Kevin's Watch

ok, I know im not the only one who's still listening to the alternative/poppy/feelgood music of the late 90s and early 00s... but it's not something you can exactly go around advertising. For example:

"Hey, Trae, d'you remember that song "StarryEyed Surprize"?"
"Is it metal?"
"Well, no."
"Then it's icky. Here, listen to "Make Them Suffer" again... you're smiling too much."

And then, if you go around listening to it (at high volumes, as i often do, so that anyone in a three foot radius can enjoy my music with me, since i'm not selfish in the least, or concerned for my health much either) then people look at you like you're absolutley insane. But if you blast out current music, they're ok with it. And this is a really stereotypical, prejudiced sounding statement, but in every case i've tried, black people react badly to the Barenaked Ladies, Eve6, Cake, Better Than Ezra, Blind Melon, Blink 182, Bush, Candlebox, Oasis, REM, Our Lady Peace, Pearl Jam, and even Everlast. Everyone else reacts with only mild distaste, but the black people complain loudly and often rudely. Get's right aggravating.

But why did everyone just leave this era behind? Fall Out Boy and Ashley Tisdale and the perfected, aggravating as hell carbon-copy teeny-boppers of today are just as bad or worse than anything my era produced. And i feel really old now, talking about it like it's been such a long time... like it's a completely new age, even though it is, but at the same time it's not because it's only been like a few years.

Oh well. Anyone remember any of the fun music, or were you all on acid like me and only remembered single things, like clothes or food or toys (can you tell i focused on the music?)?

And then, if you go around listening to it (at high volumes, as i often do, so that anyone in a three foot radius can enjoy my music with me, since i'm not selfish in the least, or concerned for my health much either) then people look at you like you're absolutley insane.

I hope you've got a really good explanation for that!

.....I'm not selfish! I'm just really, really obnoxious.

Turiya Foul wrote:But why did everyone just leave this era behind?

I don't see much difference between this era and 10 years ago. Both were disposable and hollow, and rarely does a top 10 single have any merit or depth to constitute it being remembered as anything but a cliche.

Lord Foul wrote:

Turiya Foul wrote:But why did everyone just leave this era behind?

I don't see much difference between this era and 10 years ago. Both were disposable and hollow, and rarely does a top 10 single have any merit or depth to constitute it being remembered as anything but a cliche.

The Billboard is a dinosaur, it has absolutely no relevance to most modern music listeners and consumers anymore. Like any product, sales are a direct result of money spent marketing. Once you sift through the lair of Garbage (A great late 90s early 00s band btw )there is PLENTY of wonderful stuff going on.

Some of my favorites-

Radiohead
The Flaming Lips (The Soft Bulletin in particular stands out as one of the greatest albums of the era in question)
Doves
Porcupine Tree
Travis
Tool
Dream Theater

Honestly, if you LOOK at the billboard top 10 for an average week in the 70s (I remember watching some old American bandstand recently) 80 percent of it is usually completely forgettable crap, with an absolute classic in the 9 or 10 spot.

And I don't even hate every top 10 single of the past 20 years. I LOVE Stephani's What are you Waiting For? (It's as good as Rich Girl is terrible).

With a few exceptions, there hasn't been anything of substance written in nearly 20 years.....

At least Limp Bizkit isn't recording any more.

I disagree, you just aren't going to find much substance in the top 20. The bands I have mentioned, for the most part, I love just as much as the greats of the 60s and 70s (Beatles, Floyd, Zep, Who) and almost without exception, they are billboard poison. (I cant even remember the last time Radiohead bothered to release a single)

It's become so easy to create an album now anyone can do it. Like the Internet, that makes a lot of crap, but allows for great talent to get heard. (See Buckethead for example, I'm pretty sure he won a guitar playing contest in the late 90s) Look at Trent Reznor for god's sake. (And I don't want to hear anyone hating on NiN!)

You could find it Cail, if you bothered to look. Part of getting old I guess is knowing that they just did it better in your day damnit!

I did say "with few exceptions". All respect to both Trent Reznor and Dave Grohl, they're the cream of the crop.

Heh, it *does* seem that the greatest bands in the world in the 60's and 70's were really great musicians. But I think memory has a way of editing the worst. The 80s have started to seem a lot better recently now that we have had time to forget all the crap and remember Genesis, Billy Idol, Iron Maiden, Gabriel, TFF, and so on. in another few years, we will probably start to forget the crap from the 90s too. (Don't tell me there weren't shitty supergroups in the 60's and 70's. Kiss?! Journey?! Loverboy?! Weren't these Shmucks as big as Zep?)

KISS, Journey, and Loverboy were never as big as Zeppelin. Never.

There was certainly a lot of crap in the '80s, but there was also a lot of good, and some great stuff as well.

The 1980s is a most definitely underrated decade for music.

Lord Mhoram wrote:The 1980s is a most definitely underrated decade for music.

I would agree, but only to the extent that you REALLY had to go out and look for it before you found it! Pre-internet that involved fanzines and many more mix tapes than are necessary nowadays....(God bless you, TDK!)

Stonemaybe wrote:

Lord Mhoram wrote:The 1980s is a most definitely underrated decade for music.

I would agree, but only to the extent that you REALLY had to go out and look for it before you found it! Pre-internet that involved fanzines and many more mix tapes than are necessary nowadays....(God bless you, TDK!)

I had to take a look and see what 80s greatests lists I could find. I found a few and frankly I can't fathom how some of this crap ended up in the top 1,000 let alone anywhere on these lists and in some cases I totally agree.

digitaldreamdoor.nutsie.com/pages/best_albums80s.html

www.rocklistmusic.co.uk/rstone.html

www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/feature/ ... -the-1980s

rateyourmusic.com/list/Maverick/top_25_ ... ck_albums/

Lord Mhoram wrote:The 1980s is a most definitely underrated decade for music.

I'll third this profound statement. Nirvana ruined the 90s for me.

Pitchfork's list is outstanding. I've seen it before. I love that site.

Lord Mhoram wrote:Pitchfork's list is outstanding. I've seen it before. I love that site.

I agree. That's more my feeling about the 80's, although some of the albums are in the wrong slots, and the unfortunate exclusion of Game Theory and the Dead Milkmen, but hey...

Goddamn, Pitchfork likes the pixies and sonic youth. I can't really fathom a best of 80s list without an IM album or Operation:Mindcrime. At least they snuck a KC album up there.

To each their own but Pitchfork's list is surely as definitive a list of great 1980s alternative albums as you can get.

Saw some of my favs in Pitchfork's list, but so many notables missing.

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
Adam and the Ants/Adam Ant
Eurthymics
Bryan Adams
The Cars
INXS
John Mellencamp
Pete Townsends solo albums
The Pretenders
The Producers

I'm surprised Eurythmics aren't on Pitchfork's list. The rest aren't really their cup of tea.