answers the "Who's better Blur or Oasis?" question with this song right here.. Oasis couldn't write a song as good as this if it crawled up the Gallagher brother's collective rectums.. |
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23. Creep, Radiohead (1993) What can I say? This IS the 90s.. I don't care if Thom Yorke never wants to play this song again.. this is one hell of a beautiful pop song about yearning.. the fact that they escaped one-hit wonder status by going on two make two of the greatest albums ever made is even more remarkable.. |
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22. Start Choppin', Dinosaur Jr. (1993) Genius guitar on this one.. the best of the 90s.. the main guitar riff is one of the best ever put down and the solo at the end rivals anything produced in the 60s and 70s by any of the usual guitar gods we all know and love.. |
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21. Willing to Wait, Sebadoh (1996) Oh yeah.. its a gorgeous song.. one of the most moving choruses I've ever heard.. that's not just being hyperbolic either.. |
Tomorrow... 20 - 11
3 June
This is getting tougher... Probably wouldve been better off going for the top 100.. Turns out there are a lot of good songs from the 90s.. Who knew?
(40-31)
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40. You Brains, Chris Harford (1992) I loved this Bowie-esque tune... I thought that Harford would be a bigger star, but like so many 90s artists, he got lost in the shuffle.. This song is one of the lost gems of an era, riddled with lost gems.. |
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39. Esquire, Lizard Music (1995) I first met the fellows in Lizard Music right before they set off for Chicago to record this album with Steve Abini.. They blew me away.. We became fast friends.. Erik Papparazzi, the band's chief songwriter is one hell of a talented songwriter and guitarist.. He's currently the bassist in Cat Power's band.. which to me is a shame... he isn't a side man.. Mikal Jorgensen, the other songwriter in the band is currently the keyboardist in Wilco... Anyway, this opener off of their album Fashionably Lame is a winner, combining, everything from Brian Wilson to George Gershwin into one tasty 90s stew.. |
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38. It Could've Been a Brilliant Career, Belle and Sebastian (1997) I played this album over and over again when I first got it.. It was chill out music in a decade of songs that bashed you over the head.. and I was grateful for the respite.. |
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37. Pat's Trick, Helium (1995) I admit, I had a thing for Mary Timony back in the day.. It started when I saw her band Helium play at Maxwell's in '94.. She was purty and talented and strange.. Mostly I appreciated her songwriting, which was warped and interesting.. This one was always a favourite of mine.. |
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36. Web In Front, Archers of Loaf (1994) This is THE 90s song.. It's a perfect little ditty.. punchy, fuzzy, to the point, catchy as hell and in and out in a second.. This is what 90s pop was all about... |
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35. Forever Nighshade Mary, Latin Playboys (1994) When I first heard this song, I couldn't believe it was a new song.. It sounds like it came out of the 60s.. A great soul song by the guys from Los Lobos, another criminally underrated band.. |
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34. Big Bang Baby, Stone Temple Pilots (1996) Out of all of STP's hits, I loved this one in particular... probably because of the glittery, soaring bit where he sings "Nothing's for Free, Take it Away Boys"... |
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33. Connection, Elastica (1995) Pure 90s.. Can you smell it now? The sneer, the cheek? Justine Frischman was no way near as hot as she made it out.. but she had a certain something.. great one hit wonder brit pop.. |
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32. The Concept, Teenage Fanclub (1991) I think this actually came out before Nevermind.. I always think of this song as the first "Grunge" record I ever heard.. yet it's Beatley.. its got that great soaring ending.. always a build up in 90s tunes.. superior 90s Brit pop.. they never bettered this debut.. |
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31. Aneurysm, Nirvana (1992) Well, the first of a few from the kings of the 1990s.. What can you say? Classic Nirvana.. keeping it pumping straight to your heart... |
Tomorrow... 30-21
So I thought it'd be fun to kick off June with a week-long 90s retrospective.. These days I've been pretty down on this era, so recently I decided to look back and decide if it really did suck as much as I bluster about, or is it just bitterness on my part over dreams not realized and potential not lived up to...
Well, I re-discovered what made the 90s pretty amazing music-wise.. I feel proud now to have been a part of it.. until the next time I get down on it.. But until then, here are....
The Top 50 Songs of the 1990s
(50-41)
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50. I Can't Wait One Minute More, CIV (1995) This one hit wonder had a great chewy drum sound and chunky guitars that made it unique to my ears... great little punk rock tune of the time and funny video.. |
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49. Made-Up Dreams, Built to Spill (1997) Great build up on this one by the great band Built to Spill, beautiful ending when the strings come on.. nice guitar bit in the coda.. |
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48. If I could Talk I'd Tell you, The Lemonheads (1996) Loved this breezy number... the chorus is just terrific |
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47. The Dog and Pony Show, Shellac (1994) This song was a STAPLE on every one of my cassette mixes of the era.. Classic Steve Albini.. |
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46. April After All, Ron Sexsmith (1997) Heartbreakingly gorgeous song by the criminally underrated Ron Sexsmith.. One of the greatest singers of his generation |
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45. James at 15, Johnny Bravo (1996) How can I not include at least ONE of my own band's songs from our ill-fated major label debut? I always liked this one of mine.. especially the "Hate Everybody" coda.. I still feel the same way.. |
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44. To Find a Friend, Tom Petty (1994) I adored this melancholy, Beatlesque ditty off of TP's masterwork "Wildflowers".. deserves to be honoured.. |
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43. Transport is Arranged, Pavement (1997) Great, great tune by the archetypical 90s band.. dig the mellotron and the explosive guitar break in the middle.. great melody.. |
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42. The Good Life, Weezer (1996) A great one from a great album... rich melodic chorus and blow away ending.. love the raucous guitar solo building to the beautiful mellow slide guitar bit... Why doesn't Rivers play like that anymore??? |
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41. Game of Pricks, Guided By Voices (1995) Lo-fi, indie, Beatles-y, genius by a classic 90s band.. I played this song over and over again.... One of those songs I was jealous of it was so good.. |